Ohio Republicans are simply asleep at the wheel.  Heck, they aren't even out of bed yet.  While new Governor Ted Strickland was in his office today at 8 am issuing vetoes, executive orders, and appointing cabinet members, what's left of the Ohio Republican Party is sleeping off a football loss in Arizona.

Strickland and the rest of his statewide colleagues have been preparing since election night and before for the transfer in power.  Nonprofit organizations were formed and funds were raised to pay the costs of transition and the inaugural.  Transition websites were set up, transition committees were formed, and the Democrats worked hard to bring in their best people to staff the effort.

On his first day in office, Governor Strickland issued a no nonsense, clearly written executive order on ethics that shows he's serious about the subject.  Another sign of his seriousness was the appointment of Kent Markus as his Chief Legal Counsel.

Kent is a top notch legal mind and a former professor of mine at Capital University Law School.  He's considered by many as one of the top experts in the country on subjects such as legal ethics, adoption law, baseball law, and public nuisance actions.  He's well thought of by folks on both sides of the political aisle.

I think so much of him that I consulted him a couple years ago about a potentially thorny legal ethics question of my own.  He went the extra mile for me and really helped resolve the issue.

I also spent most of the last year in a large trial in front of his father, former common pleas, appeals court, and GOP supreme court nominee Judge Richard Markus.  Judge Markus most of all stands for the proposition that lawyering is an honorable profession.  He believes that lawyers should conduct themselves with much more dignity and honor and I have learned much from him.

I write these words not to signal a switch of party allegiance, but rather to highlight how much work Republicans need to do and how far we are behind.  The websites and actions of top state officials are the first clue.

The official and campaign websites of Democrat Governor Ted Strickland, Attorney General Marc Dann, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, and Treasurer Richard Cordray have all been updated, revamped or redone.  Over at the Ohio Democrat Party their ground troops are out spinning support for Governor Strickland's controversial first veto.

But what of Ohio Republicans?  The sole Republican elected official remaining, Mary Taylor, has announced no staff, no transition committee, no inaugural celebration, and hasn't updated a website since before the election.  In fact, visitors to the website of Ohio's State Auditor this morning are greeted with the smiling face of former Auditor Betty Montgomery.

Over at the Ohio Republican Party, they are clueless and behind.  A link that purports to show video of Mary Taylor's swearing in doesn't work and they don't have a word to say about Ted Strickland's first veto.  The last post on their blog, from December 20th details the arrest of a homeless vandal who broke windows at party headquarters for months.

I'll have more to say about these issues in the months ahead.  But I'll stop now with this.  The leadership of the Ohio Republican Party, whats left of it, needs to lead now or get out of the way.