Last Saturday, the Missouri Republican State Committee met and elected new officers. Congratulations to Chairman Todd Graves, Vice Chair Kay Hoflander, Secretary Nick Myers, and Treasurer Pat Thomas.
Many decades ago, I was a Boy Scout in Troop 769. We would go to Summer Camp at S – Bar – F Scout Ranch outside of Farmington and spend one week of each summer working on merit badges – and on becoming men. Our Scoutmaster at the time, Bob Skala, a World War 2 veteran, taught us many life lessons. At least one of them has stuck with me to this day. Mr. Skala taught us to always “leave the campground in better shape than we found it.” Through many jobs, ordeals, missions, and assignments, this simple directive has become engraved in my soul.My friends, two years ago we inherited a Missouri Republican Party that was in disarray. We were divided personally and ideologically. We were in dire, massive debt. We were considered ineffective and we were ridiculed. We were, in a very real sense, a campground in need of attention. We were left a mess.
Many of you decided to entrust me with the challenge of helping to rebuild a once-great institution – the Missouri Republican Party. I was honored and humbled by your trust and confidence. And so, our mission began. Five days into that mission, tragedy struck our party. Our State Auditor, Tom Schweich, took his life on a cold, wintery day in late February of 2015. Much to my shock, some in our party and in the media accused me of being the motivating force behind Tom’s tragic decision. I was utterly unprepared for what followed.
Though I knew I’d done nothing to provoke such a horrific event, the next several weeks became some of the most difficult of my life. Jon Prouty moved into our guest room and stood by my side. Many of you urged me to stay the course and offered profound encouragement. My faith was tested and my family was devastated. Through it all, I had to measure and weigh what was best for our party and best for my now-tarnished reputation. Those were overwhelming times.
After finally deciding to stand for the truth, many of you chose to do the same. I will never, ever, forget the encouragement, support, and affirmation that so many of you provided during those dark days. In a real sense, you held me upright when my natural inclination was to lay down or just go away.
It was in April of 2015, when we convened an informal meeting of the State Committee, that the tide began to turn. We came together and tackled some very difficult issues – delegate allocation, the state convention, the national convention, divisive statewide primaries… Together, we dug into the very difficult work of being a political party. We emerged decisive and united.
From there, a presidential campaign unfolded that divided Republicans in almost every state of the Union. It did not divide US. We had pledged to stand together in a war to save America – whatever that might mean. We had pledged to fight, side-by-side, to hold our ground – no matter what might come against us. We had pledged to support our ticket through thick and thin – and the thin came – in a torrent. We stood. We fought. We prevailed. Like Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain at Gettysburg, we “fixed bayonets.”
After all was said and done, my dear friends, Missouri history was made last November. Never before has our Republican Party prevailed in seven statewide elections on a single ballot. Never before have Republicans held a US Senate Seat, six of eight congressional seats, the Governor’s office, five of six statewide offices, and super majorities in both the State House and the State Senate. Unprecedented. Unexpected. Unbelievable.
Together – with outstanding candidates who ran outstanding campaigns – we have achieved heights never imagined by those who have come before. The campground we inherited is most certainly left in a far better circumstance. We stayed the course. We fought the battle. We lived to see historic success. I thank God for allowing us to witness these events of the past two years and for allowing us to recognize His unmistakable hand in all of them.
It has been one of my life’s greatest honors to serve you as your chairman. I remain humbled by your hard work and support. But it’s now time to move along so a new chairman can build upon the successes you have created. It’s now someone else’s mission to improve the campground. I am delighted to step aside after completing my small piece of this unfolding history!
I do want to leave you with some thoughts about the future of our beloved party. I hope the future leadership of MRP builds upon the foundation of the Virtual Precinct that we developed together. It can be a grassroots tool that gives Republicans a true advantage over our adversary for many years to come. I hope you will successfully make Missouri a “closed primary” state – where voters declare allegiance to one or no political party in primary elections. I hope you will strip state statutes of the authority to dictate times and dates to political parties as they reorganize and develop to assist their candidates. There are yet many missions to accomplish!
I leave you with a profound sense of mutual satisfaction. I leave you with a deep sense of gratitude for your support and confidence. I leave knowing that, together, we have left the campground in much better shape. Together, we stood through some turbulent, stormy seas.
My very first communication to you on this journey was entitled, “A More Perfect Union.” I believe we walk away from here having achieved that objective. The Union we inherited is unquestionably far better than it was. We were not perfect nor did we achieve perfection. And, we have left good and valuable work for others to complete.
To close, in the words of Ronald Reagan, “We’ve done our part. As we walk off into the city streets, my friends, we did it! We weren’t just marking time. We made a difference. We made the city stronger. We made the city freer. And, we left her in good hands. All in all, not bad. Not bad, at all. So, goodbye. God Bless You. And God Bless the United States of America.”
Rep. Scott Fitzpatrick, R-Shell Knob has announced an initiative to cultivate “new and exciting ideas that will cut out the inefficiencies of state bureaucracy and bring 21st century innovations to Missouri’s government.” Modernize Missouri will serve as a forum for Missouri’s citizens to communicate their ideas on how to make state government work better.
“The growth in federally mandated state spending continues to increase the size of state government and threaten strategic investments in Missouri’s future. It’s time to modernize Missouri state government to do more with less through technology, innovation, and a little more Missouri common sense,” Fitzpatrick said. “I’m inviting all Missourians to join our effort to help Modernize Missouri by submitting their ideas today on how they think we can reduce the size of government and release the potential of our great state.”
Citizens can submit their ideas online at www.ModernizeMO.com or on Facebook and Twitter by using the hashtag #ModernizeMO.
We guess Congressman Clay forgot or doesn’t care that he has police officers (both black and white) and FBI agents in his congressional district?
STLToday.com:
In the short term, Clay’s office has been receiving calls from people asking him to take it down. He will not, he said, and Reichert has announced no plans to try to force him to do it. Clay said he has told House colleagues who raised concerns: “You want [an 18-year-old] to get on TV and cry about why his painting is taken down, you can go down that path.” Clay said he had fielded some of the angry calls to his office. Callers told him the painting should be removed and was “hateful.” “I said, ‘Look now, we cannot be selective about people’s constitutional rights. The Supreme Court has said artistic expression is a form of speech, and we cannot abridge freedom of speech.
We think we know why Democrats are so passionate about allowing illegal immigrants to become lawful and voting citizens. It’s because they need these people to replace all the babies and mothers they murder every year.
Senator McCaskill claims she doesnt request or accept earmarks but what do you call this press release from her Senate website?
“Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced $4.85 million in grants to six Marine Highway projects along the waterways of 17 states and the District of Columbia, as part of the Maritime Administration’s Marine Highway Program. McCaskill leant her support to the project, the goal of which is to expand the use of the country’s navigable waterways to relieve landside congestion, reduce air emissions, and generate other public benefits by increasing the efficiency of the surface transportation system. McCaskill supported the Water Resources Reform Development Act, which would authorize the Army Corps of Engineers to study and construct water projects to maintain navigable channels, and reduce flood and storm damage.”
The latest polls have Senator Blunt opening a small lead over secretary of state Jason Kander. This revelation that Kander took $25,000 in questionable donations and this very effective ad targeted to suburban “security moms” may move the needle further for Senator Blunt in the closing days of the campaign.
Guns.com:
The NRA has poured just over $3 million on a campaignthat contends that it is Kander’s support of the Second Amendment, not his weapon manipulation skills or combat experience, that is mushy. The latest ad features a female speaker who holds that Kander’s support of Missouri House Bill 668 in 2009 translates to “Jason Kander voted against letting me defend myself at my apartment with a gun if I choose.” Read more…
In between taking care of his puppet masters in the rent to own industry, Congressman found time to pass this timely and much needed legislation for his district.
STL Post Dispatch:
The American bison has been designated the national mammal of the U.S. at a ceremony at Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota. Congress approved the designation in April, and it became official Nov. 2, the Rapid City Journal reported. Federal lawmakers have called the bison — North America’s largest land animal — the embodiment of American strength, resilience and the nation’s pioneer spirit. Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-St. Louis, who has said he is a descendant of “buffalo soldiers” of the 19th-century U.S. Cavalry, was one of the supporters of the National Bison Legacy Act in April. Read more…
With all the talk lately of “rigged elections” and voter fraud, we went back thru our archives and found this interesting example of potential shenanigans in Bollinger County:
A reader recently sent this unsettling email to us. This should really be investigated and investigated thoroughly.
I don’t know where to start. I have thought I had seen this in elections that go back to the 2008 election of the county commission. It was easier to believe I was too wrapped up in the politics that my eyes deceived me, than to believe the ballots really did look like this! Now in the election this past Nov ( I have been trying since then to get it addressed) the candidates for the Republicans were darker than their opponents. The clerk assures me we will use a new printing company this year because of this. However this company has printed them for 20+ years and conveniently has the ONLY paved road in the county. How am I to have faith in the democracy process? How am I to trust the integrity of the system in place if I have no course of action to take that will give me confirmation. Here are the facts.
*Ovals were too dark for some candidates (That is what the machine counts!)
*The candidate was too dark
*The entire back for the constitution vote was too light
*Ink splatters on text
*Ink splatters in oval area
*Some were crooked on the page
*76 ballots were corrected with WHITEOUT corrections and not the removable sticker. ( no way to see original intent of voter now if audited)
*The tests was performed with sharpie marker. (this changes variables, I vote in #2 pencil) How is that an accurate test?
*The error was reported in the Marble hill dist, however I am hurricane and I SAW it ( discrepancy in the reporting)
*The old clerk showed me the process with absentee ballots and there was print quality issues there too
*The problem was different ballot to ballot, district to district.
*Upon inspection after the fact the new clerk sees it just by flipping through the stack.
*The wining candidates WERE darker on the ballot I VOTED ON! I knew it wasn’t my eyes!
*THEY WERE ALL REPUBLICAN not ever the DEMOCRAT!
*The company that printed the ballot is on the ONLY paved county road
*No one wanted to admit it was like this until I forced the issue with the sunshine law request to get a copy ( I do think the NEW clerk has made a big difference)
*What about the integrity of the elections of the past since you can see it on those ballots too?
How is that a valid tactic to bold face print some candidates but not others. We need to hold the quality of the official ballots to a higher standard. In situations like these it comes to light that we need LAWs to protect the public from these kinds of deceitful practice. Whether it happened by accident as they say or on purpose, Something should be done to ensure the integrity of the ballots for future elections.
