Gag order exposes GOP House members as anti-consumer

The Ohio House of Representatives graciously provided us with another example of why the Tea Party is the lamest populist movement in U.S. history.
The House, in its latest budget proposal, not only cut in half funding for the Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel, it also added a gag order to the measure.

Under the gag order, the OCC, the state agency that advocates for consumers on utility issues, would be legally prohibited from criticizing free markets, and specifically the continuing deregulation of the natural gas industry.

The provision reads: "The counsel shall not advocate or otherwise promote any position contrary to the development of competitive markets in this state, including any position contrary to natural gas retail auctions, merchant function exit or the policies of this state relating to competitive natural gas markets."

In defense of the gag order, the Columbus Dispatch quoted Mike Dittoe, spokesman for House majority Republicans, saying, "We want to make sure the Consumers' Counsel does not advocate against competitive markets. We want to make sure consumers have choice."

In the simple-minded view of House Republicans and the more mercenary view of the gas-industry lobbyists who are calling the shots since competitive markets are right in every conceivable case, there will never be a legitimate reason to criticize them. Thus, a gag order just prevents the Consumers' Counsel from stating an impossibility.

Consumers' Counsel Janine Migden-Ostrander, however, has advanced a plausible argument that recent steps toward deregulation will cause consumers' gas rates to rise. It's her function as Consumers' Counsel to speak up for consumers' interests.

If this is the studied conclusion of the Consumers' Council and notably it's a perspective supported by consumer groups in Ohio how can it be good government to silence that point of view?

It's obviously not.

Most Ohioans would probably reject the Republicans' viewpoint, backed by their Tea Party supporters, that competitive, unregulated markets are always best. Most of us are aware that without such government activities as protecting water, air and consumers, our rivers would be cesspools, our air would be unbreathable, and residents whose fundamental wellbeing depends on reliable and consistently priced sources of home heating would be at the mercy of unpredictable gas markets and unregulated gas profiteers.

The Great Recession of the past few years, largely enabled by lack of regulation over the banking and financing industry, should have forever put to rest the notion that in every case unregulated markets are the best choice. Until relatively recently, it was a solidly mainstream position that utility services that are central to people's security and wellbeing should be regulated.

Considering this latest outrage from the radical Republicans in Columbus, it's no wonder that serious doubts are now being raised about the state's commitment to protecting its citizens and resources from the dangers of the new boom in natural gas drilling. When it comes down to it, under Ohio Gov. Kasich's administration, any polluter concerned about regulatory hurdles will need only to state the word, "jobs," and all barriers will fall away.

So what does all this have to do with the Tea Party?

In the last general election, largely as a result of a strong effort by the bogus populists in the Tea Party, the Republicans Party took the Ohio House, the governorship and every statewide seat. They kept control of the Senate.

Since being in office, the Republicans have done their best to reverse decades of progress for consumers and workers in Ohio the sort of people who historically have provided the energy behind populist causes.

Now, with heavy prodding from gas industry lobbyists, they want to place a legal gag order on the one state agency whose sole purpose is to advocate on behalf of the state's citizens.

It seems like a bizarre gift to the GOP's Tea Party supporters whose mantra has always been, "let's take back government for the people." They should change their slogan to, "Let's make sure government can't help the people."