Oppose Jeffry Smith for Green Township Trustee

Dear fellow tax hikers, it is a matter of extreme importance that we stop citizen activist Jeffry Smith from getting elected Green Township Trustee.  Mr. Smith's advocacy for good government and against nepotism is unacceptable and has caused much discomfort for the elite ruling class of this fine township.  Mr. Smith's crimes against our allies in the tax-and-spend movement are severe and disqualify him from serving the public.

1)  Jeffry Smith is the peasant who uncovered the truth behind the hiring of Jennifer Triantafilou for a job she's completely unqualified to hold, and in fact did not apply for until nearly 2 weeks after the application deadline.  Mr. Smith compiled the public documents and posted them on his site to show her lack of qualifications and the political reasons behind the hire.  The Green Township Trustees bypassed many qualified candidates to hire the wife of Hamilton County Republican Party Chairman Alex Triantafilou in order to gain political favor down the road.  We at Republicans for Higher Taxes think there is nothing wrong with hiring well-connected political wives for jobs they aren't capable of performing.

2)  Smith discovered that the Nathanael Greene Lodge has been losing an average of $200,000 per year.  This lodge is co-run by Allison Detzel, who happens to be the daughter of Trustee Tracy Winkler.  Smith thinks something is wrong with this.  We don't have any problem with hiring an elected official's daughter to lose a ton of money for the Township.

3)  We are especially disappointed that Smith has criticized the Trustees for shutting down public comments at their Township meetings.  Why would any elected official care what regular citizens have to say about their government?  The Green Township Trustees sure don't care.  Smith should apologize for insisting that he and his fellow citizens have a right to be heard at their local government meetings.

Do you want a representative who lets you speak at government meetings?  Then don't vote for Smith.  Do you have a problem with Trustees hiring their children to lose taxpayer money?  Then don't vote for Smith, he'll hire someone who can do the job.  Do you support hiring the Party Chairman's wife for a job she's incapable of performing?  Then don't vote for Smith, he'll hire qualified personnel instead.  

Whatever you do, don't vote for Jeffry Smith.  There are too many relatives of political officials whose patronage jobs depend on it.

Announcement: 2011 Tax Hiker of the Year to be named

Dear fellow tax hikers, we are just one week away from naming the recipient of our 2011 Tax Hiker of the Year award!  This is our most prestigious award.  We take great pride in selecting only the most highly qualified tax hikers for this honor.

We will be unveiling the 2011 winner next week.  We promise all you tax hikers to select another highly deserving recipient as we have every other year.

Just like our good friends at CincyPAC, this award is determined by our wonderful Board.  We agree with CincyPAC that regular people aren't good enough to make these important decisions.  We applaud groups like CincyPAC that don't allow their membership to decide how their organization is run.

We are very, very proud of our Tax Hiker of the Year award and its rich history of awesome winners.  We promise that our 2011 winner will be just as great as our previous ones.  We now leave you with our proud history of Tax Hiker of the Year award winners:

2007 Tax Hiker of the Year - Bill Seitz
2008 Tax Hiker of the Year - Virgil Lovitt
2009 Tax Hiker of the Year - Michelle Schneider
2010 Tax Hiker of the Year - Jon Husted

Tax Our Trash, No on 47

Dear fellow tax hikers, we alert you to one of the most dangerous issues to hit the people's ballot in years.  Cincinnati voters will be deciding the fate of Issue 47, which would ban the city from taxing your trash.  This amendment is a bunch of garbage!

We strongly endorse a NO vote on Issue 47.  Nobody should be able to throw something away without paying a tax to the government.  We want our garbage to be taxed.  Don't you?

We condemn the NAACP and COAST for their work in getting this to the ballot.  Only an extremist would oppose a trash tax ban.  Cincinnati needs this money.  You don't.  Tax our trash, No on 47.

Support the Streetcar, No on 48

Dear fellow tax hikers, tonight we reiterate our strong support for the $130 million Cincinnati streetcar.  As the streetcar's leading advocate, we call on everyone to stand with us again as we move forward on this 19th Century transportation method. 

This fall Cincinnati residents will have a chance to vote on the streetcar.  Issue 48 is an effort by our enemies at COAST and elsewhere to ban the streetcar for 9 years.  To save the streetcar, we strongly endorse a NO vote on Issue 48.  A recent article reveals where each City Council candidate stands on this important issue. 

The streetcar will do so many good things.  Due to space limitations we'll limit ourselves to some of the best ones:

- Roxanne Qualls says the streetcar will create jobs, just like she promised the stadiums would create jobs.

- The streetcar will repopulate Over the Rhine.  There are so many people who would move to good ole' OTR, if only it had a streetcar. 

- It will provide more transportation options and attract "choice riders".  Buses have too many minorities and poor people to make these all-important "choice riders" feel comfortable.  A streetcar gets rid of these undesirables.  White YP's deserve something for themselves.  With a streetcar they can finally start leaving their gas-guzzling SUV's in the garage. 

- With the streetcar, Cincinnati can "move forward".  Nothing moves you forward like bringing back 19th Century technology.

We are very excited to spend $130 million on a 3 mile loop through Over the Rhine.  This streetcar will do almost as many good things for Cincinnati as the two stadiums have done for Hamilton County.  But to build this streetcar, we must defeat Issue 48.  Save the streetcar!  Vote No on 48!

Rick Bryan hearts Bob Bedinghaus

Dear fellow tax hikers, we all know that Bob Bedinghaus was one of the best Commissioners that Hamilton County ever had.  Our ally Blue Ash City Councilman Rick Bryan agrees.  When the selfish voters ended Bedinghaus' political career, Tax Hikin' Rick Bryan stood with him to the end.  From an Enquirer article:

Most Republicans will support Mr. Bedinghaus on election day, said Rick Bryan, Republican vice mayor of Blue Ash. He said Mr. Bedinghaus took a risk for the community, and now the community should support him.

Mr. Bryan is 100% correct.  Bedinghaus did the right thing.  Those stadium decisions have paid off handsomely and now Hamilton County is prospering because of them.  Bedinghaus deserved re-election for all the good he did. 

Tax Hikin' Rick Bryan has governed Blue Ash the same way.  Rick was the #1 cheerleader for Blue Ash's huge 25% earnings tax increase.  He is using that money to perform functions that are almost as important as building stadiums - building a new park, building a new performing arts center (30 feet away from Sharonville's), the $14 million Rec Center renovation, AND The Big All-Important Golf Course Clubhouse Expansion.  Move aside police and fire, those monuments are why we have government!

“I hope this race isn't just a referendum on the stadium,” Mr. Bryan said. “But when you strip the emotion away, if the city had lost the Bengals and the Reds, it would not be as desirable a place to live.”

Absolutely.  Because of the Bedinghaus/Neyer/Bryan Stadium Tax, this county is a more desirable place to live.  We get to pay higher Sales Taxes to provide our beloved Bengals and Reds with free stadiums.  We get to pay another stadium tax for the huge stadium fund deficits these projects have created.  We get to benefit from the economic boom these stadiums have given us.  We get to love, honor, and respect Bengals Owner Mike Brown every single year, while paying him $10 million/year in operating subsidies.

Rick Bryan is doing for Blue Ash what Bob Bedinghaus did for Hamilton County.  We need more of the same.  Bryan stood with Bedinghaus because he is just like him.  They are two peas in a pod who love higher taxes and bigger monuments.  And that's why we love them so much.  We hope you love them too.  Tax us more!

Simon Leis Memorial Service

Dearly tax hikers, we are gathered here, at our favorite hangout, to mourn the political passing of one of our greatest friends, Hamilton County Sheriff Simon L. Leis.  For the last 80 years Simon has been an inspiration for us all - raising taxes, supporting the $200 million streetcar, trashing the 1st Amendment, and in general being a jackass to anyone who didn't respect his authority as Hamilton County Dictator.  We will miss him greatly. 

Simon Leis spent a lifetime watching pornography.  Not for his benefit of course - it was for our benefit.  After all, how would we know if a particular film was appropriate to watch if Dearly Simon hadn't already watched it and made the decision for us.  We bet Simon had a big smile on his face when he watched two guys pounding each other, knowing that his sacrifice was protecting the community. 

When he wasn't watching adult films for our benefit, Simon was an advocate for everything we believed in.  He strongly supported an $800 million Sales Tax hike for $200 million to expand his jail and the rest to expand his kingdom.  He took a trip to Portland and saw a bunch of people riding the streetcar during lunch rush in a no-fare zone, and based on that immediately endorsed Cincinnati's then-$200 million streetcar plan.  Simon proudly endorsed great Democrats like David Pepper, Todd Portune, and Jim Tarbell while opposing our enemies Pat DeWine and Chris Monzel. 

We have all come here for comfort and support in our trying time of need.  This is a safe place for our kind to mourn, knowing we are with those who believe as we do.  Be not afraid to cry.  Be not afraid to grieve.  Be not afraid to reach out here to your friends for love in this most difficult period.  As we enter our mourning period, we invite all you Dearly Tax Hikers to post your favorite memories of our Dearly Departed, so that our sense of community can help us heal.  RIP Great Sheriff.

Don't blame the mustache

Dear fellow tax hikers, yesterday our Messiah Barack Obama suffered a horrendous defeat in New York's 9th Congressional District.  This Democratic district in liberal New York City elected a Tea Party Republican Bob Turner to Congress with an astounding 53% of the vote. 

One specific reason being cited for this loss hurts us the most.  The mustache.  Democratic candidate David Weprin has a mustache and some are citing this as one of the factors that hurt him. 

Weprin had other things working against him going into Tuesday's vote: his endorsement of same-sex marriage, which enraged many of the Orthodox Jewish voters; his membership in a political party blamed by many for the country's economic mess; his perceived lack of familiarity with the district; even his mustache. "Really … you look sleazy," said Pearl Siegelman, a Democratic district leader in Brooklyn's Sheepshead Bay, where one polling station recorded 69% support for Turner despite the large number of voters there who are a lot like Weprin: Orthodox Jewish Democrats. 

We refuse to sit back and allow anyone to take a swipe at Mustache Power.   This underrated advantage has powered many of our victories.  Look at all the mustaches throughout our region - 2008 Tax Hiker of the Year Virgil Lovitt, Blue Ash City Councilman Tax Hikin' Rick Bryan, 2007 Tax Hiker of the Year Bill Seitz, Todd Portune, Leslie Ghiz, and Jean Schmidt. 

You can criticize Obama for his lack of support for Israel.  Criticize him for not doing enough to promote his tax increases.  You can criticize Weprin for running a lousy campaign.  For supporting gay marriage.  But whatever you do, do not criticize the 'stache.  Mustache Power is still a potent force.

Tracy Winkler nixes State Rep race

Dear fellow tax hikers, for most people today was the deadline to apply for the vacant State Representative position in Ohio's 30th District.  However if Green Township rules are utilized, Jennifer Triantafilou will have 11 more days to send in her application.  The list of current applicants was released earlier today, and sadly our endorsed candidate Tracy Winkler was not among them. 

We tax hikers are having terrible luck with our top candidates.  Our first endorsed candidate Stadium David Linnenberg turned down the race the day after we endorsed him.  And now Tracy Winkler refused to step up to the plate (for once).  We were counting on sending top-notch tax hiker to infiltrate the Republican Caucus so we can undermine the Kasich agenda, but we are afraid that we have failed in that important task. 

We ask all you tax hikers, do you see a good candidate in this group?  If so send us the information so we can all stand together and select the best tax-and-spend Republican for this vacancy.  This can be the start of our effort to take down John Kasich and all his evil, pro-taxpayer policies!

Blue Ash pays band to not perform

Dear fellow tax hikers, we are very proud of the City of Blue Ash for making national news due to their decision to pay a band to not perform at August's Taste of Blue Ash.  This is a fantastic use of taxpayer dollars. 

We are always on the lookout for new and inventive ways to spend taxpayer money.  This one may take the cake.

We applaud Blue Ash City Council for their fine leadership on this important issue.  In particular, we salute our good friend Tax Hikin' Rick Bryan for all the great leadership he has shown at raising taxes and growing government.  We encourage them to stop being so modest in taking credit for this accomplishment.  Pat Benatar is getting too much credit.

Pat Benatar doesn't run the City of Blue Ash.  She doesn't write their contracts.  She doesn't execute their contracts.  She can't break their contracts.  It is Blue Ash City Council that makes these decisions.  It is Blue Ash's great leaders that made this happen.  We thank Councilman Rick Bryan and his fellow band of Councilmen for spending taxpayer money paying a band to sit home and do nothing for the great people of Blue Ash.  Great job guys!