Blaine Luetkemeyer

KCTV sums it up:

HOUSE DECISION WOULD RAISE YOUR TAXES

KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) -The U.S. House of Representatives failed to take action Tuesday to extend the payroll tax cuts and unemployment benefits for millions.

The House rejected a two-month extension to 160 million Americans on their payroll taxes. This means if you made $50,000 annually then you'll pay about $1,000 more in taxes in 2012.

The Senate-approved bill would have allowed millions of unemployed Americans to continue receiving jobless benefits.

This afternoon, in a purely political move, House republicans voted to hike taxes on 160 million working Americans effective January 1 by rejecting the Senate's extension of the payroll tax cut.

By a final vote of 229 - 113, including Rep. Akin, Rep. Emerson, Rep. Graves, Rep. Hartzler, Rep. Long, and Rep. Luetkemeyer, republicans violated their pledge of not raising taxes.

If the article in today's Columbia Daily Tribune regarding Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer (R- St. Elizabeth) seeking to fast track the investor visa program for Mamtek is any indication, we should assume there will be hell to pay within the Missouri GOP's Twitter feed very soon. 

Before we can discuss job creation and the economy, we need to establish an official language. You know, to avoid confusion. 

During a teleconference with constituents Tuesday evening, Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer told a caller he was "spot on" when he said that "this country's going to be dead" if Barack Obama is reelected in 2012, and Obama "doesn't even seem to care about the American people." An excerpt:

CALLER: If he [Obama] gets in four more years, this country's going to be dead. Because right now he's disengaged and doesn't even -- he doesn't even seem to care about the American people or what's even going on, he, he just -- it's like he goes in the closet, locks the door and acts like we'll just let the world go on by unless somebody else takes care of it like he gave everything to Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, and look what happened with that.

LUETKEMEYER: I appreciate your comments, sir. You're spot on.

Listen:

Who could have guessed that Americans don't like the plan to privatize Medicare supported by Todd Akin, Roy Blunt, Vicky Hartzler, Jo Ann Emerson, Billy Long, Sam Graves and Blaine Luetkemeyer?  

According to the new CBS News poll, 31 percent of Americans support converting Medicare into a sort of voucher program. Fifty-eight percent said they support keeping the program’s existing structure intact.

[The House GOP plan supported by all of the Missouri Republicans in Washington] plan would eliminate the traditional single-payer Medicare system and replace it with vouchers that could be used in the private insurance market.

Update:Ed Martin is in on the conspiracy too!

Former representative/lobbyist Carl Bearden may be working for Rex Sinquefield's United for Missouri organizations now, but did you know that he was recently part of a progressive conspiracy to destroy America ?   Glenn Beck says it's true.  And as our deep thinking Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer says, everything you hear from Beck "must be true because nobody's refuting it."

While listing off a series of progressive organizations that all have "pro-American sounding names" — including the Center for American Progress — Fox News host Glenn Beck claimed that the Koch-backed right-wing activist group Americans For Prosperity was part of the progressive conspiracy.

h/t Think Progress 

No one could have predicted that the House GOP's plan to phase out Medicare as we know it while giving the very wealthy even more tax cuts would be unpopular: "Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich distanced himself on Sunday from a House GOP plan to make cuts to Medicare, calling it 'too big a jump' for the American people."

From Meet the Press:

Looks like Blaine Luetkemeyer has milked his Senate tease for all he can: "He’s ruled it out," his spokesman tells Roll Call.

...but would Republican negotiators be bending over backwards to make sure Blaine Luetkemeyer is happy with their maps if they weren't at least somewhat worried about him jumping into the Senate race?

The Americans United for Change organization has a new TV spot running in a few Congressional districts around the country highlighting Congressional Republicans' recent vote to phase out Medicare as we know it.  It's a good taste of what's to come.

Reps. Todd Akin, Vicky Hartzler, Blaine Luetkemeyer, Jo Ann Emerson, Sam Graves and Billy Long all voted to eliminate Medicare -- and give the very wealthy even more tax cuts.

A very early entry for Best Ad of the 2012 Cycle:

h/t The Plum Line

Marist has a new poll looking at attitudes toward deficit reduction strategies on the table in Washington, summed up quite well by The Hill: "Raise taxes on wealthy, leave Medicare, Medicaid alone."

[F]ully four in five registered voters oppose cutting Medicare and Medicaid. The House GOP’s fiscal 2012 budget, largely crafted by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), makes fundamental long-term changes to both health entitlement programs, converting Medicaid into a block grant and turning Medicare into a type of voucher system. 

Democrats (92 percent), Republicans (73 percent) and independents (75 percent) all opposed cuts to the two programs, the McClatchy-Marist poll found.

Here's a breakdown of responses about cutting Medicare and Medicaid, and to increasing taxes on income over $250,000, as posted by Slate's Dave Weigel.

Politico's Dave Catanese:

Uncertainty about redistricting and a growing concern among party leaders about the perceived weakness of the current field is prompting Missouri Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer to consider jumping into the Senate race...

Poor first quarter fundraising performances by former state treasurer Sarah Steelman and former congressional candidate Ed Martin has only heightened Republicans' anxiety about fielding a candidate who can defeat first-term Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill.

Todd Akin, Vicky Hartzler, Jo Ann Emerson, Blaine Luetkemeyer and Sam Graves voted Friday in favor of the GOP's Medicare Elimination Plan.  Included as part of the Paul Ryan budget, it passed today despite bipartisan opposition.

We look forward to hearing from all of the Congressmembers why they voted to

• dismantle Medicare and Medicaid while giving even more tax cuts to the already very wealthy
• double health-care costs for seniors
• increase taxes on the middle-class to finance tax cuts for the rich and
• endanger vital Medicaid services
• make huge education cuts
• undermine another important part of the social safety net

and a whole bunch of other terrible stuff. 

Did I mention that the already very wealthy will get tax cuts while Medicare gets phased out?

Missouri's entire GOP delegation in the U.S. House voted against a very simple amendment yesterday "that would have put the chamber on record backing the widely held scientific view that global warming is occurring and humans are a major cause."  The proposed amended was very simple:

Congress accepts the scientific findings of the Environmental Protection Agency that climate changes is occurring, is caused largely by human activities, and poses significant risks for public health and welfare.

That was it.  Todd Akin, Jo Ann Emerson, Sam Graves, Vicky Hartzler, Blaine Luetkemeyer and Billy Long all voted against it.   Reps. Cleaver, Clay and Carnahan all supported the presumably noncontroversial statement.

h/t Political Wire

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is one year old this week. Health activists and grass roots groups are having birthday parties and doing education outreach across the county. Yesterday, GRO-Grass Roots Organizing, a community activist group based in Mexico dropped in on Representative Blaine Luetkemeyer where Blaine once again proved he’s a stand up guy. The constituents included folks who have already benefited for some of the act’s provisions, and they wanted him to know how thankful they were.

While the group was gathering in the parking lot, Blaine came out of his office, jumped in his car and raced away.  But Luetkemeyer's constituents were undeterred:

Determined to have their message heard, the group entered the office and spoke with the Congressman’s staff. There, they delivered black balloons and a cupcake that said “The Richest 2%.” They spoke of how Congressman’s ‘no’ vote on the ACA was a vote that benefited only the wealthiest of Americans and was without regard for the “Other 98%” – the Missourians he was elected to represent, and so blatantly disregarded just moments before. The group again highlighted stories of individuals who have already benefited, emphasizing that those individuals are representative of many thousands. “My senior mother now lives with me, and the $250 donut hole rebate came in hand as we worked to pay for her expensive prescription drugs,” said Columbia resident, Brenda Procter. They urged that the Congressman reconsider his position with regards to the ACA and demanded that he stop undermining the concrete benefits of the Law to his constituents by voting to de-fund programs in the Bill.

At least Jim Talent used to wave while escaping.

Apparently Blaine was willing to talk to the press, but not to the people. He says he wants the ACA defunded. That’s why his cupcake said thanks from the richest 2%. They don’t need insurance. They can pay for their own healthcare.

The full GRO press release can be read below the jump.