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Author Archives: Michael Bersin

Campaign Finance: …but it dies, inexorably, large check by large check

26 Saturday Sep 2026

Posted by Michael Bersin in campaign finance, Missouri General Assembly, Missouri House

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101st Legislative District, Ben Keathley, campaign finance, missouri, Missouri Ethics Commission, PAC, Rex Sinquefield

Today at the Missouri Ethics Commission:

C232449 09/26/2026 Freedom Is Bold PAC Rex Sinquefield 244 Bent Walnut Lane Westphalia MO 65085 investor 9/26/2026 $15,000.00

[emphasis added]

Sadly, large check by large check.

Rick Brattin (r) slept through his civics class

25 Friday Sep 2026

Posted by Michael Bersin in Congress

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5th Congressional District, Bob Onder, Congress, Denny Hoskins, Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, General Assembly, gerrymandering, HB 1, Mike Kehoe, missouri, Redistricting, Rick Brattin, right wingnuts, SCOTUS, slapdown, U.S. Supreme Court, whining

“…The Eighth Circuit’s application of Purcell was incorrect…” – People Not Politicians v. Onder, U.S. Supreme Court, September 25, 2026

Rick Brattin (r) [2013 file photo].

This evening:

Rick Brattin for Congress
[September 25, 2026]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE SEPTEMBER 25, 2026
Statement from Rick Brattin on U.S. Supreme Court Ruling

(JEFFERSON CITY, MO) – State Senator Rick Brattin has released the following statement about today’s ruling:

“I am grateful to the Eighth Circuit for squarely addressing the merits of this case and stating plainly what common sense and the Constitution require: voters should not choose their nominees under one congressional map and then be forced into entirely different districts for the general election.

Today’s Supreme Court decision is a travesty for Missouri voters and for the integrity of our elections. Missouri will now conduct a congressional primary under one map and a general election under another. Voters who lawfully participated in the August primary will be moved into districts where they had no voice in choosing the nominees who will appear on their ballot in November. This is the most unprecedented form of voter disenfranchisement in American history, and Missouri voters deserve far better.

The responsibility for this chaos rests first and foremost with the Missouri Supreme Court. With the stroke of a pen, it overturned a congressional map passed by the people’s elected legislature and signed by the Governor after that map had already been used to conduct the primary election. The Eighth Circuit recognized the serious constitutional problem that decision created. Missouri voters are now being forced to live with the consequences.

This is part of a dangerous pattern of courts asserting power that belongs to the people and their elected representatives. Judges are not kings, and courts are not legislatures. Our system of government depends upon each branch respecting the constitutional authority of the others. The Missouri Supreme Court abandoned that principle in this case, usurped the authority of Missouri’s duly elected legislative and executive branches, and left Missouri voters paying the price.”

Some of the responses:

Bye Felicia, I mean Rick.

You left this part out where SCOTUS made clear this was Hoskin’s fault.

Our prayers have been answered. It must be God’s will.

We see what you did there.

The MO Constitution allows citizens to challenge through referendum any bills passed by the legislature. Hoskins tried to weasel around this constitutional provision by ignoring the MO Supreme Court. If you are unhappy about what has happened, blame falls on Hoskins.

The supreme court effed us.

Please explain how a U.S. Supreme Court with a 6-3 right wingnut majority which includes three Trump appointees is so totally biased against your interpretation of the Constitution.

Responsibility for this chaos solely rests on Denny “the clown” Hoskins and crew. Glad the Supreme Court did the correct thing.

Rick Brattin for Congress maybe follow the Constitution for once and stop forcing things on the people.
You think this is bad wait till we all organize and get to the breaking point.

I’ll summarize this for everyone: I’m butthurt because we politicians can’t pick our voters instead of them picking us.

That’s it.

Just update your resume playa. It’s fine

If this is really how you interpret this whole process, you shouldn’t be anywhere near the halls of Congress.

You can’t even cheat your way to DC.

Where is your statement responding to the GOP asking for a redo on a candidate cause they want to ditch you?

Solely on Denny Hoskins!

This right wingnut overreach fail has many cooks.

Senator Brattin’s statement gets the facts backwards. The chaos Missouri voters are now facing traces directly to the actions of Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, not the Missouri Supreme Court.
When opponents of the 2025 GOP-drawn map gathered enough signatures to force a referendum, Hoskins waited until the legal deadline to act, then rejected the referendum outright, arguing that redistricting plans aren’t subject to the referendum process at all, a position Missouri courts ultimately did not accept. The Missouri Supreme Court had already ruled in May that qualifying the referendum would suspend the 2025 map, yet the court found Hoskins proceeded with the GOP map in the August primaries anyway, even though it hadn’t been approved by voters.
That’s not a court “overturning” a legislative map with “the stroke of a pen.” It’s a Secretary of State ignoring the plain terms of Article III, Section 52 of the Missouri Constitution, which reserves to the people the power to approve or reject laws passed by the General Assembly through referendum. Hoskins’ office made the call that this constitutional referendum right didn’t apply to redistricting, and the courts said otherwise.
The consequences of that decision escalated further: the Missouri Supreme Court held Hoskins in contempt for failing to comply with its ruling that the 2025 map had to be put on hold while the referendum took place, and he was found in contempt a second time in September for directing local election authorities to use the new map after a court order barred it. Two separate contempt findings against a sitting Secretary of State for defying the state’s highest court is not “judicial overreach.” It’s a public official refusing to follow the law as written in Missouri’s own Constitution.
If Missouri voters are now facing a primary under one map and a general election under another, that is the direct result of Hoskins’s office gambling that it could run out the clock on a valid referendum rather than following the Missouri Constitution’s requirements. The responsibility for this “unprecedented” situation belongs with the Secretary of State who created it, not the court that repeatedly told him to follow the law.

So Rick doesn’t want to have to follow the law. What a pathetic loser.

The people should sue the mo supreme court

Slept through the same civics class with Rick.

A Travesty? Sorry pretty boy. This was a mostly conservative court who voted unanimously. The Travesty is Missouris SS @ AG Trying to go against the will of the people. Come November it will won’t happen again.

Cry more. You guys brought this on yourselves.

Time to update that Indeed.com Resume Rick. You’re gonna have to get a real job like the rest of us 🤷‍♂️

Hey cry baby, play by the rules. The Missouri Supreme Court said you couldn’t use the map until it was voted on by the people of Missouri, but you did it anyway. Now suffer the consequences for your action.

No Rick this only a travesty for all you maga cult followers. You know can’t win now.

Here’s one for you Rick, the legislature listens to the people of Missouri. Period. If you can’t read the constitution you have no business serving in the legislature. You and your party started this mess and lost by your own doing. Thank God for the Missouri Supreme Court and the US Supreme Court. These little side courts need to go back to school.

The redistributed map should have never been done in the first place.

It’s over Rick. You lose.

Wrong. It’s Denny Hoskins fault.
I used to respect you and Hoskins but both of you are an embarassment to our state. Maybe look at this at what can be learned rather than try to shift blame.

Hoskins, Hannaway, and Kehoe purposely created this chaos and ignored the constitution. They tried to disenfranchise voters, wasted tax dollars, and forced an illegal map for political gain at the request of the POTUS. Every single elected official who participated in this stunt needs to be removed from office.

Glad your illegal gerrymandering was defeated.

“travesty” of your own making. 🙄 spare me

And you aren’t the dictator! Now get out and pick up the campaign signs in areas where they do not belong and take a seat in the back of the bus. You and your cronies are no longer driving.

You’ve got this wrong. Responsibility for this debacle rests squarely on governor Kehoe.

Rick, you are as sick as the rest that caused this mess.

What is wrong with you?

Moron, none of this would have been necessary if you and your moron buddies in Jeff City had just done your jobs in the first place. Moron.

Maybe we should have gotten to vote on your map you are so proud of..instead of you and your buddies deciding what we needed

LMAO.
Such a sad story, Trumper. Maybe you should have tried “conservative.” Good luck. Wish I could vote in your district!

cheaters always cheat ricky

The responsibility for this chaos rests first and foremost with SoS Hoskins who ignored the Missouri Constitution and tried unsuccessfully to impost his partisan views into the voting process. His job was NEVER to interpret the Missouri Constitution but to perform his job of certifying the signatures presented to him.
I do so hope you lose because you clearly do not understand the law.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Rick Brattin is a loser.
[….]

Trying to rig an election is wrong, and un-American!

Previously:

HB 1: Gerrymander this (September 9, 2025)

Can play with AI, can’t be bothered to certify petition signatures (June 7, 2026)

Denny Hoskins (r) is a pre-eminent legal scholar and final arbiter of the Missouri Constitution, said no one ever… (August 4, 2026)

Missouri Supreme Court: “HB 1 congressional redistricting, yeah, no.” (September 3, 2026)

Missouri Supreme Court: “HB 1 congressional redistricting, yeah, no.” (September 3, 2026)

Favorite whine (September 3, 2026)

Gov. Mike Kehoe (r) thinks we’re all ignorant and stupid (September 3, 2026)

What the Missouri Supreme Court said (September 3, 2026)

Missouri Supreme Court slaps down Denny Hoskins (r)….again (September 4, 2026)

Tears in the rain (September 4, 2026)

Denny Hoskins (r): “…unclean hands…” (September 7, 2026)

Justice Brett Kavanaugh – SCOTUS: “Yeah, no.” (September 8, 2026)

Missouri Supreme Court order to Denny Hoskins (r): “…show cause…” (September 9, 2026)

Missed it by that much (September 9, 2026)

Salus populi suprema lex esto (September 10, 2026)

Stupid is as stupid does (September 10, 2026)

Denny Hoskins (r) and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (September 10, 2026)

So sad (September 10, 2026)

Judicial contempt has a way of making one focus (September 11, 2026)

Denny Hoskins (r) and friends whiff at the U.S. Supreme Court (September 25, 2026)

A paragraph for Missouri history (September 25, 2026)

A paragraph for Missouri history

25 Friday Sep 2026

Posted by Michael Bersin in Congress, Missouri General Assembly, Missouri Governor

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Tags

Bob Onder, Congress, Denny Hoskins, Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, General Assembly, gerrymandering, HB 1, Mike Kehoe, Redistricting, right wingnuts, SCOTUS, slapdown, U.S. Supreme Court

Cutting it a little close, and well past the time it should have been settled, we will use the 2022 Congressional District map in Missouri for the 2026 general election.

“…The Eighth Circuit’s application of Purcell was incorrect. Even though “federal courts should not impose changes close to an election, States are free to decide for themselves whether last-minute changes to an election are in their best imposed by federal law. [….] Moreover, in this case, the Missouri Supreme Court was not responsible for the late-breaking changes. On the contrary, in an opinion back in May 2026, well before the primary election, the Missouri Supreme Court stated that the 2025 map would not take effect until approved by the voters in an intervening referendum, at least if the referendum petition was legally sufficient. [….] So in the several-month period before the August primary election, the Missouri Secretary of State was well aware that conducting the August primary election with the 2025 map carried significant risks. The Secretary nonetheless chose to proceed with the 2025 map for the primary…” – People Not Politicians v. Onder, U.S. Supreme Court, September 25, 2026

Denny Hoskins (r) [2023 file photo]

We likes this so much, let’s highlight the detail again.

“…So in the several-month period before the August primary election, the Missouri Secretary of State was well aware that conducting the August primary election with the 2025 map carried significant risks. The Secretary nonetheless chose to proceed with the 2025 map for the primary…”

Denny Hoskins (r) [2022 file photo].

Somebody did swing a bat today. It wasn’t Denny Hoskins (r).

It gets better.

…In short, as a matter of state law, the 2022 map—not the 2025 map—must be used in the 2026 congressional election…

…In the wake of that recent Missouri Supreme Court decision, a group of voters and candidates (collectively, plaintiffs) sued in federal court. They contended that the U. S. Constitution requires Missouri to use the 2025 map in the 2026 election—even though the 2025 map cannot take effect under Missouri law unless and until it is approved by Missouri voters in the 2026 election.

In two orders in the last few weeks, this Court has denied such relief. In the first, the Missouri Secretary of State asked this Court to stay the September 3 decision of the Missouri Supreme Court that had prohibited use of the 2025 map in the general election. On September 8, JUSTICE KAVANAUGH, in his capacity as Circuit Justice for the Eighth Circuit, denied that request, thereby leaving the 2022 map in effect for the 2026 general election…

Denny Hoskins (r) is famous notorious!

…The Purcell principle applies with even greater force here. The election is not merely upcoming; it has already started. Ballots using the 2022 map have been printed and mailed. Absentee voting has already begun, as has military and overseas voting. According to local election officials in Missouri: “At this point, it is practically impossible to revert to the” 2025 “map.” Brief for Missouri Association of County Clerks and Election Authorities as Amicus Curiae in No. 26–2797 (CA8), p. 12.

At this late date, ordering reversion to the 2025 map in the midst of an ongoing election would usher in electoral chaos. Purcell protects against such disorder. The Eighth Circuit panel dealt with Purcell by casting blame on the Missouri Supreme Court for its September 3 decision reasoned, destabilized the election with its “last-minute decisio[n]” that could “potentially . . . decide the outcome of . . . party control of Congress.” ___ F. 4th, at ___, App. to
Emergency Motion 29a.

The Eighth Circuit’s application of Purcell was incorrect. Even though “federal courts should not impose changes close to an election, States are free to decide for themselves whether last-minute changes to an election are in their best interests”—subject, of course, to certain limited constraints imposed by federal law. Allen, 608 U. S., at 514 (citation omitted). Moreover, in this case, the Missouri Supreme Court was not responsible for the late-breaking changes. On the contrary, in an opinion back in May 2026, well before the primary election, the Missouri Supreme Court stated that the 2025 map would not take effect until approved by the voters in an intervening referendum, at least if the referendum petition was legally sufficient. Maggard v. State, 733 S. W. 3d 411, 419–420 (Mo. 2026); see also Healey v. State, 732 S. W. 3d 827, 836, n. 1 (Mo. 2026); NAACP Mo. State Conference v. Kehoe, 734 S. W. 3d 338, 341, n. 4 (Mo. 2026). So in the several-month period before the August primary election, the Missouri Secretary of State was well aware that conducting the August primary election with the 2025 map carried significant risks. The Secretary nonetheless chose to proceed with the 2025 map for the primary.

For those reasons, the application for stay presented to JUSTICE KAVANAUGH and by him referred to the Court is granted. The September 21, 2026, mandate and September 22, 2026, order entered by the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in No. 26–2797, and the September 21, 2026, and September 22, 2026, injunctions entered by the U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, No. 4:26–cv–01424, ECF Docs. 57 and 60, are stayed absent any further order of this Court lifting such stays. The prior stay entered by this Court on September 10, 2026, likewise lifting that stay. The District Court and Court of Appeals should not enjoin or otherwise prohibit the use of the 2022 map in the 2026 congressional election in Missouri. And the District Court and Court of Appeals should not order or otherwise require Missouri to use the 2025 map in the 2026 congressional election in Missouri.

It is so ordered.

Dayam.

Catharine Hanaway (r) has a sad, too.

Catherine Hanaway (r) [2014 file photo].

Previously:

HB 1: Gerrymander this (September 9, 2025)

Can play with AI, can’t be bothered to certify petition signatures (June 7, 2026)

Denny Hoskins (r) is a pre-eminent legal scholar and final arbiter of the Missouri Constitution, said no one ever… (August 4, 2026)

Missouri Supreme Court: “HB 1 congressional redistricting, yeah, no.” (September 3, 2026)

Missouri Supreme Court: “HB 1 congressional redistricting, yeah, no.” (September 3, 2026)

Favorite whine (September 3, 2026)

Gov. Mike Kehoe (r) thinks we’re all ignorant and stupid (September 3, 2026)

What the Missouri Supreme Court said (September 3, 2026)

Missouri Supreme Court slaps down Denny Hoskins (r)….again (September 4, 2026)

Tears in the rain (September 4, 2026)

Denny Hoskins (r): “…unclean hands…” (September 7, 2026)

Justice Brett Kavanaugh – SCOTUS: “Yeah, no.” (September 8, 2026)

Missouri Supreme Court order to Denny Hoskins (r): “…show cause…” (September 9, 2026)

Missed it by that much (September 9, 2026)

Salus populi suprema lex esto (September 10, 2026)

Stupid is as stupid does (September 10, 2026)

Denny Hoskins (r) and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (September 10, 2026)

So sad (September 10, 2026)

Judicial contempt has a way of making one focus (September 11, 2026)

Denny Hoskins (r) and friends whiff at the U.S. Supreme Court (September 25, 2026)

Denny Hoskins (r) and friends whiff at the U.S. Supreme Court

25 Friday Sep 2026

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

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Tags

Bob Onder, Congress, Denny Hoskins, gerrymandering, HB 1, Redistricting, right wingnuts, U.S. Supreme Court

And, you’re out.

“…The District Court and Court of Appeals should not enjoin or otherwise prohibit the use of the 2022 map in the 2026 congressional election in Missouri. And the District Court and Court of Appeals should not order or otherwise require Missouri to use the 2025 map in the 2026 congressional election in Missouri. Opinion per curiam…”

Today:

No. 26A388

Title: People Not Politicians, et al., Applicants
v.
Robert Onder, et al.
Docketed: September 22, 2026
Lower Ct: United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
Case Numbers: (26-2797)

[….]

Sep 25 2026 Application (26A388) for stay presented to Justice Kavanaugh and by him referred to the Court is granted. The September 21, 2026, mandate and September 22, 2026, order entered by the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in No. 26–2797, and the September 21, 2026, and September 22, 2026, injunctions entered by the U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, No. 4:26–cv–01424, ECF Docs. 57 and 60, are stayed absent any further order of this Court lifting such stays. The prior stay entered by this Court on September 10, 2026, likewise remains in effect pending any further order of this Court lifting that stay. The District Court and Court of Appeals should not enjoin or otherwise prohibit the use of the 2022 map in the 2026 congressional election in Missouri. And the District Court and Court of Appeals should not order or otherwise require Missouri to use the 2025 map in the 2026 congressional election in Missouri. Opinion per curiam. (Detached Opinion)

Cry louder, Denny (r):

Denny Hoskins (r) [2022 file photo].

Previously:

HB 1: Gerrymander this (September 9, 2025)

Can play with AI, can’t be bothered to certify petition signatures (June 7, 2026)

Denny Hoskins (r) is a pre-eminent legal scholar and final arbiter of the Missouri Constitution, said no one ever… (August 4, 2026)

Missouri Supreme Court: “HB 1 congressional redistricting, yeah, no.” (September 3, 2026)

Missouri Supreme Court: “HB 1 congressional redistricting, yeah, no.” (September 3, 2026)

Favorite whine (September 3, 2026)

Gov. Mike Kehoe (r) thinks we’re all ignorant and stupid (September 3, 2026)

What the Missouri Supreme Court said (September 3, 2026)

Missouri Supreme Court slaps down Denny Hoskins (r)….again (September 4, 2026)

Tears in the rain (September 4, 2026)

Denny Hoskins (r): “…unclean hands…” (September 7, 2026)

Justice Brett Kavanaugh – SCOTUS: “Yeah, no.” (September 8, 2026)

Missouri Supreme Court order to Denny Hoskins (r): “…show cause…” (September 9, 2026)

Missed it by that much (September 9, 2026)

Salus populi suprema lex esto (September 10, 2026)

Stupid is as stupid does (September 10, 2026)

Denny Hoskins (r) and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (September 10, 2026)

So sad (September 10, 2026)

Judicial contempt has a way of making one focus (September 11, 2026)

Mark Alford (r): not so much to your health

25 Friday Sep 2026

Posted by Michael Bersin in Congress, Mark Alford, social media

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Tags

4th Congressional District, former newsreader, gaslighting, health care, Mark Alford, missouri, right wingnut, social media, sycophant, that ridiculous hat, Trump sycophant

Mark Alford (r) [2023 file photo].

Today:

Congressman Mark Alford
[September 25, 2026]

Rural hospitals are lifelines. Nobody should have to drive more than an hour to get the care they need.
That’s why House Republicans delivered the largest rural health investment in American history in the Working Families Tax Cuts.
[….]

Yeah, no.

Some of the responses:

If the Big Beautiful Bill had not cut billions from health care we would be OK.

But Mark Alford (r) did vote for the bill, and here we are, not OK.

The house should be in session doing it’s job instead of adjourning early to avoid making decisions

Oh, they nmde the decisions. They just don’t want to be held accountable for them.

Congressman Mark Alford You present this as a standalone win without mentioning that the same bill cut rural Medicaid funding by an estimated $137B, nearly triple the new fund, a tradeoff independent researchers (KFF, CBO, Georgetown) and even some rural hospital groups have flagged as a net loss for rural healthcare, not a net gain. [….]
You don’t have Missourians’ best interests in mind, Congressman. Your bill cut $137B from rural Medicaid. This $50B ‘investment’ doesn’t even cover half of it. That’s not a lifeline, that’s spin.

Actually, he’s gaslighting us.

When? When was this? 1959? Because 1959 is about the last time Republicans did ANYTHING to help rural Missouri.

You cut rural healthcare for years Congressman Mark Alford.
You guys ruined rural health and now you’re gonna fix it.
Just leave things alone.
Look what Republicans have done to inflation and gas.
You’ve fought rural healthcare for years.
[….] how do MAGA scream about funding healthcare and then after defunding it decide to fix it.
It’s like your new wars and gas. If you just shut up and didn’t vote gas would be cheaper and Iran would still not have that nuke bomb our dementia riddled potus believes exists.

Congressman Mark Alford
The Trumplican Hypocrisy is pathetic!
What about that BIG BULLSHIT BILL?
You have failed the constituents in your district!
Be sure to look both ways before you go fuck yourself.

They probably can’t afford the gas to drive an hour or more. Thanks for passing the Bigly Bullshit Bill mark. Cutting healthcare is on you and rising fuel prices are too.

JUST STOP LYING!!!
First Alford gives trillions to his filthy rich ‘donors.’ Then he slashes basic needs from hard working Missourians to pay for it
Now, at election time, he tries to fool us into thinking he cares with these ‘fix our problems just enough for a vote’ SOCIALIST programs. MO 4 loses because we have a LOSER in congress

Bragging about a one-time grant while cutting the permanent funding rural hospitals need to survive is total political theater.
This “investment” comes from the Working Families Tax Cuts Act—the exact same bill that slashes billions from Medicare and Medicaid to pay for corporate tax cuts. Rural hospitals get up to 80% of their daily revenue from those two federal programs. Giving a struggling hospital a one-time check for facility upgrades while permanently cutting the insurance reimbursements they need to pay their doctors isn’t “delivering”—it’s a corporate bait-and-switch that will cause more rural closures.

You cut the rural hospital funding under the “Big Beautiful Bill”. How stupid do you think your constituents are that you think we will praise you for creating a problem then only partially fixing it, kind of?

Missouri Republicans are putting a band aid over a bullet wound.
DO NOT FALL FOR THIS! They voted for the Big Beautiful Bill that is causing these rural hospitals to close!

You tone-deaf moron! You are the one voting for legislation that is destroying rural access to care!

You also passed the Big Ugly Bill that cut funding for Medicaid at the same time it mandated requirements that essentially forced people off the program. You freaking give a pittance while ripping away a limb. Hypocrite.

Mark Alford (r) [2023 file photo].

I named my ostomy bag Congressman Mark Alford because it’s full of shit too!

And YOU voted for that “Big Beautiful Bill” that stripped health care coverage and dollars from states and patients!

You are beating a dead horse issue. You fucked said horse by massively trimming back the funding soi you don’t get to act like you are saving them now. You can’t ad the lube after you’ve already screwed them…

Bullshit, markie-boy. You repubs are killing people.

You mean the largest cut to rural healthcare in America history to then add a pathetic amount back.

GTFO of Missouri Congressman Mark Alford, and take your Bible with you.

Nonsense

And who voted yes on the terrible big bill??🤮🤡Lil’ Marky Mark

Then, why did you vote for the big, beautiful bill

Big Beautiful BS!

Why did you approve a budget that cut their funding? Is this more reelection rhetoric? Too little too late. You are such a disappointment.

Is that why so many rural hospitals closed down and the care centers are being shut too so tell me

According to analyses from KFF and congressional reports, recent federal legislation passed by Republicans has reduced long-term Medicaid funding, directly impacting rural hospitals and clinics.Major federal spending legislation enacted by Republicans has triggered significant long-term funding reductions for rural healthcare systems.📊 The Legislative CutsAccording to the Congressional Budget Office, the federal reconciliation package cuts over $900 billion from Medicaid nationwide.Estimated $137 billion cut from rural areasPermanent reductions in baseline federal supportMillions of rural residents facing uninsurance risks⚠️ Impact on Rural HospitalsAdvocacy groups like Protect Our Care state that fragile rural facilities face severe financial strain.
Congressman Mark Alford promising healthcare don’t match his actions and cuts.
Actions always speak louder than the word of men.

Mark is one dumb f. You cut Medicaid by trillions and think ur small bs fund is going to bring the back.. lol

Such a crock of 💩!

That about sums it up.

Campaign Finance: there’s plenty more

24 Thursday Sep 2026

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

abortion, Amendment 3, missouri, Missouri Ethics Commission, women's health care

There has to be. The stakes are too high.

Yesterday at the Missouri Ethics Commission for the campaign to preserve access to women’s health care:

C253512 09/23/2026 Stop the Ban PROMO 2200 Gravois Ave. St Louis MO 63104 9/22/2026 $100,000.00

C253512 09/23/2026 Stop the Ban Open Society Policy Center 1730 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 400 Washington DC 20006 9/22/2026 $700,000.00

No on Amendment 3.

Previously:

Campaign Finance: Next (August 3, 2026)

Campaign Finance: bring a nuke to the fight (September 4, 2026)

“He who hath not a uterus should shut the fucketh up”

Here we are

21 Monday Sep 2026

Posted by Michael Bersin in meta

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

1st Amendment, Donald Trump, Fascism, media criticism, meta

We knew what he was. We knew in 2015. We knew what we were facing after the 2016 election. We knew in 2018. We knew the stakes in 2019 and in the 2020 election. January 6, 2021 should have been a confirmation for anyone who wasn’t previously paying attention, or thought he was “harmless”.

The 2024 election was covered by our dysfunctional national media as just another horse race. The smart lady who had a laugh that irritated them vs. that “somewhat” eccentric right wingnut “populist” who was purportedly a “self-made” billionaire who entertained them. He’s a fucking lunatic and a moron. A grifter. A bigot. He has always been.

After another (almost) two years of predictable disasters and failures, now, finally, our failed national media is covering their injury for the rest of us like their hair is on fire. Well, yeah. Where the fuck have you been for the last ten years?

Remember the sycophancy of the WHCA dinner(s)? The servile interviews? The softball questions? For “access”. We do.

Cashed your paychecks, published your tell-all books – two years after the facts could have made a difference. You were supposed to be the defenders of one of the pillars of our Democracy. And you collectively gave it all up. For what?

So, to our failed local and national media: welcome to the club. And fuck you all for taking so long to get here. You don’t get any credit for finally, now, maybe, opening your eyes and acknowledging that everything is dangerously wrong.

God-damned useless assholes.

Campaign Finance: off to the races – part 7

20 Sunday Sep 2026

Posted by Michael Bersin in campaign finance

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Amendment 6, campaign finance, Constitution, Constitutional amendment, initiative, missouri, Missouri Ethics Commission, PAC, referendum

Today at the Missouri Ethics Commission:

C264382 09/20/2026 Vote Yes on Amendment 6 Preserve Middle Class America, Inc 1850 East Division Street Springfield MO 65803 9/18/2026 $225,000.00

[emphasis added]

On the November ballot:

Amendment 6

[….]

Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to:

– expand the initiative and referendum petition process by making it a fundamental right;
– allow courts to revise ballot summaries through lawsuits;
– prohibit the legislature from weakening initiative or referendum powers;
– prohibit the legislature from changing or repealing laws enacted through the initiative process, or passing laws similar to those rejected by referendum, – without approval from at least 80% of both chambers; and
– preserve existing majority vote and signature requirements for initiative and referendum petitions?

State and local governmental entities estimate no costs or savings.

Fair Ballot Language:

A “yes” vote will prohibit the people’s elected representatives from directly amending or changing any law enacted through the initiative process; require that any modifications to laws enacted through the initiative process be referred to the people by a vote of at least 80% of each chamber of the General Assembly; restrict the legislature from passing laws that limit the ability to pursue initiatives and referenda; maintain the current signature requirements of five percent of the individual legal voters in each of two-thirds of Missouri’s congressional districts for proposing a law; maintain the current signature requirement of eight percent of individual legal voters in each of two-thirds of Missouri’s congressional districts for proposing a constitutional amendment; and maintain the current requirement that a simple statewide majority of votes cast on a measure by individual legal voters is sufficient to enact any law or constitutional amendment.

[….]

It is a plan.

Yes on Amendment 6:

Previously:

Campaign Finance: off to the races (September 12, 2026)

Campaign Finance: off to the races – part 2 (September 14, 2026)

Campaign Finance: off to the races – part 3 (September 15, 2026)

Campaign Finance: off to the races – part 4 (September 17, 2026)

Campaign Finance: off to the races – part 5 (September 18, 2026)

Campaign Finance: off to the races – part 6 (September 18, 2026)

Mark Alford (r) steps on a rake…again

20 Sunday Sep 2026

Posted by Michael Bersin in Congress, Mark Alford, social media

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

4th Congressional District, former newsreader, Mark Alford, missouri, performative bullshit, right wingnut, social media, sycophant, that ridiculous hat, Trump sycophant

Mark Alford (r) [2023 file photo].

Yesterday:

Congressman Mark Alford
[September 19, 2026]

This week, House Republicans passed the National Fraud Enforcement Division Act — making a dedicated DOJ fraud team permanent.
Taxpayer dollars belong to you. Not to fraudsters.
❓ Should we have a team whose only job is going after fraud?
👍 YES — tell me why
👎 NO — tell me why
[….]

Uh, aren’t you supposed to ask your constituents before you vote on the bill, not after? Otherwise this is just performative bullshit. Just asking.

There is much hilarity in the responses:

Yes, they should start with the president, the cabinet and Congress.

Didn’t DOGE already have a go at that?

Yeah, no. It was all performative bullshit.

I’d love to have a doj that is independent from the presidency

Why did you decline a debate against the candidate running against you? Like to hear an answer!

Or just go to the White House and knock on the door.

Would collecting your paycheck and not doing any work count as fraud?

it is definitely a waste of tax dollars.

Maybe you should start at the White House.

Mark, why frame this as “House Republicans” when 352 members of Congress voted for it, including 139 Democrats? Fighting fraud isn’t particularly controversial or partisan. Giving your constituents the full story apparently is.

I thought that was the job of inspectors general???..

Oopsie.

President Trump’s firing of inspectors general threatens government accountability and efficiency
10/21/2025

[….]
President Donald Trump broke historic norms by firing 17 presidentially appointed inspectors general.
Trump’s firings, additional resignations and preexisting vacancies carried over from the Biden administration have resulted in over 75% of presidentially appointed inspector general positions sitting vacant.
The White House has unilaterally blocked funds appropriated by Congress to the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, an umbrella office that supports the inspector general community. The office’s website, which housed inspector general reports, recommendations for how the government can save money, and a whistleblower hotline, has been made unavailable due to a lack of funding.
[….]

How about we figure out how Pete lost a ship full of weapons, and they wound up in Hong Kong?

There’s that.

Start with the president and his family that will be a good start.

We already have organizations responsible for detecting fraud. Inspector Generals and the Councils of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency.

If you don’t fire them all…

The should start at 1600 Pennsylvania

Start at the top.

Is there room for that team at the White House?

Here’s a tip ! ( look in the Whitehouse) ..

Mark,
If we did would they precipitate the indictment of Donald Trump? Asking for a friend.

Will Trump pardon them also?

Even better would be one that automatically disqualifies them from running for office or immediately removing them if the a currently in office…

Interestingly…

Yes. Let’s start with you and your friends.

I recommend purchasing a new mirror. It’s much less expensive.

Mark Alford (r) [2023 file photo].

Ouch. That one left a mark.

We had a fraud team. Musk and doge said we did not need it.

Isn’t that part of your job???

Let’s ask AI to find the the fraud among our politicians and government offices shall we?
We’d be left with, if lucky, 5 people.

I am In favor of a Justice Department that doesn’t kiss ass

Starting with You!

So Trump can pardon them for a simple bribe. Which then wipes out restitution…

Have you seen Trump’s pardon list?

Tip line, check 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

I thought was that was what DOGE was supposed to do. And failed badly.

We already have a permanent Justice Department. The problem is the corruption within that department.

Why don’t you start at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

The president cut out the government watchdogs with the Doge cuts. Start with the White House.

Trump would just free them

Why, if they donate $ to Trump, he’ll just pardon them.

Grifters gotta grift.

Like Trump?

How about we start in the White House?

Only if they arrest Trump first

Legislating where NOT needed, NOT legislating where needed. 🤷🏼‍♂️

Trump university and trump foundation

Once again- the call is coming from inside the house.

Why so then they can pay trump and then get paroled?

Didn’t they have that? But as soon as the IGs inspecting such were fired, it all went away! Waiting on my $2000 promised check!

Let’s start with trump and work our way down. Mark, you should be on that list as well.

They should start at the White House.

In theory, of course it’s a great idea. But I think in practice, we all know trump will just use it to go after his adversaries. So until we have someone in office that has some morals, and a congress that does their job, it’s probably not a great idea.

A better idea would be to not allow the president to take bribes from convicted fraudsters for pardons.

Not sure it helps since the president keeps pardoning people found guilty of commiting fraud.

It would pay for itself by recovering all of the money taken by Trump.

Seriously Congressman how can you even write this post? Our President has pardoned dozens of fraudsters thus eliminating the monetary judgments against them that our court system had handed down. So all the consumers that were ripped off got nothing.
[….]

They should start in the Oval Office.

Sure and you can start with the current administration and the billionaires in this country.

How about a House of Representatives that actually does some work. 71 or so work days and you don’t complain.

Congressman Mark Alford, no, we don’t need a permanent justice team to root out fraudsters—-we need investigators in every Federal agency to investigate fraudsters inside and outside of the government. Like the ones Trump fired, including hundreds from the IRS. Those auditors need to focus in fraud within ICE, the Pentagon, the Kennedy Center,
the Freedom250 committee, and expenditures made by every
Congressional member.

We already have this. The Department of Justice has dedicated health-care fraud prosecutors and Medicare fraud strike forces, working with the FBI, HHS-OIG, CMS and IRS. Tax fraud already has dedicated federal enforcement too. Creating another ‘team’ to do a job the federal government already does isn’t a policy proposal I t’s ragebait.

Hey!!! What do you think of trump banning the press and violating the Constitution???

A journalist would be outraged. Alford, not so much.

Ouch. That left a mark.

Yes, but when all the GOP is arrested, what then?

No. We should have the checks and balances that Trump took away when he fired Inspector Generals on one of his first days in office.
Nothing says “I am gonna commit some big time fraud” like firing most of the Inspector Generals (like he did during Covid, too)

That’s never been more a true need since Trump’s second term.

It’s already part of their job. I’d rather have a team in the White House that wasn’t issuing pardons to the worst convicted fraudsters that have stolen billions.

On vacation again we see…

If you give POTUS and his family a free pass it doesn’t matter what you do… you have zero credibility

If you can’t stop the president from grifting in plain sight what makes you think we trust you to catch anyone else 😆😂🤣

Not if they answer to the top fraudster and his personal lawyer.

There’s a guy in Jefferson City I could point them towards. Bald guy, looks like a rodent, wearing a red valet jacket, sometimes carries a baseball bat.

Donald Trump has pardoned so many white-collar criminals that committed financial fraud that he has effectively wiped out an estimated $2 billion in restitution and fines owed to the victims of those crimes.

We had Inspectors General who did that but Trump fired all of them at the beginning of his presidential term so they wouldn’t catch him stealing billions from We the People.

Wouldn’t our president just pardon them, like all the other fraudsters. You just speak to the people like they are complete idiots. How low must your iq be to vote Republican in 2026? Pretty, pretty, pretty low.

We used to have that until your orangutan buddy disbanded it. Next let’s talk about the CFPB you dick.

Well, that would be a bit embarrassing for your Great Leader, wouldn’t it?

Holy shit. Yes. Start with the Trumps, Kushners and Musk.

Start in the White House. What a stupid F’ing question.

You must think we’re stupid, and you’d be 38% correct according to latest polls

Who is the biggest fraudster on planet earth?? You know the answer bozo.

Congressman Mark Alford I know for certain there is a 34 time criminal felon, sexual abuser, business fraud, tax fraud, charity fraud, university fraud, election fraud con man at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave in DC. Lock him up!

Today’s propaganda drop. Fraud.

Fraud? Start with Trump, little puppet.

Yea- and the first list of arrests would be everyone in the cabinet. Oh, but wait… they’d just be pardoned like the long list of other convicted fraudsters.
Let’s hear your thoughts on all such individuals that have been pardoned and let off the hook for MILLIONS!

I’m pretty sure all of us were thinking that. How can we waste more money at a time where we’re broke and morons like you are in charge?

These Republicans posting this while working for the biggest fraudster in American history is wild. 🖕

You didn’t pass anything. Johnson sent everyone home so Hegsbeth wouldn’t get impeached.

Starting with the Trump family

Do you ever read the comments? The majority of our country and probably the world know trump is the most corrupt president in our history…Start there with waste, fraud and abuse.

It’s almost as if Trump didn’t fire 17 inspectors general his first week of this term whose job it was to do exactly that. 🤔🤷
We’re not nearly as delusional as you, Mark Alford.

Why aren’t you talking about fuel prices?

“$4.29 a gallon for gas, $6.29 a gallon for diesel”

It’s too bad your true supporters can’t read or write. You’ve been ratioed again.

Meta.

You should have not have cut the CFPB and SEC whose whole job was to fight fraud. This irresponsible administration keeps removing the experts and replacing them with weaponized partisan hacks who will do their bidding and attack the American people.

Why? Trump will only pardon the fraudsters.

Hey, Denny (r)…

19 Saturday Sep 2026

Posted by Michael Bersin in campaign finance, Congress

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Congress, Denny Hoskins, General Assembly, gerrymandering, HB 1, Mike Kehoe, missouri, Missouri Ethics Commission, People not Politicians, Proposition A, Redistricting

“Gerrymander This”

At the Missouri Ethics Commission for the committee opposed to Proposition A, the referendum on the November ballot on right wingnut Governor Mike Kehoe’s (r) and the right wingnut controlled General Assembly’s mid-decade congressional redistricting scheme:

C253606 09/17/2026 People Not Politicians Let It Resound 80 M Street SE Suite 1000 Washington DC 20006 9/15/2026 $25,000.00

C253606 09/18/2026 People Not Politicians Green Advocacy Project 6218 Georgia Avenue, N.W., No. 1-556 Washington DC 20011 9/17/2026 $1,000,000.00

[emphasis added]

Dayam.

Denny Hoskins (r) [2022 file photo].

We can’t wait for the ads.

“Mike Kehoe is Trump’s Bitch”

No on Proposition A.

Previously:

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D) – on Donald Trump’s (r) early redistricting scam (August 29, 2025)

Hey, Brandon Phelps (r), are you going to vote for this gerrymandered bullshit? (August 30, 2025)

Gaslighting and Gerrymandering (September 28, 2025)

Gerrymander this, Denny (March 23, 2026)

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