Previously: Teabaggers, and nullification, and the cult of the lost cause, oh my!

Wait, could that be? Why yes, it’s a lobbyist waiting in the wings.

Carl Bearden (r), lobbyist: ….You need to make sure that you look around the perimeter of this rotunda. You need to make sure that you look around, uh, chambers in the Senate and the House and read the words that are on these walls because when we determine and decide and elect people who believe and practice the words in this capitol we’ll have a better state and we’ll have a better country. [applause]

[inaudible] Right behind you is “Where there is no vision the people perish”. We have to have a vision for a free America. We have to have a vision for a free Missouri. And without your activity as a [inaudible] said, that cannot happen because, folks, we sent some good people to Jefferson City. We sent some good people to Washington, D.C. How many of you all are married? How many wives do we have present? Every wife knows in order to make a good husband she has to watch him and tell him when he’s not doing right. [laughter, applause] That’s what we have to do to the folks that we elected to represent us. We do not elect them to come here or to Washington to represent themselves or represent the special interests, but to represent us, to represent America, to represent Missouri [inaudible]. [applause]

For Missouri’s future prosperity depends on you and me. You know, I, I want to encourage you at the risk of discouraging you first. And when you go about and when you spend the rest of the day here and either this evening or tomorrow you’ll read about this rally. And you’re gonna read some great things about how tons of people showed up. But you’re gonna read in at least one blog and perhaps one newspaper where it was a very poorly attended rally. [laughter] Right? You’ve seen that forum. What they don’t [inaudible], what they don’t understand is you’ve been watching the national scene. There are a lot of people on there that did not get what happened on November second. [inaudible] still exist. So when you read those things just know that you are like a, a, uh, a ear of corn. An ear of corn contains a lot of seed doesn’t it? These seed takes a lot of other ear of corns to make a lot of bushels. And you are representative of the bushels that exist in our country and our state today, so give yourselves a hand. [applause]

[inaudible] while I have said we are not going to wait for [inaudible] if we want an America for our grandchildren and great grandchildren that we know was envisioned we have to stay active. One of the ways government takes our liberty is by taking our money. Liberty is part of money. And you’ve heard [inaudible] talk about the national fair tax, here in Missouri we can enact a measure [inaudible] Missouri jobs and prosperity. Just imagine living in a state that when you pick your paycheck up every week that there is no deduction from the state stealing part of your liberty. [cheers, applause] Just imagine living in a state that actually creates jobs, that is growing in population, gaining congressional seats, not losing them. [applause] Missouri jobs and prosperity act is [inaudible] for Missouri. Can and will make it happen.  The Missouri jobs and prosperity act replaces the income tax with a consumer driven sales tax that will create twenty thousand jobs a year every year. And I think that’s good [applause]. [inaudible] And folks, we can make it happen, but the big government big spenders here in the state don’t want that to happen. They will make things up. They’re gonna fight it. Folks, it’s up to each and every one of us to protect our liberties. We need to be supporting Missouri jobs and prosperity act. And in two thousand twelve we are doing the best we can to make sure that you get that opportunity in an election coming near you in November two thousand and twelve. We’re gonna be asking you over the next few months and the next two years while it’s happening to be a part of that team that making that happen, make sure that people know that we respect, we want, we demand that our government not tread on our liberty and you can be a part of that process.

Ronald Reagan said about talking about elected officials, they don’t see the light, they can feel the heat. Folks [cheers, applause], folks we need to [inaudible], stand up, [inaudible] and we need to [inaudible] the same [inaudible]. God bless you, God bless America.

Introduced with “he’s helped us a lot” and as a “former representative”

It must be lobbyist humor, or something: “…We do not elect them to come here or to Washington to represent themselves or represent the special interests…”

Your moment of zen.

“…You know, I, I want to encourage you at the risk of discouraging you first. And when you go about and when you spend the rest of the day here and either this evening or tomorrow you’ll read about this rally. And you’re gonna read some great things about how tons of people showed up. But you’re gonna read in at least one blog and perhaps one newspaper where it was a very poorly attended rally…”

It was a very poorly attended rally. Happy to oblige.

Carl Bearden’s lobbying principal’s list:

LOBID:L002591  Received Date:7/17/2007

Lobbyist’s Name Carl Bearden

AMERICAN ACADEMY OF DERMATOLOGY ASSOCIATION

1350 I STREET NW, SUITE 870

WASHINGTON DC 0

A 8/2/2007

ASTELLAS PHARMA US INC.

THREE PARKWAY NORTH

DEERFIELD IL 60015-2537

A 1/22/2009

AT&T INC, AND ITS AFFILIATES

ONE SBC CENTER, SUITE 3542

ST. LOUIS MO 63101

A 8/2/2007

CARL BEARDEN

PO BOX 561

ST. CHARLES MO 63302

A 7/19/2007

HEYLTEX

925 SOUTH MASON ROAD, PMB #242

KATY TX 77450

A 8/2/2007

LINDENWOOD UNIVERSITY

209 S KINGSHIGHWAY

ST. CHARLES MO 63301

A 10/6/2008

METRO HEART GROUP OF ST. LOUIS, INC

11475 OLDE CABIN ROAD, SUITE 200

ST. LOUIS MO 63141

A 8/2/2007

MID AMERICA MEDICAL AFFILIATES

1600 GENESSEE STREET, STE 423

KANSAS CITY MO 64102

A 8/2/2007

MISSOURI AMBULATORY SURGERY CENTER ASSOCIATION

P.O. BOX 6966

LEES SUMMIT MO 64064

A 8/2/2007

MISSOURI SOCIETY OF ANESTHESIOLOGISTS (MSA)

113 MADISON ST

JEFFERSON CITY MO 65102

A 8/2/2007

MISSOURIANS FOR A BETTER ECONOMY (MBE)

503 EAST NIFONG #272

COLUMBIA MO 65201

A 8/2/2007

PELOPIDAS, LLC

912 EAST BROADWAY, SUITE 207

COLUMBIA MO 65201

A 7/19/2007

REX AND JEANNE SINQUEFIELD

NINE HORTENSE PLACE

ST. LOUIS MO 63108

A 8/2/2007

SIGNATURE HEALTH SERVICES

633 EMERSON DRIVE, SUITE 50

ST. LOUIS MO 63141

A 8/2/2007

ST. LOUIS SCIENCE CENTER FOUNDATION

5050 OAKLAND AVENUE

ST. LOUIS MO 63110

A 1/9/2009

SUJVL INC, DBA CHEAP CHEAP

10201 ST. CHARLES ROCK ROAD

SAINT ANN MO 63074

A 8/2/2007

THE BROWN LOBBY FIRM, LLC

912 EAST BROADWAY, SUITE 208

COLUMBIA MO 65201

A 8/2/2007

UNITED FOR MISSOURI

PO BOX 11466

SPRINGFIELD MO 65808

A 7/30/2010

UNITED FOR MISSOURI’S FUTURE

PO BOX 11466

SPRINGFIELD MO 65808

A 7/30/2010

Do you think the teabaggers at the rally knew?

Do you really think they care?

Obviously has never worked as a union organizer.

I dunno, is this unintentionally ironic?

If you’re gonna do the Gadsden flag thing at a teabagger rally at least do more than one.

There were about two hundred people in attendance. The organizers had sign up tables for those attending the rally. The emcee was somewhat disorganized. There were speeches from teabagger activists, republican members of the General Assembly, and, of course, an astroturfing lobbyist. A representative of Missouri Right to life spoke on his primary wedge issue. Let’s see, tentherism, nullification, American exceptionalism, the flat tax, and a wedge issue here or there. That about sums it up.  

Teabaggers held a rally in the capitol rotunda this morning before the opening of the legislative session (more on that later).

There were a few of their bumper stickers on vehicles in a parking garage near the state capitol:

Bumper sticker courtesy of FreedomWorks’ astroturf campaign.

FreedomWorks Orchestrates ‘Grassroots’ Movements To Serve Dick Armey’s Corporate Clients

April 14, 2009

…corporate lobbyists are helping to orchestrate the anti-Obama tea party protests. These lobbying-run front groups, along with promotion help from Fox News, are organizing the tea parties by calling right-wing activists and asking them to organize. They are also coordinating conference calls among activists, writing press releases, providing sign ideas, building websites supporting the protests, and distributing talking points so that the protesters can stay on message…

….Last year, the Wall Street Journal exposed FreedomWorks for building “amateur-looking” websites to promote the lobbying interests of Armey.

FreedomWorks represents a top-down, corporate-friendly approach that has been the norm for conservative organizations for years. As Obama prepares to push to close corporate tax loopholes, reform health care, and transition to a clean energy economy, we can expect more corporate lobbyists to create astroturf protests to oppose change…

Heh. Right wingnut lobbyists. What else is new?

Arizona’s SB 1070 is a hit with the teabagger set.

But not with Missouri’s governor:

Governor Jay Nixon at Missouri Boys State: Q and A on Arizona’s SB 1070 (June 13, 2010)

….Question: …What’s your personal opinion re, regarding the immigration law recently signed by the Governor of the State of Arizona? [crosstalk] Thank you very much.

Governor Jay Nixon (D): Um, Governor Brewer signed two laws. Um, the first one that she signed, uh, I, I have serious problems with. I mean, which, if you’re gonna require people in the United States of America to, to, show their identification papers just because they’re walkin’ around, I mean,  in order for them to have the right to walk through, a city square or walk through a park. That you could be stopped and demanded to prove in that setting that, that, that you’re, you know, a citizen or you’re American or whatever.  I, I think that is way over the top. I, I, man, oh man, I, I [applause], it, it . [inaudible] We need to think about people working together. We need to increase the number of people of all, we, we, I mean, the Statue of Liberty was given to us by France as a gift because we were the melting pot of the world. I mean, everyone of you, when you talk to your mom or your dad or your grandma or your grandpa, they’ll talk about how they were German or how about they were English or how they were Swiss or Norwegian or whatever. And, and in one or two generations everybody wants to ignore all that, and act like we’re just these, these Americans things. We have great roots all around the world and the future of the economic engine of the world is not gonna be sitting here in, in Henry County in the middle of Missouri bunkered down. We’ve gotta, we gotta join this new world.

So, the first piece, um, that, of that law I, I obviously somewhat mildly disagree with. [laughter] Um, [inaudible] they cleaned it up a little bit. I do believe that, that for national security purposes, uh, we need to have secure borders, uh, we need to make sure that we know who’s crossing those borders, and we’re certainly entitled if somebody comes into our country at in particular time, or if someone is here illegally, to, to deal with those issues and, and to, to send those folks back to their country of origin. Um, you know, so , like I say, I think that, that Arizona took a political solution in which they tried to be the toughest in the world that I think crossed a line that’s not a line we should cross in America. I think basic civil rights, basic individual freedom is extremely important and, and, and just because it’s, it’s after one group today doesn’t mean that it’s, it’s not gonna be after another group tomorrow.

I mean, the Constitution is a great document. Probably the best document ever written, but after it was in power, it was in for only a few short years, they figured out they forgot some stuff. So they came back and they did the Bill of Rights and I would just recommend to y’all, you know, politicians run around, hold up the Constitution all the time. Don’t forget to hold up those first, those first ten Bill of Rights, too. The freedom of press, freedom of religion, you know, freedom to counsel, you know freedom to, you know, the freedom to bear arms, I mean, you know, you don’t, you know. [cheers, applause] I think in that first piece Arizona crossed the line….

I’m thinking the 2008 election results didn’t make you too happy, did they?:

Maybe these just hold the bumper on the car. Nah.

With the news of Roy Blunt having his own illegal housekeeper problem, it’s worth highlighting this quote before we go deep into this post.

“I decided that if the guy you know best at Immigration and Naturalization happens to be the person in charge, then it’s all right to direct your correspondence to him”

Perhaps the most illuminating part of the story released on Tuesday is that it shows once again the Roy Blunt philosophy on government. The Roy Blunt philosophy of government seems to involve his family and allies getting first dibs and the rest of us getting the leftovers.

Roy Blunt is someone who asked “How bad do you want this job to be?” when criticized for riding the pay-raise train over his 14 years in Congress. It’s not about doing the right thing, it’s about the power and privilege and the ability to have it trickle down to the friends and family.

Back in 1990 when he was pulling out the stops for someone who his campaign wants you to believe was just helpful at church events, Roy Blunt was showing a preview of what we know he has done in the last 14 years in Congress. Also when it comes to the Dora Narvaez story, there must have been a lot of church events, some of which must have occurred at Roy Blunt’s house, since Dora Narvaez said that she worked for Blunt.

For someone whose political peak before moving up the Republican ladder involved pointing out that Bill Webster was engaging in Pay for Play in a memorable ad, Roy Blunt rode the pay for play merry-go-round to new horizons. Look at UPS, who rode the merry-go-round, giving thousands to Blunt, employing Andy Blunt as a lobbyist, and getting favors from Congress (such as the 2003 Night Assault). To be a bit more fair, A lot of companies employed Andy Blunt, just check out the list. Enough companies employ Andy Blunt as a lobbyist that he can survive as the unpaid campaign manager to Roy Blunt.

I’m sure that the rise of Andy Blunt to “lobbyist for the stars” was a merit hiring from the beginning (hey, you don’t know if they have a lobbyist civil service exam!) and not a avenue to improve relations with a virtuous noble man like Roy Blunt. If you think a successful unpaid campaign manager who doubled as a lobbyist for 21 companies (with many more that he worked for in the past) isn’t making up for lost income if his dad is elected in 2 weeks, then you have too much confidence for your own good.

The twisting of the Wind Farm into some sort of sinister fable where Obama personally inserted money for Tom Carnahan to repay Robin for the election just scores how little they have on Robin Carnahan and how defensive they have to be when it comes to Roy Blunt’s record. It’s almost like you need to use a funhouse mirror to distort reality to match what they’ve said about the wind farm.

The Universal Rules of Politics include “There will be food at events that you won’t pay for”, “Every politician wishes they were an only child at least once”, and “Attack someone on something which is a weekness of yours”. Let’s just say that Blunt proved a universal rule in the last months.

There’s a risk of turning a story of Roy Blunt’s friends and family pay for play plan into an internet version of In-a-gadda-da-vida. After all, both his unpaid campaign manager and his wife can be referenced in regards to the Philip Morris incident of 2002. You could figure out how many corporate jets Roy Blunt rode on and if he could explain them all away. You could drag the failed One-term Governor Matt Blunt out of the obscurity that he was sentenced to in order to reference some more great moments in the history of Roy Blunt’s friends and family plan. Heck, you could even make the liner notes out of ten pages of “Roy Blunt unfit to lead“. Some politicians only produce corruption in concentrated pellets, Roy Blunt has produced an assembly line of corruption for 14 years.

The Blunt saga hasn’t been completely told this morning. There’s still more to be told and more to be unveiled.

So.. In conclusion, The United States Senate is a body whose members wield heavy hammers and the potential to make things happen, either positive things for the nation or positive things for a very few.

The record of Roy Blunt as a House member is enough to be pretty sure that his election to the Senate would be Christmas day for the corporations and the professional lobbyists who have rode the friends and family pay to play merry-go-round with Roy Blunt for 14 years.

After all, why would he change his way of doing business in the next six years if he’s rewarded on November 2nd?

Now, speechifying in law making is not a field where you write your own material. Typically the writers are actual employees or peers. But when a biotech company lobbyist is ghostwriting your speeches, that’s a bit different.

The New York Times reports that Blaine Luetkemeyer is one of a bipartisan group of around 42 unoriginal, uninspired, and impressionable House members to use the lobbyist-provided material in their house speeches in the Health Care Debate.

In separate statements using language suggested by the lobbyists, Representatives Blaine Luetkemeyer of Missouri and Joe Wilson of South Carolina, both Republicans, said: “One of the reasons I have long supported the U.S. biotechnology industry is that it is a homegrown success story that has been an engine of job creation in this country. Unfortunately, many of the largest companies that would seek to enter the biosimilar market have made their money by outsourcing their research to foreign countries like India.”

They’re not kidding, Luetkemeyer and Wilson used bio-similar language. Wilson made his speech first, and presumably Blaine had no other option. With America sprinting towards socialism, Blaine can’t disregard a paragraph. The major conclusion one can reach from this? Blaine Luetkemeyer and Ron Burgundy might have more in common than we ever suspected.

Unfortunately for voters wanting as much information on the originality of and influences on their Representative, the 42 members haven’t been revealed. Because investigative journalism and newspapers don’t dine together often enough.