I\u2019m not a basketball guy.\u00a0\u00a0In fact, I was cut from the fifth grade basketball team at Southdale Elementary School in Kettering, Ohio.\u00a0\u00a0And they were right.\u00a0\u00a0No matter how many shots I took at the basket hung over the driveway at home, I didn\u2019t improve.\u00a0\u00a0Hours of time, dribbling from the garage door to the pole, usually ended up with me in the next door neighbor\u2019s yard, finding the ball.\u00a0\u00a0And while I was often the fastest kid on the court, there was no need to guard me.\u00a0\u00a0Leave me open, I\u2019ll miss the shot all by myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So I found another sport in the winter, wrestling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But I stayed around basketball long enough to understand the rules.\u00a0\u00a0You can\u2019t walk without dribbling. And while it\u2019s a physical game (did you see the NBA Finals, or any WNBA game?), there are some things you can\u2019t do.\u00a0\u00a0In high school and college basketball, you get five personal fouls, and then you\u2019re disqualified from the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I did watch a lot of high school basketball.\u00a0As part of my \u201cduties\u201d as Dean of Students, I was at most home games, usually keeping an eye on the student section of the stands.\u00a0\u00a0We wanted our kids to be excited and involved, but not to do anything stupid.\u00a0\u00a0The \u201cstupid\u201d part was where I came in as \u201cthe Dean\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a close basketball game, coaches protect their best players from fouling out of the game. They save the final foul so that their critical skills are on the game floor until the last seconds.\u00a0\u00a0But in a blowout, when no special talent was likely to change the outcome, a coach might leave their best \u201cout there\u201d, playing with four fouls.\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s a good experience for them to play under the handicap, and if\/when they get tossed, it doesn\u2019t really matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Congressman Max Miller, is a thirty-seven year old Republican from Shaker Heights, a wealthy suburb of Cleveland, Ohio.\u00a0\u00a0He represents the Seventh Congressional District, a carefully gerrymandered area including the Cleveland east and south suburbs, parts of suburban Akron, and huge swaths of Northeastern Ohio farmlands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Miller was a staffer in the 2016 Trump Campaign. He transitioned to a Treasury Department job after the election, then moved to the White House staff.\u00a0\u00a0There, he became a Trump \u201cfavorite\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0After Trump left office in 2021, Miller went back home to run for Congress. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He opposed Republican Tony Gonzalez, who was one of the ten Republican Congressmen to vote for Trump\u2019s impeachment.\u00a0\u00a0In fact, Trump\u2019s first campaign appearance after leaving office was at a rally for Miller.\u00a0Gonzalez withdrew from the race in the fall of 2021, and Miller defeated his Democratic opponent Matt Diemer in 2022. He then won re-election against\u00a0\u00a0Diemer and Independent Dennis Kucinich in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Miller\u2019s a flawed candidate.\u00a0\u00a0He has a history of physically abusing women, including during his short marriage to Emily Moreno, the daughter of current US Senator Bernie Moreno.\u00a0\u00a0They had one child together, and continue to wage an ugly custody fight over her.\u00a0\u00a0The battle has spilled over into the public arena. Just last week, the Senator weighed in stating that Miller was so violent that he wasn\u2019t qualified to be a Representative in Congress.\u00a0Miller responded by accusing Moreno of trying to distract from his own political problems. That includes a profane rant against Dr. Anthony Fauci in a formal Senate committee hearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ohio Republicans face a problem.\u00a0\u00a0Miller is the candidate for re-election in 2026.\u00a0\u00a0He is faced with a Progressive Democratic opponent in Brian Poindexter, and without a known independent like Dennis Kucinich to siphon off thousands of votes.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0And the more information that comes out about Miller, the less likely it seems that he can hold the Seventh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are technical issues.\u00a0\u00a0If Miller were to resign from office today, Ohio law requires a special election be held, and then the regular election in November.\u00a0\u00a0If Miller stays in office, but withdraws as a candidate by Monday, August 10th<\/sup>, Republicans can replace him on the ticket for November.\u00a0\u00a0But if Miller holds on until after Monday, his name will appear on the ballot in November, no matter what else occurs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s not often that a Republican Senator from the same region comes out against a Republican Congressman.\u00a0\u00a0And while it\u2019s more common (these days) to find Congressmen embroiled in bad behavior than it used to be, the evidence about Miller looks strong enough to cost him the seat in November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So it comes down to this.\u00a0\u00a0Republicans do not want a special election.\u00a0\u00a0But they do not want Miller on the ballot in November.\u00a0\u00a0He won\u2019t resign from the Congress, but will the powers of the Republican Party have enough to push him out of the campaign by Monday?\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Will they pull him with \u201cfour fouls\u201d, or allow him to \u201cfoul out\u201d in November?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The answer may have more to do with what National Republicans really think about their chances of holding the House of Representatives for 2027.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0If they\u2019ve already decided that Democrats will take the Speaker\u2019s gavel, maybe it\u2019s not worth a fight with Miller, and perhaps Trump, over Ohio\u2019s Seventh District.\u00a0\u00a0After all, if Republicans are going to lose control, one more seat doesn\u2019t matter much.\u00a0\u00a0But if Mike Johnson is really \u201cin the fight\u201d to keep the House, then Miller needs to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The clock is ticking down. Time runs out for the Seventh and Republicans on Monday. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Still in the Game?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n