Secty of State: Hartmann (R) a Bush-Cheney "Sleeper"?

The following was posted by Ambercat as a comment to yesterday's roundup of statewide races, but it deserves full attention. It appears that the relatively recent and rapid rise of Greg Hartmann (R-Cincinnati) in Ohio Republican political circles is not an accident but the result of his close ties to the Bush/Cheney camp, and the implications of that for the possible supervision of future Ohio elections by such a man are frightening indeed:

The developing facts on Greg Hartmann are interesting and potentially alarming. His father, Robin P. Hartmann of the Dallas-based Haynes-Boone law firm, did indeed represent Dick Cheney in 2000 in his lawsuit attempting to establish that his residence is Wyoming and not Texas, since it's required that president and vice president not be from the same state. In addition, I've learned that Robin P. Hartmann was being touted to the media as a source to call as a reference for Harriet Miers after Bush appointed her to the Supreme Court. In other words, one can safely say that Hartmann Sr. is an ultra-insider in the Cheney-Bush administration.

Now consider Greg Hartmann, who graduated from Pepperdine law school in 1997 and worked for less than a year at a Dallas law firm, ending in March, 1998. In January, 1999 he suddenly crops up in the Hamilton County prosector's office, where he worked without particularly distinguishing himself (or worse, facts developing) until appointed County Clerk of Counts in early 2003. We all know how he didn't distinguish himself there, as his sloppy work that allowed identity theft to occur has already been well-documented.

Despite being an outsider in a heavily Republican area, with a many longtime party regulars, he became executive director of the Hamilton County Republican Party in 2002, 3-4 years after arriving in town, and was Hamilton County co-chair of the 2004 Cheney-Bush reelection campaign, an honor I'm sure many other of those longtime devoted Republicans would have liked. Obviously, strings were being pulled. Hartmann brougt power with him that didn't belong to him. Nothing in his record suggests he is outstanding in any way.

There's more to come. This suggests all kinds of potentially disastrous scenarios for Ohio, especially for future Ohio elections. This race is an absolute must-win for Brunner for the sake of the citizens of the state.