Robin Carnahan to Roy Blunt: 'Man up' on health care by repealing his own benefits first

No wonder Roy Blunt didn't want to debate Robin Carnahan. She kicked his butt:

Carnahan, who trails in the polls, was clearly the aggressor in the only televised exchange of the campaign, to be broadcast on KCPT tonight.

The sharpest exchange came during a discussion of health care reform. Carnahan accused Blunt of opposing the health care law because of ties to lobbyists.

“I think people should have access,” she said. “They should have the same access you have as a member of Congress. So I think if you want to repeal health care reform and let insurance companies go back to their worst abuses, Congressman, then you ought to repeal your own first. And man up. And do what you’re asking other people to do.”

Great line. Roy Blunt would never give up his taxpayer financed health care benefits. He's a fraud.

During the debate, Blunt denied not supporting Medicare:

"I never said I was not for Medicare," said Blunt, later telling Carnahan

Wrong. Blunt actually said "government should have never gotten into the health care business." He then specifically noted that government got into the business of health care "in a big way" back in 1965 with Medicare. Sure sounds like he wasn't for Medicare. But, you can listen to what he said here. Seriously. He totally dissed the creation of Medicare. He's a fraud and a liar.

Come on, Missouri. Don't send this corrupt liar to the Senate. Read the rest of this post...

Roy Blunt, the ultimate DC inside and ally of big oil, is getting hit hard from both sides

Missouri GOP Congressman Roy Blunt is one of the oil industry's best friends in DC. Even in the wake of the disastrous oil spill, he was defending BP and trying to protect it from increased liability. That's the position of GOP Senators, which is what Blunt wants to be.

But, then a funny thing happened to Roy Blunt. The campaign of Robin Carnahan, the Democratic candidate in Missouri, released this video about Blunt, his ties to big oil and his willingness to let taxpayers bail out BP:

That sent Blunt scrambling. This week, he flipped his position and now says he's for increased liability.

Whenever a candidate starts flip-flopping, it's clear they're worried. Blunt is getting hit from both sides. He's also facing an increasingly serious challenge from the right in his August 3rd GOP primary. The teabaggers are uniting behind a seriously hard-core conservative named Chuck Purgason. In the wake of the defeat of several incumbents, Purgason is feeling some momentum. His campaign sent out a press release that trashed Blunt:

The four primaries Tuesday, especially Trey Grayson's and Arlen Spector's losses, shared a common theme: the establishment's choice is not necessarily the people's choice. "As Robin Carnahan starts her "no bull" campaign, it's clear that her mission is to define Rep. Blunt as the establishment candidate because of his record of irresponsible spending," said Sen. Chuck Purgason. "Carnahan's plan only works if her general election opponent has a record of supporting Bank Bailouts (TARP), Cash for Clunkers and unbalanced budgets.

Those are fighting words for teabaggers. And, Blunt is tied to all of it.

Blunt is an establishment candidate. He's ultimate inside-the-beltway politician. He even dumped his wife to marry a lobbyist. And, nothing says you're a DC insider like the fact Georgetown's Social Safeway is your local grocery store.

Could Roy Blunt be the next Trey Grayson or Bob Bennett? GOP voters are in an anti-establishment mood, so Blunt could be in big trouble.

Robin is running a great campaign. Even Chris "The Fix" Cillizza is impressed, "Secretary of State Robin Carnahan may be the best Democratic Senate challenger in the country." Robin understands the current political climate and is taking nothing for granted. She is hitting Blunt hard -- and there's so much to hit him with. We've got an ActBlue page set up for her campaign. This seat is currently held by Republican Kit Bond so it would be a sweet pick up in November. Read the rest of this post...

Roy Blunt (R-MO): Congressman, GOP leader, Senate Candidate and Tax Cheat

Typical Republican. Rails against taxes, then tries to cheat the District of Columbia on his property taxes. But, Blunt and his lobbyist wife got busted. Roll Call (sub. req.) broke the story:

The District of Columbia Office of Tax and Revenue will charge Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and his spouse $5,600 in back property taxes for their Georgetown home, following a nearly two-month review of the property’s tax status.

The Missouri lawmaker and his wife, Abigail Perlman Blunt, own a three-bedroom Georgetown home, valued at $1.62 million in tax assessment records.

According to public tax records, the Blunts’ home had received the homestead tax deduction as recently as April, a benefit intended for full-time city residents that can shave hundreds of dollars off annual tax bills — and significantly more in the long term by limiting assessment increases.

Public records show that the city has recalculated taxes dating to 2005. The city does not list interest or penalties on the unpaid taxes.

Blunt is running for the seat vacated by Republican Kit Bond. So far, he's the only declared Republican candidate, although a couple others are making noises about jumping in.

The Democratic nominee will be the current Secretary of State, Robin Carnahan. Early polls look good for Robin. But, Missouri is always a tough state.

If you want to help pick up this seat for the Democrats, we've set up an ActBlue page for Robin. She's a good friend and a solid progressive. And, she's also the proud parent of a new foal, which you can help name. Robin's family has a farm in Rolla, Missouri. Over the years, I've learned way more about farming, particularly about cattle, from Robin than I ever imagined I'd know. That's why I always loved one of her first t.v. ads:

She does know bull when she sees it. And, horses, too. Read the rest of this post...

Robin Carnahan raised over $1 million for Missouri Senate race in under 60 days

News from one of the hottest 2010 Senate races. Robin Carnahan, who started campaigning for Senate on February 2nd, had raised over $1 million dollars when the FEC reporting ended on March 31st. Via FiredUp Missouri:

Just released:

In less than 60 days, we raised over one million dollars!

Actually, we raised $1,048,000 (to be exact) from more than 1,400 contributions.

In these tough economic times, when so many families are reeling from the failed policies of the Bush years, I couldn't be more grateful for this outpouring of early support from so many friends.

No word yet from the Roy Blunt campaign on their numbers. It will be interesting to see if he matches the $1 million mark, and how the $336,408 transferred from his Congressional account will be spun to demonstrate "early support."

No doubt, these are tough economic times (even if Roy Blunt's fellow Republican leaders don't think so.) So, this is a very good start for Robin.

If you want to help out Robin, we've set up an AMERICABlog supports Robin Carnahan ActBlue page. In these tough economic times and in this tough Senate race, early contributions (in any amount) are greatly appreciated and really matter. This is the video Robin used to announce her campaign back on February 2nd:

UPDATE: I'll add Roy Blunt's numbers to this post when he releases them.Wow. Robin trounced Blunt in fundraising by an almost 2 to 1 margin. The former Republican House Majority Leader only pulled in $542,000. Not a great showing, although he still have over $300,000 from his House campaign account. And, like a typical Republican, he used the announcement of his money to attack Robin. What a putz. Read the rest of this post...

Robin Carnahan is running for Senate in Missouri

The very popular and very competent Secretary of State from Missouri, Robin Carnahan, announced today that she is running for the Senate seat being vacated by Kit Bond. She did the video announcement below -- and I can attest to the fact that Robin has run marathons. We did the New York marathon together back in 2003. Robin is a good friend and I know she'll make an excellent Senator. She's just getting the campaign started. Her website is: www.robincarnahan.com:

Read the rest of this post...

Missouri Secretary of State expects 76% turnout with huge influx of new, young voters

Missouri is one of the battleground states that doesn't have early voting. This year, Missouri is a true toss-up.

Today, the Secretary of State, Robin Carnahan, released new voting information -- and predicted turnout will be 76%. There are 340,000 new voters in the state -- and a big chunk of them are young. From Robin Carnahan's press release:

Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan announced today that 76 percent of Missouri’s registered voters are predicted to vote in the November 4, 2008 general election. This estimate is a compilation of local turnout estimates submitted to the Secretary of State’s office by the 116 election authorities around the state. If the 76 percent prediction is met, more than 3.2 million votes will be cast in the election.

“Missouri voters should have confidence in their election system,” said Carnahan. “Local election officials around the state have been working tirelessly to make preparations for a busy election day. This year, we have increased security checks on voting machines, raised the number of poll workers statewide, and invested in more training for Election Day workers.”

In addition to the estimated turnout, Secretary Carnahan also released the statewide voter registration total for the upcoming election. There are a record-setting 4,205,774 Missourians currently registered to vote, which includes over 340,000 first time voters.

A large portion of the new voters are younger Missourians. Nearly 150,000 of the first time registrants are 18-24 years old, which is more than double any other age group. In both Kansas City and St. Louis City, over 50 percent of the new registrants are 18-24 years old.

Read the rest of this post...

Effort to pass ultra-restrictive voter ID law fails in Missouri

News from Missouri's state house tonight is that the Senate failed to even consider the very restrictive voter ID law before adjournment. This is a big victory for fair elections and insuring that all voters get to vote -- in a key swing state. Here's the statement from the very savvy Secretary of State in Missouri, Robin Carnahan, who helped lead the charge to kill the legislation:

Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan released the following statement on the legislative session ending without the passage of a restrictive proposal requiring voters to present a government-issued photo ID at the polls:

“This proposal not passing is a victory for voter’s rights. This debate has not been about having Missouri voters identify themselves at the polls. In Missouri, we already have common sense identification requirements in place. This debate has been about ensuring fair elections, and elections can not be fair if eligible voters are not allowed to make their voice heard on Election Day.

These past two weeks we heard from Missouri voters across the state that feared they would lose their right to vote because they don’t have a government-issued photo ID or a birth certificate, and I am glad the legislature didn’t put their right to vote at risk. The hard work of citizens and groups around this state who opposed this proposal played a key role in making sure this legislation was not passed.”

The Missouri Supreme Court stuck down a 2006 Voter Photo ID law in October of that year, citing that it placed too much of a burden on eligible Missourian’s constitutional right to vote.

Read the rest of this post...

In Missouri, the nuns are fighting against the onerous voter ID law

The whole country saw the real world implications of Indiana's tough new voter ID law on Tuesday. A group of 80 and 90 year old nuns were stopped from voting.

A similar bill is under consideration in Missouri -- again. That state's Supreme Court already struck down a previous effort to restrict voters in 2006. But the Republicans never stop.

This time, the nuns in Missouri aren't sitting back. Today, several sisters joined other voters who will be disenfranchised and Missouri's kick ass Secretary of State, Robin Carnahan, to oppose the legislation -- just as the Missouri House was passing its discriminatory bill:

The measure passed the house 88 to 69 after about an hour of highly partisan debate. No Democrats voted yes; only Rep. Jim Guest, R-King City, crossed party lines.

One of the most vocal critics of the idea, Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, a Democrat, held a press conference at the same time in St. Louis to stress her opposition. Carnahan said it was her job “to protect every voter’s right to vote, not 95 percent of voters.”

“These laws are detrimental and harmful to these people who want to exercise their right to vote,” Carnahan said.

Other local residents also spoke out against the measure. Two nuns said elderly sisters of their orders typically don’t have drivers licenses. A woman originally from Mississippi said her birth certificate, once held there in Jackson, was destroyed in a fire.

Opponents say the requirement could be discriminatory – that elderly, poor and minority residents will feel the burden more, as they’re less likely to have an up-to-date drivers license, state ID or passport. Critics also see the cost and process to obtain a birth certificate to get a such an ID as simply too high a hurdle.

Still, during the press conference, the resolution’s passing was announced as expected. Carnahan then suggested that voters call their state senators, who have only days to pass the measure.

The State Senate votes next week. If you live in Missouri, call your state senator. Find out just whose side they are on. The nuns have your back. Read the rest of this post...

Missouri's right wingers threaten to impeach Secretary of State Robin Carnahan because she's following the law.

For too many years, right wing Republican Secretaries of State have done the bidding of the lunatics in their party. Think Katherine Harris in Florida and Ken Blackwell in Ohio.

In Missouri, there's a Secretary of State, Robin Carnahan, who doesn't kowtow and cater to every diabolical idea promulgated by the nuts. And, they really hate her for it.

In 2006, Carnahan rejected the biased language of the right wing's ballot initiatives. Every time they challenged her in court, the nuts lost.

These are the same anti-stem cell zealots who attacked Michael J. Fox when he got involved in the Missouri Senate Race over the stem cell issue. (Keep in mind that Rush Limbaugh, who openly mocked Fox's Parkinson, has deep roots in Missouri.)

Anyway, fast forward to 2007. The anti-stem cell crowd is coming back with another anti-science, anti-health, pre-historic initiative. They have a new plan that would repeal the referendum that passed in 2006 (but don't want anyone to know.) Fired Up Missouri documents the foibles of "the anti-cure crowd."

Again, Carnahan isn't letting the stem cell opponents confuse the voters. Those religious fanatic types hate it when they don't get their way.

Their solution? Impeachment. Not kidding:

[Curt] Mercadante says that while the courts have given the Secretary of State some latitude in editing ballot summary language submitted to the office, the latitude has been surpassed in this instance. He says all options, including an effort to impeach the Secretary of State, will be considered.

So, they want to impeach Robin for following the law. Now, that's insane:

The Secretary of State's Office could not disagree more with Cures Without Cloning on its claim that the summary language is confusing to voters. Secretary Robin Carnahan's Chief of Staff Mindy Mazur says the summary is completely fair and in accordance with state law.

Mazur says it is not uncommon to have challenges to initiative petition ballot titles, pointing out there is a process laid out for the challenge in law. She adds that in 2006 there were court challenges to three different summary statements and in each case the summary statemant was upheld as sufficient and fair.

We all get caught up in the Presidential race and the battles for House and Senate seats.

But a lot of the day-to-day work gets done on the front lines by people like Robin Carnahan. It's just so important to win elections in key states like Missouri for key offices like Secretary of State. The Republicans have known that for years. State elections really matter. Robin is running for re-election next year. And, she needs to win again. Read the rest of this post...