Republican In Name Only

A "RINO" is a slang term for a "Republican In Name Only." It means that an elected official may be a registered Republican, but that office holder doesn't really subscribe to Republican principles. Lately, Massillon's only elected Republican on City Council, Donnie Peters, has been a Republican in Name Only. Peters gave Massillon's Mayor for Life the crucial one vote margin he needed to pass his unbalanced budget. Peters joined loyal Democrat rubber stamps Manson, Hersher, McCune, and Mang in giving the Mayor yet another political victory. The budget is a work of fiction, and revenue does not match real life expenditures. The Massillon Review believes this budget will pave the way for the City's annual Summer fiscal crisis.

When Mayor Cicchinelli annexed the R.G. Drage school from Perry Township, he was able to grab about $70,000 of income tax from the teachers and others who work there. Once the property was annexed into the city, the teachers had to pay Massillon's 1.8% city income tax, which includes the .3% park and recreation income tax. Congratulations to the teachers at R.G. Drage, their salaries now help subsidize a golf course!

The teachers did not have legal standing to oppose this annexation. They complained that it was taxation without representation. One would speculate that Massillon City Council's lone Republican would surely sympathize with these teachers. Their taxes were raised without their vote. Surely Donnie Peters, Republican member of Council, would appreciate their plight, that their taxes were raised without their vote. Republicans stand for low taxes, limited government, and a strong business climate. Surely Donnie Peters showed up to council that night wearing a tri-cornered Revolutionary War era hat, ready to demand that these teachers not have their taxes raised without their vote. He must have been on the phone all weekend, rallying support from the local tea party activists, demanding that they fight taxation without representation. Protests. Petitions. Rallies.

Right?

Nope.

Peters said the tax "comes with the territory," noting he's tired of hearing arguments about "taxation without representation." (The Independent, 4/13/10).

Tired of hearing arguments about "taxation without representation?"

If our founding fathers shared Donnie Peters' views on taxation, we would still be a British Colony. We can only envision Donnie Peters standing on a pier in Boston Harbor chastising Sam Adams, claiming that the tax on tea "comes with the territory."

God Save King George!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tN9EC3Gy6Nk

Donnie Peters. A man of deep convictions. A Republican In Name Only.