Patrick J. Tiberi: “I am often asked in Columbus, Ohio, why it is so partisan here in Washington, D.C., and one wonders why 2 days after we…”

“I am often asked in Columbus, Ohio, why it is so partisan here in Washington, D.C., and one wonders why 2 days after we get sworn in. Mr. Speaker, I spoke with a board of elections official this morning in my district, a Democrat, who said that what we are doing today is, in her opinion, an insult to not only Democrat but Republican board members throughout the State. The bipartisan system that is in place in Ohio, not one board member has objected to the process in Ohio, not one. Mr. Speaker, were there problems? Certainly, there were problems in Ohio. Were there long lines? Certainly. I stood in a long line in my area. The Columbus Dispatch reported there were long lines everywhere. In fact, in central Ohio, in Columbus, Ohio, the busiest places to vote were not in urban areas. They were in suburban areas. All electoral votes in Ohio have said what we are doing today is wrong. In fact, the chairman of the Democrat Party in Franklin County, my county, has gone so far as to label the charges as a band of conspiracy theorists. I did not say that; he said that. By the way, Mr. Anthony, the head of the Franklin County Democrat Party, the head of the board of elections in Franklin County is also a union official, an African American and a good man. Mr. Speaker, what we are doing here today, as the Cleveland Plain Dealer has said, is the election horse is dead. We are beating a dead horse. The election is over. Let us get on with it.”