In this issue:

• Governor Promotes Missouri Trade with Japan
• Rules to Protect Military Families from Predatory Practices
• Governor Names Rural Internet Access Task Force
• Democrat Follies: Befuddled Nixon Seeks Governor’s Leadership
• Democrat Follies: Nixon Must Come Clean About Discrimination Deal
• Democrat Follies: GOP Calls for Special Prosecutor in Nixon Scandals
• Democrat Follies: McCaskill Needs to Release State, Senate Emails
• Media Watch: Joplin Globe Praises Social Security Tax Cut
• The KC Star’s Disturbing Attempt to Revise History
• Media Watch: MissouriPulse.com Post of the Week
• The Cornerstone
• Thoughts and Prayers

Upcoming Events

Befuddled Nixon Seeks Governor’s Leadership

Jay Nixon says he opposes unlimited contribution limits, but the indecisive and hypocritical Democrat is so befuddled that he has turned to Gov. Matt Blunt seeking guidance on what to do with his contributions. Nixon first promised to return the contributions then changed his tune by claiming that he wouldn’t return them unless the governor did – an assertion that Nixon repeated in a pathetic campaign release recently. Of course, Missourians are well aware that Nixon sabotaged the state’s case supporting campaign finance reforms that were backed by the governor and the Legislature. Nixon is in a state of confusion about what to do with all the unlimited contributions that he opposed but still took. Things have gotten so bad for Jay Nixon that he is waiting for Governor Blunt to tell him what to do with political contributions. Nixon’s inability to make decisions on his own is just another example of why his candidacy scares so many Missourians. Nixon’s involvement in the campaign finance legislation case has been a fiasco from the start. He openly opposed campaign finance reform legislation while it was debated by lawmakers, and when it was later challenged in circuit court, he refused to appeal a decision overturning a contribution blackout period. The failure to appeal that decision ultimately led to a Missouri Supreme Court ruling to throw out the entire bill, including much-needed campaign finance reforms. Nixon later showed his true colors again by arguing that all unlimited contributions should be returned since that would benefit his campaign fundraising totals, which have lagged for months. Then there is the case of Nixon’s former chief of staff and campaign manager Chuck Hatfield, who represented the plaintiffs challenging the campaign finance reform legislation.

Nixon Must Come Clean About Discrimination Deal

Jay Nixon must come clean with Missourians about his recent settlement with a quadriplegic state worker who was fired by Nixon because of her disability. Missourians also deserve to hear directly from Nixon about the lawsuit, including how much taxpayer money is being used to settle the case. Documents from the U.S. District Court for Western Missouri in Jefferson City show that after eight hours of negotiation, a settlement had been reached between Marla Grothoff and Nixon, who has incredibly not been forced to comment on the case. Copies of the settlement document and the complete lawsuit can be found at: http://www.mogop.org/media/grothoff_complaint.pdf. The Grothoff lawsuit says that the veteran state attorney was fired by Nixon after responsibility for staff attorneys within the Department of Social Service Enforcement Division were handed over to the attorney general’s office. Nixon was sued for discriminating against the disabled worker, both as the attorney general and as an individual. Inexplicably, only one media outlet has chosen to report on the lawsuit. Nixon clearly discriminated against a quadriplegic and is doing everything he can to make it go away and to hide his malfeasance from the public. It is unfortunate that Missourians are not being told about the facts in this case and the attorney general’s despicable role in it. Just as disturbing is the fact that Nixon has tried to make himself a defender of those with disabilities, but this case clearly shows he is nothing but a hypocrite on the issue. Nixon’s hypocrisy is evident from a March 1, 2001, news release from his office which stated: “State government should be a leader, not a shirker, on issues of discrimination and should not be allowed to treat its employees as second-class citizens.”

GOP Calls for Special Prosecutor in Nixon Scandals

With Jay Nixon poised to use his office to launch a politically-motivated legal attack against the governor, the Missouri Republican Party this week called on officials outside Nixon’s political sphere of influence to launch investigations into his illegal use of state resources for political purposes, the failure of his office to honestly respond to Sunshine Law requests and his acceptance of campaign contributions from Ameren while he was investigating the utility. A Kansas City Star editorial calling for Nixon to appoint a special prosecutor would constitute a scurrilous conflict of interest and ignores the three-year abuse by Nixon of state resources for political purposes, his failure to fully respond to Sunshine Law requests and his decision to take $19,100 from Ameren while he was supposedly investigating the Taum Sauk Reservoir collapse. In the car and Ameren cases, Nixon tried to obscure the actual crimes by allegedly making restitution, even though there was no independent review of the money he returned for illegally using state resources and Ameren donations he claimed he gave back actually were recycled back into his campaign accounts through Democrat Party committees. In the Sunshine Law response case, there is clearly a double standard in the liberal media regarding what Nixon must produce and what Republicans must produce. And who can forget Nixon’s staff telling The Associated Press on September 24 that they delete many of their emails. Nixon spokesman Scott Holste told The AP that much of what the attorney general’s office does "would not have to be retained." There is no state official in Missouri more deserving of a special prosecutor than Jay Nixon, who has broken the law repeatedly but has not been held accountable for his actions. Missourians deserve answers from Jay Nixon and special prosecutors know how to ask the questions the media refuses to ask and that Nixon won’t answer. Nixon must be held to the same standard as other statewide officials and when he is not, our system of justice becomes merely a political tool for the liberal media and politicians like Nixon.

McCaskill Needs to Release State, Senate Emails

Claire McCaskill’s eagerness to add her two cents on the state’s email retention policies has left the Missouri Republican Party wondering whether she walks the walk or just talks the talk. This week the MRP filed a Sunshine Law request seeking McCaskill’s state emails for her last 60 days as auditor to see if she holds herself to the same standards she holds others to. And if openness in government is so important to McCaskill, then she should gladly turn over office emails her office sent and received since she became a U.S. Senator. The MRP request comes after McCaskill offered her opinion on state email retention issues to the media in a politically-motivated attack against Governor Blunt, the same person who defeated her in the 2004 campaign for governor. In the Sunshine Law request sent to McCaskill, MRP Executive Director Jared Craighead said: “Specifically I am requesting that you produce copies of emails, deleted or undeleted, that you sent or received in the last 60 days you held the office of Auditor of the state of Missouri. I am sending a copy of this request to the current state Auditor and by that copy I am officially requesting these documents from her as well. Additionally, given your espoused concern about openness in government, I am requesting that you make available to me and the citizens of Missouri copies of all of your Senate office’s emails that have been sent or received since you took office.” If McCaskill is going to talk the talk when it comes to state email policies, then she needs to walk the walk by turning over her state emails and, in the spirit of open government, her U.S. Senate emails as well. If McCaskill wants to set standards on a state issue from her ivory tower in Washington D.C., then she needs to step up and meet those same standards herself. Democrats like Claire McCaskill like to pay lip service to the notion of open government, but they never really mean it.

Joplin Globe Praises Social Security Tax Cut

The following article from the November 1 edition of Investor’s Business Daily puts into perspective the kind of bias Republicans face with the media. We would venture to guess that the numbers for Missouri would be far worse than even the national bias: “Journalism: The debate is over. A consensus has been reached. On global warming? No, on how Democrats are favored on television, radio and in the newspapers. Just like so many reports before it, a joint survey by the Project for Excellence in Journalism and Harvard's Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy — hardly a bastion of conservative orthodoxy — found that in covering the current presidential race, the media are sympathetic to Democrats and hostile to Republicans.” To read the article, go to: http://www.ibdeditorials.com.

The KC Star’s Disturbing Attempt to Revise History

The Kansas City Star in a November 4 editorial engaged in a sad attempt at revisionist history stemming from its obsession with disparaging Governor Blunt. The fact of the matter is that no time in the last 70 years – including during the administrations of Democrat Mel Carnahan and Bob Holden --was there a call by The Star for reimbursement of the security costs for the governor. The issue became important for The Star only after Jay Nixon was caught illegally using a state vehicle for political purposes and Democrats tried to defend their party leader. The Star’s pontification on this issue stemmed solely from its willingness to embrace Democrat Party talking points rather than dismissing such attacks as hypocritical. By giving credence to this lunacy, The Star was complicit in its defense of Jay Nixon’s illegal activities. To read the editorial, go to http://www.kansascity.com/340/story/346624.html. If you want to share your views with The Star, email them at letters@kcstar.com.

MissouriPulse.com Post of the Week

Why So Quiet, Jay?

During his nearly 15-year tenure as Attorney General, Jay Nixon has arguably seen more of the Missouri Supreme Court than anyone else. That said, it seems his opinion would hold sway in the debate over the future of Missouri’s court plan, which helps decide who sits on the state Supreme Court. While many of Nixon’s trial lawyer and Democratic allies have taken a vocal stand in support of the state’s allegedly Nonpartisan Court Plan, Nixon, who will carry the state Democratic banner in 2008, has been uncharacteristically quiet on the topic aside from the occasional one-liner noting his support for the plan as it stands.

Following the state Supreme Court’s takeover by Democratic appointees in 2002, even Nixon, a trial lawyer himself, struggled to keep mum about the court’s activist nature. However, a little more than a year after the Democratic appointees took over and began reversing capital convictions and death sentences, Nixon came unglued...

Nixon: Missouri Supreme Court is “an extremely activist court.” Today, the court has a 4-3 majority of Democratic appointees. While setting some execution dates, the court has reversed three capital convictions and three death sentences since the balance of power shifted. After a recent ruling, Attorney General Jay Nixon, a Democrat, said it revealed "an extremely activist court that is taking over the sentencing" from trial judges. White sees nothing radical afoot. "Our cases are primarily driven by whatever the U.S. Supreme Court does. I don't think we've struck out on a course of our own and created any new law." (P-D, June 30, 2003)

Nixon accuses court of using “legal Ouija boards.” Nixon said he disagreed with the court's reasoning and its claim that Simmons should be spared because of age. "We should live under the rules of the [U.S.] Supreme Court until they're overturned, not use legal Ouija boards," Nixon said. (P-D, August 31, 2003)

Nixon: “I wish the Legislature would write the law instead of the court.” Nixon said the court was taking up policy questions that should be decided by the Legislature. "I wish the Legislature would write the law instead of the court," Nixon said. "The court is put into a situation of both interpreting the law and making policy." (P-D, October 1, 2003)

In 2003, Nixon not only criticized the Missouri Supreme Court’s anti-death penalty bearings; he inadvertently contributed to an ongoing debate on judicial activism that cuts to the core of the state’s court plan. Hence, Nixon’s present mum-is-the-word strategy regarding the court plan. Hopefully, Nixon will better explain his nuanced position on judicial activism in the coming year!

The Cornerstone - New Literature Available for Missouri Republicans!

Governor Blunt and our other Republican elected officials are working hard for you each day, ensuring that Missouri continues to move forward. Their accomplishments on behalf of Missourians are nothing short of astounding, but the liberal media doesn’t want to report on those accomplishments. That is why your Missouri Republican Party has developed a new all-in-one brochure to help you educate Missourians. Avaliable now on our website is a tri-fold brochure that you as a Republican committee, club member or grassroots volunteer can link to in your emails or download and print for distribution. It contains brief information on the MRP, our Republican elected officials, and what have they done to help improve the lives of Missourians. And if you didn’t get a chance to see our other downloadable page, “Disgraced Democrats,” it’s still available on our website at www.mogop.org along with the new brochure.

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.

Mike Keathley, Commissioner of Administration, who has cancer.

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

State Rep. Scott Lipke and family, 157th House District, whose infant daughter is recovering from surgery to correct a faulty heart.

Mary Mallien, 14th District State Committeewoman, who has continued health concerns.

Bob Schwartz, 3rd District State Committeeman, who has cancer.

Dawn Sprick, daughter of 21st District State Committeeman Gary Harris, who has cancer.