Today, at the Missouri Ethics Commission:

C091068 08/26/2014 HOUSE REPUBLICAN CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE, INC Friends Of Elijah Haahr PO Box 14506 Springfield MO 65814 8/24/2014 $25,000.00

C091068 08/26/2014 HOUSE REPUBLICAN CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE, INC Friends Of Robert Cornejo PO Box 346 Saint Peters MO 63376 8/24/2014 $14,500.00

C091068 08/26/2014 HOUSE REPUBLICAN CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE, INC Friends Of Caleb Jones PO Box 5 California MO 65018 8/24/2014 $6,650.00

C091068 08/26/2014 HOUSE REPUBLICAN CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE, INC The Doe Run Company 1801 Park 270 Drive Suite 300 Saint Louis MO 63146 8/24/2014 $10,000.00

C091068 08/26/2014 HOUSE REPUBLICAN CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE, INC Centene Management Company LLC 7700 Forsyth Blvd Saint Louis MO 63105 8/24/2014 $10,000.00

C091068 08/26/2014 HOUSE REPUBLICAN CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE, INC UGas Inc 895 Bolger Court Fenton MO 63026 8/24/2014 $6,000.00

[emphasis added]

They’ll have all the money they need and more. A lot more.

Previously:

Campaign Finance: they’ll always have all the money they’ll ever need (May 10, 2014)

Campaign Finance: What on earth for? (August 10, 2014)

Campaign Finance: the HRCC has a really, really, really good day (August 11, 2014)

…Because with continued emphasis on Agenda 21, Sharia law, and nullification and it can only get better…

The right wingnut republicans in the General Assembly consider that a feature, not a bug.

Previously:

Once again, some Meta (August 23, 2014)

Rep. Vicky Hartzler (r) – in Warrensburg – August 22, 2014 (August 23, 2014)

Rep. Vicky Hartzler (r) – in Warrensburg – August 22, 2014 – Q and A on farming (August 24, 2014)

Representative Vicky Hartzler (r) held a campaign event in Warrensburg Friday evening. Toward the end of the evening she addressed the seated crowd (about forty-five people) and then took a few questions. Toward the end of the question and answer period:

Question: Vicky, I looked at the last election and I’ve been schooled in what’s been [inaudible] and it’s just so obvious that the election was stolen from us last time. How do we combat that? How do we, how do we deal with voter fraud and still get Republicans in office?

Representative Vicky Hartzler (r): You think, uh, stolen as in presidential level, national level [crosstalk] or statewide?

Question: [inaudible] When, when there was a precinct that voted for, uh, a hundred and twenty-five percent of the precinct voted to, for Obama and zero for Romney in the last presidential election. Well, there’s something stinking about that.

Representative Hartzler (r): You know, I, I think, uh, we need to focus on making sure our statewide Secretary of State elections, when we focus on ’em, there is, there’s been some, um, Democrats over the past years that have focused on trying to get, uh, target and get their people in Secretary of States and that’s some position maybe sometimes doesn’t get as much attention as it should. But, they’re the chief election officer of each state. And it, uh, I, I’m not saying that the others aren’t doing it, but it, we need to make sure we put people in there that, you know, ensure a fair election. We feel confident in that. I, I think that’d be a good place to start. Is every time there’s somebody’s up for Secretary of State making sure that there’s somebody we trust and, uh, but, I, I don’t know what else, you know.

Second Question: There were a number of people over at the university they were trying to get students to sign, sign on for the petition so that they could increase the election from one day to two weeks or four weeks.

Representative Hartzler (r): Right.

Second Question: And like they were just having people, they just need enough signatures or live bodies that are eighteen years old. And so, people didn’t know.  I said, well, I’d have to think about it then I thought about it and I went back and asked them again. I said, well, I think that would cause quite a bit of voter fraud. And one of them said, oh there’s never been a case of voter fraud in Missouri. [laughter] I said, well, I said, then that’s my, my argument right there, why would you ever want to change it, make it two weeks. You know, people voting for two week, I mean, it would be very costly and it would be ridiculously hard to, you know, say who’s the person voting [inaudible], who voted…

[….]

[The conversation included the Johnson County Clerk who described the process of checking voter databases for “snow birds” who might register in two states – people who resided in warmer parts of the country for half of the year.]

Third Question: Vicky, what’s the level of support in the House for voter ID?

Representative Hartzler (r):  Well, I think there’s, [crosstalk] I think, I think there’s a lot of support.

[….]

“…it’s just so obvious that the election was stolen from us last time…”

Think about that for a minute. That’s from the republican base.

“…they just need enough signatures or live bodies that are eighteen years old…”

Think about that. To sign a petition you must be a registered voter. Since when is it an affront to Democracy for any voter to sign any petition? Just asking.

Did you catch the shift from discussing hypothetical voter fraud abetted by eighteen year olds signing petitions to checking on “snow birds” who reside in warm weather states six months of the year? Correct me if you think I’m wrong, but “snow birds” tend to be a much older demographic and are generally more well off than those who don’t travel to follow the warm weather. Who might they vote for? Just asking.

And then think about the implementation of voter ID to address the non-existent plague of voter impersonation fraud at the polls.

Finally, documentation of voter impersonation fraud in Missouri. Zero. (August 12, 2012)

News21, “a cornerstone of the Carnegie-Knight Initiative on the Future of Journalism Education” funded by The Carnegie Corporation of New York and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation recently released an investigative project on changes in election laws and voting rights:

Exhaustive Search Finds Little Voter Fraud

Despite the push for strict voter ID laws in a charged partisan and racial debate, the most exhaustive study ever of American election fraud reveals the rate is infinitesmal. Since 2000, a time when 146 million Americans were registered to vote, News21 found 10 cases of in-person voter fraud, which only photo ID laws would prevent. That would be about one case for every 15 million eligible voters.

[….]

Bad things happen when good people vote (June 17, 2014)

[….]

Missouri GOP: If Polls Are Open Too Long, Voters Will Commit Fraud

The state’s Republicans are advancing a measure to expand early voting, but Democrats say that’s not the whole story.

-By Dana Liebelson

Tue Jun. 17, 2014 6:00 AM EDT

….In early May, after hundreds of volunteers collected signatures in church basements and break rooms, citizens delivered a petition with more than 300,000 signatures to Missouri’s secretary of state, whose office has until August to verify the signatures and decide whether to place the measure on the November ballot. But Missouri Republicans won’t let that happen without a fight.

On April 1, a couple months after the petition drive had begun, Rep. Tony Dugger (R-Hartville) sponsored a competing measure. In May, the GOP-led House passed a version of the bill that expands early voting by six days-excluding the weekend-to a limited number of polling places, while also prohibiting same-day voter registration. If the citizens’ initiative is approved, both measures will appear on the ballot in November. “The testimony in the Legislature in favor of the sham early voting bill was actually testimony against early voting,” says Lara Granich, the director of Missouri Jobs With Justice. “That makes the real motivation behind it clear. They want it to be more difficult for folks to vote….”

[….]

It’s all about suppressing voter turnout as an article of republican faith.  

Previously:

Once again, some Meta (August 23, 2014)

Rep. Vicky Hartzler (r) – in Warrensburg – August 22, 2014 (August 23, 2014)

Campaign Finance: egg money (July 9, 2014)

Representative Vicky Hartzler (r) at a campaign event in Warrensburg – August 22, 2014.

Representative Vicky Hartzler (r) held a campaign event in Warrensburg yesterday evening. Toward the end of the evening she addressed the seated crowd (about forty-five people) and then took a few questions. Early on in the question and answer period:

[…]

Representative Vicky Hartzler (r): …You have any, any comments, insights, uh, questions or anything you might have. We’re not gonna spend a lot of time here, but, uh, we want to hear what you have to say.

Question; Why is that farm bill amendment [“right to farm”] a good thing? [inaudible] it’s not a good thing.

Representative Hartzler: Well, all it is, it’s very simple, it just, uh, says in the Constitution that farmers and [crosstalk] ranchers be able…

Question: From the state, right?

Representative Hartzler: …yeah, that they’ll be, be able to, to farm. And it was a lot of misinformation [crosstalk].

Question: They already have the Farm Act of nineteen seventy-five.  [crosstalk] So what, what has changed?

Representative Hartzler: Right. Well, there’s a group. [crosstalk]

Question: I didn’t understand any of that.

Representative Hartzler: I know,  I know. And there’s a lot of misinformation out there. People were confused and still are. Um, there is outside groups, uh, the, HSUS [Humane Society of the United States] is probably the main one, that has got a lot of money, and they’re going around and targeting different states to pay people to get, you know, signatures and put on their ballot different, uh, language that prohibits certain types of agriculture, basically prevents the farmers of those, at that state from farming in the way or ranching like they have in the past. And then they bankrolled these huge campaigns. And so there are places like in California, they did that so that all the chickens out there can’t be in a cage. Well, that’s resulted in making it very expensive for all the people who raise eggs and chickens out there. And so now it’s nine dollars a carton for eggs in California. And so, this just, by putting it in the [Missouri] Constitution this, uh, would make it harder for, uh, them to, to try change our laws to come into our state. And so that’s why, you know, being proactive, our legislatures, uh, you know, saw, saw the concerns from around the country and said, hey, let’s, we have a law, but, let’s, let’s beef it up a little bit. Let’s put it in the Constitution that it’s a right that farmers can farm. And, uh, it, it, that way if there’s a legal challenge in the future or they try to it just, give a little more standing to help protect the…

Question:  But where, where  those, um, talking about the factory farms coming into Missouri?

Representative Hartzler: Just misinformation, it is totally misinformation. There was, they were [crosstalk] saying China’s gonna…

Question:  Well, you know what? I, I’m not sure about that because up in South Dakota this happened. People were against it. They kept, they kept factory farms out and it was defeated. But in Missouri it wasn’t defeated. So I think the misinformation is on the wrong side. I really do. Because who wants a big dairy conglomerate farm next to your family farm? This is what’s going to happen. And none of us can fight their corporate lawyers.  [crosstalk]  And now…

Representative Hartzler: Well, you know, everybody has an opinion on that but the election’s over and, you know, so, uh, let’s go on to a different topic.

[….]

“…And so now it’s nine dollars a carton for eggs in California…”

From the USDA [pdf]

EGG MARKET NEWS REPORT

FRIDAY, AUGUST 22, 2014 VOL. 61 NO.67

U.S. Department of Agriculture  Agricultural Marketing Service Livestock, Poultry & Grain Market News

PRICES TO RETAILERS, SALES TO VOLUME BUYERS, USDA GRADE A AND GRADE A, WHITE EGGS IN CARTONS, CENTS PER DOZEN.

MIDWEST REGIONAL Daily producer prices are 4 cents higher for Large, 1 cent higher for Medium, and steady for Small. Midwest delivered prices are steady. Next week’s delivered asking prices are 6 cents higher for Extra Large and Large and 2 cents higher for Medium. Trade sentiment is steady to mostly higher. Demand is moderate to instances fairly good on light to mostly moderate offerings. Supplies are moderate. Market activity is moderate. Breaking stock prices are steady. The undertone is steady. Offerings are light to moderate on light demand. Supplies are moderate. Market activity is slow to moderate.

DELIVERED TO WAREHOUSE:

RANGE MOSTLY

EXTRA-LARGE 102-111 105-108

LARGE 101-110 103-106

MEDIUM 80-89 82-85

DELIVERED TO STORE DOOR:

RANGE MOSTLY

EXTRA LARGE 109-117 110-112

LARGE 107-115 108-110

MEDIUM 86-94 87-89

CALIFORNIA

Benchmark prices are steady. Asking prices for next week are unchanged on Jumbo, 8 cents higher for Extra Large, 7 cents higher for Large and 2 cents higher for Medium and Small. Trade sentiment is steady to higher. Demand is moderate to fairly good on moderate offerings. Supplies are mostly moderate. Market activity is moderate.

Small benchmark price $1.01.

CALIFORNIA:

Shell egg marketer’s benchmark price for negotiated egg sales of USDA Grade AA and Grade AA in cartons. Cents per dozen. This price does not reflect discounts or other contract terms.

RANGE

JUMBO 182

EXTRA LARGE156

LARGE 145

MEDIUM 121

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA:

PRICES TO RETAILERS, SALES TO VOLUME BUYERS, USDA GRADE AA AND GRADE AA, WHITE EGGS IN CARTONS, DELIVERED STORE DOOR, CENTS PER DOZEN.

RANGE

JUMBO 164-176

EXTRA LARGE 134-146

LARGE 122-134

MEDIUM 101-109

[emphasis added]

Nine dollars? Seriously? That’d be some serious retail markup. If the retail price is nine dollars it ain’t because the chickens are running around free.

“…And then they bankrolled these huge campaigns…”

Who did?:

Missouri Ethics Commission

MISSOURI FARMERS CARE [pdf] 7/30/2014

1. Total Receipts For This Election Previously Reported $331,981.48

2. All Monetary Contributions Received This Period $216,549.75

8. Total All Receipts This Election $548,884.23

14. Total Expenditures This Election $775,151.21

[emphasis added]

Uh, that was the supporters of the “right to farm” amendment, not the opponents.

Previously:

Campaign Finance: $110,000.00 for something they really care about (January 3, 2014)

Campaign Finance: Food fight! (May 28, 2014)

Campaign Finance: Because, across Missouri, family farms are being supplanted by… (June 24, 2014)

Campaign Finance: as if yard signs were actually a cash crop for actual farmers… (June 28, 2014)

Utilizing the First Amendment to challenge our oppressive corporate overlords… (July 2, 2014)

Joe Maxwell – “No” on Amendment No. 1 (July 8, 2014)

Campaign Finance: egg money (July 9, 2014)

Campaign Finance: opposing useless law (July 25, 2014)

Right to farm: read the small print and between the lines (July 25, 2014)

Pinch me, I must be dreaming – Cynthia Davis gets it right on Amendment 1 (July 30, 2014)

Campaign Finance: Big agriculture money keeps pouring in for Amendment 1 (July 31, 2014)

Baker Creek Seed Company – Vote “No” on Amendment 1 (August 3, 2014)

Senator Paul LeVota (D) on Amendment 1 (August 4, 2014)

After all that corporate money this is the best that they can do on Amendment 1? (August 6, 2014)

Previously: Once again, some Meta (August 23, 2014)

Representative Vicky Hartzler (r) at a campaign event in Warrensburg – August 22, 2014.

Representative Vicky Hartzler (r) held a campaign event in Warrensburg yesterday evening. Toward the end of the evening she addressed the seated crowd (about forty-five people) and then took a few questions.

[…]

Representative Vicky Hartzler (r):  …And one of the main things I’ve been trying to do is to actually remove some of the barriers to job creation. As I talk to the small businesses in our area I’m encouraged ’cause they say, we want to grow, we want to hire, we’re ready to expand, and several of them say they even have capital, uh, to do it. But the thing that’s keeping ’em from doing that is, uh, the policies coming out from Washington. They don’t, there’s so much uncertainty. Such as, they’ll tell me about the new health care law and how the premiums are just, yesterday one of them said they tripled, tripled for them. And that’s an extra, depending on the size of the business, fifteen, thirty thousand, forty-five thousand dollars a year the business has to pay for their health care. They said, we were planning on hiring two or three more people and now we can’t ’cause you know we only have so much and we have to pay this. So, the health care has been one thing they mentioned. High energy costs, and gasoline prices are still double from when President Obama, uh, took office. And that’s impacting our district a lot, especially in the areas like Hickory County, uh, Dallas County, Dade County where a lot of people have been commuting down to Springfield or other places and now, um, it’s just become cost prohibitive. So we have some counties that actually losing population were people are moving closer to work and you want to stay here and be able to live where they want in beautiful Fourth District and prosper. So, anyway, we’ve been trying to push back on some of those polices….

[….]

[on Immigration]  …Uh, we stayed an extra two days in the House to try to deal with the crisis on the border with all the immigrant children being dropped off there in the desert.  I mean, what a horrendous, horrible situation that is. And as a, as a mom as a former teacher [inaudible] it breaks your heart to see those, uh, children dropped off there, mainly by, uh,  the drug cartels. Rich parents pay them, uh, tremendous amounts, their life savings to, with the belief, uh, that when they get here they’re gonna get to be, stay and become citizens. And sadly I believe it’s the President that has been, uh, perpetrating that, uh, misunderstanding…

[….]

There’s a lot more and just so much.

“…Such as, they’ll tell me about the new health care law and how the premiums are just, yesterday one of them said they tripled, tripled for them…”

Jeffrey Young

Here’s What’s Going On With Obamacare Premium Increases

Posted: 08/21/2014 10:59 am EDT Updated: 08/21/2014 11:59 am EDT

Health insurance premiums are going to skyrocket under Obamacare next year, maybe even double! No, wait — they’re only increasing a little, and less than before Obamacare! No, wait — they’re … decreasing in some places?

The crucial question about the second year of enrollment on the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance exchanges is: How much will coverage cost? Actual prices won’t be available in most states until the exchanges open Nov. 15, or shortly before that, so consumers are left to sort through political spin and preliminary reports that don’t make things any clearer.

So what’s going on? First, most people will pay more for health insurance next year. That’s true whether you get coverage from a job, on your own through an exchange or directly from an insurer, or from Medicare. Health insurance prices tend to go up. It’s their nature, and it’s closely tied to how much the cost of medical care rises.

The good news is that available information indicates the doomsayers were wrong, and premiums under President Barack Obama’s health care law aren’t going through the roof….

The plural of anecdote is not data.

“…and gasoline prices are still double from when President Obama, uh, took office…”

Oil war: the ad battle between ‘Big Oil’ and DNC, Part 1

Posted by Josh Hicks at 01:39 PM ET, 03/30/2012

….The Post created a graphic a while back to show how perception about gas prices doesn’t quite match the reality. Despite the way prices look, they are roughly average after adjusting for inflation. A rate of $1.38 per gallon in 1981 sounds amazing until it’s converted to $3.35 in today’s dollars – better than the current price, but still much higher than when Obama took office.

Inflation-adjusted gas prices have indeed doubled during Obama’s time in the White House, but they were unusually low when he took office because of the massive economic downturn. Rates have gradually increased back to normal levels as the economy has improved. As we said in a previous column, it’s doubtful that anyone wants to return to those conditions for the sake of cheap gas….

Representative Hartzler (r) really likes to keep perpetuating that gas price talking point.

The current retail price of gasoline in west central Missouri.

“…in the areas like Hickory County, uh, Dallas County, Dade County where a lot of people have been commuting down to Springfield or other places and now, um, it’s just become cost prohibitive. So we have some counties that actually losing population were people are moving closer to work…”

From the United States Census Bureau (compiled from reports):

POPULATION OF COUNTIES — MISSOURI: 1810-1990

Dade 7,449 (1990) 7,383 (1980) 6,850 (1970) 7,577 (1960) 9,324 (1950) 11,248 (1940) 11,764 (1930) 14,173 (1920) 15,613 (1910) 18,125 (1900) 17,526 (1890) 12,557 (1880) 8,683 (1870) 7,072 (1860) 4,246 (1850)

[Dade] Population, 2013 estimate 7,578

Population definition and source info Population, 2010 (April 1) estimates base 7,883

Population, percent change, April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2013 -3.9%

Dallas 12,646 (1990) 12,096 (1980) 10,054 (1970) 9,314 (1960) 10,392 (1950) 11,523 (1940) 10,541 (1930) 12,033 (1920) 13,181 (1910) 13,903 (1900) 12,647 (1890) 9,263 (1880) 8,383 (1870) 5,892 (1860) 3,648 (1850)

[Dallas] Population, 2013 estimate 16,535

Population definition and source info Population, 2010 (April 1) estimates base 16,777

Population, percent change, April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2013 -1.4%

Hickory 7,335 (1990) 6,367 (1980) 4,481 (1970) 4,516 (1960) 5,387 (1950) 6,506 (1940) 6,430 (1930) 7,033 (1920) 8,741 (1910) 9,985 (1900) 9,453 (1890) 7,387 (1880) 6,452 (1870) 4,705 (1860) 2,329 (1850)

[Hickory] Population, 2013 estimate 9,305

Population definition and source info Population, 2010 (April 1) estimates base 9,627

Population, percent change, April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2013 -3.3%

Uh, economic reality always drives migration. When compared to past population migrations the past few years aren’t quite as significant. Again, the plural of anecdote is not data.

“…And sadly I believe it’s the President that has been, uh, perpetrating that, uh, misunderstanding…”

There was a President who signed a bill in 2008:

Immigrant Surge Rooted in Law to Curb Child Trafficking

By CARL HULSEJULY 7, 2014

WASHINGTON – It was one of the final pieces of legislation signed into law by President George W. Bush, a measure that passed without controversy….

….Originally pushed by a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers as well as by evangelical groups to combat sex trafficking, the bill gave substantial new protections to children entering the country alone who were not from Mexico or Canada by prohibiting them from being quickly sent back to their country of origin….

Unintended consequences: 2008 anti-trafficking law contributes to border crisis

By Tom Cohen, CNN

updated 8:16 AM EDT, Wed July 16, 2014

….A desire to crack down on the global child slave trade led to the law named for a 19th Century British abolitionist. President George W. Bush signed it the month before he left the White House.

It ensured that children who came to the United States got a full immigration hearing instead of being turned away or sent back. The goal of the hearing? To determine if the children had a valid claim for asylum.

Here’s the catch: The immigration courts are so backlogged that it can take years for a child’s hearing date to come around. As they wait, most stay with relatives or friends already in the country, attend school and generally go about their lives….

Gee, if immigration courts had sufficient funding…

Why Our Immigration Courts Can’t Handle the Child Migrant Crisis

You can thank Republicans for the lack of judges and the giant backlog of cases.

By Stephanie Mencimer | Mon Jul. 14, 2014 6:00 AM EDT

….Those courts have been overwhelmed by the influx of kids coming to the United States without parents or other relatives. But they were overwhelmed even before the children started showing up, in large part because of Republicans’ unwillingness to fund and staff them like other federal courts….

Interesting.

We hate meta. But sometimes in the course of blogging…

Representative Vicky Hartzler (r) held a campaign event in Warrensburg yesterday evening. I attended so you didn’t have to. Actually, it wasn’t very clear from the newspaper blurb under community announcements in the previous night’s paper and the advertisement (without a disclaimer) in last night’s paper that it was a campaign event. There were campaign signs stacked outside and inside the ABC Building, where the event was held, when I arrived. It was then very clear that it was a campaign event.

Representative Vicky Hartzler (r), at a campaign event in Warrensburg – August 22, 2014.

See, we do post photos that most public figures would consider to be aesthetically valid and a positive representation.

We always wear our blog photo IDs – that’s so people at the events we attend are under notice that we’re there and we’re covering what’s happening. It also means that everything is on the record. And that on the record thing? If you don’t want it on the record, don’t talk to us.

I keep a digital recorder running at all times (past experience is a good teacher).

Last night I walked in with my gear about fifteen or twenty minutes before the start time. I got some confused looks and halfhearted greetings. A few minutes after I walked in a campaign staffer politely asked me who I was. I told him (for the second time). He stated that it was a private event – I could stay, but if I disrupted it I would be asked to leave. Apparently because Show Me Progress is a lefty blog. I asked him if he read us. He replied that he didn’t read our coverage of Representative Hartzler, but he had read other things (see the logic in their world?). I told him that the announcements didn’t make it clear that it was a private event. Actually, the quarter page newspaper ad stated, “Please Join us for an Ice Cream Social with Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler!” and “There will be an opportunity to Meet and Visit with Congresswoman Hartzler to ask questions and get feedback in a fun and casual setting! We hope to see you there!” There was no disclaimer on the ad. The staffer did invite me to have some ice cream.

We have never disrupted any of the many of Representative Hartzler’s events we have attended nor acted in anything but a professional manner. We have posted video, photos, and meticulous transcripts of what has transpired at Representative Hartzler’s congressional events. That probably doesn’t endear us to Representative Hartzler (r) or her staff.

Just the same, Representative Hartzler and her staff have always been polite to us when we show up. Okay, there was that one time in Buffalo, Missouri and that was early on and just one person, right after the Sedalia town hall video went viral.

Last night Representative Hartzler (r) worked the room, greeting those in attendance. She did politely say hello to me, and then moved on to the next person.

There haven’t been open public town halls with Representative Hartzler (r) in this area of the district in numbers comparable to 2012. That’s a polite way of saying “none” or close to it. Yet, this event was essentially a town hall, it’s just that it was a “private” (campaign) event. If you were deemed to be disruptive by your demeanor you would be asked to leave. That’s not exactly conducive to an open and free (and public) exchange of opinions and ideas with your elected representatives.

I was not the only individual in the room who was given a warning:

Campaign staffer: Hey, how’s it going?

Constituent: Howdy. And you are who?

Campaign staffer: I’m [….], I’m from, with the campaign. Um, I just want to let you know, um, you’re welcome to, uh, have ice cream, you’re welcome to stay. Um, it is a private event, though, so if you’re, I know you’re not a fan of Vicky, which is fine, um, but if you’re disruptive we’ll ask you to leave. So, that’s it. I mean, you’re, you’re welcome to stay. Everybody’s welcome. Um, but just don’t, you know, be [inaudible] or something like that. That’s it, so. But, you’re…

Constituent: And your name’s what again?

Campaign staffer: [….], I’m with the campaign.

Constituent: How do you know me?

Campaign staffer: I don’t actually, but some other people know you and you’ve got a Recall Vicky sign and all that, so.

Constituent: Yeah, that’s right.

Campaign staffer: And you’re, you’re welcome to come.

Constituent: I tell you, would you like to have a seat and visit?

Campaign staffer: Sure.

[….]        

And they did have a conversation.

If I had been asked to leave I would have. It was a campaign event, not a congressional one. And I’d still have interesting audio.

I acted as I always do – in as unobtrusive manner as I can as I photographed the goings on from a distance, and I was able to stay for the entire event. Apparently I wasn’t disruptive.

I did get to meet the guy who put up the homemade “Recall Vicky” sign along Highway 13 in rural Johnson County.

Oh, I didn’t have any ice cream.

The past few days, at the Missouri Ethics Commission, from Ron Richard’s (r) campaign committee:

C061710 08/20/2014 COMMITTEE TO ELECT TOM FLANIGAN COMMITTEE TO ELECT RON RICHARD PO BOX 2523 Joplin MO 64803 8/20/2014 $5,975.00

C091287 08/20/2014 ELECT BILL WHITE Committee to Elect Ron RIchard PO Box 2523 Joplin MO 64804 8/20/2014 $5,975.00

C091243 08/20/2014 FRIENDS TO ELECT BILL LANT Committee to Elect Ron Richard P.O.Box 2523 Joplin MO 64803 8/20/2014 $5,975.00

C091060 08/20/2014 MISSOURI FOR CHARLIE DAVIS Committee to Elect Ron Richard Po Box 2523 Joplin MO 64803 8/20/2014 $5,975.00

C091096 08/21/2014 FRIENDS TO ELECT BILL REIBOLDT Committee to Elect Ron Richard PO Box 2523 Joplin MO 64803 8/21/2014 $5,975.00

[emphasis added]

That’s gotta make it more difficult to balance the check book.

Senator Claire McCaskill (D) today, via Twitter:

Claire McCaskill ‏@clairecmc

Inspiring and emotional. Listening and learning from our future. Thanks to 100 Black Men for hosting. pic.twitter.com/gbQvHUisuH 5:29 PM – 21 Aug 2014

A testy reply:

Dean B ‏@hdcowboy

@clairecmc Someone desperate for votes to save their career sticks out in this photo. Did you visit with @stlcountypd as well? #Ferguson 6:25 PM – 21 Aug 2014

And a response:

Claire McCaskill ‏@clairecmc

Just left there”@hdcowboy Someone desperate for votes to save their career sticks out in photo.Did you visit with @stlcountypd as well?” 6:54 PM – 21 Aug 2014

Which just goes to show that sometimes you should never ask a question you don’t already know the answer to.

Others weighed in:

Bill ‏@tomservo10

@clairecmc oh snap. @hdcowboy @stlcountypd 6:56 PM – 21 Aug 2014

CoolGreenPines ‏@CoolGreenPines

@clairecmc Awww did she rattle your prejudices? @hdcowboy Suck on that twerp. 7:05 PM – 21 Aug 2014

James Overholt ‏@JamesOverholt

@clairecmc @hdcowboy @stlcountypd sidenote. Claire isn’t up again for four years 7:10 PM – 21 Aug 2014

Okay, that last one was just piling on…

Missouri at the end of the Summer in an election year – there are going to be local political gatherings. Johnson County Democrats held a candidate meet and greet for their candidate for County Sheriff, Arnold Wilson, this evening in Warrensburg.

Gary Grigsby, the Democratic Party candidate in the 51st Legislative District, acted as master of ceremonies.

It’s Summer, there’s a Democratic Party gathering outside, there’s food.

The decor tells you where you are.

Arnold Wilson, the Democratic Party candidate for Johnson County Sheriff.

The recharging continues. Today, at the Missouri Ethics Commission, for the candidates in the St. Louis County Executive race:

C071362 08/21/2014 CITIZENS FOR STEVE STENGER E.J.A. Trucking, Inc. 6040 Baumgartner Ind. Dr. St Louis MO 63129 8/21/2014 $7,000.00

[emphasis added]

C061248 08/21/2014 FRIENDS OF RICK STREAM August Busch III 1 Mid Rivers Mall Drive Suite 210 Saint Peters MO 63376 Retired 8/21/2014 $7,500.00

[emphasis added]

Because they’ll have a lot of money to spend.

Previously:

Campaign Finance: the recharging continues (August 20, 2014)