CLEVELAND — Sports columnist Terry Pluto often writes a “Scribbles” column opining on Cleveland’s professional sports teams. While performing outdoor household chores or driving alone, I often do a “Questions to Myself” mental exercise. Here are some of my recurring ones, starting with local and state politics and moving on to some national questions:
1) Why don’t more voters see how bad one-party rule is, whether in Cuyahoga County or at the Statehouse in Columbus?
2) Instead of hiring a public relations staffer to help boost their image, wouldn’t it be easier for predominantly Democratic Cuyahoga County Council members to make better decisions, thus reducing criticism of that elected body?
3) I thought that solidly Republican Geauga County government finally had matured to the point where it could avoid embarrassing infighting and scandals. Then, cleveland.com’s Adam Ferrise reported last month on the “Public spats, a plant shutdown and raids” over the county water department’s IT system. Won’t these continued skirmishes overshadow any progress and invite even more investigations?
4) Why do so many past and present leaders in the Ohio House seem to hail from places like New Boston, Clarksville, Kitts Hill and Monclova Township rather than Cleveland, Columbus or Cincinnati?
5) Why do so many state legislators from these small Ohio towns and villages want to impose their ultra-conservative beliefs on everyone, even though a majority of the voters statewide are not that far right?
6) Does anyone else find it strange about the Ohio Senate voting for a bill to waive sales tax on baby diapers, strollers and car seats while the Ohio House is exploring tax waivers on guns, ammunition and gun-safety devices?
7) Isn’t it already hard enough for Ohio citizens to change the state constitution (via initiative petition) by requiring over 410,000 valid signatures, obtained from half of Ohio’s 88 counties, including at least 5% of the votes cast for governor in each of those counties?
8) If the Republican-controlled state legislature were so confident that voters would ban abortion in Ohio, then why do they want to change the rules to require a 60% approval vote for constitutional amendments instead of a simple majority — and at a special August election?
9) Why do the big cities, like Cleveland, find it more politically expedient to blame and sue car manufacturers like Hyundai and Kia than to aggressively crack down on juvenile car thieves and carjackers? Has an internal anti-police attitude at the top — with Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb supporting having citizens mete out police departmental discipline — made recruiting much more difficult, especially if qualified candidates have other employment options?
10) Isn’t it ironic many of these youthful criminals either don’t attend or do poorly in school but can quickly learn from a TikTok video how to steal a vehicle using a USB cable?
11) Why are some in the Twitter world sending prayers to the Cleveland Browns players who were carjacked, robbed at gunpoint or had a vehicle stolen? Isn’t this an everyday occurrence in America’s big cities?
12) Where, other than in tiny villages, would a political comeback like the one recently announced by former Newburgh Heights Mayor Trevor Elkins have a snowball’s chance in Hades?
13) When did the hallowed halls of Cleveland State University become the soft-landing point for Cleveland area politicians like former County Executive Armond Budish and others before him?
14) Is there a correlation between the major cities with the most escalating crime being the ones where repeat criminals have the least fear of serious prosecution and punishment? Examples include New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and San Francisco. San Francisco recalled its prosecutor because of runaway crime. In New York City, some complain that criminals are often back on the street because of some of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s policies.
15) What was Chicago thinking when city voters elected “defund the police” Brandon Johnson as mayor after four disastrous years of Lori Lightfoot? Memorial Day weekend produced another 53 shot and 11 dead in the Windy City.
16) Isn’t it ironic that proudly declared sanctuary cities in the North, like New York and Chicago, have been complaining about the influx of migrants awaiting asylum rulings, including those sent north by overridden Southwest border town mayors (and governors), and demanding federal assistance?
18) Does California Gov. Gavin Newsom have any remorse after stringing along the state-appointed nine-member Reparations Task Force in now suggesting the outcome might be something other than monetary? In response to the proposal for up to $1.2 million per person in restitution, Newsome stated that dealing with the legacy of slavery “is about much more than cash payments.”
19) Is former President Donald Trump continuing to show what an egotistical bully he is? He took to Truth Social to call his very loyal former White House press secretary “Kayleigh ‘Milktoast’ [sic] McEnany,” misspelling milquetoast. Trump was angry that she’d reported he was only up by 25 points on “DeSanctimonious” – as he referred to his GOP presidential rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Trump also called his former Attorney General Bill Barr a “gutless pig” for saying Trump’s recent federal indictment is serious.
20) President Joe Biden didn’t have a good recent week either when he said, “We have plans to build a railroad from the Pacific all across the Indian Ocean.” Then, he curiously concluded a gun control speech with “God save the Queen, man.” Does he even know what he is saying anymore, either on- or off-script?
21) Which comment is most absurd? Biden saying that his classified documents were secure because they were locked up in his garage next to his Corvette. Or Trump saying he could not turn over his because they were still in the same boxes as his golf clothes. To date, Biden and Trump still remain our likely major choices for president next year.
And shouldn’t answers to most of these questions be self-evident?
Republican Bob Paulson, the former mayor of Solon, writes an occasional column on politics from the middle.
To share ideas and feedback with Bob Paulson: bobpaulsonPD@gmail.com
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