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Brian Nieves to Jim Lembke and Jane Cunningham: "I hope the new map will be approved in a smooth manner."

There's some chatter that Sen. Roy Blunt's recent shenanigans and his "conscience" amendment allowing your boss to control your life and decline any medical insurance coverage they may have a problem with may be to position himself so as to make a run for even higher leadership positions of the Republican Party in the Senate. 

From Politico:

[T]his week the Missouri Republican is assuming a new role — the unexpected culture warrior — a move that could aid or hobble what many believe is his goal to eventually become majority leader.

Blunt is pushing legislation to undo — and then some — President Barack Obama’s mandate that employers provide coverage for contraceptives. The gambit, his most audacious in his 13 months in the Senate, is sure to bolster his standing with the social conservative wing of the party.

But there’s worry even within his own party that his proposal goes too far and could unleash a voter backlash in a year the GOP hopes to wrest control of the White House and Senate from Democrats[...]

via @Tishaura 

It's Primary Day in Michigan, and Mittens has a question for ya:

Cynthia Davis prepares to file...

Sen. Jane Cunningham (R-Chesterfield) early this morning: "On Thursday, the 10 commissioners drawing the new senate maps shocked everyone with the map they presented.  Many think it is the GOP trying to rid the ranks of the conservatives.  One Democrat colleague commented to me, 'What did your commissioners get promised to betray Republicans like they did.  We would never put up with that treatment from Democrats.'"

Full email below, as sent around by Kerry Messer.  Enjoy. 

-----Original Message-----
From: Missouri Family Network
To: MFN 
Sent: Mon, Feb 27, 2012 5:23 pm
Subject: Travesty - calling all hands on deck, quickly!!!!

Friends,

Senators Jane Cunningham and Jim Lembke are among the boldest defenders of the traditional family in the Missouri State Senate.  They have become our primary advocates for home school rights and lead a host of conservative battles,including the Health Care Freedom Act.  I cannot say enough about their value on multiple levels!  There are others in the Senate who are just as irreplaceable, but the new State Senate redistricting lines target these two in particular.

Below is Senator Cunningham’s message from this morning – please read and heed this call to action!!!

Kerry Messer
Missouri Family Network
   

From: Senator Jane Cunningham [mailto:________@gmail.com] 
Sent: Monday, February 27, 2012 12:26 AM
To: Karladine Graves
Cc: Annette Read; Joan Langenberg; ________@yahoo.com; Bev Ehlen; Missouri Family Network; Joe Ortwerth; bottnet
Subject: Travesty - calling all hands on deck, quickly!!!!

On Thursday, the 10 commissioners drawing the new senate maps shocked everyone with the map they presented.  Many think it is the GOP trying to rid the ranks of the conservatives.  One Democrat colleague commented to me, "What did your commissioners get promised to betray Republicans like they did.  We would never put up with that treatment from Democrats."

Politico's Dave Catanese: Republican hopeful Dave Spence ended up on The Tonight Show — but for all the wrong reasons if you’re a nascent candidate. Jay Leno included Spence’s gaffe — claiming to have an economics degree when his schooling was actually in home economics — in his headlines bit. But the more potentially damaging news for Spence was a poll showing him behind Republican Bill Randles, a little-known Harvard lawyer who has been mostly dismissed by the GOP establishment. Spence has the personal wealth to make inroads, but when the president of the Missouri chamber of commerce is showing up at a fundraiser for Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon, it underscores the long tough slog Spence has ahead of him even with those in his own party."

Missouri Scout's Dave Drebes:  The Tom Schweich for Senate chatter "echoed what everyone is saying - that the Republican field is weak. Actually it amplified it. When Schweich is your savior, it's WEAK."

Add KSDK to the list of Things Jim Lembke Hates: " The I-Team's analysis of Sen. Jim Lembke's public records uncovered what could be potential ethics violations. There were several instances where lobbyists reported paying for Senator Lembke's travel and gifts, but the senator did not report those items on his financial disclosure forms. Both lobbyists and lawmakers must sign reports under penalty of perjury that the documents are true and accurate."

The 20th Republican debate came and went on CNN Wednesday night, a painfully long and often personally biting affair — and the last debate the four remaining GOP presidential hopefuls have committed to in the primary season.

Watching the panelette sashay onto the stage last night to amazing pomp and ominous music, I couldn’t  decide if it was a beauty pageant or a perp walk. The actual two hours did not live up to the intro. The national anthem was sung facing a flag video. What, CNN couldn’t afford a real one? On the other hand, it totally matched the fake candidates. Candidates who spent the evening talking about earmarks (they are split), contraception/war on religion (they are against), immigration (they are against), and war (the big three are for).  Along the way they continued their regulation, tax, and union bashing.

Once again, the moderator allowed lies to go unchallenged - abstinence only works (proven to not work unless combined with comprehensive sex education), Obama is cutting Medicare by 500 billion (the cuts are for overpayments to Medicare Advantage, not regular Medicare), Obama is not doing anything to secure the borders (check out increases in border agents, arrests, and deportations, crossing are at an all time low), and Obama supports Assad in Syria (asked him to step down in August 2011 and has continued to work for his ouster).

An "Election Year Reminder" on the Editorial page of the Washington Missourian:

Another reminder that this is an election year came over the weekend from Republican candidates for governor in Missouri. Their target was incumbent Jay Nixon, a Democrat. They called him a “spectator governor” who has made Missouri one of the “least business-friendly states in the country.”

Our experience in little Washington, Mo., is that he and the Department of Economic Development have not only been friendly to business but they have fought to help keep industry in the state. There was an industry in Missouri that wanted to expand by building a new plant in Washington. The company has operations in a couple of states. Kansas wanted the industry also. The potential for growth by this company was very appealing. Missouri and Kansas faced off in a battle for this industry.

Kansas was tough competition because of the incentives it offered the company. Gov. Nixon, his economic development director and other state officials, in addition to local leaders, fought off Kansas. The company selected Washington, which could not have won this battle without the help from the state. The competition probably was the toughest Washington ever faced in obtaining an industry.

The state and Washington did not go overboard in offering incentives. There were many factors involved and Gov. Nixon was not a “spectator governor” in this instance and with other industrial prospects. He is an active player.

Today in the Star: "You know a state has problems when lawmakers recommend taking money from the blind and the poor to spare colleges and universities from harmful cuts. In Missouri’s case, the problems include hostility toward a governor seen as autocratic on budget matters, and a callousness toward the poor which rears its ugly head all too often. But the core issue is the refusal by Gov. Jay Nixon and legislators to find new sources of revenue for a chronically underfunded state. Whether it be reining in tax credits, collecting taxes on Internet purchases or supporting a higher tobacco tax, Missouri’s leaders refuse to take the tough steps that would lead to long-term fiscal health." 

The Post-Dispatch on the House's xenophobic driver's license testing bill: "Monday, [the House] gave initial approval to a bill that would eliminate the longstanding and responsible practice of offering drivers tests to legal Missouri immigrants in their native language. The Missouri State Highway Patrol doesn't support the bill. Neither do insurance companies, who rightly point out it would offer an incentive for new drivers to drive illegally and, thus, make our roads less safe. But never mind reality."

Ouch.

FACT CHECK 1.0: Brunner blows it

At Saturday's first face-to-face encounter in KC among the three GOP contenders for the U.S. Senate in Missouri, John Brunner made this claim about rival Sarah Steelman, a former state treasurer:

"....Steelman increased expenditures in the treasurer's office by approximately 40 percent from $26.5 million in FY2005 during her predecessor's final year on the job to $37.2 million in FY2008."

But that number, dished in a news release, reflects a misunderstanding of state budget documents...

[...] Said Steelman spokesman Sam Steelman: "I'm afraid Mr. Brunner doesn't know how to read a budget. As state treasurer she increased the money, in record amounts, that this office returned to Missouri citizens."

Rex Sinquefield's recent comments demonizing public schools and teachers has backfired in a massive way.  Even in southwest Missouri, Nixa Schools Superintendent Stephen Kleinsmith is expressing his outrage:

Public education should be celebrated

Missouri Billionaire Rex Sinquefield said, “A long time ago, decades ago, the Ku Klux Klan got together and said how can we really hurt the African-American children permanently? How can we ruin their lives? And what they designed was the public school system.”  He added, “I hope I don’t offend anyone.”

Well, he did.

Where Sinquefield chose to quote the KKK, I opt to quote Horace Mann, “The public school is the greatest discovery made by man.” I might add, ‘for all man-kind’ regardless of the color of their skin[...]

Rather than working with the public education system so that a positive solution can be found that will benefit our children, these radical individuals would instead rather use the poison pen and an unbridled tongue to create, and even reinforce, negativity which benefits no one.

In fact, it damages our most precious commodity—our children, while making the public school system its scapegoat.

Dismantling public education would be like killing the goose that lays the golden eggs for America. One must not let his emotions get ahead of his logic because that seldom results in a helpful message or a positive solution.

In St. Louis this afternoon, hundreds of activists and concerned citizens joined together to let Sen. Roy Blunt know that they won't stand for his continued attack on women's health care.  As FiredUp! has covered previously, Blunt's so-called "conscience" amendment is really just an attempt to take decisions that should be made between a woman and her doctor and put them in the hands of her employer. From Missouri ProVote:

Missouri Leaders Call on Sen. Blunt to End Attack on Women’s Health

Missouri experts, leaders and constituents gathered at U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt’s office today to urge him to reconsider his opposition to the new HHS rule requiring employers or insurance companies to provide no cost birth-control coverage to all women wherever they work. 

Sen. Blunt introduced an amendment last week that would take away from women the right to obtain contraception without co-pays, making access subject to the will of the employer or the insurance company.  This amendment would also allow any business, corporation or insurance company to deny any essential health care service they object to, including those unrelated to birth control.  When the congressional recess ends next week, the amendment is expected to come to a vote in the Senate.

Pamela Sumners, Executive Director of NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri sharply criticized Senator Blunt’s amendment, “Under the Blunt proposal, no one could count on basic health coverage. This proposal could render health insurance almost meaningless by giving corporations and health insurance companies’ carte blanche over what kind of health coverage Americans get.”

Emphasis added.

Blunt's proposal also ignores that birth control is often used in preventative medicine for women.  At today's rally, Pamela Merritt spoke about her experience as one of the many women who needs birth control to treat a health condition, “Access to contraception allowed me to delay surgery for endometriosis and fibroids for a decade.  My co-pay cost $420 a year.  Many women can’t afford that.  No woman should face major surgery because she was denied access to preventive medicine just because of who her boss is.” Unfortunately for Merritt and millions of other women, access to birth control would face yet another hurdle, even if her doctor had prescribed it if her boss or employer disagreed with providing coverage for certain medications or services.

Let's be clear, Blunt's amendment is an attack on women, their health care and an attempt to gut health care reform bill by allowing any employer or insurance company to arbitrarily refuse access to critical health care for any American.