An organizer of Greater Cincinnati's Tea Party movement is telling its members the Ohio Republican Party chairman is trying to manipulate potential candidates in the race for Ohio auditor to pit two Teabggers against each other and split the vote, clearing the path for the chairman's cousin to be the GOP's nominee in the race for another office.

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The Ohio Green Party will hold its state political convention in Columbus this weekend, where it will make decisions on several important issues.

Among the business that will be conducted at the convention is changing the organization's official status from a political action committee (PAC) to that of a minor political party.

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This week’s Porkopolis column mentions a flap over an upcoming local appearance by Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher and Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, both of who are seeking the Democratic nomination to run for the U.S. Senate.

As the column notes, Fisher is the Establishment candidate and the bigger fundraiser. But a new poll indicates Brunner would have a better shot at defeating the likely Republican candidate, former Congressman Rob Portman.

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State Rep. Tyrone Yates (D-Cincinnati), plans to introduce legislation in the Ohio House soon that he said would help shield bank customers from excessive fees.

Under his proposal, banks doing business in Ohio would be prohibited from automatically enrolling customers in debit card overdraft protection programs without first giving them the right to opt-out of the service.

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U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Miami Township) just doesn’t fare so well in unscripted situations. In the latest example of that political truism, Schmidt testified Monday for nearly five hours in a deposition taken by attorneys for David Krikorian.

The deposition was taken in preparation for a Sept. 3 hearing before the Ohio Elections Commission. Schmidt filed a complaint with the commission alleging that Krikorian knowingly made a false statement about Schmidt in a piece of campaign literature last year.

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Last year Republicans raffled off a seat on presidential candidate John McCain’s “Straight Talk Express.” Now, for a small donation, you can win a chance to have dinner with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

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Despite rumors on state and national political blogs, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland told a private gathering in Cincinnati this past weekend that he has no intention of picking State Rep. Jennifer Garrison as his running mate in 2010.

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Now that Hamilton County Commissioner David Pepper has announced he’s running for Ohio auditor, the first attack launched by Republicans is that tired old bromide that Pepper’s a ‘tax and spend liberal."

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UPDATE AT BOTTOM:

Now it makes sense.

Many political observers wondered why Hamilton County Commissioner David Pepper would agree to introduce Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory at last Wednesday's event and endorse Mallory’s re-election bid.

After all, although Pepper and Mallory are both Democrats, they were rivals in the 2005 non-partisan mayoral race and have starkly different approaches to policy-making. Nevertheless, there Pepper was on a podium at Union Terminal, stating that Mallory had helped unify City Council and improved Cincinnati’s image.

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As if the tightly wound Jean Schmidt hadn’t embarrassed Greater Cincinnati enough with her odd remarks sparking a Saturday Night Live parody in 2005, this weekend it was John Boehner and Mitch McConnell taking their turn in the satirical spotlight.

In SNL’s opening skit, Dan Ackroyd portrayed Boehner (the congressman from West Chester) and Darrell Hammond played McConnell (the U.S. senator from Louisville) as the pair plotted the Republican Party’s misguided comeback and debated whom the GOP should take advice from, Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh.

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