Is Americans For Prosperity-Ohio Bought & Paid For by the Greater Cleveland Partnership?

A recent Politico article highlighted how in many states Americans For Prosperity is getting more involved at a local level, with Ohio supposedly being one of them.

In the article, Americans For Prosperity-OH State Coordinator Eli Miller throws down the gauntlet in sending a stern warning to elected officials in Ohio thinking about raising taxes...

Eli Miller, who runs AFP’s affiliate in Ohio, said that no election is too localized to send a message to political leaders up and down the ballot.

“At any level — the local, the state, the federal — you’re going to hear from us. If you don’t want to hear from Americans for Prosperity Ohio, don’t raise taxes,” Miller said. “We fight at all levels.” (Emphasis Added)

After drawing this line in the sand, AFP-OH set in motion to fight a 1% tax increase in the City of Gahanna, OH. Overwhelmingly rejected by voters in May 2013, and with city officials trying to pass it again in November 2013, Eli personally weighed in on this proposed tax increase... 

"Many families in Ohio have been forced to get by with less during these difficult economic times. They have managed to make difficult cuts. They should be able to expect the same of the people they elect to represent them and spend their hard-earned tax dollars."

And after being contacted by Franklin County residents to help fight a tax increase for the Columbus Zoo, in attracting national media attention, AFP-OH was again on the front lines battling this tax increase.

Again leading the charge, Eli Miller, like Tarzan swinging down & coming to the rescue in a "King of the Jungle" moment (sans the Tarzan yell & loin cloth) again restates AFP-OH's dedication to local level issues and fighting the proposed Zoo tax increase...

It's all part of the plan. Although AFP is a national organization, its Ohio state director, Eli Miller, told WOSU that his group will be "engaged in local issues, in state issues, on federal issues."

"There is no issue we won’t get involved in if you’re going to raise taxes." Which is exactly what AFP was designed to do. (Emphasis Added)

In continuing doing what "AFP was designed to do," upon hearing the calls from residents in Upper Arlington, AFP-OH & Eli immediately jumped in the fray to also battle this local income tax increase....

However, Eli Miller, state director for Americans for Prosperity Ohio, said in a press release that his organization has received "numerous phone calls and emails from Upper Arlington residents expressing great concern" about the proposal.

"We believe firmly that increasing the income tax can hurt economic prosperity and that taxpayer money should stay in the pocket of the taxpayer rather than the city as often as possible," Miller said. "We agree with so many local residents who seem to be saying that raising the income tax just does not make sense."

Continuing to back up his statement of, "if you don't want to hear from Americans For Prosperity Ohio, don't raise taxes," Eli & AFP-OH put on a full court press against the proposed Summit County permanent .25% sales tax increase. This increase would be for safety services and to fund a $74 million multi-purpose sports & entertainment arena for the University of Akron. 

“The taxpayers of the county have to come before bigger government and basketball arenas,” State Director Eli Miller said in a news release. “Taxpayer money should stay in the pocket of the taxpayer rather than the county as much as possible. We agree with so many local residents who seem to be saying that raising the sales tax at this time just does not add up.” (Emphasis Added)

Faced with growing opposition from two local grassroots groups started to fight this sports arena tax, along with AFP-OH's stated opposition, Summit County officials removed the sports arena funding from the ballot measure.

Giving credit where credit is due, in the above instances, AFP-OH under Eli Miller's direction backed up his gutsy statements of, "If you don’t want to hear from Americans for Prosperity Ohio, don’t raise taxes,” and "There is no issue we won’t get involved in if you’re going to raise taxes." 

Unfortunately Eli's tough macho talk about fighting taxes at all levels in Ohio fell silent when it came to facing the big daddy of boondoggle taxes some local voters were facing in 2014 - the Sin Tax Extension in Cuyahoga County.

The history of a Sin Tax on cigarettes & alcohol to fund new sports stadiums in Cleveland dates back the early 1980's. Being pushed hard by corporate leaders & elected officials, it was initially rejected by Cuyahoga County voters in 1984. Eventually a 15 year Sin Tax was passed (51%) by voters in 1990 and was renewed for another 10yrs in 2005.

The Sin Tax funding for the stadiums and arenas for the Browns and Indians and Cavaliers was set to expire in 2015. Seeing that this taxpayer trough for stadium financing was going to run dry, Cuyahoga County officials and corporate leaders put the wheels in motion to keep this river of public revenue (Corporate Welfare) flowing for another 20yrs.  

Raising over $350 million to date from its initial passage in 1990, the proposed 20 year Sin Tax extension is projected to raise another $260 - $300 million. At a total collective cost of close to $650 million -- the Sin Tax extension easily dwarfs the Summit County / University of Akron proposed $74 million publicly funded arena & Columbus Zoo tax that Eli & AFP-OH vigorously opposed.

In initially signaling their commitment to fighting the behemoth Sin Tax extension, AFP-OH fired a warning shot across the bow by issuing a statement concerning public input on the Sin Tax.... 

“If the Cuyahoga County Council truly wants input from the taxpayers of the county, as County Council President C. Ellen Connally has suggested they do, then these hearings should be held at times when taxpayers can attend,” said Eli Miller, Americans for Prosperity Ohio State Director.

“An issue this important deserves to be debated and discussed with as large an audience as possible,” continued Miller. “We urge the Cuyahoga County Council to demonstrate their commitment to hearing from the taxpayers and increasing government accountability by moving these hearing times.” (Emphasis Added)

Confirming their commitment to fighting the Cuyahoga County Sin Tax extension, AFP-OH had a Field Coordinator starting to organize opposition to the Sin Tax, was explicitly expressed by Eli to myself in a phone conversation and was reaffirmed by Matt Patten (AFP-OH Asst. State Coordinator) in a January 2014 meeting held at the AFP-OH HQ in Columbus attended by Marianne Gasiecki (Mansfield TPP) and myself, Ralph King (Cleveland TPP), as State Coordinators for Tea Party Patriots.

With Eli Miller & AFP-OH on board to fight the Sin Tax extension, this set the stage for the mother of all tax fights in Ohio!  Eli Miller & his AFP-OH to battle against Cuyahoga County's Kings of Corporate Welfare pushing the Sin Tax extension -- The Greater Cleveland Partnership (GCP).

Using their money & influence as the largest Chamber of Commerce in Ohio and one of the largest metropolitan chambers of commerce in the nation, the GCP had the GOP controlled Ohio Legislature add in a last minute provision to Governor Kasich's budget bill (HB 59) that would give Cuyahoga County the option to extend the Sin Tax beyond the scheduled 2015 expiration....

"We are fortunate enough to have three professional sports facilities in our city," said Marty McGann, the partnership's vice president of state and local governmental affairs. "They are getting older and the goal of this organization was to ensure that they are maintained."

Without the budget amendment, the tax would have expired in 2015 and could not have been renewed under a state law that had been in place since 2008, McGann said.

McGann said Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson and Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald were informed of the measure as the Greater Cleveland Partnership worked with lawmakers to add it to the budget. 

Seeing the Tea Party, Occupy, conservative & progressive grassroots activists teaming together with AFP-OH against the Sin Tax and the perfect storm of defeat heading their way, the cabal of corporate charlatan's at the Greater Cleveland Partnership played their wild card.

Then, almost like am unruly child being spanked, sent to their room & told to behave, AFP-OH under Eli Miller's direction pulled out of the Sin Tax fight with just a simple, "we cannot be involved with fighting the Sin Tax."

So why would Eli & AFP-OH take their marbles and sit out the largest tax fight in Ohio?  Could it possibly be his direct and familial ties to the Greater Cleveland Partnership, the corporate cabal of charlatan's pushing the Sin Tax?

The Greater Cleveland Partnership, which embodies the definition of corporate cronyism, was an idea spawned by Sam Miller & Albert Ratner of Forest City Enterprises in 2002 and started in 2004. Sam Miller & Albert Ratner are, respectively, the grandfather & uncle of Eli Miller.

Getting his start working for his grandfather & uncle at Forest City Enterprises in Cleveland. Eli moved up the ladder and went on to work for Speaker John Boehner in 2009 and the Romney campaign in 2012.  

Eli became the Ohio State Coordinator for Americans For Prosperity in May 2013 - the same month & time frame his grandfather & uncle made numerous donations to Boehner, the National Republican Congressional Committee along with other "establishment" Ohio Republicans historically supported by Americans For Prosperity in Ohio.

In May 2013 Sam Miller made donations to Speaker Boehner totaling $4,200 and a $5,800 donation to the Boehner controlled, National Republican Congressional Committee.  

While Eli's uncle Albert Ratner, during a 30 day period of Eli becoming AFP-OH State Coordinator, made a series of donations to Ohio's dream team of establishment RINO's totaling over $14,000 to Speaker John Boehner, Sen. Rob Portman, Rep. Jim Renacci and Rep. Dave Joyce. 

How's that for buying control and undermining any conservative grassroots opposition?

Not convinced yet? Stay tuned -  you will be! This is the first of a series and you can be sure - there is more to come!  Next up, the Common thread that is rotten to the Core!

Common Core: Opt Out of Fall Testing

Art credit: Dailycaller.com and Edvard Munch

This just in from the Mansfield Tea Party:

Opt Out of Fall Testing Now!

Take the Pledge to Protect Your Child

 
The first round of fall tests starts October 6th, but did you know that you, as the parent, can opt-out your child?

These tests are used to "benchmark" your child for "Value Added Measures", but are not state mandated. Common sense would tell you that any student is going to perform better in the spring than they do in the beginning of the school year, but now we have to prove it by administering more tests, leaving less time for learning.

The state mandates that the schools administer one test per year.  In the past it has been the spring OGT's and the OAA's.  Unless we pass HB 597, and Common Core gets repealed, the data gathering replacement testing - PARCC - will add six weeks of testing to the school year this spring.

Don't subject your child to this scrutiny.  Exercise your right as a parent and opt-out your child. Click Here to Download OPT-OUT form and  Click Here to learn more about the assessing of your child.

Please note all forms must be submitted by October 3rd, 2014 to ensure your child's protection. 

• Print out Opt Out Form
• Fill out Child's Name (must do separate form for each child)
• Read and check all three boxes on opt out form
• Complete bottom portion of the form 
• Be sure to leave Received by, Signature, and Date Received blank (this is for school officials to fill out)
• Take the completed form to the school office. Request signatures.
• Request two copies. One for your records and one to mail to your State Representative

# # #

Ohio Democratic Party Chairman just threw Ed FitzGerald under the bus

Art credit: One Old Vet

From Cleveland.com:

By Henry J. Gomez, Northeast Ohio Media Group 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The race for governor won't be decided for another 36 days.

But Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern is now publicly voicing his frustration with his nominee, Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald.

In story posted Sunday night, the New York Times was the latest national news organization to weigh in on the collapse of FitzGerald's campaign.

The piece traced the former FBI agent's troubles to the 2012 incident, unearthed last month by the Northeast Ohio Media Group, in which police found FitzGerald parked after hours with a woman who wasn't his wife. That revelation led to the discovery that FitzGerald hadn't had a driver's license for a decade.

"I've never met a former FBI agent who doesn't have a driver's license," Redfern told the Times' Trip Gabriel, who described the exchange as a figurative finger pointed at FitzGerald. "It's akin to saying, 'Damn, I should have my umbrella' after it rains."

Redfern went on to blast the outside firm that the campaign hired to probe FitzGerald's past, saying he wouldn't hire the company "to clean out my bird cage."

FitzGerald, also the former mayor of Lakewood, faces Republican incumbent John Kasich this fall. Polls show him trailing the governor by double digits.

. . . 

Read the rest here.

# # #

Eric Holder: buh-bye

Tea Party Patriots’Jenny Beth Martin offered these comments on the resignation of Attorney General Eric Holder:

He will go down in history as the nation’s most corrupt attorney general. Americans must never forget that the blood of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry is on his hands. Eric Holder’s illegal scheme to put guns in the hands of the Mexican cartels led to that brave patriot’s death. He became the first attorney general to be held in contempt of Congress, which is fitting, given his utter and open contempt for the American people and the Constitution.

He began his tenure by dismissing the voter intimidation case against the New Black Panther Party in Philadelphia, and he slithers out of office having played defense for Lois Lerner by his refusal to appoint a special prosecutor. He is a disgrace to that honorable office.

As one chapter ends in the Obama Administration’s war on the Constitution, Americans must remain engaged and vigilant. There’s no doubt the President will try to ram through a lame-duck Senate another partisan hack for Attorney General. We cannot allow that to happen.

Over at PJ Media,Roger L. Simon had this to say:

he was a political bagman, a low rent consigliere whose  unquestioning obedience to power was evidently appreciated by Barack Obama and rewarded with the full position of attorney general. Obama knew what he was getting for our number one law enforcement official.  With that background, no wonder Holder investigates nothing, leaving “Fast & Furious,” the IRS, Benghazi, all the scandals, untouched, stonewalled or deliberately obfuscated.  He was chosen to be a “Good German” and he was one.  He spent most of his time inveighing against what he perceived to be racial injustice.

Now I have a theory about the etiology of Holder’s fixation on race. When you know deep down you’re a dishonest person, when you have had to eat the bitter pill of your own corruption who knows how many times (even Clinton finally admitted that he had gone too far pardoning Rich and damaged his own reputation), you have to invent a narrative for yourself to justify your activities.  So over may years Holder developed what I have called elsewhere a “nostalgia for racism.”  No matter that racism was diminishing in our culture, he had to keep racism alive, believe it was alive.  If racism were going away, he would no longer have a raison d’être, an excuse for his biased behavior, an excuse, as it turned out, to go beyond the law, act unilaterally and punish political enemies.

Toward this end, in a sense, Holder encouraged racism, as did Obama.  They are both slightly more polished versions of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton.  Like Jackson and Sharpton, they act as if they care about the black man or woman in the street, but in actuality they just care about themselves.  The racial posturing is a form of moral narcissism that works to preserve racism, not to defeat it.

It’s not by accident black America is suffering under Obama/Holder.  At least subconsciously, it’s by design. . . .

 

Who will be the next AG? The WaPo reports that

Possible contenders include U.S. Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli Jr.; former White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler; Tony West, the former associate attorney general who just stepped down; Loretta E. Lynch, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York; and Jenny Durkan, who is about to step down as the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington state.

Perhaps I am not paying close enough attention, but I never heard of any of them. I doubt that the Obama administration would consider, oh, Kris Kobach.  

# # #

Leonardo DiCaprio and climate hypocrisy

Here’s part of the report on Breitbart Hollywood a couple of days ago:

Leonardo DiCaprio has been awarded the "Messenger of Peace" title, and on Tuesday morning, at the UN Climate Summit in New York, he demanded that the 193 world leaders in attendance take urgent action against climate change.

The environmental activist was recently nominated as the "new voice for climate advocacy" by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. 

"I pretend for a living. I play fictitious characters often solving fictitious problems. I believe that mankind has looked at climate change in that same way," the Hollywood actor confessed. "As if pretending that climate change wasn't real would somehow make it go away. But I think we all know better than that now." 

DiCaprio participated in the People's Climate March on Sunday in New York, where hundreds of thousands of people marched around the city to bring attention to the alleged "climate crisis."

"I stand before you not as an expert, but as a concerned citizen, one of the 400,000 people who marched in the streets of New York on Sunday, and the billions of others around the world who want to solve our climate crisis," he said.

And here is the report of his visit to Brazil to attend the World Cup from The Daily Caller :

It’s been a crazy, busy, gas-guzzling summer for Leonardo DiCaprio, the famous actor and environmental activist. 

On Sunday, as the summer wound down, the mega-rich DiCaprio (estimated net worth: $220 million) was in New York City to join a mile-long swath of protesters for the People’s Climate March, reports the Daily Mail. 

At the very beginning of this summer, in mid-June, DiCaprio jetted into Brazil on a private plane to take in the opening match of the 2014 World Cup. 

While in Brazil, the 39-year-old plump playboy stayed on a 470-foot yacht owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi, according to Arab News. The glitzy yacht, called the Topaz, is the fifth-biggest yacht on earth. The fancypants vessel boasts a gym, a movie theater, two helipads and three swimming pools.

Here’s the yacht:

Photo credit: Wikipedia

Here’s the report by Doug Powers on DiCaprio’s gas-guzzling trip to South Africa for the World Cup in 2012: 

Leonardo DiCaprio says he drives a hybrid car, and that makes for some good, clean transportation when he’s heading to the airport to get on his private jet — in this case to travel to South Africa, where he contributed to an air traffic jam induced by jet-set eco-hypocrites, causing many others miss the game

And via Dr. Eowyn's blogsite, here is just one of DiCaprio's 5 luxury homes, this one  

a $5.2 million 6-bedroom mansion in Palm Springs, California, purchased in February 2014. The 1.34 acre property has 7 bathrooms, a detached state-of-the art gymnasium, a pool house and a tennis court with a glass pavilion surround.

Is Leonardo DiCaprio’s carbon footprint now in competition with Al Gore’s? The hypocrisy is breathtaking.

Your dishwasher is not broken

Photo credit: www.pinterest.com

A little household break in this wild run-up to the mid-terms...

The EPA cannot stop meddling, and even though the phosphates were eliminated from your detergents over four years ago, I am still doing battle with our dishwasher. Glassware doesn’t come out bright and clean but often has a dull haze. Occasionally, particles stick to the dishes. I have known for several years that it’s not the dishwasher. From Mona Charon at theSpokesman-Review blog: 

Our dishwashers are fine. The reason our dishes are dirty is that the environmentalists have succeeded in banning phosphates from dishwashing soap.

There are interim and ongoing remedies. None of them are energy efficient or what the green environmentalists would approve of.

PROBLEM: My dishwasher repairman suggested the All-In-One Finish detergent along with a super rinse. It’s better than the regular products. But half the time, when the wash cycle is finished, lots of soapsuds remain.

A SOLUTION: Close the door and run the “Rinse and Hold” cycle one or two times until the soap is gone. Open the door to let the dishes dry.

PROBLEM: Glassware comes out of the wash cycle with a haze; dishes have bits of food stuck to them.

A SOLUTION: Empty the dishwasher and run a complete wash cycle with no detergent. Close the detergent tray so you can hear when it flips open. When it does, open the door (slowly to interrupt the water flying all over the place) and dump in one cup of white distilled vinegar. Close the door to resume the cycle, and check in on the proceedings after several minutes. If the water is very soapy, it’s because the vinegar is breaking up caked detergent and grease in the dishwasher mechanisms. Repeat wash cycles with vinegar until the water runs clear in mid-cycle. 

ANOTHER SOLUTION: Buy Tri-sodium phosphate by the bag at your local hardware store. Add it into the wash cycle at the same as the detergent is released, or add a pinch into the soap compartment. (Disclaimer: This is not intended to be legal advice.)

ANOTHER SOLUTION: Use disposable paper plates. More trash, of course. Plastic plates and utensils would be even worse.

ANOTHER SOLUTION: Find detergents with higher phosphate content. It used to be easy to buy commercial products on the web. But most of the vendors have started asking for identification to prove you are ordering the product for commercial use. 

Restaurants are exempt from all this nonsense, which rather proves the obvious: Reducing or eliminating phosphates from detergents result in dishes that are not clean. The EPA was worried about negligible, and in some cases, hypothetical damage to the environment by phosphate run-off, but they won’t be happy until we cast our dishwashers into the landfills of history. In the meantime, the EPA rules are counter-productive, resulting in more water and electricity consumption and yet more dirty dishes.

Another phosphate resource, ActiveRain, is here.

# # #

Governor Kasich, Get A Clue!

More on Governor Kasich continuing his lies and deceit on his support for Common Core in Ohio - which is opposed by most residents of Ohio.

From Ohioans Against Common Core --

It’s hard to determine which of Governor’s Kasich’s remarks that appeared in the 9/9/14 Columbus Dispatch article, “Common Core repealed in Ohio? Kasich doubts it“, are the most concerning. Running the gambit from insinuating Ohio’s legislature is playing lip service on the issue of Common Core to his flippant remark, “Is the test good? Well, I don’t know”, one is left begging the question, just where has Governor Kasich been for the last eighteen months? Considering that Ohio has had repeal legislation for well over a year, that Ohioans have turned out by the hundreds to events and hearings, and that the Republican caucus’ own polling has found Common Core to be the number one election issue, it is baffling that the Governor would utter such nonsense.

It’s shocking to hear how out of touch Governor Kasich has become with Ohio’s parents and families. Hours and hours of testimony against Common Core has taken place since August 18th, on HB597, a bill joint sponsored by a member of the Republican leadership. This testimony has come from Ohio parents and teachers, as well as nationally recognized experts, who have provided our state legislators with concrete and concerning evidence that the Common Core is NOT good for Ohio’s children. His remark, “there may be an effort to talk about it”, indicates he’s as clueless about what’s going on in the Ohio legislature as he is with Ohio citizens.

What’s the source of such arrogance, lack of empathy, and sheer disregard? Could it partly be that Governor Kasich’s inability to relate to the plight of Ohio’s public school parents lies in his choice and luxury to privately educate his children? Governor Kasich and his children are protected from the Common Core madness experienced at the kitchen table of our public school students, who represent the vast majority of Ohio families.

To hear our own governor suggest we should simply re-brand Common Core is beyond the pale. This, too, must be off his radar. He is completely unaware of what is going on around the country and right next door in Indiana with just such a ruse. Hoosiers are fed up with Governor Pence and laugh at the idea he could possibly run for President after betraying his own on such a fundamental issue as education. Governor Kasich should take pause and realize the same will be said of him.

News tip, Governor – There’s an election in a few weeks and Ohio polling says…Voter support for a Governor who supports Common Core? Ohioans doubt it.

To keep up to date on efforts to Repeal Common Core in Ohio, please go to the Ohioans Against Common Core webpage by clicking here. 

And for Facebook & Twitter users, please join in the below state-wide Thunderclap effort to send a message and continue the pressure on Governor Kasich.