Volume 16, Edition 3   •  June 15, 2007

Governor’s Request for Aid Granted by President

Governor Blunt’s request for aid to those affected by the devastating May flooding in Missouri has been approved by President Bush, who has declared that a major disaster existed in parts of the state. "I appreciate President Bush's prompt response to my request for federal assistance," the Governor said. "This declaration is good news for local governments as it will help ease the burden and accelerate the recovery efforts for Missouri families and small business owners." Federal funding is now available in the counties of Andrew, Atchison, Buchanan, Carroll, Chariton, Clay, Daviess, DeKalb, Gentry, Holt, Jackson, Lafayette, Livingston, Morgan, Nodaway, Osage, and Platte. According to the White House, money is also available to state and local governments as well as some nonprofit relief organizations "for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the severe storms and flooding in the counties of Andrew, Atchison, Bates, Carroll, Cass, Chariton, Daviess, Gentry, Grundy, Harrison, Holt, Howard, Livingston, Mercer, Nodaway, Platte, Ray, Saline, and Worth." The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is asking that residents and business owners who sustained losses in the designated counties begin applying for assistance by registering online at http://www.fema.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA(3362) or 1-800-462-7585 (TTY) for the hearing and speech impaired. The toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Sunday.

Dempsey Announces for Senate Seat

In good news for Missouri Republicans in the 23rd State Senatorial District, House Majority Leader Tom Dempsey announced this week that he is seeking a promotion to the Missouri Senate. Dempsey said his campaign to replace outgoing Sen. Chuck Gross will focus on continued efforts to ensure every St. Charles County student receives a high quality public education, citizens have access to affordable health care, and state policies assist businesses in creating family-supporting jobs. “Four years ago, when I was elected House Majority Floor Leader, our state faced dire financial and economic circumstances. The state operating budget was $1.1 billion in the red, public education funds were being withheld to cover for shortfalls in cash flow, and Missouri was losing more jobs than any other state in the country. Today, our state revenues are on the rise, we have increased education funding by over $500 million, and Missouri businesses have created 93,000 new, family-supporting jobs. Our responsible fiscal policies are continuing to pay off.” To view Dempsey’s entire announcement and learn about his campaign, go to www.dempseyforsenate.com.

Governor Signs Good Samaritan Law

Keeping yet another promise to Missourians, Governor Blunt recently signed into law a bill that will give doctors, nurses and other licensed health care professionals protections to better serve Missouri families during declared disasters. The Governor called for this legislation, known as the Good Samaritan Law, in his State of the State address. The new law provides liability protections for Missouri doctors, nurses and other licensed health care professionals serving as Good Samaritans when they assist Missourians during a declared disaster. The law extends the same protections to licensed health care professionals from other states who volunteer to help Missourians during emergency disaster situations. The law also allows the Department of Health and Senior Services to recruit, train and accept the services of citizen volunteers to dispense medication in a public health emergency under the supervision of a licensed health care professional. This provision will assist the state in continuing to develop a comprehensive plan to deal with the effects of a possible pandemic flu. "Missourians and others across our nation have shown their generosity when it comes to helping their neighbors during their times of need,” the Governor said. “Health care professionals who offer their time and expertise to help our neighbors during an emergency should not fear frivolous lawsuits. This legislation also enhances our ability to efficiently and effectively respond to Missourians’ needs during an emergency."

Legislation to Help Economy Signed into Law

In another example of Governor Blunt’s commitment to improving the economy and creating jobs, he signed into law this week a bill that provides tax relief for Missouri manufacturers that will help the state retain and attract manufacturing jobs as well as research and development positions. The new law authorizes a state sales tax exemption for the cost of all utilities, chemicals, machinery, equipment, and materials used in the manufacturing, processing, compounding, mining, or production of a product. The exemption also applies to research and development related to manufacturing. The law expands the sales tax exemption for personal property used directly for research and development of prescription pharmaceuticals including the exemption of utilities and allowing the exemption to be used for agricultural/biotechnology products. Since January 2005, Missourians have created more than 94,000 jobs, thanks to measures supported by the Governor and backed by Republican leaders that have helped employers and entrepreneurs create good, family-supporting jobs. This week, the Governor announced that Missouri employers added 4,100 jobs in May bringing the total number of net jobs created since January 2005 to 94,300. Among the bold measures that have helped boost the economy are lawsuit and workers' compensation reforms and the Quality Jobs Act. "I commend Missouri's working families and job creators for another successful month of strong job growth," the Governor said. "My administration remains firmly committed to continuing the pro-job, pro-growth initiatives that have helped Missourians create nearly 100,000 new jobs over the last two and-a-half years."

EXCLUSIVE: Nixon Missed Critical Ameren Evidence

Democrat operatives have implicated Jay Nixon for missing critical evidence in a Missouri State Highway Patrol report that could have led to criminal charges against Ameren for the Taum Sauk reservoir collapse. Gleeful Democrats rejoiced this week when the media failed to correctly point out that the names of Ameren employees who removed critical probes at the reservoir were contained in the Highway Patrol report. But by pointing out the error, Democrats also implicated Nixon for failing to find the employees’ names in the report despite having received it on April 20. Nixon said in a statement on May 18 that after reviewing the Highway Patrol’s report that he agreed there was no suspect. "Therefore, the state will not pursue criminal charges in this matter." And just last week, Nixon failed to publicly challenge the media by providing proof that the names were in the report, indicating either incompetence or an unwillingness to pursue a key piece of evidence against a large contributor that could have resulted in criminal charges. Missourians now know that Nixon failed to read the investigative report that could have led to criminal charges against Ameren, which raises new questions about what impact the $19,000 in campaign contributions Nixon received from the utility had on his willingness to pursue criminal charges. Nixon failed to represent the people of Missouri, yet his own desperate party tried to blame the media for misreporting the facts when all along it was Nixon who wasn’t doing his job.

Nixon Rips Page from Democrat Fee Office Playbook

Jay Nixon must think Missourians are fools. Nixon recently sent two campaign contribution solicitations to license fee offices in what is nothing more than an iron-fist financial shakedown used by previous Democrat administrations to ensure loyalty among party appointees who received fee office positions. Nixon has about as much chance of carrying out his blackmail scheme as he does in becoming Governor. Also, Nixon’s extortion scheme exposes the hypocrisy of the Democrat Party he supposedly leads that continues to spread lies, rumors and innuendo about fee office reforms but apparently has no trouble stomaching Nixon’s blatant malfeasance. It seems that old habits die hard for Missouri Democrats while Governor Blunt has instituted a series of reforms to the fee office system that include privatizing some offices while extending office hours and accuracy requirements to better serve Missourians. And what was Nixon’s response? “We have sent thousands of Jay Nixon fundraising letters. A few inadvertently were sent to fee offices; we’re notifying them it was a mistake,” a campaign spokesman told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. While we all know Nixon is prone to making “mistakes,” it’s more likely he just got caught doing what Democrats have become so good at over the years. Take a look at the solicitations to fee offices in O’Fallon and Audrain County. It’s shocking that these solicitations aren’t even addressed to individuals. They were merely sent to fee offices, sending a strong signal that if contributions are not returned, that office will no longer belong to the fee agents who run them.

Nixon’s Keystone Kops Fumble Serious Case

Jay Nixon has made a habit of making “mistakes” as attorney general and he has also engaged in some of the worst media pandering ever seen in this state. But an incident this week really exposes what kind of operation Nixon is running. Nixon sent three of his attorneys general to a state office building in Jackson County to apprehend a suspect in a federal identity theft case but the suspect no longer worked there. Even though suspect Robin Deardorff had been fired from the Department of Social Services on June 11, Nixon mistakenly directed his staff to apprehend her at the agency’s Jackson County location on June 13. Instead of going directly to the suspect's home, Nixon's Keystone Kops unsuccessfully tried to lure her back to the agency which could have put state employees at risk. To add insult to injury, Nixon’s crack communications staff issued a media release with information provided by their boss incorrectly stating that Deardorff was still a state employee. Clearly, Nixon’s lust for sensational headlines ended up leading to a Keystone Kops approach to law enforcement that is both embarrassing to Missourians and could potentially have jeopardized the arrest of Deardorff and put at risk the safety of state workers.

Nixon Lies About Role in MySpace Case

In yet another blatantly misleading statement coming out of his official office, Jay Nixon this week falsely claimed to be part of a team of attorneys general that led efforts to obtain the identities of sex offenders operating on MySpace.com. But that’s just the half of it. Nixon also failed to explain why he waited nearly a month to join the effort to protect Missouri children. In a media release on June 8, Nixon led Missourians to believe that he was “part of a multi-state group” working to turn over information on sex offenders to law enforcement even though he was NOT. The May 14 letter first raising concerns to MySpace came from attorneys general in Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Mississippi, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania. And if Nixon was so “concerned about other sex offenders who may be on the site using an alias and misrepresenting their age,” as he said in his release, why did he wait so long to approach MySpace about Missouri offenders, which ultimately delayed receipt of that list by the Missouri State Highway Patrol? It is quite clear that Nixon should stop issuing misleading, self-congratulating press releases and start spending more time on trying to protect our children from sexual offenders in a more timely and honest manner. Meanwhile, Governor Blunt called on Nixon to use his subpoena power directly on MySpace.com and other social networking sites such as Facebook.com because the Governor is concerned that the information provided by a contractor working for MySpace.com may not be complete or provide the level of detail our law enforcement needs to help protect our young people from sexual predators.

ERA Supporters “Embarrassed” by McCaskill

Just to show you how out of touch Claire McCaskill is, the Democrat is even willing to offend long-time supporters. The pro-Democrat Missouri Women’s Coalition blasted McCaskill recently for failing to support a resolution that seeks to resurrect the Equal Rights Amendment. Specifically, the group slammed McCaskill for not joining 21 Senators who sponsored the resolution: “Sen. McCaskill’s absence as an ERA co-sponsor is embarrassing to all Missourians,” the group said in a release. McCaskill obviously isn’t living up to the expectations of most Missourians but when she defies some of her closest allies, it’s usually not a very good sign. McCaskill, who always has an excuse when things don’t go her way, later claimed that there was some sort of “miscommunication” with the group. What that means exactly hasn’t been made clear. If you want to read more, check out this letter to the Springfield News-Leader written by Stacey G. Newman, executive director of the Missouri Women’s Coalition St. Louis.

Respected Journalist Exposes Liberal Group

Gary Rust, chairman of Rust Communications, took issue recently with the Missouri Budget Project for being a liberal group – a fact never reported in big city liberal newspapers in St. Louis and Kansas City. Rust correctly noted that MissouriPulse.com is reporting that the Missouri Budget Project has received $700,000 in grants from the Missouri Foundation for Health. As most Missourians know by now, the Missouri Foundation for Health is overseen by Jay Nixon who is using the group’s public monies to fund left-wing groups, including abortion providers. In his column, Rust asks a very important question: “Where are the media (other than Jo Mannies of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, who has written on this) who should either challenge or report his data?” The column also takes a look at the Governor’s success when it comes to the economy. Rust’s column comes on the heels of similar questions about the Missouri Foundation for Health raised by Tony Messenger at the Springfield News-Leader. Messenger said that many valid questions about the foundation and Nixon’s relationship to it deserve closer media scrutiny: “Somebody ought to follow the money,” Messenger wrote in a recent article.

Remember when…

…big liberal newspapers in St. Louis were willing to expose Jay Nixon for being a media hound who would jump on any legal bandwagon to receive media coverage? For those of you who don’t, let’s go back to the year 2000 and a column written by former St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Jerry Berger: “The columnist is going to vote for Jay Nixon for another term as Missouri attorney general. So is every reporter in the state who has ever struggled for copy on a slow news day. Nixon's much-photographed propensity to make news by joining the lawsuits on any subject brought by the attorneys general of any of the other 49 states has filled up more column inches than any of Mark McGwire's slugging exploits. And, thanks to Nixon's diligence, Missourians are as well-protected as the residents of more affected states against faulty shark repellent, spitting camels, poorly designed igloos, and people who try to scalp tix to the National Basketball Association games." Nothing has changed since then and we encourage Missourians to scan through Nixon’s press releases and count exactly how many lawsuits Nixon has leeched onto to make himself look like he’s doing something. The problem for Nixon is that Missourians want leaders, not followers and shameless self-promoters. The question now is whether the liberal media moguls in St. Louis, Kansas City and even Springfield have the guts to call Nixon out on this disturbing trend that has been allowed to perpetuate itself basically unchecked for more than a decade.

MissouriPulse.com Post of the Week

Who Needs Enemies With Friends Like These?

Jefferson County Presiding Commissioner Chuck Banks, a former Gephardt apparatchik1, recently became the latest bipartisan voice to take the side of local homeowners impacted by the ongoing environmental mess created by the Nixon family sewage plant. In a recent News Democrat Journal story, Banks reiterated charges leveled by state and federal regulators against the plant and empathized with homeowners who can’t move into their homes due to the plant’s ongoing environmental troubles.

From the News Democrat Journal:

"I feel sorry for the people who have bought homes and can't move into them," he [Banks] said. "Some people have already sold their other house and now they are in limbo because they can't move into their new one.”

Banks didn’t stop there. He went on to express his desire that with current plant operators (i.e. Nixon’s family and their associates) removed from the equation, a long overdue upgrade of the water system would rid homeowners of problems that include high levels of lead in a major water source.

In other news, Nixon is scheduled to campaign in Jefferson County this weekend, which leads us to wonder whether Banks will temper his criticism in the presence of the state’s so-called “top prosecutor”—the same prosecutor who ignored the environmental problems at his family’s plant for over a decade while cashing in on a six-figure combination of campaign loans and donations from family sources. If all politics is local as Banks’ criticism seems to indicate, Nixon may have some explaining to do in his own backyard.

_________
1 P-D, 4/27/2007

The Cornerstone

The Missouri Republican Party’s grassroots operation is the envy of the nation thanks to the strength of volunteers who work tirelessly to promote our conservative values and candidates. Another part of our success has been the growing number of conservatives who have become Missouri Republican Party Members. While Democrats choose to hang their political fortunes on monolithic liberal contributors like George Soros, hard-working conservatives give of their time and have again stepped up as individuals and helped make a difference for our state. Providing your Party with the resources it needs to promote our values and candidates has been essential to our victories of the past and will be even more important to our victories in the future. If you are interested in becoming a member of the Missouri Republican Party, please go to https://www.mogop.org/forms/wpjoin.php.

Thoughts and Prayers

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

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

Major Daniel Ellinger, U.S. Army, son of 6th District State Committeewoman Carol Ellinger, who is beginning his second tour in Iraq.

Brian Grace, Director of Public Affairs at the Department of Economic Development, who has cancer.

Harold Hamann, father of 15th District State Committeewoman Peggy Adams, who was recently hospitalized.

Mike Keathley, Commissioner of Administration, who has cancer.

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

Rosemary Kochner, 13th District State Committeewoman, who has continued health concerns.

Mary Mallien, 14th District State Committeewoman, who was recently hospitalized.

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

Tony Snow, White House spokesman, who has cancer.

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

 
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