Representative Mike Moon (r) received a letter (all correspondence was forwarded to us by the original letter writer) about the Planned Parenthood hearings in Missouri which were run by the republican majority in the General Assembly. Similar hearings and “investigations” were promoted across across the country, precipitated by edited video circulated by anti-choice activists.

Oct 15, 2015

State Representative Michael Moon
State Capitol, Room 203-B
201 West Capitol Avenue
Jefferson City, MO 65101

Dear State Representative Moon,

Planned Parenthood has been “under investigation” in both the House and Senate for months and it’s time to move on.

Planned Parenthood affiliates in Missouri follow all laws and have the highest medical and ethical standards. Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster recently released a 40 page report demonstrating that Planned Parenthood complies with all laws and that fetal tissue is properly handled according to Missouri law.

Missouri’s interim committees were formed in response to false allegations made in a series of deceptively edited, widely discredited videos. The Attorney General report settles this issue and there is no reason for the committees to continue except to further what has been called a “witch hunt,” and pursue the agenda of ending access to safe, legal abortion in the state.

I’m tired of seeing my tax dollars being wasted on this non-issue when you could be investing your time and our money into tackling issues that will foster better lives for more Missourians, like comprehensive sex education or by increasing access to affordable health care by expanding Medicaid.

I’m proud to stand with Planned Parenthood and the women and men who rely on them every single day, and I hope that you will see this and move on.

Sincerely,

Ms. Mary Mosley
[….]

Planned Parenthood had provided a link, with a template, for its supporters to contact the General Assembly committee via e-mail. Supporters could (and some did) write additional comments on the template message. Ms. Mosley received the following response from Representative Moon (r):

Mary,

Thank you for contacting me. I noticed the message you sent was a form letter of sorts. You may not even be aware that a letter was sent on your behalf (if this is the case, I understand). If you did, intentionally, send to me a form letter, please understand that I would have taken a personal, heart-felt letter, in your own words much more seriously.

In either case, since your letter was a form letter, maybe even a copied-and-pasted one, I will formulate a response and send the same to you and the others from whom I received an identical message.

You are correct that since the videos of Planned Parenthood’s alleged involvement in the selling of unborn baby parts an investigation in the Missouri House and Senate has taken place.

Following the report released by MO Attorney General Chris Koster, it has been found that the pathology lab Planned Parenthood used to examine the remains of the unborn babies was, on at least three occasions dissolved as a Missouri business. In fact, on September 21, 2015, during the AG’s investigation, the most recent letter from the MO Secretary of State to Pathology Services, 2916 S. Brentwood Blvd, Brentwood, MO 63144, notifying the lab of its dissolution was sent. Even if this is the only oversight in the AG’s report, they (the lab and Planned Parenthood) were operating outside of the law with regard to the proper handling of the bodies.

“Your” letter mentioned you tire of your tax dollars being wasted on this non-issue when the money could be invested into tackling issues that will foster better lives for more Missourians, like more affordable healthcare. I, too, am tired of my tax dollars being used to prop up business, like Planned Parenthood. As for affordable healthcare, the Affordable Care Act promised to provide it to those who need it most. Your attention, perhaps, should be directed to President Obama.

The committees invited representatives from Planned Parenthood to testify and, perhaps, set the record straight, yet no Missouri Planned Parenthood representative dared to be questioned. Why, if they had nothing to hide and could have presented their side of the story, would they “waste” your tax money and not show up to the hearing?

In addition, Gail Vasterling, former Director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services testified about one month ago, would not provide any substantive answers. We recently learned that she has left the department for another state funded job. What does she have to hide? Would you not expect a state employee, entrusted with the care of thousands of our fellow citizens to be transparent in answering questions about the job she and her staff are hired to perform? This behavior is what we all should be in concerned about. This is truly a waste of our money. For a state employee, entrusted with such a great responsibility, to be allowed to simply resign one appointment and assume another should not be tolerated. I will urge the House budget Chair and Vice-chair to seriously consider striking from the budget the salary for Gail Vasterling.

One point “your” letter did not address is a key issue in the current debate: that of women’s health. I’ve listed a few of the potential risks of an abortion here:

– abdominal pain;
– nausea;
– vomiting;
– diarrhea;
– spotting (bleeding);
– infection (sepsis);
– scarring of the uterus;
– uterine perforation;
– organ damage;
– depression (leading to suicide);
– death.

I find it ironic that we caution women against drinking copious amounts of alcohol and smoking because of the potential detrimental effects on the unborn baby, yet we find it acceptable to suck a baby out of the womb or inject the womb with a saline solution in order to kill the baby.

Have you any understanding of the history of Planned Parenthood? Its founder, Margaret Sanger was a known eugenicist (one who follows the science of improving a human population by controlled breeding to increase the occurrence of desirable heritable characteristics). Eugenics lost its popularity following the demise of Adolf Hitler.

The following are excerpts from Sanger:

“It seems to me from my experience…that while the colored Negroes have great respect for white doctors they can get closer to their own members and more or less lay their cards on the table which means their ignorance, superstitions and doubts. We should hire three or four colored ministers, preferably with social-service backgrounds, and with engaging personalities. The most successful educational approach to the Negro is through a religious appeal.

We don’t want the word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population, and the minister is the man who can straighten out that idea if it ever occurs to any of their more rebellious members.”

Dr. Alveda King, niece of the late Dr. Martin Luther King stated, “The most obvious practitioner of racism in the United States today is Planned Parenthood, an organization founded by the eugenicist Margaret Sanger and recently documented as ready to accept money to eliminate black babies.”

Planned Parenthood recently decided to no longer seek re-imbursement for providing baby parts to researchers. If, in fact, there was no wrongdoing, why the sudden reversal?

I encourage you to contact your own representative and begin a conversation about this important topic. As for me, though, I have settled in my mind that all lives matter, including women and the unborn babies they nurture.

Mike

“…a form letter of sorts…”

Uh, you think this response didn’t have pre-canned elements? Just asking.

We don’t think Representative Moon (r) understands the concept of Godwin’s Law.

The original letter writer has sent a somewhat diplomatic response:

The Honorable Michael Moon
State Capitol, Room 203B
Jefferson City, Missouri 65101

Dear Representative Moon:

I am in receipt of your electronic communication of October 17, 2015. Thank you for taking the time to respond at such length to my e-mail concerning the House committee hearings on Planned Parenthood. Since you indicated that you “would have taken a personal, heart-felt letter, in [my] own words much more seriously,” I am writing you one forthwith.

In spite of my gratitude for your lengthy missive with its ample disquisition on eugenics, one thing about it disturbed me, namely its incredibly sarcastic and condescending tone. In my fifty years of corresponding with elected officials, this is the single most insulting response I have ever received, even when my disagreement with the ideas of my correspondent had been expressed in much stronger language. Could it have been your way of figuratively “mooning” me? Or perhaps your legislative assistant or another employee wrote the communication on your behalf, perhaps without your knowledge or approval. You may not even be aware that a letter was sent on your behalf (if this is the case, I understand).

Be that as it may, your response clearly indicates a concern for those to whom you refer as “unborn babies.” It is also a clear indication of your regard for the already born.

Sincerely,
Dr. Mary A. Mosley

“…It is also a clear indication of your regard for the already born…”

Ten will get you twenty that he didn’t get that.

Previously:

HB 2256: It’s April, fools… (April 1, 2014)

The Missouri GOP, Evel Knievel and political stuntsmanship (April 24, 2014)

DLCC “Worst of the Worst” List – we already knew that (May 1, 2014)

HB 216: Agenda 21! (December 15, 2014)

HR 99: Because words mean nothing? (February 10, 2015)

Mike Moon: The sexism is expected; the cruelty is is the problem (February 10, 2015)

HB 1108: For what purpose? (March 5, 2015)

HCR 54: derp, derp, derp, derp… (March 13, 2015)

That’s quite a legacy of lunatic fringe legislation…

Ladies and gentlemen, your handy dandy all in one guide to right wingnut paranoia and delusions of persecution in the form of a concurrent resolution introduced today by Representative Mike Moon (r):

FIRST REGULAR SESSION

House Concurrent Resolution No. 54 [pdf]

98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE MOON.

2614L.01I D. ADAM CRUMBLISS, Chief Clerk

WHEREAS, the Rules and Manual of the House of Representatives of the United States of America, officially titled Constitution, Jefferson’s Manual and Rules of the House of Representatives, contains the fundamental source materials describing procedures in the House of Representatives; and

WHEREAS, Section 603 of Section LIII of Jefferson’s Manual provides that impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives may be set in motion by charges transmitted from the legislature of a state or territory; and

WHEREAS, the State of Florida and the former territory of Mississippi have established precedent by transmitting charges to the House of Representatives, which in each case resulted in an investigation by a committee of the House of Representatives; and

WHEREAS, Barack Obama in the office of President of the United States of America has repeatedly and intentionally violated the Constitution and other laws of the United States of America, causing the people of the State of Missouri to call into question the integrity of President Barack Obama and to believe that the official actions of President Obama have constituted high crimes and misdemeanors; and

WHEREAS, Barack Obama, in violation of his constitutional oath to faithfully execute the office of President of the United States of America and, to the best of his ability, to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States of America, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, has willfully corrupted and manipulated the executive branch to increase its power and destroy the balance of powers between the three branches of government that is established by the Constitution of the United States; and

WHEREAS, the means used to implement this course of conduct or scheme included one or more of the following acts:

(1) Shortly after being sworn in for his first term as President of the United States, Barack Obama began creating new departments and appointing Czars to oversee these departments. These Czars were never submitted to the United States Senate for approval as required by Article 2, Section 2 of the Constitution. In addition, these Czars and the Departments have budgets that are not subject to being controlled by Congress as provided for by Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution. He also made recess appointments when the Senate was not in recess and these appointments were struck down by the Supreme Court;

(2) Article 2, Section 3 of the Constitution mandates that the President of the United States “shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed…”. Barack Obama, in violation of his oath of office has repeatedly ignored this Constitutional mandate by refusing to enforce laws against illegal immigration, defend in court the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), and refusing to enforce Federal voting laws;

(3) Article 1 of the Constitution establishes the legislative branch of the United States government and sets forth the powers of the Senate and House of Representatives to make laws. These powers are exclusive and the Constitution does not grant the President the power to either make laws or amend them on his own. Barack Obama has ignored these provisions and made or changed laws by either issuing unconstitutional executive orders or instructing governmental departments to take illegal and unconstitutional actions. Specific actions include, but are not necessarily limited to:

(a) Ordering the Environmental Protection Agency to implement portions of the Cap & Trade bill that failed to pass in the United States Senate;

(b) Ordering implementation of portions of the “Dream Act” that failed to pass in Congress;

(c) Orchestrating a government takeover of a major part of the automobile industry in 2009;

(d) Ordering a moratorium on new offshore oil and gas exploration and production without approval of Congress;

(e) Signing an Executive Order on March 16, 2012, giving himself and the Executive branch extraordinary powers to control and allocate resources such as food, water, energy, and health care resources, in the interest of vaguely defined national defense issues. It would amount to a complete government takeover of the United States economy;

(f) Signing an Executive Order on July 6, 2012, giving himself and the Executive branch the power to control all methods of communications in the United States based on a Presidential declaration of a national emergency;

(g) Signing an Executive Order on January 6, 2013, that contained 23 actions designed to limit the individual right to keep and bear arms guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the Constitution;

(h) Amending portions of the Affordable Healthcare Act and other laws passed by Congress without Congressional approval as required by Article 1 of the Constitution;

(i) Issuing Executive orders in January 2014 amending the HIPPA law to allow the turning over of confidential medical records to Federal agencies if there is any information to be used to add individuals to the NICS list to prohibit them from purchasing firearms;

(j) Having the EPA impose regulations on the coal industry that will force many utility companies and coal mines out of business. This will cost the United States economy thousands of jobs and dramatically increase the cost of energy to the public. This is being done without Congressional approval;

(k) Hindering the ability of the United States Border Patrol Agency to not only stop illegal immigration, but to stop human and drug trafficking;

(l) Removing the work requirement from welfare reform legislation without Congressional approval; and

WHEREAS, Article 2, Section 3 of the Constitution mandates that from time to time the President “shall give to Congress information on the State of the Union…”. Implicit in this is an obligation for the President to be truthful with the Congress and the American people. Barack Obama has repeatedly violated his oath of office and the requirements of the Constitution by willfully withholding information on important issues or actively taken part in misleading the Congress and the American people. Specific actions include, but are not necessarily limited to:

(1) Using Executive privilege to block Congress from getting documents relating to the Department of Justice’s Operation Fast and Furious and the death of United States Border Patrol Brian Terry;

(2) Had members of his administration provide false information about the act of terrorism committed in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012, and refusing to allow the State Department and other federal agencies to cooperate in the Congressional investigation;

(3) Falsely labeled the mass murder of American soldiers at Ft. Hood, Texas as2 “workplace violence” instead of the act of Islamic terrorism it was;

(4) Falsely labeling the IRS targeting of conservative and Christian groups as a “phony” scandal and refusing to order an active pursuit of the investigation into who was ultimately responsible;

(5) Refusing to order an independent investigation of the actions of Eric Holder and the Department of Justice in targeting the phone records of members of the news media;

(6) Telling the American people on a television show that the NSA was not prying into the emails and phone calls of Americans when the facts prove otherwise; and

WHEREAS, the oath of office of the President of the United States requires him to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution. This obviously includes what may be the most important part of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights. Barack Obama has repeatedly violated his oath of office by seeking to limit both the individual rights and the rights of the States guaranteed in the first ten amendments to the Constitution. Specific actions include, but are not necessarily limited to:

(1) Having the Department of Health and Human Services order religious institutions and businesses owned by religious families to provide their employees free contraception and other services that are contrary to their religious beliefs. This is being done under the auspices of the Affordable Health Care Act and violates the religious freedom clauses of the First Amendment;

(2) Having the military place restrictions on the religious freedom of Chaplains and other members of the military in order to favor gay rights advocates and atheists in violation of the First Amendment;

(3) Having the military place restrictions on the freedom of speech of members of the military and the civilian employees of the Department of Defense in violation of their rights under the First Amendment;

(4) Using Executive orders and government agency actions to limit Second Amendment rights. This includes actions by the Veterans Administration to disarm American veterans without due process as required by the Fifth Amendment;

(5) Having the National Security Agency intercept and monitor the private communications of millions of Americans without a court order and in violation of the Fourth Amendment;

(6) Joining with foreign governments in lawsuits against sovereign states of the United States to prohibit them from enforcing immigration laws. This is in violation of the Tenth Amendment;

(7) Filing suits under the Voting Rights Act against sovereign states of the United States to prevent them from enforcing Voter ID laws despite rulings by the Supreme Court upholding these laws. This is another violation of the Tenth Amendment and the balance of powers;

(8) Having the IRS propose new regulations on conservative 501 (C)(4) organizations to limit their freedom of speech and political activities during election cycles in violation of the First Amendment to the Constitution;

(9) Having the FCC prepare new rules on internet neutrality in violation of the ruling by the United States Supreme Court striking down such regulations;

(10) Having the FCC institute a plan to place agents in newsrooms of radio and television stations as well as print media to monitor whether they are providing the “proper” news content to the public, a direct violation of the First Amendment to the Constitution;

(11) Having the Secretary of State sign the United Nations Small Arms Treaty despite the opposition of a majority of the United States Senate and with full awareness that the implementation of the treaty would violate the Second Amendment rights of American citizens; and

WHEREAS, under Article 2, Section 2 of the Constitution, the President of the United States is the Commander in Chief of the United States military and as such is responsible for using them in a manner that best serves the national security of the United States and protects our soldiers from unnecessary risks and harm. Barack Obama has violated his oath of office in this regard. Specific actions include, but are not necessarily limited to:

(1) In the name of “political correctness”, he imposed unnecessary and dangerous rules of engagement on our troops in combat causing them to lose offensive and defensive capabilities and putting them in danger. Many American service personnel have been killed or wounded as a result of this policy;

(2) Releasing the identity of American military personnel and units engaged in dangerous and secret operations such as the killing of Osama bin Laden by Navy Seal team 6;

(3) Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution gives Congress the exclusive power to declare war. Yet, without consulting Congress President Obama ordered the American military into action in Libya;

(4) Having the Attorney General tell Secretaries of State that they do not have to comply with the Federal law requiring states to timely send absentee ballots to military personnel; and

WHEREAS, Article 2, Section 2 of the Constitution establishes the President as Commander in Chief of the United States Military. This requires him to use his power and authority to oversee the proper use of the military to properly protect and defend the people and territory of the United States against all enemies, both foreign and domestic. He is further responsible for using the United States military in a manner that is effective and protects members of the military and takes proper care of veterans. The President takes an oath of office that encompasses these duties. Barack Obama has consistently violated these duties and violated his oath. Specific actions include, but are not necessarily limited to:

(1) Imposing Rules of Engagement on the active military in war zones that have unnecessarily endangered the lives of American soldiers;

(2) Allowed the leaking of classified information about United States military operations to the media in order to enhance his political image. Such leaks place the lives of United States soldiers in danger;

(3) Despite being informed in 2009 of problems in the Veterans Administration involving treatment of veterans, took no action to improve the situation, but instead ordered the VA to spend a major part of its budget on green energy projects at VA facilities instead of on veteran care;

(4) Endangered the lives of members of the American military and American civilians by negotiating with terrorists to trade five high level Taliban leaders in exchange for an American soldier who deserted his post and his fellow soldiers. In addition, he did the foregoing action in violation of Federal law since he did not provide the legally required thirty-day notice to members of Congress of his intent to release prisoners from Guantanamo Bay;

(5) Continues to refuse to enforce immigration laws passed by Congress in violation of Article 2, Section 3 of the Constitution, and further has used illegal and unconstitutional Executive orders to grant amnesty or de facto amnesty to illegal aliens currently in the United States;

(6) Has deliberately destroyed the morale and effectiveness of Border Patrol agents by interfering with their attempts to fulfill their oath of office and enforce laws legally passed by the United States Congress;

(7) By his deliberate actions encouraged parents of thousands of children in Central America to send their children, often unaccompanied by adults, across the United States border and then asking for billions of taxpayer dollars to care for these children;

(8) Ordered the Border Patrol and Department of Homeland Security to place thousands of these children on buses or planes and dumping them in communities around the country; often without any prior notifications to the local elected officials in these communities;

(9) Allowed the TSA to let these children, as well as possible teenage gang members and unidentified persons to fly in United States Airlines at taxpayer expense without proper identification required by Federal law;

(10) Has refused to respond to lawful requests by Governors of the southern Border States to close the Southern border to any further illegal immigration and has created a severe financial crisis for Border States and other states in order to advance his own political agenda;

(11) Has ordered the release of thousands of illegal aliens who have been convicted of serious crimes in the United States to be released and stay in the country after they have served their sentences. This violates the requirements of Federal law that such people be immediately deported;

(12) Ordered the immediate release of approximately 68,000 other criminals in Federal prisons that have been convicted of drug offenses. These actions endanger the lives and property of honest and law-abiding American citizens that the President is legally and constitutionally required to protect;

(13) Has authorized the IRS, HHS, BATF, DHS, and EPA to propose new regulations not authorized by Congress that will adversely affect the rights of Americans protected by the First, Second, Fourth, and Fifth Amendments to the Constitution; and

WHEREAS, in all of this, Barack Obama has undermined the integrity of his office, has brought disrepute on the Presidency, has betrayed his trust as President and has acted in a manner subversive of the rule of law and justice, to the manifest injury of the people of the United States; and

WHEREAS, Barack Obama, by such conduct, warrants impeachment and trial, and removal from office and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States:

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the members of the House of Representatives of the Ninety-eighth General Assembly, First Regular Session, the Senate concurring therein, hereby request the Missouri Congressional delegation to cause to be instituted in the Congress proper proceedings for the investigation of President Barack Obama, to the end that he may be impeached and removed from office; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chief Clerk of the Missouri House of Representatives be instructed to prepare properly inscribed copies of this resolution for each member of the Missouri Congressional delegation.

[emphasis in original]

He left out the Obama Administration’s “conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids”.

It’s what the right wingnut republican controlled Missouri General Assembly does best.

Previously:

HB 216: Agenda 21! (December 14, 2014)

HR 99: Are those instructions good for Rep. Vicky Hartzler (r) and Rep. Ann Wagner (r)? (January 20, 2015)

HR 99: Because words mean nothing? (February 10, 2015)

Mike Moon: The sexism is expected; the cruelty is is the problem (February 10, 2015)

Finally, documentation of voter impersonation fraud in Missouri. Zero. (August 12, 2012)

[….]

Here it is. The number of voter impersonation fraud cases documented in Missouri since 2000 is exactly zero:

Missouri has 17 cases of alleged election fraud since 2000. By category, Third Party Organizations had the highest percentage of accused at 88 percent (15 cases), followed by Voter at 12 percent (2 cases). The most prevalent fraud was Registration Fraud at 88 percent (15 cases). The status of most cases was Pleaded at 71 percent (12 cases). Responses to requests for public records varied from state to state. Some state and local officials were quick to respond by sending available records; others failed to provide a single document.

[….]

A bill, introduced today by Representative Mike Moon (r):

FIRST REGULAR SESSION

HOUSE BILL NO. 1108 [pdf]

98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE MOON.

2275L.02I D. ADAM CRUMBLISS, Chief Clerk

AN ACT

To repeal section 115.230, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to electronic voter verification systems.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:

Section A. Section 115.230, RSMo, is repealed and one new section enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as section 115.230, to read as follows:

115.230. 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, any election authority may use an electronic voter identification system or an electronic signature pad to verify a voter’s address, registration status, and signature information at any polling place. Any such system or pad shall be able to read identifying information from an official Missouri driver’s license or nondriver’s license issued by the department of revenue, and shall be capable of allowing an election authority to manually enter the voter’s information from a valid form of personal identification containing the voter’s signature.

2. (1) Each election authority shall use an electronic device at each polling place that allows the election authority to capture a photograph or a digital image of each voter casting a vote. Any such device shall allow the election authority to enter the voter’s identifying information from a valid form of personal identification containing the voter’s signature into the device and to associate each voter’s photograph or digital image with the voter’s identifying information. Any such device shall also be compatible with any electronic voter identification system used by the election authority.

(2) In the event that an election authority does not have an electronic device at each polling place that complies with the requirements of this subsection, the election authority shall request funding for the fees and costs necessary for purchasing and using such electronic device. All such fees and costs shall be compensated by the secretary of state with funds appropriated by the general assembly for such purpose.

[emphasis in original]

Smile!

As Michael Bersin pointed out earlier today, Claire McCaskill can get to the heart of the matter when it’s necessary. She made it clear that the problem with Rep. Mike Moon’s (R-157) legislative resolution “calling for the Missouri Congressional delegation to “endeavor with ‘manly firmness’ and resolve to totally and completely repeal” and not replace the 2010 Affordable Care Act” isn’t the reflexively sexist language that he used. The problem is his cheering for “kicking folks off their health coverage and once again letting insurance companies discriminate against women and sick people.” It’s his meanness plain and simple that got McCaskill riled up.

The sexist language is just par for the course. This is the same Rep. Moon who last year advocated closing down the last clinic in Missouri where women could exercise their choice to procure an abortion. His idea of humor includes this tweet: “#FailedCharities The Sandra Fluke Recycled Contraceptive Program” – not surprising since he is endorsed by Missouri Right to Life (MRL), an endorsement that carries with it, according to MRL, an assurance that the candidate supports the such extreme positions as banning abortion with, ideally, no exceptions for rape or incest; banning emergency contraception, birth control pills, and IUDs; along with support for “personhood” amendments. These bozos even oppose membership in the Girl Scouts because they “they link to the “pro-abortion World Health Organization” on their website.”  

Rep Moon, however, seems to be somewhat bewildered by the attention Senator McCaskill’s response has focused on  his effort to pander to that especially tribal segment of the Republican base that gets upset whenever anyone suggests that our government has an obligation to work for the well-being of all its citizens. Not only does he think the issue is just language, but he also seems to be bewildered by the way language works:

“It is just like going to war,” Moon said. “You want a soldier to fight like a man. If a woman is in the trenches, you want them to fight like a man, too.”

Because the measure of bravery is manliness, right? But Rep. Moon wasn’t through, though, ramming his foot down his throat:

Moon said he does not believe that being a male makes him a better lawmaker than his female colleagues. “I know there are some women who are much smarter than I am and I tip my hat to them.”

Well, I’m glad to know that Rep Moon knows “some” smart women – not to mention that he’s now tipped his hat to them. Isn’t this line of reasoning similar to the “friends” fallacy. You know: “I’m not a racist, some of my best friends are black,” I’m not homophobic, I know some gay people,” or “I’m not a murderer, I know lots of living people”?

But of course, the real offence isn’t that Rep. Moon is the foot-soldier in the GOP War on Women he has already revealed himself to be by his actual legislative agenda, but that that agenda, as Senator McCaskill correctly points out, is just plain mean, and, worse, mean for no practical reason. In Moon’s mind the real message he was trying to send was that members of his own party who are calling for Obamacare to be replaced are weak (and, yes, he does seem to think that equates to femininity); he wants to make it clear that the real problem with Obamacare isn’t in how it does what it does, but rather that it does anything at all. Moon wants government totally out of healthcare, he clearly believes it has no role to play in the well-being of its citizens. In his own words:

… . “It was not meant to downplay their womanhood at all. We just want them to know, every man and lady who is representing us, that we are demanding, as citizens of Missouri, that Obamacare be repealed and make it clear we don’t want a replacement.”

And the folks who can’t afford to provide their own healthcare can just die. This isn’t just misogyny, it’s misanthropy. It’s so mean the mind boggles. We can do lots better in the United States. McCaskill was right to aim her metaphorical kick at his metaphorical backside. Good on you, Claire.

*Slightly edited for clarity.

“….the members of the Missouri House of Representatives, Ninety-eighth General Assembly, hereby insist that each member of the Missouri Congressional delegation endeavor with “manly firmness” and resolve to totally and completely repeal the Affordable Care Act….”

Claire is really ticked.

Senator Claire McCaskill (D) [file photo].

From the office of Senator Claire McCaskill (D):

McCaskill on ‘manly firmness’

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill today issued the following reaction to a Missouri State Legislature resolution calling for the Missouri Congressional delegation to “endeavor with ‘manly firmness’ and resolve to totally and completely repeal” and not replace the 2010 Affordable Care Act-a law that is providing health insurance to more than 200,000 Missourians, and has barred insurance companies from denying coverage because of a preexisting condition, dropping coverage for a person after becoming sick, or discriminating based on whether a patient is male or female:

“I don’t think you prove your manhood by kicking folks off their health coverage and once again letting insurance companies discriminate against women and sick people.”

McCaskill also reiterated her commitment to protecting Medicare from elected officials who believe, as the Missouri State Representative who authored this resolution has stated, that the federal government has “no business in health care, anyway…”

It is estimated that a full repeal of the Affordable Care Act would strip more than 200,000 Missourians of health insurance coverage, and-according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office-would raise the national deficit by billions of dollars.

[emphasis in original]

That left a mark.

Joni Ernst (r) ain’t got nothin’ on Claire.

Previously:

HR 99: Are those instructions good for Rep. Vicky Hartzler (r) and Rep. Ann Wagner (r)? (January 20, 2015)

HR 99: Because words mean nothing? (February 10, 2015)

“….the members of the Missouri House of Representatives, Ninety-eighth General Assembly, hereby insist that each member of the Missouri Congressional delegation endeavor with “manly firmness” and resolve to totally and completely repeal the Affordable Care Act….”

Not totally enlightened.

A might touchy:

Matt Wills ‏@gopmatty

Leave it Missouri Dems to pick on language and not substance. Newflash: this is why you continue to lose #moleg seats. 9:12 PM – 9 Feb 2015

Yeah, right. Words have no meaning.

With ‘manly firmness’: Lawmaker calls on members of Congress to repeal ACA, oppose replacement

By Rudi Keller

Monday, February 9, 2015 at 6:08 pm

JEFFERSON CITY – State Rep. Mike Moon wants the Affordable Care Act repealed and according to a House resolution he’s sponsoring, it will take the proper application of “Y” chromosomes to get the job done….

[….]

….Rep. Wanda Brown, R-Lincoln, said she opposes Obamacare because “it is truly just an expansion of Medicaid. Medicaid is a terrible system. It is a broken system and we need to look at fixing problems, not increasing problems.”

She could not be more firm in her opposition to the law, Brown said. When shown the “manly firmness” provision, she shook her head and walked away, declining to comment.

State Rep. Stephen Webber, D-Columbia, said the language is unnecessary and insulting to Hartzler, Wagner and McCaskill. “It is a throwback to this idea of gender roles and I can’t believe anyone in 2015 talks like that. We have numerous female members of the congressional delegation, whether I agree with them or not they are capable of being strong people no matter what their gender is.”

We noted this a while back:

HR 99: Are those instructions good for Rep. Vicky Hartzler (r) and Rep. Ann Wagner (r)? (January 20, 2015)

[….]

“….WHEREAS, the Missouri House of Representatives agrees with the four United States Supreme Court justices about the unconstitutionality of the ACA, and finds that act to be most injurious of the basic freedoms Missouri citizens deserve….”

That and $1.50 will get you downtown on the bus. If your town has a bus.

And then there’s this call to action:

“….the members of the Missouri House of Representatives, Ninety-eighth General Assembly, hereby insist that each member of the Missouri Congressional delegation endeavor with “manly firmness” and resolve to totally and completely repeal the Affordable Care Act….”

We’re quite certain Representatives Hartzler (r) and Wagner (r) appreciate the sentiment behind the unfortunate use of language.

[….]

Right. Because four U.S. Supreme Court justices voting one way is more than five U.S. Supreme Court justices voting the other way.

Math is hard.

Just asking.

What your right wingnut controlled Missouri General Assembly spends it’s time on:

FIRST REGULAR SESSION

House Resolution No. 99 [pdf]

98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE MOON.

1451L.01I

WHEREAS, in 2010, the United States Congress passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as “Obamacare”; and

WHEREAS, the act was passed under questionable circumstances in which the United States Senate completely revised the language in H.R. 3590, a bill regarding housing tax breaks for service members, and used it as the vehicle for the ACA in order to skirt the technical requirements that a tax bill originate in the House; and

WHEREAS, four of the United States Supreme Court justices found the ACA to be an unconstitutional expansion of federal power in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius; and

WHEREAS, to even consider National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, the United States Supreme Court had to declare that the ACA wasn’t a tax bill, but the five justices who found it to be constitutional justified their opinion based on the taxing powers of the federal government; and

WHEREAS, the ACA affects as much as 1/6 of the economy and the ability of citizens to participate in a free and open health care market and has caused numerous health insurance companies to leave the market, resulting in a consolidation of health insurance services in fewer providers; and

WHEREAS, the implementation of the ACA has been fraught with problems; and

WHEREAS, as of the Spring of 2014, the number of uninsured Americans had decreased less than 5%; and

WHEREAS, Missouri voters have twice overwhelmingly rejected Obamacare through ballot initiatives, including Proposition C in 2010, which prohibits mandating the purchase of 30 health care related products and services, and through the passage of Proposition E in 2012, which prohibits the Governor and state agencies from implementing a health insurance exchange independent of the General Assembly; and

WHEREAS, voters in Missouri and across the United States have repeatedly elected officials from both the Republican and Democrat parties based on their promise to fight the Affordable Care Act, and there now are clearly enough members of the United States House and Senate to pass a bill repealing it; and

WHEREAS, the Missouri House of Representatives agrees with the four United States Supreme Court justices about the unconstitutionality of the ACA, and finds that act to be most injurious of the basic freedoms Missouri citizens deserve; and

WHEREAS, the People, in Article I, Section 2 of the Missouri Constitution, have declared that the “principal office of government” is to “give security” to their core liberties and that when a legislature fails to secure the People’s liberty “it fails in its chief design”; and

WHEREAS, each and every Representative has taken an oath to support the Constitutions of the United States and Missouri, and thereby has a personal responsibility to defend the People’s liberty:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that we, the members of the Missouri House of Representatives, Ninety-eighth General Assembly, hereby insist that each member of the Missouri Congressional delegation endeavor with “manly firmness” and resolve to totally and completely repeal the Affordable Care Act, settling for no less than a full repeal; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chief Clerk of the Missouri House of Representatives be instructed to prepare properly inscribed copies of this resolution for the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the President of the United States Senate, and each member of the Missouri Congressional delegation.

[emphasi in original]

“….WHEREAS, the Missouri House of Representatives agrees with the four United States Supreme Court justices about the unconstitutionality of the ACA, and finds that act to be most injurious of the basic freedoms Missouri citizens deserve….”

That and $1.50 will get you downtown on the bus. If your town has a bus.

And then there’s this call to action:

“….the members of the Missouri House of Representatives, Ninety-eighth General Assembly, hereby insist that each member of the Missouri Congressional delegation endeavor with “manly firmness” and resolve to totally and completely repeal the Affordable Care Act….”

We’re quite certain Representatives Hartzler (r) and Wagner (r) appreciate the sentiment behind the unfortunate use of language.

Yes, we know Senator Claire McCaskill (D) is also part of the Missouri congressional delegation, we just didn’t have enough room for her title and name on the headline.

From the Southern Poverty Law Center (March 14, 2012):

….In the world of far-right extremists, Agenda 21 is demonized as a sort of Trojan horse, part of a larger scheme to shatter Americans’ liberties and institute a totalitarian, one-world government known typically as the “New World Order…”

…to the John Birch Society (JBS), one of the main groups promoting the conspiracy theory about Agenda 21, it represents the end of America as we know it. This is the same group, of course, that claimed President Dwight D. Eisenhower was a secret communist….

Missouri Saves Itself From… Something (May 10, 2013)

Just in case you were worried that our elected officials might be paying insufficient attempts to completely imaginary attempts to sully our precious national body fluids, or something, the legislature in Missouri has stepped up and bravely thrown itself athwart Agenda 21, the secret Illuminati UN plot to steal all our golfs.

[….]

An Agenda 21 bill, pre-filed by Representative Mike Moon (r) on December 12, 2014:

FIRST REGULAR SESSION

HOUSE BILL NO. 216 [pdf]

98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE MOON.

0565L.01I D. ADAM CRUMBLISS, Chief Clerk

AN ACT

To amend chapter 1, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to prohibitions on certain policies that infringe on private property rights.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:

Section A. Chapter 1, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto one new section, to be known as section 1.370, to read as follows:

1.370. 1. As used in this section, “political subdivision” means any state, county, incorporated city, unincorporated city, public local entity, public-private partnership, and any other public entity of the state, a county, or city.

2. Neither the state of Missouri nor any political subdivision shall adopt or implement policy recommendations that deliberately or inadvertently infringe or restrict private property rights without due process, as may be required by policy recommendations originating in, or traceable to Agenda 21, adopted by the United Nations in 1992 at its Conference on Environment and Development or any other international law or ancillary plan of action that contravenes the Constitution of the United States or the Missouri Constitution.

3. Since the United Nations has accredited and enlisted numerous nongovernmental and intergovernmental organizations to assist in the implementation of its policies relative to Agenda 21 around the world, the state of Missouri and all political subdivisions are prohibited from entering into any agreement with, expending any sum of money for,  receiving funds from, contracting services from, or giving financial aid to those nongovernmental and intergovernmental organizations as defined in Agenda 21.

[emphasis in original]

Oh, the time that’ll be wasted…

Previously:

Now we’re just waiting on the Agenda 21, Sharia law and nullification bills (December 1, 2014)

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D) in Warrensburg – October 8, 2014 (October 8, 2014)

….how many Missourians really think Agenda 21 is a problem?

HB 1647: a clear and present danger, not (April 29, 2014)

My favorite state representative (April 23, 2014)  

Via Twitter, from the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee [DLCC]:

DLCC ‏@demlegislators Apr 29

#WOTW Missouri GOPers Launch “Sham” impeachment against Gov. Nixon [….] 1:49 PM – 29 Apr 2014

And at their site:

Missouri GOPers Launch “Sham” impeachment against Gov. Nixon

By Geoffrey Montes on Tuesday, April 29, 2014

A trio of Tea Party extremists in the Missouri House of Representatives are advancing baseless efforts to impeach Democratic Governor Jay Nixon. State Rep. Mike Moon (R-Ash Grove) filed bill to impeach Nixon on grounds that he did not issue special election notices for vacant legislative seats fast enough. Rep. Rick Brattin’s (R-Harrisonville) resolution seeks to oust him over the latest right wing conspiracy theory about guns.

Yet, the most blatantly ideological proposal comes from Rep. Nick Marshall (R-Parkville), who is seeking to impeach Nixon for allowing same-sex couples to file joint state tax returns. Nixon issued the executive order in November to assist gay couples who wed in other jurisdictions.

The Kansas City Star blasted what it called “another inane waste of time” by Republican lawmakers, saying Missourians should be “embarrassed and even offended” by these antics…

The notoriety for them is a feature, not a bug. We could add another hundred to the list who are behaving just as badly.

Previously:

HR 380: impeaching Governor Jay Nixon (D) because of teh gay thing (February 6, 2014)

HR 476: keeping their eyes on the bouncing rubber ball (February 13, 2014)

HR 923: the ultimate in right wingnut – guns and impeachment (March 11, 2014)

Wait, wait, don’t tell me (November 18, 2013)

Impeaching Nixon? (November 17, 2013)

They really want to go there (April 21, 2014)

The Missouri GOP, Evel Knievel and political stuntsmanship (April 24, 2014)

HR 380, HR 476, HR 923: once more, into the abyss (April 30, 2014)