Volume 16, Edition 4   •  June 22, 2007

Governor Keeps Promises on School Funding

For the third year in a row, Gov. Matt Blunt has delivered on his promise to ensure that Missouri students have the money they need to succeed. The Governor recently signed into law a public school funding bill that provides an additional $132.6 million for the school funding formula, $27.9 million for the School District Trust Fund, $3.6 million increase for the A+ Schools Program, and a $2 million increase for the Parents as Teachers Program. The legislation also includes more than $500,000 for Character Education Programs that focus on school safety issues. The significant funding increase brings total funding allocated to education in Missouri to just more than $5.2 billion. Also as pledged, the Governor has never withheld money from K-12 education. In the last three years, funding for public education has increased by nearly half a billion dollars. “Education is the most important investment our state makes and is my highest priority,” the Governor said in a release. “I am pleased to sign a budget that delivers to Missouri classrooms more than half a billion dollars in new funding over the last three years. I commend the members of the General Assembly who share my commitment to ensuring our children receive the world-class education they must have in order to reach their full potential.” The Governor also led the successful effort and signed a comprehensive higher education reform package. The package increases funding for higher education, provides tuition stabilization, and increases scholarship funding from $27.5 million to $72.5 million. The package also includes the Governor’s landmark Lewis & Clark Discovery Initiative which is a partnership between the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority and the state. Through this initiative, Missouri is reinvesting a state asset to deliver $335 million dollars for state-of-the-art learning centers for Missouri students this year.

First Lady Leads Cancer Awareness Team

As part of her women’s wellness initiative, First Lady Melanie Blunt led a team of more than 100 members in the Susan G. Komen St. Louis Race for the Cure® in St. Louis. The June 16th race helped raise support for breast cancer education, research, support and treatment. The First Lady serves as spokesperson and honorary chair for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure Mid-Missouri Affiliate and is committed to encouraging Missouri women to take time for breast cancer screenings and to promoting breast cancer research and awareness. TEAM MELANIE BLUNT, which included the Governor and First Lady, raised more than $4,000 to support the race, making it the 8th highest ranked small team for fundraising out of 415 total teams in the category. "I have worked to encourage Missouri women to take time for breast cancer screenings and to promote breast cancer research and awareness, and I am delighted to join the Komen St. Louis Race for the Cure in the fight against breast cancer," the First Lady said in a statement. "It is an honor to walk with survivors, supporters and family members who are united towards a common goal and is very encouraging to serve as a team captain to raise support for the Race."

Governor Blunt Shows Continued Commitment to Kids

The Governor’s continued commitment to Missouri’s children was on display again this week when he signed into law three bills designed to enhance the delivery of services to them. The legislation signed by the Governor would improve the Amber Alert System, ensure that students receive proper screening for vision problems and to improve the educational resources available to those who are hearing impaired. Senate Bill 16, sponsored by Sen. Delbert Scott, requires comprehensive eye examinations for children entering kindergarten or first grade, and also requires vision screenings for students beginning first and third grades. Senate Bill 84, sponsored by Sen. Norma Champion includes a provision that states in law that the Amber Alert System is exclusively for children less than 18 years of age. This law also authorizes a similar program that started in January of this year that builds on the same concept as the Amber Alert System to locate other missing or endangered persons. The legislation helps ensure that Missouri's laws are consistent with national alert standards so that state borders will not hinder efforts to recover missing or endangered children. Finally, House Bill 181, sponsored by Rep. Therese Sander, requires captioning on electronic video instructional materials for use in educational institutions beginning January 1, 2008.

New Law Will Help Disabled Enter Workforce

In a victory for Missouri’s disabled, Governor Blunt has signed into law increased funding over the next few years for people who work at sheltered workshops, where disabled Missourians can earn money and develop skills. The law increases state aid and provides a way for workshops to become more competitive in bidding for state work. The bill also provides a per diem increase and pay boost for people who work in one of the 93 sheltered workshops in the state. "This legislation ensures that Missourians with disabilities will have opportunities to continue making vital contributions in their communities and access to jobs that will help them meet their full potential," the Governor said in a statement. Check out the media coverage of this issue on komu.com.

Governor Promotes Missouri Firms in France

With Missouri exports continuing to set records under Republican leadership, Governor Blunt continued to push Missouri’s financial interests during a trip to France where he promoted the state’s airplane and defense industry. The Governor was busy promoting companies with Missouri ties, such as Boeing Co., Essex Industries and GKN. Blunt is among four U.S. governors who planned to attend the international trade fair. The Governor has recently taken several trips promoting Missouri businesses. In March, he went to Italy for a weeklong trade mission to promote Boeing products and he has previously traveled twice to Mexico on trade trips - this past February and also in 2005. In Mexico, he encouraged development of a Kansas City port linking the United States and Mexico. Last year, the Governor spent two weeks in Europe, making stops in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy and the United Kingdom. “As I meet with companies, like GKN, and work to promote products and opportunities that have a strong tie to Missouri, I continue to be impressed by our state's dedicated workforce and the power of innovation,” the Governor said in a statement. “I will continue to work to promote science, math, technology and engineering opportunities so that we may remain a strong competitor in the global economy."

Clean Water for Missourians Focus of Governor’s Efforts

In another effort to help improve the quality of life for all Missourians, the Governor announced this week that the state will issue $50 million in bonds to assist Missouri communities who are facing problems related to drinking water and wastewater treatment. While these bonds have been authorized in the past, they were not issued until the Governor took the lead in doing so. The loans and grants from the Clean Water Initiative will be administered by the Department of Natural Resources' Water Protection Program and are limited to counties, municipalities, and water or sewer districts. The department has initially allocated the funds as follows: $16 million for 40 percent state construction grants for wastewater related projects; $12 million for rural sewer grants targeted for rural and special needs communities; $12 million for rural drinking water projects and $10 million in direct loans for water or wastewater projects, including planning loans for wastewater facilities.

Nixon Employs Assistant Who Blamed Victim for Attack

Jay Nixon’s claims that he is tough on sexual predators and sexual harassment ring disturbingly hollow given that he employs a deputy who once blamed a female rape victim for being attacked and then ignored a jury by ruling against jail time for the convicted rapist. Jeff Schaeperkoetter works as an assistant attorney general for Nixon. As a Franklin County Circuit Court Judge, Shaeperkoetter ignored a jury’s advice for jail time and instead sentenced Matthew Wasniak to probation for drugging and then sexually assaulting a woman in 2000. With stunning callousness, Shaeperkoetter put some of the responsibility for the attack on the victim, which was reflected in a story that appeared in The Riverfront Times on January 24, 2001. Angry letters to the editor about Shaeperkoetter’s disregard for the victim appeared a week later on January 31, 2001. It is shameful and hypocritical that Nixon would hire and continue to employ someone who would not only blame a rape victim for an assault but then set a rapist free against the advice of a jury. If Nixon claims that he supports strong sexual predator laws and is quick to condemn allegations of sexual harassment, then Missouri taxpayers deserve to know why Jeff Shaeperkoetter is still on the payroll of the state’s chief law enforcement officer.

Carnahan, McCaskill Fail Missourians on Ballot Measure

Democrats Robin Carnahan and Claire McCaskill failed Missourians months ago when they failed to correct flawed ballot language to increase the state’s minimum wage. That failure has raised statewide concerns over the additional costs associated with the omission of federal overtime rules for public safety workers. Carnahan, as secretary of state, and former state auditor McCaskill, both failed to note the omission of federal law that allows public safety workers to work more than 40 hours a week without triggering overtime pay and instead allowed the measure, known as Proposition B, to be put before voters last November. As part of their duties, Carnahan and McCaskill are responsible for reviewing ballot language and the costs associated with ballot proposals. There is no excuse for this type of incompetence because the issue never would have been a concern had the secretary of state and former auditor done their jobs. Missouri voters need to look no further than Carnahan and McCaskill to find the individuals responsible for jeopardizing important public safety functions in our state.

AP Exposes Nixon’s Conflict on Campaign Finance Reform

Jay Nixon’s attempt to hide from the media about his failure to defend campaign finance reforms was exposed this week when The Associated Press reported on the Missouri Supreme Court’s decision to consider concerns about Nixon’s conflict of interest on the issue. The AP pointed to a Missouri Republican Party legal brief accepted by the state’s highest court arguing that Nixon stands to gain if a legislative session fundraising ban is not reinstated, so it’s a conflict for him to try and defend the law while choosing not to fight to keep that provision in place. Nixon’s office, in a laughable defense, claims Nixon really tried to defend the fundraising ban at the circuit court level then just gave up after that. The Supreme Court, however, pushed aside Nixon’s attempts to keep the conflict of interest issue from being considered. "The attorney general's defense of the state defendants and of legislation enacted by the people's duly elected representatives has been compromised," the brief says. "As a candidate, the attorney general has an interest in accepting contributions during the legislative session." The high court heard oral arguments on the appeal to the campaign finance law reforms and Nixon’s conflict of interest on Thursday but it is unclear when it will rule. The entire story can be found here.

MSNBC Reporter Exposes Media’s Democrat Bias

The media takes every opportunity to deny their Democrat bias but a recent article by MSNBC’s Bill Dedman exposes their deception. Dedman found that national reporters contributed to Democrat candidates by a margin of 9 to 1 over Republicans. What is most interesting is that reporters interviewed by Dedman either denied their Democrat contributions or tried to make excuses. In at least one case, a reporter refused to answer a pointed follow-up question from Dedman. Even more interesting is the case of Margot Patterson, a reporter for the Missouri Catholic Reporter in Kansas City, who gave $2,100 to Sen. Claire McCaskill, $1,000 to Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, $250 to Howard Dean and $800 to the Democratic Party. And then the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Jake Wagman weighed in with a blog posting that proved Dedman’s point about media bias. Wagman ignored the 9 to 1 ratio in favor of Democrat donations from the media but mentioned two Republican donors in the third paragraph of his story. Wagman also ignored the Patterson contributions completely. We at The Voice highly recommend this article and encourage Republicans to distribute it to friends, family and the media. Dedman’s article can be found here and the Post-Dispatch’s slanted take can be found here.

MissouriPulse.com Post of the Week

MO MEDIA WATCH: Out Of Hibernation

All of a sudden, several in the media have begun to offer their two-cents on how best to fix the MHDC in the wake of Governor Blunt’s unprecedented call for reform. The timing of the media’s sudden interest is fascinating considering that the warning signs have existed since 1993 when Democrats began a period of dominance of statewide elected positions that lasted until 2004.

In a blame-Blunt-for-everything editorial from this past weekend, the CDT’s Hank Waters wrote, “The worst situation would be a housing commission made up entirely of elected officials of one political party.” Apparently, Waters and—who are we kidding—the rest of the media watchdogs were hibernating from 1993-2005 when Democratic governors, lieutenant governors, treasurers and AG Nixon completely dominated the commission (i.e. Waters’ worst-case-scenario).

In May 2000, the media took little interest when Republicans pointed out that Democrats on the MHDC were extorting hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign donations from developers seeking tax credits. Heck, they didn’t even care all that much that the MDP chairman at that time (Joe Carmichael) had received $2.7 million a year in credits through the MHDC on the Democrats’ watch. (Imagine the outrage today!) Despite plenty of evidence pointing to a cash-and-carry scheme, no one in the media delved into the issue.

Four years later when then-Auditor McCaskill ran for governor, Republicans pointed out that her husband was among the wheeling-and-dealing developers who had ponied up large sums of campaign cash to Democrats on the MHDC in exchange for millions in tax credits to further his low-income housing empire (see the item related to Heritage Dunbar). Despite a lack of media interest in the issue, which chalked up Republican criticism as “personal attacks”, McCaskill still saw the need to inoculate when she claimed her husband was getting out of the low-income housing business.

In 2006, self-described watchdog McCaskill, who had completely ignored the problems at the MHDC during her eight years as Auditor, was forced to further inoculate when she announced she would conduct an election-year audit of the commission in a preemptive effort to stifle Republican scrutiny of her husband’s latest business venture—wheeling-and-dealing low-income housing tax credits for profit. Predictably, no such audit has surfaced and recent press investigations into the buying and selling of tax credits has yet to mention McCaskill or her husband, who just reported over $1 million in assets in the family’s poorly disguised Missouri Tax Credit Fund LP (see pg. 10 of McCaskill’s 2007 PFD).

Despite all that, the once-hibernating media immediately pounced on Governor Blunt after he made the bold call to reform the MHDC. Never mind that Democrats openly wheeled-and-dealed on the commission for over a decade without fear of scrutiny. Never mind that the state’s watchdog for eight years, Claire McCaskill, never audited the Democrat-controlled MHDC and spent her last four years as Auditor reaping the benefits of her family’s low-income housing fortune made possible by the Democrat wheel-and-deal system. Never mind all that. Let’s scrutinize the guy who dares to call for reforming the current system. Prediction: this very scenario could play out again in 2009 if a Republican is elected attorney general and attempts to clean-up Nixon’s slush fund (a.k.a. Missouri Foundation for Health). You heard it here first.

The Cornerstone

Every two years, state law requires that the Missouri Republican Party re-organize at which time our Republican committee members, from the township level to the state level, meet to elect our Party leaders. Also during that time, the lists of committee members and officers are sent to the State Party for recording. This is our first path of communication at the local level but as a Party we cannot operate on committee members alone. There are many commonsense, Missouri conservatives who may not be a member of an official Republican committee but participate through a Republican club, women’s group, Pachyderms or other GOP-leaning association. So this week, we would ask that you tell us about your unique involvement in helping Missouri Republicans by sending an email to Mika Schrimpf, Director of Grassroots, at mika@mogop.org or call her at 573-636-3146. Having your contact information will ensure that your organization will be involved in all our efforts to promote conservative values and Republican candidates.

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 of 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.

State Rep. Scott Lipke, 157th District, whose unborn daughter has been diagnosed with a heart condition.

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 21st District State Committeeman Gary Harris, who has cancer.
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