Gary Fuhr on Local Control

This past Saturday I caught up with State Rep. Gary Fuhr (R). Fuhr is a former St. Louis city police officer, so I was interested in his perspective on the local control legislation pending in Jefferson City. If you are unfamiliar with this issue, I recommend that you watch the first video below and then the second one. The first video reviews the history, politics, and current events that play into the issue of local control. The second video presents Gary's arguments against local control.

Sarah Steelman: Tea Party Candidate?

Earlier this week, Sarah Steelman filed to run for US Senate in 2012 against Democrat Claire McCaskill. There's a strong presumption that former Senator Jim Talent—the man who lost to McCaskill in 2006—will also run for the Republican nomination. Talent is seen as the party favorite.

Steelman served as Missouri's Treasurer from 2005 to 2009. In 2008 she made a bid for the Governors office, but lost in the Republican primary. In a Talent v Steelman race for Republican nominee for US Senate, she would be seen as an outsider.

With that background, it's interesting to learn that the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) has apparently promised Steelman that it would not endorse Talent. Dave at Missouri Scout reports on the NRSC and Sarah Steelman (paid subscription):

The NRSC was burned last year in primaries across the country. In Colorado, Nevada, Alaska, and Maryland [I think he means Delaware - ed.], its anointed candidates lost in each primary and the eventual nominee lost each general election. In other words, the NRSC’s miscalculations (and spending on losing primary candidates) may have cost them control of the Senate.

In short, the NRSC lost money on several primary races so it looks like they plan to keep their money out of Missouri's primary in 2012. I hope they stick with that plan. You might encourage them to do the same in your state.

That said, I have to take exception with Dave for referring to Steelman as the "Tea Party favorite". Dave isn't the only reporter to do that. Jeremy Jacobs of National Journal reported on Steelman's announcement earlier this week this way:

Second, the NRSC is showing a newfound interest in Steelman, a Tea Party favorite, who it shunned last year in favor of Roy Blunt.

Since Steelman did not run in the 2010 Missouri Republican primary for US Senate, it's odd to say that the NRSC shunned her. They certainly anointed Roy, but Steelman wasn't among the candidates that were shunned. Those would be Chuck Purgason (2nd in the primary, 13%), Kristi Nichols (3rd in the primary, 7%), and several others.

I don't understand why Sarah Steelman is being referred to as the Tea Party favorite. She's not. She may be by the time the election is here, but she's not the favorite yet.

There are basically two paths to becoming a Tea Party candidate. The first path is to show up, maybe speak at events, maybe lead a local Tea Party group, recruit others, and just generally participate in the Tea Party. That's the path that Ed Martin and Gary Fuhr followed. The other path is to do something heroic, something exceptional that clearly indicates your commitment to Tea Party values. Once you've done that, you probably need to do some of the things on the first path: speak, lead, recruit, and participate. Paul Curtman followed the second path. I also think that Lt Gov Peter Kinder went above and beyond the call of duty when he brought suite against the federal government over the healthcare law.

Those are the paths to becoming a Tea Party favorite. As of today, there are no Tea Party favorites for US Senate in Missouri. I look forward to learning more about all the candidates. For now, best wishes for a successful campaign to Sarah Steelman, Jim Talent, Chuck Purgason, and Kristi Nichols (assuming the last three decide to run).

Congratulations!

It's been a good night for conservative Americans with Republicans picking up at least 58 house seats across the country. While the GOP will not take control of the Senate, they have picked up 6 seats.

In Missouri's CD4, Vicky Hartzler (R-MO) beat Ike Skelton (D-MO). Statewide, Roy Blunt (R-MO) beat Robin Carnahan (D-MO) in a 14 point blow out. Robin still holds the record of most votes ever received by a candidate in a general election in Missouri—1.7 million in 2008—but with only 0.7 million in 2010, she's gotta be thinking that another million woulda been nice. Has there been a candidate in Missouri history who has lost a million voters in the span of two years? Wow. That's unreal.

I was puzzled when I saw polls showing Robin's unfavorable numbers at 53%. I never thought she was that unlikable. Obviously, the voters disagreed. Nonetheless, I just checked The Gematriculator and they confirm that the Missouri Secretary of State website (www.sos.mo.gov) is only 41% Evil. That's about the same as Robin's 40.5% of the vote. Things that make you go: hmmm......

Ed Martin's race against Russ Carnahan is in limbo with neither candidate conceding. I'd like to submit this tape as evidence in support of an Ed Martin victory before deciding the election:

There were some tremendous Tea Party wins in the Show Me State in races for the state house and senate. The names that come immediately to mind are: Gary Fuhr, Marsha Haefner, Brian Nieves, Paul Wieland... Paul beat Tea Party hater Jeff Roorda. On two occasions Roorda in open floor debate in the Missouri house denounced "tea baggers". Hey, Roorda, you've been bagged, so here's a sign for you:

Most importantly, the premiere Tea Party candidate, a candidate who is firmly committed to principals over politics, Paul Curtman won by 13 points in a Democrat district. He did this the old fashioned way: just knocking on doors one at a time. Here he is:

Lembke, Fuhr to Sign Tea Party Treaty Saturday, Oct 16th

I got the following from the St. Louis Tea Party media contact:

(October 15, 2010)- On September 25th, 2010, the St Louis Tea Party Coalition unveiled the Tea Party Treaty. As the document rolled out across Missouri and across the Nation, Tea Party Organizations signed on. What happened next was completely unexpected.

As Missouri Candidate Ed Martin humbly signed on to the Treaty as the first official signature, word quickly spread through Congressional and Senatorial circles. Candidates and Elected Officials alike began flocking toward the document, wishing to sign onto the Treaty as well.

Congressman Roy Blunt, and Candidates Robyn Hamlin, Paul Curtman and Greg Zotta quickly followed suit. On Saturday, October 16, Senator Jim Lembke will be joining volunteers at St. Louis Tea Party Coalition Headquarters to work along side them, thank them for their efforts, and address his Constituents. Senator Lembke has announced that he will be signing onto the Treaty at that time, as will Candidate Gary Fuhr.

Also confirmed to sign the Treaty are Candidate Brian Neives on Tuesday, October 19, as well as Congressman Todd Akin at a time to be determined. An additional forty-plus Candidates and Elected Officials, Republicans, Democrats and Independents, have received a copy of the Tea Party Treaty for consideration.

As Candidates and Officials sign on to the Treaty, they make a very public statement of entering into accountability with the Constituents, something the voters are looking for in the upcoming election. While the Mainstream Tea Party Movement continues to push forward amidst an unprecedented Mid-term Election, Candidates are opting for the Treaty as tool of choice to gain voter confidence.

The purpose of the Tea Party Treaty is to hold signatories in alignment with Tea Party Principles: Fiscal Accountability, Transparency in Government and Constitutional Principles at every level of government.

And, remember, the St. Louis Tea Party is looking for volunteers to help out at our south city office located at 4512 Hampton Av. We specifically need volunteers to phone-bank Saturday from 10am-2pm. And there's BBQ for volunteers from 2 to 5.

Please make a commitment to schedule a few hours per week to spreading the liberty evangelism message in the Show Me State!

GOP Candidate Forum

The video above is from a candidate forum this past May for the four Republicans running for Missouri's 97th State House district. The candidates are Gary Fuhr, Jerry Little, Chris Brown, and Bill Zobrist. Earlier I posted the introductory statements from the four candidates.

May Candidate Forum and Today's Freedom Fights

In May I shot some video at a candidate forum for the four GOP candidates running for state rep in Missouri's 97th House District. Here are the opening statements from those candidate: Chris Brown, Gary Fuhr, Jerry Little, and Bill Zobrist. I will be posting more video from that event as time permits.

I believe that all four of these candidates will be at this afternoon's Freedom Fights in St. Charles, MO. The Freedom Fights start at high noon today. Candidates will face each other in a boxing ring; however, they are only expect to exchange verbal barbs and witticisms. ATraditionalLifeLived.com will be live streaming from the Freedom Fights.

Video: Ed Martin takes Tax Payer Protection Pledge (Bumped)

Ed Martin signs Tax Payer Protection Pledge

Last Thursday, 10/22/9, Ed Martin and Grover Norquist made stops throughout MO-03. At each stop, Ed signed the Americans for Tax Reform's Tax Payer Protection Pledge. I went to their last stop at Imo's Pizza on Telegraph Rd in south county where state senator Jim Lembke (R) introduced Ed. Ed and Grover spoke briefly about the importance of the Tax Payer Protection Pledge before the signing.

After signing the pledge, Ed asked Marsha Haefner and Gary Fuhr to speak. Both Haefner and Fuhr are running for state rep—Haefner in the 100th and Fuhr in the 97th. Haefner spoke of the devastating impact that Cap and Tax will have on her garden center. Fuhr spoke of leveraging his background in law enforcement to help rein in Jefferson City.

Michelle Moore of www.ATraditionalLifeLived.com live streamed the event.

Grover Norquist

Michelle Moore of www.ATraditionalLifeLived.com

Bumped: I accidentally left the publication date for this post as last week. I've revised it to Tuesday, 10/27.