Volume 15, Edition 4   •  May 25 , 2007

Landmark Session for Missourians PART II

As promised last week, here are a few additions to the long list of major legislative accomplishments sent to Gov. Matt Blunt on behalf of Missourians in the waning hours of the recently-complete legislative session. The previous list is available in the May 18 edition of The GOP Voice.

MEDICAID REFORM

After nearly a year of review and debate, Gov. Matt Blunt’s Medicaid reform proposal, MO HealthNet, was passed by the Republican-led Legislature and sent to the Governor for approval. The much-needed reform of the broken Medicaid system emphasizes primary and preventive care and improving the health of participants. MO HealthNet expands women’s health services to some 90,000 low- and moderate-income women, provides health care coverage for an added 3,200 disabled workers and allows former foster children to retain coverage until they turn 21. Additionally, it allows more than 20,000 children to become eligible for the Children’s Health Insurance Program. Republican reforms to a program that was bankrupting our state and failing to provide quality care to recipients will dramatically improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of Missourians.

PROTECTING LIFE

The Governor’s commitment to protecting the unborn continues. Legislation sent to the Governor’s desk for his signature makes the state’s Alternatives to Abortion program permanent and keeps abortion-providers out of Missouri’s classrooms, allowing schools to teach abstinence-only sex education.

ENGLISH AS OFFICIAL LANGUAGE

Missouri voters will have a chance in November 2008 to vote on whether the state Constitution should designate English as the official language of government operations. The measure was praised by the Governor. “English is the state's common language and it should be the language that governs official proceedings,” he said.

Lewis and Clark Discovery Initiative Becomes Law

In a major victory for Missouri college students and the entire higher education system, Governor Blunt this week signed into law his Lewis and Clark Discovery Initiative. The landmark higher education package, which passed with bipartisan support, will increase scholarship funding from $27 million to $72 million and boost funding for campus facilities by $335 million, all without a tax increase. While leading Democrats like Jay Nixon have sought to stand in the way of Missouri’s students and are actively courting groups to challenge the law in court, Governor Blunt and Republican leaders remain steadfastly behind the higher education plan that is scheduled to go into effect on August 28. “We cannot condemn our students to inadequate facilities, and this landmark higher education plan is the best solution for our students," the Governor said.

State Assists with Illegal Alien Sting

Under the direction of Governor Blunt, the Missouri State Highway Patrol worked this week with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency at George’s processing plant in Butterfield to detain more than 100 suspected illegal immigrants. The Highway Patrol assisted with executing search and arrest warrants as part of an ongoing ICE investigation into identity theft, Social Security fraud and a variety of immigration-related violations. This recent operation was the second time this year the Governor’s administration worked with federal authorities to stop illegal workers. In March, the Governor cancelled the state’s contract with Sam’s Janitorial Services and barred them from doing further business with the state after local and federal law enforcement agencies identified illegal immigrants working under falsified documents. By executive order, the governor also directed state agencies to enact a no tolerance policy regarding illegal workers through tough new contract protections.

Unemployment Rate Drops

With state revenues at record levels and economic growth in Missouri holding strong, Governor Blunt’s economic blueprint for the state has led to even lower unemployment numbers. The preliminary 4.5 percent seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in April dropped from 4.7 percent in March. Missouri's unemployment figures fell in line with national 4.5 percent unemployment rate for April, according to the Missouri Department of Economic Development. These significant accomplishments have improved the lives of Missourians who suffered through high unemployment rates and staggering job losses under failed Democrat policies of the previous administration.

With No Ideas, Democrats Whine Like Children

While the people of Missouri were the big winners this past legislative session with massive increases in education funding, a tax cut for elderly Missourians and Medicaid reforms to help low-income Missourians, bitter Democrats took the low road last week. Senate Minority Leader Maida Coleman called Republicans “punks” while House Minority Leader Jeff Harris claimed that the session did not result in any “big ideas.” It is clear that Democrats have no ideas of their own to improve the lives of hard-working Missourians and are in denial about the landmark legislative successes. The fact of the matter is that Democrats cannot argue with Governor Blunt’s conclusion that: “We began this legislative session with three major priorities: education, tax relief and health care. We ended the session with significantly more funding for students and classrooms, tax relief for Missouri seniors and a new health care plan for low-income Missourians.”

Nixon Opposes Students from Official Office

Jay Nixon called select media this week on taxpayer time to talk about his politically-motivated news release and letter attacking historic funding increases for Missouri college and university students, better known as the Lewis and Clark Discovery Initiative. Nixon used his official staff to draft a letter to the Governor and issue a press release attacking the landmark proposal passed with bipartisan support in the Legislature and signed into law this week. Just a few weeks ago, Nixon made a similar pitch opposing the Lewis and Clark Discovery Initiative in return for campaign contributions. Simply put, Nixon abused his public office by spending taxpayer dollars on news releases and staff time, including a conference call with reporters. This is unfortunate because hard-working Missourians are the ones picking up the tab and this legislation promises to deliver needed resources to Missouri students.

Nixon Fails Ranchers with Botched Legal Work

In a slap in the face to Missouri ranchers who allegedly were duped out of thousands of dollars in a cattle pricing scheme, Jay Nixon failed to properly handle basic evidence in a civil case in Howard County, which could put the case in jeopardy. The civil case being prosecuted by Nixon involves MJL Cattle Company and several individuals who allegedly used deceptive business practices in the sale of cattle to buyers in Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa. Howard County Judge Michael Midyett is likely to sanction Nixon for failing to notify defendants' attorneys about a subpoena in a timely manner. Characterizing Nixon’s actions as a serious mistake, the judge indicated the sanctions could include disallowing the evidence obtained through the subpoena. It is simply unacceptable that Jay Nixon’s negligence and ignorance of basic legal procedures could very well jeopardize this case and raises serious questions about whether he is spending more time running for governor than he is representing the rights of Missouri ranchers. Details of the case can be found on the Boonville Daily News website.

Barnes Supports Citizenship for Illegal Immigrants

On the same day that more than 100 suspected illegal immigrants were arrested in the southwest Missouri town of Butterfield, Kay Barnes said she supports granting citizenship to illegal immigrants. "I favor the opportunity for people, if they have been here for a period of time, if they have demonstrated a work ethic and so on, to be able to stay and go through eventually a citizenship process," the St. Joseph News-Press quoted Barnes as she spoke to a tiny gathering at the Buchanan County Democrat Women's Club. Congressman Sam Graves, in a statement that clearly represents the majority of his constituents, told the News-Press: "I will not support any form of amnesty. There is a legal process to enter this country and (it) shouldn't reward those who haven't followed it.” Barnes’ big-city liberal agenda will not resonate in a Congressional District filled with mainstream conservative Missourians.

Big Liberal Media Embarrassed During Legislative Session

It was a great legislative session for Missourians, but apparently the big liberal media in Kansas City, St. Louis and Columbia didn’t exactly see it that way. Governor Blunt and Republican lawmakers passed a Medicaid reform bill that will improve the lives of low-income Missourians, ended the state tax on Social Security that will benefit thousands of elderly Missourians, passed the landmark Lewis and Clark Discovery Initiative funding package for college students and enacted legislation designed to protect the unborn. Yet the headline in The Kansas City Star read: “Big ideas fizzle in legislature” with an editorial that called the session “disappointing.” Are Medicaid reform, tax cuts, more funding for education and protecting the unborn disappointing? The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, meanwhile, called the session “chaotic,” and the accompanying news stories were more about administrative procedure. Is procedure more important than Medicaid reform, tax cuts, more funding for education and protecting the unborn? Then we have the Columbia Daily Tribune, which gleefully characterized Medicaid reform as “the Governor’s top agenda item” when the plan was facing difficulty but became “one of Gov. Matt Blunt’s priorities” when it successfully passed. The only media that seemed to get it was The Associated Press.

MissouriPulse.com Post of the Week

Nixon Does In Cass Co. What He Failed To Do In His Home County

According to a May 17 release from the AG’s office, Jay Nixon is doing for Cass County what he has neglected to do for 14 years back home in Jefferson County; he’s cracking down on a polluting sewage plant. In what amounts to a stark contradiction of current events in Jefferson County, Nixon is actually suing the operators of a sewage plant that has violated state clean water laws and has polluted a nearby creek. His brazen rhetoric is like a child taking credit for making his bed while the floor of his bedroom is littered with candy wrappers and dirty clothes.

Nixon in his own words, from the release:

"It is imperative that the sewer systems are immediately upgraded and brought into compliance with state clean water laws after too many years of delays."

We wonder how the people living in Raintree Plantation feel after reading a quote like that! No matter how many sewage dumps Nixon sues between now and November 2008, he cannot erase the sludge from his 14 year record of neglecting sewage problems in his own back yard caused by his family’s sewage plant--a plant deemed “one of the worst in the state” by environmental regulators. And when the pollution problems at his family’s plant reached critical mass, Nixon walked away from the case as a result of his glaring conflict of interest. Let’s also not forget a couple of the underlying political elements that fueled Nixon’s neglect. 1) Family business interests helped bankroll Nixon’s ascension to AG, and 2) he used to work as a lawyer for those same interests.

While the folks in Cass County were certainly in need of assistance, it does not change the fact that the polluters at the Nixon family plant in Jefferson County have been collectively thumbing their noses at affected residents for years without fear of punitive action by the AG. While Nixon has ignored the problems in Jefferson County, Missouri voters will not.

The Cornerstone

Identifying Republicans Key to Our Success

The GOP Voice is dedicated to combating the liberal media bias and challenging the endless stream of Democrat misinformation. And every Friday it offers Republicans an alternative source to get the true facts about the accomplishments of our Republican elected leaders on behalf of all Missourians. However, here at the Cornerstone, we would like to remind folks that in a state with no Party registration, our first step must be to identify Republicans. That is why we are asking you, the Republican committeeman or woman, the club president, the Young Republican, to take a few minutes to help us better reach Show-Me State Republicans. Check your drawers, review your computer files and send us any or all lists that you feel might be important as we build our voter contact list, including but NOT limited to:

  • Your local Republican club membership list
  • A hand written sign-up sheet from a parade, booth or festival you attended for a candidate or the GOP
  • Your church directory
  • A list of people who took a yard sign for a Republican candidate
  • If you’re not sure if we have your list, assume we don’t, and please send it along to the Missouri Republican Party, 204 E. Dunklin St., Jefferson City, MO 65101, or e-mail Mika Schrimpf at mika@mogop.org. Your efforts will help us build the grassroots network we’ll need for success in 2008 and beyond!

 

Thoughts and Prayers

The Missouri Republican Party encourages Republicans across the state to keep these individuals in your thoughts and prayers:

Those courageous men and women in uniform who died defending our country and our freedom, and every current serviceman and servicewoman bravely protecting our way of life.

Evelyn Kinker, mother of 21st State Commiteewoman Linda Leabo, who has heart problems.

Bob Schwartz, 3rd District Committeeman, who recently had surgery.

Paul Busiek, husband of Mavis Busiek. Paul’s health concerns continue.

Mike Keathley, Commissioner of Administration, who has cancer.

Tony Snow, White House spokesman, who has cancer.

Dawn Sprick, daughter of Gary Harris, who has cancer.

Brian Grace, Director of Public Affairs at the Department of Economic Development, who is recovering from surgery.

 
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