Bill Seitz for Congress

I was hit with an epiphany over the Winter Solstice break. Bill Seitz, the proud recipient of our 2007 Tax Hiker of the Year Award should run for Congress in the Republican primary against Steve Chabot. This race would provide a huge contrast between a great tax hiker and a consistent tax cutter.

Chabot has poorly served our district for long enough. He has always voted against tax increases. He has voted for President Bush's tax cuts and other tax cuts too. He votes against what critics call "pork barrel" spending. We need a new direction.

Seitz could not be more different. He has been a loud and consistent supporter of higher taxes of all kinds. He especially loves Sales Tax hikes but has supported a lot of property tax hikes too. He never let the pork label get in the way of supporting more spending.

Steve Chabot. Bill Seitz. Tax cutter. Award-winning tax hiker. Call Bill Seitz and tell him he is needed to run for Congress.

Stop Tom Brinkman!

We Republicans for Higher Taxes thought we could take some time off to celebrate the Holidays but now we must get back to work for our agenda of higher taxes and higher spending. You see, our mortal enemy Tom Brinkman has announced he is challenging our strong ally Jean Schmidt for Congress. If Brinkman can rally conservative voters he poses a huge threat to Mrs. Schmidt.

Brinkman has this common man approach that might fool you, but don't look past the issues. If you are undecided on this race, all you need to know are a few key facts.

1. Schmidt enthusiastically supported Bob Taft's Sales Tax hike. Brinkman voted against it.
2. Schmidt enthusiastically supported Bob Taft's Gas Tax hike. Brinkman voted against it.
3. Schmidt is an ally of this group, Republicans for Higher Taxes. Brinkman founded COAST.
4. Brinkman opposed Issue 27 and the Light Rail Tax; Schmidt did not.

These facts can only lead to one conclusion - Jean Schmidt must be re-elected. Her agenda of higher taxes and higher spending is what we need. Her loss and Brinkman's win would be a major setback in our effort to make sure the Republican Party remains a party of higher taxes and more spending.

Mike Huckabee for President?

We at Republicans for Higher Taxes are still evaluating the presidential candidates before we make our decision. We have ruled out Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney. They do not believe higher taxes are good for America, therefore we don't believe they are good for America.

We are very encouraged with a recent video that came out about Mike Huckabee. This video shows Huckabee pleading with his Legislature to raise taxes. He didn't care what taxes had to be raised, he just wanted more money from the taxpayers.



Huckabee told the Legislature that whatever tax increase they passed, "you will have nothing but my profound thanks." If Huckabee can raise taxes in America like he did in Arkansas, he will have nothing but our profound thanks.

This is the kind of candidate we're looking for. Huckabee understands that higher taxes lead to a more prosperous America. We would consider him our front-runner right now and are considering an endorsement of him.

Chairman Vincent thanks us

We are proud to be in receipt of the following letter from our great Chairman of the Hamilton County Republican Party, George Vincent, thanking us for all we've done. Always the optimist, Chairman Vincent focused on the Party's successes such as reelecting pro-tax republican Leslie Ghiz. He didn't say much about the voters rejection of the Party's efforts to push through the huge tax increases we need, but we will below.

CHAIRMAN GEORGE H. VINCENT

HAMILTON COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY (for higher taxes)


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November 19, 2007

Many thanks to everyone for their hard work and dedication to the Republican cause during the 2007 Election. You were an integral part of the successes that we achieved. Thank you again for being a part of this process!

While we had hoped to gain greater success on Cincinnati City Council, we are happy to have maintained the two seats that we previously held. Cincinnati voters re-elected incumbents Leslie Ghiz and Chris Monzel, which reinforces the great job they have already done in their previous terms on Council. Equally as important, each Republican City Council candidate worked around the clock because they believe in our City and our Party. Thanks for your hard work!

It is of the utmost imporance that we maintain the highest quality in our local judiciary. Republican Judges in Municipal Court are tough on crime and bring experience to the Bench and voters proved this when they went to the polls on Election Day. We are anxiously awaiting the outcome in Judge Burlew's district as the results were too close to call the Election at this point.

Republican elected officials in the townships, cities and villages were very successful in their bids for elected office. This work at the local level is important in order to maintain Republican beliefs at every level. Your commitment to covering the polls, canvassing door to door and calling your friends and family to vote helped produce the Republican votes we needed!

Thank you again for your energy and work this election cycle. Feedback is necessary in order for us to improve our organization, so I encourage you to contact us with comments about the election or anything else that is on your mind. You can reach us at the following email addresses:

Chairman George H. Vincent: george.vincent@dinslaw.com

Maggie Nafziger , Executive Director: maggien@hc-gop.org

Kathryn Cascella, Director of Finance: kcascella@hc-gop.org

Debbie Flammer, Office Manager: dflammer@hc-gop.org


Thanks,

George H. Vincent

We need all of you to contact Chairman Vincent and encourage him to work with Simon Leis, David Pepper, and Todd Portune to implement this Sales Tax increase again! Our community needs this money. We also want him to discipline those disloyal Republicans like Tom Brinkman, Rob Goering, Chris Monzel, and especially Pat DeWine for opposing the Sales Tax hike. They need to be reminded who they represent. They were not elected to vote the way they want, they were elected to represent the Hamilton County Republican Party.

We must drive the anti-tax conservatives out of the party. There is no room for their way of thinking in the new Republican Party, a party which now supports higher taxes.

When contacting him don't be to negative. Please thank Chairman Vincent for doing everything he can to make us the party of higher taxes. Mr. Vincent's quick and decisive action has isolated the anti-tax whackos and squarely made us a tax-and-spend party. Our point of view is now the dominant view at 700 Walnut St. Please thank Chairman Vincent for his great leadership on this issue and let's work with him to continue raising taxes for everyone's benefit.

Picking up the pieces

Last Tuesday's election was a setback for those us Republicans who want huge tax increases and spending hikes. The failure of Issue 27 is one of the worst defeats we've ever suffered. Who could have seen this coming? We had Simon Leis on our side. We had Leslie Ghiz. We had George Vincent. We had Bill Seitz, as always. We even had the Democrats, Charterites, and media with us. We also had 100 times more money than the other side, with David Pepper's mammy pitching in $50k. Something is wrong with the voters when they won't do what they're told.

The failure of Issue 22 for the CPS was also a huge setback. This would have generated so much more revenue for the schools for them to do what they wanted with. The voters should stop being so selfish and do what the school board expects of them.

We are disgusted that Chris Monzel got re-elected. When he was told to support higher taxes he refused and the voters backed him! The electoral system completely breaks down when elected Republicans won't do as they're told by the Sheriff and Republican Party Chairman. Monzel should be disciplined for refusing to support this tax hike.

On the plus side, at least we got Leslie Ghiz and Chris Bortz re-elected! We also passed Issue 28 and 29, though they don't raise taxes nearly enough. We must do better in the future.

The Republican Party cannot stand for this dissension in the ranks. Those who disobeyed must be disciplined. Except for a few dissenters like Pat DeWine, Chris Monzel, Charlie Winburn, Sam Malone, Andre Harper, Tom Brinkman, Rob Goering, Charlie Norman, Heather Harlow, the Cheviot Republican Club, Springfield Republican Club, Anderson Republican Club, Blue Chip Young Republicans, Sycamore Republican Club, and Deer Park Republican Club, Republicans were unified behind Issue 27.

Last chance to help Leslie!

Leslie Ghiz is in trouble! She may lose her re-election and we can't let that happen! She is one of our party's greatest voices in support of raising taxes. Please do what you can to help her.

If Ghiz loses, the Republican Party loses one of its greatest advocates for higher taxes. She may even be replaced by a Republican who won't raise your taxes and we can't let that happen. Get out and support Leslie!

Tim Burke distracts from real issue

Recently Tim Burke and the Democratic Party have played the race card in trying to keep Charlie Winburn and Sam Malone out of office. We are afraid this will backfire. And it sadly distracts us from the real reason we should oppose them.

Recently it has been revealed that Winburn and Malone have publicly declared their opposition to Issue 27. They received their orders from George Vincent and Simon Leis to support this proposal and they disobeyed. For that reason they should not hold office. George Vincent does not run Republican candidates to represent the voters, he runs them to obey the orders he gives them.

We are tired of Republican politicians who try to do what they think is right and limit the size of government. We voters must stand up to these politicians who refuse to obey the orders they receive from above. Let's send them a message - vote against Winburn, Malone, Chris Monzel, and Andre Harper and tell them that we expect them to do what they're told by the party bosses and big donors.

Anti-safety plays mean trick on Halloween

The anti-safety coalition opposing the Simon Leis Sales Tax played a horrible trick on us today. Our committee was very excited to see a press release announcing former Governor Bob Taft's support for Issue 27.

This is exactly the kind of proposal Governor Taft would support.

But sadly, we found out this was a prank on their part. We have no idea why they would play this prank. Mr. Taft is a well respected former Governor who did great things for our state and its economy. We would be proud to have his support for this important tax increase. He has a proud history, just like George Vincent and Bill Seitz, of raising taxes frequently.

We encourage Bob Taft to come out and support Issue 27. We need his support. We know if Governor Taft read this proposal he would be proud to support it. With Simon Leis, George Vincent, and Bob Taft behind it, who could dare oppose it?

We have reprinted the press release for your information. It started off so promising and ended up depressing.

www.WeDemandABetterPlan.com

For immediate release: October 31, 2007

For more information: Jason Gloyd, 513-240-4996

Former Governor Bob Taft endorses Issue 27

Former Ohio Governor Bob Taft today announced his hearty and full-fledged support for Issue 27, the Super-Sized Jail Tax on the November 6 ballot. Taft joins other establishment Republicans in fighting for higher taxes for Hamilton County residents such as Simon Leis, Bill Seitz and George Vincent.

“Raising taxes $777 million to pay for a $200 million jail that rightfully ought to cost only $100 million is my kind of policy,” said Taft. “I built my 8-year legacy in Columbus on the backs of Ohio taxpayers and in favor of the bureaucrats and special interests, and this plan robustly advances that same cause. Higher taxes and spending are good for Ohio residents and Ohio businesses – and they will be good for Hamilton County as well.”

Taft, of course, presided over the most massive expansion of state government in Ohio history during his 8-year tenure in the Governor’s mansion, and Ohio lost thousands of residents and jobs over that same period of time.

During his governorship, Taft raised the sales tax, the personal income tax, the tax on alcohol, the tax on tobacco products, the corporate franchise tax, auto registration fees, taxes on leased cars and business equipment, and taxes on Ohio banks, and instituted new taxes on dry cleaning and a new business activity tax. Under Taft, government spending grew at a rate more than double the rate of inflation, making Ohio’s tax environment one of the least competitive in the nation.

State Representative Bill Seitz, who is the leading Republican promoting the sales tax hike, of course, voted for each and every single one of Bob Taft’s tax hikes. The Hamilton County Republican Party never spoke out once against any of the increases.

“Drats, foiled again,” said WeDemandABetterPlan.Com Chairman Jason Gloyd. “First the Republican Party, then Bill Seitz, and now Bob Taft. We just can’t catch a break.”

# # #


In case any moron reading this would possibly misinterpret this as serious, you are hereby notified that this release is a parody, a joke, our weak attempt at humor. However, the issue of Republicans abandoning all pretense of principle, and falling all over themselves to promote the massive tax hike advanced by democrats Todd Portune and David Pepper is a serious issue, and deserving of attention.

Please have as much fun reporting this as we did in writing it.

Issue Endorsements

Issue 22, Cincinnati Schools Levy - This is a huge tax increase for the schools. This is for the children so you must Vote YES!

Issue 27, Sales Tax Hike for 15 years to support the new jail and social spending programs - Simon Leis and George Vincent have said we need this, who are we to question them? Vote YES!

Issue 28, Mental Retardation Levy - This tax increase will go to the mentally retarded, so Vote YES!

Issue 29, Senior Services Levy - This is another tax increase and will provide services to seniors. Who could be against seniors? Vote YES!

These levies are a great way to raise taxes and spending. George Vincent and us want you to vote yes on each of these important tax increases.

City Council endorsements

After carefully reviewing each candidate's record, Republicans for Higher Taxes is proud to endorse the following candidates for Cincinnati City Council.

1. John Eby. Eby is one of the finest tax hikers in this race of any party. Eby speaks consistently and passionately about the need to raise taxes. He believes this community will be far worse off unless the government is able to keep and spend more of your money. He will defend his pro-tax views against the likes of COAST.

Eby is currently working with Democrat Greg Harris to get themselves elected. Eby is a great Republican. A Republican who champions our call for higher taxes. We strongly endorse John Eby and hope you will too.

2. Leslie Ghiz. While Leslie hasn't been as consistent as we would like for higher taxes and higher spending, her overall record gives us solid reason to be optimistic. She strongly supports the Si Leis Sales Tax hike. She absolutely adores Jean Schmidt, whose support for Bob Taft's numerous tax increases helped make Ohio's economy what it is today. Ghiz endorsed David Pepper for County Commissioner, helping the tax hikers take back this county and give us this wonderful Sales Tax increase that we badly need! Ghiz is a great Republican who we proudly endorse.

3. Pat Fischer. According to The Whistleblower, who we learned the hard way not to doubt, Pat Fischer refused to sign the anti-safety coalition's petition to allow the voters to decide on the Simon Leis Sales Tax hike. This indicates to us that Fischer understands why our government needs to keep more of our money. We must watch him closely as he is more of a blank slate, but Fischer appears to realize that the people must tighten their belts so the government doesn't have to tighten their's. We endorse Pat Fischer for Council.

4. Chris Bortz. Running as a Charterite, he is really a George Vincent Republican. Bortz endorses Simon's Sales Tax hike. He opposes the property tax rollback. Like Ghiz, he likes higher taxes so much he endorsed Democrat David Pepper for County Commissioner to throw the tax-cutters out. He even appointed tax hiking goddess Roxanne Qualls to City Council. While technically not a Republican, he sought the Republican endorsement and was embraced by our pro-tax Chairman George Vincent. That and his great record of raising taxes is good enough for us. Please cross party lines and vote for Chris Bortz!

Those are the 4 best candidates who meet our criteria of being Republicans for higher taxes. We ask you to support our 4 pro-tax heroes. However, that is not enough.

We implore you to vote against anti-taxers Chris Monzel and Andre Harper. These two fools had the nerve to come out against the Simon Leis Sales Tax hike. And each year Monzel sponsors the property tax rollback that prevents Cincinnati's homeowners from paying more property taxes. Those people are rich, they can afford it! Monzel and Harper's quest to let taxpayers keep more of their money is unacceptable and must be stopped. They were put in office to support the decisions of George Vincent and Simon Leis, not to do what they think is right. We need you to vote against Monzel and Harper and replace them with candidates who know that you need to give more of your money to the government.

Chris Monzel must be stopped

How dare our Republican City Councilman Chris Monzel take a public stance against the Sales Tax increase! Sheriff Simon Leis and the Hamilton County Republican Party have made their decision and it is Monzel's duty to obey. He was not elected to do what he thinks is right, he was elected as a Republican to do what George Vincent and the county party expects of him.

Monzel is one of the worst Republicans we have. He has worked to cut property taxes. He opposed a Sales Tax increase for the light rail proposal. He opposed funding The Freedom Center, even though John Pepper asked nicely for that money. And now he opposes the Sales Tax increase for the $200 million jail and $600 million of other programs.

Monzel insults us all with his closing statement:

Until I see real, and innovative out of the box solutions; such as the modular units, semi-permanent structures, concrete blocks, and other more "chevy-like" ideas instead of going for the Cadillac, I cannot support a jail proposal at this time.

Just because Monzel works as an Engineer for GE doesn't mean he knows anything about building a jail. Why would anyone care what an Engineer has to say? Monzel should stick to what he knows best and leave the design issues to experts like Simon Leis and David Pepper.

The Party(s) of Higher Taxes

More excellent news to report. Not only has our Hamilton County Republican Party endorsed Issue 27, the Simon Leis Safety Plan, they have also announced they support every other tax increase on the county ballot! Our work is paying off. We are officially a party that supports higher taxes and it's about time.

This is a repudiation to those awful Republicans Tom Brinkman, Steve Chabot, Chris Monzel, and especially that evil Pat DeWine. Their efforts to stop raising taxes are not appreciated by those of us that enjoy government services. Why can't they understand that the government can do more with that money than you? We need to continue finding ways to take as much money from our county residents as possible. With George Vincent on our side, I doubt we can be stopped.

Bill Seitz - 2007 Tax Hiker of the Year

The Executive Committee of Republicans for Higher Taxes is proud to announce that State Representative and soon to be State Senator Bill Seitz is the unanimous winner of our 2007 Tax Hiker of the Year. The criteria for this award looks at both their lifetime record, with a lean towards their record over the past fiscal year. On this front, nobody has done more to promote higher taxes and higher spending than Bill Seitz. Consider the Seitz record:

1. Supported Bob Taft's array of tax increases, including the Sales Tax hike.
2. Supported raising the Sales Tax to build the Stadiums and develop The Banks. Who could look at the Bengals Stadium, Reds Stadium, and The Banks and say this hasn't been wildly successful?
3. Opposed anti-tax Tom Brinkman's efforts to repeal the City of Cincinnati's property taxes.
4. Endorsed the last major Cincinnati Public School's tax levy. They have taken that money and transformed themselves into one of the finest school systems in Ohio.
5. Supported Bob Taft's Third Frontier spending program.
6. Did not oppose raising the Sales Tax to build the Light Rail, like 68% of the voters did.
7. Most importantly, Seitz strongly supports raising the Sales Tax for the Simon Leis/David Pepper/Todd Portune Safety Plan. Seitz guided this proposal through the Hamilton County Republican Party's endorsement process to win the vote. Now Seitz is proudly representing the party in its efforts to raise the Sales Tax once more.

Our Committee also considered Leslie Ghiz, Simon Leis, and John Eby. But as you can see, no Republican has a stronger record of raising taxes than Bill Seitz, our winner of the 2007 Tax Hiker of the Year.

Republican Party endorses safety plan!

After weeks of bad publicity due to the questionable tactics of Simon Leis, David Pepper, and Todd Portune, we finally have something to celebrate. Our local Republican Party has endorsed the Sales Tax hike, and has proven to us they are a party of higher taxes.

Didn't we tell you we could trust Bill Seitz?

State Rep. Bill Seitz, R-Green Township, likes the plan because it’s comprehensive and will make the community safer. He chaired the Republican Party policy committee that recommended endorsement – a recommendation that Party Chair George Vincent affirmed.

“While others may have ideas to accomplish pieces of the plan, this is the only comprehensive safety plan that will close the security gap to the level necessary to make our community safer and more secure,” Seitz said.

We've said it before, we'll say it again, there is no greater supporter of tax hikes than Seitz. This guy has been awesome in supporting every tax increase on the ballot. He is a stronger supporter of raising taxes and spending more money than Bill or Hillary Clinton ever were.

We are especially thankful to Hamilton County Party Chairman George Vincent. Vincent has worked hard to return our party to the glory days of higher taxes and more spending that we enjoyed under Bob Bedinghaus and Bob Taft. Recently he tried to endorse Chris Bortz, until Bortz undermined himself by selecting Roxanne Qualls to City Council. By standing behind Simon Leis, Todd Portune, and David Pepper, we can see for ourselves that Vincent is strong pro-tax supporter. We welcome Vincent as our friend and ally and look forward to working with him to raise taxes higher and higher every year.

Mecklenborg wins, we win

Local Republicans have named their replacement for tax supporter Bill Seitz as he moves on to the Ohio Senate. In a landslide our party recommends lawyer Robert Mecklenborg over anti-tax Richard Hammersmith. This is a big victory for the pro-tax movement.

Mecklenborg is being supported by former Commissioner Bob Bedinghaus, one of the greatest supporters of high taxes we've ever seen. If you name it, he taxed it, then raised the tax some more. The development along the riverfront serves a reminder of the worth of his policies. We trust Mecklenborg will do a fine job for our cause in Columbus.

Sadly we hear that Richard Hammersmith, an enemy of the treasury, has decided to still run for the seat. His defeat must happen. He has been a supporter of other anti-tax enemies like Chris Monzel, Tom Brinkman, and Jim Raussen. It is people like them who almost stopped the policies of Bob Taft and Bob Bedinghaus which did so much good for our area.

Apology to The Whistleblower

When we are wrong we will admit it. We wish to formally apologize to The Whistleblower for accusing him and his source of making a false claim against the Blue Ash Republican Club. The club had their meeting tonight, and we are sad to confirm that they indeed held a one-sided debate and did not give the anti-safety extremists a chance to embarrass themselves with one of their foolish presentations. The Whistleblower's scoop turned out to be correct.

The incompetence of this campaign is embarrassing. The anti-safety coalition could not debate their way out of a paper bag. The best thing to do is let them speak and turn off everyone in the room. Instead, by denying them a chance to air their views along with Leis, we've just given them a great excuse to run back to The Whistleblower and whine about not allowing their message to be heard. They'll win more votes making themselves victims than they will by presenting their case in competition with our Sheriff.

The campaign is struggling right now because of stupid decisions like this. The anti-safety coalition doesn't have to do anything right because the missteps of Simon Leis and others are doing the job for them. Our campaign to raise the Sales Tax needs a new direction if it is to succeed. The first thing to do is get Leis under control.

Blue Ash Republicans in hiding

We apologize for our delay in updating our investigation of the accusations against Sheriff Si Leis and the Blue Ash Republican club. We thought for sure that club President Lee Czerwonka would be happy to clear up any misperceptions that the anti-safety folks were trying to create. Surprisingly he has refused to answer our simple questions.

This investigation is still open, but are now considering the possibility that we jumped the gun in automatically defending Leis and Czerwonka. But the fact that Czerwonka is refusing to answer our questions doesn't leave us optimistic.

We strongly encourage our allies to support open debates. This safety plan is extremely well put together. It is far superior than anything the anti-safety folks have come up with. We will win every time we debate them, so let's debate! By trying to rig debate we only give whiners like COAST, The Whistleblower, DeWhine, and other anti-safety folks a forum to impune our side's motives and distract the voters. We hope the Blue Ash Republicans are not behaving this way, and if they are, we would encourage them to stop.

Investigation launched over Leis allegations

As promised, we have returned to update you on the investigation we announced yesterday regarding the allegations made by The Whistleblower about Si Leis and the Blue Ash Republican Club. We have contacted Club President Lee Czerwonka and sent him a list of questions about this situation. We promised to publish his answers unedited. The text of our email to Mr. Czerwonka is reprinted below:

Mr. Czerwonka, I am the creator and main author of a local group called Republicans for Higher Taxes. Our mission is to promote higher taxes and spending from within the Republican Party, provide support to Republicans who do the same, and counter the lies and disinformation of far right groups like COAST. Yesterday's edition of The Whistleblower claims that you have invited Sheriff Simon Leis to speak to your club's next meeting on September 12th, but have prohibited the other side from speaking at this meeting. This report seems to accuse you of using your position as club president to promote a pro-tax agenda. They even implied that Sheriff Leis would not agree to speak unless you promised that the other side would be banned from presenting their arguments at the same meeting.

We are highly skeptical of these claims and are launching an investigation to get to the bottom of these allegations. Our group strongly supports this safety plan and believe it can withstand any criticism, and believe that our Sheriff would be willing to debate this issue with anyone. We suspect the anti-tax side is welcome to present their ideas, but would rather plant rumors about the supporters of the Sales Tax increase than debate it in the open. To help us get the truth out, we have a list of questions regarding these allegations that we would like for you to answer. We will print your responses, unedited. We will be publishing an update to our investigation by Sunday afternoon, so we would appreciate a response by the end of Saturday.

1. Is the Blue Ash Republican Club (BARC) promoting or supporting the Sales Tax increase for the safety plan on November's ballot?

2. Is it true that the BARC is refusing to allow a representative from the anti-tax side to present their arguments at next week's meeting on September 12 when Sheriff Si Leis is making his pro-tax pitch? If so, are you worried about creating the perception that you are using your club to promote pro-tax policies?

3. Did Si Leis request or demand that the club prohibit the anti-tax side from speaking at this meeting?

4. What is your position on this ballot issue? Also did The Whistleblower accurately report that all 5 Republican members of the Blue Ash City Council who attended the club's picnic, including you, woud not sign the petition to place this issue on the ballot?

5. Will the BARC allow a representative from the anti-tax side to present their views at October's meeting? Will the pro-tax side be allowed to make an additional presentation at this meeting?

6. Ultimately will the BARC be giving equal time to both sides to present their arguments between now and Election Day?

The Whistleblower, anti-safety extremists, slur Si Leis

A story is brewing involving The Whistleblower and the Blue Ash Republican Club and we're going to get to the bottom of it. Some people like to use innuendos to makes their points instead of facts. It is clear after reading today's version of The Whistleblower that he and a disgruntled enemy of the treasury from Blue Ash are trying to imply that our Sheriff Si Leis is afraid to debate his Sales Tax hike out in the open. Read for yourself his report on this topic:

Are Blue Ash Republicans pushing for higher taxes? Next Wednesday Senile Sheriff Si Leis will be lecturing the Blue Ash Republican Club on the virtues of Devious DemocRAT Hamilton County Commissioners Odd Todd Opportune’s and David A. Pepper’s $900 million Feel-Good-Social Programs Tax Scam that would also include the GOP Sheriff Simon E. Leis Memorial Hoosegow. Wouldn’t it be funny if a club member we’ll call “Jeff” called Club President (and Blue Ash Clowncil-man) Lee Czerwonka to ask for 5-10 minutes to present an opposing side of the issue. RINO Czerwonka refused to grant this request. He said we'd have to wait for their "Candidates Night" in October where he'd get about five minutes to speak, along with over 10 other people.

They are trying to imply Sheriff Si Leis is a coward by suggesting he won't speak in front of a group unless his opinion is the only one allowed to be presented. Leis is not a coward! He is a brave, courageous Sheriff who would defend his Sales Tax increase anytime, anywhere, against anyone. If anyone from the anti-safety extremists had the guts to state their position in front of the Sheriff, I know Leis and Czerwonka would let them have that chance.

Our theory is the anti-safety forces want to spread their misinformation campaign without having to deal with any competition, but when they found out Leis was going to be at the Blue Ash meeting they backed down and ran to The Whistleblower with an excuse. There is no way Si Leis and his supporters would act in the cowardly manner they are being accused of. Our side is proud of our plan and we don't have to resort to these tactics to win the debate.

We at Republicans for Higher Taxes are going to investigate further and get to the bottom of this issue. We suspect when our investigation is complete, we will find that both sides were invited to make their presentations, but the anti-safety side chose to run from the Sheriff and are trying to blame him for it. We will post again within 24 hours. Stay tuned.

Support our tri-partisan tax hikers

We hope to see everyone at the tri-partisan fundraiser tomorrow night for Democrat Jeff Berding, Charterite Chris Bortz, and Republican Leslie Ghiz. While none are perfect, each has been an effective voice for raising taxes and spending. By hosting this fundraiser together, they are showing themselves to be a model of working across party lines to make sure the government gets the resources it needs.

For a mere $150, we can here them explain to us why we need to raise the Sales Tax to build a large new jail, spend $160 million in new social programs, and provide for $600 million in new spending on other county programs. They will explain to us why the city of Cincinnati needs to provide $1 million in taxpayer funding for The Freedom Center every year. We can listen to Chris Bortz talk about why he votes to raise property taxes every year (and hopefully convert Ghiz and Berding to his side) and thank him for appointing mega-tax supporter Roxanne Qualls to Council.

If you can, try to give more than the $150 they are charging. From what we hear, their campaigns need this money more than you do.

Betrayed by our hero

We are extremely upset right now at Leslie Ghiz for taking a stand against the Cincinnati Public Schools tax levy. The schools badly need this money or they won't be able to close a deficit the Treasurer said they're facing. This levy would only cost homeowners an additional $300 per $100,000 of property valuation. We need our leaders like Ghiz to support this levy so CPS can continue to do great things for our community.

Ghiz's position disappoints us. She has been one of our best supporters of higher taxes. She has been a wonderful advocate for the Leis-Pepper-Portune Sales Tax hike for a new jail and $160 million of social spending programs. After compiling such a great record in support of higher taxes, we are at a loss to explain why Ms. Ghiz is siding with the likes of COAST now.

Jail Tax Blues

Rumors continue to run strong that Todd Portune and David Pepper will stab our courageous Sheriff Si Leis in the back by throwing in the towel on their plan to raise the Sales Tax. I don't think Si Leis will be happy about that, I wonder if he'd start yelling at them like he yells at DeWine?

This is the wrong approach. Portune and Pepper need to go all out for their plan. They should fight till the end. We need to raise taxes. We need this money for a new jail, $160 million in new social programs, and $600 million to redirect to the county general fund to be spent on other programs.

We especially need this money because the 3rd Sheriff's deputy in the last month was recently arrested. If we don't get a new jail soon, Sheriff Leis won't have anywhere to put his deputies when they get arrested again.

Bill Seitz to the Senate

Just when you thought things were rough for Republicans who support higher taxes, with Chris Bortz being rejected for the GOP nomination, anti-tax enemies easily succeeding in placing the Si Leis Sales Tax hike on the ballot, and the strong possibility of Todd Portune and David Pepper surrendering by killing the Sales Tax hike rather than trying to defend it, we finally received some good news. Tax supporter Bill Seitz is heading to the State Senate.

Bill Seitz is one of the most effective tax supporters out there. Like a wolf in sheep's clothing, Seitz projects an image of being a hardline conservative out to limit the size of government and has most enemies of the treasury believing that about him. But the reality is Seitz is a great advocate for our cause. He supported the Bob Taft tax hikes that have made Ohio an economic powerhouse. Seitz endorsed the latest Cincinnati Public Schools tax levy, whose passage has helped turn them into one of the best school districts in the state. And when the lead enemies of the treasury at COAST tried to eliminate the property tax for the city of Cincinnati, Seitz went on the offensive and campaigned against this harmful tax cut.

We can accept his conservative rhetoric, because his record of raising taxes is one of the best in politics. We fully support Seitz for the State Senate.

We also strongly oppose Dick Hammersmith's bid to be Seitz's replacement. Over the years Hammersmith has been a strong and consistent supporter of tax enemies such as Steve Chabot, Chris Monzel, and Jim Raussen. These politicians have worked hard to limit the growth of government. Hammersmith has indicated he would take his belief in limited government to the State House and we can't have that.

We support the selection of Robert Mecklenborg as an alternative. If you look through his financial reports you'll see he has the support of former Commissioner Bob Bedinghaus and that's enough for us. Bedinghaus is one of the finest Commissioners we ever had. He lead the fight the raise the Sales Tax to build the two stadiums and The Banks, and supported virtually every other tax hike that was on the ballot during his 5 years as Commissioner. When you look at The Banks today, you see the results of Bob Bedinghaus' policies. Our best chance of continuing the Bob Bedinghaus/Bill Seitz policies of higher taxes and more government is to select Mecklenborg for the State House.

Bortz denied GOP endorsement

Porkopolis and several insiders have reported that Chris Bortz has been denied the Republican Party's endorsement. We are very unhappy about this decision. This is a clear setback for our viewpoint, a majority viewpoint within the Republican Party.

In a show of protest, our executive committee has voted unanimously to stand behind our endorsement of Bortz. We feel his record of raising taxes, increasing spending, and desire to become a big government Republican merits our continued support.

As much as we love Bortz and his big government record, we acknowledge that Bortz shares a lot of blame for this setback. Bortz had to know that selecting Democrat Roxanne Qualls to fill Jim Tarbell's seat could jeopardize his ability to win the Republican endorsement. While few are more enthusiastic about raising taxes than Ms. Qualls, Bortz could have selected a Republican like John Eby or Pat Fischer who shares his goal of rapidly increasing the size of government. Bortz's incompetence was more than our blogging team could successfully defend and cost him our party's important endorsement.

Si Leis, Commissioners - stay strong!

A trusted source told me that our brave Commissioners Todd Portune and David Pepper are seriously thinking of withdrawing their excellent Comprehensive Safety Plan. We cannot let this happen! Don't they have enough confidence in their plan to debate it out in the open?

We need this Sales Tax increase. This plan provides for a big new jail, $160 million of extra social programs, and $600 million extra to expand the rest of county government. Our Sheriff Si Leis supports it, and when Si Leis endorses something you can take it to the bank. Si's word is gold in this county.

Call Commissioners Portune and Pepper and tell them to leave this plan on the ballot. Call Sheriff Si Leis and tell him to force the Commissioners to stand behind their plan. We deserve to have a chance to vote for this. What would it say about their leadership abilities if they allowed COAST and 39,000 voters to intimidate them? Our brave County Commissioners Portune and Pepper would look very stupid if they told us in May that they were so proud of their plan they were willing to pass it without a vote of the people, then withdrew their plan as soon as they had to defend it. That would be cowardly and we believe our Sheriff when he says they aren't cowards.

George Vincent, please endorse Chris Bortz!

For weeks Cincinnati City Councilman Chris Bortz, a Charterite, has been quietly working to secure the endorsement of the Hamilton County Republican Party. Rumors are he's not polling well and looking for an additional boost to help him get re-elected. We Republicans who support higher taxes enthusiastically support Bortz's endorsement. We have a hard time thinking of anyone who has worked harder than him to raise our taxes and increase government spending. Please consider the Bortz record:

1. Bortz voted to raise Cincinnati's property taxes and has gone on the offensive explaining to tell us why it's important we continue to pay more in property taxes each year. He also went above and beyond the call of duty by criticizing Chris Monzel, an enemy of the treasury, for his harmful efforts to stop the annual property tax hike.

2. Bortz endorsed high tax supporter David Pepper for County Commissioner over another one of our enemies, Phil Heimlich. With Bortz's support, Pepper won this race and returned the County Commission to the taxing days we enjoyed under Bob Bedinghaus, Tommy Neyer, and John Dowlin. Bortz's efforts paid off immediately, as the new majority Pepper and Todd Portune wasted no time implementing a big Sales Tax hike to pay for a new jail, $160 million in new social programs, and $600 million to expand the size of County's government.

3. When Bortz legally had the sole authority to select a replacement for Jim Tarbell, Bortz didn't have to think twice before he chose tax champion Roxanne Qualls. As we detailed in a prior entry, Qualls can't wait to get to work raising taxes even higher than Pepper and Portune are trying to do.

4. Bortz thumbed his nose at our enemies at COAST by working extremely hard to get City Council to give $1 million to The Freedom Center. Along with Leslie Ghiz, Bortz tried hard to defeat the Tarbell plan which resulted in giving them only $800,000. Bortz understands that giving The Freedom Center $1 million every year going forward is one of the most important things City Council could do with its money.

We need you to call, email, or fax George Vincent, the Chairman of the Hamilton County Republican County Party and explain to him why its important the party endorse Chris Bortz. Please cite this article. Bortz represents the pro-tax policies we believe our party needs more of. With Bortz, Ghiz, and more like them, we could return this county and city to the glory days we had under Bob Bedinghaus and Roxanne Qualls.

Andre Harper enjoys playing the fool

The Cincinnati Enquirer's Politics Extra blog Politics Extra: Andre Harper: Candidate and Funny Man? reports that Andre Harper, a Republican candidate for Cincinnati City Council, will be performing in a comedy show on August 23rd in Over the Rhine. After reading Harper's editorial opposing the Si Leis-Todd Portune-David Pepper Sales Tax hike, we suspect he's used to making a fool of himself.

In his article Harper refers to his experience growing up in a tough neighborhood and living in Section 8 housing. Just because Harper grew up in Section 8 housing doesn't mean he knows anything about crime.

David Pepper has been robbed and kidnapped on the mean streets of Mt. Adams. With those kind of life experiences, who could know more than Pepper about how to solve crime? While on City Council, Pepper was Chairman of the Public Safety Committee. He did a wonderful job making Cincinnati a safer place to live. We hope Pepper can do for the county what he did for the city, and it starts by passing this Sales Tax hike.

Coalition Against Safety forces budget cuts

Hamilton County Commissioners just wasted the last 2 days looking for budget cuts to extend the Butler County jail contract and close the projected 2008 budget deficit. Background courtesy of The Enquirer Politics Extra blog: Politics Extra: Talking budget cuts in Hamilton County

Why should they cut the budget when all they have to do is raise taxes? These hearings were only necessary because that extremist group Coalition Against Safety put the comprehensive safety plan on the ballot to let all the voters make the decision instead of trust our politicians to do the right thing. As we highlighted before a few days ago, the Si Leis plan would have built a big new jail, paid for all the social programs, and added a ton of money to the general fund. But no, we have to let the voters get their two cents in.

According to The Enquirer they cut programs to extend the Butler County contract for the rest of the year. They also freed up 35 jail spaces per day by no longer housing federal prisoners. These steps wouldn't have been necessary if not for Pat DeWine and the Coalition Against Safety which represents nobody.

Morning Update: They did successfully find the cuts to extend the Butler County contract through the end of the year. Earlier 2 of the Commissioners didn't think they could find the money.

Chris Bortz hits a double by selecting Qualls

Chris Bortz gets mixed grades today. He is quietly seeking the Republican endorsement for his tough re-election campaign to Cincinnati City Council and had a golden chance today to cinch the deal. Had Chris selected one of the non-incumbent Republican candidates who shares his passion for raising taxes, Pat Fischer or John Eby, to fill the Tarbell vacancy, the local GOP would have been indebted to Bortz and probably felt obligated to reciprocate with an endorsement. We strongly support our fellow tax-hikers Fischer and Eby and wish Bortz would have swung with our home team and selected one of them.

In spite of our disappointment, we feel Bortz hit a solid double when he chose former Mayor Roxanne Qualls. The positions Qualls has already released on fiscal issues are similar to our's. In today's Enquirer Qualls has come out in favor of the Pepper/Portune/Leis Sales Tax hike!

She said she supports the increase in the sales tax that would pay for a new county jail and other safety features.

In addition, according to Porkopolis Qualls came out for a rail system. Funding such a large project would definitely require another big tax increase, likely another big Sales Tax hike.

Also, she wants to expand mass transit options to include streetcars and rail and continue improvements to the region’s stormwater management system.

In terms of policy this was an excellent choice by Bortz. Qualls is showing tremendous enthusiasm for higher taxes and bigger spending plans for years to come. On the political side we think Bortz could have done more for our cause by selecting a pro-tax Republican like Eby or Fischer. The incumbency would have helped them for November, added another big government Republican to the list of officeholders, and helped Bortz's own re-election by increasing his chances of getting the GOP endorsement.

600 million hidden reasons to support the Sales Tax hike

The plan supported by our Sheriff Si Leis to raise the Sales Tax 1/2 cent for a new jail and a host of social programs is an excellent proposal and must be supported by all Republicans who want to expand the powers of government. The taxes raised pay for all of the programs. But this plan does much more.

According to a May 30th editorial (no longer available directly but try the cached link) written by Todd Portune and David Pepper:

Because of the efficiencies our plan creates in our corrections operations and the conservative financial model we are using, our plan saves taxpayers more than $600 million over the life of the program.

Follow the numbers here. All costs ($864 million) required for this safety plan are paid for by the tax increase. However, all the savings ($600 million) this plan is to create are not being tapped. These savings will land into the General Fund, allowing for a significant growth in the rest of county government!

They could have passed a much smaller tax increase to fund the entire safety and social programs they wanted. However, by insisting on a tax hike this large, we not only fully fund our safety and social programs we also get sizable growth in all other county government programs under the Commissioner's control! This plan is brilliant and deserves our support.

Support our allies

On Friday we received some terrible news when the Hamilton County Board of Elections announced that the We Demand a Vote coalition collected 38,961 valid signatures to give the voters a right to vote on the Sales Tax increase enacted by Todd Portune and David Pepper. Since this group collected over 10,000 more valid signatures than required we realistically have no chance at stopping this in the courts. We now need to work to pass this tax hike.

This Coalition Against Safety is an extremist group and does not represent the views of most Hamilton County residents. Fortunately for us a group has surfaced who will lead the way in making sure this important tax increase is passed. As We Demand a Solution states on their website, they represent the majority of residents.

Just look at the 109 signatures they've collected to support their claim. These 109 people show the diversity of support behind this plan. With their support and your's, we can raise our Sales Tax another 1/2 cent and give our Sheriff and Commissioners another $864 million to spend on our behalf.

Inaugural post

We are increasingly frustrated by the misconception that Republicans are supposed to be for limited government, less spending, and lower taxes. It's time to correct this mistaken belief. The reality is our government cannot carry out its programs unless it shares in our earnings. The government needs our money to do good things, and the more we are taxed the more good things the government can do for us.

We are the antithesis of COAST. They believe you should keep more of what you earn. We do not. The government needs this money more than you do. This blog will primarily focus on local issues of Greater Cincinnati and will also look at Ohio and Federal issues from time to time. You can just look around our area and see the fruits of wise policies that raise taxes and spending.

Former Governor Bob Taft, with the support of Congressman Jean Schmidt, greatly increased taxes and spending and those policies gave us the great economy we have in Ohio today. Former Commissioners Bob Bedinghaus, Tommy Neyer, and John Dowlin engineered the Sales Tax increase and lease agreement that gave us 2 world class stadiums and developed The Banks. Because of their foresight, downtown Cincinnati has been reborn and the fiscal and economic state of Hamilton County has never been stronger!

The purpose of this blog is three-fold:

1. Promote policies to raise taxes and increase government spending. In the near term, we will work hard to make sure voters know why they need to support the $800 million Sales Tax increase for a $198 million new jail and $160 million in new social programs.

2. Support Republicans who understand the need for higher taxes and more spending. Our most notable favorites would have to be Si Leis, Leslie Ghiz, Jean Schmidt, and George Voinovich, but there are many others who will receive their proper recognition.

3. Expose Republicans who want to limit government by letting you keep more of what you earn. Such enemies of the treasury include Steve Chabot, Tom Brinkman, Pat DeWine, and Chris Monzel. We will work overtime to raise awareness of their disruptive efforts to lower your taxes.