Volume 24, Edition 5  •  February 29, 2008

Our Republican Successes By The Numbers

Republicans have succeeded in turning Missouri around and the facts support it. While the media prefer to focus on Democrat rhetoric, let’s take a look at the numbers so the public gets an accurate look at Republican leadership. The beginning balance for the current fiscal year was nearly $600 million compared to the $1 billion shortfall in 2003 under Democrat Bob Holden. The size of state government in 2002 was 62,832 employees but under Republican leadership committed to reducing bureaucracy that number has fallen to 59,982. There also was a time when Medicaid was bankrupting this state and from 2002 to 2004 under Democrat leadership, the number of Medicaid recipients went from 929,605 to 1,001,999 or nearly 20 percent of the entire state population. In 2007, the number of Medicaid recipients was 829,472 while Medicaid expenditures from 2005 through 2009 are expected to grow by $438 million. In other words, with the Medicaid reforms backed by Republicans, Missouri still has the 14th best benefit plan in the nation which proves that Democrat claims of Medicaid cuts and hollow promises of “restoration” are simply campaign rhetoric.

Blunt, Carnahan Unveil Enhancements to Business Portal

Governor Blunt and Robin Carnahan this week unveiled new features to Missouri’s Business Portal that will provide entrepreneurs with efficient and cost-saving access to state government. The new features to the portal allow Missouri entrepreneurs to perform self-directed searches of state Permits and Licenses and of city and county points of contact. The permits section of the Missouri Business Portal provides Missourians with a listing of permits commonly required for their type of business. The city/county section allows the taxpayer to select the city or county the business is located in and receive back contact information for the city, county and health department that have jurisdiction over that address. Cities and counties have the responsibility for regulating and registering businesses within their boundaries and health departments have the responsibility for regulating eating and drinking establishments. More than 276,000 visitors have visited the new Internet site since it was launched last year. The Missouri Business Portal provides information regarding business registration, Missouri use tax, consumers use tax, sales tax exemptions, business entity searches and information on business licenses. "The Missouri Business Portal is a great resource that is making it easier for entrepreneurs and business owners to get the information they need to start or grow their business in Missouri," the governor said. "This Internet site is part of my administration’s continuing efforts to help create a pro-jobs, pro-growth environment in our state." The Missouri Business Portal is a one-stop-shop that connects small business owners with state government resources to help them start their business and maintain reporting requirements with state government. The portal is organized into four categories: Research, Register, Maintain, and Resources. To access the Missouri Business Portal visit http://www.business.mo.gov. For more information regarding Missouri’s Business Portal call Steve Callis at (573) 751-1519.

Governor Still Committed to Insure Missouri Program

Governor Matt Blunt is continuing to work on his Insure Missouri plan with members of the General Assembly to gain the needed support to reduce the number of uninsured Missourians by nearly 200,000. As discussions continue, the Department of Social Services will postpone their request for a procedural rule to implement the program in the current fiscal year. “The first phase of our plan would help more than 54,000 working Missourians purchase their own personal health insurance, but the House requested additional time to reach a consensus on the plan and we will consider ideas that could improve it,” Governor Blunt said. “I do not believe it would be fair to sign citizens up for a program that may not be renewed by the legislature. Our plan has support from many legislators and from health care advocates across the state, but we need greater support in the House to begin helping nearly 200,000 Missourians purchase their own personal health insurance.” The Department of Social Services had requested a procedural rule to implement the regulations for Phase One of the Insure Missouri Initiative this year, but more time was needed to reach a consensus and build on the Insure Missouri plan. Enrollment had been scheduled to begin late this month but has now been postponed by the department. Governor Blunt said his office and the Department of Social Services have had productive discussions with members of the General Assembly and those discussions will continue. The goal is to reach consensus and begin implementation in the next fiscal year, which begins July 1. Insure Missouri relies on the proven values of work, personal responsibility and free enterprise to help low income working Missourians who are uninsured purchase their own personal health insurance. As proposed, under the first phase of Insure Missouri working parents and caregivers with children in the home with incomes up to 100 percent of poverty or $20,650 for a family of four is estimated to bring coverage to about 54,500 Missourians. The governor’s plan includes additional phases to provide similar coverage for working Missourians with income levels set by the General Assembly as well as assistance for small businesses. If fully implemented, Insure Missouri would provide new access to quality, affordable health insurance for nearly 200,000 low income working Missourians. The governor’s plan enjoys support from legislators, the AARP, the Missouri Hospital Association, the Missouri Association of Rural Health Care Clinics and other health care advocates. To read what others are saying about Governor Blunt’s plan to reduce the number of uninsured Missourians, visit http://www.gov.mo.gov.

Montee Exposes Nixon’s Lies about State Vehicles and Staff

After months of dragging her feet and trying to provide political cover for Jay Nixon, Susan Montee gave in to pressure from taxpayers by exposing Nixon’s lies to Missourians and the media about a low-ball reimbursement stemming from his illegal use of state vehicles and staff for political purposes. Nixon lied to Missouri taxpayers about the amount of money that he had stolen from them to help finance his political career. Nixon provided a false number to the public and the media in a desperate attempt to cover up his malfeasance. And despite her best attempt to try and provide political cover for Nixon with her politically-motivated audit released just yesterday, Montee has been forced to bust Jay Nixon. Missouri Republicans won’t hold their breath waiting for Nixon to appoint a committee to investigate himself but that is exactly what should happen in this situation. A day after Montee issued an audit trying to excuse Nixon’s illegal activity by trying to attack the governor’s lawful use of his security detail, the Democrat reported that Nixon still owes taxpayers at least an additional $8,618.40 for using state vehicles for political purposes. When he first announced the reimbursement forced upon him by media reports, Nixon and his political cronies lied to Missourians and the media about the accuracy of their original reimbursement, raising once again serious questions about whether Nixon can be trusted to protect taxpayer dollars or to tell the truth at all. The Montee admission came on a Friday afternoon in order to try and reduce the public impact of her findings, which is identical to the Friday afternoon announcement by Nixon late last year that he was reimbursing the state for his illegal activity – even though the initial $47,021.91 reimbursement was well short of what is owed to taxpayers.

…But There’s More About Nixon’s Lies

If there was any question about the depth of Jay Nixon’s lies about ripping off taxpayers for using state vehicles for political purposes, then his campaign’s statement last October clearly puts all speculation to rest: “Shur said the payment likely provides more money than necessary.” That’s from The Associated Press on October 26, 2007, citing Nixon campaign spokesman Oren Shur. Not only did Nixon lie about the reimbursement but arrogantly claimed that he actually overpaid for picking the pockets of Missouri taxpayers. It is abundantly clear that honesty is not a top priority for Nixon. Montee claims that Missourians may never know whether this additional payment will fully compensate taxpayers for Nixon’s abuse because documents ‘were not retained’ (a.k.a. destroyed???). Where is the outrage?

Nixon’s Health Care Plan: Unknown Cost, Unknown Source

Already committed to raising taxes on Missourians by $1 billion to fully restore the old broken Medicaid system, Jay Nixon says he’ll start the restoration of that failed system on his first day in office although he isn’t saying how much it’s going to cost Missourians or divulging where in the state budget the funding will come from. In a Washington Missourian story on February 22, Nixon said he would “present the Legislature with a supplemental appropriation” to restore the old broken health care system but Nixon NEVER mentions cost or funding sources. Nixon’s latest flight of fancy comes a few weeks after he told media in Hannibal that his first 100 days in office would include a requirement that Missouri taxpayers pony up $1 billion to re-create the failed Democrat sick care model. In other words, Nixon’s spending spree is destined to return the state to the days when the Democrats built a disastrous $1 billion budget deficit on the backs of Missourians that no longer exists thanks to fiscally-responsible Republican leadership. Nixon is so proud of his tax-and-spend health care plan that he even put the Washington Missourian article on the front page of his political website. Ironically, Tennessee governor and policy chairman of the Democrat Governors Association’s executive committee, Phil Bredesen, has long criticized irresponsible Medicaid funding measures like those proposed by fellow Democrats like Nixon: “I don't have a lot of tolerance for some of the extreme positions my party gets itself into, and I think the Democratic Party needs people in policy positions who've got sensible, reasonably business-friendly solutions," Bredesen told The Associated Press on January 2, 2008. Nixon is setting this state up for a fiscal disaster that has more to do with his political ambitions than with fiscal reality and responsibility. The more Nixon tries to explain his health care ‘vision’ for Missouri, the scarier the financial picture gets for hard-working Missourians who are going to have to pay for it and the low-income Missourians who didn’t receive quality care under it. Nixon is determined to take Missouri backwards by taking an affordable and effective health care plan implemented by Republicans and making it no longer affordable and longer effective for Missourians.

Nixon Fundraiser Subsidized by Saline County Taxpayers

Jay Nixon and his fellow Democrats’ penchant for snubbing their noses at Missouri taxpayers was on display recently when Saline County taxpayers paid to have tickets for a Nixon fundraiser sold out of the county clerk’s office. In advance of a February 23 Democrat Party event, the Marshall Democrat-News reported that $25 tickets were “also available at the Saline County Clerk's Office. Proceeds from dinner ticket sales will benefit the Nixon for Governor Campaign.” It is incredibly disrespectful to Missourians that Jay Nixon and his fellow Democrats would allow a taxpayer financed building to be used on taxpayer-financed time by taxpayer-financed employees to conduct fundraising activities. This type of disregard should be unacceptable, but is commonplace for the likes of Nixon who spent years illegally using his state vehicle and staff.

Waters Predicts Nixon Win, Acknowledges Weakness

The Columbia Daily Tribune’s Hank Waters wrote this week that Jay Nixon does not have to show Missourians what he stands for. Nope, as far a Waters is concerned, Nixon can sail his way to victory this November without saying a word to voters because “This is bound to be a Democratic year at the polls.” So in the last three weeks, we had Laura Scott at the Kansas City Star endorsing Sen. Hillary Clinton, the Springfield News-Leader’s Tony Messenger fawning over Barack Obama and now we’ve got Waters’ calling the governor’s race for Nixon eight months out. It’s safe to say that the overconfident liberal media are willing to risk their professional credibility so they can openly endorse Democrats. Waters’ argument for Nixon’s victory is tied to something that almost everyone agrees is true: When Nixon has to talk about the issues, he loses. “But a campaign involving Nixon is prone somewhat to become Nixon v. Nixon. The bright but brash attorney general has a way of generating irritation just because of his style. Hence the ‘lay low’ admonition, admittedly quite a trick for an election campaigner.” It is interesting to see all this Democrat bandwagon hopping in the media so far out from the actual vote of the people. Republicans have long fought the media bias so nothing has changed there. But, to use a sports analogy, sportswriters this past year were all over themselves with the prospect that the New England Patriots of the National Football League were unstoppable and poised for a perfect, undefeated season while setting all kinds of records. Then, something happened on their way to the coronation: The got beat in the Super Bowl by the underdog New York Giants, whose passion and skill willed them to victory. And it will be that kind of passion and skill that Republicans will harness for victory this November. And like their brethren on the sports pages that so adored by Patriots, Missouri’s Democrat worshipping media will also be eating when the political season comes to an end in 2008. To read Waters’ editorial, go to: http://www.columbiatribune.com.

MissouriPulse.com Post of the Week

Gimme Shelter!

“Experts said legislation to stem practices by offshore entities could pose a conflict of interest for her [McCaskill] as a senator.”
- A foreboding excerpt from a KC Star story, 10/19/2006

Last week, U.S. Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), a leading opponent of offshore tax shelters, announced a panel he chairs, the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, will ramp up efforts to crack down on such shelters. Moreover, Levin is pushing for renewed debate on anti-tax shelter legislation, and he wants POTUS contenders to pay greater attention to the issue.

Levin’s actions have put Sen. Claire McCaskill, a fellow subcommittee member and shameless tax shelter beneficiary, in a tough spot. Beltway sources say McCaskill, whose disclosure of assets in a Bermuda-based shelter became a campaign issue in 2006, may be pressured—in the unlikely event of media scrutiny—to recuse herself from any role in the subcommittee’s inquiry due to concerns about her inherent conflict of interest. According to McCaskill’s most recent personal financial disclosure, she reported family assets worth up to $1 million in Bermuda-based Rural Housing Reinsurance Co. of America, Ltd.—the entity that was at the center of the 2006 controversy. (See pg. 11 of link)

On a related note, how’s that blind trust coming along, Claire?

The Cornerstone - Deadlines to Publish & Call Your Local Caucus

All Republican Chairmen should be aware that TODAY IS THE FINAL DEADLINE to publish your county, city or township’s caucus in at least one newspaper of general circulation in the local caucus area (not less than 15 days before the date of the local caucus in accordance with the provisions of Rule 15(d)(3) of the Republican National Committee). In addition, you should have already reported your caucus location to the State Chairman (c/o mika@mogop.org) or by calling the Missouri Republican Party headquarters at 573-636-3146. According to the 2008 Call to Convention, “If any county or city Republican committee fails to call, hold, publish notice or advise the State Chairman of the date, time and location of the local caucus, the State Chairman or the State Chairman’s designee may call such meeting on 15 days notice.” Any locations not reported to the MRP by 5 p.m. TODAY will not meet these requirements and the State Chairman may act to call such local caucus for your area. To see a sample notification published in the paper click here.

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.

Senate President Pro Tem Michael Gibbons who is being treated for prostate cancer.

Mike Keathley, Commissioner of Administration, who has cancer.

Rosemary Kochner, former 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.

Key Dates in 2008

March 15
Local county/city caucuses.

March 25
Candidate filing for state primaries ends.

April 19
Congressional district caucuses.

May 30-June 1
Missouri Republican State Convention, Branson.

July 9
Last day to register to vote for August 5 Missouri State Primary.

August 5
Missouri State Primary.

August 19
County Central Committee Reorganization

August 20
Legislative Committee Reorganization

August 23
Senatorial Committee Reorganization

August 26
Congressional Committee Reorganization

September 1-4
Republican National Convention, St. Paul, Minnesota

September 2
Judicial Committee Reorganization

October 8
Last day to register to vote in the November 4 General Election.

November 4
General Election

November 22
State Committee ‘Member’ elections
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