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GOP Voice
Countdown to Victory

GOP Voice

February 10, 2011

In this edition:

  • Lincoln Days update
  • Republican leaders act to protect Missourians from Obamacare
  • MOGOP hires new political director
  • McCaskill’s ‘Extreme Makeover’ continues
  • Under Nixon, Missouri had third-worst job loss rate in 2010
  • New York Times says McCaskill undermined St Louis’ convention bid
  • In other news


Lincoln Days update:  Registration is open for the 2011 Missouri Lincoln Days celebration, which will take place February 25-27 at the University Plaza Hotel in Springfield!  Lincoln Days is one of Missouri’s largest gatherings of Republican activists and elected officials from across the state, featuring nationally-recognized speakers, live entertainment, and grassroots training. Join your fellow Missouri Republicans as we celebrate our 2010 success and look towards the 2012 election. To register online, visit www.mogop.org/lincolndays; to register by mail, return this form by February 15.  Make sure you register soon, because we can’t guarantee that banquet tickets will be available on the day of the event! A few of our events:

  • Saturday Evening Banquet with Senator Thune:  Sen. Thune has served in the United States Senate since 2004, when he quickly rose to prominence by defeating the then-Democratic leader Tom Daschle. A staunch conservative, Thune has established himself as an expert on energy and national defense issues.   Senator Thune will address the Missouri Association of Republicans’ Saturday evening banquet.
  • MFRW Banquet with Rep. Hartzler: Representing Missouri’s 4th District, Congresswoman Hartzler was elected in the Republican tidal wave of 2010, defeating 34-year incumbent Democrat Ike Skelton.  Hartzler, a Cass County native, was recently appointed to serve on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Agriculture Committee.  Representative Hartzler will address the Missouri Federation of Republican Women’s Saturday afternoon luncheon.
  • Townhall Forum: Statewide and federal elected officials will be on hand to answer your questions about the most pressing issues facing our state and nation. 
  • Grassroots Training: Join Miriam Stonebraker and several grassroots activists as they explain how to plan a successful county Lincoln Day event, how to run a County Committee meeting and organize a precinct, and why it is so important to recruit election judges.
  • Ethics and Compliance Training: Join Julie Allen, Executive Director of the Missouri Ethics Commission, as she guides you through the Missouri’s ethics laws, including the new SB-844 law and how it affects your committee.  Julie will also be available to answer all of your reporting and compliance questions.
  • Pachyderm Forum: 7th District Congressman Billy Long will be the speaker at the Pachyderm Forum at state Lincoln Days. This Saturday morning lecture and discussion is open to all Lincoln Day attendees. Other Pachyderm activities include a Friday afternoon training session for new club officers, Friday evening hospitality suite and presentation of the George W. Parker Legislator of the Year Award at the MAR Banquet Saturday evening.


Republican leaders act to protect Missourians from Obamacare:  Less than two weeks after a federal judge ruled that the Obamacare individual mandate is unconstitutional and tossed the entire law, Republicans, led by State Rep Eric Burlison, have proposed legislation that would allow Missouri to join a multi-state compact on health care.  Such an arrangement, which is also being discussed in at least 30 other states, would supersede Obamacare and give Missouri control over our state’s health care choices.  This idea is extremely important and shows once again that the state’s Republican elected representatives are listening to the overwhelming number of Missourians who have made their opposition to the federal health law known.


MOGOP hires new political director: Later this month, Robert Knodell will join the MOGOP as Political Director.  Robert, a Poplar Bluff native and graduate of Southeast Missouri State University, has spent the last four years as Executive Director of the House Republican Campaign Committee.  During his time at the HRCC, Republicans have made historic gains in the State House.  Thanks to strong candidate recruitment and outstanding campaigns, the GOP now holds an unprecedented 106-57 majority in that chamber.  At the MOGOP, Knodell will be in charge of legislative outreach and grassroots organization throughout the state as we build upon our 2010 victories at the federal, state, and local levels and move forward into the 2012 election cycle. 

Claire McCaskill’s ‘Extreme Makeover’ continues: Claire McCaskill is like an unscrupulous mechanic who breaks your car’s engine and then offers to fix it at an inflated price.  This time the issue is Obamacare, which McCaskill not only supported, but also traveled the state promoting at townhall meetings.  McCaskill now says that she is looking at alternatives to the individual mandate, which is a central tenet of the law.  But when McCaskill had the opportunity to remove the mandate during Senate negotiations in 2010, she refused.  Instead, she voted to keep the mandate in the bill by killing a Republican amendment.  McCaskill had plenty of opportunities to seek alternatives to the individual mandate, but instead, she sided with Barack Obama every chance she got and forced costly, burdensome, and unconstitutional regulations on every single Missourian.  McCaskill’s sudden election-cycle repentance is too little, too late.

Under Nixon, Missouri had third-worst job loss rate in 2010: Over the past two years, Jay Nixon has refused to stand up for Missourians or fight for good jobs.  Instead, Nixon has preferred to remain on the sidelines—spending his time flying around on the state airplane and attending sporting events and photo ops.  Jay Nixon’s lack of leadership has resulted in our state’s economy falling further and further behind the rest of the nation.  According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Missouri ranked third-worst in terms of job losses in 2010.  Put another way, 47 states—including every single one of our neighbors—fared better than Missouri when it came to creating jobs last year. In fact, Missouri’s unemployment rate has steadily climbed from 9.1% in June to 9.5% in December.  For struggling Missourians and their families, this is absolutely unacceptable. 

New York Times says McCaskill undermined St Louis’ convention bid:  Although Claire McCaskill claimed to have been “disappointed” that leaders in her party passed up St Louis for their 2012 convention—an event that would have created an economic impact of more than $200 million for the region—the New York Times tells a different story.  According to the paper, McCaskill privately lobbied the White House against hosting the convention in Missouri because the attention could have hurt her reelection chances.  Apparently, Claire McCaskill is more concerned about her own job than the jobs of her fellow Missourians—but this is classic Claire McCaskill: telling Missourians one thing while doing the exact opposite in Washington.


In other news:


Thoughts and Prayers:

    • Please keep the family of State Sen. Brian Munzlinger in your prayers.  Brian’s father, Elmer, recently passed away.