The reactionary/tea party wlng of the Republican Party is not stupid.  They understand that if Obamacare is implemented their philosophy of government will be shown to be a sham and they will be looking at decades in the wilderness and  being the disloyal opposition.

Freedom Works, a tea party astro-turf organization, is demanding that Republicans refuse to sign-on to a Continuing Resolution unless it defunds Obamacare. Freedom Works says:

The Continuing Resolution (CR) that allows funding for the federal government expires on September 30th and must be renewed in order for the doors to stay open in Washington. The CR is the best chance we will get to withdraw funds from ObamaCare. This can be done by attaching bills by Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) or Congressman Tom Graves (R-GA) to the CR, which will totally defund ObamaCare.

I’m sure you want to know who in the Missouri delegation supports shutting down the government unless Obamacare is “totally defunded.”

They provide a score card:

Blunt is a co-sponsor.

In the House,

Graves is a signer.

Hartzler is a co-sponsor.

Luetkemeyer is a co-sponsor.

Smith is a co-sponsor.

Let’s remember what this means.  Those four Republicans are publically committed to shutting down the federal government if Obamacare is not completely defunded. Let’s go back to the “freedom” of health insurance companies denying insurance to pre-existing conditions.  Let’s go back to being a female as a pre-existing condition.  Let’s go back to having insurance companies spending less than 80% of their revenue on covering health care.

This is more embarrassing than some clown at the State Fair.

 

Via Twitter:

Me ‏@Taunia_Adams

“You can either be for public education or for House Bill 253, but you can’t be both.” #HB253Deserters get it and we thank them. #HB253 3:18 PM – 16 Aug 13

Speaker Timothy Jones (r) is not having a good day.

Speaker Timothy Jones (r), working the crowd yesterday at the Missouri State Fair.

Also today, via Twitter:

Tony Messenger ‏@tonymess

Every time @SpeakerTimJones types “FACT”, what he means is, “I don’t have the votes.” #moleg #hb253 2:29 PM – 16 Aug 13

And:

Yael T. Abouhalkah ‏@YaelTAbouhalkah 1h

@tonymess @SpeakerTimJones And I’m still waiting for links to those facts. 2:38 PM – 16 Aug 13

The St. Louis Post Dispatch and the Kansas City Star don’t appear to be particularly convinced.

Previously:

Campaign Finance: how astroturf (the fake grassroots) works (August 1, 2013)

Campaign Finance: En passant (July 31, 2013)

New Missouri Rule: if the governor governs right of center you can’t call him a “liberal” (July 1, 2013)

Governor Nixon saves Missouri from GOP anti-tax true believers’ leap of faith (June 6, 2013)

Yesterday, at the Missouri Ethics Commission:

C071378 08/15/2013 CITIZENS FOR GUERNSEY Casey Guernsey 2602 E Main Street Bethany MO 64424 State of Missouri MO State Representative 8/13/2013 $100,000.00

[emphasis added]

Ah, Representative Casey Guernsey (r) is running for the state senate:

C071378: Citizens For Guernsey

Po Box 401 Committee Type: Candidate

Bethany Mo 64424 Party Affiliation: Republican

[….] Established Date: 12/17/2007

[….]

Election History

Election Year Primary Outcome General Outcome Political Office

2014 State Senator District 12

[….]

We could expect more legislation like this?:

HB 46: they need to prevent the government from spying on us through our toasters, also, too (December 5, 2012)

HB 46: twiddling while Rome burns (April 6, 2013)

The Governor’s Ham Breakfast at the State Fair is the one annual event that is usually the largest gathering of politicians in Missouri, outside of when the General Assembly is in session. The attendance this year appeared down when compared to last year.

There was no forest of campaign signs (okay, I saw a couple of lonely Tom Schweich (r) yard signs) and no gauntlet of campaign t-shirted volunteers offering to plaster attendees with candidate campaign stickers.

Senator Claire McCaskill (D) and Attorney General Chris Koster (D) did not attend.

We spent some time talking with media people who don’t despise bloggers. Yes, there are a few. And we had the opportunity to talk with some state representatives and a state senator. We asked about the coming override vote on Governor Jay Nixon’s veto of HB 253. We got some interesting responses. It appears that the Democrats believe that if the override vote were held today the Governor’s veto would be sustained. The republicans are telling others in the media that “it’ll be close” but they believe they will have the upper hand.

The buzz is that some wavering republican representatives are receiving pressure from constituents to sustain the Governor’s veto and pressure from republican leadership, facing loss of committee chairmanships, if they do.

School districts and their constituencies have been doing a good job about communicating their displeasure with HB 253. Higher education not so much.

Nope, this wasn’t on the menu, but it was the grand champion cabbage at the Missouri State Fair.

Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander (D).

Senator Roy Blunt (r).

Speaker of the Missouri House, Timothy Jones (r).

State Auditor Tom Schweich (r).

In the parking lot, on a candidate’s vehicle:

Yeah, right, give the base a reason to sit on their hands in the general election.

The Governor’s Ham Breakfast is a convenient opportunity for getting file photographs of Missouri politicians. We take a lot of photographs. Some don’t turn out:

Facial expressions captured via still photography like this happen to everyone. That’s one reason why we take a lot of photographs.

Some do:

Representative Vicky Hartzler (r).

That’s better.

There was a sign posted at the entry this year stating that photography or video recording were forbidden, unless you had a media credential. Maybe someone thought the trackers were getting to be a bit much.

Former Representative Russ Carnahan (D).

Representative Billy Long (r).

State Senator Ron Richard (r).

State Representative Dean Dohrman (r), 51st District.

We spoke with several representatives about the upcoming override of Governor Jay Nixon’s veto of HB 253. We didn’t get to ask Representative Dean Dohrman (r). He voted for the bill in the regular session, thereby screwing school districts and the higher education institutions in or near his district.

Governor Jay Nixon (D) at the breakfast.

At the point during the breakfast that the auction of the champion hams and bacon started under the tent we exited to check out the fair. In the Home Economics Building they were checking in pies for judging.

If I had only had a fork with me…

And they were judging rabbits in the poultry/rabbit shed:

Making a run for it on the judging table…

State Treasurer Clint Zweifel (D) made the rounds on the fairgrounds after the breakfast, here greeting people in one of the agriculture buildings.

There are vendor booths all over the fairgrounds:

Is anyone surprised?

Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder (r) at the republican party tent on the fairgrounds after the breakfast.

And we check one off the list:

Yes, we got a photo of the butter sculpture, sort of.

At the Missouri State Fair last night (August 11, 2013)

Of state fair rodeo announcers and clowns: res ipsa loquitur (August 12, 2013)

You know you’ve struck a nerve… (August 12, 2013)

We don’t get a lot of mail (August 13, 2013)

Seriously? (August 14, 2013)

In the parking lot at the Missouri State Fair (August 15, 2013)

This morning, in Sedalia, in a fair parking lot:

There are Auburn University sports fans in Missouri? Who would have thought?

Previously:

At the Missouri State Fair last night (August 11, 2013)

Of state fair rodeo announcers and clowns: res ipsa loquitur (August 12, 2013)

You know you’ve struck a nerve… (August 12, 2013)

We don’t get a lot of mail (August 13, 2013)

Seriously? (August 14, 2013)

At the White House petition site:

We petition the Obama Administration to:

support Tuffy Gessling

The events recently at the Missouri rodeo and the clown wearing a mask depicting your image, has created quite a stir. As you have stated, we need to have a discussion on this topic of racism and racial discrimination. However, I feel this is not what you had in mind. As this action by this rodeo clown does not distinguish you from past presidents, I do not relate this in any way to be racially charged. You are simply the sitting president at this time therefore it is your turn; it comes with the job.

Clowns put their bodies and lives between the bull and the cowboy regardless of the color of the bull or the cowboy.

I petition you to defend the ability of clowns to protect the cowboys and entertain the crowd and to give your personal support to this particular clown, Tuffy Gessling.

Created: Aug 14, 2013

Issues: Civil Rights and Liberties

Signatures needed by September 13, 2013 to reach goal of 100,000 99,544

Total signatures on this petition 456

You think they’re holding out for a beer summit?

Previously:

At the Missouri State Fair last night (August 11, 2013)

Of state fair rodeo announcers and clowns: res ipsa loquitur (August 12, 2013)

You know you’ve struck a nerve… (August 12, 2013)

We don’t get a lot of mail (August 13, 2013)

“…And keep in mind that when I left Washington, uh, almost two weeks ago Congress had sent thirteen bills to the President’s desk. The smallest number in the history of the republic. And most of those were naming post offices. [laughter, applause] That’s hardly postal reform. [laughter]…”

Representative Emanuel Cleaver (D) addressing the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association

convention in St. Louis, Missouri on August 13, 2013.

Yesterday we attended the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association (NRLCA) 109th Annual Convention in St. Louis. Speakers for the general session included Jacqueline Krage Strako, Vice President, Area Operations, Great Lakes Area for the United States Postal Service (USPS) and Representative Emanuel Cleaver (D). Ms. Krage Strako gave an enlightening presentation on the present and future of the USPS.

The NRLCA is understandably interested in the future of the USPS. They are understandably concerned with the future of six day delivery [pdf]:

….Saturday mail delivery is an important communication and marketing tool used by millions of citizens and mailers across the country, especially in rural areas. The NRLCA believes the USPS did not adequately consider the effect of eliminating Saturday mail delivery in rural and remote areas. The elimination of Saturday mail delivery would place financial hardships on the tens of millions of rural Americans who own small businesses. In addition, a large number of elderly and disadvantaged constituents live in rural America. Their livelihoods and quality of life depend on receiving mail six days a week.

…and the challenges of the congressional requirement to pre-fund retiree health benefits [pdf]:

….The PAEA forces the USPS to pre-fund their future retiree health benefits, a 75 year obligation, in only ten years. This unique requirement has resulted in roughly 80 percent of the USPS financial losses over the last six years. Currently, the USPS is the only government agency or private company mandated by law to pre-fund their future retirees’ health benefits….

Representative Emanuel Cleaver’s (D) address, Part 1:

Part 2:

“…Why should we weaken the best system in the world? [applause, cheers] And so, in addition to the glaring sun of Summer, the wicked winds of winter, and the constant threat from Fido’s fangs [laughter] postal workers must now contend with a confused and combative Congress….”

“…We can change things. And what, one of the things we need to do is make sure that the public understands what’s going on. We need to talk to people. Convince people. What people do is they get up in the morning, they turn on the radio or the television and listen to, uh, whatever ideology they already believe in. And then this, when you hear people saying these Federal workers, uh, their, their insurance is putting you in trouble, their pensions are driving the country, uh, uh, into a hole. And there are a lot of people who get up, uh, every morning and they believe that stuff.

I sat in a room with a member of Congress who stood up in front of a, a group of rural, uh, of residents from Missouri and said, you know, uh, I’m against, uh, the food stamp program because they’re giving food stamps to, uh, prisoners, people who are in prison. Look, I’m a dumb Methodist preacher [laughter] and even I [laughter] can come to conclude that if you give food stamps to somebody in prison do you, do you  then drive them to Safeway? [laughter, applause] Hmmm. [laughter] Uh, and yet, and when you go home, just talk to somebody, some of the people. They’ll, yeah, their, their giving them to prisoners. I mean, it makes no sense, but they spread that kind of thing. I mean, it, it makes no sense. And the same thing holds true with, with what’s going on with rural, uh, letter carriers. Most of the things that people believe they, they don’t even add up. And the only way we’re going to get the message out is, is, the corrective message out, is us…”

It would be an understatement to say that representative Cleaver’s address was a hit with the membership of the NRLCA.

After Representative Cleaver spoke and as he stepped off the platform he was greeted and thanked by NRLCA members at every step as he made his way out of the hall.

Representative Emanuel Cleaver (D).

It was the same in the hallway.

Given the traffic spike over the Missouri State Fair rodeo story we’re experiencing a relative deluge of mail. As of this morning, by rough count, it’s somewhere around four messages, not counting media requests. Heh.

These messages get sent to us in aggregate when a certain number have piled up or when a long period of time has passed, whichever comes first.

Our most erudite critic, so far:

At some point, you liberals have to realize that conservatives in America really don’t like Obama, and we don’t have to like Obama. It’s a rodeo clown. Get over it.

“At some point, you liberals have to realize that conservatives in America really don’t like Obama…”

We knew that already. Uh, do you speak for all conservatives? Just asking.

“…we don’t have to like Obama…”

We knew that. We’ve mentioned this a lot. You can check our archives.

“…It’s a rodeo clown…”

We knew that. We even ran a photo.

“…Get over it…”

President Obama won reelection in 2012 without ACORN. Get over it.

Previously:

At the Missouri State Fair last night (August 11, 2013)

Of state fair rodeo announcers and clowns: res ipsa loquitur (August 12, 2013)

You know you’ve struck a nerve… (August 12, 2013)