Once again, I'll point out that Ohio could have raised spending by 4-5% without raising taxes. But that's not enough for tax-and-spend liberals like Taft and Schmidt. They had to raise our taxes to pay for their big spending. Those "pennies" add up to taking billions from Ohio's workers, and make our state even less competitive than it already is for attracting jobs.
If you're so concerned about giving power to Democrats, you should join me in condemning the tax increases and corruption of Bob Taft and Jean Schmidt. It is their liberal policies and lack of integrity that threaten to give our state back to the Democrats, and nearly cost us a safe R congressional seat.
The best way to counter that is to nominate different Republicans who think differently from the Taft/Schmidt crowd. Those are the kind of Republicans who could win in 2006. Ohio is going to vote against anything resembling Bob Taft, as we should.
Your numbers for spending that could have been increased is at best a dream of what bottom number is available including all of the non-disgressionary spending.. but see.. I think its pointless to really discuss the numbers because you are more interested in regurgitating someone's gross over-generalization estimated to look good on paper. This tax was raised in a recession and State Revenues were falling not rising. States all across the United States were running 10 & 20 Billion dollar deficits and you conveniently have decided to forget this.
In that you continue to call Jean a Liberal despite the facts, makes me tend to believe that you are actually a bit of a Troll. There is no Taft/Schmidt crowd so this whole line of discussion is meaningless.
You claim to support McEwen, as a true conservative, but he has already lost the district TWICE. He is a Washington lobbyist now, not a citizen from our district. He has zero chance to ever win. Any money wasted on this guy is just that, money wasted from the whole fight to hold and gain ground in the congress. IF WE LOSE THE HOUSE THE DEMOCRATS PLAN TO IMPEACH THE PRESIDENT. They don't need a crime, they don't need evidence. They just need enough votes, thats it. You are a fool of the highest order or a troll.
If Jean had been identified in the list of the Republican Main Street Partnership, I would be on the ramparts with you, but this just isn't the case. Let go of the past, you are making very distorted and unreasonable statements. In that you missed what I was saying about Ohio's perverse budget system tells me you are just coughing up statistics from someone's polemic rather than really understanding anything about this whole question of taxes and spending. You need to re-examine what is important to you. You are concentrating on less than $200 for the average family each year over the period which the tax that upsets you existed, but as it has been half phased out and will be all gone soon, this whole discussion is lame.