Left In Missouri

Over the past few days, many blogs and news outlets will be showing you McCain rallies of people who are calling Obama a terrorist, Arab, or someone to be feared.  The idiom “the chickens coming home to roost” will be the buzzword of the week.  In O’Fallon, Missouri a month ago, around 20,000 people (I could be wrong) had shown up to see McCain, Palin, Luetkemeyer and other state republicans take the stage.  I’m wondering, did they spew hate from the rally there?  Or is it the fact the since the early part of September, Wall St. has bottomed out and the racist base, once arrogantly proud, have now become fearful and panicky?  Republicans have sowed the seeds of hate and now it is spreading uncontrollably.  They have exploited people’s most base emotions and now they are surprised that the “impurities” have bubbled up to the surface of the cauldron they fired up.

Obama’s poll numbers have risen as a result of this economic mess.  Looks like the stock market is the “October Surprise” that the Republicans cannot shake off.

A recent DCCC commercial stated that Blaine Luetkemeyer’s privatization scheme for social security was going to put seniors on a roller coaster ride with their retirement.  Blaine’s campaign countered by stating in a press release that the MU student newspaper “the Maneater” misrepresented the facts and that Luetkemeyer does not support privatization of the social security system, but his plan would allow individuals to invest some of the social security money privately.  Even though the Maneater was technically incorrect by implying that he wanted to privatize the whole system, taking any money out of the social security system and giving to private entities, be it a brokerage firm or an individual, is a step towards privatization.  If Luetkemeyer’s plan had been in effect five years ago, any money put into the system by individuals would be gone.  If Wall St “experts” are taking a bath, the regular citizen would have lost it all.  It would of hurt those the closest to their retirement, especially now with an economy in distress.

So Blaine Luetkemeyer’s complaining about deception from DCCC is a rather calculated deception itself.  Even privatizing a little (5%, 10%, 15%) is still privatization.  The roller coaster is still an appropriate metaphor.

When you thought that this AIG bailout couldn’t get any worse.  we hear that AIG execs through a $440,000 party where spa services were conducted.  This arrogance is not going unnoticed.  Blaine Luetkemyer who has ties to the insurance industry says 3 weeks that nothing needs to change and that we are going in the right direction.  Really?  Our hard earned tax dollars go to bailout out a private industry so they can literally take this money and live it up large.  Nothing wrong about that?  This is why Blaine Luetkemeyer must not become our representative in Congress.  He is still on Bush’s sinking Titanic economic policy telling everyone that the ship is okay.  His simpleton campaign is playing out of the same old Rovian playbook of Guns, Gods, Gays, and Abortion.  Never mind that the economy, education, health care and our energy policy is the issues that affect everyone the most.  Judy Baker is truly the moderate of this race and people will realize that to solve a problem you must first admit you have one.  Blaine Luetkemeyer’s must be in the stage of economic denial and doesn’t believe that a 3000 point drop in the DOW in a week is a big deal or maybe a 800,000,000,000 dollar bailout is par for the course.

You all have the power to stop the republicans from bankrupting our nation and giving their cronies bailout money so they can kick off a half million dollar party.

During this last month, We are going to hear from John McCain’s campaign about how Obama is a terrorist lover or repeat his middle name a million times, implying he is a Islamic extremist, or run those Jeremiah sermons and imply he is a race baiter.  This is indicative of a campaign that is trying to hold on to it’s base.  Right now, campaigns are trying to get that last 10% of America to come on there side.  To many independents, it is more about personality.  Obama campaign has been talking about issues that people care about like the economy health care, etc.  McSame/Palin has been played the race/gender/religion/guns etc cards.  I venture a guess that many Americans care what Obama is talking about, not “those two”

However, many organizations are fighting back with their own commercials.  HCAN release one against Blaine Luetkemeyer, calling him on his [lack of] position on health care.

This one has a bit of humor from the nurses from California

But to me , it really comes down to who do you really want to be setting the tone for the US? A community organizer or a Big oil, warmongering sellout.

Lately, Sarah Palin has been giving material to every left leaning blogger and comedian in the country.  Just read this Huffington post article and I just shook my head.  The Flintstones is a cartoon, not an historical documentary.  The only thing I have every learned from the Flintstones is never order the large ribs after a drive-in movie.  Fred never learned and after every episode he would pay for ignorance by having his car get tipped over time and time again.

Even Dan Quayle compared to her makes him look like the grand statesman.  Republicans were trying to “make” history, fire-up there base, and hopefully get disenchanted Hillary supporters on their side with the Palin nomination.  What they have is a very ideological, very ignorant, and embarrassing vice presidential nominee.  It is pathetic to see Republican pundits spin this ignorance by saying that this is indicative of being one of “us”.  Sorry, I’m not that ignorant.  I’d rather a candidate appeal to hope, not fear and ignorance.

On a official government website, Matt Blunt posted a statement that is reminiscent of those who believe the government buzzes around in black helicopters or wears tinfoil hats to prevent mind manipulation.  He states that the Obama’s Truth Squads in Missouri, some who are prosecutors and law enforcement officers are out to intimidate and squelch speech using their law enforcement power.  This is a deliberate distortion of the facts and is a continuation of the “Scary Barry” tactics the Republican party has been using since Obama was the presumptive nominee.

The “Truth Squad”  is a rapid response team that points out falsehoods about Obama and either speaks on behalf of the candidate or sends our press releases.  Republicans say that the mere presence of prosecutors would make people afraid to speak out.  As you will read below, this obviously does not apply to Republicans.

According to an ABC news report, apparently McCain has a prosecutor on his truth squad.  This included South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster and Seventh Circuit Solicitor Trey Gowdy.  Even Gov. Palin has her own truth squad with a prosecutor aboard. That being District Attorney of Dona Ana County New Mexico Susana Martinez.

So as you can see folks, this is a fabricated crisis to make nothing into something.  Libel and slander are civil matters and do not fall into the realm of criminal jurisprudence.  Matt Blunt is accusing Obama what McCain has been doing for months.  Missouri republicans are afraid of the issues and anything to distract voters from the failed economy, the broken health care system or the high gas prices, so much the better.

The Republicans have been employing the strategy of accusing Democrats of doing unethical actions that they are actually doing.  This being a good example.  This worked in the past, but they have gone to this well too many times and they will find it dry in no time

Blunt complains that our left leaning blogs have attacked him for various reasons.  I say he deserves it.  His attempts to marginalize us will fail.  I have the “truth” on my side.

During the primaries local political pundit Marvin Overby made a big deal out of Steve Gaw’s advantage over Judy Baker because he had “rural roots” and Baker was a “Columbia liberal” who wouldn’t sell outside Boone County. Overby was proven wrong when Baker (who, like Gaw and Luetkemeyer, also lives in a rural area) won more rural counties than her three primary opponents combined. Rather than alter his myth Overby blamed his failed prognostication on “low voter turnout everywhere.” See here: http://www.columbiatribune.com/2008/Aug/20080807News007.asp

This is an odd excuse since the low turnout occured in all types of counties and since it implies that voters who did not turnout in rural counties were more likely to support candidates other than Baker. Indeed, if only Baker’s rural voters were inspired to turnout, that is a direct contradiction of the myth that she lacks rural appeal.  

Now Overby is repeating the same mantra in the general election saying that Judy Baker plays well in Boone County but that a “Columbia liberal” won’t play well outside Boone County. Interestingly while the local pundit calls Baker a “Columbia liberal,” the AP story correctly identifies her as a rural resident surrounded by farmers:

“[Baker lives] in a rural part of Boone County surrounded by farmers. A mother of three and the wife of a Baptist minister, Baker met her husband at graduate seminary school, where she earned a divinity degree after attending the University of Missouri-Columbia as an undergraduate.”

What is the point of the AP going to a local pundit, if the pundit offers a stereotypical view of the candidats that is less geographically accurate than the template story put out by the national AP? And why do the media consistently go to Overby as the only local “expert” voice on this race when he has been so consistently wrong?

I look forward to Overby again blaming “low voter turnout” for the failure of his simplistic rural/urban opinions in November.

If you too would like to help Overby scratch his head again, please donate to Judy Baker at my ActBlue page on the ActBlue button on this website and also linked here: http://www.actblue.com/page/waynemo

TO MAKE YOUR DONATION GO FURTHER, I WILL MATCH ANY DONATIONS ON MY PAGE TO JUDY BAKER BY 5PM SEPTEMEBER 30TH UP TO $300. PLEASE DONATE AND HELP RURAL BOONE COUNTY MODERATE JUDY BAKER WIN IN NOVEMBER!

Reading the Sunday Columbia Tribune, I came across an article about the race Between Baker and Luetkemeyer.  Once again, when this paper seeks out an informed analysis from an expert, why does it go to the same punditry that has not been right about the race from the beginning.  Let me remind you that Larry Sabato called this race to be between Onder and Gaw.  Marvin Overby slao stated that the Democratic nominee would be Gaw because he would appeal to the “rural” voter.  But as we all know, that appeal fell short.  So why, if all these pundits are batting under the political Mendoza line, why is the media fascinated with them.?

Overby implies in the article that once again Baker only appeals to Boone County folks, but can be caricatured as a “Columbia liberal” outside of it.  This does not reflect reality.  Like it or not, she won in those rural counties during the primary and currently is polling ahead of Luetkemeyer in Callaway County.  I know many pundits want this race to go Blaine’s way.  It will make them appear knowledgeable and their reputation as pundits will be upheld.  However Oversby appears to be stating opinion, not fact.

Fact: An internal poll had Judy up by 2:  An indpendent poll had Blaine up by 9, both were in the margin of error.  The SurveyUSA poll was an automated poll that does not ensure the person on the phone is a voter and was taken right before the Republican convention so that one is a bit dubious.

Like it or not, this is going to be in a close race.  Baker is statistically tied with Luetkemeyer.  I’d say Baker is in a very good position in a +19 Bush district five weeks before the election

On Wednesday night NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) sponsored a candidate forum for local House and Senate candidates. Five Democrats: Kelly Schultz (21st HD), Steven Webber (23rd HD), Chris Kelly (24th HD), Mary Still (25th HD) and Chuck Graham (19th SD) and Two Republicans: Theresa Sanders (22nd HD) and Kurt Schaefer (19th SD) attended.

Republicans Ed Robb (24th HD), Steve Hobbs (21st HD) and Ryan Asbridge (25th HD) did not attend the debate. Ryan Asbridge is deployed on military duty and thus has a perfectly good reason to have missed the forum, but Robb and Hobbs simply missed the forum because they lack respect for the constituents they are supposed to serve.

I know of no issue that is more bipartisan and equal opportunity in what families it affects. For Robb to go to a bank party instead and for Hobbs to simply miss the forum are inexcusable.

Columbia Missouri has had such great mental health parity advocates as Tim Harlan, Vicky Riback-Wilson and Judy Baker serving us in the past and it is very disappointing to see representatives like Robb and Hobbs give NAMI the cold shoulder.

Fortunately Chris Kelly (24th HD) and Kelly Schultz (21st HD) are both very accessible candidates who will make health care and mental health services high priorities.

We need compassionate and accessible legislators serving us who understand that mental health should not be a partisan issue and that working for mental health parity should be a higher priority than hobknobbing with bankers.

If you would like to help send Ed Robb and Steve Hobbs a message that mental health is important, please donate to their opponents Chris Kelly (24th HD) and Kelly Schultz (21st HD)  via the ActBlue button on this website. I’ll match the first $100 of donations to each candidate on my ActBlue page, if you donate to them before 5PM on September 30th.

In the atmosphere of a financial crisis that he helped to create, McCain is now “suspenfing” his campaign in order to focus on this crisis.  If this isn’t a ploy to dodge the debates, i don’t know what is.  Obama reminded him that a leader needs to be able to handle multiple tasks at the same time.

I think that Obama should have a empty chair debate.  McSame does not want to answer to the American people why Bush  lied to them again.  He stated the economy was strong not less than a year ago and then he wants us to bail out his Wall Street buddies.

McSame, you are chickens**t