Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Ohio Republicans to raise Income Taxes

Dear fellow tax hikers, we are delighted to bring you the news that our Ohio Republican leaders have joined with Democratic Governor Ted Strickland to raise Ohio's Income Taxes! Our tax hiking leaders plan to hold the final vote on Thursday and we expect all of our House and Senate Republicans to support this excellent tax increase.

This is why we vote for Republicans - to raise taxes. We are the party of higher taxes, and we continue to prove it at every turn.

We owe special thanks to our 2007 Tax Hiker of the Year Bill Seitz for his great leadership. Tax Hike Seitz has worked extremely hard over the past couple weeks to build support for this tax hike plan.

We also owe special gratitude to State Representative Connie Pillich for her courageous vote to raise this important tax. We were actually worried about her ability to raise taxes when she first got elected, but she has grown into an excellent tax hiker herself. In fact, if Connie allowed her mustache to grow thicker, she would be nearly indistinguishable from our man Virgil Lovitt. Tax us more!

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Leslie Ghiz for County Commissioner

Dear fellow tax hikers, we are writing to endorse one of our favorites Leslie Ghiz for County Commissioner. You may be saying, "but isn't she running for City Council"? She is indeed on the ballot for City Council, but most of her time is being spent running for County Commissioner. This City Council race is a mere steppingstone to her real goal, replacing her mentor David Pepper on the County Commission. We are going to respect Mrs. Ghiz's choice and endorse her for the position that she actually cares about winning, Hamilton County Commissioner.

We know that Ghiz will make a fantastic Commissioner. If you liked Bob Bedinghaus, you will love Leslie Ghiz. Ghiz has been a strong promoter of higher taxes, big new spending programs like the $200 million Streetcar, and high-profile support of great tax-and-spend Democrats such as David Pepper and Jeff Berding. Please take a few minutes to consider the Ghiz record:

1. Endorsed David Pepper for County Commissioner, which gave the Democrats the majority on Commission for the first time in 40 years.

2. Joined with Marc Dann to endorse Pepper's big 2007 Sales Tax increase for the county.

3. Voted for Cincinnati's $200 million Streetcar plan, and is working against Issue 9 which could threaten to stop the streetcar.

4. Gave an $800,000 subsidy to The Freedom Center, along the way complaining that the city wouldn't give more.

5. Endorsed Democrat Jeff Berding and Charterite Chris Bortz, both of whom have also earned our endorsements, while heeding our warning to oppose Charlie Winburn. See, Leslie Ghiz does not support her fellow Republicans if they work too hard to limit the size of government.

Leslie Ghiz has built a superior record that is based around endorsing Democrats, raising taxes, and finding new, creative ways to spend our money. She deserves our support. When you vote this Tuesday, vote for Leslie Ghiz for County Commissioner!

Cincinnati City Council Endorsements

Dear fellow tax hikers, we are now ready to announce our endorsements and non-endorsements for the 2009 Cincinnati City Council. Cincinnati residents are lucky to be governed by some of the best tax hikers in Southwest Ohio. We intend for this to continue. In accordance with our stated beliefs, we proudly endorse the following candidates:

1. Chris Bortz. Mr. Bortz claims he is a Republican and has been a leader in raising taxes and spending in Hamilton County. Bortz proudly stood with Marc Dann to support Issue 27 which would have raised Hamilton County's Sales Tax. In prior years Bortz has frequently voted against property tax rollbacks. Bortz is the chief advocate for the $200 million streetcar plan which we proudly support, and voted to give $800,000 to The Freedom Center. Bortz also endorsed pro-tax Democrat David Pepper for County Commissioner to help give our county the tax-hiking majority we needed, and appointed the awesomely pro-tax Roxanne Qualls to Jim Tarbell's old Council seat. Bortz is one of us and we can't wait to see what he'll do for 2 more years.

2. Jeff Berding. Mr. Berding, who will often claim he is really a Republican too, has compiled much of the same record as Bortz. He stood with Marc Dann and Bortz to support raising Hamilton County's Sales Tax. He has proudly voted for the $200 million streetcar and supported the $800,000 subsidy to The Freedom Center. Berding also endorsed David Pepper to the County Commission.

Where Berding really stands out is in all the work he did to support the Stadium Tax hike! Didn't that work out well for us? Hamilton County is a much better place today because of the Jeff Berding Stadium Tax that we'll be paying for another 30 years.

3. Roxanne Qualls. We're going to cross party lines here and endorse one of the greatest tax hikers we have. You name the tax, Ms. Qualls has supported it. Qualls provided key support to get the Jeff Berding Stadium Tax passed. She endorsed the Light Rail Tax that 69% of Hamilton County voters rejected in 2002. She endorsed Issue 27, the big Sales Tax hike from 2007. She strongly supports the $200 million streetcar plan and has previously announced her desire to fight again for light rail, which would need another tax hike. Over the past year she has been a reliable ally for the Mayor and all the big spending plans he's supported. Given the shortage of pro-tax Republicans running this year, we need to keep Qualls around some more.

4. Finally, we will announce our endorsement of Leslie Ghiz in a separate entry. Her tax-and-spend credentials and overall record merit a special posting just for her.

In addition to these fine tax hikers, we are issuing an urgent plea to vote against Chris Monzel and Charlie Winburn! These two enemies have been notoriously hostile to our agenda. They both opposed raising Hamilton County's Sales Tax hike. They stood with the coalition that restricted red light cameras in Cincinnati. They don't even support our $200 million streetcar plan. Each year Monzel has supported a property tax rollback, and even worse both of these guys have signed a pledge not to raise taxes! We want higher taxes. So vote against Monzel and Winburn.

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Rick Bryan for Blue Ash City Council

Dear fellow tax hikers, we are delighted to issue our strongest possible endorsement to Blue Ash City Councilman Rick Bryan. Of all the suburban city councilmen and township trustees, Rick Bryan is simply the best tax hiker we have. It is vitally important that he be re-elected to the Blue Ash City Council so that their city's government can continue to operate under Rick's awesome tax-and-spend leadership. Consider the Rick Bryan record:

1. Like Ohio's former Attorney General Marc Dann, Rick Bryan publicly endorsed the big Sales Tax increase for Hamilton County. Sadly, the voters did not agree and opposed Rick's tax hike with 56% of the vote.

2. Rick voted for and publicly endorsed the 25% Earnings Tax hike for the lucky citizens and workers in Blue Ash.

3. Endorsed the huge Hotel/Motel tax increase earlier this decade championed by Bob Taft and 2008 Tax Hiker of the Year Virgil Lovitt. Rick has continued over the years to support the political career of fellow tax hiker Virg Lovitt.

4. Rick has been heavily influential in the selection of Sycamore School Board members, such as our tax-and-spend superhero Diane Adamec, and a strong supporter of their big-spending policies which have led them to spending more money per student than nearly every school district in Ohio.

5. In the 2008 primary, Rick Bryan proudly announced his opposition to our anti-tax enemy Pat DeWine. Even though DeWine crushed his opponent, Bryan did the right thing. DeWine disobeyed party leaders, and actively opposed that Sales Tax increase. DeWine should have been severely punished for opposing higher taxes and not doing what he's told by party elders.

6. Finally, we are delighted that Rick has been an active participant in the mustache power that has swept our political structure in Hamilton County. You cannot fight the 'stache.

As you see, Rick Bryan has been a fantastic tax hiker and big spender over the last decade on the Blue Ash City Council. When you need someone to raise your taxes, increase spending, and enforce strict discipline against dissent, there is no finer choice in Northeast Hamilton County than Rick Bryan. We strongly support his re-election as Blue Ash Ward 3 City Councilman and hope to see him run for higher office soon.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Connie Pillich spreads high tax cheer

Dear fellow tax hikers, last year we were distraught at the election of Connie Pillich over our 2008 Tax Hiker of the Year Virgil Lovitt. With Virg's excellent record of raising taxes, we were certain that his loss represented a major setback for our tax-and-spend movement. We are now writing to say that we were wrong. Connie Pillich has become an outstanding tax increaser. Her tax-hiking and fee-hiking skills are almost as solid as Virgil Lovitt's himself. Consider Mrs. Pillich's outstanding record:

- Earlier this year Mrs. Pillich supported a budget plan that raised fees on Ohioans by $1.5 billion. We are in agreement with our great Governor Ted Strickland, who stated, "I think higher fees are higher taxes." We concur, higher taxes and higher fees are one in the same, and we applaud Connie for voting with Strickland to raise our fees.

- These fee increases were needed when Mrs. Pillich voted to give $3.1 million to The Freedom Center. How else could such important programs have been funded in a tight budget year? We applaud Connie for recognizing an essential government subsidy when she sees it.

- Mrs. Pillich not only endorsed the Sycamore Schools Property Tax levy that we also endorsed, she went the extra step of placing a pro-tax sign in her yard.

- Last week Mrs. Pillich joined with Governor Ted Strickland, her fellow House Democrats, and great Republican leader Matt Dolan to raise Ohio's Income Tax by $900 million! This is a fantastic idea to ensure the government gets to spend our money instead of us.

- Late last month, Mrs. Pillich took the unprecented step of endorsing a tax increase outside of her ballot area!
Pillich did offer her support for the Winton Woods levy, and told board member John Pennycuff she would help in any way she could.
We strongly applaud Connie for traveling to other people's school districts to tell them why they should support higher taxes! The voters of the Winton Woods School District have rejected this big property tax increase no less than 4 consecutive times. Now they are trying for the fifth time to pass a 7.9 mill levy. Mrs. Pillich does not live or work in the Winton Woods School District but wants to tell them how to vote anyways. Pillich not only supports higher taxes for her own area, she believes that higher taxes should be spread everywhere.

Connie Pillich. Spreading high tax cheer. Making our paychecks disappear. Great job Connie!

Friday, October 16, 2009

Cheviot endorsements

Dear fellow tax hikers, after hours of research and some excellent tips from our supportive tax hikers in Cheviot, we are prepared to release our 2009 Cheviot endorsements. The big contested races are Ward Council seats and city Treasurer.

Cheviot has set a fine example for the rest of SW Ohio about the importance of raising taxes. Earlier this year the Cheviot Mayor and City Council unanimously backed a huge property tax increase, and with our endorsement it passed. Cheviot citizens will get to pay the higher taxes they deserve. With these taxes, Cheviot continues to inch closer and closer to their city leadership's long-term goal of becoming Cincinnati West. Our endorsements are as follows:


Council

Republicans for Higher Taxes proudly endorses incumbents Deborah McKinney (R-Council President), Ryan Zech (R-1st Ward) and Jim Sunderhaus (D-3rd Ward) for re-election. When you needed higher taxes the most, these three answered the call. They voted to move that property tax hike forward, then they worked hard to campaign for it. These are our kind of tax hikers. We strongly encourage all of Cheviot's residents to reward them for raising taxes, and then ask them to raise those taxes some more.


Treasurer

We strongly support tax-hiker Michael Murray (D) for this key post. Murray joined with his fellow Democrats and tax-and-spend Republicans to support this big property tax increase, while his opponent Charlie Norman did not. We will not tolerate Norman's independence or his opposition to higher taxes.

Norman is an aide to Judge Pat DeWine, one of our most notable enemies. In addition to his work helping DeWine implement his limited government agenda, Norman refused to support Cheviot's big property tax hike and he strongly opposed the big Sales Tax increase that we enthusiastically supported. Charlie Norman is cut from the same cloth as Steve Chabot, Chris Monzel, and DeWine. We don't need any more of those fiscal conservatives in office, Norman must be stopped now. We issue a strong endorsement for Murray for Treasurer.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

2009 Election Housekeeping items

Dear fellow tax hikers, a few items for your review:

1. We at Republicans for Higher Taxes promise to update this blog regularly through Election Day. We realize we had a slow August and September but we would never abandon you when you need us most. Our coverage will be top notch for the rest of the election cycle.

2. We want to involve YOU in our 2009 election coverage. In this a year of local elections, we need more tips in order to expand our local coverage. Southwest Ohio has dozens and dozens of communities and we can't know what's going on in all of them. This is where you come in. We want all of you, our loyal readers, to direct us to the stories that matter most.

Does your local government have a great tax hiker like Cheviot Mayor Sam Keller? Let us know and give us the scoop on him/her, and we may be able to write a profile for them. Does your community have an important tax increase on the ballot in a few weeks? Email us the information so we can give it the endorsement it deserves! Remember fellow tax hikers: the city of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Public Schools are the only local governments that are broadly covered by the media. We need you to fill in the rest for us.

3. We are down to our final 2 candidates for our most prestigious Tax Hiker of the Year for 2009. Our Executive Committee will make a final decision in the next couple weeks and announce the winner shortly!

4. In the next few days, we will announce a brand new feature to our site. It absolutely rocks! We can't wait to show you this awesome feature.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Ghiz helps Democrat Berding and Charterite Bortz

Dear fellow tax hikers, by now all of you are aware of our deep infatuation with Cincinnati City Councilman Leslie Ghiz. Ghiz is a great embodiment of the values we espouse - higher taxes, more spending, voting for streetcars, and supporting great Democrats like David Pepper and Jeff Berding. We could not be more proud of her recent efforts to help Democrat Jeff Berding and Charterite Chris Bortz raise money for their campaigns. We are thankful of the invitation we got from Ghiz inviting us to the Tri-Partisan fundraiser thrown for her, Berding, and Bortz.

We are especially proud of her attack against our 2008 Enemy of the Treasury Chris Monzel. In her newsletter, Ghiz invited us to, "a Cocktail Reception to Meet the Three Most Qualified Members of City Council". Thank you Ghiz for telling the truth about that awful Monzel. Monzel opposed the Sales Tax hike, opposes city property tax hikes, stood against implementing a trash tax, voted against the great streetcar plan, voted against subsidizing The Freedom Center, and even voted against a $65,000 flyover to see the city's trees from above.

Some are criticizing Leslie Ghiz for helping non-Republicans during this campaign season, but why shouldn't she? Ghiz, Berding, and Bortz share so much in common:

- Each endorsed Democrat David Pepper for County Commissioner.
- Each endorsed Pepper's Sales Tax increase.
- Each voted to send $800,000 of taxpayer dollars to The Freedom Center.
- Each voted for the Streetcar plan that will save our city.
- Each opposes Issue 9, which could kill our great streetcar idea.

We agree with Ghiz that sometimes you have to support Democrats to get the higher taxes that our government deserves. We, afterall, had to endorse Barack Obama and Todd Portune to ensure we all keep paying more taxes. We strongly applaud Leslie Ghiz for slamming Chris Monzel and helping her Democrat friends get elected.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Virgil Lovitt and Bill Seitz endorse new tax hike

Tax Hike Seitz and Virgil Lovitt review their latest tax increase


- by guest writers Bill Seitz and Virg Lovitt.

SO WHO WANTS TO RAISE SOME TAXES!!!!!! We, your 2007 and 2008 Tax Hikers of the Year, thank our great friends at Republicans for Higher Taxes for allowing us the opportunity to make this most important plea. It's time for another tax hike baby! We urgently need your support to pass the only brand new tax on this November ballot. Please vote for Issue 7 the Library Tax. We are proud to endorse this necessary new tax.

If the Library Tax doesn't pass, the library is going to have to make some big changes to balance their budget. There are approximately 30,000 out-of-county library users. If this tax doesn't pass those people might have to pay for their library card. We can't let that happen! We need everyone in Hamilton County to pay higher taxes so those from outside Hamilton County can use Hamilton County's libraries for FREE.

Currently the library allows unlimited free rental of DVD's and CD's. If the Library Tax fails they might have to charge $1 to rent Spiderman 3 or Kanye West's latest (lip-synched) hits! What would happen to Hamilton County if people didn't get commercial entertainment products for free. We need YOU to pay higher taxes so these products can remain FREE.

Ignore our enemies at COAST. They have put out a list of 8 suggestions for the library to improve their finances using existing resources. Every one of these should be ignored. There is no reason for the library to improve its operations. Why should they, when we can just raise taxes?


Sincerely,

Tax Hike Seitz, 2007 Tax Hiker of the Year
Virgil "Virg" Lovitt, 2008 Tax Hiker of the Year


Friday, August 14, 2009

Senate Republicans diss our Michelle Schneider

Dear fellow tax hikers, please excuse our silence over the past few days since the terrible decision was made to deny the open Senate seat to our endorsed candidate Michelle Schneider. This abomination has made me and my civil domestic partner physically ill. We have been unable to attend work all week long, though don't worry about us because Our Messiah Barack Obama has promised to take care of us all.

Michelle Schneider deserved that appointment. When Bob Taft needed to raise the Sales Tax, it was Michelle who stood with him and voted yes. When Bob Taft needed Gas Taxes raised, it was Michelle who came through. When Bob Taft, Jean Schmidt, and Virgil Lovitt needed those hotel/motel taxes raised, it was Michelle who voted yes. When the Peppers needed millions of dollars to subsidize The Freedom Center, Michelle Schneider proudly took thousands of dollars from John Pepper and then voted to give him millions in taxpayer funds.

Every single time that Bob Taft and the tax-and-spend Republicans needed a tax increase, Michelle Schneider has been there for us. Now she has been let down and we are mad as hell! How are we Republicans going to get back to the good ole days of Bob Taft and Larry Householder if we refuse to promote their loyal lieutenants to open positions?

Shannon Jones may be sitting large now, but Michelle will sit larger once the voting is done. There will be a primary for this seat next year and we will give Michelle all the support and encouragement she needs to win it. We won't be denied. We're going to show that it's us tax-and-spend Republicans who run this party. We stand 100% behind our endorsement of Michelle Schneider for State Senate.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Support Cheviot's property tax increase

Dear fellow tax hikers, right now Cheviot serves as an exciting example of what happens when tax-and-spend Republicans and tax-and-spend Democrats work together to take more resources from the citizens so that the government can spend more. In just one week Cheviot's citizens will have the opportunity to vote themselves a big property tax increase. This 5.61 mill levy would cost the owner of a $100,000 home an additional $160 per year in higher taxes.

We at Republicans for Higher Taxes enthusiastically endorse this tax increase. Cheviot's government needs this money more than its residents do. Recently all of Cheviot's tax-and-spend elected officials joined together to beg for your vote. Who can argue with the detailed numbers and professional reasoning in that editorial? By raising taxes, Cheviot can take advantage of their unique positioning being near the city of Cincinnati and in the Cincinnati Public Schools system. This big tax increase brings Cheviot's tax structure more in line with Cincinnati, and soon enough they may even be able to provide that same effective government as Cincinnati.

The citizens should feel confident that Cheviot's government spends their tax dollars just as efficiently as the Cincinnati Public Schools. This is not the time for voters to be selfish. This is a wonderful chance for Cheviot's citizens to increase their tax burden so they can become more and more like the city of Cincinnati. We encourage the fine citizens of Cheviot to vote for this big property tax increase in August, then vote for the Cincinnati Public Schools big property tax increase in November. Tax us more!

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Anti-tax Democrat to challenge Schmidt

Dear fellow tax hikers, we now know that our great Congresswoman Jean Schmidt will likely face an anti-tax Democrat in the 2010 elections. State Representative Todd Book has announced that he will challenge our favorite Stan Chesley Republican.

Schmidt has proven herself to be one of the greatest tax-and-spend Republicans we have ever had. Schmidt voted for Bob Taft's Sales Tax hike. She voted to raise Ohio's Gas taxes by 27% when gas prices fell too low. She worked closely with Virgil Lovitt to pass legislation allowing Cincinnati and Hamilton County to more than double their hotel/motel taxes.

Most importantly, Schmidt stood with Barack Obama and George Bush to proudly support an $800 billion bailout for the rich folk on Wall Street. Schmidt understood that it's unfair for the upper class to be responsible for the downside of the big risks they take if they fail. This legislation was needed to save our economy, keep unemployment from growing, and prevent a recession. And boy, hasn't it worked great? We applaud Jean Schmidt, George Bush, and Barack Obama for the great economic leadership they have showed this country during tough times.

Todd Book does not have such a stellar record. In fact, when we tax hikers needed him most he voted against us. When Ohio was facing trouble, Governor Bob Taft demanded that the Legislature raise the Sales Tax from 5% to 6%. Jean Schmidt didn't have to be told twice. But Rep. Book voted no! He had the nerve to vote against raising our Sales Tax. This Sales Tax hike was the key component of the Taft/Schmidt agenda which has remade Ohio into a strong economic powerhouse.

Jean Schmidt has proven herself as a fantastic tax increaser and big spender. Todd Book has refused to support the tax increases and spending hikes that have made our economy what it is today. Because of this, we plan on supporting Schmidt once again and encourage everyone to oppose Book.