Larry Householder abused the public's trust...but do Ohioans really care?

Last week, the curtain finally fell on former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder's dog-and-pony show after an angry federal judge went Monopoly cop and ordered him to go to jail, go directly to jail and do not pass go, following his conviction on corruption charges; the largest such case in state history.

Householder, who has been convicted on racketeering charges involving a $61 million bribery scheme as part of a $1 billion taxpayer-funded bailout for FirstEnergy, now finds himself looking down the barrel of a 20-year stretch.

In an era when punishment and convictions for white-collar crimes are stalled and appealed into oblivion, the idea of Householder immediately heading to the hoosegow was a man-bites-dog moment.

Former GOP State Chair Matt Borges, who was in cahoots with Householder in concocting the now-infamous House Bill 6, was given five years in prison. Lobbyist Neil Clark died by suicide rather than endure a trial.

Hooked and cooked

Now we all know politics are not practiced in a kissing booth, but taped FBI conversations played during Householder's trial revealed him to be, in the judge's words, a bully. A vindictive, crude and arrogant cynic who possesses the moral conscience of a pirate; a braggart who made no pretense that he governed by "pay-to-play."

In one jaw-dropper, Householder bitterly crowed that he couldn't wait for former House Speaker Jo Ann Davidson to die so that he could defecate on her grave for not marching in lockstep with his ambition.

No church pancake suppers for this crew. They lived like rock stars on the largesse of lobbyists, so it's no wonder that two FBI agents posing as crooked developers were able to hook and cook Householder like so much brisket.

But here's the kicker: Should Householder decide to run for office after prison, he very likely could win back his House seat. While gerrymandering has been the practice of Democrats and Republicans alike (it's wrong no matter who does it), Ohio's current gerrymandering makes a mockery of the state's election process, enabling people like Householder to wallow in scandal while winning reelection.

In 2021, he was thrown out of office by House Republicans.

A bug in the bloodstream

There is a bug in the American bloodstream in which resentment causes people to cast votes against their own best interests. Voters who view themselves as otherwise powerless commit self-sabotage as a means of sticking a thumb in the eye of those whom they blame for the current state of things.

As a result, some voters go for people they know are unfit simply because they share the same dislikes and causes, then cheer as such candidates wreak havoc and do irreparable damage.

History demands name changes: People who attack their own country don't need to be honored

Case in point: The late Washington, D.C., Mayor Marion Barry squandered a stellar career in public service and civil rights upon his own appetites. After serving a six-month prison sentence for smoking crack cocaine in a hotel with a prostitute in 1990, he became an antihero which was ironic given that much of the city's violence at the time was driven by drug trafficking.

Yet after jail, Barry ran for and won a council seat in 1992, and recaptured the mayor's office in 1994.

Householder, too, could make a comeback because many of his former constituents still love him and probably see him as a victim of the Feds, and because attention to his trial was drowned out and overshadowed by the latest gossip about Hunter Biden.

Few if any Ohioans outside of Columbus followed the scandal, while others, frankly could care less that Larry Householder is a crook because, as the old joke goes, he's their crook.

Charita M. Goshay is a Canton Repository staff writer and member of the editorial board. Reach her at 330-580-8313 or charita.goshay@cantonrep.com. On Twitter: @cgoshayREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Larry Householder abused the public's trust...but does it matter?