State Sen. Kevin Coughlin took a swipe at Republican goober-natorial candidate John Kasich in today’s Plain Dealer, referring to Kasich as a “toad”. Strong words coming from a man who used his campaign money to purchase tickets to Ohio State football games he attended with his mistress.

Last year, I sued Kevin Coughlin along with my former employer Scene, after the paper spiked a story on Coughlin’s affairs and possible illegal altering of petition ballots. Two weeks after the spiked story became public, Coughlin (who was running against Kasich for the Republican gubernatorial nomination at the time) suddenly announced his retirement from politics.

You would think a guy with baggage like that would keep his head down and finish out his term quietly.

Then again, no one ever accused Coughlin of being the brightest bulb in the pack.