Meet Our Candidates:

We will continue to fight on behalf of the working families of Missouri, by winning back the Missouri House.

Will you help?

Call the office 816-833-JCDC (5232) or email us at jacksoncountydemocrats@gmail.com

Gavin Fletchall District 48

Gavin is an energetic  leader who understands the meaning of family, education, hard work and public service. Gavin will  represent our mutual interests in economic growth, financial security, public safety and justice.

Diane Egger District 53

Diane is a passionate community activist who is committed to strong family values and fiscal responsibility. Diane  is a staunch advocate for Public Health and will work with the Missouri Department of Heath to strengthen our resources for Missourians.

John Bullard District 54

John is an officer with the Independence police force for over 30 years, John has a history of serving his community with distinction and will continue to fight for the people of Missouri  as our next State Representative from the 54th District.

Clay Rodgers District 55

Clay is our candidate for State Representative in the 55th District. Clay is a hard working family man, who has been helping other hard working Missourians as the Business Representative for the Painters Union.

On 45^th Anniversary of Medicare, Coats, Vitter, Johnson, Boozman, Blunt, Norton, Buck, Angle, Paul All Want To End Medicare For Seniors In Their States

As Americans across the country celebrate the 45^th anniversary of Medicare being signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is attacking nine Republican Senate candidates who want to take Medicare away from their would-be constituents.  Medicare, which provides quality health insurance to those 65 and over, has been one of the most successful and popular government programs in American history.  While Democrats will fight to preserve Medicare, these nine Republicans candidates will fight tooth and nail to abolish it should they win this November.

“On the 45^th anniversary of Medicare, Republican Senate candidates are running to take it away,” said DSCC National Press Secretary Deirdre Murphy. ”Fortunately, voters will have a choice this fall, between Democrats who will fight to preserve Medicare, and Republicans who will fight to abolish it.”

NINE REPUBLICAN SENATE CANDIDATES WHO WANT TO END MEDICARE AS WE KNOW IT

SHARRON ANGLE WANTS TO END MEDICARE FOR 348,168 NEVADANS

• Angle On Medicare: “We Need To Phase It Out.” In October 2009, the Review-Journal reported, “As for Medicare, she (Angle) said the entitlement program popular with seniors will eventually grow too costly to maintain… ‘We need to phase it out,’ she said.” [Las Vegas Review-Journal, 10/21/2009]

RAND PAUL WANTS TO END MEDICARE FOR 752,776 KENTUCKIANS

• Paul: Medicare Is Soviet Union Socialism. A Courier-Journal review of Paul’s prior statements found he had compared Medicare to Soviet socialism. “Advancing his belief that health care prices should be set by the marketplace, Paul also has attacked having government set Medicare reimbursements for doctors,” the Courier-Journal said. “The fundamental reason why Medicare is failing is why the Soviet Union failed — socialism doesn’t work,” Paul said on Kentucky Tonight on June 16, 1998. “You have … no price fluctuation.” [Courier-Journal, 6/21/2010; Kentucky Tonight 1998 archives]

DAN COATS WANTS TO END MEDICARE FOR 996,966 HOOSIERS

• Coats: I Want To Work With Rep. Ryan On His Ideas for Entitlement Reform. In July 2010, Coats praised Rep. Paul Ryan’s ideas for entitlement reform and vowed to work with him on passing them if elected. He said, “Paul Ryan has come up with some very sensible ideas, I have talked personal with Paul I have read his materials and there are many many things in there that I agree with and want to work with him on. UUhh it basically says we are out of money and we are deeply in debt. And if we are going to have a future in this country for our children and our grandchildren and going to have jobs available and be the country of opportunity and be the country that can lead the world and the economy we have to come up with some reforms. And Paul has come up with some very constructive ideas and so have other republicans.” [Greg Garrison Show, 7/12/10]

o   Ryan Plan would Eliminate Traditional Medicare. “The Ryan plan would eliminate traditional Medicare, most of Medicaid, and all of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), converting these health programs largely to vouchers that low-income households, seniors, and people with disabilities could use to help buy insurance in the private health insurance market.” [Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, 7/07/10]

DAVID VITTER WANTS TO END MEDICARE FOR 677,880 LOUISIANANS

• Vitter Endorsed Plan to Privatize Medicare. In September 2009, Vitter endorsed a report from the conservative Pelican Institute that promoted ending the employer-based health insurance system. According to the Times-Picayune, “U.S. Sen. David Vitter has endorsed a new study from a conservative think tank that calls for scrapping the nation’s employer-based health insurance system in favor of individually owned policies and converting the Medicaid program into vouchers for private insurance.” Vitter called the report “an important contribution to the debate.” [Times-Picayune, 9/15/09]

RON JOHNSON WANTS TO END MEDICARE FOR 900,715 WISCONSINITES

• Johnson: Rep. Ryan Has Laid Out “Common Sense Approaches” on Entitlement Reform In May 2010, Johnson praised Rep. Paul Ryan’s privatization plan. He said, “You know, in his “Roadmap for America,” [Paul Ryan] starts laying out some possibilities, I think some common-sense approaches, on you know, recognizing the fact that, I mean, when these programs were implemented, life expectancy was far shorter. You know, so, life expectancy has gone on. So I mean, you have to recognize that reality and start making adjustments to the program to figure out how you can keep these things sustainable so they’re around for people.” [Johnson Wisconsin Eye Campaign 2010 Interview, 5/26/2010]

JOHN BOOZMAN WANTS TO END MEDICARE FOR 527,051 ARKANSANS

• Boozman Voted to Replace Medicare With a Private Program. In April 2009, Boozman voted for a GOP alternative budget by Rep. Paul ryan that called for “replacing the traditional Medicare program with subsidies to help retirees enroll in private health care plans.” [Star Tribune, 4/03/09; Vote 191, 4/02/09]

ROY BLUNT WANTS TO END MEDICARE FOR 992,968 MISSOURIANS

• Blunt Voted to Replace Medicare With a Private Program. In April 2009, Blunt voted for a GOP alternative budget by Rep. Paul ryan that called for “replacing the traditional Medicare program with subsidies to help retirees enroll in private health care plans.” [Star Tribune, 4/03/09; Vote 191, 4/02/09]

• Blunt: Government Should Never Have Gotten In The Health Care Business. During a radio appearance on The Eagle 93.9, Blunt suggested that government should never have gotten in the health care business, citing Medicare and Medicaid as examples of government intervening in the health care business “in a big way.” HOST MIKE FERGUSON: What is the proper role of government, and what are the potential impacts of the direction that we’re going right now? BLUNT: Well, you could certainly argue that government should have never have gotten in the health care business, and that might have been the best argument of all, to figure out how people could have had more access to a competitive marketplace. Government did get into the health care business in a big way in 1965 with Medicare, and later with Medicaid, and government already distorts the marketplace.” [The Eagle 93.9, 7/10/09; St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 7/10/09]

·         Blunt: “Medicare Has Never Done Anything To Make People More Healthy.” During a July 2009 campaign event in Hannibal, Blunt said Medicare had never done anything to make people healthier. BLUNT: “We’ve had Medicare since 1965, and Medicare has never done anything to make people more healthy. If there’s any opportunity for more healthy activity, it’s going to be, again, a private, competitive industry…” [Becky Thatcher's, Hannibal MO, 7/25/10; Missouri Democratic Party; Fired Up Missouri, 7/29/09]

JANE NORTON AND KEN BUCK WANT TO END MEDICARE FOR 606,009 COLORADANS

• Norton: Government Shouldn’t Be In Health Care Business. In January 2010, Norton called on supporters to sign an online petition “if you agree that the government shouldn’t be in the health care business.” “Health care needs real, common-sense reforms. A government mandated, and government controlled, health care system is not the solution… If you agree that the government shouldn’t be in the health care business, show your opposition by signing this petition today.” [www.janenorton.com, Accessed 1/5/10]

• Buck Questioned Federal Government’s Role in Running Health Care Programs. As reported by Politico, “At a March forum, Buck said. ‘The idea that the federal government should be running health care or retirement or any of those programs is fundamentally against what I believe. And that is that the private sector runs programs like that far better.’” [Politico, 6/28/10]

Medicare state statistics found at http://www.statehealthfacts.org/index.jsp

UPDATE: TEA PARTY NATION IS IN AN UPROAR!!!

I am not a conservative and have never pretended to be, but to pretend to have conservative credentials then get called out by the very people you claim support you????

Missouri Tea Parties call out Roy Blunt

Here is a Press Release from the Tea Parties around Missouri

UPDATE: TEA PARTY NATION IS IN AN UPROAR!!!

http://primebuzz.kcstar.com/entries/28-missouri-tea-parties-say-theyre-not-backing-blunt/

St. Louis Post Dispatch: Some Tea Party groups angry that Bachmann backs Roy Blunt

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/political-fix/article_f049390c-9a5a-11df-95a4-0017a4a78c22.html

KMBC Kansas City: Missouri TEA Parties Blast Roy Blunt
http://20poundsofheadlines.wordpress.com/2010/07/28/missouri-tea-parties-blast-roy-blunt/

Minneapolis Star Tribune: Bachmann riles Tea Party in Missouri - and Joe the Plumber gets involved
http://www.startribune.com/politics/blogs/99473499.html

Fired Up! Missouri: Tea Party Coalition: Bachmann’s Support For Blunt “An Abomination”
http://firedupmissouri.com/content/tea-party-coalition-bachmanns-support-blunt-abomination

Michele Bachmann’s Roy Blunt Endorsement Sparks Tea Party Fury

The Huffington Post |  Elyse Siegel First Posted: 07-28-10 01:44 PM   |   Updated: 07-28-10 01:44 PM

[Search HuffPost]

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) is facing fire from supporters of the Tea Party movement over her decision to endorse Republican Congressman Roy Blunt in his primary fight for Missouri’s GOP Senate nomination.

In the wake of news that Bachmann plans to campaign alongside Blunt in St. Louis, Mo. this coming weekend, a coalition of Tea Party groups issued a statement expressing their dissatisfaction with the conservative congresswoman over her impending trip.

“We were shocked,” explained the Missouri Tea Party alliance. “We believe she has been grossly misled if she understands him to be a Missouri Tea Party candidate.”

At issue for the anti-tax groups is the fact that they have “NOT” endorsed Blunt in his primary pursuit against State Sen. Chuck Purgason.

“Tea Party participants believe the spending in Washington has to STOP,” the Tea Party groups asserted. “Roy Blunt voted for TARP and Cash for Clunkers. For Michele Bachmann to come to Missouri and give the impression that all the Missouri Tea Parties support Roy Blunt is an abomination of everything we have been standing up for.”

But this isn’t the first time that Bachmann - who has achieved rock star status in the Tea Party - has sparked controversy in the conservative movement by deciding to stand behind a particular candidate.

Last month, Bachmann saw palpable backlash after she recorded a robo-call for New Jersey Rep. Chris Smith in his primary campaign against Tea Party-backed candidate Alan Bateman. Bateman charged that Bachmann “betrayed the Tea Party movement” with her endorsement and added that it “showed her true colors in that she is nothing more than a politician using the Tea Party movement for her own advancement.”

28 Missouri Tea Parties say they’re not backing Blunt

Steve Kraske

A coalition of 28 Missouri Tea Party groups have issued a statement clarifying a point:

They have not endorsed U.S. Senate hopeful Roy Blunt.

The groups said they were “shocked” to learn that Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, a strong supporter of Tea Parties nationally, was coming to St. Louis Saturday to make phone calls for Blunt and raise money for him.

“We believe she has been grossly misled if she understands him to be a Missouri Tea Party candidate,” the statement said.

“Tea Party participants believe the spending in Washington has to STOP. Roy Blunt voted for TARP and Cash for Clunkers. For Michele Bachmann to come to Missouri and give the impression that all the Missouri Tea Parties support Roy Blunt is an abomination of everything we have been standing up for.”

“Most Tea Party supporters I know will be baffled by Michele Bachmann helping someone with a record like Roy Blunt before the primary vote,” said Jedidiah Smith, a Tea Party leader in Franklin County, Missouri.

No response yet from Blunt’s campaign.

Read more: http://primebuzz.kcstar.com/entries/28-missouri-tea-parties-say-theyre-not-backing-blunt/#ixzz0v08yYcEq

Some Tea Party groups angry that Bachmann backs Roy Blunt

By TONY MESSENGER > tmessenger@post-dispatch.com > 573-635-6178 | Posted: Wednesday, July 28, 2010 10:06 am | (13) Comments

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• Related: Ford bill passes as Missouri special session draws to a close
• Related: Tea Party Caucus debuts with 28 members of House

JEFFERSON CITY - As several politicians have learned over the past couple of years, upstart Tea Party groups do anger well, and some of the members of those groups in Missouri are angry today at one of their heroes, Minnesota Congressman Michelle Bachmann.

A coalition of Tea Party and Patriot groups issued a news release this morning saying they were “shocked” that Bachmann would be coming to St. Louis to campaign and raise money for Congressman Roy Blunt. While the Tea Party groups have said they don’t endorse candidates, they made it clear in their news release that they do not endorse Blunt.

Many of the Tea Party groups have been offering support to state Sen. Chuck Purgason, R-Caulfield, who is running a longshot campaign against Blunt, the front-runner who has raised more than $8 million in the race.

From the Tea Party release:

Tea Party participants believe the spending in Washington has to STOP. Roy Blunt voted for TARP and Cash for Clunkers. For Michele Bachmann to come to Missouri and give the impression that all the Missouri Tea Parties support Roy Blunt is an abomination of everything we have been standing up for. “Most Tea Party supporters I know will be baffled by Michele Bachmann helping someone with a record like Roy Blunt before the primary vote,” said Jedidiah Smith, a Tea party leader in Franklin County, Missouri.

The news release was signed by 28 different groups, though not by the St. Louis Tea Party.

Bachmann, who recently started a Tea Party Caucus in Congress, is scheduled to be in St. Louis to raise money for Blunt on Saturday.

Bill Hennessey, a member of the St. Louis Tea Party, said the group will stay out of the fray. Speaking for himself, he said:

“We decided a long time ago not to endorse candidates in the primary. That means we don’t un-endorse, either. The Tea Party, being totally decentralized, represents a lot of ideas and opinions. We love that.  We love that so many passionate conservatives have gotten involved in the process.”

Missouri TEA Parties Blast Roy Blunt

More that two dozen Missouri TEA parties  say a bid by US Senate candidiate to capitalize on their movement has “shocked” them.

Blunt is bringing in Minnesota Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann for a fundraising and to work the phone for him July 31 in St. Louis.

“We believe she has been grossly misled if she understands him to be a Missouri Tea Party candidate,” according to a TEA party statement Tuesday.

“Roy Blunt voted for TARP and Cash for Clunkers. For Michele Bachmann to come to Missouri and give the impression that all the Missouri Tea Parties support Roy Blunt is an abomination of everything we have been standing up for”, said Jedidiah Smith, a Tea Party leader in Franklin County, Missouri.”

Bachmann riles Tea Party in Missouri - and Joe the Plumber gets involved

By Jeremy Herb

July 28, 2010

In Missouri, it’s Rep. Michele Bachmann vs. Joe the Plumber and the Tea Party.

More than two dozen Missouri Tea Party groups are fuming this week after Bachmann announced she was coming to St. Louis to campaign for Rep. Roy Blunt.

Blunt, a Republican, is running for Senate in Missouri, but some Tea Party groups there have thrown their support behind state Sen. Chuck Purgason in the GOP primary.

Purgason’s campaign is definitely a long shot: he’s raised $32,000 to Blunt’s $8.2 million, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

But Samuel Wurzelbacher, known as “Joe the Plumber,” is backing Purgason and has bankrolled an ad that will run in nearly every Missouri TV market, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

And Missouri Tea Party groups say Bachmann “has been grossly misled” if she thinks Blunt is the “Tea Party candidate.”

“Tea Party participants believe the spending in Washington has to STOP,” 28 groups wrote in a joint statement. “Roy Blunt voted for TARP and Cash for Clunkers. For Michele Bachmann to come to Missouri and give the impression that all the Missouri Tea Parties support Roy Blunt is an abomination of everything we have been standing up for.”

This isn’t the first time Bachmann, who leads the Tea Party Caucus in Congress (holding its second meeting today), has been in hot water with tea partiers.

In New Jersey last month, Republican congressional candidate Alan Bateman said Bachmann “sold out the Tea Party movement” after she did a robo-call on behalf of Republican incumbent Rep. Chris Smith.

Tea Party Coalition: Bachmann’s Support For Blunt “An Abomination”

KMBC’s Micheal Mahoney: “More that two dozen Missouri TEA parties  say a bid by US Senate candidate to capitalize on their movement has ’shocked’ them…’Roy Blunt voted for TARP and Cash for Clunkers. For Michele Bachmann to come to Missouri and give the impression that all the Missouri Tea Parties support Roy Blunt is an abomination of everything we have been standing up for,’ said Jedidiah Smith, a Tea Party leader in Franklin County, Missouri.”

UPDATE: The coalition’s full release is here, with statements from a number of tea party leaders.  From that release:

• Franklin County Patriots: “Roy Blunt, like other RINOs, wants to be associated with the Tea Parties for his own political advantage.  However, his record of voting for Cash for Clunkers, the TARP bailout, No Child Left Behind and other unconstitutional legislation does not reflect the conservative values of Tea Party Patriots.  In addition, Roy Blunt’s association with Washington D.C. lobbyists has earned him a reputation of being one the largest recipients of lobbyist support, including Fannie and Freddie.”
• “In God We Trust PAC has not endorsed and would never endorse Roy Blunt for the U.S. Senate. Roy Blunt does not stand for the conservative values and principles the Tea Party movement represents. He is a career politician and Washington insider who has sold out his constituents for special interest money. Roy Blunt is, in fact, what we are endeavoring to “purge” out of Washington.”
• Jefferson County Tea Party: “Big spending Republicans that voted to increase the size and scope of Government during the Bush years are part of the problem, not the solution…If posing as a fiscal conservative were a crime, Roy Blunt would be on top 10 wanted list.”
• Sikeston Tea Party: “We…do not endorse or even want Roy Blunt for our next Senator.”
• SW MO Conservative Network: “We invited Congressman Blunt to several of our meetings over the last year and were told by his scheduler that he would not attend a candidate forum until after the Primary.”

Blunt’s upcoming event with Bachmann obviously won’t the first time he’s filtered his record for the tea party crowd:

• Blunt skipped the first tea party rally in Jefferson City in April 2009, even though he was in in the Capitol that day.
• He was not invited to the Springfield Tea Party in April 2009; organizer Vincent David Jericho said “we’re only inviting conservative politicians.”
• He was not allowed to speak to the July 4, 2009 Tea Party in Washington, MO, an even organized with the St. Louis Tea Party folks like Dana Loesch, Bill Hennessy and Jim Hof.
• He was the target of open criticism at almost all of the early tea party rallies, and
• Was described by Dana Loesch as the epitome of what tea partiers claim to hate: “the old-school Republican guard, the ones intent on enslaving us in the tunnel of Democrat-lite.”
• Jefferson County Tea Party leader Ken Horton told an April 2010 gathering that “Blunt needs to be held accountable for his votes,” and said he’d be endorsing state Sen. Chuck Purgason instead.Ken Horton told an April 2010 gathering that “Blunt needs to be held accountable for his votes,” and said he’d be endorsing state Sen. Chuck Purgason instead.