Shifting blame

You expect Republicans and Democrats to blame each other for everything. But chalk one up to the Democrats in the Ohio House of Representatives: If Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann doesn't resign and the House doesn't move on impeachment, the Democrats will have made it the Republicans' fault.
Democrats on Tuesday filed articles of impeachment, moving responsibility for the issue to Republicans, who are the majority party. Forty-two of the 45 Democrats sponsored the articles of impeachment, charging him with nine counts in relation to the sexual harassment scandal in his office. Those charges include obstructing the internal investigation into allegations of sexual harassment; issuing misleading statements under oath; that he knew or should have known that his own admitted sexual affair with an employee contributed to a hostile work environment; and committing acts of gross neglect of duty by undermining the integrity of his office.
What becomes of the Democrats' impeachment plan remains to be seen. Republicans would have to act on the articles in order for a case against the first-term attorney general to advance. But, apparently, the Democrats weren't satisfied simply with stripping Dann of their 2006 endorsement, as party members voted to do Saturday.
Republicans seem interested in letting Dann drag out the party's embarrassment. The House State Government and Elections Committee on Tuesday voted to authorize Ohio Inspector General Thomas P. Charles to investigate Dann's conduct in office. Republicans voted down a Democrat-sponsored amendment requiring Charles to finish his investigation within 60 days. Republicans don't want to let the Dann scandal go away that quickly, not with the election still almost six months away.
The House Democrats might have outplayed the Republicans this time. They want Dann gone. They've offered the articles of impeachment, so which party do you suppose they'll blame if Dann remains in office?