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Will Westmoreland – Lafayette County Democrats – Higginsville, Missouri – August 9, 2025

11 Monday Aug 2025

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Saturday evening Lafayette County Democrats held their annual fundraising dinner and pie auction in Higginsville. Democratic Party office holders and party officials spoke at the event.

Will Westmoreland was the keynote speaker.

Will Westmoreland.


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Will Westmoreland:….There’s a cloud brewing out there. And the cloud brewing over rural America is the darkest cloud out there right now. You know, Will Rogers used to say, it’s one of my favorite quotes, and some of you have heard it before, when they asked Will Rogers, ‘How do people learn in rural America?’ He said, ‘Well, some learn by reading, some learn by observing, and the rest of them just have to pee on the electric fence for themselves.’ [laughter] And there’s a lot of peeing on the electric fence going on in rural America right now. [laughter] But we can change that….

….We only need three percent of rural America to vote Democrat and we can win the presidency, the House, and the Senate. Well by golly, I’m a rural American and I kind of want a school board that doesn’t ban books. [applause] I want a county clerk that believes in free and fair elections. [cheers, applause] I want a health department that doesn’t think vaccines were sent up from the bowels of hell by the Devil himself. [laughter, applause]….

….I don’t give a damn about what every pundit in this country says, 33% in rural America didn’t vote for this dumbass [cheers, applause]….

Will Westmoreland: ….Everything that this administration does is a grift, but when it comes to privatization, when it comes to taking money out of our rural schools and sending it to private schools where 75% of the kids that get that money are already enrolled, it’s not just about the grift, it’s about indoctrination and you can count on that. [applause]….

….Did you ever see a president when he looks at rural ag policy he looks like a cow looking at a new gate? [laughter] Some of you get that. [laughter] This guy has absolutely pulled out the rug from under American farmers and this country….

….Every time I hear somebody say there’s not a difference between the two parties in this country I tell ’em, ‘bullshit.’ [applause] When my dad died when I was five years old and we didn’t have a place to live, and the republican party said, ‘you’re a burden to this country,’ it was the Democratic Party that made sure we had a roof over our head in the form of public housing. [applause] When the cupboards in our kitchen were bare, and the republicans said, ‘go to your church or go find a family member,’ it was the Democratic Party that gave us that funny money [applause] that we could take down to the grocery store and but food to feed our family. When my mother stepped up to the plate and went back to college to earn herself a degree to support her family and the republicans said, ‘we’re not gonna pay for it,’ it was the Democrats that gave her a Pell grant to go back and get that degree [applause]….

Previously:

Lafayette County Democratic Dinner and Pie Auction – Higginsville, Missouri – August 9, 2025 (August 10, 2025)

Rep. David Tyson-Smith – Lafayette County Democrats – Higginsville, Missouri – August 9, 2025 (August 10, 2025)

Rep. Ashley Aune – Lafayette County Democrats – Higginsville, Missouri – August 9, 2025 (August 10, 2025)

Sen. Maggie Nurrenbern – Lafayette County Democrats – Higginsville, Missouri – August 9, 2025 (August 10, 2025)

Russ Carnahan – Lafayette County Democrats – Higginsville, Missouri – August 9, 2025 (August 11, 2025)

Russ Carnahan – Lafayette County Democrats – Higginsville, Missouri – August 9, 2025

11 Monday Aug 2025

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Saturday evening Lafayette County Democrats held their annual fundraising dinner and pie auction in Higginsville. Democratic Party office holders and party officials spoke at the event.

Missouri Democratic Party Chair Russ Carnahan:

Missouri Democratic Party Chair Russ Carnahan.


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Russ Carnahan (D): ….they’re [republicans] are on the wrong side of history and they’re on the wrong side of voters.

Now, the latest overreach, Trump is telling states they’ve got to further gerrymander their congressional districts because they are scared. They have to rig the system to hide their unpopular agenda and they are desperate. They are desperate to stop investigations into their corruption and the Epstein scandal. [voices: “Yeah.”] They are desperate.

So we are gonna fight that tooth and nail….

Russ Carnahan (D): ….This mid-decade gerrymander that can likely happen in the middle of September when the legislature is back. Listen. We’re gonna fight that in the courts, you all are gonna fight that in the legislature, citizens are gonna have your back to do a referendum if needed. But the biggest goal is we’ve got to take this to the people with an initiative petition to take this power away from the republican power grab and create citizens’ commissions to draw our districts fairly. That’s the fight….

Yvonne Reeves Chong, Vice-Chair and Russ Carnahan, Chair – Missouri Democratic Party

Previously:

Lafayette County Democratic Dinner and Pie Auction – Higginsville, Missouri – August 9, 2025 (August 10, 2025)

Rep. David Tyson-Smith – Lafayette County Democrats – Higginsville, Missouri – August 9, 2025 (August 10, 2025)

Rep. Ashley Aune – Lafayette County Democrats – Higginsville, Missouri – August 9, 2025 (August 10, 2025)

Sen. Maggie Nurrenbern – Lafayette County Democrats – Higginsville, Missouri – August 9, 2025 (August 10, 2025)

Sen. Maggie Nurrenbern – Lafayette County Democrats – Higginsville, Missouri – August 9, 2025

10 Sunday Aug 2025

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Yesterday evening Lafayette County Democrats held their annual fundraising dinner and pie auction in Higginsville. Democratic Party office holders and party officials spoke at the event.

Missouri State Senator Maggie Nurrenbern (D):

Sen. Maggie Nurrenbern.


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Sen. Maggie Nurrenbern (D): ….It has been a very tough year for Missouri Democrats. But here’s the deal, this is not new to us. And if we’ve learned one thing, it’s how we stand up, fight back, and get organized. This, Missouri Democrats have a long tradition of standing up against the republican bullies. And we’re not gonna stop now.

When republicans tried to strip power from labor unions by forcing down our throats ‘right to work for less,’ What did we do? We stood up, we band together, and we defeated Prop. A. [applause] When republicans refused to give Missourians access to life saving health care through Medicaid expansion Missouri Democrats banded together, passed Medicaid expansion, and you know what? Gave these rural hospitals the lifeline they needed to stay afloat and save lives. [applause] When Missouri republicans took away the right to our very bodily autonomy we gathered together, gathered thousands of signatures all across this state, and we passed Amendment 3 to reclaim our rights. [applause] But the headlines aren’t new to you and they’re not new to me.

We know that here in the Missouri General Assembly that they continue to try and erase you. To erase your voice and your vote….

Previously:

Lafayette County Democratic Dinner and Pie Auction – Higginsville, Missouri – August 9, 2025 (August 10, 2025)

Rep. David Tyson-Smith – Lafayette County Democrats – Higginsville, Missouri – August 9, 2025 (August 10, 2025)

Rep. Ashley Aune – Lafayette County Democrats – Higginsville, Missouri – August 9, 2025 (August 10, 2025)

Rep. David Tyson-Smith – Lafayette County Democrats – Higginsville, Missouri – August 9, 2025

10 Sunday Aug 2025

Posted by in Missouri General Assembly, Missouri House, Uncategorized

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Yesterday evening Lafayette County Democrats held their annual fundraising dinner and pie auction in Higginsville. Democratic Party office holders and party officials spoke at the event.

Rep. David Tyson-Smith.


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Rep. David Tyson-Smith (D): ….the people that are around [Trump] right now have no backbone. They have no backbone and they’re cowards. And, and not only they are not standing up to him, they’re, they’re going along with his bidding, right. So, uh, for example Congressman [Mark] Alford (r), okay, so he had a town hall recently, you know I met with him, and I talked with him. You need to have a town hall. You need to go out and meet the people. A public town hall. Right, not just a private thing, a public thing. And so he shows up and he says, ‘Um, you know everyone’s, you know, basically, people don’t like these, uh, ICE agents with masks.’ And he says, ‘You know, you guys liked masks with COVID. But now you don’t like masks with ICE agents?’ [voices: “No.”] Can you believe he said that? Can you believe that? I mean, the, you’re groaning, they were groaning at that town hall. It’s gross.

You’ve got Josh Hawley (r) who voted for the big ugly bill, right, right [voices: “Boo!”] The big ugly bill which is going to kill rural hospitals, isn’t it? And then he tries to fool you and says, ‘Oh, you know what I’m gonna do? I’m gonna file my own bill to help rural hospitals.’ What are you talking about, Josh? Your bill is not gonna pass. No. Are his republican friends gonna vote for his bill? No. He just says that so you think he’s on your side. He’s not on your side. He’s voting against you….

Rep. David Tyson-Smith (D): ….What I’m gonna tell you is the truth. This is, I promise you, this is not an exaggeration. A thousand years from now people are going to look back at this moment and they’re going to look to see what happened. Did he roll over the country, keep the House illegally, stay an extra term, another term, smash everything that’s sacred to all of us? Or did we stand up and fight?….

….Well I say, maximum resistance everywhere all the time. We have to fight them everywhere. [cheers, applause] Everywhere. The library. The beaches. The stores. The rallies.

Friends, it’s gonna take all of us, right….

Previously:

Lafayette County Democratic Dinner and Pie Auction – Higginsville, Missouri – August 9, 2025 (August 10, 2025)

Lafayette County Democratic Dinner and Pie Auction – Higginsville, Missouri – August 9, 2025

10 Sunday Aug 2025

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Yesterday evening Lafayette County Democrats held their annual fundraisng dinner and pie auction in Higginsville.

One of the auctioned desserts.

The evening started with a social hour.

Yvonne Reeves Chong, Vice-Chair and Russ Carnahan, Chair – Missouri Democratic Party

Sadly, Mark Alford (r) was not present to interact with his 4th Congressional District constituents. Certainly he’ll have that opportunity across the district later in the month.

There was music.

They were all excellent.

Some of the Democratic Party office holders and officials in attendance:

Grace before dinner – Dennis Hisek.

And, the pie auction took place in segments, between speakers.

Henry Grubb, auctioneer.

There were approximately 50 pies in the auction. The pies went for between $600 and $125. That’s quite a fundraiser.

Democrats from across the state attended and also brought pies for the auction:

Elad Gross.

Some who actively cheered the bidding on their pies.

Representative Keri Ingle.

Missouri State Fair Parade – August 7, 2025

08 Friday Aug 2025

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“Save the country from Trump.”

“It’s worth saving.”

Pettis County and Johnson County Democrats presented floats in the Missouri State Fair Parade yesterday evening. Parade entries (with the exception of equestrian units) started lining up in assigned spots along State Fair Boulevard around 4:30 p.m. The parade started at 6:00 p.m., crossing 16th Street into the fair grounds, making a grand circle, and finally exiting via 16th Street.

The Pettis County Democrats float.

Setting up the Johnson County Democrats float.

Before the start of the parade.

Various commercial interests, social and benevolent groups, and youth groups also had entries in the parade.

People powered entries awaiting the start:

The crowd along the parade route:

The response from the crowd, especially from Democrats, was generally positive. The were obviously happy to see the entries in the parade.

“Go Trump.” Interestingly, he stopped abruptly when he saw the camera.

Yvonne Reeves-Chong (D) – Warrensburg, Missouri – May 10, 2025

12 Monday May 2025

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“…Right now things are about as perilous as they’ve ever been in our nation’s history. That is the simple truth. Things haven’t looked this dim since right before the Civil War. And, like Jess [Piper] mentioned, when we’re talking about suspending habeas corpus, that has not been done since the Civil War. When we have people being grabbed off the street the simple truth is this – this is a pivotal moment and I don’t know if the United States of America survives this moment. It’s not guaranteed. [voice: “We’re not united anymore.”] Liberty and justice, freedom, those things are not guaranteed to us. And if we fail this moment our country will cease to exist in the way we’ve known it…”

Yvonne Reeves-Chong, Vice Chair, Missouri Democratic Party.

On Saturday, May 10th, Johnson County Democrats held a social and organizing event in a park on the west side of Warrensburg. Over 100 individuals attended, listening to a number of speakers. Yvonne Reeves-Chong, Vice Chair of the Missouri Democratic Party addressed the crowd:


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“…Here’s the other thing that’s true. No one is coming over the hill to save you. No one. Superman is not coming up over the trees. Barack Obama is not dropping from the sky. The only people that can save us, the hero of this moment has to be you…”

“…It’s the week in, the week out that’s the heroic thing. So for this moment I’m calling each of you to be like Blanche [Rudolph], to get up, to knock the door, to talk to your neighbor, to not let injustice stand. And you do that week in, you do it week out. You run for office when it’s scary. When you hear that bigoted comment. Ya’ll, I’m not asking you to get into a long philosophical argument, but I am asking you to turn around a say, ‘Hell no.’ We don’t have to let bigotry stand…”

“…We are the Democratic Party. But more importantly, we are Americans. [applause] And, ya’ll that flag means something. It means something to me. We are the party that truly understands that liberty and justice for all means everybody or it means nothing at all. [applause]…”

“…We don’t need to explain trans people. We don’t need to explain gay people. And, please, stop explaining black folk. Ya’ll ain’t good at it. [laughter] Yeah, not good at it. Stop explaining things. It’s liberty and justice for all. And all is all is all is all…”

“…All. Because that’s who we are. That’s where we stand. That’s how we fight. Every single one of us. Week in, week out…”

Previously:

Jess Piper (D) – Warrensburg, Missouri – May 10, 2025 (May 11, 2025)

Jess Piper (D) – Warrensburg, Missouri – May 10, 2025

11 Sunday May 2025

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“…We’ve got judges being arrested, we’ve got the Newark, New Jersey mayor being arrested. If they can do those things to people with that much power we have got to be in the streets. And that’s what people, I was hesitant for a long time, ’cause people would say, ‘What should we do?’

We should be in the streets. Every single weekend. We should show them that we do not approve of this, that we are not okay with this. And we do it with our signs and we do it with our bodies. And if it gets to a point I think a general strike is the only thing we’ve got left. We have to hit them in their pocketbooks ’cause they don’t care about anything else. They sure don’t give a ….damn about the rest of us…”

Jess Piper (D).

In the early evening on Saturday, May 10th, Johnson County Democrats held a social and organizing event in a park on the west side of Warrensburg. Over 100 individuals attended, listening to a number of speakers. Jess Piper (D) – The View from Rural Missouri – an organizer, an activist, a writer, and a voice for dirt road Democrats – drove from the northwest part of the state to be there.

Jess Piper (D):


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‘…That’s why they attack trans kids. Because they got nothing else. Well, you know what? We should stand for trans kids ’cause trans kids are human. And every single human deserves dignity [applause] [voice: “Damn right!”]…”

“…They want us to be scared of standing up. But I’m more scared of not standing up. Every single one of us in here who has privilege, I want you to listen to this. If you see someone who is kidnapping someone else from the street I want you to put your body in the way. I want you to stop them. [applause] Use your privilege to stop this. [applause] They are not deporting people, they are kidnapping them. They have no due process. And let me tell you this, friends, if they don’t have due process neither do you. All of us have to be standing up right now.

Stephen Miller yesterday said they were gonna get rid of habeas corpus. Okay, fantastic. You know what that does? Makes sure that you’re not in jail under false premises. Makes sure that they have charges against you. Of course they want to get rid of it. Because they want everything to fail…”

“…I didn’t need a crystal ball to see what was happening, neither did you. You read ‘Project 2025’. I knew they were gonna defund Head Start. When I said it I sounded like a lunatic. Guess what they did?…”

Johnson County, Missouri Democrats – James C. Kirkpatrick Heritage – March 1, 2025

02 Sunday Mar 2025

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On Saturday in Warrensburg Johnson County Democrats held an awards luncheon celebrating the long public service legacy of legendary Missouri Secretary of State James C. Kirkpatrick.

Johnson County Democratic Central Committee Chair Raymond James.

A presentation on Miracle of Innocence:

A moving and hopeful invocation:

Barbara Curtis.

The program included a panel discussion with written questions submitted by those in attendance.

Yvonne Reeves-Chong (D) and Elad Gross (D).

The moderator:

Gary Grigsby (D).

Roberta Burford (D).

Introduction of the awardees:

Yvonne Reeves-Chong, Vice Chair of the Missouri Democratic Party.

Judge Joe Dandurand – 17th Judicial Circuit judge, Missouri Western District Court of Appeals, Chief Deputy Missouri Attorney General, Executive Director of Legal Aid of Western Missouri was honored with the James C. Kirkpatrick Heritage Award for his distinguished public service:

Judge Joe Dandurand.

Erica Collins was honored with the Doris Houx Kirkpatrick Community Service Award for her distinguished and sustained community involvement.

Erica Collins.

Democrats – University of Central Missouri Homecoming Parade – Warrensburg, Missouri – October 26, 2024

27 Sunday Oct 2024

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The University of Central Missouri held its annual homecoming parade in Warrensburg yesterday morning. As in all election years local and statewide candidates participate. The parade route winds around and through the university campus and downtown Warrensburg – with a crowd numbering several thousand.

We accompanied the grouped entries of local Democrats and Democratic Party candidates in the parade.

In the line-up area:

In support of Amendment 3.

The Democratic Party entries were lined up next to a wagon pulled by a pair of mules sponsored by “Missouri Right to Life” festooned with “No on 3” signs. There wasn’t interaction between the two groups.

Eric Stevens, the Democratic Party candidate in the 54th Legislative District:

“Yes on 3”

Preparing the Eladmobile:

Elad Gross (D).

Mark Osmack (D).

In the parade:

Elad Gross (D) and Liberty Belle (D).

Eric Stevens (D).

Previously:

Economic Anxiety (October 26, 2024)

Even more economic anxiety (October 26, 2024)