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2012 is shaping up as the year we win the 5th for the people. Make it possible starting today!

We had a great candidacy announcement at Union Station last Monday.

Jacob Turk announces his candidacy for Missouri’s 5th District.

Good coverage by both bloggers and the mainstream media.

This is our time and even the liberal press knows it.

Like many of you, Donna and I were disappointed with the Congressional redistricting in Missouri. Though the final map has some elements that make sense, the new 5th district boundaries inclusion of three rural counties and putting even more portions of Jackson County into the 6th are nonsense. Since the Republicans were in charge of drawing the new map in Missouri, and with the addition of many so-called “Tea Party Republican” freshmen in the state house, we were hopeful that redistricting would be handled with statesmanship – that this time around we would get district lines of common sense, districts that are based on logical geography and the common interests of citizens and their communities. Instead, We the People got the short end of the stick, for it was business as usual in Jefferson City.

The voice of the people across Missouri called for fair redistricting, but their voice was drowned out by the party consultants and power players of both the Republican and Democratic political parties. Consequently, the changes on the western side of Missouri were made to protect incumbents in the 5th and 6th districts, which ended in the disenfranchisement of the citizens in four counties (Jackson, Saline, Ray and Lafayette). The process and results were a betrayal of the people’s trust in our elected Representatives.

Missouri’s redistricting was about incumbent protection. Of even greater concern is how such incumbent protection, going on all across the country, affects our nation over time. Of the 435 congressional seats, over 222 of them were considered totally and completely politically “safe” for the incumbent party even before the current redistricting started. Making it even worse another 150 or so seats were ‘very safe’ for the incumbent party, making it nearly impossible for the people to vote real change into Congress. Instead, we get more of the same. Protecting incumbents leads to a strengthening of the two major party’s hands at the expense of the people’s ability to influence their own government.

Many of you know from experience what ’safe’ districts, whether Republican or Democrat, do to the voice of the people in elections – it becomes of no consequence. No matter how bad the Congressman, no matter how much he or she ignores the will of the people, the incumbents are safe for their reelections because their districts are configured that way. They are safe specifically because of how Congressional redistricting is done. The national Republicans and Democrats like Boehner, Pelosi and others, gather together in the proverbial backroom and with complete bipartisanship divvy up Congress between the parties, resulting in well over half of the seats drawn to be completely safe for one party or the other. There are only 60 to 80 seats where control of the House of Representatives is decided each cycle by the voters. The parties love it – because they do not have to spend money on elections in most districts and can use the ’safe’ districts as cash cows to provide the money to keep their respective party structures funded. That’s a pretty sweet deal for the parties, but not so good for most Americans who live in districts where their vote truly does not count. Political parties win, and the people lose.

Look at Missouri over the last 10 years. There were 45 Congressional election contests. In all but one the sitting party won. All but ONE! 44 of 45 elections won is a 98% party success rate. This year, our Missouri Republicans and Democrats have worked hard to ensure for the next 10+ years they beat that rate, going for 100% ’super safe’ districts for the Republican AND Democratic parties.

Working together for ‘mutual benefit’ is great for the political class, but there’s a problem. Almost everyone in Missouri, about 94% of us, don’t belong to it! So a few determine the governance of the rest of us. What is the political class? It is defined as the small portion of America that controls the reins of government, not only elected officials at all levels, but those who support them like consultants, fundraisers, large donors, heads of large corporations and unions, wall street, etc. In other words, people who see the world like politicians do.

To get an idea of how differently the political class thinks from the rest of us, take a look at a couple recent Rasmussen polls. First on government spending, ‘Most Mainstream voters (67%) like the idea of a law that limits annual government spending increases to population growth plus inflation, but 55% of the Political Class are opposed.’. That is a difference of 22% in thinking on taking and spending OUR money! No wonder whether the Republicans or Democrats are in charge that they keep spending like drunken sailors, (with my apologies to the Navy).

How about the results on how Americans view the rigging of our election process (like the awful redistricting we experienced here in Missouri) as opposed to how the political class sees the world. ‘Sixty-four percent (64%) of Mainstream voters think most members of Congress get reelected because the rules are rigged, but just nine percent (9%) of the Political Class agree. Eighty percent (80%) of Political Class voters say American elections are fair: Less than half (47%) of those in the Mainstream share that view’. What an eye opener! Elected officials and those that surround them think they keep getting reelected on merit while We the People know it is because the systems favors keeping incumbents in power no matter how awful they perform. Our elected officials protect each other even those from the ‘opposition’ party. No wonder our freedoms, our liberties, and heck – the effectiveness of our government itself – has declined so precipitously over the last 8 decades. Without the common sense of the folks brought to bear on the problems of the day, our brilliant Congresspeople keep coming up with solutions that curtail liberty, undermine capitalism and pile up unsustainable debt on our grandchildren and future generations.

Later in that same poll, there was validation of my stated belief while on the campaign trail that we would have a better Congress by choosing them through a lottery, ‘A plurality (45%) of Mainstream voters think the phone book would produce a better Congress. The Political Class overwhelmingly disagrees, with 84% who think the current Congress is better than a randomly selected group’.

Has this ’scratch our back we’ll scratch yours’ philosophy of the political class worked out well for the country? It is sobering to realize that, even though we are a conservative majority country, the Progressive agenda has steadily marched forward towards Socialism for eight decades. This redistricting has been an illustration of how that happens. The political class in America does not share the strength of our convictions when push comes to shove. They make compromises for political gain, and at other times ‘go along to get along’ when what we want is for those we choose to stand firm on our nation’s conservative values.

What now?

Our only option is to challenge in court the disenfranchising of Jackson, Lafayette, Saline and Ray county citizens. The newly created 5th is not compact, barely contiguous, and makes many of it citizens irrelevant in elections. It will take patriots both with and without legal backgrounds to join this cause. Funds will need to be raised for the legal fight for the future of Missouri and to make an example to the rest of the nation that the People should control our government – not the politicians. Please email me if you are interested in challenging the 2011 redistricting in Missouri.

Please continue to forward our emails to friends and family and ask them to sign up to receive future emails of their own. Those on facebook please get all you know to join our fanpage. The only power we have is you.

The intrigue continues. Today on this Saturday morning Governor Nixon vetoed the new Congressional map when he could have held it until May 12^th a day before the session will end. Why?

• Keep in mind no Democratic House member who wants ANY future political career or any favors after their careers end will vote against their Democratic Governor on an override without his consent.

   

• Also, Republican leadership on both sides of the legislature has been brutal to any member opposing THEIR map so expect any House or Senate member who does not want this map to be treated very badly. For those Republican House and Senate members who voted against this map on the vote to send it to the Governor watch their vote closely to see what effect leadership has on their outlook.

   

• Lastly, with resignation of Republican Sally Faith to become mayor of St. Charles the Republicans now need 4 House Democrats to vote with them to successfully override this veto. This is a very high bar and will need the cooperation of the Governor to get a successful override.

So again why did the Governor act so quickly to veto when he did not have to? Two distinct possibilities exist:

1. Governor Nixon really, really cares what this map looks like, wants to redraw it to HIS liking, and will go to the mat keeping all the House Democrats in line so his veto CANNOT be overridden unless it is substantially changed. What and where does substantially changed mean? It probably has nothing to do with the west side of the state and most likely is about something changing on the east side that is better suited to Carnahan. I would guess changing the 2^nd to include Carnahan with more of Jefferson to put Carnahan up against whoever follows Akin in an open seat election. If this is the case and the Republicans do not kowtow to the Governor, redistricting is headed to the courts without a map.

    

2. This always has been and continues to be political theater. Governor Nixon is not that worried about the map, but he sure can put a lot of pressure on Republican leadership through holding the map hostage. Remember no House Democrat is likely to vote to override their party’s Governor unless given permission to do so. What could Nixon hold out for? A lot. There is a budget battle going on, abortion bills, healthcare insurance exchange, etc. Governor Nixon could certainly hold Republican leadership hostage over this map for the next two weeks. If this is the case, anyone reading this who has been lobbying for a conservative position on bills before the legislature better keep your eyes open.

What can you do? If your State Representative or Senator voted no on sending this map to the Governor please call them to encourage them to do the same unless all of Jackson County is in the 5th. Putting all of Jackson into the 5th fixes many problems with this map. Here are links on who voted yes or no.

Missouri House vote on redistricting

Missouri Senate vote on redistricting

Propose a better map to your State Rep, Senator, House and Senate leadership and the Governor. Click here then on the link on the webpage to see a Missouri Congressional map which gives We the People a much better opportunity to choose our Representative rather than the Representative choosing us.

Here is the Jackson County Republican State Representative contigent:

Brent Lasater – 1-573-751-3674

Cierpoit — 1-573-751-0907

Torpey — 1-573-751-3623

Solon — 1-573-751-8636

Lauer — 1-573-751-1487

Grisamore — 1-573-751-1456

Cross — 1-573-751-1459

Here are ALL the Jackson County State Senators:

Krause — 1-573-751-1464

Curls – 1-573-751-3158

Justus – 1-573-751-2788

Callahan — 1-573-751-3074

Other State Senators

Other State Representatives

Governor

A lot happened for redistricting in a few days and nothing happened. It appears We the People have become secondary to the political futures of several players in Missouri politics. What? Let me explain.

First, there is still time to get fair redistricting across Missouri and locally for all of us. Call your State Senator and State Representative to tell them to vote ‘No!’ on splitting Jackson County. In fact, let them know they should be either introducing or supporting a new map that has all of Jackson County in the 5th District. Warn them their vote on redistricting which sets the direction of politics in Missouri for not only 10 years but more like 30 is so important that they are determining your vote in a Republican primary August 2012 for or against them. It is time to get serious. Having no map passed is better than the atrocity Republican leadership is trying to shove down the throats of Missourians everywhere.

Last week members of our Congressional delegation weighed in personally and by phone trying to broker a deal. They favor the map the House passed. On Wednesday, it looked like the decision on a new Congressional map for Missouri would be made on Thursday by a conference committee made up of 5 members each from the Missouri House and Senate. The State Representatives on the redistricting conference committee are Chairman John Diehl (Town and Country near St. Louis), Stanley Cox (Sedalia), Tom Loehner (Koeltztown east of Jefferson City), Penny Hubbard (St. Louis) and Jamilah Nasheed (St. Louis). The State Senators on the redistricting conference committee are Chairman Scott Rupp (Wentzville near St. Louis), Jason Crowell (Cape Girardeau south of St. Louis), Brad Lager (Savannah in Northwest Missouri), Victor Callahan (Independence) and Robin Wright-Jones (St. Louis). As you can tell the conference committee has an over representation of St. Louis area folks. There is a very good reason for this.

Much of the sticking point on the new map has to do with who will be running next for Todd Aiken and JoAnn Emerson’s Congressional seats on the east side of Missouri. Rumor has it John Diehl will be running for Congress next year if Aiken goes for Senate and Jason Crowell will be running when Emerson retires. Each wants more Republican votes for their open seat runs. Now Ann Wagner appears to be angling to run for Aiken’s seat. Also Scott Rupp may be contemplating a run for Congress. The plot thickens. Lastly, Brad Lager is the heir apparent to Sam Graves in the 6th whenever he decides to retire.

Somebody give them all this message: redistricting is not supposed to be about legislators picking their voters, it needs to be about voters picking their legislators. Up until just the last few days, there had been zero attention paid to the gross gerrymandering going on in the Jackson County. Even now, we are a small afterthought in this process. Please continue to change that reality by making the calls and sending the emails.

The conference committee essentially came to am impasse starting Thursday evening into the wee hours of Friday morning with both sides pointing the finger at the other. The House passed a slightly altered map and sent it back to the Senate in what looks like an effort to place the blame on the Senate. At a press conference on Friday, Speaker Tilley, who wants to be your next Lt. Governor, and Representative John Diehl, who wants to run for Todd Aiken’s seat in MO-2 if Congressman Aiken runs for the U.S. Senate, blasted the leadership of the Missouri Senate for not playing political ball.

A couple of items to note about the press conference. First, Speaker Tilley is taking shots at Senate leader Rob Mayer. Keep in mind Speaker Tilley refuses to entertain Right to Work legislation while cozying up to the union bosses while Senator Mayer has pushed Right to Work for all Missourians to help get our stagnant job creation moving. There is always more to politics than meets the eye.

Second, Tilley makes the case early in the conference the more the merrier when it comes to Congressional representation for Jefferson County south of St. Louis and later Diehl makes the case that they ‘improved’ the situation in Jackson County by cutting our districts down to 2 from 3. Huh? These guys need to get their talking points agreed on BEFORE press conferences.

Third, starting at the 9 minute mark note Diehl’s explanation when a reporter asks directly about Jackson County and the 3 rural districts they are trying to put in the 5th. Kinda glosses over sticking that finger deep into Lee’s Summit and coming up with Republicans for Graves. Also, the current map does have rural/urban together but the new map does not have to do so particularly over here in the 5th. Guess neither knows this side of the state and how different Jackson is from Lafayette, Saline and Ray counties.

State Representative Brent Lasater has done his best to make sure Tilley and the redistricting committee know their map is nonsensical on our side of the state. We the people of Jackson County could use some help from Reps. Cierpoit, Solon, Lauer, Grisamore, Cross and Torpey for them to make the same case instead of voting to gerrymander us to protect Cleaver. Also, we need State Senators Kraus, Pearce and Callahan to look out for our interests. Call them today and tell them to vote ‘No!’ on splitting Jackson County including the splitting of Lee’s Summit, Blue Springs, and Independence. They are watering down our voice to protect Cleaver so let them know their vote for you will determine your vote for or against them in August 2012.

On the Senate side Senate Leader Rob Mayer, who wants to be your next Attorney General, and Senator Scott Rupp, who wants to be your next Secretary of State, and Senator Jason Crowell, who wants to run for JoAnn Emerson’s seat in MO-8 when she retires, held the line on their map. It will be instructive to watch how Senator Mayer handles the introduction by the House of an amendment to his SB68 which puts several of the Lee’s Summit precincts back into the 5th. It is a start and we want Senator Mayer to further address the gerrymandering of the 5th and 6th. Keep an eye on him during this process to see if you want him defending us in court as Missouri’s Attorney General.

You are making a difference as evidenced by the impasse and this blog on the Senate website which uses a couple of phrases we have emphasized. 1) “It is especially difficult this year, but the process is extremely important as it will likely be the basis for Missouri’s congressional district make-up for the next 30 years,” said Senate Leader Robert N. Mayer. 2) Sen. Scott T. Rupp, R-Wentzville, is chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Redistricting and said the map should reflect the best interests of Missourians and not currently elected members of Congress. “A member of Congress’ opinion has no more weight than that of any Missourian,” said Rupp. “We must remember we are elected to represent the people of Missouri and not their Congressmen and women.” Also, misleading statements by Senator Rupp that first April 15th then April 22nd were the drop dead dates for the new map to be on the Governor’s desk were corrected. The real deadline all along was the end of the session.

We want fair redistricting and competitive districts across Missouri. A big step in that direction is all of Jackson County into the 5th District. It aids the competitiveness of both the 4th and the 6th. Both would still be Republican but the citizens of all 3 districts would actually choose their Representative rather than have that person mandated by the Congressional map. This process has to be about We the People being heard not about the current and future Congressmen and women. Call your State Senator and Rep now!

Our Future Voice In Congress On The Line Now!

The atrocious Congressional redistricting maps proposed by our Republican leadership in Jeff City are now being manipulated in a conference committee to iron out their differences. With no KC area State Representatives and 3 of the 5 State Rep committee members from the St. Louis area, it does not bode well for conservatives in Jackson County. Our only hope is to get your State Senator and State Rep to vote against the splitting of Jackson County between the 5th and 6th Districts which is nothing more than a Cleaver Protection Plan mandated from DC.

Call them now and let them know you will remember their vote on Congressional redistricting come the Republican primaries in 2012. Tell your State Senator and Rep they must vote ‘No!’ to splitting Lee’s Summit, Blue Springs, and Independence to win your support for 2012.

At this point, our best outcome is Missouri Congressional redistricting gets thrown to the Federal courts with no map. It is our only hope for a fair, competitive map for all Missourians. You must call now!

Here are links giving you background on where we are and how we got here. Remember our Republicans are the ones doing this.

Redistricting Hits The Fan This Week
How does the new 5th protect Cleaver?
The Political Case For Redistricting
Redistricting Update Summary
What You Can Do For Fair Redistricting
Open Letter To MO State Senators On Redistricting
Who Is Emanuel Cleaver And Why Is My State Senator Protecting Him?
The Constitutional Case For Redistricting 

Here are the links for finding contact info for your State Senator and Representative:

http://www.senate.mo.gov/11info/senalpha.htm 
http://www.house.mo.gov/member.aspx

The machinations of the gerrymandering of Missouri continue behind the scenes in Jefferson City. We hear that the political jockeying intensifies this week with the expected appearance of all 6 MO Republican Congresspeople in Jeff City. Seems that some Republican State Senators and Representatives are starting to question what is actually going on with the odd district lines being drawn… and the Congressional Reps are coming to town to put some pressure on those who have reservations over this politically manipulated map.

Now is an excellent time for everyone to call their State Senator and Rep and ask them to protect our voice in this process. Let them know you want common sense redistricting that is good for the people – to vote NO on the current map and work to redraw it in a fair, sensible way. Ask they do the obviously fair thing in putting Jackson County together and whole – not cut up for political manipulation.

The talking point put out is that the Missouri House is not holding session today to protest the Missouri Senate’s disregard for the House redistricting bill. Don’t be taken in by this political theater. What is going on today and this evening instead of the House holding session?

With the maps Senator Rupp and Representative Diehl have come up with so far, it is out opinion that it would be best for the citizens of Missouri for redistricting to be thrown to the Federal courts to determine. We know what we are getting with the Rupp and Diehl maps – congressional districts being unnaturally contorted and marginalizing the people’s voice. The courts will do better for the people.

Senator Rupp has indicated he wants to be Secretary of State, the person in charge of elections for all of Missouri. Would he be a good leader for fair elections? Would he be a champion for the people to have a voice in their government? Well, if redistricting is any indication, he has been a complete disappointment on that front. He has championed a map that is clearly manipulated for political power rather than representation of the people. For example, Rupp’s map is directly the opposite of what the people asked for in the public hearings in Kansas City – 53 of the 57 citizens who attended the hearings asked for Jackson County to be whole, intact, not divided and put fully in the 5^th district. What did Rupp do? He carved it up and put it in 2 different congressional districts. The plan Rupp is fighting for is just an incumbent protection plan crafted by the two parties while cutting the voters out of any meaningful voice in the process. We hope conservatives will reward Senator Rupp for his efforts with defeat in the 2012 primary as we can only expect more of the same if Rupp were elected our Secretary of State.

There are a few possible endings to this whole show. We suspect it will play out thus: Our Republican Congressional incumbents will broker a deal this week with our Republican leadership, and an agreed upon map will sail through both the Missouri House and Senate this week. And, contrary to the prediction of our politicians, Governor Nixon will not veto it. Why? Because more and more State Senators and Reps are becoming aware of what a bad deal this for the people, especially those who have been contacted by their constituents with concerns (and anger from being ignored). They need to get this through and passed quickly before too much more opposition grows.

There is certain to be political theater this week – but what parts are genuine disagreement, and what parts are orchestrated to distract the public while agreements are brokered behind the scenes?

Unfortunately, since Republican leadership has let politics and greed drive their redistricting decisions, it seems the best scenario for We the People is for redistricting in Missouri to go to Federal court to have any hope of a fair map. Conservatives have nothing to fear with competitive districts. Most Americans, both Republicans and Democrats, are center right, so competitive districts give all of us a chance to truly chose who represents us in Congress. Call your State Senator and Representative today and let them know their vote on redistricting decides your vote on them. Tell them to vote ‘No’ on this gerrymandered map.

Pro-Constitution? Pro-Life? Pro-Marriage?

What can you do?

Speak up now!

The Congressional redistricting bill is now being worked over by our State Senators. It may be combined with the passed House bill, or it may stand alone. Hard to tell at this point.

We need folks willing to go to the State Senate Redistricting committee hearing on Monday, April 11^th at 1:30pm Roon SCR1 at the State Capitol in Jefferson City. Go, take this map, and ask that this map be substituted or just the west side combined with whatever is being done on the east side if they use Senator Rupp’s map.

If they start with Representative Diehl’s map here is one which fixes his map on the west side.  So ask that this map be substituted or just the west side combined with whatever is being done on the east side if they use Diehl’s map.

We are concentrating on the west side because we know it so well. We intentionally left the east side as Chairman Rupp drew it to take away any objection he may have to changing the east. Others from the east side would need to make their own case for changes there.

What I have discovered in drawing map after map is this: what happens on one side of the state does not have direct bearing on what happens on the other side of the state. There are so many rural counties between Kansas City and St. Louis that it is very easy to modify those district lines and still maintain the rural nature of those districts. Carving up urban Jackson County and tacking on rural counties fundamentally changes the nature of the 5^th Congressional District, and carving up Jackson County splits our community of interest. The “guiding principle” in forming congressional districts is that they are to be fair, contiguous and compact.

Do this before Monday afternoon:

• Call your State Senator today! The three Senators we have hope for are Senator Kraus, Senator Stouffer, and Senator Purgason, so please call them and ask for their help.

• Tell them you want all of Jackson County together not divided and in the 5^th. Send or point them to our maps so they can see what we propose is fair and won’t affect the rest of the state.

• Ask them to propose the amendment on the floor of the Senate needed to change the proposed map so all of Jackson County is in the 5^th District. Senator Kraus, who does listen to his constituents, is the one most likely to propose the amendment since he represents a large portion of Jackson County. Encourage the good Senator to do so and encourage your State Senator to support him by voting to pass the amendment to include all of Jackson in the 5^th.

• Realize the moving of the rural Lafayette, Ray and Saline counties is so ridiculous that it may just be a political decoy so the folks in Clay and Platte should be ready to be included in the 5^th if they keep Jackson County split up and move the rural counties where they belong. So no matter what happens elsewhere, everyone keep your eye on the ball to get all of Jackson County into the 5^th.

• You likely will be met with the following Republican rationale for this map:

  • “We must protect Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler for reelection.” If they wanted to protect her they would not have given her Boone County. And political experts agree the 4^th already is completely Republican.

  • “ We must protect Congressman Sam Graves for reelection.” The difference between our map and the map Graves has endorsed is only .8% vote swing (the original makes his district 53.8% Republican and ours makes it 53% Republican). Is it worth protection of Cleaver for so little gain in his political position? And 53% is not reality – Graves won his last 3 elections with 69%, 59% and 62% of the vote. So 53% is not the true indicator for Graves. He is much, much safer than that 53% Republican number indicates.

  • “Congressman Graves should have a more compact district.” The 6^th District will be large no matter what because it is a rural, agricultural based district with low density population density (unless you count cows, horses and plants), so it simply takes more counties to get to the 748,616 citizen requirement. If we want it smaller, then the 6^th could maintain compactness by Graves keeping the part of Clay County he wants to give to the 5^th. Congressman Graves is a private pilot, owns his own plane, and already has strong name recognition in the agricultural & rural communities throughout northwestern Missouri. If anyone is well positioned to take on more rural, agricultural counties it is Sam Graves.

  • “We don’t want this to go to court – the courts are likely to redraw the map not to our favor.” Well, it is likely to go to court anyway! The last time Missouri lost a Congressional seat 30 years ago it went to court. If it DOES go to court, it is better for the citizens of Missouri to have a map which is not so obviously gerrymandered so it can be better defended in court.

  • “We have to take care of Cleaver because we need members of the Democratic minority caucus to vote for this map. If the Governor vetoes the map, we’ll need their votes to override his veto so it doesn’t go to court.” It’s going to court anyway.

  • “We don’t want minority special interest groups such as NAACP and La Raza to become part of the court case, so we need to make the 5^th heavily minority.” Our map actually gives the highest minority representation, because Lee’s Summit, Blue Springs and Independence all have significant minority populations.

  • “Hey, my area is fine. I got what I wanted!” Even if the rural areas get taken out of the 5^th and put where they belong in the 4^th or 6^th it only fixes half the problem. This issue is more than just about one or two areas of Missouri. It is about the very foundations of our Representative government being undermined by gerrymandering and political horse trading. I certainly hope your State Senator sees beyond the next election to the next generation and how this impacts the direction of our country for decades to come. I certainly hope your State Senator cares about undermining our United States Constitution.

  • There may be other talking points given to camouflage what this vote is about: political protection for Emanuel Cleaver. Why am I so confident? Because protecting Republican incumbents can be achieved without dividing up Jackson County.

     

    Besides, shouldn’t redistricting be about what is best for all of us, not for securing the reelection of the current 8 incumbent Congressmen? When they are secure, they lose their need to listen to their constituents and only listen to the party that keeps them in power. The political parties win, and the people lose. So, please do these things: 

• Spread this map far and wide to both your State Senator and everyone you know. Fair redistricting can be achieved on the west side of the state very easily by putting all of Jackson County with a population of 674,158 into the 5^th and then drawing remaining population from either Southern Clay or northern Cass Counties to get to the goal of 748,616 total citizens in the district.

• Get your family and friends to call or email their State Senator to tell them you want Jackson County united and whole – not split up between districts. You are looking for a champion for this, and are asking that they will take it on and introduce an amendment that makes sense for greater Kansas City.

Public hearings were held around the state in March where the opinions and desires of the citizens were solicited for their say in the Congressional Redistricting process. In the two Kansas City area hearings of the 57 people who testified, 53 of them asked, demanded, and pleaded for all of Jackson County to be whole, undivided, and completely in the 5^th. The witnesses were articulate, supported that view with many with facts (not just opinions), and were from several counties (Jackson, Lafayette, Cass, Ray, Clay, and Platte). Not a single citizen supported dividing or dissecting Jackson County. The committees decision? They carved up Jackson County! They put a portion of it into the 6^th district, and then tacked on 3 rural counties to the 5^th to make up for the lost votes from the carved out portion! Their crazy, nonsensical map moved forward for consideration (below). The purple is the 5^th, the gray blue north is the 6^th, and the green to the south is the 4th:

Learning of this ridiculous committee decision, Donna and I then spent several days in Jefferson City meeting with many, many State Reps and Senators and testifying at the House hearing regarding the wishes of the citizens and educating them on the negative, long-term implications of splitting Jackson County into two Congressional Districts and adding 3 rural counties to the 5th. We created document after document showing the problems such a map creates. We offered several alternative maps that kept Jackson County whole, and keeps rural areas in rural districts, and urban areas in urban districts, like this one:

The committee refused our suggestions to keep Jackson County whole, and so their map went to the Missouri House for debate then vote, and overwhelmingly passed. Only 3 Republican State Reps voted NO on this terrible map: Shelly Keeney, R-Marble Hill, Bob Nance, R-Excelsior Springs, and Brent Lasater, R-Independence. All other Republican Reps voted for this obviously gerrymandered map (which aims to fortify Emanuel Cleaver and Sam Graves political power). Hats off to Keeney, Lasater and Nance. Let them know you appreciate their stand for the people!

Below is a detailed map of Lee’s Summit from the proposed map. Notice it is carved up. The deal between Graves and Cleaver? The heavily Republican areas are carved out of the 5^th and put into Grave’s 6^th, and the Democratic areas in Clay county are carved out of Grave’s 6^th and put in Cleaver’s 5^th. This swap fortifies both of their re-elections, and divides our communities. The incumbent politicians win, the people lose.

To make up for the loss of votes carved out, they agreed to put the very rural counties of Lafayette, Ray and Saline into the 5^th District to be represented by that famous farmer, Emanuel Cleaver. The citizens of those counties are sure to get fine representation on their agricultural issues by Cleaver, right? Ha!

Remember: politicians are making these decisions, not citizens, and they look at it through the political power lens, not the voice of the people lens. They value having safe districts for campaigning as opposed to competitive districts which rely on candidates winning the approval of the voters to keep their jobs. That’s what incumbent politicians have in common – of both parties – so at redistricting time they actually work together to accomplish creating politically “safe” districts. Hence the Cleaver/Graves agreement.

Next the action went to the Senate where State Senator Rupp introduced his map for Senate debate and possible amendments. It is below. Don’t you think it is a much more thoughtful map? One that makes sense for the citizens of the greater KC area? Jackson County is the 2^nd most populous county in Missouri, so surely those savvy folks in the Senate will keep Jackson County whole, right? See what you think:

Senator Rupp seems to be worried about the east side of the state where he happens to be from. Wait a second, Senator Diehl is also from the east side. Well, I guess that would explain their complete lack of concern about the west side. 

Here is our map that fixes Senator Rupp’s map.

So who is sticking up for Jackson County? Who is fighting to keep Lee’s Summit a whole community, not carved up between Congressional Districts? Who is going up against this nonsense on the western side of Missouri????

It will have to be you and yours around the state of Missouri calling and emailing your State Senators to do the right thing for the right reason. Only numbers of concerned citizens pressuring their State Senators can turn the tide now. While you are at it, please call Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders and tell him to stand up for the citizens of his county. Please take action now, or suffer the results for the next 30 years: a divided community, the people’s voice marginalized, and Cleaver fortified for his re-election campaigns as long as he wants to remain in the US Congress.