Our friends at Progress Missouri (no, that’s not us) sponsored a progressive summit in Columbia, Missouri on December 5th and 6th. There were a number of workshops and panels over the course of the two day event. We participated in a panel on new media on Saturday morning (more on that later) and also attended several of the other sessions.

The first panel session on Saturday morning titled “How to Not Be a Terrible Advocate: Advocacy from Targets’ Perspectives” (when you go to Jefferson City to talk to someone in the capitol) included Violet Marcel, Representative Randy Dunn (D), Greta Bax, and Representative Tracy McCreery (D).

(left to right) Violet Marcel, Rep. Randy Dunn (D), and Greta Bax.

Representative Tracy McCreery (D).

The short answer: know your stuff and don’t be a jerk.

Michelle Trupianao spoke on Medicaid Expansion on behalf of the Missouri Medicaid Coalition in early afternoon sessions.

Michelle Trupiano.

The organizer watched the proceedings:

Sean Soendker Nicholson, Executive Director of Progress Missouri.

One of the late afternoon sessions was “Rehabilitation or Incarceration: Drug Policy Reform as a Social Justice Issue”. Former NPR affiliate reporter LeShea Agnew recounted her chilling story.

Former NPR affiliate reporter LeShea Agnew.

Mustafa Abdullah, ACLU Program Associate.

Previously:

I <3 Columbia (December 6, 2014)

I <3 Columbia – part 2 (December 6, 2014)

This evening on the street in downtown Columbia, Missouri:

…on the walk back to the parking garage after the Progress Missouri Progressive Summit.

Previously:

I <3 Columbia (December 6, 2014)

This evening on the street in downtown Columbia, Missouri:

Aaargh, there be pirates nearby.

…on the walk back to the parking garage after the Progress Missouri Progressive Summit.

Previously: Sen. Claire McCaskill (D): showing up is more than half the battle (March 17, 2014)

“…Most of the people that have that kind of coverage, if they’ll shop on the exchange they’re gonna get better insurance for less money. So I think the problem’s gonna take care of itself, ’cause I don’t think very many smart people are gonna want to hold on to a policy that doesn’t give them very good benefits for a higher premium than they can buy on the exchange. So, it, it is, but we’ve now extended, people can keep it now for two years, which is much longer than the average length of time that anybody keeps those kinds of policies…”

Senator Claire McCaskill (D) held a press availability after yesterday’s town hall in Columbia.

Senator Claire McCaskill (D) at a press availability after her town hall in Columbia – March 17, 2014.

The transcript of the press availability:

Question: ….I have a question concerning the possible increase of the minimum wage in Missouri. Uh, what is your reaction to it, to this? And some people say it might cut off jobs in Missouri and people wanting to move jobs in other states. What is your reaction on this project?

Senator Claire McCaskill (D):  Well, I think that’s one of the reasons that a national minimum wage is important, um, because it keeps the kind of border wars that we’ve seen pop up around Missouri, uh, from time to time, especially with our friends in Kansas. Uh, if the minimum wage had just kept up with inflation it would be higher than the proposed level of minimum wage that the President is advocating. So, I believe that if you raise the floor then it raises everyone. And one of the things we’re all focused on is how can we shore up the middle class, how can we, um, reverse a trend where we are separating the haves and the have nots more and more every year. So, I support the increase in minimum wage and even though people say, well, it’s all kids, only twenty percent of the people who receive minimum wage are teenagers. Um, more than half of them are women. And more than a fourth of them are supporting children. So, it, this isn’t just, um, for, you know, sixteen seventeen year olds that are working a part time job. It is, um, a lifeline for many, many American families.

Question: And for the particular, uh, increasing wage in Missouri for ten dollars, uh, per hour? What is your reaction to this on the state level?

Senator McCaskill: Well, I’m, Jefferson City, we have a, a minimum wage that increases with inflation that was voted on by the people of Missouri. So, but it began, um, much later than the national minimum wage so it, too, has not kept up with inflation based on what the federal minimum wage was.

[….]

But the minimum wage is being proposed would be a national minimum wage, it would affect every state….

….Question: You mentioned, uh, the sexual assault thing on the military level and now you mentioned college campuses. What kind of, um, policy would you guys be enable to enact on college campuses?

Senator McCaskill: Well, right now what we’re trying to do is gather information. Um, how under reported is it, uh, what services are available, um, do people on campus know where they can go, uh, where is a safe harbor they can go and, and get help? Um, are there people available that are counseling victims from the moment they report, uh, as to what would happen if they came forward and giving them good information so they are not frightened of coming out of the shadows? In my experience the main difference between a case that is successful in terms of putting a rapist in prison and one that isn’t is how much support and information the victim got at the critical moment that they first informed someone of it. So, it is really looking to see how aggressively our college campuses stressing that with resources and personnel to help, uh, young men and women in that situation.

Question: What do you know about Missouri? It seems like if there’s a rape on campus and it’s reported everybody knows about it. Is there a big problem about them not being reported, do you think, or? [crosstalk] Really?

Senator McCaskill: Yes. [crosstalk] Yes, I think there’s a huge problem of them not being reported. I think it is, um, endemic across this country. I think, um, young women in college that find themselves in a situation where they’ve been sexually assaulted have a very difficult decision and they’re at an age it’s very difficult to figure out the right way forward. Um, and I think that sometimes it’s, they immediately begin blaming themselves, well, I shouldn’t have been at that party, or I shouldn’t have had that much to drink, or maybe somehow it’s my fault. Well, all of those things are crazy. Um, it doesn’t matter how much you drink, you’re not, you do not deserve to be assaulted. Um, and so it is really kind of getting that information out and making sure that, that everybody understands the consequences of committing that crime.

[crosstalk]

Question: You’re here to talk about jobs and the economy, but you got a wide range of questions. What would you say about the Columbia group that you, uh, uh, responded to today?

Senator McCaskill: I love Columbia. Um, and, and you always get a group of questions in Columbia. I, you, you can get questions from the very far right and you get questions from some of the more liberal, uh, Missourians in Columbia. So, this, this day was no different than most town halls in Columbia, everything from why aren’t we legalizing marijuana to can’t we get rid of the federal government.

Question: What’s the point of giving the basket, uh…what’s the point of that?

Senator McCaskill: Well, I, when I began doing these town halls there were people, um, that were saying in social media and other places, oh, well, every town hall is a fix, you know, they go out there and they’ve got their talking points and, you know, they only answer the questions of people that they’ve planted in the audience. So, I want to make sure that people who bother to come to our town halls know there’s no fix. And I figure the best way to do that is to let somebody in the audience self identify as someone who can’t stand me [laugh] and let them be the one that pull the questions out. And that way nobody thinks that we’re trying to pull one over on anybody.

Question: Senator, the, uh, special election in the Florida thirteenth, uh, some are saying that’s an indictment of Obama, the Affordable Care Act and, uh, that Democrats should run from it this election cycle. Should they embrace it or should they look elsewhere?

Senator McCaskill: Well, it’s interesting. We didn’t get one question on it today, maybe briefly mentioned in one. Um, and frankly we really didn’t get any questions on it in Hannibal. Um, jobs are going up, our stock market is [inaudible] amazing, uh, we got a great private job growth, so the sky is not falling. The way I heard it is the minute Obamacare was in it was gonna be the end of America as we know it. Uh, I think millions of people are getting insurance that couldn’t get it before. I get letters every day from Missourians, small businesses, saying, we could never afford to cover our employees before and we now have insurance coverage. As time goes on and people figure out that it’s not what they’ve been told I think it will get, um, less and less powerful as a political tool. And I think the election in Florida was more about the two candidates who were running and whether or not they were accepted or rejected by those voters and turnout and all kinds of things. You can’t make one broad sweep that, okay, that’s it. Uh, if Obamacare was going to be a defining issue for elections I wouldn’t be standing here.

Question: One more question on that. Um, twenty-thirteen Politifact called the statement, if you like your insurance you can keep it, the lie of the year. That’s a statement you made as well. Do you consider that a lie and do you think you should apologize like the President did?

Senator McCaskill: Well, I, I believe, I’m happy to apologize for anything that I said that was a misstatement. That’s, I, I’m not afraid to say I’ve, I’m, I’m not perfect and I’ve made mistakes. And there’s problems with this bill. But I know when I first ran for office the number one issue came, people came up to me was, I can’t stay on the farm ’cause we can’t get insurance. And we didn’t do a one size fits all public plan, we have different choices that people can make of private insurance companies. Uh, it was an idea that was put forward by the Heritage Foundation. It was their idea. It was why Mitt Romney used this approach in Massachusetts and it’s working. So, we have now said if you want to keep these policies, and frankly that market churns so much it’s very unusual for someone to keep one of those policies longer than a year anyway, because it is the, it is the minimal, minimal type of coverage that get because they can’t get anything else or don’t want anything else. Most of the people that have that kind of coverage, if they’ll shop on the exchange they’re gonna get better insurance for less money. So I think the problem’s gonna take care of itself, ’cause I don’t think very many smart people are gonna want to hold on to a policy that doesn’t give them very good benefits for a higher premium than they can buy on the exchange. So, it, it is, but we’ve now extended, people can keep it now for two years, which is much longer than the average length of time that anybody keeps those kinds of policies.

Question: [inaudible] of Medicaid at the end. Um, there’s a proposal in the [Missouri] House right now and Governor Nixon’s sort of signing on to it that would require, uh, enact a work requirement for Medicaid. Um, it would require a federal waiver. Do you think Sebelius and the, uh, Human Services would be willing to give that to Missouri?

Senator McCaskill: Well, I don’t want to stop the discussion. Uh, I, I’m just relieved there are some Republicans that don’t want to give away our tax dollars to New York and California. That’s reassuring to me. So, I, I’m glad the conversation’s occurring, I think there have been several Republicans who have stepped up and said, including my former colleague senator Bond, and a group that has done everything in their power to make sure I’m not elected every time, and that’s the Missouri Chamber of Commerce, um, and all the hospitals. I mean, these are not crazy liberals that are saying don’t give our money away to another state. These are respected Republicans. And I’m glad this is occurring, I hope we find a way forward that can get enough votes to pass so we don’t pass up that money, uh, that we need very badly in Missouri. And, uh, but, a, a, the, I mean, a pilot program, um, has been proposed various places. Uh, I think that CMS and Kathleen Sebelius and, and, and her agency wants to work with states to try to make this happen. As you know Arkansas did something much different, other states did different things, so I’d rather keep the conversation open rather than just putting it down right now.

Question: Do they have enough flexibility, I mean, to enact some sort of waiver for a work requirement, do you think?

Senator McCaskill: It would depend on what it looked like, I think. Um, but let’s, let’s keep our fingers crossed that debate continues rather than us just saying, Obamacare is the end all evil of all time and I refuse to let go of it as a political weapon for this election, so therefore I can’t even, if we could just rename it the I hate Obamacare Medicaid expansion maybe we could get it passed.

Question: What are some of the problems you said your colleagues in Colorado are seeing since the legalization of marijuana?

Senator McCaskill: Well, there’s been a, um, uh, a tourist traffic for getting high. Um, and, um, I’m not sure that they anticipated that. And I think there has been some negative consequences in terms of some of those issues. I think the regulation has been more difficult than they thought it would be. But, I’m, I’m, in fact I’m due to sit down with both of them and, um, talk about, I, you know, I think that there is some buyer’s remorse by some folks in Colorado.

Question: You’ve made the statement several times now that we’re giving Missouri tax dollars away to New York. Isn’t it true that Missouri brings in more federal, from the federal government than we pay?

Senator McCaskill: You know, we’re trying to do right now, that, that calculation? I believe this decision will change us from a state that gets more than we pay to a state that gets less than we pay.

Question: But we, right now, we get more than we pay, right?

Senator McCaskill: On highway funds.

Question: Overall.

Senator McCaskill: Well, it, it, it, if we continue to pass this up, especially with our revenue being so low? Um, we have one of the lowest revenues in, in the country. We’re very dependent on federal money. So, it will be an issue, um, the numbers, the problem with that calculation is most of it’s very old. Uh, the calculation that we’re getting more, I can’t tell you we are right now, ’cause they don’t have the numbers for right now.  They have it for two year [crosstalk]…

Question:  [crosstalk] John, John Stewart says we do.

Senator McCaskill: …two years ago. Well, there, there you go. I should know better, sourcing John Stewart. [laugh] Um. [crosstalk]

Staffer: Time for one more question about.

Senator McCaskill: But, it, it depends , uh, the number that I give, a dollar forty for every dollar in the highway trust fund, that number is about two and a half years old. So, we’re trying to get recent numbers because I, I think that this could be the tipping point that will put us over in the category that we are paying more than we’re getting back.

Question: I have a very quick question. Are you going to have somebody to run against Vicky Hartzler this year?

Senator McCaskill: You know what, I’m here as a senator, not as a political candidate, so I will not be able to answer that question in this environment. I’m in the city hall and that’s a purely political question that probably should be answered outside the city hall. Thank you.

[….]

Question: Senator, have you observed any positive changes in, uh, filibuster in the Senate in the sense in the changes in the rules?

Senator McCaskill: Yes and no. Um, we, it now, they’re making it very difficult for us procedurally, they’re not, they’re not yielding back any time. So it takes a long time, um, but we are, and frankly, most of them we’ve gotten through we’ve gotten through by more than sixty votes. There has not been that many nominees that were passed by less than sixty votes., which goes to show you this has all been about delay and not about qualifications. There have been a few that have been voted down and, and there have been a few that did not get sixty. But the vast majority of ’em are getting more than sixty.

Question: But, have you seen progress in at least moving things forward?

Senator McCaskill: Yeah, well, one thing about it is we don’t have to take a whole week for five nominees, we can do it in two days instead, which is very frustrating when they pass by eighty-two to two. You know, why, why can’t we just gin ’em up  and vote on ’em and get on to other things that we need to be doing? It’s frustrating.

Staffer:  We’ve got to wrap guys, sorry.

Senator McCaskill: Sorry, got another stop. Thank you, guys.

Voices: Thank you.

Senator Claire McCaskill (D).

“…Well, have you talked to Vicky Hartzler? [laughter]…”

Senator Claire McCaskill (D) has scheduled a significant number of informational events and town halls across the state this week. Today’s events included town halls in Hannibal and Columbia. Approximately 150 people attended the late morning town hall held in the city council chambers of Columbia’s City Hall.

Individuals attending these town halls have the opportunity to submit a question in writing for Senator McCaskill. The written questions are then placed in a basket which is entrusted to a volunteer member of the audience – an individual who self identifies as not supporting the senator. Senator McCaskill asks that the volunteer not read the questions before pulling them from the basket. Once the question is pulled from the basket by the volunteer a staffer takes the question to Senator McCaskill.

Senator McCaskill spoke briefly at the start of the hour long event and then proceeded to take and answer questions. There were questions on immigration reform, the defense budget, the Keystone pipeline, propane prices, medical marijuana, recreational marijuana, and Benghazi!, among others. There was one question from someone in attendance about a specific constituent issue – the Senator asked her to get her question to a staffer at the event so that it could be addressed.

Senator Claire McCaskill (D), speaking at the second of two events of the day, a town hall in Columbia, Missouri – March 17, 2014.

A transcript of portions of the hour long town hall:

Question: (read by Senator McCaskill)  “What can we citizens do to encourage immigration law reform since the House will not take up the bill?”

[….]

Senator McCaskill (D): Well, have you talked to Vicky Hartzler? [laughter] That’s important. Um, and it is a real competitive disadvantage of, we’ve got the [inaudible], they can’t fill the jobs they need filled.  Uh, they just can’t fill ’em. And, um, the other thing is, of course, we want to make sure that the brilliant people that graduate from the University of Missouri that have fallen in love with America, who couldn’t, right, that are now have the great skill that can help our economy, and what we want to do is, the minute they get their diploma we want to kick ’em out. That doesn’t make any sense to me. Um, so we passed a good bipartisan bill in the Senate, uh, wide bipartisan margin. It, it wasn’t perfect, it was a compromise. And I think we are continuing to work hard, and I think the House is beginning to feel some pressure. Uh, at least I hope so.

[….]

Senator Claire McCaskill (D), speaking at a town hall in the city council chambers at City Hall in Columbia, Missouri – March 17, 2014.

….Question: (read by Senator McCaskill)  “What is the status of the Employment Nondiscrimination Act in Congress? What is included or left out?”

Senator McCaskill (D):  Um, well, it’s, we’ve got the votes in the Senate. We just don’t have the votes in the House. So, it’s a matter of getting more of our Republican friends in the House to be willing to either vote for it or at least give it a chance to be brought up. I think we could have enough, it’s a, you know, they have this thing called the Hastert Rule. I don’t know if you all are familiar with this. But this is a rule that says if a majority of the Republicans in the House aren’t for something the Speaker won’t bring it to the floor. So, there has to be a majority of Republicans for it for it to be considered. Which means you don’t have the situation where you could get a lot of Democrats and a few Republicans to vote for something, then pass it. Um, you know, so it is, uh, frankly my version of the Sexual Assault Bill was a lot of, there was, there was about an even split between Republicans and Democrats. And, but they don’t do that in the House. And so getting the Speaker to bring it to the floor is part of the problem. And that’s where we’ve, it’s a little bit like immigration reform. I think we could pass immigration reform the same way….

[….]

Question: (read by Senator McCaskill)  “The Pentagon recently announced a two point five billion dollar contract o bring wings for the F-35 fighter in Israel. With all of the qualified aerospace workers in St. Louis, Missouri, Wichita, why not spend our dollars creating jobs for American workers?”

Senator McCaskill (D):  Well, I’m gonna look at that. Um, I’m not a big fan of the F-35 in the first place. You look up in the dictionary a weapons system that is a poster child for over budget and off schedule it’s the F-35. Um, it is a very, very expensive fighter jet. Uh, it is more than twice as expensive as the [inaudible] so I’m continuing to monitor the F, the F-35 because I think it is something that, um, is, is, has just been out of control. So I would particularly like to see if they’ve done that on the F-35. I had not heard that they had done that on the F-35. But it would be one more weapon in my arsenal, pardon the expression, [laughter] because I’m not a fan of the F-35.

[….]

Question: (read by Senator McCaskill)  “What progress is being made investigating the murders of four Americans in Benghazi, Libya?”

Senator McCaskill (D): [extensive outline of various hearings and investigations] …We had people come forward on Sixty Minutes that turned out were bogus, that said things that just weren’t true. Um, I think if, if you get to the bottom of it you realize that we have people in danger all over the world and at the same time we’re asking our military to do much less with much less. And the question is, how do we, and by the way, I’ve been on this embassy security kick way before Benghazi, because in Kabul [Afghanistan] we had a real problem with security contracts. We’ve turned over security contracts at the embassy two or three times, including finding some really wrong doing on the part of embassy security. So, it is a matter of, one, one hand saying spend less, we’re cutting your budget, and the other hand saying, why can’t you be everywhere at the same time, anticipating everything. Um, but no question, mistakes were made and, and, and my job is to make sure we learn from those mistakes. My job is to make sure we that do better.

[….]

By the way, I want to remind everybody about the federal government, though. ‘Cause I think that it’s been kind of in vogue in some quarters to say that the federal government is the enemy, if we could just somehow do away with the federal government we would be much better off. Um, I want to make everybody realizes that Jefferson City, the money they appropriate, at least half of the money they appropriate is federal money. So, we’ll take that away and, um, it, it, it, it would be a real challenge. And I don’t know how we do the Mississippi River, I don’t know how we do interstate highways, I don’t know how we go after bad drug dealers that come from other countries, uh, I don’t know how we make sure our air is clean and our water is safe. Uh, some of these things don’t work in, in state borders. And so, while I am absolutely, should we be helping build highways, the federal government? I think we should. Um, and if we’re not, then, um, we’ve got a real challenge in America staying in the top tier of countries in the world. There’s not a nation in the world that’s not using [their] federal money to support national infrastructure. Not a nation in the world. Now, we want to be one of those countries [that doesn’t] and we will be a country of the haves and have nots. We’ll have a, you know, that’s when you look around the globe, what people really admire us for, besides our rule of law, and our freedoms, to say whatever we want, to show up here and give me the business and, and me try to defend myself, of all of these things they admire that. But, the other thing they really admire? Every country has really rich people. Every single one. And every country has really poor people. But what a whole lot of countries don’t have is anything in the middle. And it is in fact the reason, because we did interstate highways, and we have programs like the Pell Grants that help kids get to school. It is that that has separated us [from the world] and allowed the growth of this middle class….

[….]

Question: (read by Senator McCaskill)  “With the aggression of Russia, hostility of Iran, and potential of increased military spending by China, how can we justify cutting the military budget so drastically.”

Senator McCaskill (D): ….I, I think we have to be very, very careful….We have to be very careful. Um, I’ve been somebody who’s spent a lot of time looking at the way the Pentagon spends money when I first got there. And I’ll be honest with you, when I got to Washington I realized that for a decade after nine eleven it was like, imagine if you had teenagers and if every time they asked you for something you said yes. Can you imagine what they would eventually ask for if you never said no? And that’s what had happened. Because everyone in a visceral way was so upset about nine eleven, it went on such an escalation of military spending….

[….]

….I, I want to just tell everybody, um, I, a full room like this in the middle of the day on a week day makes me feel great about America. I know it’s a little corny to say this, but to me this is about, it isn’t a flag pin, or magnet you put on the back of your car. It’s whether or not you participate in this messy grand and glorious Democracy that we’ve made work for so long. And we can disagree with one another and many of us in this room do. Um, many of you who voted for me are walking out of here disappointed in me because I’m not there on some of the issues you care deeply about. Many of you who will never vote for me are walking out of this room going, I’m still never gonna vote for her. [laughter] But the point is we’re here together and we’re having a civil conversation discussing real issues. And this is something that is unique to our country in so many ways. I’m so proud of it. So, thank you for doing me this favor of being here today. Thanks [applause] [inaudible].

Senator Claire McCaskill (D).

Ron Paul stopped in Columbia, Missouri on Thursday March 15.  The Quad was full of supporters and students.  He spoke of many real concerns that people can relate to.

Vigil for Dr. George Tiller in Columbia – June 2, 2009 – part 1

Vigil for Dr. George Tiller in Columbia – June 2, 2009 – part 2

Vigil for Dr. George Tiller in Columbia – June 2, 2009 – part 3

Vicky Riback Wilson (left) and Missouri State Representative Mary Still (center).

Missouri State Representative Mary Still:…I think it demonstrates something that we all need to hear. That very good people, religious people, have a need of these services that were provided by this doctor.

And, we have today crossed the line as far as I’m concerned. A good man was shot dead in a church. They crossed a line. And we must learn how to cope with that, how to understand it, and what sense that we must make. And, my observation is that words matter. Things that people say matter.

And I have been in the state legislature now for four months. And I have seen the words used. And I have seen the discussion. And it’s guns, and it’s God, and it’s abortion. And the way these issues are framed for political gain and at the expense of the general common good is shameful.

And this incident demonstrates all three.

Abortion, guns, and God. And a good man has been killed in church. Apparently, a deranged man, a mentally ill person, has perhaps heard these words. We can’t blame a certain party or a certain element for, for, because one person is deranged. But we can acknowledge that what we say, especially people in positions of power, can have influence on people and influence on someone who might be mentally unstable.

So, at this time I want to weigh my words because I am outraged.  But I want and pray that we can use this as an opportunity to know that violence is not the answer. And to find the common ground on these flash point issues so that we can continue as a state to move forward and continue to recognize that very good people, very well-meaning people may disagree on this issue, but we must find a common ground. And it’s not violence….

….former Missouri State Representative Vicky Riback Wilson: …We’ve heard tonight from people who had the privilege of knowing Dr. Tiller personally. We’ve heard from people who feel strongly about issues that are important in our society. My guess is, however, that there is a different and unique motivation, and a complex motivation, for each of you and each of us who came here tonight.

Most of us didn’t know Dr. Tiller. Most of us, if you’re anything like me, had never even heard of Dr. Tiller, even though I was active, in this area. But the complexity of emotions, I think, that brought each of us here typifies the complexities of the issues that surround, not only reproductive health in our society, but as Representative Still said, all, the whole complex of issues that are brought together around this one event.

We come not just to pay honor to Dr. Tiller, we also come with renewed fervor for making sure that reproductive health is protected, especially and most importantly for those families who have children who are desperately wanted and through some terrible misfortune the pregnancy goes horribly wrong. And they’re left now in our society with very few choices and very few physicians willing to provide the necessary services.

We come here because we worry about gun violence. And people who can pull out a gun and shoot someone, particularly, in a church, a protected and sacred setting. And we come here because we need a protected place to have our voices heard. And be able to speak safely about all of this turmoil of emotions that have been brought to the fore when an event like this happens, mile away, to someone we don’t know, but that so deeply touches things that each of us hold dear and in which we believe.

Tonight is the reminder for all of us, not only to stand together, but to stand separately as we talk to elected officials, as we talk to newspaper people, as we talk to the media, and, perhaps most importantly, as we talk to our friends. We’ve cloaked ourselves in fear about expressing how we really feel about these key issues far too often. Now is the time to take this opportunity to discuss the issues and the feelings surrounding this type of event, so that perhaps it will not happen again…

Vigil for Dr. George Tiller in Columbia – June 2, 2009 – part 1

Vigil for Dr. George Tiller in Columbia – June 2, 2009 – part 2

Phillip Wood, from Columbia, spoke of his family’s personal experience with Dr. George Tiller:

Phillip Wood:…I can think of three reasons why I’m very happy to be here tonight. One, is when our lives have been touched by greatness. We are the richer for that. And secondly, I think that George Tiller did a lot for my family at a point when we really needed a lot. And third, if you knew George Tiller, he would have wanted it that way.

I found out about the murder and I ran downstairs to the Internet and found the address of, of the church that he was at…and found the web site and sent a brief note. I want to read you just a few things about that in about a minute.

But, in the three, four days that I knew George Tiller he was not what I expected. By the time that we were going to terminate the pregnancy, and we’re in Wichita, Kansas, I kept thinking an abortion clinic was going to be kind of a cross between a hospital and a funeral home. I wasn’t ready for this loud, happy, and energetic man, who told terrible, corny jokes.  But, I found out later he’s a Lutheran, so that’s kind of an occupational hazard. [laughter]

I did write a few notes to the members of the congregation at Reformation Lutheran, and I wanted to share those with you today… “Dear brothers and sisters in Christ at reformation Lutheran Church, I am a member of St. Andrews Lutheran Church in Columbia, Missouri. I have only hours ago learned of the tragedy in your church. I am saddened at the violent loss of your church member, George Tiller….”

Phillip Wood in the glare of the video lights.

“…He [garbled] personal care which my wife and I received at his clinic. I am aware that the topic of reproductive rights has been a controversial topic within your church, and hope that sharing our experiences with Dr. Tiller may help provide some solace and affirmation of his commitment to his patients.”

In brief, my wife and I were unable to conceive after our first child, and even sought fertility treatments to have a second child. We were overjoyed to learn that my wife was pregnant with twin boys. But, sadly, late in our pregnancy, learned that the twins suffered from a condition called Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome…in which the blood of one twin becomes transfused with the blood of the other twin. This is a condition that occurs about thirty per cent of twin pregnancies, and in our case, it was a threatening condition to the viability of the twins.

We first sought, of course, to save both twins. And then, we sought treatment in Florida to try to save the life of one twin by tying off the umbilical cord of the other. Unfortunately when we got there we found out that amniotic [garbled] had occurred and the twins were in such a state the pregnancy had [garbled]. As other people who are professional in this area can tell you, no one walks in the door and says, “We need to terminate this pregnancy right now because something’s going to happen.” They say things like, “It is possible that the condition may pose a risk to your ability to conceive in the future.”

Long story short. We drove from Florida to Granite City, east of St. Louis where we were told that well, “One of the twin’s head is a little too large to perform that service here,” and we were referred to Wichita.

I was really uncertain what to do in a situation like this as a husband. But Dr. Tiller asked me to take part in all stages of the termination of the pregnancy. I will spare you the details of the security procedures, of the protesters, of the video cameras, the surveillance cameras everywhere. I will share with you, though, the one thing that struck me on coming into the clinic, was after you went through the sort of airport security thing, you came into this room. It was covered with pictures. Framed pictures. Framed letters. Of people who had said, “Thank you Dr. Tiller…” Some of the pictures were of children. “You know, we went on, we had another kid. And here’s a picture of this beautiful child…”

…After the twins were delivered, I went with my wife back to the bed and was with her. And Dr. Tiller came and said, “Would you like to see your boys now?”  And I said, “Okay.” And I went into the room. And he had wrapped them up in little baby blankets…and he said, “In these situations, usually we perform a service.” If you can kind of picture him, this was kind of how he talked, he was very loud. And I said, “That’ll be nice.”

…And then said, “If you like, take some time with them.” And I remember unwrapping the blanket a bit and, holding up the hand of one of them and watching it kind of curl around my finger. And I looked up, and, Dr. Tiller was kind of wiping away a few tears, just for a very brief, and he turned away. He was very professional. And I opened my mouth to say something. He smiled and said, “It’s okay, take all the time you need.” And he left. And I took all the time I needed to say goodbye…

…We went back to Iowa, had a funeral for them.  And began the slow process of recovery. A couple of weeks after that I was surprised to get an envelope in the mail from the clinic. It was a white envelope, inside that envelope was another envelope. And it said, had the words, “dignity, compassion” and “respect” on it. When I opened that up, inside Dr. Tiller had taped pictures of our brothers…Now, that meant a great deal.

I’m telling you this story about him because it contrasts so much with the loud bedside manner that he had. “I believe that you at Reformation Lutheran have lost a selfless and dedicated health care professional. And someone who did the best he knew how to serve others with thoughtless devotion.”

In the past years I’ve had to listen to Dr. Tiller’s problems on the news. And ,”Oh, I ought to write him a letter.” But, you know, I never did. I wish…I had.

I have testified a bit to the Missouri Senate here and some people have said, “How can you do that?” And I believe I’m trying to do that to pass along the [garbled] measure the care and compassion I have been shown during our experiences with Dr. Tiller and the other health care professionals we worked with. “My prayers are with you and the body of Christ in Reformation Lutheran Church during this difficult time. If you feel others can be helped by sharing this note, please feel free to do so. I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have. If there’s any way I can help your congregation navigate this difficult time of grief, reaction, feeling and, recommitment to compassion, so exemplified by Dr. Tiller, please let me know.”

Thank you.

Vigil for Dr. George Tiller in Columbia – June 2, 2009 – part 1

Sean Spence, a Columbia area activist, spoke of his personal experiences with Dr. George Tiller:

Sean Spence:…I’m here tonight for a, for a fairly personal reason. Over, over the course of nineteen ninety-seven, nineteen ninety-eight I had the good fortune to work with Dr. Tiller on political issues in, in Kansas. And I’ve been to that clinic and sat down, many times, over dinner with him and always felt very fortunate to spend time with him.

One of the things…I, I liked about him was his sense of humor. And, and at one point after we’d been together a few times and talked about some fairly weighty issues, as one does in this political world. We, we talked about the time when he was shot. Which was just a few years before, before that. Which was a few years after he had been bombed. This is what we’re talking about. And he said, he said, “Well you know I was shot here.” [indicating forearm] And he said, “People always kind of wonder, ’cause I was in my car, how was I, how was I shot here? And I said, “Well, how were you shot there, Dr. Tiller?” And he said, “Well she came up to the car,” you know, she, this women who’d flown in from Oregon. You know we talk about the rage and the insanity in these things. And to me it’s personified by a woman, flew from Oregon specifically to carry out murder on someone who is doing something he believed in. And he said, “Well she came up to the car and, and I didn’t know, but I knew there was something going on, and I knew that she was just one of the, one of them. And, so I flipped her off.” [laughter] “That was when she pulled the trigger.” [laughter] To me that, that really did say a lot about, about him. Both sides of that.

I want to tell you that I’m a little bit ashamed to be here tonight. It’s a little emotional. And, and the reason is because when…I called…to ask if we were going to be doing anything. And, and then I mentioned that I’d had some fairly personal experiences with Dr. Tiller. And she said, “Would you say something?” And, you know, I, I told her I had to think about it. And, I, I said, “Well, let me, let me think about it and I’ll let you know later today or tomorrow.”  And I’m embarrassed. That I, that I had to do that. He’s a controversial  man, again, kind of in this world of ours. A man who shouldn’t be controversial. A man who is providing an essential, was providing an essential service for women who needed it in a way most of the women in here will never understand, much less me. I’m certainly never gonna understand. But he was doing something, and he felt it in his heart, in a way that is just incomprehensible. And so to him it was not something that should be controversial and it, and it shouldn’t be. And as I thought about that I was just embarrassed that I didn’t immediately say, “Well yes, let me stand up. Let, let me share my experience and, and my heart on, on this issue.”

Because, you know what, he sure, sure did a lot more than that. You know, every day. Let me tell you what you go through that, in to that, that clinic and it was kind of like, you know, the compound in The Godfather, you know. I mean it was, it was walls and it was, it had to be. Except that it was picketed, you know, all day, every day. There were people who were there all day every day. And he, to get to work, to provide an essential service that very few people in the world were willing to brave the problems to provide, he went there and he did it. And he did it every day. And he did it after his clinic was bombed. And he did it after he was shot. And he did it, and he did it, and he did it, and he stood up.

And it’s the least I can do, stand up and say a few things. And it’s the least all of us can do and, and I think he should be an example for all of us. In every way he’s an example for me. And he’s a reminder that the least we can do, the least every one of us can do, is stand up and talk about what’s right, and talk about what’s in our hearts and do what ever little bit we can. That’s what it means to me…

An outdoor vigil scheduled this evening in Columbia to honor the memory of Dr. George Tiller who was gunned down in his church, allegedly by a disturbed anti-abortion zealot, was brought indoors due to rain and thunderstorms. There were approximately thirty-five individuals in attendance, and an additional ten people representing the press.

A number of individuals spoke of their personal experience with Dr. Tiller – as a family member of a patient in difficult circumstances, as colleagues, and as activists advocating for women’s choice.

As the speakers in turn helped fill out the portrait of Dr. Tiller, he became much less the abstract story – as portrayed by the media and as vilified by those in opposition to him – and assumed his rightful aura as a complex human being, with friends, family, with acts of kindness and humility and caring, working and fighting, sometimes with defiance, for what he believed in.

Constantly dehumanizing someone in life makes it so much easier to ignore or dismiss their death at the hands of another. Learning parts of the story of that person’s humanity after their senseless death makes any attempt at comprehending the insanity of it all impossible.  

The program from the vigil:

Honoring the Life and Memory of Dr. George Tiller

August 8, 1941 – May 31, 2009

– – –

Opening Remarks – Michelle Trupiano…

Personal Remarks

Diane Booth

Phillip Wood

State Representative Mary Still

Sean Spence

Vicky Riback Wilson

Closing Remarks -Bonnie Trickey and Helen Anthony…

Dr. Tiller’s murder is an enormous loss for our movement and for women and their families across America. He provided abortions to women late in their pregnancies and under some of the most difficult medical circumstances. Dr. Tiller had been harassed by abortion opponents for much of his career – his clinic was burned down, he was shot in both arms by an abortion protestor, and he was recently targeted for investigation by Phil Kline in Kansas, with a jury acquittal coming just a few months ago. None of this stopped George Tiller from his commitment to providing women and their families with abortion care that others were unwilling to offer.

Michelle Trupiano (left) speaks at the start of the vigil.

Former Missouri State Representative Vicky Riback Wilson (center left), Missouri State Representative Mary Still (center right), Sean Spence (right).