LA initiative mandates condom use for porn stars

Dear fellow tax hikers, for one posting we will diverge from our usual obsession with raising taxes to raise a matter of utmost importance.  An initiative from the city of Los Angeles will appear on the June ballot that will require porn stars to wear condoms when filming inside the city.  Talk about an anal proposal!  This could be a real drag for the transvestites.  

We stand with the Fluffers Union and encourage our followers in LA to vote against this foul-tasting plan.  We want to know the name of the dick who thought this was a good idea.

We hope the petitioners were wearing gloves when collecting signatures.  After all, you have to be safe when screwing others.  

An initiative backer was quoted saying:

"If you're going to blow things up, you have to have the fire department involved."

We wonder what women and gay men think of that?  The fire department should not have to be present for a basic porn act. 

Furthermore, a team of inspectors will be hired to ensure compliance.

Under the proposal, fees may be charged to "provide for inspectors to ensure compliance with conditions on film permits."

If this passes we would like to volunteer our inspection services.  We would be overjoyed to conduct up-close prick inspections to check for condom usage.

In spite of the enlarging opportunities this could present for us, we must endorse a no vote.  Anyone who votes for this initiative can blow me.

Happy Festivus

(Respect the pole.....)

Dear fellow tax hikers, this is truly the most joyous time of the year.  Yesterday marked the winter solstice, and today we celebrate the most important holiday of the year, Festivus.  This is a day where we gather for dinner and air our grievances against those who have wronged us.

Tonight we do double duty.  We will start by having a mega-sized dinner with Mega Tracy Winkler.  Then we will have another big dinner with Big Verne Collins, where she also promises to share her favorite box of wine. 

But we shall air our grievances now!  The best part about Festivus is taking the opportunity to complain about others.  We hereby declare our grievances against the following people:

- Steve Chabot, for continuously opposing higher taxes and bigger spending

- Heather Harlow, for being a woman who supports gun rights and limited government.  She doesn't know her role. 

- COAST, for all their work to ban a Trash Tax in Cincinnati and stop MSD from subsidizing the streetcar

- John Kasich, for closing an $8 billion shortfall without raising taxes, making him Ohio's first Governor in generations to oppose higher taxes

- Chris Finney, for suing governments when they violate citizens' rights

- Charlie Winburn, for consistently speaking out against our beloved streetcar and opposing higher taxes

- Tom Brinkman, for helping kill many, many tax increases

- Chris Monzel and Todd Portune, for opposing another Bengals Tax Hike and preventing MSD from forcing suburbanites to subsidize Cincinnati's streetcar

- Pat DeWine, for everything.  We will never forgive him for for opposing the Supersized Sales Tax increase in 2007. 

- Doc Thompson, for bringing a popular, true-blue conservative message to local radio

- Dan Unger, for getting elected to the Northwest School Board as an unabashed fiscal conservative who thinks the government should live within its budget

- Jeffry Smith, for uncovering many documents that have been used to question Tracy Winkler's competence and integrity as a Green Township Trustee

- Wyoming Police Department, for wasting their time busting people for (allegedly) breaking the law instead of doing more important things like eating donuts

We declare war on these violators.

Afternoon update:  We invite all you tax hikers to list your grievances in the comments section. 

Bortz for Commissioner - Part 4

Taft Supportz Bortz

Bortz Supportz Streetcars

Comrades,

In my zeal to tell you about Chris Bortz's support of a radical homosexual agenda, abortion, and liberal Democrats I neglected to mention a very important reason for my support of Chris Bortz for Hamilton County Commissioner. Bortz was the primary advocate for Mayor Mallory's wonderful streetcar plan. The Republican Party very unwisely aligned themselves with the effort to defeat the streetcar at the polls this past November. They can redeem themselves by reversing course and choosing pro-streetcar Bortz as the Republican candidate for Hamilton County Commissioner.

Bortz was the very first on the scene to advocate for a streetcar system in Cincinnati. Way back in April of 2007 Bortz was presenting to the OKI Board of Directors about the dire need for a streetcar in Cincinnati. When my enemies at COAST tried to defeat the streetcar in 2009 Bortz was an impassioned supporter of the pro-streetcar effort. Sure, his family owned property all along the proposed streetcar route, but big deal. If we Republicans can't enrich ourselves at the expense of the taxpayers we're in the wrong business.

The Ohio Ethics Commission later found that Bortz's votes in favor of a publicly funded streetcar plan were completely unethical and ordered him to stop. As someone who knows a thing or two about personal ethical failings I fully support Bortz's votes to make more money for his millionaire daddy on the backs of the taxpayers.

When the scoundrels at COAST tried again in 2011 to stop the streetcar with Issue 48 Bortz again opposed them, renewing his long-standing advocacy for a 3 mile $150 million streetcar route. Most Republicans were saying that during a terrible economy we couldn't afford fluff like a streetcar. Bortz disagreed completely, stating, "The economy, when it’s dipping the way it is, is even more of an argument to do it.”

Chris Bortz knows a thing or two about development. He knows that it takes massive taxpayer-funded public works projects with over-hyped projections about the return on investment in order to turn a community around. He knows that streetcars are the answer for what ails every community. I sincerely hope that Chris follows his strongly-held beliefs and advocates for county-wide streetcars once he's County Commissioner. Streetcars for Green Township! Streetcars for Colerain! Streetcars for Reading! Streetcars for everyone!!! It's the Bortz Battle cry! Please, I implore you, contact Republican Party Chairman Alex Triantafilou and beg him to name Chris Bortz as the Hamilton County RINO Party's candidate for County Commissioner. If you don't, you'll never get a streetcar in your neighborhood.

Yours in Unity,




Governor Bob Taft*







*It should be fairly evident to anyone with half a brain that this entry is intended to be a parody post from our former RINO Governor Bob Taft. Unfortunately though, the facts presented in the blog post are all too true.

Save The Freedom Center - through higher taxes

Dear fellow tax hikers, your tax dollars are urgently needed now.  A story ran today detailing that our beloved Freedom Center is at the risk of shutdown because they are spending more money than they are receiving.  They are projected to realize revenues of $2.5 million/year.  However they also expect to spend $4 million/year.  Therefore, a Freedom Center Tax Increase is needed now!

We cannot expect The Freedom Center to cut costs.  We cannot expect them to increase the quality of their programming to draw more paid visitors.  We cannot expect their rich mouthpieces (Oprah Winfrey, John Pepper, etc) to pay for anything themselves with their own money.  Nor can we expect them to improve their business practices.

Higher taxes are the only answer!  Hamilton County residents had their chance to support the museum through their paid attendance, and for some reason they declined.  Because of that we are going to raise taxes.  One way or another you will pay.

The Freedom Center is entitled to your tax dollars.  If a private museum's expenses are far higher than its revenues, the only way to close the gap is to raise taxes.  They cannot be allowed to fail.  Just as we had Jean Schmidt's bailouts for Wall Street, we must also have bailouts for museums with failed business models such as The Freedom Center and Museum Center.  Raise those taxes now!

Bortz for Commissioner - Part 3

Taft Supportz Bortz

Bortz Supportz a Radical Homosexual Agenda

Comrades,

This is the third edition of my well deserved endorsement of Chris Bortz for Hamilton County Commissioner. As of this morning, Chairman Triantafilou still hasn't announced the Hamilton County Republican RINO Party coronation of Bortz to serve as the Republican candidate against Todd Portune, so I have no choice but to continue to put forth reasons why we, as liberal Republicans, should get behind Bortz and push as hard as we can.

Chris announced on his facebook page that he was "proud to announce his endorsement from Equality PAC Cincinnati". I share in his pride, and fully support his backing of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and the transgendered. Hamilton County cannot thrive unless we have more trannies walking the streets of downtown. We're glad that Chris accepted the endorsement long with radical leftists like Chris Seelbach, Roxanne Qualls, and Laure Quinliven.

What does Equality Cincinnati stand for? For starters, they want to bring gay marriage to Ohio, in spite of the fact that the voters of the State overwhelmingly rejected just that. You may remember that I opposed the will of the voters and endorsed a pro-gay marriage position when I was Governor. I'm heartened to see that Chris Bortz has aligned himself with groups that agree with me on this issue. We're proud of you Chris!

Equality Cincinnati proudly professes to be "continuing the work that began in 2004 when thousands of people in our region came together to repeal an anti-gay law in Cincinnati known as “Article XII”. As we all know, this vote had numerous positive repercussions for the City of Cincinnati. It should be obvious to anyone that the promise of a more vibrant and economically successful Cincinnati that the Repeal Article XII side promised the voters has come to fruition. Can anyone deny that the City of Cincinnati is booming economically since 2004? They delivered on their promise, and we're so glad that they got behind Bortz.

Not satisfied with their victory in moving Cincinnati forward the Equality Cincinnati crowd is pushing for same sex marriage benefits for the City of Cincinnati. This idea has had fresh life blown into it by Radical homosexual advocate and new Cincinnati City Councilman Chris Seelbach who has made same sex marriage benefits a top priority of his first term on Council. Chris Bortz fully agreed, and Bortz publicly stated his support for the idea. We're proud of Chris for making this vitally important expenditure of taxpayer dollars a priority. Why spend more money on police officers and firemen when you can spend money on gay lifestyle choices?

Chris also proudly accepted the endorsement of CincyPAC. The picture at the top of this post is Chris with CincyPAC President and radical homosexual activist Shawn Baker. CincyPAC states on their mission statement that they "want Cincinnati to become the destination for the creative class..." Who are the creative class? Well gays, lesbians, transgendered, and bisexuals of course! Bortz proudly shares their core values.

You middle class white Republican stiffs out in Harrison, and Blue Ash, and Anderson Township, and Sharonville just don't understand. You're likely not gay, and therefor are not creative enough to get it. Your communities will never thrive unless Chris Bortz can become County Commissioner and help foster a creative class in your neighborhood. We need County-wide streetcars to attract gay hipsters, not safe streets and functioning schools.

This is just another in a long line of fantastic reasons why we should all proudly get behind Chris Bortz as the Republican Candidate for Hamilton County Commissioner. Bortz has put forward a platform and a resume that we can all get behind.

Proudly yours in Unity (same-sex or otherwise),




Governor Bob Taft*






*It should be fairly evident to anyone with half a brain that this entry is intended to be a parody post from our former RINO Governor Bob Taft. Unfortunately though, the facts presented in the blog post are all too true.

Wyoming School Board wants 37-year tax increase

Dear fellow tax hikers, we are delighted to report that the citizens of Wyoming (the city, not the state) will have an opportunity to pass themselves a big property tax hike that will last 37 years.  The Wyoming School Board voted unanimously to place a 4.79 mill property tax increase on the March 6th ballot, which would cost homeowners approximately $145 per $100,000 of home valuation.

The best part is this tax increase will last for 37 years!  In other words, John Pepper, Frances Pepper, Big Barry Porter, and Jim O'Reilly will die long before this tax will.  Or consider the 25+ kids from the Wyoming High School Class of 2011 who managed to get themselves arrested in their first year as an adult - they will be 56 years old when this tax levy expires.  This would be a fantastic gift to leave them!

This big property tax hike is necessary to spend needed money on the Middle School.  It's old.  Therefore it needs a $25 million infusion of new tax money.  They must spend $25 million for urgent upgrades like wider hallways, more meeting space, and a larger gym, in addition to a new state-of-the-art full-service bar in the school cafeteria.

School Board Party Mom Lynn Larson strongly believes a full-service bar is necessary to prepare the middle school kids for their expected high school life.  And to help them simulate a typical Saturday night party at the Larson estate.  We applaud Mrs. Larson for supporting this urgently-needed tax increase and for everything she's done for the school district.

Please ignore the fact that the Wyoming City Schools were knocked down a level in the state rankings, and now rank just one level ahead of the Cincinnati Public Schools.  Larson is blameless.  We'll do exactly what Lynn Larson does when something goes wrong - blame it on the Wyoming Police Department instead of taking any personal responsibility for her failures as a parent and School Board Member.  The School Board's failures prove how badly Wyoming needs higher taxes.  Tax us more!

Bortz for Commissioner - Part 2

Taft Supportz Bortz

Bortz Supportz Liberal Democrats

Comrades,

I'm glad that you've returned to hear my thoughts on what a fantastic choice the Hamilton County Republican Party leadership is making in wooing Charterite Chris Bortz to run as the Republican candidate for County Commissioner against Todd Portune. Yesterday, I chronicled how Bortz Supportz Abortion. Today I want to touch on something equally as important; Chris Bortz's support of liberal Democrats.

As you all know, I prefer liberal Republicans over Democrats, but when those evil conservatives get in the way we sometimes have no choice but to support the other Party. After all, our shared liberal tax and spend values come before Party affiliation. I'm proud to state that Chris Bortz seems to agree with me.

Chris made the excellent decision early on in his political career not to align himself with the Republican Party here in Hamilton County. To do so would have required him to answer to the rascally conservatives that are sadly still in the Party rank and file. Instead, he chose to run as a Charterite, joining fantastic candidates like Roxanne Qualls, Yvette Simpson, and Jim Tarbell. This left Chris free to vote as his liberal heart desired, and also allowed him to support liberal big-government Democrats without fear of reprisal.

Bortz answered the call first by contributing to John Cranley in his Congressional race against that dastardly conservative Steve Chabot. Chris understood even then that the last thing we needed in Washington was a fiscal and social conservative voting against spending increases, and opposing high taxes and the liberal social agenda. I'm equally proud to report that not only did Bortz donate to Cranley, he maxed out and gave the full amount allowable by federal law. That's putting your Daddy's money where your mouth is!

But Bortz's support of liberal Democrats didn't stop there. He also endorsed David Pepper for Hamilton County Commissioner, helping to defeat that miserly conservative Phil Heimlich and hand over the County Commission to a Democrat majority for the first time in several generations. Bortz must have been extremely proud when Pepper rewarded his loyal endorser by immediately voting to raise taxes by nearly $1 Billion without a vote of the people. Bortz must have also been proud when Pepper voted to cut the property tax rollback that was promised to the voters of Hamilton County. After all, Mike Brown needs that money, not the struggling taxpayer! Bortz had to be absolutely beaming when Pepper supported his Streetcar plan, and had to be bursting with joy when Pepper used the Commission seat he had helped him win as a springboard to a Statewide political campaign. Bortz saw a little of himself in Pepper, and did the right thing.

Chris also put his Daddy's money to good use with other good liberal Democrat causes and candidates. He twice gave money to Parsons Brinkerhoff PAC to help them finance a campaign to force the streetcar down the throats of Cincinnati voters. Yes a $1200 donation in support of Mayor Mallory's baby might seem like a lot, but it's pocket change to Chris (and his daddy).

Finally, Chris donated multiple times to the Ohio Law PAC. You might be asking, Who is the Ohio Law PAC ? Well, they gave donations to the campaigns of Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern, disgraced Democratic Attorney General Marc Dann, Representative Connie Pillach, State Senator Eric Kearney, Democratic Ohio House Minority Leader Armond Budish, as well as the Cuyahoga House Democrats PAC, the House Democratic Caucus Fund, the Committee for a Democratic Majority, the Senate Democratic Victory Fund, the Ohio Senate Democratic Caucus, the Ohio House Democratic Caucus. These were all good causes worthy of Republican support.

Let's not rest on our laurels comrades. Although Chris Bortz's liberal record seems unassailable, his coronation by the Hamilton County RINO Party can still be thwarted by those filthy conservative nutjobs in the Party rank and file. In fact, it has already happened once before. In 2007 Bortz sought the endorsement of the Republican Party for his re-election to City Council, but was rebuffed when he appointed liberal, tax and spend, big government, pro-streetcar, social leftist Roxanne Qualls to fill a vacant seat on City Council. We all know that Qualls has been doing great things for the City ever since, but those conservatives that are sadly still in our Party see it differently. Do not underestimate them. We must strenuously and vocally support Bortz for this position.

You see comrades, Bortz truly is one of us. Don't let the Charterite label fool you. He IS a liberal Republican. It is rare that we get an opportunity to support truly liberal Republicans these days. We must do so with Chris Bortz. Again, I strongly endorse liberal Republican Chris Bortz for Hamilton County Commissioner, and you should too! Send a message to the folks down at 700 Walnut that we fully support their return to liberal Republicanism! Call Chairman Triantafilou and tell him he must support Chris Bortz for County Commissioner!

Yours in Unity,




Governor Bob Taft*






*It should be fairly evident to anyone with half a brain that this entry is intended to be a parody post from our former RINO Governor Bob Taft. Unfortunately though, the facts presented in the blog post are all too true.

Chris Bortz for Commissioner

Taft Supportz Bortz

Bortz Supportz Abortion

Comrades,

You may have read in the news that the Hamilton County Republican Party is actively courting Charterite Chris Bortz to run for County Commissioner against Todd Portune. This is exceedingly good news, and proves that our friends in leadership rolls at the Hamilton County RINO Party are finally finished with those wacky Tea Partiers and are rightfully returning to their liberal ways.

In appreciation for their turn away from the evil conservative right wing of the Party, I intend to lay out for you in detail the reasons why we should support Chris Bortz for County Commissioner. There is far too much great information about Chris to include in one post, so I'll have to let it out over the next week. I'll start with one of Chris' more admirable qualities - his support of abortion.

As you know, the defense of the right of a woman to murder her unborn baby is paramount in liberal Republican ideology. That's why I picked pro-abortion Jeanette Bradley as my Lieutenant Governor. I could have just as easily chosen Bortz though.

As early as this past election Bortz refused to answer Cincinnati Right to Life's candidate questionnaire. This was absolutely the right decision. He was in good company too. Roxanne Qualls, Yvette Simpson, Chris Seelbach, Nicholas Hollan, Laure Quinliven, Jason Riveiro, Wendell Young, Tyrone Yates, Bill Mallory, Fanon Rucker, Cheryl Grant, and Martha Goode also refused to complete the survey. Why wouldn't Bortz align himself with pro-abortion liberal Democrats by refusing to answer a simple survey. It's not the voters' business where our elected officials who hold the government's purse-strings stand on the most important social issues of our time.

But Chris didn't stop there. He also showed his disdain for the pro-life movement by endorsing radical pro-abortion Democrat David Pepper for Hamilton County Commissioner. Pepper repaid the favor by using his newly elected position to advocate for taxpayer funding for abortion. Coincidence? I sure hope not. Taxpayers absolutely should be forced to support abortion with their tax dollars. I'm glad that Bortz seems to agree.

Bortz also was the sponsor of an ordinance while on Cincinnati City Council that limited the free speech rights of pro-life protesters who were peacefully marching in front of abortion mills. Bortz is a good businessman and knows that peaceful anti-abortion protesters are bad for Planned Parenthood's business. I applaud Bortz's actions in defense of Planned Parenthood's business model for abortion mills.

In conclusion comrades, Chris Bortz is the perfect candidate for Hamilton County Commissioner. As someone who has previously held that position, I would proud to have someone cut from the Jeanette Bradley cloth filling my former seat on the dais. For this reason, and others that I eagerly anticipate sharing with you, I wholeheartedly endorse Chris Bortz to be the Republican candidate for Hamilton County Commissioner.

Yours in unity,

Governor Bob Taft*

*It should be fairly evident to anyone with half a brain that this entry is intended to be a parody post from our former RINO Governor Bob Taft. Unfortunately though, the facts presented in the blog post are all too true.

Ashwin Corattiyil - Illegal Immigrant advocate

Dear fellow tax hikers, we have discovered more fantastic news about the Hamilton County Republican Party Political Director Ashwin Corattiyil.  This "Republican" leader is an active advocate for illegal immigration!

Ashwin was thanked for his role in the 2011 Leadership Awards Program for an organization called New York State Youth Leadership Council.  The slogan on their website states, "Undocumented Youth Leading Change" and their mission is to prevent deportations of "undocumented" immigrants and advance the legal rights of "undocumented" citizens.  For example, their Arts and Expression Program states that they wish to "document the undocumented" and provide resources for "specifically undocumented youth."

Then there is their Education Not Deportation (END) campaign, which aims to prevent the deportation of illegal immigrant children.  END "is a project of the National Immigrant Youth Alliance - an undocumented youth-LED network of grassroots organizations, campus-based student groups and individuals committed to achieving equality for all immigrant youth, regardless of their legal status."

This is just the latest piece of evidence proving that Ashwin Corattiyil can be trusted to help run the Hamilton County GOP.  We previously revealed that Ashwin spent the entire 2004 election cycle working for Democrat John Kerry and through 2010 worked for the liberal Democratic Speaker of the New York City Council Christine Quinn. 

We are very impressed with Party Chairman Alex Triantafilou for finding a phenomenal choice in Ashwin to help lead our Republican Party.  He could not have hired a more qualified candidate.  Ashwin can be trusted.  He is a great Republican just like us.  Let's all take the time today to thank Alex T for doing a fantastic job as our party chairman.

Support Kevin DeWine

Comrades,

I am contacting you with an issue of utmost importance. It seems as if those dastardly conservatives in the Ohio Republican Party are trying to force the resignation of one of our greatest allies, Chairman Kevin DeWine. This kind of insubordination should not be tolerated!

Kevin was a staunch backer of our dearly beloved Amber Burke Sprengard and other anti-Tea Party State Central Committee members. In fact, in the midst of a hard fought election, DeWine spent precious campaign dollars not to defeat Democrats, but to support liberal tax and spend State Central Committee members like Amber against their conservative Tea Party challengers. This is a wise and prudent expenditure of campaign funds. Never mind that those dollars were spent in violation of the Ohio Republican Party's own rules that first require an endorsement vote. It is much more important that we as Republicans preserve our status quo and perpetuate Party dysfunction than it is for us to defeat Democrats.

Kevin also played a major role in shoving Jon Husted down the throats of conservative voters in 2010. You may remember that Husted was a major player in the legislature when I was Governor, and I am forever in debt to him for supporting every single one of my tax increases and big-government policies while he was there. When he was Speaker he also famously refused to acknowledge that rat fink Tom Brinkman on the floor of the House when Brinkman was trying to strip taxpayer funding of the failed Cincinnati Freedom Center from the State budget. Let's also not forget that Ohio's spending while Husted was Speaker increased $3 Billion each year, and he worked hand in hand with ACORN to reform Ohio's voting laws. DeWine was 100% right to support Husted not only because of these positive attributes, but also because Husted was the college dorm buddy of DeWine. If we Republicans can't stand for higher taxes, more spending, and cronyism what can we stand for?

Recently, conservative Speaker of the House Bill Batchelder also called on DeWine to resign. Screw Bill Batchelder! What does he know about good government? His term as Speaker of the Ohio House has been marred by spending cuts, the elimination of the sacred Estate Tax, and numerous attacks on the right of a woman to kill her unborn baby. What kind of Republican leadership is this? When I was Governor I NEVER supported eliminating taxes, I ALWAYS supported increasing spending and the size of government, and I even chose a PRO-ABORTION Lieutenant Governor. THAT is Republican leadership comrades.

I strongly urge you to take to the streets to support Kevin DeWine and fight back against those evil conservatives like Bill Batchelder and John Kasich. Perhaps you could link up and join forces with the Occupy crowd. We have a lot in common after all. Better yet, write a check to the Ohio Republican Party so that Kevin can repeat his tradition of spending campaign funds meant to defeat Democrats on saving his own well-paid position. Comrades, we must help Chairman DeWine defend his phony baloney job! The future well being of the People's Republic of Ohio depends on it!

Yours in Unity,

Governor Bob Taft



End Transmission......

Hartmann's Property Tax Hike Fails

Dear fellow tax hikers, we are extremely mad at Hamilton County Commissioners Chris Monzel and Todd Portune for voting to keep their promise to the voters by maintaining the Property Tax Rollback.  We are disgusted that they refused to support the fantastic property tax increase championed by Commissioner Greg Hartmann.  Because of this awful 2-1 vote, Hamilton County homeowners will not be paying higher taxes for the Bengals and Reds stadiums. 

This is a terrible day for the tax-hiking movement.  It was a great chance to raise taxes.  Tax Hike Hartmann knows higher property taxes are needed to ensure Mike Brown and the Bengals are provided everything they want.  Tax Hike Hartmann knows our property taxes are too low and must be raised.  Tax Hike Hartmann knows that the Property Tax Rollback was a promise made to be broken. 

We at Republicans for Higher Taxes are officially withdrawing our long-standing support for Portune.  He has betrayed our movement time and time again this year by refusing to supporting higher property taxes for the stadiums and museums, supporting a stadium ticket fee so that those who use the stadiums pay for them, and opposing new gifts to Mike Brown.  Portune no longer understands that the taxpayers should always come last. 

We also call on our beloved Republican Chairman Alex Triantafilou to throw Monzel out of the Republican Party.  We're the party of higher taxes and Monzel isn't respecting this fact!  He was ordered to obey Tax Hike Hartmann and refused, just as he disobeyed Simon Leis in 2007 by opposing the Leis Sales Tax increase. 

We applaud Tax Hike Hartmann for his fantastic pro-tax leadership.  We hope his staff took the time to visit their favorite OTR bars and enjoy their favorite beverages.  We will work tirelessly to find good tax-and-spend Republicans to replace those awful fiscal conservatives Monzel and Portune.

Help pass Hartmann's tax hike

Dear fellow tax hikers, we are down to two days left to raise taxes on Hamilton County homeowners.  Tax Hike Hartmann is working furiously to gather a second vote to increase property taxes to give more money to Mike Brown and the Bengals.  This tax increase is too important to worry about what the voters want. 

If this tax increase doesn't pass, the Bengals might have to pay their own electric bills.  If Tax Hike Hartmann doesn't get his way, the Bengals might have to pay for their own stadium upgrades.  If homeowners don't pay more taxes, suburbanites might be able to spend money on their own schools instead of subsidizing the Cincinnati Public Schools.  Could you imagine this?  As you can see, it is urgent that we join Tax Hike Hartmann in passing his big property tax hike. 

We are the party of higher taxes.  Raising taxes is what Republicans do best.  It is Republicans who proposed the Stadium Sales Tax.  It is Republicans who voted for the Stadium Sales Tax.  It is Republicans who negotiated the stadium leases that have done so much good for our county.  It is Republicans plus David A. Pepper who raised property taxes last year to give even more money to the Bengals. 

We call on Commissioners Chris Monzel and Todd Portune to end their support for the Property Tax Rollback.  It is time to break their promises and join Tax Hike Hartmann to pass this important tax increase.  Now is the time for higher stadium taxes and more stadium spending.  Tax us more!

Happy Thanksgiving

Dear fellow tax hikers, from us to you we wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving.  We even extend our best to our enemies at COAST and those in the Tea Party who haven't been co-opted by the Hamilton County Republican Party.  We ask those conservatives to recognize how little they need the money that the government allows them to keep, and to join us in advocating for bigger government and higher taxes.

This year we have been most thankful to our allies and sources from all across Southwest Ohio.  We were able to provide in-depth elections coverage in numerous communities.  We could not have done this ourselves.  We could only provide this excellent coverage in so many local races due to the cadre of fantastic sources from all over this area.  We thank those wonderful sources from the bottom of our tax-hiking hearts.

We are so excited at the work we have been able to do.  We will keep pushing on through the rest of this year and throughout the pivotal 2012 elections.  There are lots of taxes to be raised and many excellent tax-hikers to support.  Today we are thankful for everyone who has been a part of this movement that we lead.

Jean Schmidt nominated for Scoundrel Award

Dear fellow tax hikers, our favorite Congressman Jean Schmidt has been nominated for the Scoundrel of the Month by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Government.  Even though Schmidt's integrity has been questioned during her entire time in Congress, this goes too far.  We believe Schmidt is an ideal Congressman for everything she has done to raise taxes and invent her own ethical rules. 

Please do not visit this website and vote for Jean Schmidt as the Scoundrel of the Month.  That would be embarrassing to her as she preps for a difficult primary against conservative Army Veteran Dr. Brad Wenstrup. 

Schmidt has never allowed ethics or integrity to get in the way of her career advancement.  We do not believe she should be taken to task for this.  Raising taxes, growing government, and bailing out billionaires is what matters, and Jean does all these things extremely well.  Let's show our support for Jean by making sure she is not named the Scoundrel of the Month.

Hartmann's Tax Hike fails to gain support

Dear fellow tax hikers, we are facing a moment of truth.  Hamilton County Commissioner Greg Hartmann had planned on passing his big property tax increase at today's Commission meeting, but failed to find a second vote.  This fight continues.  Tax Hike Hartmann is working very hard to raise your taxes and we will stand behind him 100%.  

This is the most important tax increase we have faced....than at anytime in the past two weeks.  Mike Brown deserves that money.  Mike Brown needs that money and he needs it more than you do. 

This property tax increase only affects the stupid homeowners in Hamilton County.  It doesn't affect people like me and my civil domestic partner, or our Section 8 landlord.  Just because the voters were promised this money when they passed the Stadium Sales Tax increase doesn't mean they should get it.  Promises are made to be broken, especially promises made to the lowly taxpayers. 

We condemn Commissioners Chris Monzel and Todd Portune for standing in the way of this fantastic property tax increase.  Monzel needs to learn his role.  Republicans are the party of higher taxes.  It's time for Monzel to stand in line and obey Tax Hike Hartmann and his other superiors.  Contact your Commissioners and ask them to please raise our taxes.  Tax us more!

Support Hartmann's Property Tax Hike

Dear fellow tax hikers, we are delighted to endorse Commissioner Greg Hartmann's property tax increase on the homeowners of Hamilton County.  Tax Hike Hartmann knows that we need higher taxes to give more money to the Bengals and Reds.  Sadly, Tax Hike Hartmann lacks a second vote for his excellent tax increase.  We call on all of you to get busy advocating for more taxes.

When the voters of Hamilton County approved the Stadium Sales Tax increase in 1996, they were promised that 30% of these Sales Tax revenues would be refunded to homeowners in the form of a Property Tax Rollback (PTR).  Through 2009, this promise was kept.  Thankfully in 2010, Commissioners David Pepper and Tax Hike Hartmann broke this promise, knowing that Mike Brown and Bob Bedinghaus could spend that money better than you.

Here we are again facing this same issue for 2012.  Except now, serial tax hiker David Pepper isn't on the Commission.  He's been replaced by Chris Monzel, who stupidly believes that this PTR promise should be kept.  Amazingly, our formerly ally Todd Portune also believes the full PTR should be maintained.

We fully support breaking this promise.  The stupid voters don't deserve this money.  Bob Bedinghaus, Mike Brown, and Jeff Berding should get to spend that money for you.  Promises to the lowly taxpayers are made to be broken.  

This situation leaves Tax Hike Hartmann without a second vote to pass this absolutely necessary tax increase.  We call on all you tax hikers to lobby Monzel and Portune.  Encourage them to break their word to the voters so we can send more money to the stadiums.  We also want you to contact Tax Hike Hartmann's office and thank him for everything he is doing to raise our property taxes.  You don't need that money; the Bengals do.  Tax us more!

Cincinnati demands more federal streetcar money

Dear fellow tax hikers, we fully support the City of Cincinnati's request to have all United States taxpayers pay another $56 million for the Cincinnati streetcar.  We at Republicans for Higher Taxes have long supported the streetcar project, no matter the cost.  Years ago Santa Obama gave Cincinnati $25 million for this important job-creation project, but that's not nearly enough.

Cincinnati deserves a streetcar.  And they shouldn't have to pay for it.  Everyone should pay for Cincinnati's streetcar, except for the YP snobs who want it.

Those condescending urbanists are entitled to their all-white streetcar.  Right now they are forced to ride a putrid bus, where they may have to sit next to a minority or poor person.  It is unfair treatment to such a special group of people.  These white, YP urbanists deserve something for themselves.

We want Santa Obama to select Cincinnati for this grant.  We would like our entire Ohio Congressional delegation to work through our friend Jean Schmidt to make sure this money remains available.  Even though the federal government ran a $1.3 Trillion deficit for 2011, we must continue spending wildly.  We want that streetcar built, and we expect the entire country to pay for it.

Governor Taft's Election Review

Comrades,

What a great week we've had. Let's re-cap the recent election results:

- State of Ohio - What an amazing victory for the forces of liberal Republicanism! Governor John Kasich's evil scheme to reign in government spending in Ohio came crashing down at the hands of my good friends in the public sector unions. I am particularly proud of two Republicans for standing up against conservative values - Bill Seitz and Bill Cunningham. When the union goons asked for help B&B were right there to support higher spending and oppose meaningful government reform. Way to go fellas! Nobody should be surprised by this of course. My buddy Bill Seitz voted for every single one of my tax increases while I was Governor, and was a vocal advocate in favor of a HUGE sales tax increase in Hamilton County. Bill Cunningham has been a strong supporter of high taxes and high-tax candidates for years. Bill also supported the massive $777 million Portune/Pepper sales tax increase, and opposed efforts in 2009 to stop the Cincinnati streetcar. Keep up the good work gentlemen!

- City of Cincinnati - I couldn't be more ecstatic about the results in the City of Cincinnati. Every single Conservative candidate was roundly defeated. Amy Murray, GONE! Wayne Lippert, GONE! The only Republican left on Council is Charlie Winburn; a former Democrat who opposed SB 5 and has bragged about his support of President Obama. What more could I ask for? More importantly, the effort to stop the Cincinnati streetcar was defeated at the polls. This leaves the City of Cincinnati free to pursue higher spending and gigantic tax increases.

- The Burbs - Well comrades, it was hit or miss in the suburbs of Hamilton County. Great high-tax Republicans like Virgil Lovitt, Dave Collins, and Rick Bryan were able to hold on to their seats to continue the status quo in their communities. Conversely, that evil conservative Heather Harlow defeated her opponent in Colerain Township. You can't win 'em all I suppose.

I think these results may mean that it's safe for me to return to the public eye comrades. It's heartening to know that there are still so many fellow travelers out there. I look forward to working with liberal, high tax, big spending Republicans to turn Ohio back around to where I left it.

Yours in UNITY,

Governor Bob Taft

Heather Harlow's Haters Eating Crow

Dear fellow tax hikers, we would like to extend our sincere appreciation to all of our tipsters and friends from across Hamilton County.  We were enormously pleased to be able to provide you meaningful coverage in many of this region's local races.  We could not have done this without you!  There is no way that those of us on the writing team could have covered the issues in so many different communities without all the tips and information that our extended network provided us.  We thank you all so much.......

Except for the smelly people from Colerain.  You people gave us bad information.  Thankfully we did enough research on our own to provide the good, quality coverage that our readers have come to expect.

We were assured by our Colerain tipsters that Fiscal Officer Heather Harlow was going to get crushed.  They told us things were so bad that her campaign threw in the towel weeks before the election, and that the local GOP and Tea Party had also turned against her.  Now we find out that none of this was true as Heather was re-elected on Tuesday.

Here is a sampling of the comments we received from the Heather Harlow Haters Club:

"The Tea Party has something special planned for Heather Harlow. Having angered both the GOP establishment AND the Tea Party, is there anyone left who is going to vote for this clown? I think the people running this blog will be very happy the morning of November 9th."

"The Hamilton County Republican Party and operatives such as Buzz Deters may not do a lot of things well, but the plan to throw Heather Harlow under the bus is working so beautifully that she and her hubby can't stop it now and wouldn't even know it if it hit them in the face. Delicious and sweet irony."

 "Harlow's support of Senate Bill 5 will be her undoing. Delicious and sweet irony that she was such a rah-rah Kasich gal and his signature legislation will be responsible for her crushing defeat."

"You guys can let this one go. Harlow is toast. She knows it too. She quit this campaign two weeks ago. No Republican in Colerain Township has seen or heard of any activity from her camp since a few damaging articles in the Community Press. She spends her days trying to suck up to countywide elected officials hoping to score a job in county government after she gets crushed."

 "Jeff Ritter and I figured out how to destroy Heather Harlow's political career earlier this year. The plan is working beautifully. She has helped our cause by saying and doing some really dumb things (like getting out in front on issue 2 and kissing up to the Tea Partiers that actually can't stand her)."

 "No worries. We got this in the bag. Harlow is toast."

We are angry at you Harlow Haters for failing to defeat our enemy Heather!  You haters spent too much time yacking and not enough time warning everyone about Harlow's conservative record.  Now we're stuck with this conservative woman for 4 more years.  And you also failed to defeat our enemy Dan Unger.  Our movement has much work to do in Colerain Township to remove these awful conservatives from office.

Leslie Ghiz defeated

Dear fellow tax hikers, this was not the night we expected.  While some things went well tonight, the news that our great friend Leslie Ghiz was defeated for re-election to Cincinnati City Council has left us in an inconsolable state.  Right now we are in downtown Cincinnati crying our eyes out trying to comfort each other after this shocking defeat - possibly our worst loss since the last time Ghiz lost an election. 

This is completely unfair!  Leslie Ghiz was entitled to run a non-existent, mail-it-in campaign and still get re-elected.  We were proud to endorse Ghiz for all she did to support David Pepper and grow the size of government.  

We tax hikers must find a way to go on.  We want you to remember all the great things about our Ghizzy.  That should take a few seconds.

Please post your favorite memories of Leslie Ghiz in the comments section.  Through sharing, we can begin to heal after this tragic loss.

Vote the Big Government Ballot on Tuesday!

Dear fellow tax hikers, Election Day is almost here and we can't wait to vote for higher taxes, bigger government, and for candidates who share our beliefs.  We are going to recap the endorsements we have already made, plus add a few more.

Top Priority - Re-elect Tax Hikin' Rick Bryan for Blue Ash City Council.  Rick is our 2011 Tax Hiker of the Year and his loss would be a huge setback for our pro-tax movement. 

Green Township Trustee - Vote against Jeffry Smith.  Green Township cannot afford a Trustee who will oppose nepotism and look out for the taxpayers.

Cincinnati City Council - Re-elect Leslie Ghiz, who in her career has endorsed a huge Sales Tax increase, voted to build the Streetcar, subsidized The Freedom Center, and endorsed Democrat David Pepper for County Commissioner to help the Democrats take over Hamilton County.  We also give our endorsement to deadbeat Jason Riveiro, tax-hiking goddess Roxanne Qualls, tax-hiking gay activist Chris Seelbach, and the streetcar-obsessed Laure Quinlivan. 

Wyoming City Council - We implore you to support MS. Vicky Zwissler in spite of her past electoral failures.  We also lend our support to ethically-challenged Democrat Jim O'Reilly, who was sanctioned by the Ohio Supreme Court for violating Judicial Canon 7(E)(1), and Barry Porter who loves higher taxes and gun control as much as he loves Twinkies and chocolate ice cream.  All three of these fantastic tax increasers voted to raise Wyoming's Income Tax by 60%. 

Sycamore School Board - You must vote against fiscal conservative Colleen Greissinger.  There is no room on this 5-person board for one single person who is fiscally conservative and opposes higher taxes.

Northwest School Board - We need you to vote against fiscal conservative Dan Unger.  Dan has said no to higher taxes and is trying to control spending.  Both of these ideas are unacceptable, as we need higher taxes and out-of-control spending. 

Colerain Fiscal Officer - It's urgent to vote against Heather Harlow.  Not only is she a fiscal conservative who dared to oppose Hamilton County Sales Tax increase in 2007, she is also a woman who supports our 2nd Amendment rights.  She needs to learn her role.

Sharonville Mayor - We are 100% behind Virgil Lovitt, our 2008 Tax Hiker of the Year.  He has so many more taxes to raise. 

Issue 2 - Vote NO!  We want union deciding how to spend your tax dollars, not our elected officials.  Voting down Issue 2 makes it more likely we'll need higher taxes in the near future!

Issue 3 - Vote NO!  We fully support Obamacare.  This issue opposes Obamacare and prohibits Ohio from enacting it's own Obama-style health care.

Issue 32 - This is a huge property tax increase so we fully support it.  

Issue 37 - This is a tax issue, therefore vote yes.

Issue 38 - This is a tax issue, therefore vote yes.

Issue 47 - Vote NO!  This amendment would ban a Trash Tax.  We want to tax your trash. 

Issue 48 - Vote NO!  This amendment would ban our beloved streetcar.

Rick Bryan for Blue Ash City Council

Dear fellow tax hikers, our #1 priority on Tuesday is the re-election of our 2011 Tax Hiker of the Year Rick Bryan to Blue Ash City Council.  Please click on that link to learn all about the real Rick Bryan record.  Earnings Tax increases, Sales Tax hikes, Lodging Tax hikes, and supporting the School Board members who have raised property taxes, Tax Hikin' Rick Bryan has been one of the most dedicated tax hikers we have ever covered.

We have consistently supported Republicans who raise taxes and support big government.  We have even supported some Democrats who share our agenda, such as The Messiah Barack Obama.  We knew if we wanted higher taxes, we had to elect Obama. 

Rick Bryan is just as great of a tax hiker as President Obama.  These two men believe in big government.  They believe in higher taxes.  They believe in spending big money on big monuments and big "stimulus" projects.  We were enormously proud to name Rick Bryan our 2011 Tax Hiker of the Year.  He earned it.

Rick's opponent is more fiscally conservative than he is.  We don't want that.  Rick Bryan has maxed out for our tax-and-spend movement.  Now our movement must support him.  Please do everything you can to support the re-election of Rick Bryan, our 2011 Tax Hiker of the Year.

Oppose Colleen Greissinger for Sycamore School Board

Dear fellow tax hikers, we urge everyone in the Sycamore School District to vote against fiscal conservative Colleen Greissinger for school board.  There is no room for anyone on the Board who does not support higher taxes and more spending.  Our tax-hiking hero Diane Adamec would have an Oprah-sized meltdown if any of her ideas failed to pass unanimously.  Colleen's opponents are obedient to Adamec and loyally vote with her even when she is wrong.

Currently the Sycamore School District spends more money per student ($14,733 per student per year) than 97% of Ohio's school districts.  That is not enough!  They must raise taxes and increase spending until they are the biggest spenders in Ohio. 

Sadly, Colleen Greissinger refuses to support a property tax increase that would allow the schools to spend even more.  She has stated that she will not support property tax increases for at least 5 more years.  That is a terrible idea!

The entire School Board, including Colleen's opponents, have made it clear they will be seeking a big property tax increase in 2012 or 2013.  We first reported this in January 2010.  It would be tragic if this necessary tax hike did not have unanimous support on the Board.

You must vote against Colleen Greissinger.  There is no room for a single fiscal conservative on this 5-person Board.  We do not want those fiscal conservatives to have a voice.  Make sure you vote against Colleen Greissinger to maintain our unanimous tax-and-spend, union-controlled Sycamore School Board.  Tax us more!

Elected Official taking two taxpayer-funded health plans

Dear fellow tax hikers, candidate for Green Township Trustee Jeffry Smith has done it again!  This insolent citizen activist has discovered more information about another Green Township practice that is sure to upset this region's obnoxious fiscal conservatives.

Mr. Smith is reporting on his latest blog entry that Green Township Fiscal Officer Tom Straus is on two taxpayer-funded health plans at the same time!  We encourage everyone to click on that link and read the full story there.  The documents can be found at his website. 

By day, Mr. Straus works for the Ohio Attorney General's office.  There, he is on the State's health insurance plan.  Straus is also the Fiscal Officer for Green Township.  He is on their health insurance plan too!  One worker, two taxpayer-funded health plans. 

We at Republicans for Higher Taxes are always on the lookout for new and inventive ways to spend taxpayer money.  This one is a winner.  We applaud Tom Straus for showing the ingenuity to take two taxpayer-funded health plans at the same time.

We once again condemn Jeffry Smith for his citizen activism, as we did in September.  We do not like it when taxpayers ask questions about their government.  We especially despise it when they discover nepotism, mismanagement, and elected officials who take two taxpayer-funded health plans at the same time.  It is vitally important that Mr. Smith is defeated on Tuesday.  Green Township cannot afford to have a Trustee looking out for their tax dollars.

Re-elect Leslie Ghiz to City Council

Dear fellow tax hikers, we are writing to correct a grave injustice.  The Cincinnati Enquirer published a Sunday editorial calling on the voters to defeat Leslie Ghiz as she seeks re-election to Cincinnati City Council.  This mean editorial called her a "distraction", accused her of "throwing bombs" that are often "personal, petty, and nasty", and said she affects Council in negative ways. 

All that and more are the things we love most about our Ghizzy.  If you think Leslie Ghiz is personal, petty, and nasty on Council, wait until you get to know her in real life.  She curses like a drunken sailor, and many say she drinks like one too.  Those are the characteristics of one classy woman.

These personal attributes are great, but they aren't the #1 reason we have always supported Ghizzy.  She believes in the things we believe.  Ghizzy supported the proposed 15 year, $777 million Sales Tax increase for Hamilton County.  Ghiz voted to build the popular Cincinnati streetcar.  Ghiz voted to give taxpayer money to John Pepper's Freedom Center.  And speaking of Pepper, Ghiz publicly endorsed Democrat David Pepper for County Commissioner, assisting him in his legendary victory which turned our county over to the Democrats. 

Raising taxes, building streetcars, endorsing Democrats, behaving in a personal, petty, and nasty manner - these reasons and more are why we proudly endorse Leslie Ghiz for Cincinnati City Council.  Even though she is term-limited and will immediately start running for Judge as soon as the election is over, she is entitled to be re-elected to Council.  Ghizzy is one of us.  We support her 100%.

Oppose Dan Unger for Northwest School Board

Dear fellow tax hikers, we ask everyone in the Northwest School District to vote against fiscal conservative Dan Unger for School Board.  His opposition to higher taxes, and support for more spending controls, makes him unfit to serve on a School Board.  In addition to his votes against raising your property taxes, Unger has made a series of proposals on his website and campaign ad which we find revolting:

- Saying no to double dippers.  We have no problem with people who retire from their jobs to start collection their pensions, then return the next day to the job so they can earn both their salary and pension at the same time.

- Amend the district's purchasing policy to require School Board approval for high-dollar purchases.  We would rather see Administrators spending wildly with no control from the Board.

- Require the Board to appoint the financial review committee, instead of having the Treasurer appoint a committee to review.  What is wrong with having the Treasurer's office appoint the committee who will oversee the Treasurer's office?

- Control spending.  We are against controlling spending.  If the district fails to control spending, then we'll have to pass property tax increases to pay for it all.  And raising taxes is what we really want.

If you like higher taxes as much as we do, you have to vote against these fiscal conservatives who try to keep government under control.  Say YES to higher taxes and say YES to big spending by saying NO to Dan Unger.

Oppose Heather Harlow for Fiscal Officer

Dear fellow tax hikers, we urgently must come together to oppose the re-election of our enemy Heather Harlow for Colerain Township Fiscal Officer.  Harlow's crimes against our tax-and-spend movement are long and severe. 

1.  Was one of only seven elected officials in Hamilton County who opposed the massive 15 year, $777 million Sales Tax increase in 2007.  Everyone was under orders from the political parties and our beloved Sheriff Simon Leis to support this.  Harlow refused to endorse this needed countywide tax increase, and her fellow citizens of Colerain voted it down in record numbers.  We will not tolerate it when an elected official represents their constituents instead of obeying party leaders.

2.  Co-chaired Chris Monzel's campaign for Commissioner instead of supporting our endorsed candidate Leslie Ghiz.  Ghiz deserved that nomination.  Ghiz supported that Sales Tax hike, she endorsed Democrat David Pepper for Commissioner and Mayor, and she voted to start the $200 million streetcar project.

3.  Helped lead the conspiracy against Leslie Ghiz by the Blue Chip Young Republicans, an organization she once lead.  Harlow is one of the people who we blame for that club's unanimous support of Monzel over Ghiz.  

4.  We are also angry that she, as a woman, has been openly supportive of protecting gun rights for law-abiding citizens.  It is not a woman's place to support the 2nd Amendment.  Her job is to support higher taxes on command, and she has failed miserably at that simple task. 

We must unite to stop Heather Harlow!  Her support for limited government, holding the line on taxes, and protecting constitutional rights is completely unacceptable.  Our movement has to stop young, conservative, Republican women before they get too far.  We endorse her male opponent because we need to stop this conservative woman now.  Tax us more!

Ashwin Corattiyil's Snafu

Dear fellow tax hikers, we were the first to give the new Hamilton County Republican Party Political and Communications Director a warm welcome to his new job.  Now we would like everyone to forgive our friend Ashwin Corattiyil for his first glaring mistake. 

On Friday the Hamilton County GOP sent a press release announcing that Rocky Boiman was selected to fill Tracy Winkler's hefty shoes as the newest Green Township Trustee.  Nevermind that we had already announced it three days earlier.  In this release, Ashwin wrote, "On Monday, October 18th, Green Township Trustees David Linnenberg and Tony Upton appointed Rocky Boiman to replace Tracy Winkler...."

Monday was October 17th.  By the time the 18th rolled around it was Tuesday and Rocky had already been selected.  We would like everyone to just ignore this error and move on. 

Just because Ashwin spent the entire 2004 election cycle campaigning for John Kerry and worked for the liberal Democratic Speaker of New York City Council through 2010 does not mean that he is a Democratic infiltrator who is trying to destroy our Hamilton County GOP from within.  He did not make this silly mistake to embarrass his new Republican employer.  You can trust him.  That's what we declare.

Rick Bryan - 2011 Tax Hiker of the Year

Dear fellow tax hikers, we proudly name Blue Ash City Councilman Rick Bryan our 2011 Tax Hiker of the Year.  Tax Hikin' Rick Bryan has an extensive record of raising taxes and growing the size of government.

Most people familiar with Rick say that he is one of the least hardworking and most irrelevant politicians in Southwest Ohio, and for the most part they are correct.  But we love Rick anyways because he works very hard at two things - raising taxes and building big taxpayer-funded monuments.  Consider the Rick Bryan record:

1)  Teamed with former Attorney General Marc Dann to endorse a 15 year, $777 million Sales Tax increase on Hamilton County residents.  Sadly, 56% of county voters rejected Rick's huge Sales Tax hike.

2)  Publicly endorsed a 2006 Charter Amendment giving Blue Ash City Council the authority to raise the city's earnings tax from a measly 1% to 1.25%.

3)  As soon as this amendment passed, Tax Hikin' Rick Bryan wasted no time taking advantage of this power by voting to raise the earnings tax by 25% on the undertaxed residents and workers of Blue Ash.

4)  After raising the earnings tax, our Rick has enthusiastically pushed to spend it all on vitally important items such as a $14 million Rec Center rebuild (when it could have been renovated for $3 million), a big new park, a new arts center (30 feet from Sharonville's), AND The Big All-Important Golf Course Clubhouse Expansion.  While many communities are wasting their money on things like police, fire, roads, and snow removal, Bryan makes sure Blue Ash focuses on building big expensive monuments on which they can hang an expensive plaque with the names of each City Councilman.

5)  Strongly supported the re-election of our hero Bob Bedinghaus for all the great things he did for Hamilton County.  We needed those stadium deals, and we're glad Rick Bryan understands this. 

6)  Voted to have Blue Ash City Council endorse the tax increase which more than doubled the Hotel/Motel Tax in Hamilton County.  This tax increase was pushed by Virgil Lovitt, sponsored by Jean Schmidt, and signed into law by Bob Taft - a legendary trio of tax hikers.

7)  Opposed the nomination of our nemesis Pat DeWine for Judge.  DeWine opposed the $777 million Sales Tax increase that Bryan endorsed, and our Rick wanted to make sure DeWine was severely punished for his fiscally conservative ways. 

8)  A fine example of Rick's efforts to make Blue Ash so "well-run", the City actually paid a band to NOT perform at the Taste of Blue Ash.  Never have we seen a wiser use of taxpayer dollars. 

9)  Finally, Rick proudly wears his big, manly, mad-sexy mustache everywhere he goes.  Given his poor work ethic and limited ability to understand complex issues, Rick Bryan needs that Mustache Power to be the tax-hiking superstar he has become today. 

As you can see, Tax Hikin' Rick Bryan is a fantastic tax increaser and is highly deserving of his Tax Hiker of the Year Award.  He doesn't do many things well, but nobody can deny his superior skills at raising taxes and building big monuments.  We hope everyone will join us in congratulating our 2011 Tax Hiker of the Year Rick Bryan!

New Green Township Trustee

Dear fellow tax hikers, we congratulate Rocky Boiman for being named the newest Green Township Trustee.  Boiman was selected to replace our Tracy Winkler, who had to resign the seat to become Hamilton County Clerk of Courts.  Those are some mighty big shoes that Rocky will be asked to fill. 

We believe Rocky is firmly qualified for this position.  He played football at St. X.  He played football at Notre Dame.  He played football in the NFL.  His Political Action Committee, LEAD PAC, endorsed and donated to Democratic City Council candidate P.G. Sittenfeld as well as the liberal, pro-streetcar Deadbeat Democrat Jason Riveiro. We expect Rocky to get right to work keeping things as they are and protecting the patronage jobs of select Green Township families. 

We applaud Green Township Trustees Tony Upton and David Linnenberg for moving expeditiously to select a qualified candidate for this opening.  It only took them 5 days to accept Winkler's resignation, announce the opening, allow time for applications to come in, schedule the interviews, conduct the interviews, and make a final decision.  That is the sign of a fair, open, and honest selection process that everyone can be proud of.  Please join us in giving Rocky Boiman a warm welcome to our tax-hiking team.

Virgil Lovitt for Sharonville Mayor

Dear fellow tax hikers, we strongly endorse 2008 Tax Hiker of the Year Virgil Lovitt for re-election as Sharonville's Mayor.  Virg has been a fantastic Mayor and is possibly the greatest active Hamilton County tax hiker we have.  There are too many examples of Virg's high-tax activism to list in one blog entry, but we'll make sure you get a chance to review his greatest hits.

As Mayor, Virgil supported a 50% increase in Sharonville's income tax.  In 2007 Virg endorsed a $777 million Sales tax increase for the undertaxed citizens of Hamilton County.  When Sharonville overpaid some of its employees by $500,000, Virg decided to be a gentleman and just let everyone keep the money.  A great Bob Taft Republican, Virg could not wait to endorse Taft's 3rd Frontier project which has worked to save Ohio's economy.  Virg endorsed and worked hard to more than double Hamilton County's lodging tax, legislation sponsored by tax hiker Jean Schmidt and signed into law by Taft - 3 legendary tax hikers working together to raise our taxes. 

There are so many more tax hikes and big government activity in Virg's record.  Virg endorsed a huge property tax increase for the Princeton Schools in 2007, which failed.  In 2010, with the Princeton Schools already spending more money per student than nearly every other school district in Ohio, Virg endorsed another huge property tax increase which fortunately passed.  Virg has been a strong supporter of proven tax hiker Jean Schmidt, opposed fiscal conservative Pat DeWine for Judge, and even endorsed and donated to Democrat Todd Portune.

We consider Virgil Lovitt to be the model public servant for our tax-and-spend movement.  Our only regret is that he is not serving us in a greater capacity.  If there was any justice in the world Virg would be a County Commissioner or State Representative while building up to a statewide run.  But Ohio's loss is Sharonville's gain.  We proudly give our strongest possible endorsement to Virgil Lovitt for Sharonville Mayor so that he can spend four more years endorsing every tax increase in the region.

Tax Hiker of the Year TBA Thursday morning

Dear fellow tax hikers, now that our efforts to install Tracy Winkler as the new Hamilton County Clerk of Courts have resulted in victory, we now return to a high priority item.  As you know, we have already selected our Tax Hiker of the Year.  Today we announce that we are planning a big rollout this week.

This Thursday morning at 7:30 AM, Republicans for Higher Taxes will name the winner of our 2011 Tax Hiker of the Year award.  We promise that we have found a highly deserving recipient.  We know that you all will be just as proud of our accomplished winner as we are. 

We trust that everyone understands the reason for our delay.  Our movement needed to focus all of our attention on selecting Tracy Winkler to be our next Clerk of Courts.  This was an important victory for us.  With that behind us, we can give our Tax Hiker of the Year the big-time attention that he or she deserves.  We have always done right by the winner of this most prestigious award and this year will be no different.  Tax us more!

HamCo GOP's latest hire worked on Kerry campaign

Dear fellow tax hikers, we are delighted to introduce Ashwin Corattiyil as the new Political Director of our Hamilton County Republican Party.  Ashwin is a great friend of ours and we know he will do a fantastic job for our movement.  His background is pristine.

Our Ashwin spent the entire 2004 campaign season working for Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry!  Corattiyil's extensive time with the John Kerry campaign was chronicled in this article, which included the following passage that helped explain his attraction to Kerry:

He worked for John Kerry from the beginning of his presidential bid as an intern in the New York campaign office, because he thought that Kerry had the best chance of beating Bush. 

Ashwin's liberal values also influenced his decision to work for Senator Kerry.

The activist came to New York from comparably small and suburban Cincinnati, Ohio, tempted by NYU’s teaching program. He recalled growing up and being slightly more liberal than the neighborhood regulars. 

Even though you’re born and raised here, you see the outsider’s perspective. I can see a totally different viewpoint. And, I think that’s why I became more liberal.

As recently as September 2010, our Ashwin was working for the Speaker of the New York City Council, Democrat Christine Quinn. 

Campaigning for John Kerry, promoting liberal values, working for New York City Democrats - this is exactly the kind of person we need to help run the Hamilton County Republican Party!  Why hire a proven Republican operative to help run the Republican Party when you can hire a wonderful Democrat instead?

Selecting Ashwin Corattiyil is as great of a decision as selecting Tracy Winkler.  They have precisely the kind of qualifications that we at Republicans for Higher Taxes treasure.  These kind of decisions are moving our party in the right direction - our direction.

Our new Clerk of Courts

Dear fellow tax hikers, today was a special day for us personally and for the movement that we lead.  We were privileged to be in attendance as our Tracy Winkler was officially sworn in as the new Hamilton County Clerk of Courts!  Then at the reception afterwards we enjoyed an appetizer with Tracy, followed by a bucket of wings, and some chips and dip, and an assorted variety of candies, and finally a sampling of wonderful desserts. 

Tracy wasted no time getting busy at her new job.  By the end of the week we anticipate she will actually know what the Clerk of Courts does.  With hundreds of patronage jobs at her disposal, Tracy will have many hiring decisions to make.  She will soon make key decisions about her administrative staff, perhaps replacing workers like Mike Robison with some of her unemployed relatives with minimal education.

And naturally, Jennifer Triantafilou is being strongly considered for a high-ranking job.  Because of her qualifications, of course. 

Team Tax Hikers, all of you deserve credit for the great jobs you have done!  This couldn't have happened without you.  We did our job convincing the party that Tracy Winkler was entitled to this position.  Between her last name and her decision to hire Jennifer Triantafilou for a job she was completely unqualified for, Tracy earned this appointment.  Tracy is very appreciative of everything we have done.  Now we will get our reward as she serves Hamilton County as well as she's served Green Township.

Winkler's final hurdle

Dear fellow tax hikers, we are so close to making Tracy Winkler our next Hamilton County Clerk of Courts that we can already taste the victory.  Just one more hurdle remains.  On Tuesday the Hamilton County Republican Party Executive Committee meets to make the final decision for the Clerk of Courts.  We can tell you now what will happen.

We are proud to report the exclusive news that Tracy Winkler has already been selected by the Executive Committee in advance of tomorrow's meeting!  The decision has been made that Winkler will win in an overwhelming vote.  We are working to make it unanimous.

This is a fantastic victory for our tax hiking team.  We recognized our star on the rise, Tracy Winkler, and put everything else aside to focus on getting her this position.  We have even postponed naming our 2011 Tax Hiker of the Year to focus all our attention on Winkler. 

Tracy is entitled to this appointment!  She is a Winkler.  She hired Alex Triantafilou's wife for a position that she was otherwise unqualified to fill.  She shut down public comments at the Green Township Trustee meetings.  Tracy is owed a favor by the Party Chairman, and tomorrow Tracy officially collects.  Our tax dollars at work!

Tax Hiker award delayed

Dear fellow tax hikers, due to our tireless work on behalf of selecting Tracy Winkler for Hamilton County Clerk of Courts, we have had to delay the rollout of our 2011 Tax Hiker of the Year award.  This is our most prestigious award and we want to make sure that our winner receives all of the recognition that he or she deserves. 

When Winkler is in the spotlight, she takes it all.  It would unfair to our 2011 winner to announce their accomplishment under these circumstances.  Our Tax Hiker of the Year is entitled to the significant recognition that historically accompanies this honor.  However we cannot give this person the attention they deserve while we are working so hard for our Tracy. 

We want all you tax hikers to know that we have selected our winner.  This person is highly deserving of the award.  We know all of you will be just as proud of this person as we are.  We promise, as soon as we complete our work on behalf of Tracy Winkler we will announce our fantastic 2011 winner.

Official Hamilton County GOP Screening Questionnaire

Dear fellow tax hikers, we have received an actual copy of the questionnaire used by the Hamilton County Republican Party to fill the recent vacancy for Clerk of Courts.  We are pleased to reveal this document to all of you.  

****************************************************************

Dear applicant, thank you for your interest in becoming the next Hamilton County Clerk of Courts.  We have committed to filling this vacancy in a fair, open, and honest manner.  Please complete this fair, open, and honest questionnaire which will be used to determine the winner.

1)  List all the relevant qualifications you possess for this position.

(1 point for each valid answer)

2)  Besides our beloved Chairman, who is our best employee at GOP Headquarters?
A.  Debbie Flammer  (0 points)
B.  Any of the interns  (0 points)
C.  Maggie Nafziger Wuellner  (10 points)

3)  Describe your physical appearance:

A.  Fit  (0 points)

B.  Just a little overweight  (2 points)

C.  Free Willy  (10 points)

4)  Have you recently hired Alex Triantafilou's wife for a government position in which she did not meet the minimum qualifications?

A.  Yes  (100 points)

B.  No  (0 points)

5)  Please indicate your last name: 

A.  Winkler  (100 points)

B.  Other  (0 points)

6)  Have you ever slept with His Honor Ted Winkler?

A.  Yes!  (50 points)

B.  No  (0 points)

Our fair, open, and honest screening committee will meet Wednesday, October 5th to review the answers and make a final recommendation.  Thank you for your interest!

-- Mags