Mikal Steers - 2008 Deputy Tax Hiker of the Year

As 2008 comes to a close, we take the time to bestow an honor upon one of this county's greatest tax hikers. Deputy Sheriff Mikal Steers deserves special mention for his inspiring efforts to raise our Hamilton County taxes. A true disciple of our great Sheriff Simon Leis, Steers has lobbied, organized, attacked, and threatened to try to get his way.

Due to his tireless work to raise our taxes, we proudly award Mikal Steers our 2008 Deputy Tax Hiker of the Year. We think this title fits him perfectly. He is in fact a deputy for the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department. And by designating him as a Deputy Tax Hiker, we make sure this doesn't in any way diminish Virgil Lovitt's 2008 Tax Hiker of the Year award. Our dear friend Virg worked very hard to earn that award and nothing should ever take away his accomplishment.

We first profiled Deputy Steers in September when he publicly implored the Commissioners to once again disregard the voters and implement a Sales Tax increase. His work did not stop there. When the Commissioners held 3 public hearings on the budget, Steers organized his fellow deputies to show up in force to these meetings. Together, they pleaded for higher taxes and lobbied, insulted, and threatened all who would not raise taxes.

An Enquirer writeup of the final budget hearing quoted Deputy Steers threatening the Commissioners, "We all vote. We all have families and friends who vote. If you fail to act and put our officers on the unemployment line, I and every other man and woman in this room will vote to make sure you join us in the unemployment line next November."

Steers is right to do this. By not disobeying the voters, we will have a crime wave like we've never seen before. Murderers will be turned loose immediately. Nobody will serve their sentences. Crime will run rampant.

We know they told us this would happen if Issue 27 failed. It failed, and as a result crime decreased in 2008 and we've had even less early releases (prior to closing Queensgate) than we had the last couple years. But this time they mean it! If we don't do what they say and raise taxes soon, we will have the worst crime crisis ever. We know we said the same thing last year and it didn't happen, but we were just playing around then. We're serious this time.

Light posting alert

As you may have noticed we tax hikers decided to take some time off to recharge our batteries. After working tirelessly for months to elect our man Virgil Lovitt we feel exhausted and in need of rest before we start up again. We may do one more post before the end of the year.

Come January, Republicans for Higher Taxes will be back as a force. We have much work to do for 2009. At the top of the list is making sure tax hikers Leslie Ghiz and Chris Bortz are either elected to City Council or promoted to Mayor. That's right. You heard it here first. We are seriously considering whether we should have Ghiz or Bortz run for Mayor. Be ready to join us for a busy 2009.

A tax on flatulence

It's time to pay for all those farts. In one of the best ideas from the federal government we've heard in years, the US Environmental Protection Agency is seeking to place a tax on our farmers for all the rude belching and farting done by their animals.

Note: this would not apply to members of Cincinnati City Council.

Our government needs more money and these are the kind of ideas we need to raise revenues. Nobody wants to be around cows and hogs who fart and belch all day, so let's tax them.

Monzel opposes Trash Tax Hike

Chris Monzel has gone too far this time. Last month he opposed a big property tax hike for city homeowners and party leaders did nothing to stop him. Now in November he is opposing a big Trash Tax increase! This madness must stop. It is completely unacceptable for a Republican to oppose a big new tax hike in two consecutive months. If he or anyone from his staff attends today's COAST press conference opposing the trash tax, we will be more upset than we've been in weeks.

In times like these sacrifice must be made. But not by the government. It is the citizens who should make do with less so the government can have more. City government needs that money more than its citizens. Without a big tax increase, how can the city continue to give millions of dollars to The Freedom Center? How can they afford to push City Manager's Milton Dohoney's salary to over $200,000/year? The man has to eat.

This tax increase would cost city residents over $200 per year, and businesses $240/year. That's nothing. We think it's a small price to pay to make sure Cincinnati's government can spend everything it wants.

Chris Monzel must be prohibited from opposing any further tax increases for city homeowners. Party leaders must step in and enforce discipline. For two consecutive months Monzel has opposed a tax increase and nothing has been done about it. Imagine what could happen if Monzel goes 3, 4, or 5 consecutive months opposing a brand new tax hike. It's time for the Republican Party to support the Trash Tax and make sure anyone who does otherwise is properly disciplined for their disobedience.

Our 100th post

Fellow tax hikers, we at Republicans for Higher Taxes are delighted to celebrate our 100th post since we started this site last year. This has not just been a powerful blog, it has been the coming together of the Republicans for Higher Taxes Movement that has existed in our area for many years, but not yet come together as one. We have brought everyone together under one intellectual roof and organized to make sure that our Republican Party is the party of higher taxes.

We dedicate this post to you, our loyal readers. We take you back through memory lane of the greatest posts our site has ever written. And we ask for your vote. We want all of our loyal tax hikers to tell us, what was your favorite post from Republicans for Higher Taxes. Is it:

A) Our inaugural post. The post that started it all. Where we served warning to the anti-taxers that we would be fighting them.

B) Bill Seitz, 2007 Tax Hiker of the Year. One of our most profound postings ever. Not only did we honor Bill Seitz for all his efforts to raise taxes, but we created our legendary Tax Hiker of the Year Award, which is perhaps what we are most known for.

C) Condemning Chris Monzel for opposing tax increases. With this post we served notice that we will be here to condemn Chris Monzel's efforts to oppose tax increases for Cincinnati homeowners and taxpayers, and publicly reprimanded him for opposing the Sales Tax increase that nearly 60% of city voters voted against.

D) Bob Taft's press release. We joined our tax-hiking Commissioners and Sheriff in condemning COAST for writing a press release that claimed our great former Governor Bob Taft had endorsed Issue 27.

E) Pat DeWine - Enemy of the Treasury. Here we exposed Pat DeWine for being the tax-cutter he is, and made sure everyone knows how hard he works to keep our taxes down. We can't imagine how DeWine ever recovered from such criticism.

F) Prostitution in Sharonville. Our work to compliment Virgil Lovitt for his job creation in Sharonville. By turning Sharonville into Hamilton County's prostitution capital, ole' Virg created good, high paying jobs for his town, and we were so happy to be able to point out this accomplishment to the voters.

G) Virgil Lovitt - 2008 Tax Hiker of the Year. Our most-read and most influential post ever. When Lovitt was competing to get the Republican nomination for State Rep, we unleashed this post which gave him the momentum needed to secure the win. This post was also used in campaign ads in the fall election.

H) Favorite Virgil Lovitt tax hike. Generated numerous responses! A reader favorite.

I) Mustache Power. We discovered the power of the 'stache in local politics.

J) Governor Bob Taft's Endorsements. We feel so fortunate to have our great former Governor here on staff. He is a great ally, a world class tax hiker, and a wonderful writer.

Give us your vote! We hope you have enjoyed our trip down memory lane. So many great posts to choose from, we felt bad having to leave some other great ones out. We want to know what posts you have enjoyed the most.

Save Sean Donovan's job

Hamilton County budget news just gets worse and worse. Now we have discovered that the county administration is recommending that our great Sheriff Simon Leis eliminate his Chief Deputy position, which would mean the loss of our loyal friend and ally Sean Donovan. We must not let this happen. We must unite to save Donovan's job.

Imagine a world where Simon Leis had to get his own coffee. Imagine a world where Simon Leis had to drive his own car. Imagine Si Leis having to show up to events by himself. Imagine what would happen if Simon Leis had to shine his own shoes, pick out his own clothes, and kiss his own ass.

It is more clear than ever why we need to tax our way out of this problem. When you are facing a revenue shortage, the solution is to generate more revenue which means raising taxes. Why don't our leaders get it? Fellow tax hikers - we need you to contact our County Commissioners and explain to them the importance of raising taxes so we can preserve Sean Donovan's important job.

Hamilton County needs higher taxes now

Recent news articles (such as here, here, and here) have revealed the serious financial problems of our own Hamilton County. Just because Todd Portune has been a Commissioner for 8 years, and been President of the Board for the last 2, does not mean we blame him for this in any way. Sadly our Commissioners are talking about making major spending cuts. This is not necessary.

More than ever, we need tax increases now. We must tax our way out of this problem. If the county commissioners raise taxes now they wouldn't have to make any spending cuts. We expect the citizens would go along with this. Everyone understands that David Pepper and Todd Portune need this money more than the residents do.

We suggest one of the two following tactics to raise taxes:

1) With the support of Virgil Lovitt, immediately implement a Sales Tax increase themselves, without allowing the citizens to vote on it. The Commissioners have the authority to do this.

2) Close down the Queensgate jail. By eliminating hundreds of jail spaces, this will create the public pressure necessary to pass a Jail Tax that we can use to build a new jail and divert money to the operating budget!

These solutions would work. This is no time to cut spending or control costs. Residents must understand that they must do with less so the government can have more.

We almost forgot - we condemn Pat DeWine for his refusal to support tax increases. He should know what all of us here know, that raising taxes is the only acceptable solution to addressing projected budget shortfalls.

Election Reaction

On the federal level we are overwhelmed with feelings of hope and change. We were so ecstatic to see tax-hikers Jean Schmidt and Barack Obama elected by our great people. Together, they can continue the mission to raise taxes. With Obama in the White House and solid pro-tax majorities (including Schmidt) in both Houses, we are due for some massive tax increases and we think it's great! This election proves that tax-hikers of both parties are the future of this country.

Let us say some more fine words about Jean Schmidt. We are very impressed by her 45% showing in this safe Republican district. This should send a message to everyone that we love Jean and her seat is safe for as long as she wants it. Her record of raising taxes, spending increases, and landslide victories is one we all can be proud of.

On the state and local levels, some progress was made for our cause. It was great to see our man Bill Seitz get elected easily, for example, but ultimately we are still feeling depressed over the crushing defeat of Virgil Lovitt. We worked so hard to make sure everyone knew of his great tax-and-spend record.

This loss represents a significant setback to our movement. Having a great tax-hiker like Lovitt advocating for us in Columbus, and using the job as a stepping stone to run for County Commissioner, would have been great for our side. We are also afraid that our anti-tax enemies will use Virg's loss as an example of why we shouldn't run tax-and-spend Republicans in swing districts.

In spite of Virg's loss, Republicans for Higher Taxes will still be going strong. Once we get over our depression we will celebrate all of our wins Tuesday night. We will continue fighting for higher taxes and higher spending, both of which we expect much more of from the federal government. We will also continue fighting to make sure the Republican Party remains the party of higher taxes and higher spending. Tax us more!

Still going strong

Dear fellow tax hikers,

We have not gone away. We have been mourning the loss of Virgil Lovitt, whose big defeat represents a terrible setback to our tax-and-spend movement. We worked very hard for the last 2 months to make sure voters understood what a great pro-tax Republican Virg is, and his loss has hit us hard. We will resurface this weekend with our analysis of this Tuesday's elections and where we go from here.

Endorsement wrapup

State Representative, 28th District - Virgil Lovitt! Everything we stand for, Virg stands for. He's led the way for higher property taxes, higher sales taxes, and 50% higher income taxes. He supported Bob Taft's 3rd Frontier program and Todd Portune's re-election. What more could we possibly ask for? Lovitt has the potential to be the greatest tax hiker ever. That is why we awarded him our 2008 Tax Hiker of the Year and strongly endorse his election to the Ohio House.

President - Barack Hussein Obama. The only thing standing between us and higher taxes is a John McCain victory. An Obama win means we can achieve significant tax increases and even bigger spending binges than Bush has given us. That is too much to pass up.

Congress, 1st District - No endorsement. Congressman Steve Chabot has been a strong supporter of middle class tax cuts and has vigorously opposed wasteful government spending. This is unacceptable to us. Until Chabot raises taxes and spends freely, he will not have our support.

Congress, 2nd District - Jean Schmidt. Wonderful endorsement written at the link by Excelsior/TNP. Schmidt has been our go-to girl for higher taxes and higher spending for many years. She strongly supported Bob Taft's tax increases and Bush's Bailout for Billionaires. We are not embarrassed by her reprimands from the Ohio Elections Commission or frequent criticisms of her behavior. As long as she keeps taking our money, we will keep endorsing her.

County Commissioner - Todd Portune. Portune has led the fight for higher taxes and higher spending. Todd stood with us when we wanted higher taxes for the comprehensive safety plan and for Mike Brown and the Reds, so now we stand with him.

State Senator - 8th District - Bill Seitz. Seitz is another great tax hiker. He has supported every tax hike out there, including all of Bob Taft's tax increases. For this we are enthusiastic supporters of his election.

Issue 2 (State of Ohio), Increased Debt - Vote Yes. This would allow the State of Ohio to go $400 million further into debt. This would be great, because not only would tax dollars be required to pay back that money, we would need more tax dollars to pay back the interest.

Issue 6 (State of Ohio), Gambling Monopoly - Vote Yes. This will amend Ohio's Constitution to grant a casino monopoly to one individual. This is totally in line with our goals of bigger government and decreased competition.

Issue 7 (Cincinnati), to ban Red Light Cameras - Vote No. This Charter Amendment would effectively ban red light cameras. We support red light cameras. Even though studies have shown they don't improve safety, it's not about safety. The cameras would raise a ton of money for the government and make it much easier for the government to track our every movements. More money, more tracking of individuals, who could vote against that?

Issue 48 (multi-county), Great Oaks levy renewal - Vote Yes. This is the only opportunity for all county residents to vote on their property taxes. If this vote fails, our county property taxes would go down and we can't allow that to happen! Vote yes to preserve our property taxes.

No vote for Steve Chabot

Republicans for Higher Taxes refuses to support Steve Chabot for Congress. Chabot is perhaps this nation's worst Congressman on our pet issues of raising taxes and raise spending due to his refusal to support tax increases and big spending hikes.

Chabot has voted against all tax increases that we are aware of and strongly supported the tax breaks that middle class families enjoy today. He voted against George Bush's Bailout Bill for Wall Street Billionaires. He opposed George Bush's massive Medicare expansion. He opposes Barack Obama's tax increases and is often a pest to our allies with his opposition to many earmarks.

For this Chabot has earned support from the National Taxpayers Union and Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW). Shockingly, Chabot has the highest lifetime ranking from CAGW of any current member of Congress. This is unacceptable. Until Chabot starts wasting government money, he will not be eligible for our support.

Our incoming President Barack Obama needs Congressmen who will implement his agenda of higher taxes and spending. Chabot's opposition to Democratic tax increases and Republican spending binges make him an unacceptable choice to serve in Congress.

Congresswoman Jean Schmidt for Congress

- by Excelsior/TNP

Some things are worth waiting for, such as our endorsement for Ohio's 2nd Congressional District. In that race, we wholeheartedly give our endorsement to our great Congresswoman Jean Schmidt. Congresswoman Jean Schmidt has been a great supporter of higher taxes.

Congresswoman Jean Schmidt supported Bob Taft's Sales Tax hike. Congresswoman Jean Schmidt supported Bob Taft's Gas Tax hike, raising Ohio's Gas Tax by 27%. Congresswoman Jean Schmidt wrote the bill that allowed Hamilton County to more than double its hotel tax, a tax that Virgil Lovitt naturally endorsed.

Congresswoman Jean Schmidt's tax hiking prowess didn't stop there. Congresswoman Jean Schmidt, a Clermont County resident, stood with Sheriff Simon Leis to endorse last year's proposed Sales Tax increase for Hamilton County. And most recently, Congresswoman Jean Schmidt voted to support George Bush's Bailout Bill for Wall Street Billionaires.

And Congresswoman Jean Schmidt's legislative skills are beyond doubt.

When Barack Obama becomes President, he will need supporters in the House to implement his tax increase plans. Congresswoman Jean Schmidt has proven her skills as an accomplished tax raiser. Because of her superb tax-hiking record, we stand 100% behind Congresswoman Jean Schmidt's re-election to Congress.

Favorite Virgil Lovitt tax hike

Republicans for Higher Taxes wants you, our loyal reader, to tell us your favorite Virgil Lovitt tax increase. Is it:

A) Raising Sharonville's Income Tax by 50%

B) More than doubling Hamilton County's hotel tax

C) Supporting the failed Simon Leis/Todd Portune Sales Tax Hike

D) Endorsing Governor Bob Taft's 3rd Frontier program, which requires higher taxes to pay back both the principle and interest

E) Supporting Property Tax hikes for the mediocre Princeton Schools

F) All of the above

Republicans for Higher Taxes wants to hear from you.

Todd Portune for County Commissioner

We continue our Alex Triantafilou Democratic Endorsement Program by crossing party lines to announce our endorsement of Todd Portune for County Commissioner! And why shouldn't we? The Hamilton County Republican Party endorsed Portune by cutting a deal not to back anyone against him. The Hamilton County Republican Party endorsed Portune by backing his Sales Tax increase. The Hamilton County Republican Party endorsed Portune by selecting his #1 supporter Virgil Lovitt to serve in the State House. Now we join Virgil Lovitt by announcing our endorsement of Portune.

Portune has been a great supporter of big government. He supported the stadium Sales Tax increase that has redeveloped The Banks and provided taxpayer-funded stadiums for our two great franchises the Bengals and Reds. Portune supported raising property taxes on Hamilton County homeowners to subsidize the then-failing Drake Center. He voted with Phil Heimlich to support the Sales Tax increase of 2006.

Nevermind the voters, in Portune's greatest act as a professional tax hiker, he joined with David Pepper to impose a big Sales Tax increase on the public in 2007. Portune and Pepper joined with our Sheriff Simon Leis to raise the Sales Tax without allowing the citizens to vote on it! And after evil citizens like Ed Rothenberg placed the issue on the ballot, Portune fought hard for its passage. Its failure does not diminish our respect for Portune the tax-hiker, it just means the citizens of Hamilton County don't know what's good for them.

We are also proud of Portune's distinguished mustache. This has aided Portune in his great tax-hiking career. When we support Portune, we not only look at his superior big government record, we look at the 'stache too. High taxes. Big government. Mustache power. Todd Portune for Commissioner. You can't fight the 'stache.

Virgil Lovitt for State Representative

Back in July we endorsed Virgil Lovitt to succeed Jim Raussen for the 28th District State Representative. We felt his strong record in favor of higher taxes, more spending, and support for Democrats made him the best possible Republican. After putting the general election candidates through one last review, our movement unanimously votes to stand behind our endorsement of our man Virg.

Virgil Lovitt still believes in everything we believe - higher taxes, bigger government, more spending, and support for Democrats like Todd Portune. Because of this record, we gave Virg our prestigious 2008 Tax Hiker of the Year award. Lovitt has not only met the high expectations we place on our award winners, he has exceeded them.

We will miss Virg when he is in Columbus, but we won't have to miss him for long. We all know this is a mere steppingstone to his ultimate goal - to be our next County Commissioner. As soon as a position opens up, Virg will take his place in the tax-hiking County Commission Hall of Fame with Bob Bedinghaus, John Dowlin, Tom Neyer, and Todd Portune. Virgil Lovitt for County Commissioner!

Bill Seitz for State Senate

(a recent pic of Tax Hike Seitz)

With no hesitation, Republicans for Higher Taxes proudly endorses State Senator Bill Seitz to retain his position in Columbus. Nobody has done more to advance the cause of higher taxes than the man we love to call Tax Hike Seitz. Seitz has been an instrumental player in our efforts to turn the Republican Party into the party of higher taxes.

When it is time to raise taxes (which is every year), Seitz is our most prolific ally. In Columbus he dutifully obeyed the orders coming down from Bob Taft and Larry Householder. And locally he is the first in line to carry water for our great Republican tax hikers such as Simon Leis, Bob Bedinghaus, and John Dowlin. This year, Tax Hike Seitz is working hard to make sure Green Township residents will have to send more of their money to the government.

Because of his tireless work to raise our taxes, last year we proudly awarded Seitz our 2007 Tax Hiker of the Year, and this year we proudly endorse him for State Senator. We can't wait to see 8 more years of tax hiking from our man Bill Seitz.

Pro-Pillich ad honors our work

Recent developments in the battle for the 28th District seat prove just how much of an impact our movement now has on the political process. As everyone knows, we strongly support our 2008 Tax Hiker of the Year Virgil Lovitt in this race due to his record of supporting numerous tax increases and huge spending sprees. We have done everything in our power to make sure everyone is aware of his record as a reliable tax-and-spend Republican.

As we were watching cable tv this week, we saw an ad being run on behalf of Virg's opponent, Connie Pillich. This ad was centered around his Tax Hiker of the Year award! This is not only a huge honor for us, but it also cinches the race for our man Virg by making sure the voters know of his superior pro-tax record.

The decision by the Democrats to use our prestigious award in their campaign ad shows just how well-respected our work has become. It also reveals our ability to raise the pro-tax issue in the public consciousness. We have worked this issue so effectively that the opposition felt compelled to address it, yet they couldn't come up with anything to rebut our claims that Virg is a solid tax-and-spender. We are winning this battle!

Fact - Virgil Lovitt has a far superior record at raising taxes and raising spending than Connie Pillich. We dare anyone to challenge this point. Anyone.

Updated: Virgil Lovitt - 2008 Tax Hiker of the Year

** Note to our loyal readers: We have updated our landmark entry where we awarded Virgil Lovitt as our 2008 Tax Hiker of the Year. In that post we only focused on the past year's work by Lovitt, and while that itself is substantial, we feel our readers benefit by adding historical information about Virg's awesome tax-hiking record. All changes to the original post are in color.

We at the Executive Committee of Republicans for Higher Taxes are proud to announce Virgil Lovitt has been named our 2008 Tax Hiker of the Year. It did not take our committee long to arrive at this decision. There is nobody over the past year who has done more to advance the cause of higher taxes than our man Virgil. Consider Virgil's excellent record:

-- Virgil was a vocal supporter of Issue 27, the Simon Leis Sales Tax hike. Even though 56% of Hamilton County and 57% of the 28th House District opposed this tax, Virgil knew they were wrong and stood strong behind our efforts to raise taxes. We hope Virgil will use his campaign to reprimand the 57% of voters in his district for voting against this Sales Tax increase.

-- He has been one of Congresswoman Jean Schmidt's biggest supporters. Schmidt of course has been one of the great Republican tax hikers of our time.

-- Under Virgil's fine leadership, the prostitution industry in Sharonville has been thriving. This has brought good, high-paying jobs to a depressed town and enticed lonely men to spend their money in local Sharonville businesses.

-- Courageous Virgil opposed Pat DeWine's nomination for Judge earlier this year. Virgil openly stated that DeWine's low-tax policies are harmful to Sharonville. See, this is a guy who gets it. Lower taxes are bad for Sharonville and they're bad for everyone else too.

-- Finally, Virgil Lovitt has announced his endorsement of Democrat Todd Portune for County Commissioner. Lovitt is not just content to support every tax increase he encounters, he goes the extra mile by supporting the Democrats who propose these tax increases. Nothing will stand between Mayor Lovitt and higher taxes.

October update - we have decided to update this entry to include more historical information.

-- Virg supported a whopping 50% income tax hike for the taxpayers of Sharonville.

-- Our man Mayor Lovitt also endorsed the latest failed Princeton Schools tax hike. Coincidently, Princeton's then-Superintendent Aaron Mackey endorsed Lovitt's re-election.

-- Lovitt supported the huge hotel tax increase for Hamilton County which more than doubled the old tax rate. Virg loves this tax so much that he opposes ending it early when the convention center bills are paid off. That's our kind of tax hiker. Even after a tax has raised all the money necessary for its stated purpose, Virg wants the tax to continue anyways.

-- A proud Bob Taft Republican, Virgil Lovitt endorsed and campaigned for Bob Taft's 3rd Frontier spending program. Its goal was to rebuild Ohio's economy, and everyone can see how well it has worked.

As you can see, nobody is more deserving of this award than our friend and ally, Sharonville Mayor Virgil Lovitt. When other politicians backed away from tax increases after the 2nd consecutive defeat of a jail tax, Virgil has only stepped forward and continued with his mission to raise our taxes. For this fine record, we have proudly awarded Virgil Lovitt the 2008 Tax Hiker of the Year!

Send your money to Jean Schmidt

Dear fellow tax hikers,

Our great Congresswoman Jean Schmidt is under attack! She needs our help, and our money, to ensure she is re-elected so she can continue to raise our taxes and blow the lid off the federal budget. As reported in the Cincinnati Enquirer, the opposition is pouring money into this area to try to take our our tax hiking Congresswoman Jean Schmidt. We must counter their efforts or we risk losing one of the greatest tax hiking Republicans we've ever had.

Schmidt's tax-and-spend record is beyond dispute. When former Governor Bob Taft needed help to raise the Sales Tax, Schmidt was there for him. When Bob Taft needed help to raise our Gas Tax by 27%, Schmidt was there. When Bob Taft and Virgil Lovitt wanted to double Hamilton County's hotel taxes, it was Clermont County resident Jean Schmidt who sponsored the legislation to make it happen. And when George Bush and Barack Obama needed $800 billion to bail out their Wall Street friends from their own poor decisions, the very rich folks who have literally donated hundreds of millions to their presidential campaigns, it was Jean Schmidt who came through.

Now we need you to come through for her. We're sure all of you remember back in September we asked you to take The Schmidt Challenge. To reward her for raising our Gas Tax 27%, we asked all of you to set aside $.10/gallon every time you gas up and donate it to the Schmidt campaign. Now it is the time to send that money in. When you think of higher gas prices, think of Jean Schmidt.

Virgil Lovitt's jail tax should have passed

We are proud of Sharonville Mayor Virgil Lovitt for being a leader in the campaign to pass his buddy Todd Portune's Sales Tax hike, even though the voters in his district soundly rejected it. Acts such as these are why we awarded Virg our 2008 Tax Hiker of the Year. Recently, a disturbing situation has proven why this needed to pass and why our community is unsafe because of its failure.

89-year-old woman Edna Jester was recently arrested for refusing to give back a football to the kids who frequently play sports in her yard. They threw a football into her yard, and this criminal stole it and refused to give it back! Fortunately Blue Ash's finest were quickly on the scene to arrest this thief for her crime.

Did everyone notice the same disturbing part to this story that we did?

Left with no other choice, he said, officers placed her in the back of a cruiser, took her to the police station and booked her, he said. Schaffer said Jester told police to handcuff her but they refused.

Jester was cited to appear in Blue Ash Mayor’s Court Nov. 12 and released from custody.

Edna stole a football from kids and she was immediately released from jail! Another early release. Another criminal back on the streets before her time.

This football thief is a clear and present danger to all the neighborhood kids. Without adequate jail space, she may be able to stay in her home and continue to intimidate these kids from playing sports in her yard. This is solid proof why we needed that $200 million new jail and the other $600 million in spending that was included in the Portune/Lovitt Sales Tax hike.

We applaud Virgil Lovitt for going against the voters his district to try to pass this Sales Tax increase. We need more tax hikers like Virg in Columbus to continue the proud legacy of former Governor Bob Taft. Virgil Lovitt for State Representative/County Commissioner!

Barack Obama for President

John McCain is the only thing standing between us and higher taxes. For that reason, we endorse Barack Obama for President. And because Obama brings hope.......and change.

Barack Hussein Obama and Joe Robinette Biden don't merely support higher taxes, they believe it is our patriotic duty to pay more taxes.




This endorsement does not change the fundamental mission of our movement, which is to support higher taxes and spending, move the Republican Party in our tax-and-spend direction, and support our fellow tax-and-spend Republicans such as Bob Taft and Virgil Lovitt. We have made great progress on those fronts and will continue to make more.

We believe that the Alex Triantafilou Democratic Endorsement Program has been a good thing for Republicans. Our ally Leslie Ghiz courageously backed tax-and-spend Democrat David Pepper, and because of this we have moved the County Commission in a tax-hiking direction. Ally Simon Leis has endorsed both Pepper and Todd Portune, making it easier for them to continue their pro-tax policies. And finally, Virgil Lovitt has been a huge supporter of Todd Portune and his pro-tax agenda. He has been rewarded for this with a nomination for State Representative, and soon enough he'll be running for Commissioner. We are proud to follow the lead of these great tax hikers.

Barack Obama gives us hope that he'll take your change. Although he sometimes talks about middle class tax cuts, he has no record of ever voting for them. Obama has a perfect record of voting for tax increases and against all tax cuts. Sadly, John Sidney McCain has an airtight record of voting against raising taxes.

With the pro-tax Congressional majorities poised to pick up even more seats, a John McCain victory is the only thing that can stop this country from higher taxes. We won't let that happen. If you want to see massive tax increases, all you have to do is vote for Barack Obama for President. By supporting Obama, we will ensure higher taxes for years to come. Yes we can! Yes we can!

Monzel opposes property tax increase

We are very disturbed that Cincinnati City Councilman Chris Monzel is continuing his long-time efforts to block property tax increases on city homeowners. Monzel just doesn't get it - Cincinnati's homeowners should be paying higher taxes. Imagine the horror in our faces when we read Monzel's press release vowing to oppose efforts to raise the city's property tax.

Monzel Stands Firm with Taxpayers
Vows to Oppose Elimination of Property Tax Rollback

(Cincinnati, Ohio) Cincinnati City Councilman Chris Monzel vowed today that he will stand firm with the City’s taxpayers and oppose any efforts to eliminate the annual property tax rollback. Monzel said that he believes citizens are overtaxed and that he will not support any effort by members of Council to increase the amount of property taxes collected by the city. The issue will be discussed at Monday’s meeting of the Finance Committee and will be voted on by the full Council at Wednesday’s regular meeting.

According to the city charter, the City of Cincinnati can levy of to 6.1 mills of property tax for general fund use. Since 2001, Council has “rolled back” that rate to collect a flat amount of $28.9 million. In 2008 that rate was 4.53 mills and for tax year 2009 the rate would remain the same. Any increases in this rate would result in collecting more tax dollars from property owners across the city. If the millage rate is not annually adjusted, a form of “tax creep” would affectively impose an automatic tax increase each year, annually compounding. One mill (1/100 of a cent) translates into $1 of tax per $1000 of a property’s valuation.

Councilman Chris Monzel said “by maintaining the tax rollback, we send a strong signal to homeowners recognizing that their tax burden is too high and shouldn’t be increased.” Monzel further stated that “Simply stated, the property tax rollback policy puts the brakes on un-voted tax increases and acknowledges the fact that this isn’t Council’s money, it belongs to the taxpayers.”

This press release is incorrect. The tax burden on city homeowners is not too high. It is too low. Most of our Council understands this and because of that they believe you should be paying much higher taxes. Why doesn't Monzel?

In tough times like these, it's important to make sure the government gets everything it wants, even if it means Cincinnati families get less of what they need. For that reason, we endorse the Chris Bortz property tax increase and call on our eight tax-and-spend friends on Council to vote against Monzel's ploy to freeze property taxes.

Mustache power

We at Republicans for Higher Taxes have discovered the real power behind the local political scene - mustache power. Bill Seitz, our 2007 Tax Hiker of the Year, has a mustache.  Virgil Lovitt, our 2008 Tax Hiker of the Year, also has a mustache.  Todd Portune, the leading Democrat for higher taxes, proudly wears his mustache everywhere he goes.  Rick Bryan and Jim Sumner, two leading Republican tax-and-spenders, sport a neat 'stache themselves.

And then there's Leslie Ghiz and Jean Schmidt.

This is one of the key differences between us and the COAST clowns.  You don't see any of them with mustaches.  Even the candidates they've supported - Steve Chabot, Chris Monzel, Pat DeWine, Robert Goering - there's not a mustache between them.  It's the mustache that gives our side - the tax and spend Republicans - the advantage over those no-mustache anti-taxers! We will continue to exploit this advantage for our pro-tax purposes.

Mustache power is everywhere.  You cannot fight the 'stache.  Don't even try.

Bill Seitz endorses new tax increase

When we awarded Bill Seitz our 2007 Tax Hiker of the Year, we knew that was not the end but merely a middle chapter in his inspirational tax-hiking career. Our Green Township sources have reported to us, and we have confirmed, that the man we affectionately call Tax Hike Seitz has endorsed a brand new tax increase for 2008!

We are so proud when one of our Tax Hiker of the Year winners goes on to endorse bigger and higher tax increases. We are happy to see that Seitz, after receiving our prestigious award, continues to feel a responsibility to see the government consume an ever-larger portion of your income. Seitz has proven to us that his 2007 Tax Hiker of the Year award was no fluke.

Our message to Green Township voters: follow the lead of Tax Hike Bill Seitz, and vote for all the tax increases on your ballot. And make sure to vote for Seitz too, so he can continue to promote higher taxes and higher spending for us all.

Governor Bob Taft's 2008 Endorsements

28th Ohio House District - Virgil Lovitt

I give my strongest possible endorsement in this race to our man Virgil Lovitt. Virg has been a strong and consistent supporter of real Republican values of higher taxes. Don't be fooled by claims to the contrary. Virgil is the real deal when it come to tax hikes. That's why he was named him the 2008 Tax Hiker of the Year. Please vote Lovitt for the 28th District. Let him do for the 28th District what he's done for Sharonville, which has become a bastion of prosperity under Virg's leadership.

8th Ohio State Senate District - Bill Seitz

Not to be outdone, the 2007 Tax Hiker of the Year deserves an equal amount of support. Bill Seitz has never met a tax he didn't hike. From supporting money for the Freedom Center to pushing the Taft tax and spend policies all the way to supporting the jail tax last year, Seitz has been a long-time supporter of higher taxes and spending. Please vote Seitz for State Senate. The Republican party needs him in Columbus to continue pushing for higher taxes.

Hamilton County Commissioner - Todd Portune

Todd Portune may be a Democrat, but he's my kind of politican. Todd has supported higher taxes and increased spending for every level of government at which he has served. Todd understands how important higher taxes are to our local economy. That's why he pushed the Issue 27 Super Sized sales tax increase last year. We must support Todd and oppose the evil Ed Rothenburg, who fought against taxes as a private citizen. We can't have citizens fighting the high-tax establishment! Vote Portune for higher taxes and the prosperity that will come along with them.

Hamilton County Sheriff - Simon Leis

This man needs no moustache to distinguish him as a true tax hiker. Perhaps no elected official in Hamilton County history has spent more taxpayer dollars than Semper Si Leis. Si has drained the County coffers for nearly 50 years, and has amassed an army of taxpayer funded toys. True to form, Simon fought tirelessly for Todd Portune and David Pepper's $777 million tax increase last year, and proudly used taxpayer funds to advocate for higher taxes. Please keep Sheriff Leis on the public payroll for four more years. We need more Si.



United State Congress, 2nd District of Ohio - Jean Schmidt

Jean Schmidt is perhaps my all-time favorite Republican tax hiker. Mean Jean supported every one of my Taft tax increases while serving in the State House. I was proud when she moved up the ladder to the Federal Government, where she can raise taxes and increase spending at a whole new level. Unlike many constituents in the 2nd District, I'm not embarrassed by Jean at all. I'm proud of her high-tax record. Jean also bravely voted for the $700 bailout bill. I knew she'd never let us down when bigger government was on the line.



Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas - Norma Davis

Like 99.9% of voters, I know nothing about Norma Davis, but I do know plenty about her opponent - Pat DeWine. DeWine was the 2007 Enemy of the Treasury for his opposition to the Portune/Pepper tax increase. He has fought higher taxes and spending for almost a decade, and worst of all - he promises to carry his fiscally responsible mindset to the courthouse. We can't have yet another branch of government infiltrated by DeWine's insidious low tax policies. Please support Norma. Send a message that fighting for smaller government will not be tolerated.



Hamilton County Engineer - Bill Brayshaw

Bill Brayshaw has been a fixture as Engineer for as long as I can remember. And for as long as I can remember he's fought against innovative cost-saving measures in the Engineer's office. Just this year he bravely refused to participate in a cost-cutting managed competition effort that would save taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars, preferring instead to balance the books by not buying road salt. We need to keep people in office like Old man Brayshaw. He's a staunch defender of the status quo. Keep Brayshaw Engineer!




Honorable Mention - Rick Bryan and Jim Sumner

Neither of these fine gentlemen is running for office this year, but I wish they were. Rick Bryan and Jim Sumner have long histories of support for higher taxes and spending. I sincerely hope that the Hamilton County Republican Party will begin to take notice and push these guys for higher elected office. How about a Bryan/Sumner Presidential ticket in 2012? I can only hope.

The following republicans did not receive my endorsement this year-

John McCain/Sarah Palin (President/Vice President) - A guy who's against earmarks and a reformer who worked to fight corruption even amongst her own Party? Need I say any more? Why couldn't the Republican Party put together a Lincoln Chafee/Susan Collins ticket?

Steve Chabot (United States Congress, First District of Ohio) - Steve is one of te few true conservatives in Congress. He consistently fights against increased spending, wasteful earmarks, and high spending. He even voted against the great $700 Billion bailout. What nerve! Kick him out of office so we can get a real Republican tax hiker in there.

Greg Hartmann (Hamilton County Commissioner) - Greg has done a horrible job as the Clerk of Courts. Can you believe he has the nerve to actually turn money back to the Treasury each year? He has an obligation to spend every single taxpayer dollar he gets. Everybody knows that the government knows how to spend your money better than you do. Keep Hartmann off of the County Commission!

Steve Johnson (31st Ohio House District) - Steve is running for the Ohio 31st House District. Worst of all, he's a professed protege of Steve Chabot. We can't have two anti-taxers in office on the west side of town. Please work hard to defeat Steve Johnson.
Rob Goering (Hamilton County Treasurer) - Goering used poor judgment when he bucked Party leaders and came out against the Portune/Pepper/Leis sales tax increase. What a jerk! We need someone in charge of the County's money who understands that higher taxes lead to economic prosperity. Vote against Goering.

Market still crashing - more government needed!

For the 7th straight day the market is taking a beating. We thought passing the George Bush/Nancy Pelosi/Barney Frank bailouts for billionaires would have fixed everything. Now we know better.

Their package wasn't big enough. What we need is another big bailout package. We need more government involvement to solve this. And to pay for it we must enact huge tax increases now!

With Virgil Lovitt, the Sky's the Limit

Our most sincere compliments to the Ohio Republican Party (of higher taxes). After sending the 28th district some mailings that undercut Virgil's message of higher taxes and more spending, the ORP has produced for Virg his greatest mailing yet. This one is titled, "With Virgil Lovitt, the sky's the limit" and it promises that our man Virgil will "make our economy soar" and "lift our community to a higher altitude".

No doubt. Virgil Lovitt will lift our tax rates to a higher altitude, higher than even Bob Taft and Jean Schmidt ever dreamed. And under Virg, our state government spending will soar.

With Virg running the show, the sky is the limit for higher taxes and higher spending. Virgil Lovitt for County Commissioner!

**Update - We made an error in the last paragraph. We meant to say "Virgil Lovitt for State Representative". That is what he is running for this year, though we know he is using this as a stepping stone to run for County Commissioner.

Jean Schmidt supports Virgil Lovitt

This picture speaks a thousand words, which means our entry for today will require few of them. Schmidt's support for Lovitt should come as no surprise to anyone as they share all of the same values.

They supported Bob Taft's tax increases. They supported Bob Taft's 3rd Frontier program. They share the same ethics. They have the same intellect. We are so proud to be able to support a great man like Virg to follow in the footsteps of Jean Schmidt.

If you like Bob Taft and Jean Schmidt, you'll love Virgil Lovitt. Virgil Lovitt for State Representative/County Commissioner!

Jean Schmidt supported Bush's Bailout Bill

Congresswoman Jean Schmidt must have heard our demands. When she voted against George Bush's and Barney Frank's Bailout Bill for Billionaires the first time around, we let her know our dissatisfaction. She knew she was facing the end of her career if she continued to cross us.

Fellow tax hikers, we can report that our efforts have succeeded. Congresswoman Jean Schmidt switched her vote and supported the bailout bill that just passed Congress and was signed into law. This bill spends another $800 billion to grow our government, most of it bailing out Wall Street leaders who otherwise blew up their companies.

This had to be done. If responsible taxpayers weren't there to bail out the irresponsible, then who would those people be able to take from? It's a fundamental question of fairness. It's unfair when Wall Street can take huge risks and be made to live with the consequences of their failures. They should know when they take these risks, that if they fail the taxpayers will be there to bail them out.

We applaud Congresswoman Jean Schmidt for recognizing this. Thank you Jean for your vote to subsidize risky behavior. Thank you Jean for your vote to force the responsible Americans to share their wealth with those who did not protect their assets as they should have. We know that we can always count on Congresswoman Jean Schmidt to pursue our agenda of higher taxes, more spending, and subsidizing irresponsible behavior. Jean Schmidt for Congress!

Virgil Lovitt for County Commissioner

Great news fellow tax hikers: Our investigative prowess has determined that Virgil Lovitt's run for the State House is a mere stepping stone to his real ambition - to be our next great County Commissioner. We all know that Lovitt would serve us proudly in the mold of Bob Bedinghaus, his pet Tom Neyer, and of course the great Todd Portune. This is great news for our movement. As a State Representative he is only one out of 99. But as County Commissioner, he would provide 50% of the vote needed to make sure we pay higher taxes.

We know everyone is asking, how did we discover this? Virg himself provided the answers. Since Mayor Lovitt is such an honest man, a man of unmatched integrity, and so big into transparency, he has chosen to do what few candidates do - refuse to protect access to the directory of photos on his website. Because our man Virg is so open and honest, we were able to go through his entire website and pull every single photograph they have in their site database!

Among these files include numerous examples of Lovitt's ambition to be our next County Commissioner. We have chosen to post one such photo here. But rest assured, we have saved all our favorite files from that open directory to our hard drive and will be posting more throughout the campaign to make sure that everyone can see why we love Virg so much.

We are very excited by this development. We applaud Virgil Lovitt for having the openness and honesty to open up access to all his website files, something few campaigns do. We applaud Virg for letting us know in advance that he is using this race as a stepping stone to something bigger. We applaud Virg for wanting to be our County Commissioner. With Portune and Lovitt on the county commission, Lovitt can use his vote to guarantee that Portune can pass all his ideas and all his plans for higher taxes and more spending.

Virgil Lovitt donated $250 to Todd Portune

The more we learn about Virgil Lovitt the more we like him. While reviewing county campaign finance reports, we discovered that our man Virg donated $250 to the great Democrat Todd Portune through his Lovitt for Mayor committee. Reasons like this are why Lovitt is one of our favorite Republicans.

While some Republicans have criticized Lovitt for endorsing and donating to a Democrat like Portune, Lovitt has firmly refused to back down in his support of this tax-hiking County Commissioner. And why should he? Todd Portune has been a strong supporter of higher taxes and higher spending, just like Lovitt. Portune voted to implement a Sales Tax increase for the Sheriff and numerous special interests, even though the voters clearly said they didn't want it. Lovitt proudly endorsed this tax hike.

Portune and Lovitt share the same goals - to take as much of your money as they can and redistribute it to more deserving entities. For this, we salute them both and award Virgil Lovitt with our strongest possible endorsement for State Representative.

No more clowning around

Of all things that could go wrong, now our man Virgil Lovitt is under attack from a conservative clown! Andy Mellman, who spends his time working as a clown to raise money for burn research at Cincinnati Shrine Hospital, is criticizing Lovitt for using one of his clown photos to attack Lovitt's opponent Connie Pillich as a clown. What a horrible person this Mellman must be! No matter how much money you raise for burn victims or how many children you make laugh, nobody can be allowed to criticize our 2008 Tax Hiker of the Year Virgil Lovitt and get away with it.

This is not a three ring circus. Our ability to make sure we remain a party of higher taxes hinges on great tax hikers like Virgil Lovitt being able to get elected. Mellman is an admitted conservative and that's probably why he's criticizing Lovitt. Conservatives like Mellman oppose higher taxes and more government.

But Lovitt is one of us, a Republican who supports higher taxes and much more spending. Conservatives should feel free to not support Lovitt. We'll win this race by building our own coalition of tax hikers and big spenders. And these Shriner clowns will be back to putting on red noses and doing charitable work. That'll show them.

Sadly this circus act obscures the real problem with this flyer: it once again distorts the fine tax-and-spend record that Virg has worked his entire career to build. We cannot fathom why the Ohio Republican Party continues to insist that Lovitt will cut taxes. Virgil Lovitt has never supported cutting taxes. Moreso than probably anyone except Bill Seitz, Lovitt stands proudly for higher taxes and higher spending, especially for programs like Bob Taft's 3rd Frontier.

One thing that can't be distorted is our commitment to ensure Virgil Lovitt's election as State Representative, so that he can continue the tax-and-spend policies he's advocated for in Hamilton County. We are not clowning around. Lovitt for State Rep.

Save Bush's Bailout

Fellow advocates of big government,

We are calling on you to combat the unfair attacks from COAST on this wonderful plan put together by President Bush and our Democratic leaders to provide a $700 billion bailout to Wall Street financial firms. We need you to contact your Congressmen and Senators and let them know that we want this huge bailout for Wall Street's most unsuccessful businessmen.

Let's not allow any of this personal responsibility stuff to stand in the way of an unprecedented government takeover of the economy. Wall Street firms should not be held responsible for their failed policies that led to the destruction of their companies. Likewise, we should not hold homeowners responsbile for taking out bad mortgages that they knew they could never repay.

It is the job of responsible taxpayers to pay these bills. What kind of society would we have if responsible taxpayers could not be called upon to bail out the irresponsible homeowners and irresponsible financial firms that led themselves straight to ruin?

It is unfair to expect financial firms to properly manage their own finances. When they falter, they need the taxpayer to bail them out. What kind of economy would this be if we forced companies to live with the results of their poor practices?

Right now our great Congresswoman Jean Schmidt says she is undecided. Let's help her decide. We need to remind Schmidt that she has always kowtowed to Republican leaders, right or wrong. Schmidt supported all of Bob Taft's tax increases and supported Simon Leis' Sales Tax hike. Now we need her to support George Bush's $700 billion bailout. Schmidt must once again put party first.

Don't believe the anti-tax hype

Greetings comrades,

Those of you in the 28th District may have received some misleading mail over the past few weeks. These patently false campaign mailers attempt to mislead the voters by telling them that Virgil Lovitt will fight higher taxes and spending. We all know better than that. Virg has been a life-long supporter of bigger government. The proof is in the pudding - Virg was a staunch supporter of my Third Frontier project.

You might be asking yourself, what was the Third Frontier? Well, when I saw Ohio's economy beginning to lag during my time as Governor I knew I had to do something. Some tried to push me down the wrong path of less red-tape, lower taxes and reduced spending. I knew better, and so did Virg. We shared the conviction that big government, and not free enterprise, was the best vehicle for promoting economic development and creating jobs. With that in mind, I borrowed a page from the economic planning committees in the old Soviet Union and China and proposed my Third Frontier Project, which would raise $1.6 billion from the taxpayers to support positive economic growth in the research and tech industries.

Look at what we accomplished together. The Third Frontier was a smashing success, and Ohio's economy has never been better. One only has to drive down Chester Road to see all of the high-paying tech jobs we created in Sharonville. It is because of higher taxes that well-paid cashiers in Sharonville's fast food restaurants can properly use those new-fangled cash registers. And how would Sharonville's blooming prostitution industry have managed to survive if it's hookers were unable to use the internet to lure men to Sharonville's cheap motels for sexual dalliances?

Virg stood by me when I needed support for my high-tax policies. I'm going to stand by him now, when he needs me most. Don't believe the tax-cutting hype you hear about Virgil Lovitt. He's as true and blue a taxer as I've ever met. I'll stake my personal reputation and good name on it. Nobody is respected more in this State than me, and I want to make sure that everyone in the 28th District knows that I support Virgil Lovitt for the Ohio House of Representatives.

Keep working hard Virg, and keep your chin up! Once we get you up to Columbus maybe we can push for a Fourth Frontier. Ohio needs you to maintain its high tax reputation.

Sincerely,

Governor Bob Taft

Support Bush's Bailout

We at Republicans for Higher Taxes give high remarks to President George Bush for his handling of the financial crisis. Recently our President has proposed the biggest government expansion since the Great Depression. Namely, the $700 billion bailout for financial institutions, pushing the total bailout amounts to well over $1 trillion. We are very upset about the negative comments made by Senator McCain and encourage him to rethink his position.

This is the biggest government intrusion into the private sector in our lifetimes, and we think it's great! This is practically a nationalization the financial industry. And what's even better is that these bailout dollars go to foreign firms too. We, the US taxpayer, get to pay for a government takeover of financial institutions around the world. We are so lucky.

This is what the US taxpayer is there to do. This absolves responsibility of those who made poor borrowing decisions. This absolves the financial institutions of taking any responsibility for their bad lending decisions. They are made whole, subsidized by those who have made good decisions. And best of all, it provides a great excuse for the government to raise spending by over $1 trillion and eventually will force them to raise taxes too.

We expect Congresswoman Jean Schmidt will support this massive government expansion. These kinds of policies are the rewards we get for electing big government Republicans like Bob Taft, George Voinovich, Jean Schmidt, and Virgil Lovitt to office. Passage of this legislation will be George Bush's crowning achievment and a complete victory of our big government ideology.

Another false mailing hits 28th District

The Ohio Republican Party is slurring our man Virgil Lovitt again. We even angrier about it than we were last time. The ORP is supposed to be helping Lovitt, instead they are misrepresenting his fine pro-tax record and creating confusion among pro-tax Republicans in the 28th district.

In the 2nd mailer reported by our supporters in the district, the ORP claims "Virgil Lovitt will roll up his sleeves and continue working to strengthen our economy.........lower taxes on both families and small businesses." This is a lie!

Lovitt has never lowered taxes on families or small businesses and has given us no reason to believe he ever will. We are going to clear any confusion that may exists among our supporters. Virg will continue to operate as a tax-and-spend Republican, just like he always has. When we awarded him our 2008 Tax Hiker of the Year, we did it because he has always come through for us. Lovitt has never given us reason to doubt him.

Virgil Lovitt is an honorable man who is going to run on who he is - a Republican who knows that higher taxes and higher spending are needed to keep Ohio's economy roaring. He has worked his entire career to build this tax-and-spend record and now he gets to enjoy the benefits that go with it. The ORP better stop undermining Lovitt's fine record with their anti-tax lies or they will have us to deal with.

Cornhole with Virgil Lovitt

Fellow tax hikers: we have ourselves another opportunity to support our man Virgil Lovitt as he takes his campaign to Columbus to raise our state taxes just like he's raised local taxes. This Monday September 22nd Virg is hosting a cornhole tournament for his campaign. We'll meet at 3:00 PM behind the Sharonville Convention Center.

We can't think of anything we'd rather do than raise fists with Rick Bryan and Virgil Lovitt while we cornhole with them all afternoon long. If you believe, as we do, that state taxes must increase, come show your support for our compatriot Virgil Lovitt!

Joe Biden - patriotic duty to pay higher taxes

Earlier today Joe Biden showed tremendous courage by stating it is our patriotic duty to pay higher taxes. When stating his call for taxes to increase, Biden bravely stated:

"It's time to be patriotic ... time to jump in, time to be part of the deal, time to help get America out of the rut."

We could not agree more! The more taxes you pay, the more the government can do for you. This philosophy has guided Hamilton County and Ohio to the economic bonanza we enjoy today, just imagine what these high-tax policies could do for the entire country!

Joe Biden's election will give us the opportunity to pay the higher federal taxes that we should be paying, just like Virgil Lovitt's election to the State House will ensure Ohio continues to enjoy the advantages that come with being one of our country's highest-taxed states.

Ohio Republican Party misrepresents Lovitt's record

We are disappointed in the behavior of the Ohio Republican Party in their efforts to allegedly help our candidate for State Representative, Virgil Lovitt. Recently we were informed of a mailing from the ORP that misrepresents Lovitt's record and gives false economic analysis.

First, we are extremely upset that the mailer makes false claims against Lovitt. It states, "Virgil Lovitt will work to lower taxes so families keep more of what they earn". Baloney! When has Virgil Lovitt ever worked to lower taxes? Virgil Lovitt has spent his career working very hard to raise taxes so that the government keeps more of what families earn. Because of his hard work we rewarded him with our prestigious 2008 Tax Hiker of the Year award. We know that, if elected, Lovitt will continue his honorable efforts to raise our taxes.

Second, the mailer states, "because higher taxes hurt families and businesses". This is not true. Higher taxes lead to greater prosperity. We Ohioans pay some of the highest taxes in the country and look how great our economy is. Hamilton County pays some of the highest taxes in the state, and nobody could say our county isn't thriving! We are especially fortunate here to pay higher Sales Taxes for the stadiums which have revived the Riverfront zone and built the Banks. All of this is because we pay higher taxes.

We are surprised and disappointed the ORP would say these things. It is Ohio Republicans who gave us Bob Taft's Sales Tax increase. It is Ohio Republicans who gave us Bob Taft's Gas Tax increase. It is Ohio Republicans, including Mayor Lovitt, who gave us Hamilton County's Hotel Tax increase. It is Ohio Republicans who gave us the stadium taxes. It is the Hamilton County Republicans who endorsed the Simon Leis Sales Tax hike, and have never opposed any tax increase. We can't forget that Ohio Republicans gave us great servants like George Voinovich, Bob Taft, Jean Schmidt, Bill Seitz, and Bob Bedinghaus. We are the party of higher taxes and Virgil Lovitt is our #1 disciple.

Give it up for Virg

To all our fellow tax hikers:

Virgil Lovitt needs our help. More precisely he needs our money. No, we don't mean higher taxes (this time), but with your help we can put him in position to raise our taxes even higher than they are now.

We need you to join us this Friday, September 19th for a special fundraiser for Mayor Lovitt. It starts at 11:30 AM and is being held at the Sharonville Convention Center. The cost is a middle class friendly rate of only $1000. We need to have a successful showing at this event to show that our man Virg is the man for the middle class.

Virgil's campaign Treasurer, Paul Schmidt, is counting on our group to produce a lot of checks for him to cash. I know you guys can do it! Mr. Schmidt was chosen because of his last name, so Virg can cash in on the great reputation Congresswoman Jean Schmidt has earned for herself. This is one example of why our man Virg is so smart.

If you like Jean Schmidt, you'll love Virgil Lovitt! When we get Virg in Columbus, the sky is the limit for how high he'll raise your taxes. We know you can afford this fundraiser. With all the undeserved tax cuts we've received, everyone has money to give that they should never have received in the first place. Instead of spending it on yourself, we need you to give $1000 of it to our man Virg.

Response to Strickland Democrat

Our blog has been hit with some negative comments from a Democrat loyal to Ted Strickland, who is trying to undermine our work for Virgil Lovitt and other pro-tax Republicans. We have chosen to post his or her comments but we're going to respond to the accusations. Here is a sampling of his his latest rants:

I was sittng outside Gov. Strickland's office and heard him on the phone. He was saying "why don't we get our buds to start a bogus website called Republicans for Higher Taxes"! We'll make it look nice and legit and well get our minions to bash the best Republican candidates in hopes of getting our weak Democratic candidates elected! And if we get lucky, we'll even fool that gullible Cincy media into believing that we aren't a sham!

He then made anaother call :Buy off Jim Raussen!" he barked, then slammed down the phone.

We believe he was sitting outside Strickland's office, but he's no spy. Spies don't get that deep inside the Governor's Mansion in Bexley. We have outed this person as a Strickland loyalist who is trying to undermine the movement we lead. But it will not work.

Virgil Lovitt has worked very hard to compile such a strong tax-and-spend record, and he deserves to be able to run on it. We are going to help him win this race. We are making sure all the voters in this district are made aware of his excellent record of raising taxes, supporting Todd Portune, and letting prostitution grow in Sharonville.

Strickland Democrats such as yourself may continue attempting to undermine the tax-and-spend agenda of Virg and ourselves, but we will answer you everytime and set the record straight. Lovitt is a great candidate and deserves our support. Our next blog post will inform on something we can do to help him win. Stay tuned fellow tax hikers.

Lovitt reaffirms support for Todd Portune

Even after being named the Republican nominee for Ohio's 28th House District, Virgil Lovitt continues to stand behind his endorsement of Democrat Todd Portune, proving to all of us what a great Republican ole' Virg really is. Lovitt is a special kind of Republican. Not only is he a big supporter of Democratic tax increases, earning our 2008 Tax Hiker of the Year award, he also endorses the Democrats behind them.

Virg is our kind of Republican. Anyone with an ounce of party loyalty will see this and remind themselves why they too should support Lovitt. Virgil Lovitt for State Representative.

Deputy Sheriff demands higher taxes, condemns DeWine

We applaud county employee Mikal Steers for condemning Pat DeWine and calling on the Commissioners to overturn multiple verdicts from the voters by directly implementing a tax increase! Mikal Steers is a Deputy Sheriff and the President of the Order of Deputy Sheriffs. It is truly awesome to see Si's boys picking up where he left off when it comes to raising taxes and disobeying multiple verdicts of the voters.

Steers is right. This county needs to raise taxes. It must raise taxes to build the new jail that Si Leis says he needs. And then it must raise taxes some more so the county doesn't have to cut any spending to balance the budget.

We encourage David Pepper and Todd Portune to do what they do best - raise taxes, whether the voters want it or not. And we encourage our top Republican allies - especially Virgil Lovitt, Jean Schmidt, Bill Seitz, Leslie Ghiz, and the Hamilton County Republican Party - to immediately rally behind these tax increases. It is time to show Pat DeWine that we will never tolerate lower taxes or any spending cut for any reason. Tax us more!

Take the Schmidt Challenge

Loyal readers, we are calling on you once again to give assistance to one of our tax-hiking compatriots. As we wrote yesterday, our great Congresswoman Jean Schmidt is being attacked for her courageous decision to join Governor Bob Taft in raising Ohio's Gas Tax by 27%. We all know this was the right vote. Gas prices were too low and something had to be done about it.

Now it is time to unite behind Jean. We want you to take The Schmidt Challenge. This is how the challenge works: between now and October 31st, everytime you fill your tank send $0.10/gallon to the Schmidt campaign. If you add 10 gallons, send $1.00 to Schmidt. Individually it won't cost us a whole lot. But if all Republicans who love higher taxes join in, we will raise much money for Jean and ensure her re-election to Congress.

So who's in? Can we count on you to take The Schmidt Challenge?

Schmidt's Gas Tax Hike

- by Excelsior, Staff Writer

It is not every day that Congresswoman Jean Schmidt's opponent chooses to help Congresswoman Jean Schmidt get re-elected. But it's happened now. Wulsin is now running an ad reminding everyone that Congresswoman Jean Schmidt voted with Bob Taft to raise the Gas Tax 27%! We think this is yet one more reason to re-elect Congresswoman Jean Schmidt. Here is the ad:



We applaud Congresswoman Jean Schmidt for supporting Bob Taft's Gas Tax hike. Gas prices were too low. This vote was necessary to raise gas prices so people could no longer afford to buy gas and force them to buy alternatives, and it raised more money for the government. Everytime you fill your tank, take the opportunity to remind yourself that you are paying more for that gas because Congresswoman Jean Schmidt cared enough to raise the gas tax for our own good.

When I think of higher taxes, I think of Congresswoman Jean Schmidt. And as I return home from Labor Day weekend, when I had to fill up my tank on the way out and on the way back, I was reminded of Congresswoman Jean Schmidt's excellent service. We all need to thank Congresswoman Jean Schmidt for standing with Governor Bob Taft to raise our Gas Tax 27%.

Pick Lieberman

Political experts such as ourselves have determined that John McCain is down to 3 choices for his important VP selection - Mitt Romney, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, and Joe Lieberman. Lieberman is the only candidate with a strong history of raising taxes and spending. Therefore we expect McCain to select Lieberman.

McCain has a record of opposing tax increases and opposing high spending. This is contrary to the goals of our movement, which is to encourage the Republican Party to raise taxes and spending. It is important that McCain bring a tax-and-spend politician on board to balance out his poor record on our issues of importance.

Joe Lieberman is by far the best choice. He has a great record of supporting tax increases and increasing spending. We strongly oppose the selection of Romney and Pawlenty. Neither one of them have given any indication that they share our views on these important issues.

We are especially opposed to Governor Pawlenty. When Pawlenty became Governor his state was faced with a big budget shortfall. He had a perfect excuse to raise taxes. Instead, he was one of the only Governors in America who balanced the budget without raising taxes. This record of limited government is unacceptable! A McCain-Pawlenty ticket would be incredibly damaging to our tax-and-spend movement.

McCain-Lieberman '08.

Chris Monzel also obstructs higher taxes

Just like Pat DeWine, Chris Monzel is hugely disappointing on our core issue of raising taxes. We support higher taxes. Monzel and DeWine oppose higher taxes, and we find this unacceptable.

As we reported in our latest attack against DeWine, the Port Authority has been granted expanded powers to take property using eminent domain and to place tax increases on the ballot without approval from elected officials. We recently discovered that Cincinnati City Council also approved these changes, with Monzel voting against them.

The evidence is clear. Chris Monzel opposes higher taxes. If you believe, as we do, that you aren't taxed enough and must be forced to pay much more of your income to the government, you must oppose Monzel. We are serving notice to Monzel that he must start supporting big tax increases if he is to continue receiving support from the Republican Party (of higher taxes).

DeWine obstructs higher taxes

Once again we are compelled to condemn Pat Dewine for standing between you and higher taxes. Recently Commissioner DeWine voted against giving the Port Authority the power to directly place tax increases on the ballot and take property through eminent domain.

It is vital for the government to have the ability to take your home, with or without your permission, for any reason it deems necessary. Todd Portune and David Pepper understand this. Sadly, Pat DeWine does not.

This vote is also a continuation of DeWine's history of opposing tax increases. This proposal made it easier to raise your taxes. An unelected Port Authority would have had the ability to place a tax increase on the ballot themselves, without the support of the County Commissioners or any other elected body. We support anything that makes it easier to raise our taxes, and therefore we support this proposal as well.

We applaud Todd Portune and David Pepper for standing strong for higher taxes and expanding eminent domain powers. They realize how badly this region needs higher taxes and more property confiscation. Pat DeWine, on the other hand, continues to show us why we gave him our Enemy of the Treasury award, as he continues down this destructive path of opposing tax increases.