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Tag Archives: Lacy Clay

Nothing lasts forever

05 Wednesday Aug 2020

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

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1st Congressional District, Cori Bush, Lacy Clay, missouri, Primary

Last night, in the 1st Congressional District primary:

State of Missouri – Primary Election, August 04, 2020
Unofficial Results
as of 8/5/2020 5:16:16 PM

U.S. Representative – District 1 729 of 729 Precincts Reported

Winnie Heartstrong Republican 4,324 38.415%
Anthony Rogers Republican 6,932 61.585%
Party Total: 11,256

Cori Bush Democratic 72,812 48.603%
Lacy Clay Democratic 68,201 45.525%
Katherine (Kat) Bruckner Democratic 8,796 5.871%
Party Total: 149,809

Alex Furman Libertarian 336 100.000%
Party Total: 336

Total Votes: 161,401

[emphasis added]

Winnie Heartstrong, REP
St. Louis 3,307
St. Louis City 1,017

Anthony Rogers, REP
St. Louis 5,242
St. Louis City 1,690

Cori Bush, DEM
St. Louis 36,288
St. Louis City 36,524

Lacy Clay, DEM
St. Louis 38,699
St. Louis City 29,502

Katherine Kat Bruckner, DEM
St. Louis 4,021
St. Louis City 4,775

Alex Furman, LIB
St. Louis 249
St. Louis City 87

[emphasis added]

Things change.

Missouri GOP House members go into hiding when Trump shows his true colors – about skin color – while GOP Senator Roy Blunt soft peddles the story

20 Saturday Jan 2018

Posted by willykay in Uncategorized

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Ann Wagner, Billy Long, Blaine Luetkemeyer, Claire McCaskill, Donald Trump, Emanuel Cleaver, GOP dogwhistles, immigration, Jason Smith, Lacy Clay, racism, Roy Blunt, Sam Graves, Vicky Hartzler

It’s been a couple of weeks since President Racist Moron sent us spiraling down toward a government shutdown by expressing his goal of importing prosperous, wealthy white Norwegians – who have little reason to come to the U.S. – instead of brown folks from S**thole countries – who actually need the haven that the United States has traditionally offered the oppressed, poverty stricken folks who flocked to these shores and helped build a strong, wealthy country where the middle class grew and prospered as never before. During this time, I’ve been monitoring the newspapers and congressional press releases to find out how our representatives in Congress have responded to Trump’s racist babblings – and I’ve found out just about nothing to let me know how our GOP profiles in political cowardice stand on the issue. However, today, Salon has posted an article that tells us what each member of Congress has had to say about this destructive and ugly piece of “telling it like it is,” as some of the more racist “deplorable” Trump supporters would have it:

  • Blunt, Roy (R–Sen.): Condemn
  • *McCaskill, Claire (D–Sen.): Condemn
  • Clay Jr., William “Lacy” (D–HR): Condemn
  • Cleaver, Emanuel (D–HR): Condemn
  • Graves, Sam (R–HR): No response
  • Hartzler, Vicky (R–HR): No response
  • Long, Billy (R–HR): No response
  • Luetkemeyer, Blaine (R–HR): No response
  • Smith, Jason (R–HR): No response
  • Wagner, Ann (R–HR): No response

Although GOP Senator Roy Blunt, as befits a junior member of the Senate Leadership, did make a statement, you might be struck, as I was, that it focused on the pragmatic aspects of Trumps words – addressing his competence in securing GOP goals, rather than his bankrupt moral world view:

Senator Roy Blunt, Republican of Missouri, suggested the president’s inability to refrain from incendiary statements was detracting from his agenda.

“It’s an unacceptable view of the world, and it’s an unacceptable thing to say,” Mr. Blunt told KMBZ, a radio station in the Kansas City area. “You would expect the president to lead in determining how you filter your thoughts, rather than to continue to say things that take a lot away from what’s actually getting done.”

Compare the measured words of Blunt – who carefully avoided any overt reference to Trump’s racism, to the unequivocal tweet Democratic Claire McCaskill issued,:

It is unacceptable, repugnant, and morally bankrupt for a President of this great nation to call the countries of Africa “shitholes”. #sicktomystomach  9:32 AM – 12 Jan 2018

 I understand the need for political pragmatism, going along with a bad deal to avoid a worse deal – and I appreciate Blunt’s willingness to sorta, maybe imply that Trump isn’t really a great “dealmaker,” but for many of us racism, arguably the original sin that lies at the heart of American democracy, is the line that may not be crossed. Which means that I also understand the reticence of our Missouri House members to speak out – Republicans in general, not just in Missouri, have been calling out to more or less covert racism via code words and dogwhistles for years.What can these already compromised politicians do or say to credibly face down the beast they have enabled and continue to enable in order to benefit their wealthy patrons.
Of course that last sentence doesn’t even address the possibility that many of our elected Missouri representative may actually endorse Trump’s nasty racial sentiments.

 

 

Why congressmen and women need to boycott the inauguration

19 Thursday Jan 2017

Posted by willykay in Uncategorized

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Bigotry, corruption, Donald Trump, Inuguration, Lacy Clay, missouri, Russia

As of 10:29 am to day, Jan. 19, 2017, 65 members of the U.S. House of Representatives have announced that they’ll be skipping Trump’s inauguration. Rep. Lacy Clay (D-1) is one of the 65. He’s the only one of the three Missouri Democrats who is standing up and refusing to normalize the incoming Trump administration.

It takes guts to make your line in the sand as clear as these 65 representatives have done. Inevitably there are those who bridle self-righteously and claim to be above the vulgar fray, insisting that the inauguration celebrates the peaceful transfer of power in our democracy, not the dangerous clown who will assume the office, and that that fact means that we have to pretend that it’s business as usual.

There’s also another popular excuse for refusing to draw a line in the sand at the outset against the Trump Mafia, one expressed by Missouri’s other Democratic member of the House, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-5), as well as in a recent editorial in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

This newspaper opposed Trump from the beginning. We have yet to see anything to change our belief that he is misguided. But far more abhorrent is the notion that he doesn’t even deserve a chance to succeed. Americans, regardless of ideology, must enter the Trump era with minds open to the possibility that he could actually foment positive change.

Opponents should not decide in knee-jerk fashion that anything with the Trump stamp is automatically wrong. Measure the new administration by its results, not just its abrasive words.

This piece of self-righteous twaddle holds that one must hope for the success of the incoming president no matter what doubts that president inspires in otherwise sane individuals. Naturally, this line of thought rarely bothers to define what Trump’s “success” might mean in what business people designate as operational terms.

Neither of these arguments address the well-founded doubts that many entertain about the legitimacy of Trump’s incipient presidency. Don’t we – and by extension our elected representatives – have an obligation to oppose the peaceful transfer of power to compromised individuals? Should we or they sit back with averted eyes and pretend that there’s even the remotest chance that we could ever get a silk purse out of this especially filthy sow’s ear?

First, in spite of efforts to ignore it on both sides of the political aisle, there’s the serious problem of Trump’s Russian connections. At this moment, our President-elect’s Russian ties are under investigation by  six different government agencies – and we’re expecting our representatives to politely applaud when he’s handed the keys to the well-being of the nation? We cannot treat the ascension of a candidate already compromised by foreign entanglements as if it’s the usual business of democracy.

Second, Trump has massive financial conflicts of interest that potentially present a threat to American policy and security . As the owner of Trump Towers in Washington he will be violating the law the minute he becomes the President of the United States – a fact that is well known to him and his staff and which they consistently blow off as immaterial. He may well be in violations of the emoluments clause of the constitution when he takes office – there’s a reason that Trump will not release his tax return.

These problems have been well-aired, but our future President has failed to make a serious effort to address them. We do not need to wait to see what corruption of the sort that Trump will embody on day one of his presidency will do to destroy the ethical norms that have governed American political life up to this point. We need to make our opposition to his arrogance and his contempt for ethical norms known now, not after the fact when the problem has become institutionalized and we have become citizens of the United States of Corruption.

Third, we cannot overlook the fact that we now have a President-elect who managed to secure his position by dredging up the worst type of ugliness from America’s racially tormented past. We cannot in anyway normalize the presidency of a man who secured the job by virtue of mobilizing hate and bigotry. Nor, even for the duration of the inauguration ceremony, can we turn our face away from such moral corruption and the chaos it promises to bring.

None of the three reasons listed above for protesting the peaceful transfer of power that we all esteem stem from opposition to Donald Trump’s likely political goals, terrible though they may be to me and like thinking people, and which can easily be surmised from the sad set of corrupt and inept cabinet nominees he has selected – a lineup characterized by Paul Waldman as “worst cabinet in American history.” Reasons to protest the inauguration simply and purely address the fact that our president-elect is seriously compromised before he takes the office.

Donald Trump’s Russian entanglements were not known prior to the election. Nor did he make clear his intentions to ignore ethical norms – although one did not have to be terribly astute to figure out what was on the way. These issues could have been addressed, however, when the members of the electoral college took its vote. This type of situation, in which a manifestly unfit candidate manipulates democratic process to secure office, is exactly what that body was designed to deal with. Unfortunately, the electoral college has so fallen under the sway of partisan politics that it has become meaningless and we are left with no recourse but to signal our opposition in the only ways available to us.

So thank you Representative Clay. I’m not in your district, but you are still my representative because you are representing my interest in maintaining an uncompromised democracy. Sadly, you may be the only real representative I have in Missouri.

Cross-posted in slightly edited form to Daily Kos.

Image

Lacy Clay vs. the Republican PC brigade

15 Sunday Jan 2017

Tags

art, Congressional Art Competition, David Pulphus, Duncan Hunter, Lacy Clay, Political Correctness

pulphus.image.jpg

By now almost everybody knows the story of Lacy Clay and the painting shown above – when there’s a story that involves conservative outrage, it gets around thanks to the first rate rightwing propaganda network. But just in case you don’t know why the image above is interesting for more than its aesthetic qualities, or if you’ve forgotten the details, here’s a quick summary of the events:

There’s something called the Congressional Art Competition for high school students in each congressional district. Each year, the most recent winner’s painting is hung in a tunnel passageway between the Longworth House Office Building and the Capitol. Over six months ago, Missouri Rep. Lacy Clay (D-1) hung the painting above, by the winner of the competition in his district, St. Louis high school student David Pulphus.

The Independent Journal Review, a right-leaning news site, noticed the painting recently and decided that its depiction of seemingly beastial police was worth a little outrage, which led Fox News to pick up the story. Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) saw an opportunity to publicly flex his John Wayne muscles, grabbed the painting off the wall and deposited it in Rep. Clay’s office after lots of well-publicized posturing. Rep. Clay quickly flexed his muscles right back at Hunter and rehung the painting. Whereupon lots of other GOP representatives tried to get in on the show, publicly bloviating while shuttling the painting back and forth. Finally Republicans decided to call in a big gun and appealed to the Architect of the Capitol who ruled that “exhibits depicting subjects of contemporary political controversy or a sensationalistic or gruesome nature are not allowed.” So, now it looks like there’ll be a premature bye-bye to Pulphus’ painting.

Do you see anything funny (both ha-ha funny and otherwise) about this scenario? If not, let me lay it out for you:

  1.  Isn’t it conservatives who are usually mouthing off about about political correctness? As Alex Nowrasteh recently wrote in the Washington Post, “conservative writers fill volumes complaining how political correctness stifles free expression” and yet here they are actively trying to stifle free expression in the name of that god of the blue-haired country-club matron, “good taste.” Something offends them and theirs, it’s got to go, but when it offends me and mine, we’ve got to shut up because political correctness.
  2. Speaking of PC, are policemen and women really so fragile that they can’t face up to the fact that there are whole segments of the population that don’t regard them as protectors? Why do Republicans want us to enforce “safe spaces” for cops, when they’re so disturbed by the same kind of “safe spaces” on campuses (and, for the record, I oppose controversy-free zones on campus too).
  3. How does it help police to deal with “wounds that we’re trying to heal,” in the words of the president of the St. Louis County Police Association, if we stifle any point of view that doesn’t flatter the police? Lots of us believe that a wound can’t heal until its existence is freely acknowledged. Why aren’t these congressmen more interested in finding out why an intelligent, talented young man depicts police with animal faces? (And, by the way, he also depicts a protester with a wolf face – there’s lots of diverse animal imagery in the picture.)
  4. Jonathan Adler argues that there are inconsistencies in the response of the Capital Architect: that the office did not object to the painting when it was first hung six months ago, and that other paintings with a political message have not been removed (he offers an example here), adding that “this painting was targeted because of its specific message, not because it is too political.” In other words, the criteria used to remove the painting is inspired more by the particular PC ox that is being gored than by an objective application of the rules.
  5. If I were a cynical type of person, I might think that Rep. Duncan Hunter’s embrace of the controversy – and he was the one who really got it going –  might have had something to do with his desire to deflect attention from the ethics investigations into his campaign finances in which he was forced to reimburse $62,000 to his campaign for charges including “oral surgery, a garage door, video games, resort stays and a jewelry purchase in Italy.” But that’s just me. For purposes of discussion, I’m willing to accept that he and his very tasteful pals are just enslaved by conservative PC.

If Rep. Hunter and his GOP colleagues weren’t so politically correct, however, they might have been more willing to use the painting to encourage discussion of the questions that it raises. Adler notes:

On Thursday, someone placed a “Blue Lives Matter” flag on the wall above the painting. Whether or not such an impromptu display is allowed under the Capitol’s rules, this is a much more appropriate response than stealing the painting from the wall or otherwise seeking to have it removed. Displaying the Blue Lives Matter flag is a way to express disapproval of the painting’s message and endorse a counter-message. It is, in short, responding to potentially offensive speech with more speech. It is exactly what conservatives (and others) tell college students to do when they are confronted by speech that offends them, whether it’s an art installation or a speech by an Internet provocateur.

Of course, if there were to be a real discussion, folks like Hunter and the particular constituents he panders to might have to take into account the way their political correctness plays from an African-American perspective. As Etefia Umana writes in The Root:

These elected officials’ behavior is a clear display of privilege. African Americans get the message: Freedom of expression is only for police-worshipping, privileged citizens. The representatives will likely not be punished because law enforcement and elected officials have far more restraint for white “protesters” than for black resisters.

 God forbid that in the era of the Trumpocalypse we actually try to come together. Of course, David Pulphus’ painting has by now had more of an impact and started more discussions than during the past six months when it hung mostly unnoticed in a congressional hallway so maybe it’s a wash.

Posted by willykay | Filed under Uncategorized

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Which members of the Missouri congressional delegation are for or against Paul Ryan’s Medicare phase out plan.

19 Saturday Nov 2016

Posted by willykay in Uncategorized

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Ann Wagner, Billy Long, Blaine Luetkemeyer, Claire McCaskill, Emmanuel Cleaver, Jason Smith, Lacy Clay, Medicare, missouri, Paul Ryan, privatization, Roy Bunt, Sam Graves, Vicky Hartzler

I have written here about the fact that House Speaker Rep. Paul Ryan is planning to take advantage of Trump’s election to push his Medicare privatization plan, a plan that will essentially destroy Medicare as we know it. Please find below a checklist of Missouri politicians categorized by their response to  Ryan’s privatization plan.

This list will be updated and reposted as politicians make their positions clear (or don’t).

Note that even if a particular politician indicates that they don’t support Ryan’s privatization phase out, it doesn’t mean that they aren’t open to fiddling with the system in often destructive ways. I also indicate which House members voted for or against the Ryan plan earlier when it was included in the proposed 2015 House budget and which have negative or positive voting records in regard to Medicare related issues.

Members of Missouri’s U.S. Congressional delegation who will oppose Ryan’s latest effort to destroy Medicare:

Senator Claire McCaskill (D) (see here for source and discussion).

Members of Missouri’s U.S. Congressional delegation who have been contacted but have not committed to a position on Rep. Ryan’s phase out plan at at this point.

Roy Blunt (R) (Source: TPM list as per 11/19).Blunt has a record of voting for legislation that undercuts Medicare.

Rep. Sam Graves (R) (Source: TPM list as per 11/19 (list up dated regularly)). Graves  voted for the 2015 Budget proposal that included a similar privatization plan. He has a record of mostly voting to weaken Medicare.

Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver (D-5) (Source: TPM list as per 11/19) Cleaver voted against the 2015 Budget proposal that included a similar privatization plan. His voting record is mostly pro-Medicare.

Members of Missouri’s U.S. Congressional delegation who have not yet been contacted about their current position on Ryan’s Medicare phase out plan.

Rep. Lacy Clay (D-1) Clay voted against the 2015 Budget proposal that included a similar privatization plan. His voting record is mostly pro-Medicare.

Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-4) Hartzler voted for the 2015 Budget proposal that included a similar privatization plan. She has a record of mostly voting to weaken weaken Medicare.

Rep. Billy Long (R-7) Long  voted for the 2015 Budget proposal that included a similar privatization plan. He has a record of mostly voting to weaken Medicare.

Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-3) Luetkemeyer  voted for the 2015 Budget proposal that included a similar privatization plan. He has a record of mostly voting to weaken Medicare.

Rep. Jason Smith (R-8) Smith  voted for the 2015 Budget proposal that included a similar privatization plan. He has a record of mostly voting to weaken Medicare.

Rep. Ann Wagner (R-4) Wagner  voted for the 2015 Budget proposal that included a similar privatization plan. She has a record of mostly voting to weaken weaken Medicare.

The Aurora shootings: A political Rorschach test

23 Monday Jul 2012

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

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Billy Long, Claire McCaskill, James Holmes, Jared Loughner, John Brunner, Lacy Clay, missouri, Roy Blunt, Sarah Steelman, Stacy Newman, Vicky Hartzler

I don’t know the motivation or situation of the Batman movie shooter, James Holmes, but I do know that schizophrenia most often manifests itself in late adolescence or early twenties. I know that what Holmes did is not incompatible with schizophrenic delusions such as those that led Jared Loughner to shoot Gabby Giffords. I also know that no matter what impelled his behavior, he had no difficulty arming himself with lethal assault weapons that serve no other purpose than rapid-fire killing. So much for a summary of all that I need to know abut this latest mass shooting.

Reactions from our political leaders have been all over the board, ranging from tight-lipped silence to absurd efforts to make ideological hay where no hay has been planted. (I am alluding, of course, to statements like those of the imbecilic Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Tx) who was among the first to strap on his ideological waders when he attributed the Aurora tragedy to the  lack of institutionalized Christian prayer in schools.)

To date, Missouri pols are no exception. Many, of course, have not yet said anything – and some may never address the event; it will be interesting to see who wants to sweep it under the rug. Those who have acknowledged the shooting, however, seem to fall into one of three categories.

First are those who have been careful to avoid the appearance of politicizing the event. On Facebook and via Twitter pols such as Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-4), Rep. Lacy Clay (D-1), Senators Roy Blunt and  Claire McCaskill, and Senatorial candidates John Brunner and Sarah Steelman have simply expressed sympathy and concern about the families of the victims. While this response is entirely appropriate, it is also convenient for embattled Democrats like McCaskill who has good reason to avoid riling up 2nd amendment fanatics unnecessarily. It is equally convenient for her opposite ideological numbers, such as Sarah Steelman who’s made a big deal about her NRA loving proclivities and her support for such extreme measures as conceal-and-carry legislation.

It will be interesting to see if any of these folks feel compelled to address the issue of gun control policy in the coming days. There will certainly be pressure to take up the defense or go on the offensive since some of their more avid supporters are not waiting. Witness this comment on Steelman’s facebook page:

… The so called “GOOD People” of Aurora allowed this to happen by allowing a theater to BAN guns. Now who is going to abide? Only the murderer will decide who dies. No sympathy here. You reap what you sow. Deal with it.

Steelman and others on the right should quickly distance themselves from this type of callous and ugly drivel if they feel the need to cultivate any credibility beyond Tea Party confines. It ought to be easy to do since this rhetoric is basically nothing more than stupid, macho swagger with no basis in fact – as Dave Weigel demonstrated in his takedown of the this meme in regard to the Aurora shootings.

The second type of response is exemplified by Rep. Billy Long (R-7) who has chosen to take the creative route à la Lois Gohmert. He has attempted to place himself on the moral high road while avoiding the issue of guns and managing to get in a swipe at the mainstream media – all at the same time. He wants “media” to “show some leadership” and stop showing photos of James Holmes; the news media should, according to Long, reserve their attention for the victims. He apparently thinks that the news coverage should be restricted to sensational exploitation of the dead, wounded and grieving, rather than probing the whys and hows of the tragedy. The latter, of course, might lead to uncomfortable questions about such things as legislation to ban assault guns which Billy, a long time NRA cheerleader, is on the record as opposing

Third and last, only one Missouri politician – at least as far as I am aware – has had the moral wherewithal to confront the elephant in the room, the outsize influence of the National Rifle Association. State Rep. Stacy Newman (D-73) has had the guts to call it the way lots of us see it:

As a Million Mom Marcher who has worked since 2000 to prevent needless gun violence, I am outraged that the gun lobby has continued to negatively influence our legislature.  Instead of passing sensible gun laws, the NRA has taken our legislature hostage with the passage of less restrictive and less prohibitive firearm laws. The gun lobby has consistently turned their backs on efforts to pass common sense legislation which could save lives.  Their motive is simple – increase gun manufacturers profits.  Tragedies like the Colorado theatre shooting should not happen in civilized society. They happen because legislatures let the N.R.A. write our gun laws.

This type of leadership isn’t just courageous, it’s essential. You want to know what Newman’s up against, read Randy Turner’s indictment of NRA influence in Missouri. You want to know what we’re all up against, just consider that last Saturday night, the police escorted a man out of an Ozark theater after he entered with a gun strapped on his hip. He did nothing illegal, though, according to the local Sheriff, since he was “just exercising his right to carry a firearm.”

I wonder how many other wannabe cowboys are going to use the Aurora incident as an excuse for showing off their guns. And how long it’ll be until an innocent bystander gets caught in some stupid shoot-out. It may be true that guns don’t kill people, people do, but it’s also true that people use guns to kill people, often lots of people, quickly and easily, no fuss, no bother, sometimes without even meaning to do so.

UPDATE:  Steve Benen also considers the conservative refrain that an armed populace can best defend against crazy shooters – specifically noting how, during the shooting of Gabby Gifford, an armed responder came close to mistakenly shooting an innocent person. A greater disaster was only averted because he had the sense not to use his gun. Benen also points us to reporter Laura Conaway’s efforts to verify stories about “armed heroes” who save the day – most of which she concludes don’t stand up to close examination.

If, on the other hand, you’re interested in a case where possession of a firearm made a situation worse, you need only look to the recent road-rage shooting incident in Missouri.

   

Candidate Filing: 1st Congressional District

28 Tuesday Feb 2012

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

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1st Congressional District, candidate filing, Lacy Clay, missouri, Russ Carnahan

Candidate filing commenced today in Jefferson City. In the 1st Congressional District, via the Missouri Secretary of State, a consequence of redistricting and the loss of one congressional seat in Missouri – two sitting members of Congress from the same party facing each other in a primary:

UNOFFICIAL Candidate Filing List

Ballot Placement: First day filers (2/28/2012) selected a number by random drawing to determine their placement on the primary ballot. After the first day, all candidates are placed on the ballot in order of their filing.

Candidates are not listed in ballot order.  Ballot order will be displayed after 5:00 p.m.

(Name, Mailing Address and Date/Time Filed as of 2/28/2012 11:39 a.m.)

U.S. Representative – District 1

Democrat

Candice Britton 6614 CLAYTON ROAD, #148

ST LOUIS MO 63117 2/28/2012

8:36 a.m.

Russ Carnahan 3150 ALLEN AVENUE

ST LOUIS MO 63104 2/28/2012

8:46 a.m.

Lacy Clay 6023 WATERMAN, APT 1W

ST LOUIS MO 63112 2/28/2012

9:44 a.m.

Republican

Martin D Baker PO BOX 8712

ST LOUIS MO 63101 2/28/2012

8:53 a.m.

Robyn Hamlin 21 NOB HILL DR

ST LOUIS MO 63138 2/28/2012

10:28 a.m.

Not particularly a surprise, but, nevertheless, oh my.

Letters redux – righteous version

05 Saturday Nov 2011

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

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Emanuel Cleaver, Lacy Clay, missouri, Russ Carnahan, Voting rights

Missourians have been busy signing letters today – and at least some of Missouri’s Democratic pols are doing so in a good cause – protesting the new, reconfigured, better-than-ever, poll tax proxies that constitute the latest salvos in the newly energized GOP war on voting:

House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05) and Ranking Member of the House Administration Committee Robert Brady (PA-01) led a letter sent to Secretaries of State today urging them to oppose new state measures adopted over the last year that would make it harder for eligible voters to register or vote. The letter was signed by 196 House Democrats, including Hoyer and Brady.

Adding their names to the letter were all three of Missouri’s Democratic House members, Emanuel Cleaver (05), Russ Carnahan (03), and Lacy Clay (01).  Republicans signing the letter: zero, zip, nada. I guess they were just too scared by the ghost of Acorn or some other fictional agent of non-existent voter fraud. Or maybe they’re just afraid of their own constituents?  

Reps. Clay and Carnahan sign letter to Clarence Thomas

10 Thursday Feb 2011

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Clarence Thomas, Conflict of Interest, Elena Kagan, Gini Thomas, Lacy Clay, missouri, Orin Hatch, Russ Carnahan, Supreme Court

Today Rep. Athony Wiener (D-NY) sent a letter to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas asking that he recuse himself from hearing challenges to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). According to Wiener and the letter’s 73 cosigners, the fact that Thomas’ lobbyist wife, Virginia (Gini), has worked in a professional capacity to defeat the legislation constitutes a conflict of interest. Wiener also noted Gini Thomas’ involvement with clients that had benefited from the Court’s Citizen United ruling.

Among the cosigners were Missouri’s Lacy Clay (D-1) and Russ Carnahan (D-3). Notably absent were signatures from any of the Republican members of the Missouri delegation. While their abstinence may be understandable from a political point of view, it is certainly questionable given that, as Think Progress‘ Ian Milhiser notes apropos the federal recusal statute:

… conservatives have already interpreted this ethics law in a way that requires Justice Thomas to recuse himself from the health care litigation. After progressive Judge Stephen Reinhardt was assigned to the appellate panel that was to hear a challenge to anti-gay Proposition 8, supporters of the anti-gay law called for Reinhardt to recuse because his wife’s organization advocates against Prop 8.

Certainly, in light of Gini Thomas’ activities – and the added fillip that her husband has for many years failed to report her income as he is required to do – it would seem that there is more substance to Weiner’s claims than in the efforts of conservative Orin Hatch to trump up objections to Elena Kagan prior to the court’s inevitable review of the ACA. Hatch recently questioned Kagan’s impartiality to hear cases related to the ACA on the basis that she served as Obama’s Solicitor General while it was taking shape, although Kagan had previously stated that “she had not been involved in legal strategy sessions about how to defend the health-care plan against charges that it is unconstitutional.”

It will be interesting to see how the Missouri GOPers react as this little conflict of interest contest rolls out. Meanwhile, kudos to Clay and Carnahan. Somebody needs to call Thomas out about what seems to be a pattern of abuse related to his judical activism.

One last appeal for state Dems to get their act together

23 Tuesday Nov 2010

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

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Tags

Chris Koster, Claire McCaskill, Gov. Jay Nixon, Lacy Clay, Missouri Progressive Democrats, Russ Carnahan

On Saturday, a group of us met in Clayton to discuss ways to get the attention of state Democratic Party leaders in order to make them fix the problems in the party infrastructure.  We concluded that we need a paid, dedicated state party director, a talented communications director who will proactively get the message out that we are the better choice if voters want to keep America from sinking to third world status, and someone who actually makes the township and county central committee members work to build the local networks critical for winning elections.

If we don’t see some improvement in the way the state party functions, we’re withholding our campaign contributions and volunteer time.  The word is already out that we’re doing this and many Dems are calling saying they want to join us.

Claire McCaskill is already sending out donation requests to be part of “Claire’s Crew.”  No thanks.  Not until we see some backbone on the part of our elected Dems.  It’s not enough to say the alternative is worse.  We have to have a reason to shout from the rooftops why we love our candidates.

This is the letter going to Gov. Nixon this week:

November 21, 2010

The Honorable Governor Jay Nixon

Missouri Capitol Building

Room 216

Jefferson, City,Mo.65101

Dear Governor Nixon:

I am sure you are aware that progressive Democrats around the country are regrouping in response to the disappointing results of the recent midterm elections.

Today a core group of active Democrats in St. Louis County met to discuss how to we can make the Missouri Democratic Party more effective.

We concluded that we Democrats have much to be proud of and our values clearly reflect the best interest of the majority of citizens. The Republicans have purposely degraded a lot of what progressives hold dear.

Our Democratic priorities which include equal educational opportunities, a fair tax structure, civil rights, security, protection of the environment, basic health care and decent paying jobs need to be spelled out clearly and persuasively. We need someone to generate talking points that we can all use so our message will sink in and motivate voters to side with us.If false information is generated by the media we need it to be quickly addressed and the true facts given out.

Therefore we’re asking you, our Governor and head of the Missouri Democratic Party, to meet with us to discuss how to improve the effectiveness of the State Party.

We would like to talk to you about hiring a full-time paid Director, a publicist/message developer,and an outreach co-ordinator to reach all of our state’s townships with our democratic objectives.

There is so much that can be done with the internet, with direct mailers, and other media opportunities.

Today we pledged, as a group, that we will not get involved in campaigns for State and National candidates until we meet with you and we feel a more effective party is established. I will be sending a copy of this letter to Craig Hosmer,Clint Zweifel and Chris Koster.. Copies of a similar letter have been sent to Sen.Claire McCaskill, Representative Russ Carnahan and Representative Lacy Clay.

We hope you can find time in your busy schedule when you are in the St. Louis area to meet with us. If you have no trips planned in the near future, we will come to your office.

Thank you for your attention to our serious concerns. We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

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