Posts Tagged engler
Engler’s Failed Leadership
Posted by Jedidiah Smith in Senate on November 1, 2010
Guest column by Jeff Teismann:
When the federal government passed sweeping health care legislation earlier this year, arguably the most egregious usurpation of state’s rights in over a generation, did State Senator Kevin Engler lead his party to stand in stiff opposition to this violation of Missouri’s state sovereignty?
Surely he must have you say, for it is the sworn duty of every state representative to defend the State and U.S. Constitutions. Surely he knows that regulation of health insurance is not one of the enumerated powers of the Federal government, and that the power to regulate it was left to the states. Surely he must know that Missouri (as well all other states) have always maintained that regulation of any form of insurance (health, life, casualty, etc.) was the sole providence of the state.
Surely, you say, as a leader of the Senate, Senator Engler must have been at the forefront of defending Missouri’s state sovereignty.
Sadly, no, Engler failed to show such leadership.
Even when other State Senators and Representatives answered the call and stood to defend our sovereignty with the Health Care Freedom Act, Engler would not stand with them.
But that is not the worst of it. For you see, that same sweeping federal legislation inaccurately named the “Affordable Health Care for America Act” not only violated state sovereignty, it violated our individual freedoms in several ways, not the least of which is to force all citizens to purchase health insurance.
So it is that Kevin Engler also failed to defend the citizens of Missouri of their freedom to make their own health care decisions.
Senator Engler may say that he was supportive of the Health Care Freedom Act, but his support was limited to doing only what was necessary in order to make such a claim. When the decision was made to withdraw the Health Care Freedom Act as a constitutional amendment, and instead submit it as a voter referendum, I questioned him about it.
He asked me if I had read the bill (which I had) and if I really wanted to see such language as part of our state constitution (which I did). It was clear that he didn’t – a position he confirmed when I asked which state senators would join in the procedure to “move the previous question” he mentioned several senators, but not himself.
Not only was he non-supportive, he was downright dismissive. He stated that “you people” (by which I suppose he meant the hundreds of fellow citizens who flooded the state capital whenever the bill was being discussed) would be able to voice our displeasure with a referendum vote. As if our concerns had no substantive basis, but rather only a chance to register our disapproval. The message was that you’ll have a chance to vent your anger, now go away.
In representing the people of Missouri, what is more important for our representative to do than protecting our freedom?
As a representative of the State of Missouri, what is more important than maintaining our state sovereignty against blatant usurpation by the federal government?
Should someone who fails to defend our state sovereignty and our freedoms be given leadership of our State Senate? I say “No”.
The Election After the Election
Posted by Jedidiah Smith in Elections on October 31, 2010
The unprecedented activism of the past two years has all lead up to what will take place this Tuesday, the general election. Many Missouri citizens, however, are also interested in what will follow the election.
Two days later, while most of us are still in recovery mode, Missouri Senators will meet to determine by a secret ballot process who will serve in the highest position in our state legislator, the Senate President Pro Tem. Among other things, the President Pro Tem of the Senate has the power to place senators on various committees and to choose the leadership of those committees. These appointments have a profound effect on which proposed legislation will actually make it to the floor for consideration.
Missourians will remember the current Pro Tem, Charlie Shields, served as a major roadblock to the passage of the Healthcare Freedom Act during the last session. Prop C (HCFA) eventually went on to pass on the August ballot by a 71%-29% margin, a clear indication that Shields and the Senate leadership were out of touch with the people. Sen. Shield’s further displayed his power late in the session when he removed Sen. Chuck Purgason from his committee chairmanship in order to consider a bill which would have given preferential treatment to the Ford plant in Kansas City.
Sen, Shields is leaving office as a result of term limits, and it’s time to elect a new President Pro Tem.
Since the leadership positions are chosen by the senators, it would seem that the election of true conservatives into the Missouri Senate would guarantee strong, conservative leadership, right? Unfortunately, this is not necessarily true.
Kevin Engler is the presumed choice for the Pro Tem position – not because of his legislative history of liberty-driven legislation, but because he is the current Senate Majority Floor Leader. It is generally understood in Jefferson City that the floor leader is next in line to become Pro Tem, regardless of his track record. In fact, Engler has made it clear that anyone who dares to oppose him will suffer the consequences, but those who support him will be rewarded.
These bullying techniques are not new to Jefferson City politics, but they typically are kept out of the view of citizens. The truth, is, that really understanding what goes on behind the scenes of the legislature is next to impossible.
Because the people have historically been left out of this decision, a group of of grassroots activists (of whom I am honored to be a part) has launched the Missouri Leadership Project. The project was designed with several goals in mind:
- To help inform the public of the importance of leadership in Jefferson City. Everyone understands how important the roles of Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi are in Washington D.C., but little attention is given to the significance of leadership within our own state legislature.
- To begin the process of increasing transparency in government by shining some light on the happenings within Jefferson City, specifically on the election of leadership.
- To illustrate that although Sen. Engler is the presumed Pro-Tem-To-Be, he is not the choice of those (many activists) who have spent the last two years asking for transparency and smaller government.
- To give the people of Missouri an opportunity to voice their opinion by signing a petition urging the senate to “select leaders from among those who have clearly demonstrated a commitment to protecting the liberty of all Missourians alike and conduct the business of the senate in a fair and even-handed way.”To date, hundreds of Missourians have signed the petition. Many have also contacted their senator personally to express their views. In addition to these individual citizens, many patriotic and Tea Party organizations have endorsed the project.
Although citizens do not have a direct role in electing legislative leadership, we should work to be informed and involved in the process as much as possible, and to hold our elected officials accountable for their decisions.
For more information about the Missouri Leadership Project, visit www.MoLeadershipProject.com.
