24thState

Credit Where Credit is Due

Heritage Action recently Key Voted against the American Battlefield Protection Program Amendments Act, and the entire MOGOP US House delegation took the solid conservative stance against another pork-laden bill.  Ann Wagner, Blaine Luetkemeyer, Vicky Hartzler, Sam Graves and Billy Long voted against taxpayer handouts to state & local governments in a time when budgets should be tightening, not expanding.

The bill passed with a minority of Republicans, violating a rule promoted by fiscal conservatives in the US House, including Matt Salmon.  During Dennis Hastert's tenure as the Speaker of the House, if a majority of the majority party opposed a bill then leadership would block the vote.  Interestingly, the NY Times has tracked every violation of this rule by Speaker John Boehner & the House Republican leadership.  GOP leadership has violated this rule 3 times this session, each one scored by the Heritage Action Scorecard.  If you want your congressman to support the rule, go here.

Now, if we could just get our state legislators to take the right stance on tax credits....

Farm Bill Redux

I have been politically aware most of my life, but I did not awaken to reality until 2002.  Foreign affairs burdened the minds of most of us, but a domestic spending bill caught my attention in early 2002 - the Farm Security & Rural Reinvestment Act of 2002.  

I remember hearing about the largest spending bill in the history of the US, and alarm bells went off in my head.  I very much supported the Bush Administration post-9/11 & considered myself a (R)epublican, but I was floored by this bill.  Something clicked in my political brain.  I believe this to be the seed that germinated into my support for the tea party movement 7 years later, and my gradual transition from (R) to (r).

If the 2002 Farm Bill was not enough, along came the 2008 Farm Bill, which prompted the Editors of National Review to state: "The bill is worse than the 2002 farm bill, which at the time was considered the most bloated and wasteful in history."

Now another farm bill is up for debate, and it is time for grassroots conservatives to speak up on the issue.  Fundamentally, we do not agree with government selecting winners & losers, and the subsidies included in the farm bill do just that.  Also, the farm bill includes monies for food stamps.  Do not be fooled by bipartisan support for legislation that spits in the eye of free market capitalism.

Heritage Action's CEO Michael Needham & COO Tim Chapman have put out a clarion call for grassroots conservatives to take on the Establishment mentality regarding bills such as the farm bill: 

While the farm bill's historical bipartisan appeal seems daunting, the ground is fertile for change.  If lawmakers are serious about saving the American dream, they must continue these fights.  It is not enough to repeal Obamacare and implement a fiscal plan in the vein of House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) proposal, though both are essential.

So far, the reponse from grassroots conservatives has been good.  Heritage Action reported over 6000 e-mails in opposition after less than a day from their Facebook Application.  I would encourage you to use that resource, or simply respond of your own accord.  Heritage Action has also Key Voted amendments to the farm bill.

The Senate already voted in favor of the Farm Bill, but we can still affect change.  It is certainly an issue that should be addressed to the current crop of US Senate candidates from Missouri.  Now the House will take up debate, so need to be vocal.

A recent article from 24thstate made a point about us being wary of endorsements from public unions.  Those endorsements are condiditonal to backroom deals made between the unions & politicians.  Well, the same can be said for the farm bill.  You can bet that anyone supporting this federal monstrosity is getting some sort of benefit.  

Do not mistake my opposition to this bill as an attack on farmers.  Agriculture is the largest export from the state of Missouri & fundamental to the character of our nation.  I simply believe, as a grassroots, conservative, (r)epublican, that we cannot continue to support such bills in good conscience.

GoVote.com - The Newest Resource For all Patriots

What Andrew Breitbart's "Bigs" have done for conservative message distribution, GoVote.com will do for communicating with politicians.

Have you ever put a sign in your yard for a politician only to be disappointed later that the same politician ignored your desires?  What if you could turn that around and stick your sign in his yard?

GoVote.com brings every candidate and office holder from the State House to the White House to one website where voters can instantly access relevant data such as every candidate in the race, how they rate with various pressure groups, and what embarrassing information they wish people would stop posting on their sites.  You heard that right.  At GoVote.com, anyone with a beef or a "like" can drop $20 bucks for a state lawmaker or $50 for a Congressman and stick their sign in the politicians "yard" for a week.

Imagine that.  You buy an ad on your Congressman's page and he gets an email informing him what you said to the world about him on his own page.   There is also a survey on his page.  If a politician is responsive, he can expect nice ratings.  If he is polling poorly, he may want to make adjustments or people will move beyong polling and commenting and start buying negative ads against him.  That, is power where it belongs.

GoVote.com.  Discover, Participate, Influence

Publicly Available Contribution Reports For Ann Wagner Campaign

The following two links are to documents containing public information crowdsourced from FEC.gov.

It is the campaign contribution reports from Ann Wagner's campaign for Missouri's Second Congressional District.  

The first is the total for donations from Enterprise Rent-A-Car employees, spouses, holding companies, financial companies and subsidiaries.  The second is a list of those donations solely in the third quarter.

The information has been unaltered from its form in the FEC reports. 

 

Download AnnEnterprise

Download Enterprise3Q

 

Make your own decisions about what they mean, but let's not pretend these don't exist, or that transparency in campaign finance is a bad thing, or that posting publicly available information is a dirty tricks campaign.   

This information was collected by St Louis Tea Party members.  The decision to collect, publish and share with the media was done independent of Ed Martin, Ann Wagner, or the official St Louis Tea Party Coalition.

It is fact.  It is undisputed. The totals get bigger when we do it again January 30th.  If one company wants to have this much influence on a primary election in a conservative district, it it our obligation to make sure voters know the full extent of that influence.  

Graphs of Enterprise Contributions to Missouri Politicians

The only editorial I want to add to these graphs relates to the notion that Ed Martin was backed by Enterprise in the 2010 3rd Congressional District race versus Russ Carnahan - the numbers speak for themselves.

The first graph shows 2010 contributions, up to $90,000.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The second graph compares the 2010 contributions with the 2012 contributions to Ann Wagner.

Russ Carnahan Manuevers Obama Administration For Post-Congress Career

We were really hard on Russ Carnahan in 2009 and 2010.  The weakest of the Carnahans, we assumed he was just another empty suit with no fire and no brains, running on an old name in a safe district.  And then he surprised us.  Carnahan has been running on all four cylinders since it became clear his district was toast.  After picking fights with Lacy Clay and the Congressional Black Caucus (going so far as to say F*** You to Lacy on the House Floor), Carnahan switched gears and is working feverishly for a job in January 2013. 

But what job?  The worst kept secret in Missouri politics is that Russ is running in the 1st District against Lacy.  Knowing him as well as we do, we are convinced, as are many city Democrats, that Russ is raising money pretending he will step into the 2nd district, all while planning to run against Lacy in the primary. 

Reasons Why Russ Is Not Running In The Second

Carnahan cannot win the 2nd.  It's gerrymander is a lot worse for Democrats than the +4 or +5 it's given.  Every conservative neighborhood on the West side of the district is snagged up, which means the County portions are weaker vote totals than he is used to.  Add to that the many new residents that have had Lacy Clay in the 1st as their congressman for years. Many didn't vote out of frustration.  They're chomping at the bit to be represented by someone without a D by their name. 

Carnahan doesn't want to face Ann Wagner or Ed Martin.  Wagner would have a money advantage over Carnahan and she's not an easy target.  Her biggest problem is name ID in a year shaping up to be another anti-incumbent wave.  Martin took Carnahan to the wire in his own district, winning Jefferson County and gong 50/50 in St Louis.  Without a 2:1 advantage in the minority districts of South St Louis, Carnahan would have lost badly.  Add Martin's pugnacious campaign style against Carnahan, and a Tea Party fired up by last year's close watch, and you have the makings of Carnahan not only beaten soundly, but humiliated a second time.  

He's not running in the 2nd.  

Reasons Russ Is Running In The First 

Carnahan is best friends with Lewis Reed, the President of the St Louis Board of Alderman.  They bought a boat together and profited from a shady real estate deal together. Reed is an anti-Slay advocate rumored to be running for Mayor.  Can you imagine the delight of having you and your best friend be the Congressman and the Mayor from St Louis.  Even if it's a long shot, Carnahan would be happier being the 1st District Congressman than the 2nd District (facing strong opposition every year). 

The primary is in August, and Carnahan could use his political network to get out the vote.  He could split portions of the black vote off with help from Reed, and also tap into black dissatisfaction with Clay.  Clay is a fixture, but not a monolith.  It could be done, especially if Carnahan had a big cash advantage to pay out "walking around" money from Corporate and Union PACs.

Which brings us to Carnahan's fundraising.  Carnahan has had several good fundraising quarters, with assistance from the DCCC and national figures, including Steny Hoyer and Nancy Pelosi.  Using left-wing reporters like Dave Catanese from Politico, Carnahan pretends he's running in the second to raise money from national sources and from Corporate PACs.  When the time comes, he files in the 1st and enjoys a huge cash advantage over Clay.  

It all works out.  Except, doing so will anger the Congressional Black Caucus and possibly cause a Civil War among Democrats in St Louis.  With Nixon already suffering from low approval ratings in St Louis (he couldn't stop four black Missouri House Democrats from overturning his veto), a second front opened against one of the top black leaders in Missouri will be seen as treachery. It could even affect the governor's race for re-election.  Would Carnahan chance it?

What Carnahan Has Wrought

Last year, a rumor was making the rounds that Carnahan was quietly preparing for his defeat at the hands of Ed Martin.  This blog was emailed the rumor, and confirmed it with a South City source, that Russ told a group of people that if he lost he would be taken care of by the Obama Administration.  

It was widely assumed he'd get some international job working with the United Nations, or assigned to something like the World Bank or an NGO with close ties to the UN. 

So what do we read yesterday in the Post-Dispatch?  Russ Carnahan Chosen To Attend UN Meeting.

This is a non-paying job, but it coincides with another interesting development.  Emanuel Cleaver, the head of the Congressional Black Caucus and a fellow Missouri House member, is telling the world that the CBC is unhappy with Obama.  Cleaver goes so far as to say if it were Clinton, they'd be marching on the White House. 

With the Congressional Black Caucus already on the verge of rebellion, the last thing Obama can handle is a white Democrat challenging a black incumbent Democrat in a majority/minority district.  The simple solution?  Give Carnahan what he wants - a way out.

If Russ agrees not to run in the First District, he gets his UN job, a much more secure and way more fun spot where he can continue to suck at the government teat without the hassle of elections.  It's doubtful he even runs, as that would require the Obama administration to pay up after he lost, and when they are on their way out.  All that points to either a quiet appointment or job offer before the filing deadline, in advance of a primary run at Lacy Clay.  

Right now, it's Russ who has the leverage.  We did not think he had it in him.

The Tails Side Of The Coin

GOP elected officials in Washington are ready to play accounting games:

Congressional Republicans this week are side-tracking $1.5 billion in high-speed rail funds already awarded to several states.

In an adroit maneuver, GOP lawmakers propose shifting the high-speed rail dollars to pay for Midwestern disaster relief. The move would help ease the federal deficit while it underscores Republican resistance toward the rail plans by the administration of President Barack Obama.

"The flooding in the Midwest has been devastating," said Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-N.J., adding that "we must be serious about controlling the deficit."

This is the flip side of using stimulus money for "shovel-ready" projects that involve nothing more than making sure that states can continue their benefits programs.  Instead of cutting the funding for the unpopular rail initiatives, they remain on the books and become vital sources for disaster recovery efforts and untouchable in the future.

No shenanigans.  If you want disaster recovery money, do your Congressional duty and raise the revenue for it.  Don't raise revenue for something and use it for something else.  That is not transparent, and it is not good government.

Russ Carnahan Moves Money To New Campaign Committee

Russ Carnahan in Congress just filed a termination report for this campaign committee (well, they filed two of them) and are moving either $67,000 or $102,000 from Russ Carnahan In Congress to Russ Carnahan For Congress.

Russ Carnahan For Congress is a new campaign committee.  Keep in mind that Carnahan's campaign claims it was the victim of check fraud.  We know their office was"firebombed" and a campaign worker was arrested but not charged back in August, but that story and the investigation went nowhere.  Maybe checks were stolen, and the evidence was removed?  There were television reports of bags of documents taken to a dumpster the next morning.  Those were never followed up either.  It probably wasn't important.  A Congressman's office being firebombed isn't that big of a deal, right? 

A second problem is the filings, a day apart, reporting $67,00 and $102,000 being moved over to the new committee (or the old one, depending on how you look at it).  Which was it? What happened to that $35,000 in one day?

 

 

What does it mean?  We don't know the full reasoning, but it means something.  There are a number of documents to follow up with, as it seems he amended just about every report you can find.  We'll look into more, as there a bunch of documents at fec.gov to go through.

One thing to remember.  A committee that is shut down doesn't allow new complaints to be filed against it. 

Update: This is interesting.  The five page articles of organization give a lot of information.  The new committee is run by Campaign Finances, which is a compliance organization.  There does appear to be something of interest.  The documents for the new organization were sent to the Secretary of the Senate, despite being listed as a House committee.

Strange. The two houses of congress don't share that information.  Why would a House committee filing  be sent to the Secretary of the Senate?  Is Russ planning a primary run against Claire McCaskill, or is this just another "clerical mistake?"  Campaign Finances also has Robin Carnahan as a client.  Maybe they just checked the wrong box.  I guess we'll know soon.

Update II:  Although there are a huge number of amended filings for pretty much every period, there is still no record of a payment to Michael Corwin.  While there are still the payments to Veritas Research, there has never been an explanation from the Carnahan campaign what exactly Jeannine Dillon was paid for.

 

Why Redistricting Matters?

The following was submitted by Jacob Turk. Turk has run for US Congress in Kansas City and is participating in the redistricting process:

Our country was conceived in Liberty to be constitutional republic* where we elect representatives to be an extension of our will and to ensure all voices have a fair hearing. Congressional redistricting is an issue that cuts to the very heart of our form of governance. Democracies are mob rule and are a bully. On any day on a whim the majority could vote one way and the next day on another whim the other. The minority has no voice and no protection from the majority. Our Founding Fathers were very wise in recognizing this danger and doing what they could to leave the power in the hands of the people while protecting those who might be in the minority on any given day or issue.

America as a Constitutional Republic only works if the people have a true voice in the election of our Representatives. Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton and others who birthed our Constitution saw political parties as potentially evil and detrimental to the Republic. George Washington in his Farewell Address summed up the problem, warning that parties were likely "to become potent engines by which . . . unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government."

The Patriot Act Failing To Be Extended Was A Good Thing

Tuesday night, an attempt to re-authorize and extend the Patriot Act failed to reach a 2/3's majority by the Republican House when several freshman Republicans joined  122 Democrats in voting against the bill.  The news in Washington is all about the failure of the Republicans to count votes correctly, with our own shameful Lacy Clay stating he was happy it failed.

Democratic Rep. Lacy Clay (Mo.) laughed as he told The Hill, "We're so happy, I'm so happy. I voted against it. They tried to get enough Rs to switch their votes, because the Tea Party voted 'no' also... but it wasn't enough."

Now, I'm sure Clay was having a good laugh that Republican leadership got egg on its face, but he has been a opponent of the Patriot Act for some time, even when Democrats were in charge. 

I personally support the Patriot Act because I think it protects us, though I certainly respect the folks in the Tea Party who see it as overreach. At the same I think it's a terrible bill that was poorly thought through and is crushing to our freedoms, and considering it has been now 9 years since we passed it, the Congress should have been making lots of changes to it.   The sunset option is the only way to make the Act palatable, but regular votes forcing Congress to discuss the wisdom of keeping it in place without major upgrades should be something we see every year or two.  We should be improving it with each vote, and we should be taking the vote over and over, to remind the representatives that curtailing freedoms in the name of security has to come with a heavy political price.  If you're going to say we need the Patriot Act to keep us safe, then you ought to be prepared to take your electoral medicine. 

That's why trying to pass it with 45 minutes of debate is shameful, and I'm grateful for reps like Freshman Bobby Schilling (Illinois upgrade over Phil Hare) who voted no because he felt the issue was rushed.  From the Daily Caller:

TheDC: Why did you vote against the Patriot Act last night?

Rep. Bobby Schilling (BS): When I was running during the campaign, I even stated you know we need to increase national security, but not without a thorough and complete look at the Patriot Act. One of the things I look at is how much intrusion is enough.

But the big problem I have, is that we had 45 minutes of debate on that thing and I wasn’t comfortable going with just the party-line vote. The people of the 17th district that I represent  – I get a lot of people that sent letters to me saying, “hey, do not vote for this, this an infringement of the Fourth Amendment.”

The bill was rushed to the floor with limited debate. I’m huge on national defense. I’ve got a large family. That is the number one thing we have to do here in Congress is to protect the citizens of the United States. I went with my gut. I didn’t have a lot of information on it and the problem I see with some parts of the Patriot Act is that the wrong person is able to access your information. That could be a problem.

It's brilliance.  A congressional representative, backed strongly by the Tea Party, says he voted no because he wasn't given enough information to make an informed decision.  A couple thousand more votes like this from conservatives and we start to think that the Tea Party has staying power.

When it came to healthcare "reform", for those of you who remember, many Tea Party citizens did read the different versions of the healthcare bill, and what was in there had no relation to what we were told by the news media or our political leaders.  That's true of every bill, and it's something that we need to get a hold of in the political process.  If you don't like the influence of lobbyists, corporations, unions, special interest, crony capitalist, and communist green jobbers in Washington, you've got to simplify the legislation and change the way our politicians vote on that legislation. 

Bobby Schilling did a simple thing, but a brave one.  If Blue Dog Democrats had done the same, they would have noted no on the healthcare bill for the simple reason that it was, and remains incomprehensible.  They could not understand what was in the bill, and yet they voted on it, which is why many of them are out of office. 

The Patriot Act defeat was a small thing, and it will be passed when it comes back up, from some reports, as early as today.  The price paid, which was a loss in the confidence of the Republican leadership to count votes, was a small one.  They tried to rush it through, without thought.  That's how we got into this mess in the first place. 

Do it right the first time. Keep it simple.  Understand what you're voting on.  And vote no if you feel rushed or marginalized.  That's leadership.