COLUMBUS — In the midst of a firestorm of criticism from fellow Republicans over his handling of the state's $45 billion budget, Gov. Bob Taft issued a stern warning to the GOP.

        “We better not get complacent and we'd better not be disunited or we're going to pay a price next year,” said Mr. Taft, the Hamilton County Republican. “We could be the victims of our own success.”

        In addition to the infighting among the governor and leaders of the General Assembly, several Republican office holders are already squabbling over each other's seats in 2002. Republicans hold every major state office in Ohio and make up majorities in both the Ohio House and Senate.

        Mr. Taft, who is up for re-election next year, said Republicans have so much power in the state they risk losing sight of one key fact: “We are in a position where we can't go up. We can only go down.”

        The governor's comments came shortly after he touched off another round of criticism last week from some Republicans over his handling of the upcoming two-year budget. This time they blasted him for vetoing 49 line items in the GOP-crafted document — the most any governor has vetoed in 26 years.

        One of his harshest critics, Senate President Richard Finan, said Mr. Taft cared more about “being a hero for a day” in the newspapers than making the right choices. Other Republican lawmakers echoed that sentiment.

        In fact, some legislators are so upset they are considering trying to override the vetoes, even if they have to court Democrats to do it.

        “There is serious talk about attempting to override either some or all of the provisions,” said Majority Whip Jim Trakas, the fifth-ranking Republican in the House. “That's very difficult to do, take on a governor of your own party.”

        In particular, Mr. Trakas said there is interest in overturning the governor's veto of a provision that would have allowed nursing homes to obtain nearly $200 million more in federal money.

        House Minority Leader Jack Ford said Democrats have expressed some interest in overturning that veto but he is still assessing the level of support. Meanwhile, Democrats are happily observing the bickering from the sidelines.

        “Taft looks very weak. To have his own legislative leaders calling him names tells you something,” said Jim Ruvalo, a Democratic consultant and former head of the Ohio Democratic Party. “I don't remember that happening to (former governor) George Voinovich.”

Conflict to be expected

       &n Democratic Party Chairman David Leland said the Taft administration is clearly in chaos. “We'd like to win as many races as we can next year but we think the really vulnerable candidate is Bob Taft,” Mr. Leland said.

        Ohio Republican Party Chairman Bob Bennett disregards such rhetoric. He says conflict is natural and everyone knew the budget debates would get ugly. “When you are spending $45 billion there are bound to be some disagreements,” he said.

        Mr. Bennett said once the arguments are settled he is confident Republicans leaders will sit down and work through their differences. As for those who are occasionally jumping off the Republican bandwagon, Mr. Bennett said they have been duly warned.

        “There is no place in the party for any personal attacks on the governor,” Mr. Bennett said. “I've cautioned a few of our people about that. They can disagree on policy but they are not to make it personal.”

        Mr. Finan is also downplaying last week's disputes. He said lawmakers may override Mr. Taft's vetoes but predicts there will be no lasting animosity.

        “I look at it this way. My wife and I don't always see eye to eye but we've still been married 45 years,” Mr. Finan said. “Do (Mr. Taft and I) have a disagreement? Sure. But I want to see Bob Taft elected in 2002.”

More trouble ahead

        Despite talk of making up, however, Mr. Taft does not have an easy road ahead. He is likely to oppose two of the next big measures moving through the General Assembly — a bill to allow Ohioans to carry concealed weapons and another measure asking voters to allow video slot machines to be placed in race tracks.

        Political insiders say Mr. Taft's views on such issues aren't likely to be enthusiastically embraced by GOP leaders, particularly in the light of the governor's veto choices.

        The governor, after all, vetoed a favorite provision of Mr. Finan's that would have shielded lawmakers and some government documents from subpoenas. He also vetoed money for several Appalachian programs, including a $460,000 allocation for horse barns at the Perry County Fairgrounds — the home district of House Speaker Larry Householder.

        In addition, instead of meeting with the two leaders face to face, the governor sent Mr. Finan a handwritten letter explaining he vetoed the measure allowing lawmakers to avoid scrutiny in civil suits, in part, because he didn't want to be “convicted in the press.”

        Mr. Taft said he had his budget director call Mr. Householder and explain why he vetoed the horsebarn money, as well as money for several Appalachian programs backed by the Speaker.

        “Tom Johnson talked to him about the vetoes, including projects for Appalachia,” Mr. Taft said. “I don't think he was too happy about it. But I think he understood.”

No face-to-face meetings

        Robert Adams,associateprofessor of political science at Wright State University, noted the governor clashed with Mr. Householder and Mr. Finan throughout the the budget process and said it's no surprise that some of their favorite provisions didn't fare well.

        What is surprising, Mr. Adams said, is that the governor didn't just sit down with the top Republican leaders in advance and explain the thinking behind his decisions.

        “Politicians as a breed may squabble about a lot of things but they can mitigate the animosity if they have the guts to go face to face,” Mr. Adams said.

        “You'd think the governor would do that, especially with Finan and Householder, the two chief Republicans,” he said. “Taft really does lack some political skills and skills as a coalition builder.”

        Mr. Trakas said a number of Republicans were surprised the governor didn't meet personally with the two leaders.

        “Had these three people sat down and talked about it ahead of time it could have eased the ill feelings afterward,” Mr. Trakas said. “But absent that, it looks as if (the governor) had other intentions.”

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