As you know, the legislature is dominated by Republicans, some who are truly interested in making Missouri a better place, and many that are more interested in making headlines and advancing their crazy right-wing agenda that does nothing to fix the problems in Missouri.  I’ve put together a wish list of legislative items that I hope the can be stopped dead in their tracks by the few remaining Democrats in the Senate and the rational Republicans in the House.

1.) Minimum Wage Repeal: The House defied the will of 76% of Missourians by voting to remove cost of living adjustments from the minimum wage.  Let’s hope this dies a swift death in the Senate.  People who are making less than $7.00 have enough trouble making ends meet and shouldn’t have to suffer anymore so big businesses can save a few bucks.

2.) Holding Unemployment Benefits Hostage: St. Louis’ very own Sen. Jim Lembke is blocking a bill that would allow $81 million in Federal unemployment benefits.  The deadline to accept these benefits is approaching fast and if they aren’t accepted nearly 23,000 out of work Missourians won’t receive unemployment benefits in April.  Senator Lembke claims he’s sending a message to his colleagues in Washington but in reality, he’s just using unemployed Missourians as political pawns to advance his out of touch agenda in the Senate.

3.) Repeal Child Labor Laws: Senator Jane Cunningham wants to repeal Missouri’s child labor laws.  Seriously.  This would allow children as young as 12 years old to work full time in Missouri.  Senator Cunningham’s bill already made Missouri easy fodder for the late night comedians once this session.  Let’s hope this bill dies a quiet death.

4.) Weaken Employment Discrimination Laws: The House recently passed a bill that would make it easier for employers to fire employees because of their sexual orientation.  The bill is pending in the Senate.

5.) Banning Sharia Law in MO Courts: The nearly 100 cosponsors of this bill should be embarrassed.  The House actually took the time to debate and pass a bill banning Sharia Law from being applied in Missouri Courts.  There is not a single instance in which Sharia law has ever been applied by a judge in Missouri and there is no indication that it ever would be applied.  A similar law passed in Oklahoma was declared unconstitutional by a Federal judge.  Hopefully this bill never makes it that far.

The few Democrats remaining in the legislature will be busy trying to stop not only these bills, but also a host of others that I have not mentioned.  Tell your legislators to keep fighting for working Missourians and encourage them to do everything in their power to stop these bills from reaching Governor Nixon’s desk.  In the unlikely event that a number of these do reach the Governor’s desk, I know he’ll do the right thing and veto every single one of them.

Finally, let’s hope that certain members of the Senate come to their senses over Spring Break and return control of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department to the citizens of St. Louis City.  Sixty Eight percent of St. Louisans want control local control of their police department. It’s time to reverse an outdated 150-year-old law.

Brian Wahby is Chairman of the St. Louis City Democrats and Missouri’s At-Large Member of the Democratic National Committee.

This spirited support was lead by our political and civic leaders from both sides of the river, many of whom whole-heartedly joined the Host Committee.  We would not have come this far without the great support of Mayor Francis Slay, Governor Jay Nixon, Senator Claire McCaskill, County Executive Charlie Dooley, Senator Dick Durbin, our bi-state Congressional Delegation.

Joining our effort were business and labor leaders including David Farr of Emerson and Civic Progress, Mike DeCola of Mississippi Minerals and the Regional Business Council, Bob Soutier of the St Louis Labor Council, Gerry Feldhaus and Jeff Aboussie of the St. Louis Building Trades Council, Nancy Cross of SEIU.  To all of these great St. Louis leaders: Thanks for your leadership and commitment to St. Louis.

Of course there are many people to thank and in the coming days we will attempt to reach out to you, but we also want to recognize here the extraordinary efforts, commitment and leadership of Kitty Ratcliffe and her staff at the Convention and Visitors Commission.  We are truly blessed to have such a dedicated and talented group of people working to sell our region as a premier location for tourists, meetings and conventions.

Again thanks to all of you who helped.  St. Louis was a serious contender throughout this process, and we should be proud of our collective efforts.  You proved that no league is too big for St. Louis.  It is at times like this that I like to read the following quote from one of my favorite Republicans, Teddy Roosevelt:
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

Thanks for allowing me the great honor to have lead this effort. Remember, 2016 is only 5 short years away.

Sincerely,

Brian Wahby

Chairman

St. Louis City Democrats

President of the Board of Alderman

- Lewis E. Reed

Alderman Ward 2

- Dionne Flowers

Alderman Ward 4

- Samuel Moore

Alderman Ward 6

- Kacie Starr Triplett

- Bradford Kessler

Alderman Ward 8

- Stephen James Conway

Alderman Ward 10

- Joseph [Joe] Vollmer

Alderman Ward 12

- Larry Arnowitz

Alderman Ward 14

- Carol Howard

Alderman Ward 16

- Donna Baringer

- Gus Mantia

- Marian0 V. Favazza

Alderman Ward 18

- Terry Kennedy

Alderman Ward 20

- Craig Schmid

- Rod Yeager

- Shannon J. McGinn

Alderman Ward 22

- Jeffrey L. Boyd

Alderman Ward 24

- Mike Hathaway

- William [Bill] Waterhouse

- Tom Bauer

- Martin B. Fischer

Alderman Ward 26

- Frank A. Williamson

Alderman Ward 28

- Lyda Krewson

St. Louis submitted its bid on 21 May, along with several other cities.  St. Louis is a strong contender for the Convention, given the region’s central location and unique attributes as a family-friendly and diverse city capable of hosting the 50,000 delegates, press and other visitors in 2012.

If successful, St. Louis will enjoy a significant economic benefit from the Convention.  In 2008, the Convention boosted Denver’s regional economy by $266 million.  For comparison, the 2009 MLB All-Star Game boosted the St. Louis economy by some $60 million.

The DNC’s Technical Advisory Group (TAG) will conduct site visits to each finalist city this summer.

“I’m proud St. Louis got short-listed,” said St. Louis Mayor Francis G. Slay.  “We demonstrated we are a first-class city capable of holding an event of this magnitude.”

The community can follow the St. Louis bid online and sign up to help at stl2012.org, via Twitter @stldnc2012 and on Facebook at facebook.com/stldnc2012.

Thursday May 20, 2010 at 7:00 PM

At

Firefighters Hall – 4271 Delor Street

Hosted by Wards

6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20, 23, 24, 23, 28

All Democratic Candidates Running for Office within the 3rd Congressional District are invited to speak and answer questions.

Courtesy of www.barackobama.com.

As Claire and the President both said – this is about the next generation, not the next election.  We need to continue to fight for Health Insurance Reform and to help I’ve included some of the key benefits of the President’s Health Insurance Reform Proposal below.

• It will strengthen the coverage you get at work by reining in the worst insurance company abuses.
• It will provide tens of billions of dollars in new tax credits to small businesses to make it easier for them to provide coverage if they choose to do so.
• Many Americans buying their own coverage in the individual market will qualify for tax credits that reduce their premiums by an average of nearly 60 percent – and they will get better coverage than what they have today.
• If you are on Medicare, you will have benefits you don’t have today: Preventive services like cancer screenings at no cost, and a substantial reduction in prescription drug prices if you fall into that gap in coverage known as the “donut hole.” Over time the proposal closes this coverage gap completely.
• If you don’t have insurance, you may be eligible for a tax credit to help pay for your coverage – part of the largest middle class tax cut for health care in history.
• Insurance companies will be required to offer coverage regardless of your health status or because of pre-existing conditions, and they cannot boost rates or drop you from your coverage when you get sick.
• If you are a parent, you can keep your children on your insurance plan until the age of 27 (the current limit is age 21).

Please take a moment and visit http://my.democrats.org/KaineReformto watch a video message from DNC Chairman Tim Kaine and to join the “Final March for Reform.”

Again, thank you for making last night a memorable one.  And let’s get to work!

Sincerely,
Brian Wahby
Chairman

For Immediate Release:                         January 12, 2010

Contact:                                                  Ryan Hobart    (573) 636-5241 Ext. 125

Jefferson City, Mo – In another example of blatant hypocrisy, Congressman Roy Blunt is trying to take credit for Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grants that will help the homeless population in his district, even though he voted against the funding. [HR 3288, Vote #949, 12/10/09]

On December 10^th, after voting against the bill, Blunt said the funding for this HUD program shouldn’t be spent, saying that it is “good money on a bad fix for what is broken”. [Congressional Press Release, 12/10/09]

One month later, Congressman Blunt’s office sent out another press release in which he said these grants are “needed” and “best used” to help the homeless population in his district. What he neglected to say is he voted against the funding that makes these programs possible. [Congressional Press Release, 1/11/10]

“At least we know Congressman Blunt is consistent on something, and that is his DC double speak,” said Missouri Democratic Party Spokesman Ryan Hobart. “He has tried to have it both ways on numerous issues like H1N1 preparedness funding, Medicare funding and now grants to help the homeless. His DC double speak may work to explain his contradictory positions to Washington insiders, but, in Missouri, actions speak louder than words.”

Despite Congressman Blunt’s vote, approximately $900,000 is going to help homeless shelters and projects in Missouri’s 7^th Congressional district.

Congressman Blunt is running against State Senator Chuck Purgason and Kansas City auto consultant Mark Memoly in the August 2010 primary for the Republican nomination for US Senate.

Although there is still much work left to do, last night’s vote is major step forward for the American people.  Does the bill do everything that we wanted, no. But last night’s vote is the first major step to reforming our broken system – an effort that progressives have been working toward for nearly a century. Now, we are on the cusp of making health care reform a reality in America.

As with any piece of legislation, compromise is part of the process.  However, some of the changes that have been made to bill are good additions that will make this historic bill even stronger:

• Between the time the bill passes and the time the insurance exchanges are up and running, insurance companies that try to jack up their rates will be punished.  Insurance companies that hike their prices may be barred from selling plans on the exchange.
• Starting immediately, insurers would not be able to deny children coverage due to pre-existing conditions. Discrimination on the basis of pre-existing conditions for everyone would be banned once the exchanges are open in 2014 – in the meantime, the bill creates a high-risk pool where adults with pre-existing conditions can buy affordable coverage.
• The bill includes explicit language that will protect a patient’s choice of doctors.
• Health insurers would be required to spend more of their revenue on providing you health care (between 80% and 85%) rather than on administrative costs and salaries.
• Small businesses will also receive additional assistance

These protections are in addition to the ones President Obama and Congressional Democrats have been talking about for months including, no longer will insurance companies be able to drop someone’s coverage if they become sick and no longer will anyone be subject to unlimited out of pocket costs. These types of out of pocket expenses are one of the major contributors to personal bankruptcy.

The bill will save families and small businesses money on their premiums, significantly reduce the national deficit, and add years to the life of the Medicare Trust Fund.  And perhaps most importantly, it will make coverage affordable for more than 30 million Americans who currently do not have it.

Are they items that we all would want in the health care reform package that did not make it in the Senate bill – yes, but know that we still have to merge the Senate and House bills in Conference and the final version of the bill is not yet clear.  Things in the bill might improve, or if we are not vigilant, may get worse.  The bottom line is this:  We are standing at the precipice of a historic policy shift in our country; we have move this policy farther in a shorter time than anyone since the 1960’s.  We need to continue to support President Obama, House and Senate leaders as they move toward final passage.  And then we need to stay engaged to make sure we get more Senators and Reps elected in the next cycle to improve on what the President and this Congress will have accomplished.

– Brian Wahby, Chairman

Contact:                                                Ryan Hobart    (573) 636-5241 Ext. 125

Congressman Blunt Continues to Go to his Base – Lobbyists and Washington Insiders

Blunt turns to “kingmaker” and “super lobbyist” for insider $$$

Jefferson City, Mo – On Thursday, Congressman Roy Blunt will once again take time to court his loyal base – Washington insiders and corporate special interests.  Blunt is looking to ensure he doesn’t lose his place as the #1 recipient of lobbyist money and will attend a fundraiser hosted by Washington Insiders – Fred “Republican Kingmaker” Malek and Charlie “Super lobbyist” Black. (CQ 12/1/09)

“Congressman Blunt continues business as usual, siding with D.C. insiders and lobbyists in hopes of bolstering his already top lobbyist fund-raising numbers,” said Missouri Democratic Party Executive Director Brian Zuzenak. “While Washington power brokers may be pleased with Blunt’s record, a recent poll said 65 percent of Missourians believe he is part of the problem in Washington. In other words, Congressman Blunt’s years of reckless spending and favor-peddling in Washington for insiders like convicted felon Jack Abramoff, Fred Malek, and Charlie Black are catching up to him.”

Who is Fred Malek? For almost forty years, Fred Malek has been intimately involved in national Republican politics. He was a close adviser to President Richard Nixon and served as the Campaign Manager for President George H.W. Bush’s unsuccessful 1992 re-election campaign. He also helped with John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign. In 2004, Malek and his investment firm were censured by the SEC for investment fraud and settled the matter by paying a fine of $250,000. (USA Today 10/15/08)

Who is Charlie Black? Charlie Black is a prominent lobbyist and former adviser to John McCain. McCain’s Presidential campaign came under some significant heat for keeping Charlie Black as an advisor because of his record as a hired gun for controversial clients. (Wall Street Journal 5/19/08)  Here is a Moveon.org ad from 2008: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjCYmjjxp8I. He is also well-known for saying that a terrorist attack during the 2008 election would have been a “big advantage” for Senator McCain. (New York Times 6/24/08)

Congressman Blunt’s loyalty to lobbyists and the corporate special interests they represent has not gone without reward.  USA Today noted that Congressman Blunt has taken more money from lobbyists than any other candidate in the nation this year. During the first six months of 2009, Blunt took $310,534 from lobbyists, putting him ahead of both the Republican National Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee. (USA Today, 10/4/09) In the last fundraising quarter, Blunt took more money from Political Action Committees (PACS) than any other non-incumbent Senate candidate. According to Dave Catanese of KY3, only three 2010 U.S. Senate candidates took in more PAC cash than Blunt over the last three months – all are incumbents. (KY3 Political Notebook, 10/23/09; FEC.gov)  Congressman Blunt has also taken $718,785 from commercial banks, placing him in the top 10 recipients of big banking money from the U.S. House of Representative and Senate. (Center for Responsive Politics, 11/16/09)

Congressman Roy Blunt faces State Senator Chuck Purgason and Kansas City auto consultant Mark Memoly in the August 2010 primary for the Republican nominee for US Senate.