Senator Talent Addresses Renewable Energy Conference In St. Louis

Thursday, Senator Jim Talent addressed hundreds of businessmen and women, scientists and government officials at a conference dedicated to the development of renewable energy. He stressed the importance of continuing to promote the use and advancement of renewable fuels in our country.

At the convention Senator Talent said, “I think it's very important because I want these investors around the country, including on Wall Street, to understand that Congress is committed to this industry for national security reasons. This is the path to energy independence."

Senator Talent championed the Renewable Fuels Standard, which will provide over 7.5 billion gallons of domestic renewable fuels in our country by 2012. Senator Talent’s unwavering efforts resulted in the Renewable Fuels Standard being signed into law as part of the 2005 Energy Bill.

Looking toward the future, our Republican leaders know that promoting domestic renewable energy will increase production in our economy, bringing jobs and economic opportunities to the United States while decreasing our dangerous dependence on Middle Eastern oil. In Missouri, Governor Matt Blunt introduced and signed into law the E-10 standard, which requires that motor fuels sold in our state contain at least 10 percent ethanol. This standard will lead to job creation and economic growth, making our state a leader in the promotion of domestic renewable fuels.

Illegal Vote Plan Operating for McCaskill in St. Louis City

In response to large numbers of suspect voter registration cards turned into election officials in St. Louis City, the Missouri Republican Party announced immediate legal action against the far-left group ACORN. Election officials reported as many as 1,492 potentially fraudulent applications to vote for Claire McCaskill and other Democrats.

The complaint against ACORN filed with the Federal Elections Commission alleges that the radical non-profit group is making illegal contributions to McCaskill by using street workers to gather voter cards and urge people to vote for McCaskill. Josephine Perkins, formerly of ACORN, said she was a supervisor hired for ACORN’s voter registration project. Ms. Perkins said that ACORN told employees to solicit votes for McCaskill in the course of their street and neighborhood work. The Perkins videotape suggests willful and knowing violations by ACORN and its affiliate, Give Missourians a Raise.

The statements by Perkins and others suggest that ACORN was aware of legal requirements but continued to give the McCaskill instruction to employees.

Click here to see the video footage of Ms. Perkins and other ACORN employees.

St. Louis Arch Lit in Pink to Promote Breast Cancer Awareness

Thursday evening Senator Jim Talent was joined by President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush to light the St. Louis Arch in pink. This marks the third year that the monument will stand as a tribute to breast cancer awareness and research. In 2004 Senator Talent encouraged Congress to pass a law to allow the illumination.

The Arch-lighting held a personal significance for both Senator Talent and President Bush. Senator Talent lost his mother to breast cancer and former First Lady Barbara Bush is a breast cancer survivor.

McCaskill Campaign Fails to Back Up Ad

An Ad Watch on KMBC-TV in Kansas City has found a huge fault in a McCaskill television ad – no one can prove that it’s true. In the television ad a young veteran speaks about his alleged difficulty getting an appointment to see a doctor after returning from service in Iraq. His claim could easily be verified by providing his appointment schedule from the Veteran’s Administration. Mike Mahoney, a reporter with KMBC-TV, visited the home of the young man several times and tried to contact him for a week with no success.

Jane Alley of the VA Medical Center met with Mahoney and said, “We see [Iraq veterans] within 30 days of their entry into our system.”

When asked if she was aware of any veteran returning from Iraq or Afghanistan who waited six months for their first medical appointment, which is claimed in the McCaskill ad, she replied, “I am not aware of any. But if there is someone out there with that experience, I need to know about that.”

During her campaign, Claire McCaskill has attempted to tarnish the upstanding reputation of Senator Jim Talent. In fact, since Senator Talent began serving in Congress, funding for veterans has increased by over $20 billion dollars. Senator Talent was also recently endorsed by the Veterans of Foreign Wars and given the 2006 Patriot Legislator Award by the Association for Service-Disabled Veterans.

Unfortunately the McCaskill campaign is trying to distract from its false ad by calling this an attack on veterans. No one has been more supportive of our military men and women then Jim Talent and the Republican Party. All that we are asking is for McCaskill to produce documentation showing that the claims in her ad are legitimate. We won’t hold our breath for that documentation to be produced, because it most likely does not exist.

Click here to view the full Ad Watch from KMBC-TV.

Rep. Jason Brown Returns Home After Being Wounded in Iraq

State Representative Jason Brown, R-Platte City, returned home Tuesday after being injured in Iraq. First elected to the Missouri House in 2002, Rep. Brown is a staff sergeant in the Army Reserve and was serving a one year tour of duty. Last week while on patrol near Baghdad, Rep. Brown was shot in the lung. He was greeted at the Kansas City airport by his family. Our thoughts and prayers are with Rep. Brown for a speedy recovery.

African American Vote Taken for Granted by Democrats

Sylvester Brown, a columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, wrote a less than glowing report this week about candidate Claire McCaskill. In a previous column Brown had discussed how many black leaders in the St. Louis community are growing tired of the Democrat party taking their votes for granted and giving the black community nothing in return. In this week’s column Brown notes that he wanted to discuss several issues with McCaskill, not just the black vote and the Democrat party but was disappointed when after a few questions McCaskill turned the discussion to that exact topic.

Brown concludes his column by saying, “In the end, the conversation about race and politics went as I expected. She sounded sincere, but I didn't hear anything that made me too hopeful about political and economic progress for local blacks. Yes, the Democratic Party takes blacks for granted - always has and, for the foreseeable future, I see nothing changing. The party's attitude didn't start, nor will it end, with McCaskill's campaign.”

Click here to read the full column.

Missouri Republican State Lincoln Days

Below we have details for the 2007 Missouri Republican Party State Lincoln Days.

When: February 9-11, 2007

Where: Frontenac Hilton Hotel
1335 South Lyndburg Blvd
St. Louis, MO 63131

Rooms are available at a special rate of $79 per night. Just let them know you are calling for the “Missouri Republican Lincoln Days”. The hotel can be reached at 314-993-1100.

Registration forms will be available at a later date. Please call Missouri Association of Republicans President Barbara Cooper at 636-227-8246 for more details.

Top Ten Counties

Top Ten Counties
	15-Sep	22-Sep	29-Sep	6-Oct	13-Oct
1	Butler	Butler	St. Louis County	Greene	Jasper/Newton
2	Johnson	Howell	Jasper	Jasper	Jackson
3	Pulaski	Adair	Butler	St. Louis County	Cape Girardeau
4	Greene	Pulaski	Greene	Cape Girardeau	St. Louis County
5	Christian	Macon	Cape Girardeau	Butler	Greene
6	Audrain	Jasper	Clay	Clay	Boone
7	Boone	Greene	Boone	Jackson	Clay
8	Platte	Johnson	Barton	Boone	Scott
9	Franklin	Cass	Adair	Jefferson	Pemiscot
10	Lawrence	Callaway	Franklin	Cole	Polk

Find out how our Republican leaders are serving Missouri by visiting their websites