Ohio 2nd Democratic candidate Thor Jacobs has stepped up the heat going into the primary with a new radio ad focused on gas prices. Let me know if you hear it on the radio.

As a counterpoint to this ad they’ve also sent out a press release attacking their primary opponent over what seemed to be an off the cuff proposal for a graduated gas tax. I’ll post the full release after the break.

(UPDATE: The Enquirer Politics Extra “blog” has more on Wulsin’s thinking on the subject:

One of Jacobs’ Democratic primary opponents, Victoria Wulsin, has weighed in on rising gasoline prices as well. In an interview on WLWT (channel 5) and in the taping of a program to be shown on WKRC-TV Sunday, Wulsin has suggested a graduated gasoline tax as a solution.

Wulsin said she would rather see the tax based on income rather than actual vehicle consumption.

She said she hadn’t thought through how it work – a tax charged at the pump on income “wouldn’t be feasible,” she said.

“I haven’t gotten that far in my thinking,” Wulsin said. “I’m willing to entertain any ideas.”

)

Also, there seems to be another endorsement snafu. The Wulsin campaign has been claiming the endorsement of Cincinnati Councilwoman Laketa Cole, but yesterday the Jacobs for Congress campaign released a statement claiming her endorsement. Perhaps the Wulsin campaign is still including information from the 2nd special?

The Jacob’s campaign also released a slew of endorsements from local labor organizations:

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 212; the Plumbers, Pipe Fitters & Mechanical Equipment Service Local 392; and the Roofers Local 42, all of Hamilton County, have all also enthusiastically endorsed Thor Jacobs in the 2nd Congressional District Democratic primary. In additional, Boilermakers Local 105 of Piketon, Ohio in Pike County located at the far Eastern end of the district is lending Jacobs its support. “Thor understands the real issues working families face today,” said William Koester who is Business Manager of Plumbers, Pipe Fitters & Mechanical Equipment Service Local Union 392. “We need an independent, intelligent Congressman like him in Washington, fighting to protect us, not the profits of CEO’s.”

It seems that in the wake of the Enquirer endorsement for Wulsin the Jacob’s campaign has had to bump up their level of aggressiveness . As a fan of the sport I always enjoy the closing seconds before the buzzer, and this looks like it will be a close one.

Jacobs decries opponents “graduated tax on gasoline” proposal as “foolhardy & preposterous”

For Immediate Release:
Cincinnati, Ohio April 22, 2006

Some Democratic politicians like Victoria Wells Wulsin still think raising taxes on citizens is a grand and novel idea. Her rival in the 2nd Congressional District race, Thor Jacobs, disagrees. He is simply not that kind of Democrat. One who taxes first and thinks later.

Last week during her allotted two minutes on WLWT television inexperienced

Democratic candidate Victoria Wells Wulsin announced that the solution to the rising gasoline crisis is to raise taxes on consumers. According to WLWT Channel 5 broadcast of Wulsin she is proposing a “graduated gasoline tax” similar to the “graduated income tax.”

Wulsin’s policy proposal reflects an uncanny detachment from everyday people and apparently is a reflection of Indian Hill values not those of Bethel and Sharonville and Lucasville. This proposal is reflective of being out of touch with the marketplace and the financial concerns of the citizens of the 2nd district.

Then again today (April 21, 2006) during the taping for Newsmakers to be broadcast Sunday on Channel 12 she again proposed her “graduated gasoline tax” as the bright idea to solve our energy crisis and alleviate the anger that everyday people feel when they pull into a gas station.

Auto Bluebooks & Tax Returns at the Pumps?

Wulsin’s solution to the gasoline crisis is to institute a new tax for all citizens at the pump based on some unknown formula of individual’s ability to pay.

Imagine the inane difficulty if such an unfocused proposal was actually put into place. Two cars pull into their local gas station and a full-time clerk carrying a portable computer with an Automobile Resale Bluebook and a computerized copy of your recent tax return and sets out to determine the cost of your gasoline. For instance the owner of a Volvo may cough up $5.89 and your neighbor with the old Chevy Nova might pay a mere $1.79. Bureaucratic? Problematic? Unworkable? Jacobs thinks so. “A gas tax on consumers is not the solution.”

Jacobs’ Common Sense Energy Platform

Thor Jacobs knows Americans are tired of giving billion dollar tax subsidies to energy companies while paying record prices at the pump. “We need a real commitment to energy independence and lower gas prices,” Jacobs said. “When I get to Washington, I will fight for just and sane energy policies.”

Commenting on the recent rapid rise of prices at the pump, Jacobs said “What do we expect to get from two oil men from Texas (Bush & Cheney) who made their energy policy in secret with the executives and lobbyists for the oil and gas industry? The solution is a new Congress that is not fully purchased by the industry. We need a new Congress with some guts who will demand accountability and reign in excessive profits and outrageous Exxon CEO bonus of $400 million.” Oil companies make more in profits than any industry in the world. “Gas prices are out of control and when I get to Congress I will fight for families, not billion-dollar giveaways to the special interests,” Jacobs said.

Jacobs supports fighting the rising pump prices by encouraging environmentally sound energy exploration, hybrid vehicle technologies and serious investment in alternative fuels. He is in favor of recently-introduced legislation that will save energy, redirect tax breaks and giveaways to oil companies, and take important steps to lowering the price at the pump for American families. “Those are the types of polices that can make a difference,” Jacobs said, “not a graduated gasoline tax on consumers.”