Volume 25, Edition 2  •  March 14, 2008

County Caucuses are TOMORROW!!!!

REMINDER – County and local caucuses are being held TOMORROW!!!! Visit www.mogop.org/convention to find your caucus location. There are rumors swirling that the Ron Paul campaign plans to flood the caucuses and try to overturn already established rules, which they cannot do. PLEASE participate and have your voice heard. We don’t want supporters of an unsuccessful campaign causing trouble – we need your participation!!!

Governor Raises Questions About Nixon Emails

Gov. Matt Blunt’s office this week issued a Sunshine request to Attorney General Jay Nixon’s office seeking e-mail records from current and former employees of the attorney general’s office. The governor’s office also stated it will consider a lawsuit against the attorney general’s office and the staff members included in the open records request if they do not comply with this open records request. The open records request is in response to a September 24, 2007, report by the Associated Press that Scott Holste, a staff member of Attorney General Jay Nixon’s office, said the attorney general’s office routinely deletes e-mails. Holste asserted that "a lot" of what the attorney general’s office does would not have to be retained and also stated he deletes many of his e-mails. The governor’s office is concerned that based on these statements attorney general Jay Nixon’s office may have committed very serious violations of the Sunshine Law and record retention guidelines. Additionally, the governor’s office is concerned that the attorney general’s office is not retaining every e-mail as Governor Blunt’s office is doing, and that they have failed to participate in the permanent e-mail retrieval system the governor has created. The governor’s office is seeking the following: E-mails from John Fougere, Mary Still and Scott Holste who have worked in the attorney general’s office but are not attorneys; copies of all email backup tapes or other storage mechanism for March 12, 2008; all emails and other documents that discuss email backup systems, procedures, practices and protocols; all emails and other documents that discuss email retention policies; practices and protocols in the attorney general’s office; all e-mails and other documents between the attorney general’s office and the Pleban committee he appointed to examine the e-mail policy of the governor’s office, including e-mails from Max Knust who abruptly quit the committee and had to be replaced by Nixon.

McCain Makes Opposition to Earmarks Clear

Our Republican candidate for President John McCain this week issued a strong statement calling for a stop to earmarks as part of his long commitment to halt the wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars. "I am proud to have fought against the practice of earmarking and wasteful pork-barrel spending. It has often been a lonely fight, but one I know is worth winning. I am encouraged by some of my Democratic colleagues' new-found enthusiasm for suspending this practice for a year. I hope their recent commitments do not wane once they step off the campaign trail. I believe we must end this process, which has diverted billions in taxpayer dollars to needless projects, once and for all. If voters give me the pen, I will veto every single pork-barrel bill Congress sends me. The American people demand that we introduce transparency and good judgment in how we spend their tax dollars. If projects like the proposed taxpayer-funded Woodstock concert museum were worthy national priorities, their funding would not be sought through appropriations earmarks, rather, they could withstand the public scrutiny of the regular legislative authorization process. "I am encouraged that Senators Clinton and Obama have joined me in supporting the DeMint amendment banning earmarks for one year. I renew my call for them to fully disclose all of their earmark requests while serving in the Senate and join me in increasing needed transparency and accountability in Washington."

Delegate Selection Process Begins At Congressional District Conventions

Some commentators have pointed out that the state’s 58 delegates to the Republican National Convention are winner-take-all, bound to the winner of the state primary. And THEY ARE, despite some who have misinterpreted state statute which does not dictate how the State Party selects or binds its delegates. The process adopted by our Rules Committee was the exact same process we used in 2000 and 2004. A look at how most Republican delegations are allotted shows Missouri is with the majority of other states on this issue. According to the Republican National Committee, 38 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico have delegates that are totally or primarily bound to one candidate going to the 2008 Republican National Convention. These figures show Missouri Republicans are in the mainstream regarding how delegates are awarded. We can, should and will have continued discussions on this process going forward, but the rules were set well in advance of our Presidential Primary and anyone advocating to undo those rules for this year is being disingenuous.

Low Income Seniors Must File Taxes to Receive Rebate

Governor Blunt is reminding Missouri’s low income seniors who are normally exempt from filing a federal tax return that they must file one for 2007 in order to receive the economic stimulus tax refund. The Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 became law last month and is designed to boost the economy by providing payments up to $600 for individuals and $1,200 per couple. More than 130 million American households will receive the stimulus payments, which the Internal Revenue Service will begin delivering in May. "We want every Missouri senior who is eligible for this tax refund to receive it," Governor Blunt said. "Seniors who may not normally file a federal income tax return must do so in order to receive this payment. Missouri seniors will also benefit this year from the Social Security tax cut which is one of three major tax cuts I have signed into law to benefit Missouri workers and families." The Department of Health and Senior Services offers free help to seniors 60 and over with tax issues. As part of the Tax Counseling for the Elderly Program, AARP offers tax-aide counseling at more than 7,000 sites nationwide from February 1 through April 15. Senior Missourians can find an AARP Tax-Aide site near them by calling 1-888-227-7669, or visiting AARP’s Web site, www.aarp.org/taxaide. Other Missourians who are normally exempt from filing an income tax return, including low-wage earners and some railroad retirees and veterans, must also file a 2007 federal return in order to get the economic stimulus payment. They can get free tax help through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program and may call 1-800-906-9887 to locate the nearest VITA site. All Missourians, in fact, are eligible for the payment if they file a 2007 return and their adjusted gross income is at least $3,000. However, the payment amount is reduced for single Missourians whose adjusted gross income is more than $75,000 and for married couples filing jointly whose adjusted gross income exceeds $150,000. The 2007 tax forms can be ordered from the IRS by calling 800-829-3676 or on-line at www.irs.gov. In addition, IRS Taxpayer Assistance Centers are available in ten locations in Missouri: Cape Girardeau, 137 S. Broadway; Chesterfield, 1122 Town and Country Commons; Earth City, 111 Corporate Office Drive; Independence, 3730 S. Elizabeth St.; Jefferson City, 3702 W. Truman Blvd.; Joplin, 402 S. Main St.; Kansas City, 5800 E. Bannister Road; Springfield, 3333 S. National Ave.; St. Joseph, 201 South Eighth St.; and, St. Louis, 1222 Spruce St.

Major Bills Move Forward in Legislature

In the final week before the legislative spring break, the Republican-led Legislature moved forward with bills designed to improve the lives of Missourians. The Senate gave first-round approval to a bill that would require all diesel fuel sold in Missouri to contain at least 5 percent biodiesel known as B-5. Specifically, the bill would require diesel fuel sold in the state to contain no less than 5 percent biodiesel fuel by April 1, 2010. Biodiesel from soybeans is much more environmentally friendly and better for air quality than regular diesel. Research shows it cuts carbon dioxide and cancer-causing emissions by more than 75 percent. A B5 standard in Missouri will reduce particulate matter emissions by 15.4 million pounds and carbon monoxide emissions by 168 million pounds. Meanwhile, the Missouri House gave initial approval to a proposed constitutional amendment prohibiting judges from raising taxes. Governor Blunt praised the House’s work on the measure: “Taxation without representation violates the first principles of our democracy. Unfortunately, we have already seen unelected judges in other states usurp the power to tax and spend. This must never happen in Missouri. I urge the Missouri General Assembly to pass this Resolution to protect Missouri families from taxation without representation,” the governor said.

President Approves Disaster Relief for Missouri Counties

Governor Blunt announced this week that President Bush approved his request for a Disaster Declaration for Public Assistance for 18 Missouri counties as a result of the February 2008 severe winter weather. Federal assistance will be available to reimburse local government for their storm damage related emergency protective services, debris removal, and to repair public infrastructure in Bollinger, Butler, Cape Girardeau, Carter, Christian, Douglas, Greene, Madison, Mississippi, Ozark, Reynolds, Scott, Shannon, Stoddard, Texas, Wayne, Webster and Wright Counties. The State Emergency Management Agency is in the process of identifying locations for a series of Public Officials briefings to be conducted next week. At these briefings, local governments and non-profit organizations in the 18 counties will sign the required federal paperwork to begin the reimbursement process. "Much of southern Missouri experienced damage to public infrastructure and public utilities totaling close to $14 million," the governor said. "In the past two years Missouri has received 12 federal disaster declarations. This assistance helps our counties, communities and businesses recover from these devastating disasters without causing undue hardships on local budgets."

GOP Considers Legal Action Over Nixon Emails

After four months of broken promises and legal double-talk from Jay Nixon, the Missouri Republican Party is considering its legal options over Nixon’s failure to comply with a Missouri Sunshine Law request seeking state emails he sent or received between August 1, 2007, and November 6, 2007. Since the original Sunshine Law request was made for Nixon’s emails on November 6, Nixon’s office had initially said he would turn them over yet has failed to comply and he continues to drag his feet regarding when they will be provided, if ever. In the most recent letter dated March 3, 2008, Nixon sought an additional two weeks. Nixon’s behavior on the issue is especially odd for someone who scolded Republicans about the timing of gathering emails: ''I think they should make these documents available publicly, and they should do so quickly,'' the Associated Press reported on March 8. And in a story in a later St. Louis Post-Dispatch story, Nixon’s office claimed it would be working on an unrelated Sunshine Law request made by the governor’s office “right away.” A simple review of the facts reveals Nixon’s failures on the request. Nixon’s office said on December 13, 2007, that it could compile the email records with 12 additional hours of work. On December 17, 2007, the MRP asked that Nixon provide the emails as quickly as possible. Yet, despite subsequent reminders on December 28, 2007; January 22, 2008; February 13, 2008; and February 29, 2008, none of Nixon’s emails have been provided. Based on the constant delays and false promises, MRP attorneys finally advised in the February 29 letter that since no documents appeared to be forthcoming “we must consider other legal options for obtaining compliance. A complete timeline and record of all correspondence through March 3, 2008, is available at http://www.mogop.org/media/sunshine_timeline.pdf . The Missouri Republican Party has had enough of Jay Nixon’s games and has decided to seriously look at our legal options as a result of his refusal to honor our lawful request for his public emails. The record clearly shows that Jay Nixon is doing everything he can to avoid complying with the law while he publicly supports the legal witch hunt his panel continues to wage against Republicans. There is a very serious disconnect between Nixon’s attitudes toward the Sunshine Law as it applies to Democrats versus how it applies to Republicans. Glaring examples of his willingness to turn a blind eye to Democrat Sunshine Law abuses have been documented by the Missouri Republican Party at www.mogop.org. Nixon also refused to comment on Robin Carnahan’s “hugely exorbitant” $91,000 cost estimate to provide emails from one email account EXCLUDING attachments. Carnahan also claimed it would take six months to produce the documents after the $91,000 was paid upfront. Barring a miraculous change of heart by Nixon, the Missouri Republican Party will proceed forward with a course of action that is in the best interests of the law and Missourians who have a right to view these documents. In an earlier Sunshine Law request by the MRP seeking Nixon Chief of Staff John Watson’s emails for the last three years, 200 pages of documents were turned over but not a single Nixon email was included. It is laughable for Nixon to contend he hasn’t emailed or been emailed by his Chief of Staff. Nixon’s refusal to turn over his emails and his silence on Robin Carnahan’s response confirms that as far as he is concerned there is one standard for Democrats when it comes to complying with the Sunshine Law and another for Republicans – we aren’t surprised.

The Gift that Keeps on Giving: Nixon’s Hypocrisy

In another victory for Missouri Republicans, Jay Nixon made the mistake this past weekend of making rare public comments that exposed Missourians to his hypocrisy on health care and Missouri’s Sunshine Law. During Hannibal Days, Nixon told Missourinet that health care is “clearly one of the top issues,” an enlightening stand given Nixon’s support just a few short years ago for Bob Holden’s Medicaid cuts. Missourians also have to wonder why Nixon would also tell Missourinet that “health care was going in the right direction under Democratic leadership in Jefferson City” even though Medicaid spending had compounded the $1 billion budget deficit that forced Holden into the Nixon-defended cuts and saw Missouri Medicaid checks being sent to people who didn’t qualify for the system. As Nixon continued to speak to members of his own fractured party in Hannibal, he just couldn’t help himself. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that “Nixon avoided getting involved in the dispute” regarding the hugely exorbitant $91,000 that fellow Democrat Robin Carnahan wants to charge to hand over one person’s emails. But Nixon has been intimately involved in the email fishing expedition being overseen by the political witch hunt committee Nixon created to politically harass Gov. Matt Blunt and his staff. The more Nixon talks and the more questions he is forced to answer, the better it is for Missourians who are becoming quite familiar with the fact Jay Nixon supported health care cuts before he was against them, and that Nixon is quick to take a stand on the cost of email requests as long as they don’t involve one of his Democrat colleagues. The longer Jay Nixon stays on his empty political messages created three years ago to attack a candidate who is no longer running for office, the quicker Missourians recognize the serious flaws in his scary ‘vision’ for Missouri.

Democrats Touted Spitzer’s Integrity in Media Release

With a series of Missouri Democrats already in legal trouble, it should come as no surprise that the Missouri Democrat Party just last year was publicly praising disgraced Democrat New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer as a bastion of virtue and leadership. A July 24, 2007, Missouri Democrat Party media release praised Spitzer for his “real leadership” and implied that his behavior was a model for governors across the nation -- statements that now seem ridiculous in light of this week’s revelations that Spitzer was caught on a federal wiretap arranging to meet with a high-priced prostitute at a Washington hotel last month. The Missouri Democrat scandals include Nixon’s illegal use of state vehicles and his staff for political purposes, charges against Rep. Brad Robinson for leaving the scene of an accident, Sen. Chuck Graham’s guilty plea to drunken driving, former Rep. John Bowman’s guilty plea to federal bribery charges and charges against Sen. Jeff Smith and Rep. Joe Aull for illegally entering a casino.

National Democrats Promote The Status Quo - And More

The Democratic budget recently introduced in Congress contains the usual mix of higher taxes and higher spending – only more so. The majority’s “new” fiscal blueprint, as reported by the Budget Committee, calls for an even larger tax increase than last year, totaling $683 billion over 5 years. What that means is that the average Missourian will pay $2,825 more in taxes every year under the Democrat plan. But the budget still manages to soak up the additional revenue with an array of proposals to expand government, setting in motion a vicious cycle of ever-higher spending chased by ever-higher taxes. Further, the Democrats fail to fully budget for Iraq and Afghanistan – after criticizing the President’s budget for the same thing. The budget also fails to rescue Social Security and Medicare from the financial crisis that is now unfolding, despite repeated warnings that these and other entitlement programs are the largest threat to the budget and the U.S. economy. The Democrat tax increase depends on two major factors:

  • Assumed in the Revenue Figures. First, the numbers in the budget include, depend on, and require $683 billion in revenue increases resulting from automatic tax hikes scheduled to occur after 31 December 2010. These include increases in marginal tax rates; elimination of the 10-percent bracket for lower income taxpayers; higher taxes on marriage, children, small businesses, and estates; and higher tax rates on investments.
  • Required by PAYGO. Second, the budget operates under the Democrats’ pay-as-you-go [PAYGO] rule, which requires capturing the additional revenue from these tax increases – as if simply retaining current tax laws after 2010 (including provisions enacted in 2001 and 2003) constitutes a new tax “cut.” Either way, the House Majority’s budget raises taxes by nearly three times the largest enacted tax hike to date: the $240.6-billion increase in the Omnibus Budget
    Reconciliation Act of 1993.

 

National Democrat Discord Ignored by Missouri Media

The media’s coverage of the Democrats' Hannibal Days was interesting for what wasn’t being reported rather than what was being reported. There were no real comments from leading Democrats including Jay Nixon about the impact the Obama/Clinton fight is going to have on the party in Missouri. The media is also quick to try and create non-existent divisions among Republicans but when huge fractures appear in the Democrat armor, very little is reported. It is becoming clear that perhaps the Missouri media need their own “Saturday Night Live” moment in which they are mocked for their kid glove reporting on Nixon and Missouri Democrats. Democrats are in trouble nationally and that spells big trouble for Missouri Democrats, who already have very little by way of issues to combat the massive success of Missouri Republicans, who wiped away a $1 billion deficit, created more than 90,000 jobs, increased funding to education by more than $1 billion and helped make health care more affordable without breaking the bank. As Democrats continue to run a campaign based on empty complaints rather than issues, one wonders if the media will become increasingly frustrated. Combine those factors with the disarray among national Democrats, and it appears November 2008 will be even more successful that Missouri Republicans could possibly have imagined.

Post-Dispatch Makes Great Hire for Democrats

It’s sad when even the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s hiring practices are blatantly partisan. The newspaper this week hired Tony Messenger of the Springfield News-Leader as their newest Capitol reporter. Simple question: How can a columnist and editorial writer whose opinions and biases are well known be taken seriously as a beat reporter? Simple answer: He cannot. Once Messenger let the opinion genie out of the bottle, there’s no way he can put it back. The Voice has a feeling that Democrats are cheering today because of the Post-Dispatch’s work on their behalf. Unfortunately, Messenger may find that REAL reporting is far different from pontificating from afar. And for the record, Messenger’s first day as a journalistic hit man for the Democrat Party in Jefferson City for the Post-Dispatch is March 24.

MissouriPulse.com Post of the Week

Nixon: Let’s Go Back To The Days Of Holden

Nixon and HoldenJay Nixon’s Beltway handlers have really got their work cut out for them. Despite years of work imposing gag orders on their gaffe-prone candidate, Nixon found a way over the weekend to make a mess of one of the few issues he is allowed to publicly discuss.

In remarks covered by Missourinet, Nixon asserted that, in the unfortunate event of his election, he would build a bridge to the past—not the future—on the health care front. Rather than offer a future-oriented health care plan or reforms of his own as one might expect after a 3-year campaign, Nixon has settled on simply campaigning in favor of resurrecting the broken system (circa 2004) that even the last Democratic governor recognized was flawed.

Aside from the glaring messaging problems associated with running a back to the future-style campaign, Nixon has voluntarily stepped in the cow patty that was the Bob Holden era. In his zeal to emulate those tax-and-spend policies, Nixon has once again embraced the gross imposition of a nearly $1 billion state tax hike while conveniently ignoring his own role in defending Holden-approved Medicaid cuts that signaled recognition from himself, Holden and other staunch defenders of the system that it was, in fact, fiscally unsustainable.

In a nutshell, Nixon is campaigning to build a bridge to the past that entails the unearthing of a health care system that he has conceded was broken at a cost of nearly $1 billion to state taxpayers. And this is supposedly his strongest issue?!

The Cornerstone - You ARE the Cornerstone of our Party

If you are, or want to be your township or ward’s local representative on your respective county’s Republican central committee, then don’t forget that these positions are elected by ballot. To be elected as your local township or ward committeeman or committeewoman, you must file with your local election authority via www.sos.mo.gov. Filing for these positions opened on February 26 and will close March 25. This is a very important part of being active in the Missouri State Republican Party and the national Republican Party. Our committeemen and committeewomen are the cornerstones of the Party and strong, complete and active committees can make the difference between victory and failure in an election. Remember, you file for the position at your local election authority and, if opposed, your name will appear on the August 2008 Primary ballot. If you are the only person to file for the position, your name may not appear on the ballot. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call our staff at 573-636-3146 or email Mika Schrimpf, Director of Grassroots, at mika@mogop.org.

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.

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

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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