First published at St.Louis Examiner.com

     When the proposal to redesign Missouri's congressional districts was rolled out almost two months ago, it looked like the biggest controversy would be that it eliminated Congressman Russ Carnahan's  St. Louis-based district, splitting it in three parts, with Rep. Lacy Clay, D-St.Louis, taking a big chunk and the rest being split between Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau and Rep. Todd Akin, R-Town and Country. But after initial protests, democrats sat back, quietly waiting for the Republican-held Missouri state legislature to carve up the state as they wished.

     What has unfolded since then is a comedy of sorts with republican house leaders and republican senate leaders bickering over which republican congressmen would get the safest, as in republican, district. The problem is caused by the fact that the St.Louis metropolitan area contains too many democrats. And while the greatest concentrations of democrats have been safely sequestered in Rep. Lacy Clay's new district, there are still a lot of them running loose in places like Jefferson County, which seems destined to be split into three districts: Clay's, Emerson's and Akin's. Republicans in Emerson's district don't want any of those Jefferson County city slickers in their largely rural district, while Akin wants as few as possible in his mostly republican district. Keep in mind this is Jefferson County we're talking about, they may lean democratic,  but it's not exactly the "central west end".

   Then there is the absurd debate over who has to take more of St.Charles County, Todd Akin or Rep. Blaine Luetkenmeyer, R-St. Elizabeth. Again, republicans in Leutkenmeyer's district don't want those city slickers from St.Charles County in their largely rural district and Akin doesn't want them either. It says something about the current state of the Missouri republican party when a conservative republican county like St. Charles is seen as a dangerous hotbed of liberal resistance.

      Much of this nonsense seems to have something to do with the fact that voters in places like Jefferson County and St.Charles County voted for Prop B (the puppy mill referendum) last November. This apparently makes even  the reliably republican St.Charles voters suspect in the eyes of the right wingers who control the republican party.

     Civic leaders in the counties in question would prefer that their counties not be sliced into pieces just to appease the insecurities of current republican congressmen and congresswomen. They may get their wish. If Missouri legislators don't get their act together soon congressional districting could be decided by the courts.



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 First published on St.Louis Examiner.com     

     Gov. Jay Nixon signed legislation yesterday that will restore federal unemployment benefits for the longtime unemployed, but at a very high cost. The legislation was the result of a compromise between republican Missouri Senate leaders and a group of four republican senators, led by Sen. Lembke, R-Lemay, who had been filibustering to prevent Missouri from accepting $105 million in federal unemployment funds. In return for ending the filibuster the four senators demanded that  $250 million in federal funds Missouri has already accepted for other programs will be rejected and that future Missouri state unemployment benefits be permanently reduced form 26 to 20 weeks. Since federal unemployment benefits are tied to state benefits, the future unemployed in this state will lose even more weeks of help.     

     While the $250 million in cuts will almost certainly mean more people will join the ranks of the unemployed, the reduction in future unemployment benefits is what should have caused the deal to be killed or at least renegotiated. Trading a one time boost in benefits for the longtime unemployed in exchange for a permanent reduction of future benefits for the short term unemployed is unreasonable. This is how social safety nets are destroyed, one strand at a time, one misguided compromise at a time. The families of the unemployed in Missouri will be suffering from this change long after the one time boost in federal benefits have run out.

     The speed at which this rotten deal sailed through is frightening. The deal was announced on Friday, passed the Missouri Senate on Monday, the house on Tuesdayand was signed into law on Wednsday. While four republican state senators were able to dictate terms to the rest of the legislature, Missouri's eight senate democrats simply rolled over. No serious effort was made to question the bill or remove the long term cuts in benefits. I hear that there is a thing in the senate called a "filibuster" that can be used to stop bills in extreme cases. Senate democrats should ask Senator Lembke how it works.     

      Senator Lembke had argued that his opponents had no concern for future and were willing to leave a debt that  their children would have to pay. He was right

     Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder paid the state of Missouri back for the $35,050 of hotel and restaurant expenses he had charged to the state for his travels around the state on what appear to be political and personal business.  Saying he wanted to "move the nimbus off the horizon", Kinder hoped to move beyond the controversy, although he denied he had done anything wrong- he is a republican after all (GOP rule 1: Never admit you made a mistake!). Oh, but he didn't pay the bill with his own money, his campaign fund paid the tab. Sweet! Problem solved. Get caught stealing from the boss, get your rich supporters to bail you out.  
        
     Now some of Kinder's trips were to attend Tea Party Rallys and events, so you would expect some criticism from these budget hawks right? After all, cutting government spending isn't just "a" priority for the Tea Party movement, it's the ONLY priority. So what did they say? Chuck MacNab, a tea party activist from St.Charles County said "in view of all the profligate spending in the trillions" he doesn't think it's a big deal for kinder to charge taxpayers for a few nights in a hotel. "He's the lieutenant governor," MacNab said. "He's not chopped liver."       
      Oh, I get it, Kinder is someone important and shouldn't have to pay for his own hotel rooms or dinners. So what does that make people like you and me who DO pay their own way? Chopped Liver! 

      To be fair, liberals, such as those at the Post-Dispatch, have been falling over themselves to defend U.S. Senator Caire McCaskill after she got caught in her own scandel.         
     McCaskill paid the U.S. government $88,000 for plane trips, taken on her private jet, that she had been charging to the government, at least one of which was for a political event. She paid with her own money. Oh, and then McCaskill realized that she hadn't paid property taxes on her jet and owed St.Louis County $287,273 in back taxes and penalties. She apologized- she's a democrat after all (Dem. rule 1: always apologize!) and then wrote a personal check for $287,273. Bam! Problem solved.  Owe the government $375,000? Just write a few checks. To which I just have to say: 'Damn Claire, if you can pull a check for $287,000 out of your ass at a moments notice to pay off a delinquent tax bill, why don't you hire an accountant or a tax lawyer to make sure your shit's legal?' Come on, she was the Missouri state auditor for crying out loud, she knows better.       

     Don't get me wrong, while I have my problems with Sen. McCaskill's politics, I'd much rather have her as senator than some conservative wing nut like Ed Martin, but don't we have the right to be pissed at these people even if we agree with their general political views? We may be chopped liver, but do we have to be sheep?  

      First published on St.louis Examiner.com

      Like a football player doing his victory dance before he gets into the end zone, republican sate Senator Jim Lembke gloated "I won" after reaching a deal with other republican senators to end his filibuster preventing Missouri from receiving federal funds for unemployment benefits. The Missouri House and Senate have yet to vote on the proposal and Governor Jay Nixon has not said if he accepts the terms of the deal. It's a bad deal and Gov. Nixon should slap the ball out of Lembke's hands and say "Not so fast."

       Under the deal Sen. Lembke, R-Lemay, and his allies would end their pointless filibuster against the $105 million in unemployment funds in exchanger for eliminating $250 million in federal funds that the state has already accepted for other programs. It would also reduce future state unemployment benefits form 26 weeks to 20 weeks, that change would be permanent. It would essentially trade a one time boost in unemployment benefits for a permanent reduction in Missouri's unemployment compensation program. It would be a little like agreeing to pay a ransom for your oldest child by paying a million dollars and giving up your youngest child. Unemployed Missourians would pay the price of this deal for decades to come. The price is just too high and the Governor should reject this offer.

       Gov. Nixon also needs to keep in mind that Lembke and Sen. Brian Nieves, R-Washington,  are also filibustering to block $189 million in federal education funds. If Nixon caves in to Lembke's demands on the unemployment aid, just imagine what his demands will be on education fundingwill be. Will he demand a permanent reduction in Missouri's education spending?

      Democrats have already paid a pound of flesh for these unemployment funds. In December of last year President Obama and U.S. Senate democrats agreed to huge budget busting tax cuts for the rich in exchange for republican approval of the unemployment funds, and now state republicans are demanding more concessions? Enough!      

     If Gov. Nixon caves into these demands Sen. Lembke will be seen (and rightfully so) as one of the most powerful elected officials in Jefferson City. He will have out maneuvered his own party's leadership, the Governor and overruled the overwhelming majority of state legislators in both parties who just wanted to accept the money that had already been given to the state.

     This is Gov. Nixon's moment of truth; will he stand up to Lembke and fight for what is right or will he crown Senator Lembke king of Missouri.

     The House Special Standing Committee on Redistricting released the proposed new congressional districts for the state of Missouri this week and the Missouri House has now has set up a page using Google Maps that allows you to see where your home will fall in the proposed districts. See the map here. You can view the current Missouri districts here.   
    
     After the 2010 census Missouri will lose one of it's 9 congressional districts and it looks like St.Louis Representative Russ Carnahan is the odd man out. The redistricting plan would split Carnahan's district into three pieces and add them  to the districts of Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-St.Louis, Rep. Todd Akin, R-Town and Country and Jo Ann Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau. Democrats Carnahan and Clay have criticized the plan saying it "emphasizes partisanship over fairness" (St.Louis Beacon).

   On the other side of the isle, State Senator Jason Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau, complained in an e-mail about having 100,000 suburban Jefferson County residents added to Rep. Emerson's largely rural district. "The issues important to St. Louis are not the same issues that are important to southeast Missouri." Crowell wrote.       

    Another controversy involves the oddly shaped new 5th District in the Kansas City area. The current 5th District, held by Representative Emanual Cleaver II, D-Kansas City, which now encompasses much of the K.C. metro area would split K.C.'s Jackson County and then sweep westward into Lafayette County, Ray County rural Saline County.

Originally published on St.Louis Examiner.com