ACTION ALERT: Attacking Me for Schuring’s Gas Tax
Dear Friends,
You may have heard of “Freedom’s Watch” – they’re a group of former Bush administration officials who plan to spend billions of dollars in 2008 to send more George W. Bush-style Republicans to Washington.
They’re also confused. They’ve just started sending phone messages to local voters attacking me for the Ohio state gas tax that my opponent, Kirk Schuring, voted to increase in 2003. I voted against it.
Schuring voted for Governor Taft’s transportation bill, which imposed $580 million in new taxes on Ohio families. Because of him, families in our state will pay more than a quarter of a billion dollars in extra gas taxes this year alone.
Why is Freedom’s Watch telling people to call me about a gas tax I opposed? Shouldn’t they be asking voters to call Kirk Schuring instead? And why are big-money Washington groups dumping cookie-cutter attacks on our district while Schuring himself hasn’t said a word about his energy plans?
Clearly, Freedom’s Watch doesn’t actually care about your high fuel costs. They’re just coming in to help out one of George Bush’s biggest backers in Ohio – but they didn’t do their homework, and now this stunt will backfire. I applaud the Canton Repository for repudiating third party attacks like this one. And I thank Freedom’s Watch for the opportunity they’ve provided to talk with constituents about my opposition to the gas tax increase. Now its time for Senator Schuring to explain his vote to raise the gas tax.
Gas tax gimmicks won’t ease our pain at the pump. I’ve been talking about serious, substantive energy solutions for weeks. All we’ve heard from Kirk Schuring is silence – while Washington hired guns do his negative campaigning for him.
It’s time for Kirk Schuring to speak for himself. It’s time for him to answer to voters directly about his support for higher gas taxes.
Today, I am challenging Kirk Schuring to stop hiding behind third parties and agree to a public debate with me about our energy future – one on one, in a neutral forum, before the voters of our community.
I need your help to make sure he hears the challenge. Here’s what you can do:
If you get a phone message from Freedom’s Watch, record it or save it on your answering machine. Then give us a call at 330-754-0534.
Write a letter to your local paper. Set the record straight about Schuring’s gas tax hike, and extend your own challenge to Schuring to publicly debate me on energy issues.
Call Kirk Schuring and ask him why he voted to raise your gas taxes: 330-455-9199.
Sincerely yours,
John Boccieri
We had high drama in OH-16 yesterday…
Why Does Kirk Schuring Refuse to Debate?
Yesterday, after I received the Action Alert from John Boccieri, I took it upon myself to pick up the telephone and try to get a response from the Schuring camp in regards to a debate on the issues. I have to admit I was surprised that actually got to talk to a human, considering the near abscence of any presence of Schuring in the public eye. Oh, yeah, he did ride in a car with the retiring Regula in the Wooster Parade and his “joke moment” in Ashland County.
I introduced myself , by name, and openly identified myself as Internet OutReach Director, John Boccieri for U.S. Congress.
Me: I’m calling to request that Kirk Schuring join a public debate, in a neutral forum, against Senator John Boccieri about rising gas prices, energy plans, and visions.
(pause)
Staff: I don’t know the Senator’s plans on that.Me: Well, if he decides to accept, you have him give us a
call at (330)754-0534.Staff: I’ll pass your message on.
Me: Thanks for your time.
Staff: Thank you for calling.
Based on passed perfomance, we’ll see what that’s worth…
Bryan Collinsworth, Boccieri’s communications director, wrote me to say that they Boccieri’s campaign staff delivered the above debate challenge to Schuring’s campaign manager morning, and for doing so Schuring’s campaign has issued a press release calling for Boccieri’s staffers to be fired.
Collinsworth said that he and Campaign Manager, Ian Walton, went to the address listed on Schuring’s Web site, and found they had to go to the Higbee Road headquarters to find Schuring’s people.
“We drove over to the office, and asked where the Schuring campaign office was and walked in and handed the letter to them. If they don’t want people entering their office, perhaps they should lock the doors. But I’m not sure that’s a very effective campaign strategy either.”
“I don’t see what the violation is here, except that they’re trying to dodge the broader issue that we’re trying to talk about. We went there, delivered the challenge letter. We asked them for a debate. We said, ‘When can you schedule this?’ And we got no firm answer on that. So this is clearly just another way of dodging that question, in my view.”
Collinsworth admits to taking a photo of the delivery.
The Schuring Camp issued a release of their own, charging the Boccieri Staffers “barged into the Schuring Headquarters and started snapping pictures.” What’s to hide Kirk?
Schuring said:
“I’m very disappointed that the Boccieri Campaign has stooped to this level of desperation. This was a tactic designed to intimidate and it’s not going to work, nor is it acceptable here in the 16th Congressional District. Perhaps this is the way he has run his campaigns in Youngstown, but that style of campaigning won’t sit well with voters here. John, you should apologize to the voters to the 16th District and fire these staffers today.”
Sorry, Kirk, Boccieri lives in Alliance and his office is in Downtown Canton, not, out at Belden along with Ralph Regula’s. Does it hurt to be the 16th District’s version of McSame?
Still, Schuring chooses to remain silent on the issues hiding behind third party groups from Washington. His site says virtually nothing on energy and is yet to agree to debate The Major in a formal, substantive debate on the skyrocketing costs of fuel and energy. This whole thing sounds like Schuring suffers from a skewed parallax.
What does he have to hide?
He voted to INCREASE the gas tax while Boccieri voted against it.
Middle class families in our area continue to struggle and Schuring chooses to side with big oil(raised more than 20k from oil and gas executives).
This election is too important! Voters deserve to know where the candidates stand on this and other issues. Schuring should stop his political games and engage in a real dialogue about his vision and ideas for the direction of our country.
Call Kirk Schuring and ask him why he voted to raise your gas taxes: 330-455-9199.