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Voting Rights in a Pandemic

April 24, 2020 by Kyle Garner

The right to vote is fundamental to any free democracy. The right to vote, however, ceases to be a right when the ability to cast a vote is lost. In this global pandemic, unprecedented in our lifetimes, we must make sure that the right to vote exists beyond words in our Constitution. Our local, state, and federal governments must make all efforts to ensure that every voter can cast a ballot without jeopardizing their health and the health of those around them.

Our local officials here in St. Charles County and St. Louis have stepped up to protect our voters. In St. Charles, Director of Elections Kurt Bahr has instructed his staff that the risk of contracting COVID-19 falls under the illness option for an absentee ballot. He’s also moved to reinstate the barcodes on the voter notifications sent out prior to elections, speeding up the voting process and minimizing the contact between voters and poll workers.

The St. Louis County Board of Elections has gone a step further, proactively mailing absentee ballot applications for all elections this year to all voters age 60 and above, as they are most at risk of serious illness.

Unfortunately, there is a failure to take our right to vote seriously from our state officials. Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, never a friend of voting rights, and our fill-in Governor Mike Parson came out against doing anything. Parson, who clearly didn’t want this job and isn’t up to the task, said it’s too early to even think about doing anything. This is his approach to anything that isn’t a kickback to his donors, to sit and do nothing. His mindset is perfectly suited for the powerless position he wanted as Lieutenant Governor, but as the state’s chief executive his inability to make a decision without there being a check coming to him puts Missourians in harm’s way.

Parson is right on one thing, this should not be a partisan issue. Infection doesn’t check to see how a person votes before striking. However, in practice this has become a partisan issue at the state level. House and Senate Democrats have repeatedly called for no-excuse absentee voting along with vote-by-mail allowing ballots to be sent to every voter. State level Republicans are opposed any action to protect Missourians and our right to vote without risking health.

Missouri Republicans seem to be hoping for a Wisconsin-style election, where the heavily Democratic city of Milwaukee moved from 180 polling locations to 5. They seem to think decreasing turnout as much as possible is their best election strategy, and they are willing to expose Missourians to infection to reach that goal. It must be asked why a Party claiming support enough to justify their supermajority is so set on limiting the ability of voters to express that support.

In a free democracy, the legitimacy of the government is derived from the consent of the governed. We cannot give our consent if we can’t safely cast a ballot. We must also question the intentions of anyone who seeks to gain or maintain power through silencing the voice of the people. Making it easier for every Missourian to vote does not serve one Party over the other. It only gives us a result that more accurately reflects the will of the voters.

The solution to this ongoing crisis is simple. Parson and Ashcroft must immediately clarify that a global pandemic is a valid excuse for all voters to cast an absentee ballot. The legislature must fix our outdated election law to allow no-excuse absentee ballots. The legislature must also move to copy the successful vote-by-mail systems that have been securely in place for many years in states such as Washington, Oregon, and Colorado. There is no valid reason not to take these steps.

The time to act is now. Parson’s refusal to lead, wanting to take a wait and see approach, will only cost us money and security. Kicking the can down the road as the legislature has on so many other issues doesn’t make the problem disappear. It isn’t going to magically fix itself. We know the risk of large gatherings in small spaces like polling locations. We know the high risk to older folks, who make up the large majority of election workers. We also know the politics driving this is the fear among many Republicans that the higher the turnout, the worse their chances of winning. We cannot let this desire to hold onto power strip us of our ability to vote.

– KG

Filed Under: Community Involvement, Media Center, Press Releases, Uncategorized, Voter Registration

The Politics of a Pandemic

March 18, 2020 by Kyle Garner

The coronavirus isn’t political. It’s a virus that will impact us all without bias. The response, however, has most certainly been political. It’s been political because like so many issues that should have been non-partisan before it, like Starbucks cups or the weather, Republicans chose to make it political.

Trump refused to allow tests to be developed by states or private US groups. He didn’t want existing tests from the WHO. He did that because he wanted to keep the official numbers down to make his insane claims of it being “a Democratic hoax” or “under control” look better. He ran away from questions and stated bluntly “I don’t take responsibility at all” when pushed on the abject failure of his administration’s response, instead trying to blame Obama more than 3 years after he left office.

The undeniable truth is that Republicans did not act. They chose to sit by and do nothing. They did that because of politics. The harsh reality they faced was that to act would be to admit Democrats have been right about every policy we’ve been proposing.

Look to every idea now being put forth as the best ways to alleviate the damage of this crisis and who has been proposing them for decades. Expanding health care: Democrats. Paid sick leave: Democrats. Ensuring childcare for workers: Democrats. Listening to scientists: Democrats. Unemployment protections: Democrats. Now even sending $1000 out to adults to aid in basic necessities like food and rent: Democrats. Democrats. Democrats.

Here’s what Republicans offered in the face of a global health crisis: Tax cuts to businesses, an oil bailout, and a bank bailout. That’s it. End of list. The only response to a pandemic from Republicans was to do everything they could to prop up the market based on the single idea they have left, that being giving handouts to those that need it the least. And then Mitch McConnell took a 3-day weekend.

To call this a failure in leadership doesn’t do the calamity justice. Trump has made things worse every time he’s opened his mouth. After reading from a teleprompter in a prepared address to the nation his team had to scramble to correct 3 massive falsehoods he told and in doing so tanked the stock market he values above all else. He only just now, in mid-March, tiptoed up to the truth that this is a rolling disaster and it isn’t going away. He held an infomercial in the Rose Garden where all we learned is which companies Trump’s friends and family were investing in and that Trump and his sycophants don’t get what social distancing means.

Our fill-in governor here in Missouri, Mike Parson, could have been quarantined in total isolation for the last month and no one would have known the difference. His response has ranged from “there’s nothing we can do.” To “local government should do whatever they want.” He declared a state of emergency but didn’t bother to elaborate on what to do about it.

All of us now must act to do what we can to minimize the spread of COVID-19 and help our communities and nation get through this. That means making personal sacrifices in the immediate like canceling trips and avoiding social events. It means checking on each other as many cope with a sudden new reality of necessary isolation. It means looking out for our neighbors who may be at higher risk of severe cases of the virus.

What we must do after is also clear: In November, in every race for every office in every district across the nation, we must elect Democrats. We have seen the immense danger of perpetuating the lie that there is any merit to Republican ideology. We must work to make sure this is the last time we allow them to fail us. The stakes are undeniable, with our very lives depending on it.

– KG

Filed Under: Central Committee, Press Releases

Saint Charles County Delegate Selection for Democratic Presidential Primary will be held in O’Fallon, MO

March 11, 2020 by Eric Seider

 

Missouri Democrats Logo

Saint Charles– The Saint Charles County Democratic Committee will host a county-wide mass meeting on Monday, April 6, 2020 at the Christy Banquet Center located at 9000 Mexico Road in O’Fallon at 7:30pm. Primary voters will caucus to be elected as Presidential delegates to the State and National Democratic Conventions. Doors open at 6pm for signing in, and once the caucus begins at 7:30pm, doors close and no additional persons will be allowed in.

Saint Charles County will elect delegates to both conventions. The total number is to be determined after the March 10 presidential primary. The delegates will be apportioned to presidential candidates following the results of the Primary Election, and voters are encouraged to participate in caucusing to select the delegates for their preferred candidate. These delegates will be responsible for selecting the Congressional Level and State Level Presidential Delegates that will cast their votes for the Presidential Candidates at the 2020 Democratic National Convention (DNC).

Participation is open to anyone who is registered to vote in Saint Charles County and who participates in the March 10th Presidential Preference Primary Election. For those interested in becoming DNC Delegates, participation in the Democratic 2nd or 3rd Congressional District Conventions is required on April 30th. The Missouri Democratic State Convention on June 20th in Kansas City is required as well.  The location for the 3rd Congressional Convention is the East Central Jr. College in Union, MO. Location for the 2nd CD is still to be determined.

“We expect that the large number of democratic Presidential candidates will increase participation and energy surrounding the Presidential Primary and delegate selection process, and we want to provide an open and accessible meeting for individuals wishing to actively participate,” said Morton Todd, Chairperson of the Saint Charles County Democratic Committee.

To participate in delegate selection and/ or run to be a delegate, complete the online form MM https://secure.ngpvan.com/XqHeI6yIuUmc4hDvXV-02A2

You can learn more about becoming a Missouri Democratic Delegate or the Saint Charles County Democratic Committee at:

https://missouridemocrats.org/2020-2/

Missouri Democratic Party Delegate Selection Website

www.stcdems.com

For more information, contact Morton Todd at
(636)-896-5813

Email us here: Info@stcdems.org

 

Filed Under: Elections, Events, Media Center, Press Releases

On Tuesday, November 6th, let’s #FinishtheJob!

November 2, 2018 by Eric Seider

Filed Under: Candidates, Candidates, Press Releases

ICYMI: KC Star: “Hawley didn’t look into ‘most basic facts’ in Greitens investigation, attorney says”

October 26, 2018 by Eric Seider

With eleven days before Election Day, Josh Hawley’s record “is once again drawing scrutiny.” This weekend, reports found that Hawley’s office is “in turmoil,” being “short-changed” and “hollowed out” by an Attorney General that some Republicans believe is “a political opportunist uninterested in his official duties as the state’s top prosecutor.” Now, an attorney tells the Kansas City Star that Hawley “didn’t even look for the most basic facts” in one of his signature investigations.

Months after Hawley cleared former governor Eric Greitens of wrongdoing in his potential destruction of government records, new evidence has emerged showing “staff discussing the use of Confide to conduct public business,” and that several more staffers used the app that Hawley reported. As the private attorney pursuing the case noted, “Almost all of that information… could have been acquired by the attorney general with an open records request.”

From the Kansas City Star:

Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley faced criticism earlier this year after his office cleared former Gov. Eric Greitens of any wrongdoing over his use of a self-destructing text message app called Confide.

Now, less than two weeks before Hawley faces off against Democratic U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill in one of the most closely contested senate races in the country, Hawley’s investigation of the former governor is once again drawing scrutiny.

A text message from a Greitens staffer obtained by The Star this week appears to show that the governor’s office had advance notice about when the attorney general’s investigation would conclude. And a story in The New York Times over the weekend revealed Hawley’s office acceded to the governor’s demand that interviews with Greitens staff members who used Confide could last only 15 minutes.

The new revelations are adding to questions that were already lingering about the quality of Hawley’s inquiry, ranging from a decision not to try to interview the governor to the fact that there was no forensic examination of phones used by the governor’s staff.

“We knew the attorney general’s conclusions were wrong, but why the attorney general didn’t even look for the most basic facts is a persistent, concerning question,” said Mark Pedroli, one of a pair of St. Louis attorneys who sued the governor’s office last year over its use of Confide.

…The Star uncovered in December that Greitens and members of his senior staff were using Confide, an app that automatically destroys messages after the recipient has read them. Transparency advocates worried Confide was being used to circumvent the state’s Sunshine Law and conduct government business without leaving a paper trail.

Shortly after The Star’s report, Hawley’s office launched an investigation. It concluded in March with the attorney general determining that there was no evidence of wrongdoing, in part because investigators could not find evidence.

…The governor was not interviewed because Hawley’s staff said they worried Greitens would invoke executive privilege. The governor’s attorneys were allowed to sit in on staff interviews.

…Over the next few months, documents uncovered as part of Pedroli’s lawsuit would show it was not only eight Greitens staffers who had Confide accounts but actually 27. That includes Greitens, who admitted to using Confide to communicate with his staff.

Text messages obtained from the governor’s office showed Greitens staff openly discussing the use of Confide not only among themselves but also with people outside the governor’s office. They also appeared to show staff discussing the use of Confide to conduct public business.

Almost all of that information, Pedroli said, could have been acquired by the attorney general with an open records request.

…Also raising concerns is a text message that recently turned up as evidence in Pedroli’s lawsuit showing an unnamed Greitens staffer discussing the attorney general’s inquiry.

The text was sent Feb. 2, a month before Hawley’s office would conclude its investigation. The Greitens staffer was discussing what happened in court that day in Pedroli’s lawsuit as well as what could be expected before the next court appearance.

“Next setting is a March scheduling conference,” the text said, “and we’ll have the AG opinion and a motion to dismiss on file by then.”

Greitens and his staff appear to know not only when the investigation would be finalized, Pedroli said, but also what the findings would be.

…On the same day Hawley concluded his Confide inquiry, and just days after officially jumping into the campaign for U.S. Senate, his office launched a second Greitens investigation.

…Seven months after initially launching his investigation, and five months after Greitens resigned from office, the attorney general’s probe of The Mission Continues is still not closed.

Filed Under: Press Releases

United Association Endorses Claire McCaskill

October 22, 2018 by Eric Seider

Filed Under: Press Releases

Charlie Brennan on KMOX: “[Claire] Seems to be Very Real and I Can’t Quite Say the Same Thing About Josh Hawley”

September 19, 2018 by Eric Seider

Yesterday on KMOX’s Total Information AM, Charlie Brennan observed that Senator Claire McCaskill is “very real” while he “can’t quite say the same thing about Josh Hawley. He seems a little fabricated.” St. Louis conservative radio host Mark Reardon agreed, adding that Hawley has a problem with many Trump voters who “don’t like [Hawley’s] ladder-climbing at all.”

From KMOX’s Total Information AM:

CHARLIE BRENNAN: …I’m not too surprised that it’s tight. I think that [Claire] runs a difficult battle because it’s kind of Trump territory. But she also is appealing in many ways. She seems to be very real and I can’t quite say the same thing about Josh Hawley. He seems a little fabricated. He just got into office 2 years ago, running that he wasn’t going to seek higher office and then, as soon as he got in, he changed his mind…

[…]

MARK REARDON: Well, I like Claire. I genuinely like her personally. We bond on black and gold. We disagree on a lot of issues. I don’t disagree with Charlie when – I think Hawley’s a little bit too, maybe a little bit too scripted at times. I think the issue for him – and this is serious – there are people who voted for Donald Trump – I’ve heard from many of them, by no means is this scientific – they don’t like the ladder-climbing at all. They think that that’s going back on a promise. So that’s going to be an issue for him.

Filed Under: Press Releases

Asked For His Position on 10 Major Senate Votes, Josh Hawley Refuses to Answer

September 17, 2018 by Eric Seider

This weekend, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch asked Josh Hawley for his positions on 10 major votes in the Senate, ranging from net neutrality and forced arbitration to bank regulations and the government shutdown. According to the article, “The Post-Dispatch asked Hawley to say how he would have voted on all 10. He declined.”

Here are the votes Hawley refused to give the Post-Dispatch a position on:

  • Defunding Planned Parenthood
  • Restoring net neutrality
  • Rolling back regulations on small and medium-sized banks
  • Ending the government shutdown in January
  • llowing Americans to file class-action suits against banks instead of being forced into private arbitration
  • Repealing the Affordable Care Act
  • Preventing the mentally ill from buying guns
  • Denying gun sales to people on terrorism watch lists
  • The nomination of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch
  • The GOP tax plan

Hawley’s refusal to tell Missourians where he stands on consequential issues is nothing new. In July, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Editorial Board called Hawley out for running a campaign that is free of substance. Hawley has repeatedly refused to answer key policy questions and failed to answer for his decisions as Attorney General. At every turn, Hawley has deflected on issues, instead choosing only to make wild and misguided attacks on his opponent.

“Apparently Josh Hawley is betting that his dark money donors will pour so much money into buying him this election that he will never have to come clean to Missourians about how he would vote in the Senate,” said Missouri Democratic Party Deputy Communications Director Brooke Goren. “It’s no surprise Hawley doesn’t want to be honest — the truth is, on every issue, he will always choose what’s best for himself and his ambitions over the interests of Missouri families.”

Filed Under: Press Releases

Report Says Drop in Soybean Prices Have Cost Missouri Millions in Economic Activity

July 26, 2018 by Eric Seider

A new analysis from the University of Missouri’s Commercial Agriculture Program today found that the President’s trade war is already costing Missouri millions of dollars in economic activity. With nearly a third of Missouri’s annual soybean crop destined for the Chinese market, the President’s trade war has caused the state’s soy prices to drop nearly 20 percent this summer. According to the report, this drop represents “more than $212 million in lost earnings for workers and business owners, and 3,000 fewer jobs… and a $726.6 million reduction in economic activity.”

The Joplin Globe editorial board writes today that, nationwide, “Damage to farmers because of the tariffs and counter tariffs and the deepening trade war has been estimated at $11 billion, but the final tally is far from known.” Meanwhile, the the US Chamber of Commerce estimates that, overall, the tariffs are putting over 800,000 Missouri jobs and nearly $900 million in total state exports at risk.

Yet even as Missouri’s economy takes a hit and farmers worry about potential long-term impacts from the tariffs, Josh Hawley has repeatedly doubled down on his support for the President’s trade war.

“Josh Hawley is so determined to remain in lockstep with the President that he’s willing to sacrifice millions in earnings for hard-working Missourians,” said Missouri Democratic Party Deputy Communications Director Brooke Goren. “Will Hawley ever start standing up for Missourians, or will he just keep trying to advance his own ambitions at their expense?”

Filed Under: Press Releases

ICYMI: Hypocritical Hawley Blames ‘Fake DC News’ For Republican Criticism of His Campaign

July 26, 2018 by Eric Seider

Hawley will be in DC for Multiple Campaign Fundraisers Tomorrow

Josh Hawley is still facing questions about whether he’s “mailing it in,” and he doesn’t have a very good answer. This morning, Fox News’ Bill Hemmer asked Hawley about reports that he has not been working hard enough in his campaign for Senate. Instead of addressing the concerns — which were raised by Missouri Republicans — Hawley called the report “fake D.C. news.”


​Click here to watch

Perhaps Hawley’s retort would carry a little more weight if his campaign wasn’t being propped up by elite D.C. Republicans. On the heels of yet another lackluster fundraising quarter, Hawley has benefitted from three visits from the President and Vice President in the past two weeks alone. Tomorrow, he will be back in Washington D.C. for yet another set of elite fundraisers with Republican Senate leadership.

“There is apparently no limit to what Josh Hawley will say to serve his own personal self-interest. Yet again, Hawley is telling Missourians one thing and then turning right around to do the exact opposite,” said Missouri Democratic Party Deputy Communications Director Brooke Goren. “Talk about hypocrisy.”

Filed Under: Press Releases

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