24thState

Subverting the GOP into Medicaid Expansion

Serving on an obscure committee might seem like a minor point. It's not. At last summer's Republican convention there was a floor fight involving the Rules Committee's efforts to shut out the grassroots.

 

Until a few days ago, Ed Martin, Catherine Hanaway, and Lance Beshore had a deal.

Ed Martin was recently elected Chairman of the Missouri Republican Party and had an agreement with Catherine Hanaway and Lance Beshore that Martin would serve on the National Republican Rules committee. Hanaway and Beshore are the Missouri GOP's National Committeewoman and Committeeman respectively. Along with Martin, the three decide who serves on the Rules committee and they had all agreed that it would be Martin.

Lance Beshore has served on the Rules committee for the past twelve years and would like to continue in that capacity. He's the wrong man for the job. Beshore's bio on GOP.com indicates that he:

...serves on the Board of Directors for the Missouri State Chamber of Commerce and he has chaired the Board of Directors of the Freeman Health System for the past nineteen years.

The Missouri Chamber of Commerce recently voiced its support for Obamacare's Medicaid expansion. Meanwhile, Gov. Jay Nixon (D-MO) is touring the state touting Medicaid expansion:

The expansion also has the backing of hospitals and health care providers in the state. Nixon met with officials of Freeman Health System, Mercy Hospital and others before his presentation.

Paula Baker, president of Freeman Health System, said the session was primarily to review the points Nixon would be making in the presentation.

“He didn’t need to sell us on it,” Baker said.

Say what?

The grassroots Republican fight for the past several years has been opposition to Obamacare and, therefore, Medicaid expansion. Beshore appears to support it. Now, perhaps he's opposed it, but just done so ineffectually at both the Chamber of Commerce and Freeman Health System. Whether he's on the wrong side of the issue or just ineffectually, he's clearly the wrong person for the job.

Ed Martin has a track record of fighting Obamacare and would fight for conservative principals if called on to serve on the Nation Republican Party's Rules Committee.

No on Prop P

Members of the St. Louis Tea Party Coalition in conjunction with St. Louis County Republicans have established a committee named No on Prop P.

Last year the state legislature passed enabling legislation for St. Charles, St. Louis County and St. Louis City to vote on a 3/16 of a cent sales tax awarding 40% to local parks, 30% to Great Rivers Greenway and 30% to City Arch River Project. St. Louis County must pass the tax increase or the vote is voided in St. Louis City.

St. Charles County has opted out of the tax increase. St. Charles County Executive Steve Ehlmann testified for informational purposes at the committee meeting in Jefferson City that cities could redirect tax payer money from the sales tax for unrelated development projects. Ehlmann is quoted in the Post Dispatch, “When people go to the ballot box and they vote on a tax increase, they need to be assured all the money goes where it is suppose to go."

St. Charles County Council did not allow the sales tax to be brought forward. County Council Republican Joe Brazil was quoted in the St. Louis Beacon “Whenever they need money for a bond issue (the City and St. Louis County) they come running over to us”. He was further quoted “If you want to be a metropolitan community it needs to go both ways. Not just when you need something.)

What Councilman Brazil was referring to was the city earnings tax. Residents of Saint Charles and St. Louis County pay 1% of their wages to St. Louis City for the privilege of working in the city. St. Louis County already contributes tax money for the following institutions, Zoo, Art Museum, Science Center, Botanical Garden and the History Museum. Yet residents of the city are not charged an earnings tax when they are employed in the surrounding counties. Regionalism needs to be reciprocal.

The No on Prop P committee is a grassroots effort to defeat Prop P in St. Louis County. County taxpayers will finance roughly ¾ of the funding for Great Rivers Greenway and City Arch River Project. City voters will more than likely support the tax. A city alderman advised me confidentially that the city would be foolish to vote down improvements paid for primarily by county residents. This tax is one further step closer to a city/county merger.

Right To Work - Punt, Pass, Kick

How does a Democratic Governor, with a veto proof legislature, generate more excuses, from Republican leadership, in one legislative session, than a third grader whose dog ate their homework? Easy. Be a Governor of a non-Right To Work state.

It’s nice to know that self-preservation is alive and well in the Missouri General Assembly.

While Missourians have been wishing, chanting, screaming for legislators to pass Right To Work legislation in their state, the Republican legislature has been dancing around how to avoid the issue for years. Always, the mantra has been to blame the Governor.  But first, they blamed the fact they had no majority with which to pass the legislation. And so, Missouri gave them a veto proof majority in 2012. It became almost entertaining to watch the squirming from the “right” as they knew they would be expected to do something, but what? How would they appease their voting base and still protect Republicans who clandestinely enjoy Union support? Well, they have come up with the quintessential “It’s not my fault” solution. They’re gonna punt. They are passing the buck, to you. It will be your fault. The $7.1 million dollar question is, will voters fall for it? Here’s how it works.

Two key pieces of legislation have been introduced, this session, which promote Right To Work. HB 77 and HB 91 are two, almost identical bills that might bring Right To Work to Missouri, but not at the hands of the legislature whom, by the way, was elected to represent the interests of their voting constituents, not special interests. They both contain language that kicks it to you, the voter. That’s right. They are both ballot initiatives. So, in short, instead of taking responsibility, taking a stand on an issue, the legislature is throwing it to you. Yes, you now must decide whether Missouri will be a Right To Work state, should the one of these bills pass through the general assembly in this session.

And as long as things go well, and Missourians can out campaign and out spend, the Unions, they should expect great success. If not, then it’s your fault. Pretty tidy and convenient for the legislature. And we will all be able to sleep better at night knowing we have maintained our veto proof majority. Did I mention we will be at least $7.1 million dollars poorer to address the issue by ballot initiative?

It looks like the bill with legs is HB 77, and it goes to committee tomorrow. The main difference between the bills is that HB 77 puts the issue on the ballot in November of 2013 and HB 91 goes on in November of 2014. There is no general election in 2013 and the cost to tax payers to put it on the ballot, in an off year, will be in the neighborhood of $7.1 million dollars. Should anyone ask the general assembly to forego their salaries, this session, to offset the costs of a special election?

You can thank the following for advancing Right To Work in Missouri:  HB 77 – Eric Burlison (sponsor) Speaker, Tim Jones, Brattin, Diehl, Lichtenegger, Lant, Morris, Rieboldt, Frederick, Bahr, Schatz, White, Dugger, Ross, Cookson, Anderson, and Kelley (co-sponsors) HB 91 – Donna Lichtenegger (sponsor) Speaker, Tim Jones, Burlison, and Bahr (co-sponsors)

Few would argue the importance of brining jobs to Missouri. There seems to be a great philosophical divide in just how to get that done. Remember China Hub? Tax credits are an old time favorite of our elected and we now also have a repackaged, repurposed, recycled version of the China Hub Tax Credit initiative. HB 221, Sponsored by Anne Zerr and co-sponsored by Deihl, Allen, Leara, Swearingen, McCaherty, Walker, Lauer, Kratky, Sommer, Torpey, Smith 85), McNeil and Otto is moving right along and will be heard in committee, today, at 5:00 p.m.

My American Heritage Dictionary defines “Leader” as – n. 1. A person who leads others along a way; a guide. Are we being led over a cliff?

 

Fire District Hijinks Create Titanic Battle

It has long been the goal of 24tState to be an independent source of breaking news and information with a special focus on equipping voters with specific tactics to act civicly in their own best interest which we can do because we are insiders. Key among these interests is the local fire district elections. The latest occurrence in a crucial race is something we have never seen before but one that is likely a harbinger of things to come.

See the following from an email blast by a taxpayer group in the Monarch Fire District reporting that voters in these normally low key races will see two prominent Republican names square off. All taxpayers need to pay attention to this because there is a simple logic behind the madness.

Yesterday the Monarch Fire Board race went from a four-way contest to a conventional race between two opponents.  Current Union Director Kim Evans and recent Union recruit Russell Lake both withdrew from this election, leaving only Union Candidate Cole McNary and Independent Jane Cunningham.  We believe the Union strategy shifted when Rick Gans withdrew from this race last week and was replaced with the popular Cunningham.  Gans tells us he is not surprised by Evans' withdrawal as he was shocked she even filed given her record of tax increases and support of billing residents for ambulance service.  Apparently Lake, a protégé of Union Director Swyers, decided he was not ready to do battle in this election.

 Now that the final candidates are clearly known, Cunningham's task will be to make sure that voters know they are choosing between her opponent, who will serve the Union as Evans so ably did for six years, and her, with her well-established record of being the voice of the taxpayers.  We will watch as McNary tries to use his credentials as a former Republican office holder and his father's well recognized name to make it appear he will be the choice of conservative voters.  The "new" McNary received Union support last year in his failed Treasurer's race and he has already surprisingly declared to several that the Union is supporting him in this race.

 We will be updating the website with this development in the next 24 hours.

The reason Jane Cunningham is running instead of Rick Gans is that defeat of any union fire district candidate requires hurculearn effort. The union firefighters have every reason to "invest" in campaign cash and time in order to elect the people that determine whether they work less for more or work even less for even more. The taxpayer candidate has to raise funds from friends and family. The typically Monarch candidate will spend $20,000 to the union's $100,000. For taxpayers to look to a seasoned politician with a broad donor base is a shrewd move. Gans, a businessman, made a very selfless act by stepping aside. One can only imagine the pressure placed on Evans to step down from her $1000 per month pay and generous health insurance benefits.

Here is the inside baseball. The other reason firfighters all over St. Louis spend so much on Monarch races is that the union in every other district can point to Monarch as a justification to request more pay. "We do not need to make as much as Monarch, but be close, otherwise we risk losing our best firefighters to them". That is the argument. The typical Monarch firefighter receives well over $100k in compensation and benefits in exchange for spending eight 24hr shifts doing that unique job.

Here is another insight into the sad, but dirty politics. Cole McNary is running to join Steve Swyers and Robyn Harris now that Evans stepped aside. Thanks to the tireless work of the watchdog group Monarch Concerned Taxpayers, everyone knows that Swyers' consistent votes in concert with Evans and against Harris reveal that he was lying to voters when he promised to be the taxpayers' candidate, denying he was allied with his son's fellow union firefighters. While "low information voters" fell pray to the machine behind first time candiidate Swyers, the taxpayers paying attention knew that Gans was their guy, clearly on the side of taxpayers.

The taxpayers again, have their "guy" in Jane Cunningham. Now that the union candidate Evans is gone, the union clearly is behind McNary. McNary is now faced with a bigger challenge than Swyers in convincing voters he is independent of the union. Will he really try to tell voters that the union is sitting this one out, content to allow the taxpayers to enjoy a 2:1 majority with Swyers being their only loyalist? Will McNary's former Chesterfield constituents naively retain their trust for the guy who represented them for six years and be shocked when he joins the cagey Swyers and votes with the union? This is going to be a very hard sell for McNary and the union, but they probably have $100k to spend several times over. Taxpayers can only hope that Cunningham can bring her own significant connections and resources to bear as the banner carrier for taxpayers and that voters will see through efforts by McNary to steal that banner.

 

 

 

 

 

Could a Lt.Gov. Vacancy Screw MOGOP

As many know by now, Jo Ann Emerson will vacate the Missouri 8th Congressional  District seat for a cush lobbying position, which is not surprising from the lowest rated Republican in Missouri's congressional delegation, according to Heritage Action.

The SEMO Times lays out the contenders for that seat, though I would argue Sarah Steelman, Jason Crowell & Peter Kinder are the main contenders.  However, I want to focus in on Peter Kinder, and the vacancy of the Lt. Governor position should he be the appointed nominee.

I have heard arguments that the Governor cannot appoint a replacement, but my reading of the Missouri Constitution & Statutes suggests otherwise.  First, Missouri Constitution Article IV Section 4:

The governor shall fill all vacancies in public offices unless otherwise provided by law, and his appointees shall serve until their successors are duly elected or appointed and qualified.

The relevant phrase in that provision reads, "unless otherwise provided by law."  If a provision of the Missouri Statutes provides another method of replacement in the case of a vacancy, then the statute should hold.  Those that have tried to quell fears the Governor would appoint a Democrat to one of two statewide positions held by a Republican in Missouri have pointed to Missouri Revised Statute 105.030:

Whenever any vacancy, caused in any manner or by any means whatsoever, occurs or exists in any state or county office originally filled by election of the people, other than in the offices of lieutenant governor, state senator or representative, sheriff, or recorder of deeds in the city of St. Louis, the vacancy shall be filled by appointment by the governor....

While this provision indicates, in the case of a vacancy, the Governor shall not appoint the Lt. Governor, it does not provide a method by which the Lt. Governor vacancy SHOULD be filled.  And this is the crux of my concern.  I have not found a provision that provides for the replacement.  This leads me to believe that the appointment mechanism would revert to the Missouri Constitution, that being the Governor fills the vacancy.  If someone knows of such a provision in the statutes that states otherwise, please let it be known.  If someone knows of a relevant court decision please pass it along.

The reason a gubernatorial appointment concerns me is the fact that Governor Nixon could end up making two new appointments, broadening the Democrat field for higher office in the future.  Suppose Governor Nixon were to appoint State Treasurer Clint Zweifel or State Attorney General Chris Koster to the Lt. Governor position.  He would then be able to appoint a replacement for either one of those vacancies.

While this is not a post slamming Peter Kinder as a choice for MO-8, it is a clarion call for sound legal reasoning as we wade through this appointment & vacancy process.  The language of the Missouri Constitution & Statutes are not as clear as some would have us think, so it is of utmost importance that the Republican 8th Congressional District Committee make a sound choice.

Jo Ann Emerson's retirement from Congress provides a unique opportunity for great conservative leadership in the Missouri congressional delegation...let us not screw this up.

Thankful for Immigrants

Almost 20 years ago, I met a man at a Young Republican club meeting. He was there alone and no one was talking to him. I introduced myself and we became great friends occasionally dining at his home or ours including multiple Thanksgiving and other holiday meals. What he taught me was one of the most powerful lessons I have ever learned.

Vadim is from Russia. He had escaped with his mother and uncle. The hatred they hold for the communists who stole his birthright, ruined his country, and murdered millions was perhaps 50% as hot as their hatred for communists in this country. After all, the communists who ruined his country had taken over the Democrat Party and were lying about who they really are.

Vadim and his family began seeking citizenship in the grreatest country on earth from the day they landed here with the shirts on their backs and little else. The letters his uncle would write to President Bill Clinton, demanding his resignation would make a sailor blush.

I came across the website, Transylvania Phoenix by another immigrant patriot who wrote a very powerful post the day after the communists won a second, unthinkable Presidential electoral victory in the US. He descibes the life he experienced in communist Romania and warns America with great clarity about how the play book works.

He offers this gem to a commenter on the post:

San Francisco liberals will be the first victims of a communist takeover. I know it because it happened before in my native Romania where the first people who were sent to extermination prisons were the Socialists. The Socialists (named liberals these days) who helped the Communists come to power were practically exterminated and their leader Constantin Titel-Petrescu put to death after a mock trial. This was after their former coalition allies (the communists) achieved all the key positions in the government.

If there is any bright side to this, it is knowing that the bad guys will be slaughtered by the worse guys, that brutal mass internment, torture and execution will be the fault of the silly lefties who are most to blame. That is however, sad consolation for the rest of us who will be next in line when the commie start the purges that are central to their demonic playbook.

What is pathetic is that the communist purges are less than 100 years old. Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot and Kim Jung-Il murdered millions in the name of their ideology yet to 90% of Americans, any talk of that happening in a western country, let alone these United States is the bizarre fanaticism of a kook. It simply can't happen here. Or can it.

Exit polls tell us that Obama again, enjoyed a wide youth gap, again. The main reason was not anything he had done, but what he continues to promise namely, a socialist state. We know that our youth increasingly support socialism over capitalism, the question becomes what we should do about it. The answer may just lie in inviting more immigrants like Vadim and this guy.

These immigrants, who have seen first hand, the evils of socialism gone bad, are more passionate about fighting it than most of us, especially the silly youth who are being turned into socialists by the public education system exactly as planned by the 10th plank of the communist manifesto. That is why we need more former communists to balance the new-born, home-grown would-be communists in the hopes that we can turn them back to the truth that communism kills.

 

 

 

Hello GOP - Are You Ready to Push for Right To Work Yet?

Republicans got killed yesterday. Actually, American got killed. There are certainly many reasons for the devastation, but a huge part of the strength in the leftist "surge" for voter turnout is the inordinate power of organized labor. Did you know that election day is a national holiday for the UAW? Did you know the big sellout management teams who used to run the Big Three Automakers negotiated that away in 1999? Why do you suppose labor sought that and what do you suppose those people are doing all election day? Autodialing! 

From the California Public Policy Center, an organization on the front lines of the leftist onslaught to remake America into a socialist republic in a piece called Taking the You out of Unions:

To show how one-sided its political spending is, according to the Center for Responsive politics, in 2011-2012, the AFT spent $768,194 on Democrat candidates for office and $0 on Republicans. This clearly shows a deep disdain for any of its dues payers who happen to be Republican. (While polling numbers on this issue vary, it is safe to say that somewhere between a third and a half of all teachers are politically to the right of center.)

In 27 forced union states, public school teachers must pay to play. They are forced to fork over the part of union dues that is allocated for collective bargaining. But they are not required to pay the portion that is spent on politics. As such, it would behoove all conservative, centrist and politically disinterested teachers to opt out of paying the political part of their union dues. Why should teachers’ dues money go to candidates and causes that they don’t agree with and may indeed find abhorrent?

We have a lot of firsts in this administration, but the worst may be that the first President reelected with unemployment over 7.2% is also the first President elected by a hard left majority minority coalition. That surging coalition was organized, phone-called, and driven to the polls by millions of Joe Six Pack union-workers who had the day off while you were working to pay the debt and future taxes they plan to levy on you. How about some right to work change?

Curiously, where is National Right to Work on actually pushing to enact right to work laws?

Not Voting For Akin - Are You Kidding???

Sadly, too many Americans struggle annually to wisely select their choices for public office. This has consequences for all of us. The problem is partially to do with the media, and partially to do with the influence of big money in politics, but the biggest problem is the sorry state of civics education. We are pounded with slick ads designed by consultants who believe they need to deliver messages on a fourth grade level. The battles involve shiny things; who will give them out and who will take them away. I have heard about way too many Missourians who lean Republican, but are having trouble voting for Akin. This should settle that. Anyone who values liberty but cannot vote for Akin needs to sober up, look past the smoke, look at this one document and vote right!

The LIGIE Scale measures Congress by intervention in the economy. It is a product of an academic site I introduced to 24thState readers before called Voteview.com, that ranks every member of Congress in history. Limited Intervention of the Government in the Economy is the goal of their DW Nominate rankings and I agree that it is simply the best way to measure whether a member of Congress is working for you or working for the special interests. It specifically reveals which candidates are dictating how to live your life, which are rewarding special interests, and which truly are staying out of your way.

So all of this crap, and it is crap, about Akin being "scary" becomes ridiculous when you look at the plain old rankings. Like any great ranking system, there is predictability and there are surprises. For all the Paulites, take a bow, give us your "I told you so"s, Ron Paul sets the bar. Akin sets the bar for Missouri and Senator Roy Blunt is second among the Missouri delegates. Predictably, all of the Democrats are below the 50% mark, denoted in red, and McCaskill is below former Congressman Ike Skelton the famously "blue dog" Democrat.

Understand what this says. McCaskill's low rating shows that she is very quick to intervene in the economy and shove government into another aspect of your life whether that is government control over your healthcare, taxpayer funding for abortion or converting your tax dollars into tax credits for low income housing that her husband can make millions selling.

Democrats from Obama down, have presided over a pathetic performance in both domestic and foreign policy and with no credible product of their own to sell, have resorted to confusing voters by creating irrational fears about their opponents. Todd Akin, a victim of an unprecedented assault on his brand has been painted as a monster. It is little surprise that people who will pay $5 for a cup of coffee at Starbucks have been suckered by the ad campaign. Akin is as honest and scandal free as they come. He is a fierce patriot, loyal to God country and wife, who has put three sons through the U.S. Naval Academy, yet, he is scary. Really?

Instead of being suckered by a branding campaign that stuck vague adverbs into our heads we need to look at the data before reelecting McCaskill, a true statist who has never known a private sector job and whose husband has become very wealthy trading in government tax credits. The choice could not be more simple.

 

111th Congress Vote Ranking

Who Supports Prop A?

At 24thstate, we have dealt with several issues surrounding Prop A, the so-called 'local control' of STL City police proposition.  All lead us to the the conclusion that Missouri should Vote NO on Prop A.

1) Prop A Promotes Partisan Policy, Not Principles: proponents have carefully couched their message in Jeffersonian principle taken out of context, and have intentionally confused the relationship differences between state & national (federalism) and state & municipal (Federalist #45).

2) The End of Transparency: the Civil Service Commission, appointed by Mayor Slay, holds hearings closed to the public, and will conduct police hearings in the same manner.  This is not surprising when one sees union boss Jeff Roorda was behind the push for Prop A.

3) Viva La Local Control: a major endorser of Prop A is the group La Raza.  This raises major concerns about the establishment of sanctuary cities in the state of Missouri.  In fact, Texas Governor Rick Perry has been working on re-establishing state control of major metro areas in TX that have ignored efforts at stopping illegal immigration.

Well, it turns out that there are many more questionable endorsements with Prop A.

AFL-CIO: proponents of Prop A have attempted to portray the issue as anti-union, but that could not be further from the truth.  And one only need think of Wisconsin to understand why the AFL-CIO wants the STL police under sole control of Mayor Slay & STL City Democrats.  Do not forget that Richard Trumka heads the AFL-CIO.

Civic Progress: this organization is a major advocate for a city-county merger in STL, but it gets worse.  Not only do they want to "unify the St. Louis region," but they want to "connect us to the global community."  If this does not bring up thoughts of 'sustainablity' & Agenda 21, then you need to do some studying.  Furthermore, this sort of agenda will cripple conservative efforts to establish responsible governance in St. Louis.  It is impossible for conservatives to win in STL City, and near-impossible for conservatives to win in STL County.  Combine the two and you get a mini-Chicago in Missouri.  That will be devastating to the conservative vote in the entire area.

STL City & County Democrat Committees: not surprising in light of the city-county merger element, and the fact the the STL City Democrat Committee will essentially run the police with Mayor Slay.  

Four Freedoms: KC's voice for the LGBT community in the Democrat Party.  What is more glaring about this endorsement is the fact that I do not see a STL analog on the endorsement list.  Perhaps, the STL LGBT community understands the danger in handing Mayor Slay & the STL Democrat Machine unilateral authority over the police?

Missouri Family Family Network: Wait, what?!  I mean, they are a great conservative group, but why have they thrown their lot in with the aforementioned groups?  

It becomes even more surprising when one sees that every major conservative group in the STL region opposes Prop A.

TEA Parties: St. Louis Tea Party, Jefferson County Tea Party, K&N Patriots

Republican Organizations: STL City Central Committee, STL County Central Committee, numerous townships within STL County, Jefferson County Republican Club

[It should be mentioned that the black police officers association, the police leadership association, retired officers associations, and the ACLU oppose Prop A, due to the forced implementation of Fair Share (would force everyone into one union) and risk to the well-funded & maintained police pension (as happened to the STL City firefighters).]

So what gives?  Well, I know for a fact that Missouri Family Network took the time to speak with major Prop A advocate Carl Bearden, but that Gary Wiegert, who is heading up opposition, was not given the time of day before an endorsement was given.  What is really weird though is the fact that neither Carl nor Carl's group, United for Missouri, is on the list of endorsers (who would want to be listed with that group?), but Missouri Family Network is right in the midst of La Raza, AFL-CIO, Civic Progress, a multitude of Democrat organizations, and Four Freedoms.

I guess when it comes to Missouri Family Network & United for Missouri, what's good for the goose is not good for the gander.  The lesson here: beware of those wrapping Democrat issues in conservative rhetoric.

Governor Nixon and Attorney General Koster sell out Missouri jobs to appease special interests

The following was submitted by Mark Patterson of The Cavalry Group.

The old adage of “its not what you say, but what you do that counts” has never been more poignant than in the last four years of Governor Nixon’s administration. There have been many examples of Nixon selling out Missouri families and Missouri businesses in favor of powerful special interest groups, or trying to curry favor with President Obama. Let’s not forget Governor Nixon trying last year to sneak in the Obamacare exchanges under the nose of Missourians. However, none of the Governor’s actions have been more vicious and transparent as pretending to broker a compromise between radical animal rights groups and Missouri Dog Breeders and animal agriculture groups and then selling law abiding Missourians down the river.

After a bitter battle over the slimly won 2010 Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act Ballot Initiative where the Humane Society of the United States spent $4.8 million dollars on propaganda in Missouri to create a “crisis” where one didn’t exist, the Missouri Legislature courageously stepped in to protect law abiding Missouri businesses from an un-constitutional effort to destroy a viable industry. Missouri already had extensive animal welfare laws in place, and this new Measure did nothing to deal with the small percentage breaking the law, nor the State’s failure to enforce the law. However this battle was really about wiping out the already heavily regulated, successful, Missouri dog breeding industry. An industry which has produced quality purebred dogs for families all over the United States and beyond. Ironically, the Humane Society of Missouri will sell you a mutt with behavioral problems for $300 if you are interested. The conflict of interest is obvious.

As the Missouri legislature crafted a fix for this job killing Measure, Governor Nixon, stepped in to broker what is now known as the Missouri Solution. He caps that by meeting with both sides and declaring victory. The Governor’s failure to actually determine with empirical data that there is a problem is swept under the rug. Instead the Governor falls in line with the massive propaganda campaign put forth by out of state special interests, specifically HSUS. Nobody questions or takes into account the fact that HSUS has gone state by state claiming them as the ‘puppy mill capital of the US” and subsequently destroying their dog breeding industries.

According to Missouri Law what was supposed to happen next is that a 12 person committee made up of diverse agricultural interests works with the Department of Agriculture to write the rules and regulations so as to accurately and fairly implement the law. Unfortunately, Governor Nixon had disbanded this committee in 2009. So who wrote the rules and regulations? We have information that Director of Agriculture, Dr. Jon Hagler was involved, as was a gentleman named Bob Baker who is the director of the Missouri Alliance for Animal Legislation (MAAL), animal rights advocates masquerading as animal welfare proponents and a direct conduit to the radicals at HSUS. Otherwise we are not sure who else was involved. In that smoky back room, most of the unconstitutional aspects removed from the Measure made it back into the rules coupled with numerous onerous and business crushing new rules that had no foundation in the law itself. These rules went into affect on July 11, 2011.

According to Matt Rold, Animal Care Facilities Act (ACFA) Coordinator for the Missouri Department of Agriculture, the result was that in the period from July 2011 to July 2012 approximately 50% of the 1,500 licensed Missouri dog breeders went out of business as they were financially incapable of complying with the new onerous rules requiring thousands of dollars of unneeded kennel modifications. The impact to Missouri is tens of thousands of lost jobs and over $500 million plus in lost positive economic impact to Missouri. So while the economy is struggling all over Missouri, Governor Nixon decides to crush thousands of Missouri families and their jobs to appease out of state radical animal rights activists. Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster even decided that it would make a good campaign ad.

Taking a cue from President Obama, Nixon then doubled down on this strategy moving $1.1 million dollars from other important Missouri programs to the Department of Agriculture’s 2011-2012 budgets to enforce these new rules and implement an aggressive new enforcement campaign rather than to go after the unlicensed law breakers that were the target of this Measure. This effort ramped up this summer and the immediate results were hundreds of questionable violations against even Missouri’s top Blue Ribbon breeders. New interpretations of the old rules and vigorous enforcement of new rules that were unsupported by the actual law put everyone in a state of confusion including the Department of Agriculture’s Inspectors who were told to call Dr. Hagler for interpretation of the new rules with Dr. Hagler acting as the Department of Agriculture’s judge, jury and executioner. Worried that the Missouri Department of Agriculture could wipe out the Missouri dog breeding industry by the end of 2012, The Cavalry Group filed suit in early September 2012 challenging the constitutionality of many of the provisions in the Canine Cruelty Prevention Act including the “new” rules and regulations, and making a claim for a regulatory taking of private property. The Cavalry Group is in the midst of this legal action and will pursue all remedies to protect Missouri jobs and ultimately Missouri families. Hopefully we can help save a Missouri industry made up of real Missouri families with a great history and heritage.

Missouri voters have a clear choice on November 6th. Governor Nixon and Attorney General Koster have made that choice easier by attacking and destroying the livelihoods of those who they are supposed to protect: the law abiding citizens of Missouri. When you vote on November 6th, I hope that you will remember those law abiding, hard working Missouri families that Governor Nixon and Attorney General Koster forgot. Vote for Dave Spence for Missouri Governor, and Ed Martin for Missouri Attorney General.

The Cavalry Group is America’s Advocate for animal owners, outdoor sportsmen, and animal related businesses defending them on the legal, legislative, and cultural fronts. www.TheCavalryGroup.com