SwingStateProject (5/28) – Where’s the New York Times when you need them? Rep. Jo Ann Emerson just lied big-time about her Dem opponent Tommy Sowers’ military record, saying that her opposition to DADT repeal was based on talking to actual commanders, as opposed to Sowers, who “never commanded anybody.” Um, yeah… except for that platoon of combat engineers that Sowers led in Kosovo.
So, I penned an open letter to Congresswoman Emerson that I’d like you to sign and help gather signatures for. Please forgive the fact that it’s short — I wrote it quickly while at a stop halfway through a 100-Mile Road March through the district we’re doing to honor veterans this Memorial Day Weekend.
This Memorial Day weekend, you chose to question my ability to comment on military matters because I had “never commanded anybody.” Later you claimed that you “didn’t have Sowers’ biography in front of you” when you made that statement.
You don’t need a biography to know that an 11-year Special Forces officer has commanded soldiers, and plenty of them.
It not only insults me, but insults every veteran in this district, the state, and the country. Our service is not to be used as a throwaway line for political gain.
You owe me and everyone in the military an apology for your Memorial Day smear.
In an article in yesterday’s SE Missourian, Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson stated that Tommy Sowers “never commanded anybody” during his 11 year-army career.
Sowers is on Day 3 of his “100 Mile Road March” over Memorial Day weekend, along the route of the “100 Mile Yard Sale” on Highway 25. He began at the Veterans Memorial Wall in Jackson on Thursday morning and will finish walking Highway 25 at the Veterans Memorial in Kennett on Sunday night.
After completing a previously scheduled chat Friday afternoon with 20 veterans at the Stars and Stripes Museum in Bloomfield, Sowers held a press conference, where he made the following statement:
“In this morning’s edition of the SE Missourian, Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson stated that during my time in Army I ‘never commanded anybody’.
I served 11 years active duty in the Army, served as a Combat Engineer, Ranger, and Green Beret. I deployed once to Kosovo where I served as a platoon leader, and twice to Iraq where I served as the detachment commander of a Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha “A Team”. I was in command of enlisted men and women for years during my time as an officer. For anyone to say otherwise is either a purposeful misrepresentation of the facts, or a complete disregard for accuracy in public statements by an elected official.
Now this is a district of 70,000 veterans. Every time I meet new groups of people, including the 20 people I just spoke with, I ask them: “How many of you have served or have a family member that has?” and nearly everyone raises their hand, like they just did here in Bloomfield. Places like Southeastern Missouri are where the military comes from.
Congresswoman Emerson chose to disparage my military service with lies. As we begin a weekend of honoring those who sacrificed everything for our country, it not only insults me, but insults every veteran in this district, the state, and the country. Our service is not to be used as a throwaway line for political gain. Congresswoman Emerson owes me and everyone else in the military an apology for her Memorial Day lies.”
Lexington Herald-Leader Editorial:
Uncaring Congress; Poor getting cold shoulder from Capitol Hill
Incumbent Congressman Blunt Votes 12 Times to Raise His Pay So He Can Keep Washington Lifestyle of Two Homes and Fancy Parties;
Meanwhile Opposed Minimum Wage Increase for Middle Class Families
Jefferson City, Mo. — In October 2005, the Lexington Herald-Leader wrote an article in response to Congressman Blunt’s claim that Members of Congress need yearly pay increases to help pay for multiple residences like his lavish Georgetown Mansion. That’s why he voted 12 times to raise his own pay – complaining that he needed the extra cash to maintain his Washington lifestyle of two homes and fancy parties (where he recently attended a VIP Gala right around the corner from what he calls home). All the while, Congressman Blunt also repeatedly opposed efforts to increase the minimum wage for middle class families.
Here are some excerpts from the article:
House Republican Leader Roy Blunt, arguing for a congressional pay raise, said most members of Congress probably have more debt after a few years of service than they had before.
And that’s on a salary of $162,100, with plenty of perks. You’d think that would make them much more sympathetic to working people struggling to survive.
Apparently not. Otherwise, how could they dither so much on issues like increasing the minimum wage (frozen since 1997 at $5.15 an hour, which earns a person working 40 hours a week every week of the year a grand total of $10,712) and an emergency appropriation to help people heat their homes. Congress has already made it harder and more expensive for people losing their struggle with debt to get access to bankruptcy court.
The irony in Blunt’s remark about members going deeper into debt during their time in public life is the idea of sacrifice behind it.
Sacrifice is something familiar to many of their constituents. The Bureau of Economic Analysis figures per capita personal income in 2004 at $33,041. At that rate, something usually does get sacrificed in the effort to pay for decent housing, adequate and healthful food, enough clothing, health care, education and transportation.
Parents sacrifice to feed and clothe their kids. Seniors sacrifice medicine to eat. Some people get second or third jobs in an effort to make it all work, and then struggle to pay for the gasoline it takes to get from one to the other.
Even the CEO of Wal-Mart is pushing Congress to raise the minimum wage because, he said Monday, “we can see firsthand … how many of our customers are struggling to get by.”
All that and a 30 percent to 50 percent increase in heating bills this winter.
While pushing the congressional pay raise, Blunt pointed out that it’s expensive to keep residences in two places.
He and his colleagues might do well to remember that for their constituents, it’s expensive to keep a residence in just one place.
Long time Washington incumbent Congressman Blunt has 8 opponents, including Tea Party favorite State Senator Chuck Purgason, in the Missouri primary for U.S. Senate.
Congressman Blunt Complains About Burdensome Regulations and Still Refuses to Say “No Bailout for Big Oil”
Washington, DC – Today Robin Carnahan’s campaign released a new video detailing the first twenty-eight days after the oil spill in the Gulf Coast and Congressman Blunt’s continued defense of Big Oil.
After being outed by the Kansas City Star for supporting a taxpayer bailout for Big Oil, Congressman Blunt tried to gain political cover (a month after the spill began) by announcing that he would introduce legislation to increase the amount Big Oil would have to pay for the mess – but still no guarantee that taxpayers would not be on the hook. As the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported, “The legislation suggests concern by Blunt’s campaign about political liability given Carnahan’s new offensive, his receipt of oil industry contributions and recent comments stressing that the Gulf spill was an accident.” [St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 5/20/10; Kansas City Star 5/18/10]
For weeks, Congressman Blunt dodged the question of who should be on the hook to pay for the cleanup. When he finally spoke up, he “cautioned against overreacting” or raising penalties for companies that spill oil and refused to rule out a taxpayer funded bailout for the clean-up. Then, as oil continued to seep into the Gulf, Congressman Blunt complained about the burdensome regulations on Big Oil. During his 14 years in Washington, Congressman Blunt has taken more than $1 million from Big Oil and energy interests. [Blunt Remarks at RCGA, 5/17/10, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 5/18/10, Center for Responsive Politics]
Just last week, Robin Carnahan’s campaign launched an online video and petition to fight Congressman Blunt’s $12.5 billion Big Oil bailout that would cost Missouri families $268 million alone. Robin has been an outspoken opponent of any taxpayer bailout for big oil and her campaign launched the online petition because she believes Big Oil should have to pay the full cleanup costs.
Robin is running for the U.S. Senate Seat currently held by U.S. Senator Kit Bond (R-MO) who is retiring. She is currently in her second term as Missouri Secretary of State where she has worked across party lines to protect consumers by standing up to big institutions and getting more than $10 billion returned to wronged investors, and to cut red tape for small businesses so they can save resources and create more jobs. A breast cancer survivor with a background in business and law, Robin also still oversees her family’s cattle farm in Rolla, MO. For more information on Robin’s background and values, visit: www.RobinCarnahan.com
For more information please visit the William Jewel website.
Celebrating Twenty Years of Truman Scholars Leadership Week at William Jewell College…
An Evening with Jeffrey Toobin
1980 Truman Scholar from New York
Jeffrey Toobin, a staff writer at The New Yorker since 1993 and the senior legal analyst for CNN, is one of the most recognized and admired legal journalists in the country.
His most recent book, The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court, was published in the fall of 2007. The book spent more than four months on the New York Times best-seller list and was named one of the ten best books of the year by the New York Times Book Review, Time, Newsweek, Fortune, Entertainment Weekly, and the Economist. The Nine also received the J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize for Non-fiction and the Silver Gavel Award of the American Bar Association.
Toobin joined CNN in 2002 after six years with ABC News. In 2000, he received an Emmy Award for his coverage of the Elian Gonzalez case.He earned his bachelor’s degree from Harvard College and graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review.
You are cordially invited to attend a
buffet reception with Mr. Toobin
Thursday, May 27, 2010
5:45-6:45 p.m.
Gano Assembly Room
(adjacent to John Gano Memorial Chapel)
On the campus
Followed by “An Evening with Jeffrey Toobin” introduced by
William Ray Price Jr., Chief Justice of the Missouri Supreme Court
7:00 p.m. in John Gano Memorial Chapel
Greet Mr. Toobin for a reception and book-signing
immediately following the lecture in Yates-Gill College Union.
Robin Carnahan Kicks Off “Stop the Bull” Tour as She Lays out Plan to Crack Down on Wasteful Spending
Calls “Bull” on Congressman Blunt’s 14-year record of reckless spending and challenges him to release ALL earmark requests
Columbia, MO – Today Robin Carnahan made stops in Willard, Independence, and Columbia as she kicked off her “Stop the Bull” Tour. Robin laid out a 3-point plan to put Missouri families first and crack down on wasteful spending in Washington:
Stop the pork and start cutting fat
Stop corporate giveaways and start putting middle class families first
Stop the reckless spending and start demanding fiscal responsibility
Among other things, Robin announced her support for a ban on all earmarks, no more bailouts for Big Oil or Wall Street, and enacting spending caps. Today’s stops were the first in a series of upcoming announcements that will focus on putting middle class families first and stopping the bull in Washington.
“Missourians are changing their lives, cutting back, and making sacrifices, but we have a government in Washington that’s totally out of touch… and that continues to spend recklessly, wasting tax dollars and running up our nation’s debt. Missourians know Washington is broken, and out of touch, and so do I – that’s why it’s time to stop the bull and fix what’s wrong with Washington,” said Robin Carnahan.
Robin called on Congressman Blunt to release of all the earmarks he has ever requested during his 14 years in Washington and that “Missourians shouldn’t have to beg” to see how he’s been wanting to spend our tax dollars. Carnahan also highlighted Blunt’s record of wasteful spending, which includes:
Turning a $128 billion surplus into a $1.2 trillion deficit
Pushing through the $700 Billion Wall Street Bailout
Increasing earmarks by 7 fold, costing taxpayers $225 billion and Refusing to release earmark requests during his time in Congress
While Congressman Blunt has been in Washington, DC, Robin has cut red tape and costs for small businesses and protected consumers’ money in Missouri. As Secretary of State, Robin has cut costs for small businesses by nearly $12 million and returned over $10 billion back to wronged investors.
Robin is running for the U.S. Senate Seat currently held by U.S. Senator Kit Bond (R-MO) who is retiring. She is currently in her second term as Missouri Secretary of State where she has worked across party lines to protect consumers by standing up to big institutions and getting more than $10 billion returned to wronged investors, and to cut red tape for small businesses so they can save resources and create more jobs. A breast cancer survivor with a background in business and law, Robin also still oversees her family’s cattle farm in Rolla, MO. For more information on Robin’s background and values, visit: www.RobinCarnahan.com
Statement by Rep. Jason Kander regarding passage of ethics reform bill
Friday, May 14, 2010
This bill represents an improvement over current law, but I will not declare victory over corruption when we have merely tip-toed into the fight. I voted today to limit political money laundering, outlaw the obstruction of ethics investigations, and expand the powers of the Missouri ethics commission.
However, I’m disappointed that we missed an important opportunity to restore campaign contribution limits, to prohibit lawmakers from working as political consultants for one another, to close the revolving door between legislators and lobbyists, or to disclose potential conflicts of interest. That is why I whole-heartedly support the comprehensive, bipartisan ethics bill passed by the Speaker’s special committee on ethics. As I said when I filed a bipartisan proposal last year, my bill alone cannot tackle the ever-evolving and wide-ranging problem of public corruption.
There is lots of work remaining. I will continue my efforts to advance true, comprehensive ethics reform to a vote in the next legislative session.
Jefferson City, MO – The MDP released new video footage of Congressman “Bailout” Blunt attending a VIP Gala for lobbyists and the Washington, DC social elite at the “Social Safeway” grocery store event last week. On the video, Congressman “Bailout” Blunt, amidst the clanking of champagne glasses, comfortably tells the camera that he lives “pretty close” to the new upscale grocery store in Georgetown. The nonchalant behavior at a Washington elite social function serves as yet another reminder of how Congressman Blunt has come a long way from Springfield to become the very worst of Washington during his last 13 years there.
Congressman Blunt joined with over 650 Members of Congress, lobbyists and social climbers as they enjoyed a Belvedere Vodka fountain and brie cheese flown in from Paris, France in the swanky Georgetown neighborhood [Washington Post, 5/6/10].
“This might be the one case where we can take Congressman ‘Bailout’ Blunt at his word: he stopped calling Missouri his home a long time ago,” said Ryan Hobart, Communications Director for the Missouri Democratic Party. “In fact, the ‘Social Safeway’ is right around the corner from the multi-million dollar mansion he and his lobbyist wife Abigail are building in Washington. If there is one thing that is clear, it is that Congressman ‘Bailout’ Blunt has forgotten where he came from and is never coming back to Missouri.”
Long time Washington incumbent Congressman Blunt has 8 opponents, including Tea Party favorite State Senator Chuck Purgason, in the Missouri primary for U.S. Senate.
Elena is widely regarded as one of the best legal minds of her generation — earning praise from across the ideological spectrum throughout her career. Above all, she is a trailblazer. She wasn’t just the first woman to serve as dean of Harvard Law School — she was one of its most beloved and successful leaders, building a reputation for openness to other viewpoints and skill in working with others to build consensus. These were some of the many reasons why I selected her to be my Solicitor General, the nation’s chief advocate — the first woman to hold that post as well.
Her work as Solicitor General has allowed me to see firsthand just why Elena is particularly well-suited to the Court: She has not only a keen understanding of the law, but also one that is rooted in a deep awareness of its impact on people’s lives. Last year, she made that clear — choosing the Citizens United case as her first to argue before the Supreme Court, defending bipartisan campaign finance reform against special interests seeking to spend unlimited money to influence our elections.
Now, I look forward to the prospect of Elena taking her seat alongside Justice Ginsberg and Justice Sotomayor. For the first time, our nation’s highest court would include three women, ensuring a Court that would be more inclusive, more representative, more reflective of us as a people than ever before.
When Justice Stevens wrote me to announce his retirement, I knew that the Court would be losing a standard bearer. And I felt a responsibility to nominate an individual capable of being that same guiding force, a consistent voice of reason on the Court.
I am certain I have made the right choice. As you learn more about Elena, I am confident you’ll see what I do — that she is a voice we need on the Supreme Court.
Please watch the message — and share it with others:
Paid for by Organizing for America, a project of the Democratic National Committee — 430 South Capitol Street SE, Washington, D.C. 20003. This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.
Fired Up Missouri and OpenSecrets discussed the Washington impact of BP’s oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico last week.
It turns out that Missouri’s own Washington insider, Roy Blunt, has received thousands in campaign cash from BP and is one of BP’s favorite insiders.
If BP faces heavy federal scrutiny, it’s well-positioned to fight back: The London-based company has consistently spent top dollar to influence legislative and regulatory activity in Washington, D.C., the Center for Responsive Politics finds…
In 2009, individuals and political action committees associated with BP donated $16,000 to members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
In addition, five of the all-time top 10 recipients of BP money in the House of Representatives sit on the House Energy Committee: John D. Dingell (D-Mich.) Joe Barton(R-Tex.), Ralph M. Hall (R-Tex.), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and Fred Upton, (R-Mich.).
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