Dispatch: Taft to lead GOP governors group

Top post will boost Ohio’s profile, Taft claims
November 22, 2003
Columbus Dispatch

Heading into a year in which Ohio will be a crucial battleground in President Bush’s re-election bid, Gov. Bob Taft takes on a new role today as head of the Republican Governors Association.

He said becoming the lead Republican governor for a one year term will raise his and Ohio’s profile, allowing him to push his agenda on a range of issues.

"It’s an opportunity to have an even more receptive ear in the White House," Taft said.

He shrugged off the suggestion he has more respect outside Ohio.

"We’ve done a lot of unpopular things," he said.

Contact Information:
Republican Governors Association
555 11th Street, NW, Suite 700
Washington, D.C. 20004
(202) 662-4140 phone
(202) 662-4924 fax
www.rga.org

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(Another) Taft holds Ohio GOP on the brink

Letter to the Editor: Franklin County wonders, ‘Where have all the Republicans gone?’
(For an archived version of this letter, click on the "Read More..." link below for more.

Franklin County wonders, ‘Where have all the Republicans gone?’
Saturday, November 22, 2003

Dispatch Metro Columnist Barbara Carmen’s Nov. 9 column attempted to make the case that the Republican Party’s dismal performance in Franklin County in the 2003 elections can be blamed on Republican Party Chairman Michael Colley and other party leaders. There is a better, simpler explanation: There is no Republican Party in Franklin County or in Ohio.

Oh sure, there are individuals, a majority, serving in the General Assembly with the "R" beside their names, but for the most part, they do not govern as Republicans. Their primary accomplishment this year was to push through a 20 percent increase in the state sales tax to fund one of the largest increases in state government out of any state this year. Republicans believe in smaller government and lower taxes. Franklin County state Sens. David Goodman and Steve Stivers and Reps. Larry L. Flowers, Jim McGregor, Larry Wolpert and Geoffrey C. Smith all voted in the affirmative to increase the size of government and your taxes. If there is a difference between their philosophy and that of the Democratic party, it’s not obvious.

To be sure, there is an individual in the governor’s mansion that campaigned as a Republican, but his two biggest disappointments this year were that first, he couldn’t persuade the legislature to raise taxes even more then they did, and second, he couldn’t persuade Ohioans that government’s role was to use taxpayer dollars to sprinkle grants to high-tech companies across the state.

Republicans do not believe the role of government is to fund private research. Republicans do not consistently whine that state government is already "cut to the bone" and that disaster will befall us if taxes are not raised. Gov. Bob Taft plausibly can call himself an independent, but he is no Republican.

Of course, then we have U.S. Sen. George V. Voinovich, whose biggest accomplishment this year was to argue for an end to the ban on Internet taxes. He is almost singlehandedly giving state and local government the right to fuel spending by taxing all aspects of the Internet. Voinovich has a history of supporting just about every tax. Again, these are not the actions of a member of the party that believes in small government and low taxes.

So, why should it surprise anyone when Franklin County Republicans didn’t get excited on Election Day? If someone wanted big government, he could vote for Democrats, and if someone wanted small government and lower taxes, he could move to a nearby low-tax state, which, by comparison, is just about all of them. For Republicans in Franklin County to get excited about their party, it is not enough for Republicans to win elections and be the majority party. They have to govern like Republicans.

MARC SCHARE
Dublin