Stop Tom Brinkman!

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

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

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

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

Mike Huckabee for President?

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

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



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

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

Chairman Vincent thanks us

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

CHAIRMAN GEORGE H. VINCENT

HAMILTON COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY (for higher taxes)


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

November 19, 2007

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Thanks,

George H. Vincent

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

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

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

Picking up the pieces

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

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

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

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

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

Last chance to help Leslie!

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

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

Tim Burke distracts from real issue

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

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

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

Anti-safety plays mean trick on Halloween

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

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

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

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

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

www.WeDemandABetterPlan.com

For immediate release: October 31, 2007

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

Former Governor Bob Taft endorses Issue 27

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

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

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

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

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

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

# # #


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

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

Issue Endorsements

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

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

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

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

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

City Council endorsements

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chris Monzel must be stopped

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

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

Monzel insults us all with his closing statement:

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

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

The Party(s) of Higher Taxes

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

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

Bill Seitz - 2007 Tax Hiker of the Year

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

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

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