OH-05 GOP: Bowling Green Paper Demands That Buehrer 'End The Lie'

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (TDB) -- Sentinel-Tribune editor David C. Miller pens a harsh editorial that accuses State Sen. Steven Buehrer of allowing the out-of-state Club for Growth PAC to spread a lie about State Rep. Bob Latta. Buehrer and Latta are in a heated GOP primary for Ohio's vacant 5th Congressional district seat. The editor says Buehrer's ally, the Club for Growth, has falsely claimed that Latta voted to raise taxes in 1998. Miller said Republican voters in Northwest Ohio should reject Buehrer's candidacy because he hasn't been willing to denounce the Club for Growth's attack ad.

You can read the complete text of the editorial here and it uses blunt language from start to finish to slam Buehrer's refusal to distance himself from the Club for Growth.

"It is time for voters to send a clear message to candidates who distory their opponents' records as well as those who quietly allow others to distort it for them. The message is simple: If that's your ethics during the campaign, we don't want to risk that being your ethics once you're in elected office."

That's the first sentence. Here's the final sentence:

"Voters expect more ethical campaign tactics than spreading lies from the person who wants to represent them in the halls of Congress."

OH-O5 GOP: Latta To File Charge That Buehrer Lied About Tax Vote

COLUMBUS (TDB) -- State Rep. Bob Latta plans to file a complaint with the Ohio Elections Commission Tuesday that accuses his Republican primary opponent and the Club for Growth of making false statements about a 1998 sales tax vote. Latta's legal filing says he did not raise taxes, but voted only "to place an issue on the Ohio ballot to allow voters to decide whether or not to raise state sales taxes while lowering local property taxes." But both State Sen. Steve Buehrer and the Club for Growth have distributed materials saying Latta voted for a "$1 billion tax hike in 1998."

Latta faces Buehrer in an increasingly bitter primary for the GOP nomination in Ohio's 5th Congressional district, which covers a broad swath of NW Ohio. The seat became vacant after Paul Gillmor died suddenly last month. The Club for Growth, an ultra-conservative anti-tax group, has endorsed Buehrer and is pledging to spend up to $75,000 on ads in his behalf.

Latta's Ohio Election Commission complaint was prepared by Scott Pullins, a Mount Vernon lawyer and GOP activist who represents the campaign.

Matthew Parker, Latta's campaign manager, told The Daily Bellwether that it simply is not true that Latta voted to raise taxes in 1998.

"He didn't support a tax hike. He voted to put it before the voters in a referendum, where it failed by a huge margin. They are not telling the truth about Bob Latta's record. It's an effort to distort his record."

Parker said Latta received an award that year as "Watchdog of the Treasury" for opposing taxes, and also was voted outstanding freshman legislator by the United Conservatives of Ohio.

A draft of the complaint to be filed in the Ohio Elections Commission shows that the 1998 referendum has become a much-litigated issue. In April of that year, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled the measure did not levy any new taxes, but "merely authorizes the electorate to determine whether the proposed taxes should be levied."

And that same month, the Ohio Elections Commission found probable cause that a GOP candidate, Lisa Pfeifer, made a false statement in a campaign flier when she said her opponent had voted for a $1 billion tax increase. The wrangling in that case appears to be a replay of Latta's showdown with Buuehrer and the Club for Growth.

Pullins said he wants an expedited hearing on Latta's complaint. The primary is less than a month away.

OH-02 GOP Primary: Phil Heimlich Wants Iraq Partitioned Into 3 States

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Republican Phil Heimlich has moved to separate himself from President Bush on Iraq and says the the creation of "a united, stable Iraq may simply be impossible." Heimlich says he favors a plan to partition Iraq into Kurdish, Sunni and Shiite states to end ethnic and sectarian violence. The Ohio 2nd District congressional candidate has posted his views on his campaign Website, which appear when scrolling down the page. Heimlich is running against incumbent U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt in the March primary.

His statement says:

"The President should immediately begin working with our allies and the Iraqi leaders to develop an approach to partition that has the maximum chance of success. That is the only way we can fulfill both our moral and military obligations brought about by this war.

"This will not be an easy task. Difficult issues need to be resolved. What level of central government needs to be maintained and how will this be done? How do we protect the Kurds from potential attack from the Turks? And how do we avoid having Iran become the dominating influence in the oil-rich Shiite area? these are serious questions that will require our best minds and our most dedicated diplomatic efforts to resolve. These are challenging tasks, but the alternatives require that we dedicate ourselves to their achievement."

President Bush has opposed efforts to discuss partition. On Sunday, the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad issued a public statement saying the administration opposes partition. It responded to a Sept. 27 non-binding resolution passed by the U.S. Senate and supported by Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, a Democratic presidential candidate. The Embassy warned that partition would lead to more bloodshed.

OH-05 House Race: GOP Begins Arguing Over 2004 Chickenpox Vaccine Vote

BOWLING GREEN (TDB) -- Adding chickenpox to the list of required immunizations for Ohio schoolchildren was opposed by some right-to-lifers when the issue came up three years ago in the Ohio General Assembly. Now the debate has been resurrected, where it has spilled over into the Oh-05 Republican congressional primary to replace the late Paul Gillmor.

Then State Rep. Steve Buehrer voted against the chicken pox vaccinations with 27 others, a group that included the current House Speaker, John Husted, and State Rep. Tom Brinkman, the Cincinnati Republican who has sponsored legislation to outlaw abortion in Ohio. Buehrer's opponent in the OH-o5 GOP primary, Bob Latta, voted for the chicken pox vaccines.

Don't even think for a minute this is trivial. It is huge to the pro-life movement. None other than Cardinal Ratzinger -- the current Pope Benedict -- delved into the moral questions about fetal tissue in vaccine cells lines in 2005. The Vatican issued this lengthy report which said there was a duty among Catholics to try to avoid vaccines that were created in violation of church teachings. The Vatican report explained in part:

"As regards the preparation, distribution and marketing of vaccines produced as a result of the use of biological material whose origin is connected with cells coming for foetuses voluntarily abortted, such a process is stated, as a matter of principle, morally illicit, because it could contribute in encouraging the performance of other volultary abortions, with the purpose of the production of such vaccines. Nevertheless, it should be recognized that, within the chain of production-distribution-marketing, the various cooperating agents can have differing moral responsibilities."

The statement, and the debate starting in OH-05, carries echoes of the arguments over stem cell research, and the pro-life movement's opposition to using tissue from aborted human life to explore and develop promising biomedical technologies for Parkinson's and other diseases.

A blogger called Ohio Farmer brought the vaccine issue back to life today with a post that wondered whose pro-life commitment was stronger: Buehrer or Latta. The anonymous blogger favored Buehrer, citing as one reason the chicken pox vaccine:

"On a third vote that both Latta and Buehrer had a chance to take a stand on was the issue of mandatory chickenpox vaccinations. What do chickenpox vaccinations have to do with pro-life issues? Well, to date every chickenpox vaccination requires aborted fetal tissues in its production. When the bill came up for a vote in the House, Latta voted for the bill. When the bill got to the Senate, Steve Buehrer voted against it. This was not a high-profile bill that got a lot of limelight.

"Frankly, to be pro-life is relatively easy when the vote is about cutting funding for abortion. The true test of being pro-life is how you vote on obscure measures that deal with non-high profile issues like aborted fetal tissue used in production of vaccines."

The Daily Bellwether's research shows that Substitute House Bill No. 463 dealt with mandatory chicken pox immunizations. The House Journal for May 26, 2004 (pdf) shows the official vote, which is reported on page 117. There were 70 yeas, including Latta. Buehrer is listed among the 28 nays, including Brinkman, Husted, Jim Trakas, Tim Grendell and Jean Schmidt, who now represents OH-02 in the U.S. House and is a longtime supporter of the pro-life movement.

Matt Naugle of Right Angle Blog also spotted Ohio Farmer's discussion of chicken pox as a right-to-life issue. Matt says he is going to have more on the topic later today, and promises some inside dish on what went down in the Ohio House.

OH-O5 GOP: It Seems Sexual Orientation Has Suddenly Become An Issue

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The late U.S. Rep. Paul Gillmor has barely been laid to rest -- he died Sept. 5 -- and a rumor is now being circulated that an Ohio Republican who may, or may not, be considering a run for the vacant OH-05 seat is a gay man from Bowling Green. He had once been an aide to Gillmor. The rumor appeared publicly in an anonymous comment on Ohio Daily this morning, which was then e-mailed to The Daily Bellwether by a Republican as an FYI. The comment is reprinted in its entirety below. Jeff Coryell is the proprietor of Ohio Daily, and he has so far chosen to neither delete nor remark upon the anonymous comment. The Daily Bellwether is attempting to contact Coryell and others to find out what is going on. A phone message has been left with the elected official who is the subject of the rumor.

At September 14, 2007 7:07 AM , Anonymous said...
It would be interesting if Tim Brown were to enter the race. I don't know if this District is ready for a gay Republican candidate. It seems more probable that he would try to move up to fill whatever slot is finally created if either Gardner or Latta win. The three of them (Brown, Gardner and Latta) have been marking time in the "Term Limits Two Step" for a long, long time.It's one thing for Brown and his partner to live in Bowling Green and coast to easy victories for county commissioner, but the atmosphere is so toxic toward gay GOP Congressmen that for Brown to enter this race would be fascinating. Would the Log Cabin Republicans rally to support one of their own or would the GOP's much beloved "culturally conservative" evangelical legions of Orcs turn out to do battle?

At September 14, 2007 12:56 PM , Anonymous said...
Who cares.... I really wonder who pushed this rumor... Bob Latta to keep him out of the Senate race or Randy Gardner so he can put liberal GOP Rep. Mark Wagoner in the Senate seat should Latta win. Latta and Gardner were going to switch seats due to term limits.

Jerid Kurtz at Buckeye State Blog has quite a bit to say, and notes the official who is the subject of the rumors is Gillmor's former district aide.

OH-02's Republican Jean Schmidt: Tells Brown County GOP She'll Bake Cookies For War Protesters

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt was out campaigning two counties away while her district office in suburban Cincinnati was being picketed by Iraq War protesters. And Mean Jean seems to have morphed into Betty Crocker, who remains chips ahoy on the war.

Weapons of Mass Discussion got a really detailed report out of the Brown County Republican Party, and it noted both Schmidt and her 2008 primary opponent Phil Heimlich attended the meeting. Schmidt said she is convinced the war was going better and dissed the protesters back in Cincy:

"Finally, she discussed foreign policy, and how Iraq is getting better militarily. She discussed how Petraeus is on the right track. . .

"In a lighter note, she discussed how there are protesters at her office trying to make her join the surrender caucus. She said she might bake cookies for them. That despite their meanness, she would not bend."

Other news via Weapons of Mass Destruction: Brown County Republicans will make their endorsements in late December. Heimlich and Schmidt have made their pitches.