24thState

Gubernatorial Candidate Bill Randles on Governor Nixon's Speech

Because you probably won't see this candidate's response in any other media:

Randles Responds to Nixon's State-of-the-State Address

Liberty, Mo., January 18th, 2012 -- Bill Randles released a written statement today in response to Governor Jay Nixon's State of the State address given last night.

"Last night Jay Nixon delivered his fourth State of the State Address. It was simply more of the same failed policies that have placed Missouri near the bottom in every measure. His governorship has been one of failure in every category.

He claims Missouri is a business-friendly state, but a study released by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in 2011 ranked us dead last in terms of regulatory burden and business-friendliness. Under Jay Nixon Missouri lost 90,000 jobs in 2010, the third worst performance in the country. Missouri is one of only three states that spends more than 30% of its state budget on Medicaid alone.

Under Jay Nixon, Missouri has lost a record number of jobs and businesses. His solutions? More bandaids in the form of government programs and crony capitalism. The same formula he has been pushing for three years and that has failed so miserably.

We heard not one word about any serious reform of the policies that led us here. He, of
course, said nothing about our broken tax code, dysfunctional judiciary, or outdated labor
policies. No, he once again has chosen to put the interests of trial lawyers, labor unions, and
crony capitalists ahead of the interests of ordinary Missourians.

His education policies are a disgrace. He makes excuses for the failures of the Kansas
City and St. Louis public schools. He mouths the teachers union line that more money will fix everything – ignoring the billions of wasted dollars already poured into them. He then has the audacity to attack charter schools and claim they need to be more accountable. But apparently this call for accountability does not apply to the public schools in our urban areas that have incinerated billions of dollars, dimmed the future prospects for generations of out more vulnerable children, and enjoyed a virtual monopoly for decades. No, Jay Nixon prefers to placate and reward the failed urban education monopoly and continue to trade our children’s futures for his political convenience.

Jay Nixon is a failed governor. Last night’s speech shows a tired product of a corrupt political machine uninterested in and unable to fix the serious structural problems in our state. He seems to believe his record of failure has earned him another four years. Missouri businesses, tax payers, and children cannot afford another four years of Jay Nixon."

--Bill Randles, Republican gubernatorial candidate

For more information on the Randles for Governor campaign, visit our website, Facebook fanpage, and Twitter feed.

Next Steps Part 1: Drag Your Friends To the Polls Today!

Vote Today, Celebrate Tonight, Demand More Tomorrow

As America-loving Americans go to the polls today, they begin the process of wrestling control on the Country back from the secular progressives who love this Country less.  Yes, I have heard the crap about "we all want the same things, but just disagree on how to get there".  Right.  President Obama does not love America.  He loves France and he loves himself.  America is a place he wants to reshape into France.  As we begin the three-step process to re-take D.C. the next question is how our leaders will reshape America?  That is challenge number Two.  Challenge number Three is coming.

Now is the time for voting smart.  In a post on Breitbart's Big Government, I laid out the data that showed there is a lot to be excited about for the new Republicans in the Senate.  Despite frustrations over high-profile votes like TARP and Cash for Clunkers, several Republican Congressmen poised to win Senate seats have records far more fiscally conservative than the incumbents they would replace.  We need to put our rational hats on and vote for them.  Most notably, the 24th State's own Kit Bond rates 35th most conservative and will certainly be replaced by Roy Blunt who is 6th!   Even Mark Kirk, who frustrates many in Illinois for a record that seems RINOesque, would be the 22nd on the LiGIE scale (Limited Government Intervention in the Economy).  While taking the House is a great step, and taking the Senate may seem like merely the cherry on the top, consider the judges.  Were we to take the Senate we could block the most obnoxious judicial nominees. As hardened leftists lose their ability to cram their marxism down our throats through legislation, they will look to the leftist judges who commune in the other door shove it through, err, that way.  So it matters not if you were disappointed by these Congressman's primary victories, support them now!

Please, harass your friends today!  In a primary campaign, I once faced a better funded opponent.  Out of necessity, I made the decision to mail nicer pieces to fewer people and discovered something amazing in the process.  There were 45,000 households and I mailed just the 15,000 who voted frequently.   My wife fielded calls from panicked friends as who received mail from my opponent and nothing from me.  As I explained to my wife, some of our closest friends were part of that 30,000 people who just rarely bothered to vote.  I am calling them this year.  You need to call yours.

So what are we voting for?  That largely depends on the leadership we get tomorrow.  Putting conservatives in these seats who select moderates as their rulers will give us very little.  Will the Congress give us Speaker Boehner?  Let me be among the first to say, I hope not.  We do not need another Hastert.  There is little indication that Boehner will go out on any limbs and lay out the positive vision America needs, from protecting the boarders to forcing a vote on all of the Bush tax cuts without exception. 

In Missouri, conservatives who elected a 23:11 majority are so frustrated about so little legislative action that have taken the extraordinary step of seeking public engagement in the State Senate leadership battle.  This is a good battle to have.  The leadership really is the difference.

Jedidiah Smith On The Missouri Leadership Conference

From Franklin County Patriot Jedidiah Smith:

The unprecedented activism of the past two years has all lead up to what will take place in just four days, the general election.  Many Missouri citizens, however, are also interested in what will follow the election.

Two days later, while most of us are still in recovery mode, Missouri Senators will meet to determine by a secret ballot process who will serve in the highest position in our state legislator, the Senate President Pro Tem. Among other things, the President Pro Tem of the Senate has the power to place senators on various committees and to select leadership of those committees.  These appointments have a profound effect on which proposed legislation will actually make it to the floor for consideration.

Missourians will remember the current Pro Tem, Charlie Shields, served as a major roadblock to the passage of the Healthcare Freedom Act during the last session. Prop C (HCFA) eventually went on to pass on the August ballot by a 71%-29% margin, a clear indication that Shields and the Senate leadership were out of touch with the people.  Sen. Shield's further displayed his power late in the session when he removed Sen. Chuck Purgason from his committee chairmanship in order to consider a bill which would have given preferential treatment to the Ford plant in Kansas City.   

Sen, Shields is leaving office as a result of term limits, and it's time to elect a new President Pro Tem.

Since the leadership positions are chosen by the senators, it would seem that the election of true conservatives into the Missouri Senate would guarantee strong, conservative leadership, right? Unfortunately, this is not necessarily true.

Kevin Engler is the presumed choice for the Pro Tem position - not because of his legislative history of liberty-driven legislation, but because he is the current Senate Majority Floor Leader.  It is generally understood in Jefferson City that the floor leader is next in line to become Pro Tem, regardless of his track record. In fact, Engler has made it clear that anyone who dares to oppose him will suffer the consequences <http://ozarksfirst.com/fulltext?nxd_id=332805> . 


These bullying techniques are not new to Jefferson City politics, but they typically are kept out of the view of citizens.  The truth, is,  that really understanding what goes on behind the scenes of the legislature is next to impossible.  

Because the people have historically been left out of this decision, a group of of grassroots activists (of whom I am honored to be a part) has launched the Missouri Leadership Project.  The project was designed with several goals in mind:

1. To help inform the public of the importance of leadership in Jefferson City.  Everyone understands how important the roles of Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi are in Washington D.C., but little attention is given to the significance of leadership within our own state legislature.
2. To begin the process of increasing transparency in government by shining some light on the happenings within Jefferson City, specifically on the election of leadership.
3. To illustrate that although Sen. Engler is the presumed Pro-Tem-To-Be, he is not the choice of those (many activists) who have spent the last two years asking for transparency and smaller government.
4. To give the people of Missouri an opportunity to voice their opinion by signing a petition urging the senate to "select leaders from among those who have clearly demonstrated a commitment to protecting the liberty of all Missourians alike and conduct the business of the senate in a fair and even-handed way."
   

To date, hundreds of Missourians have signed the petition.  Many have also contacted their senator personally to express their views.  In addition to these individual citizens, many patriotic and Tea Party organizations have endorsed the project.

Although citizens do not have a direct role in electing legislative leadership, we should work to be informed and involved in the process as much as possible, and to hold our elected officials accountable for their decisions.

For more information about the Missouri Leadership Project, visit www.MoLeadershipProject.com <http://www.MoLeadershipProject.com>  <http://www.moleadershipproject.com/> .

The St Louis Tea Party strongly supports our fellow Tea Partiers, and my understanding is that we'll have a formal statement Monday.  While the election is the primary goal, the leadership vote takes place a few days later, and how we choose our leaders matters as much as who we choose.  I admit that I'm not completely informed on the issue, but my understanding is that if you have an interest in the matter, the single best thing you can do is call your state senator and let them know you want them to vote based on who they think will best represent conservatives in Missouri, and not based on a tradition that amounts to anointing a former leader instead of an honest vote based on what you think is best for the state.

I've also been told the comments on Prop C are unfair to Engler, and that he didn't stall or stop the legislation.  My personal thought is that the process matters more than the person.  I'm not anti-Engler or pro-Engler, but I do agree that just because a Senator held a position in the last Senate doesn't mean they automatically get it in the new Senate.

Robyn Hamlin And Paul Curtman Sign Tea Party Treaty

Two more candidates have signed the Tea Party treaty.  Paul Curtman, a Marine challenging SEIU-backed Mike Frame for a State Representative seat in Missouri's 105th District, and Robyn Hamlin, running against Lacy Clay for US Congress in Missouri's First District, have both signed on to the Tea Party Treaty.

This strong declaration of principles is an agreement between signatories of support and accountability.

A copy of the text. 

Tea Party Treaty

1) I believe that the Health Care Reform bill (Affordable Care Act) should be immediately repealed as an un-Constitutional extension of governmental powers according to Article I of the US Constitution, and thus a burden on the people’s rights as recognized by the 9th Amendment.

2) I believe the government should reduce taxes and cut spending, as a rejection of the Keynesian model of economics.  Governments should be fiscally responsible with the people’s dime.

3) I believe that we should reduce the federal bureaucracy.  The size and scope of federal regulation endangers all liberty, and hinders accountability to the public.

I resolve to be a proponent for small government across the board, and agree to be held accountable for failure to abide by this treaty.

__________________________       ______________
SIGNATURE                DATE

St. Louis Tea Party Coalition    Franklin County Patriots       
Jefferson County Tea Party      Southern Illinois Tea Party                Quincy Tea Party

If you are a Tea Party group and want to use the treaty for your local and statewide contacts, please contact Ben at ben.evans@stlouisteaparty.com