Bloggers Unite

Author: Ryan Gavin

  • Faux Patriotism

    Graphic of Hawley shocked face with his mouth open, an American flag and the headline "Faux Patriotism"

    Hawley’s famous phoniness stands out in votes against veterans

    On Saturday, Nov. 11, Missourians around the state will honor those who fought to protect our freedoms right here at home.

    But if Missourians really want to do their part and respect those who served our country, they should focus on getting Senator Josh Hawley out of office next year.

    “Senator Hawley’s anti-veteran votes are just shameful, and he has no right to pretend he’s a friend of the Veterans’ community,” said John Hussey, a Navy Veteran of Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom who lives in St. Peters. “We’re talking about a guy who wanted to play politics and voted against vets who were exposed to toxic burn pits and Agent Orange. Then, on top of it, he supports an insurrection against the very Constitution that men and women like me put on the uniform to defend? He’s no patriot and he’s no friend of veterans.”

    While Josh Hawley claims to stand with veterans and military personnel, his record is clear: on health care, jobs, housing and more, Hawley has voted time and time again against our troops.

    Amid international turmoil, Hawley plays political games

    As wars rage in the Middle East and Ukraine, Hawley is using his political capital to hold Army promotions hostage. The move reminded military personnel of Senator Tommy Tuberville’s similar temper tantrum, which Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called “unprecedented,” “unnecessary,” and “unsafe.”

    The power play isn’t new for Hawley, who got the boot from the Armed Services committee in February “as retribution for delaying the confirmation of numerous Defense Department nominees” in 2022.

    Hawley voted against necessary care for veterans exposed to burn pits

    Last year, Hawley voted down a bill that would provide medical treatment to veterans who were victims to toxic burn pits overseas. 

    Open-air burn pits are large areas of land where the military burns all sorts of waste, including plastics, rubber, human waste, and toxic chemicals. Veterans exposed to burn pits can wind up with any number of medical conditions, including asthma, chronic sinus and throat conditions, and more than 14 types of cancer.

    Hawley tried to defund Veterans Affairs, which would have affected 400,000 Missourians

    In 2021, Hawley delayed a vote to continue funding the department of Veterans Affairs, which would have caused furloughs and reduced services for veterans across the country. 

    Over 400,000 Missourians and their families could be affected if the VA had to reduce services. The VA offers vital services like medical care and prescription drugs, home loans, education and training, and job preparedness and employment.

    Hawley’s a fraud – let’s make sure everyone knows it!

    As Hawley prepares for next year’s election, he’s ramping up his efforts to fool Missourians into thinking he stands with them. He even visited striking union members on the picket line to feign support, even though labor unions say his record against workers is clear.

    But using veterans as a political pawn is a step too far, even for Josh Hawley. They’ve risked their lives to uphold the same democracy Hawley tried to destroy. 

    Hawley’s record is in black and white: he doesn’t care about veterans and he doesn’t care about our troops. We need to break through the noise of Hawley’s lies and make sure everyone knows the truth! Share our posts on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to spread the word!

  • It’s Always Spooky Season

    10 Terrifying Things Missouri Politicians Have Done This Year

    It’s spooky season – and here in Missouri, we have no shortage of scream-worthy moments from the past year to keep us on our toes.

    10. Missouri’s Most Famous Coward Wrote a Book On Manliness

    Senator Josh Hawley, nationally known for literally running away from his own problems, thought he was the authority on manhood for Missouri, so much so that he wrote a whole book about it. Notably missing: form tips for sprinting away from rioters.

    9. Extremists In the Legislature Obsessed Over Controlling Women’s Bodies

    Last year, Missouri became the first state to ban all abortions after the fall of Roe v. Wade. But that wasn’t enough for the extremists in the state. As soon as session kicked off in January, the legislature spent days debating dress codes for women. And in February, the legislature debated restricting access to birth control and other preventative health care for the poorest Missourians.

    8. Secretary of State Ashcroft Left an Anti-Voter Fraud Organization Over Conspiracy Theories

    Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft decided earlier this year to leave ERIC, a bipartisan interstate group designed to combat election fraud. Over six months later, he hasn’t found a replacement for it. Ashcroft pulled Missouri out of the organization after far-right conspiracies emerged about ERIC.

    7. Radical Politicians Banned And Threatened To Burn Books

    Missouri was named number one for school censorship earlier this year after the state successfully banned more than 300 books from libraries. Not long after, State Senator and gubernatorial candidate Bill Eigel posted a video of him using a flamethrower to burn boxes, saying if he was elected he would burn books on the front lawn of the Governor’s mansion.

    6. Missouri Kids Were Granted Complete and Total Access To Guns Unsupervised

    In February of this year, Republicans in the state legislature voted down any restrictions on toddlers’ right to bear arms – meaning a four year-old can carry an assault rifle in the street without adult supervision.

    5. Elected Officials Refused To Feed Hungry Kids

    Missouri had a chance to get free money to feed hungry kids during the summer. Elected officials just… didn’t apply for the money, so poor kids didn’t get fed.

    4. The State Kicked Kids Off Their Health Care Because Of Paperwork Issues

    After automatic Medicaid re-enrollment ended earlier this year, the state kicked thousands of Missourians off their health care, half of whom were children. Most of these Missourians are still eligible for Medicaid, but administrative issues like paperwork are forcing them out of coverage.

    3. Lawmakers Ignored Education To Fight Culture Wars

    Missouri is in the bottom five on teacher pay nationally, and is in last place for starting teacher pay. Nearly a third of Missouri schools are only open part-time. School funding has fallen in the past decade, putting Missouri at 49 in the country for K-12 education spending. But lawmakers spent session ignoring education and instead arguing about trans kids getting health care.

    2. Attorney General Bailey Repeatedly Broke the Law

    Attorney General Andrew Bailey made repeated illegal power grabs at the initiative petition process. Despite calls from the Republican State Auditor, a Republican judge and lawyers across the state, Bailey has continued his crusade for power by attempting to lie to voters.

    1. Missouri Speaker of the House Committed Multiple Crimes

    The Speaker of the Missouri House, Dean Plocher, got caught breaking the law multiple times, might be under FBI investigation, and is currently facing multiple calls to resign. The spookiest part? Plocher has said he will not step down AND he’s running for Lieutenant Governor – a higher office than his current position.

    Don’t Let Them Get Away With It

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  • Bring The Hammer Down On Plocher

    Dean Plocher raises the speaker gavel above his head.
    Tim Bommel/Missouri House Communications

    House Ethics Committee MUST Investigate Speaker Dean Plocher For His Repeated Violations of the Law

    On September 22, reports by the Missouri Independent revealed that Speaker of the Missouri House Dean Plocher, a Republican representative from Des Peres, had committed “unethical and perhaps unlawful conduct” in seeking an expensive government contract that could benefit elected officials running for office.

    A few weeks later, as insiders speculated that an FBI investigation of Plocher was underway, Plocher officially announced his run for Lieutenant Governor.

    Missourians were still reeling from an elected official and statewide political candidate breaking the law when the Missouri Independent published another devastating report revealing that Plocher had broken the law multiple times.

    New Report Shows Plocher Used Campaign Funds To Pay For Travel, Lied About It, And Got The State To Reimburse His Campaign

    According to the Missouri Independent, 

    On at least nine occasions since 2018, Plocher spent campaign money [on travel expenses] and then also sought reimbursement from the legislature…

    In each instance, Plocher was required to sign a sworn statement declaring that he had used “personal funds” to pay the expenses.  

    Campaign and legal experts interviewed by The Independent say an elected official is allowed to use campaign money for official business. Or, they can use personal money and then request reimbursement from the state. 

    But doing both could violate state and federal law. 

    Plocher took money from Missouri taxpayers to reimburse his campaign and lied about it. And it may have broken several laws.

    Tell Your Legislators – Plocher Is No Longer Fit For Office

    Since the latest allegations against Speaker Plocher came to light, more than 150 Missourians have called for an immediate investigation into Plocher’s actions. Some politicians have even called for Plocher’s resignation.

    We can work together to get the legislature to investigate Plocher’s illegal activity, force him to resign as Representative and Speaker, and withdraw from his run for Lieutenant Governor.

    Write a letter to your legislator now telling them you want to see Plocher investigated and out of office!

  • Politicians Are Wrecking Missouri Kids’ Lives

    Graphic: Families Take Note: Politicians Are Wrecking Missouri Kids' Lives

    Families take note: politicians are making life terrible for Missouri kids.

    Over the past year, the legislature has either deliberately put laws into effect targeting children or refused to step in when kids needed their help most.

    The result: Missouri is a bad place to be a kid.

    Legislators Refuse To Act On Child Poverty

    While child poverty has increased dramatically from 12% to 17% in the past year, legislators have ignored solutions.

    When other states proposed tax credits to keep kids out of poverty, Missouri refused. 

    When 40 other states used federal funds to feed hungry kids during the summer, Missouri refused.

    Then, legislators kicked impoverished children off of their health care plans, almost exclusively because of paperwork issues.

    It’s hard not to believe that the cruelty is the point.

    Lawmakers Defund Education On Every Level

    Missouri’s schools are in a crisis. On every level of education, Missouri schools are chronically underfunded, and it’s kids who suffer most.

    Missouri is 49 in the country for state funding of K-12 public schools. This has pushed 30% of the schools in the state into four-day school weeks – which education experts say they don’t know the long term effects of.

    And for both younger and older kids, Missouri isn’t doing any better: Missouri is the fourth worst in the country on early childhood education quality and 46 in the country for state investment in higher education.

    Missouri Is Bottom Four In The Country On Child’s Rights

    Missouri was one of four states this year to receive an F on child’s rights and show no signs of improvement. The report, conducted by Human Rights Watch, examined Missouri’s policies on corporal punishment in schools, child marriage, child labor and juvenile prison sentencing.

    Remember how a Missouri representative said child marriage was a good thing? Yeah, that didn’t age well.

  • Missouri Children Are In Poverty. Legislators Are Ignoring Solutions.

    With the expiration of key aid programs for families, working Missourians are struggling to keep their households afloat. The result: over 17% of Missouri children are in poverty, including nearly one in five children under 5 years old.

    States around the country are proposing innovative solutions to child poverty, like Enhanced Child Tax Credits. 15 states have implemented or improved their child tax credit programs in 2023.

    Missouri has experience with Enhanced Child Tax Credit programs: the federal program drove child poverty in Missouri down to 12% Within the first month of the program’s expiration, child poverty increased from 12.1% to 17%.

    We also know more children live in poverty in states that haven’t raised the minimum wage. An increase in Missouri’s minimum wage would help bring more Missouri families into the “livable wage” range. 

    Not only are Missouri officials refusing to take action, they are actively stripping pre-exisisting programs and exacerbating the problem.

    As families flounder, Missouri officials have taken healthcare from kids. More than 75% of kids who lost coverage in the last three months were due to procedural issues, like paperwork getting lost in the mail. Other states have paused terminations to figure out how they can improve their systems – but not Missouri.

    Missouri also made headlines earlier this year when officials turned down federal dollars for free lunch for poor kids. Missouri was one of only 10 states who turned down the money, forcing kids in poverty to go without food for the summer.

  • Missouri Is Falling Behind – Will the State Act?

    Missouri is falling behind text over a fall background of Ha Ha Tonka State Park
    Ha Ha Tonka State Park

    Missouri is falling behind other states, and the legislature isn’t doing anything about it.

    As the year comes to an end, national organizations are putting out reports of the best – and the worst – states on particular issues. Unfortunately, these reports don’t give Missouri a lot of bragging rights.

    The state ranked in the bottom 10 on the following issues:

    Child’s Rights

    Missouri was one of four states this year to receive an F on child’s rights and show no signs of improvement. The report, conducted by Human Rights Watch, examined Missouri’s policies on corporal punishment in schools, child marriage, child labor and juvenile prison sentencing.

    Early Childhood Education

    Missouri is the fourth worst state in the country on access, quality, resources and economic support for early childhood education. Missouri was also the fourth worst on early childhood education quality.

    Teacher Pay

    The 2021-2022 NEA Rankings and Estimates report put Missouri teachers last in the nation for starting teacher pay.  And in case teachers are looking forward to salary improvements with tenure, that same report put Missouri teachers at 47th for average teacher pay.

    School Funding – On Every Level

    Missouri is 49 in the country for state funding of public schools. By relying primarily on local sources for public school funding, the Missouri state government is creating inequality between districts in high-income areas and districts in low-income areas. And Missouri ranked 46 in the country for state investment in higher education – down from 45 in the previous three years.

    Freedom To Learn

    Missouri took the “Number One” spot this year for school censorship – putting it at 50 in the nation for freedom to learn. The Missouri Legislature introduced 31 educational intimidation bills this year, after successfully banning more than 300 books during the previous year.

    Health Care

    Missouri’s health care system is the 8th worst in the country, based on accessibility, affordability, prevention, treatment, avoidable hospital use and costs and healthy lives. Missouri’s worst indicators – adults receiving dental care (45) and preventable hospitalizations (40).

    Traffic And Infrastructure

    Missouri was ranked as the state with the worst traffic and infrastructure and number 6 on worst states to drive in.

    Where are our elected officials?

    It’s clear Missouri is falling behind other states – so what are our elected officials doing about it?

    While school kids flounder, teachers make pennies and families struggle to stay healthy, Missouri’s radical politicians are focused on all the wrong things: censoring books, attacking vulnerable kids and majority rule, and campaigning against cheaper prescription drugs.

    Our elected officials should work for us and focus on the issues that matter most: fully funded schools, accessible health care and reliable infrastructure.

    Demand change

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  • Josh Hawley Thinks Cheaper Prescription Drugs Are ‘Terrible’

    Josh Hawley over a graphic representation of pills and money

    The Department of Health and Human Services announced on August 29 that Medicare could now negotiate the prices of 10 life-saving drugs for diabetes, heart disease and even cancer.

    While prices aren’t final yet, Missouri seniors can expect to save as much as $80,000 a year on prescription drugs like Eliquis, Jardiance, Xarelto, Januvia, Imbruvica, Stelara, and more.

    The much-needed savings are a result of the Inflation Reduction Act, which passed last year despite Missouri Senator Josh Hawley voting against the law, which he called “terrible legislation.”

    76% of Americans support Medicare drug price negotiations because they save taxpayer dollars and help seniors on a fixed income. 

    Who benefits from the record-high drug prices Josh Hawley voted to keep? Big Pharma: companies like Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly and Merck, who make several billion dollars a year by charging seniors up to $130,000 a year for essential medications.

    Josh Hawley doesn’t understand that $130,000 is too much for most Missouri seniors to pay. He’s the son of a bank president and was educated at some of the most expensive schools in the country. But the average Missourian makes only $60,000 a year. The math is clear: prescription drugs are too expensive.

    Missourians deserve a senator who understands that lower drug prices aren’t “terrible,” they’re essential.

  • Josh Hawley’s ‘Oily Disingenuousness’: 5 Takeaways From Mitt Romney’s New Book

    Mitt Romney glares at Josh Hawley from the U.S. Senate floor
    Mitt Romney glares at Josh Hawley from the floor of the U.S. Senate. Photo from the Senate Television via AP.

    The Atlantic published explosive highlights from the upcoming biography of Senator Mitt Romney, Romney: A Reckoning.

    The biography’s star-studded cast includes one notable Missouri name: Senator Josh Hawley. In his re-telling of the events on January 6, 2021, Mitt Romney reveals the “oily disingenuousness” of the Senator who built a brand off of supporting a violent insurrection. Here are our takeaways:

    1. Hawley made “a calculation… that put politics above the interests of liberal democracy and the Constitution.”

    Romney says Hawley was far too smart to believe Trump won the 2020 election. Instead, he made a political calculation and chose to sacrifice democracy to get 15 minutes of fame

    What bothered Romney most about Hawley and his cohort was the oily disingenuousness. “They know better!” he told me. “Josh Hawley is one of the smartest people in the Senate, if not the smartest, and Ted Cruz could give him a run for his money.” They were too smart, Romney believed, to actually think that Trump had won the 2020 election. Hawley and Cruz “were making a calculation,” Romney told me, “that put politics above the interests of liberal democracy and the Constitution.”

    2. Romney to Hawley on January 6: “You’re the reason this is happening!… You did this.”

    Mitt Romney saw Hawley’s performative grandstanding as the cause of the January 6 riots:

    Something about the volatility of the moment caused Romney —­ a walking amalgam of prep-school manners and Mormon niceness and the practiced cool of the private-equity set—to lose his grip, and he finally vented the raw anger he had been trying to contain. He turned to Josh Hawley, who was huddled with some of his right-wing colleagues, and started to yell. Later, Romney would struggle to recall the exact wording of his rebuke. Sometimes he’d remember shouting “You’re the reason this is happening!” Other times, it would be something more terse: “You did this.” At least one reporter in the chamber would recount seeing the senator throw up his hands in a fit of fury as he roared, “This is what you’ve gotten, guys!” Whatever the words, the sentiment was clear: This violence, this crisis, this assault on democracy—this is your fault.

    3. Hawley “seemed to take a very dim view of [his] Republican constituents.”

    Hawley knew Trump had lost the 2020 election, but he refused to tell the truth to his constituents. He manipulated Missourians because he thought he could get away with it: 

    It struck Romney that, for all their alleged populism, Hawley and his allies seemed to take a very dim view of their Republican constituents.

    “The best way we can show respect for the voters who are upset is by telling them the truth!” Romney said, his voice rising to a shout.

    4. Romney: “I doubt I will work with Josh Hawley on anything.”

    After seeing Hawley sacrifice democracy for his own political gain, Romney determined he couldn’t work with him again:

    What Romney couldn’t stomach any longer was associating himself with people who cynically stoked distrust in democracy for selfish political reasons. “I doubt I will work with Josh Hawley on anything,” he told me.

    5. Hawley’s “authoritarianism is like a gargoyle lurking over the cathedral, ready to pounce.”

    Romney knew authoritarians like Hawley from studying the history of great empires. After January 6, he worried Hawley and others like him would be the end of the American project:

    His time in the Senate had left Romney worried—not just about the decomposition of his own political party, but about the fate of the American project itself.

    Shortly after moving into his Senate office, Romney had hung a large rectangular map on the wall. First printed in 1931 by Rand McNally, the “histomap” attempted to chart the rise and fall of the world’s most powerful civilizations through 4,000 years of human history. When Romney first acquired the map, he saw it as a curiosity. After January 6, he became obsessed with it. He showed the map to visitors, brought it up in conversations and speeches. More than once, he found himself staring at it alone in his office at night. The Egyptian empire had reigned for some 900 years before it was overtaken by the Assyrians. Then the Persians, the Romans, the Mongolians, the Turks—each civilization had its turn, and eventually collapsed in on itself. Maybe the falls were inevitable. But what struck Romney most about the map was how thoroughly it was dominated by tyrants of some kind—pharaohs, emperors, kaisers, kings. “A man gets some people around him and begins to oppress and dominate others,” he said the first time he showed me the map. “It’s a testosterone-related phenomenon, perhaps. I don’t know. But in the history of the world, that’s what happens.” America’s experiment in self-rule “is fighting against human nature.”

    “This is a very fragile thing,” he told me. “Authoritarianism is like a gargoyle lurking over the cathedral, ready to pounce.”

    Josh Hawley can’t get away with this. 

    Every Missourian needs to know that Josh Hawley’s selfishness and political gambling almost cost us our democracy – and if he’s left in charge, there’s no telling what he’ll do next.

    Share our posts on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok to help spread the word.

  • Grim New School Year For Missouri Students

    Missouri is in the thick of back to school season, but it’s difficult to find ways in which the Missouri legislature is making life better for students and teachers this upcoming year.

    This past year, 25% of Missouri school districts only operated four days a week. Families are worried about providing childcare while working a five-day week, while experts stressed that they do not yet know the academic effects.

    After legislators in the 2023 session refused to mandate five-day school weeks or raise teacher pay — which would help with the state’s ongoing teacher shortage — even more Missouri districts moved to four-day weeks for the upcoming school year.

    Data from the National Education Association puts Missouri’s average starting salary at $34,052 — dead last in the nation and well below the minimum living wage of $46,944 as determined by the Economic Policy Institute. The numbers barely improve when educators actually stay in schools. Average pay is $52,481, placing the Show Me State 47th nationally.

    To compare apples to apples, you can also see that Missouri ranks last when stacked up against the eight surrounding states in both average starting salary and average salary.

    Average Starting Salary

    23. Illinois
    27. Iowa
    32. Tennessee
    35. Kansas
    42. Oklahoma
    44. Kentucky
    47. Nebraska
    48. Arkansas
    50. Missouri

    Average Teacher Salary

    12. Illinois
    31. Nebraska
    34. Kansas
    36. Iowa
    38. Oklahoma
    40. Kentucky
    45. Tennessee
    46. Arkansas
    47. Missouri

    “For decades, America’s educators have been chronically underappreciated and shamefully underpaid,” NEA President Becky Pringle said. “If we want to reverse course and keep qualified teachers in the classroom and caring professionals in schools, then we must increase educator pay across the board and expand access to collective bargaining and union membership for all those working in public education.”

    The scarcity of professionals working to provide a brighter future extends beyond teachers to workers like bus drivers, custodians and other essential staff. 

    All of this is in addition to constant attacks on the well-being of our students and those educating them. The legislature has banned nearly 300 books, going against Missourians’ steadfast beliefs in freedom of speech. But they also voted against banning toddlers from carrying firearms without adult supervision, going against the wishes of state police. And the government also again inserted itself in people’s personal lives by dictating the medical decisions of trans students and athletes.

    A better future for our state starts with our students. Our elected officials are failing Missourians. Follow Progress MO on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok as we hold them accountable. We can and must do better.