Ed Emery

Outgoing state Rep. Ed Emery (R-Lamar) sent around an email to his House colleagues this morning explaining his biggest regret in the General Assembly.  It's not his open endorsement of Orly Taitz's birther conspiracy theories or his report explaining that Roe v. Wade is a key cause of the country's immigration problems -- it's that he "was wrong to spend so little time inquiring about [other legislators'] faith or sharing my own."

To help address the situation, Emery distributed a questionnaire to his colleagues via a blast email to all Democratic and Republican representatives this morning.  You can read the email and his survey below the jump. 

As a person of faith, I admire the passion in Emery's letter, though I'm sure we see some things differently.  Regardless, the use official staff and resources to distribute this sort of questionnaire and religious message seems pretty inappropriate.

UPDATE: Phyllis Schlafly doubles down in a follow-up interview: "Yes I said that. It's true, too. All welfare goes to unmarried moms."

Would this do the trick?

Seventy percent of unmarried women voted for Obama. And this is because when you kick your husband out, you gotta have Big Brother government to be your provider. And they know that. And they've, they've admitted that they have all kinds of bills to continue to subsidize illegitimacy that which is now running nationwide running at 41%.

Listen to the audio, as recorded by Progress Michigan:

Two reports released this week have "reaffirmed the integrity of the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the scientists involved in the so-called 'Climategate' affair."

But I haven't seen a peep out of Blaine Luetkemeyer, Ed Martin, Peter Kinder, silly Star columnist E. Thomas McClanahan, Ed Emery, Doug Funderburk, Vicky Hartzler or any other climate change deniers apologizing their uniformed hysteria, or even explaining how they're still smarter than people who actually study climate science.

Sen. Chuck Purgason and Birther Rep. Ed Emery promoted their proposal to replace the state income tax with a higher sales tax at the the Americans for Prosperity rally yesterday.

At the beginning of his remarks, Emery implied that the state's existing tax structure is unconstitutional.  It's not, of course, but he made a point of noting that a much higher sales tax is constitutional. "We have to move to a constitutional basis for all that we do, especially taxation," he said.  Later, speaking about The Evil Libruls, Emery declared:

We're being invaded by those who do not like our Constitution or its provisions. They do not like our personal liberties. And they are determined to destroy them as the British was to put down the colonies.

Tuesday, the Missouri House debated a resolution from Rep. Doug Funderburk (R-St. Peters) expressing disapproval with the proposed federal clean energy bill. Predictably, the debate devolved into a conversation about the reality of global warming and climate change. The most frustrating exchange was one between Funderburk and Birther Rep. Ed Emery (R-Lamar).  It's a long and mind-numbing dialogue, but preserved for posterity here.

Birther Rep. Ed Emery (R-Lamar) has an important message for the people of Missouri today: Barack Obama is more evil than you ever imagined. 

In this video Emery shared via Twitter and Facebook, I learned that Obama has subjugated the people; violated the constitution; confounded laws; seized private industry; destroyed jobs; perverted our economy; curtailed free speech; corrupted our currency; weakened our national security; endangered our sovereignty; compromised our nation's cultural, legal and economic institutions; ensured that our children will have terrible lives; stolen from cute children and murdered innumerable kittens. 

Emery calls this video a "solemn and profound reminder." Of what, I'm not sure.

Orly Taitz, who represented Reps. Tim Jones and Cynthia Davis in their federal birther suit, has been ordered to pay $20,000 in sanctions for filing frivolous actions in a similar, but separate, lawsuit.

Jones has refused to comment publicly about his role in the lawsuit with Taitz, Davis and others, but Davis has proudly stood by her conspiracy theories.  Rep. Casey Guernsey signed on to help Taitz at one point as well. 

Missourinet and the AP report that Senate President Charlie Shields (R-St. Joseph) and Speaker Ron Richard (R-Joplin) are both cool to the replace the state income tax with much higher sales taxes.  Missourinet's Bob Priddy:

Senate leader Charlie Shields does not think the bill will pass but he expects a robust debate. In the event it does clear the Senate, the proposal goes to the House, which passed the bill last year. But this year, Speaker Ron Richard sees problems. “I just want to make sure there’s not any uncertainty about where we’re moving, about schools formula, about libraries, about fire districts...And I can see the amendments on the floors now, everybody getting exempted out to kill the bill...I don’t think St. Louis can take 11 or 12 or 13 percent sales tax on their retail. I don’t think that would work and I don’t think that’s proper,” he says.

For reasons I won't pretend to understand, twelve Republican state representatives voted against extended unemployment benefits yesterday (HB 1544).

The legislation sponsored by Rep. Barney Fisher (R-Richards) passed 143-12, and will allow more than 62,000 Missourians to receive extended unemployment benefit, and not cost the state a dime.

Jason Brown, birther Cynthia Davis, birther Ed Emery, Doug Ervin, birther Tim Jones, Andrew Koenig, Will Kraus, Mike Leara, Brian Nieves, Mark Parkinson, Tom Self and Bryan Stevenson all opposed the extension.

Ed Emery jams with Orly Taitz, July 2009

Via The Turner Report, I see that birther Rep. Ed Emery (R-Lamar) thinks that global warming and climate change are a bunch of hooey.

As a scientist, I have been frustrated for some time over the absence of logic in some of the climate-change declarations...

In the rippling heat of “consensus,” the ostrich of Climate-Gate is being permitted to continue its economic destruction undetected and unimpeded. Someone has to say something – maybe it should be Missouri. The climate is important to all of us, but it is time to demand that predictions be based on measured data and developed following the scientific method, not political consensus.

By their own admission, proponents of replacing the state income and corporate earnings taxes with new and higher sales taxes will have to jack up the sales tax by far more than the previously promised.

At a legislative hearing today, Rep. Ed Robb (R-Columbia) acknowledged that the so-called "Fair Tax" would actually increase sales taxes by at least twice what he'd estimated, from the current 4.225% to at least 6-6.2%.  And even that seems low, as the Missouri Budget Project estimates that this huge change in state tax policy would require sales taxes closer to 11% just to break even.  

KBIA had a short story yesterday on the continued existence of the birther movement in Missouri politics featuring Reps. Cynthia Davis (R-O'Fallon) and Ed Emery (R-Lamar). It's frustrating to hear the local NPR reporter does present their questions as semi-legitimate queries, but the lunacy from Davis and Emery is countered by Rob Farley of PolitiFact.com (you can read what he's written about the bogus controversy here). 

Listen to an MP3 of the story at this link. 

Curiously, Rep. Tim Jones (R-Eureka), a plaintiff with Davis in Orly Taitz' federal birther suit filed in California, refused to comment on Obama's alleged usurping of the presidency.  It sure is odd that Jones is willing to sign on to a lawsuit in California alleging that Obama has committed treason and incredible other crimes, but he's completely unwilling to speak to Missouri reporters about his involvement. 

The crazy for-profit birthermercial we mentioned last week did indeed air on KSPR last week. The general manager for KY3, Inc. (which runs KSPR) said "the opinions of this particular program may be a minority of our viewers, but certainly I think this group has the right to express themselves. I don't think it's libelous in any fashion."

In his story, Catanese said the conspiracy theorists "may be a fringe movement," and the post on the story at The Turner Report described the birthers as the "lunatic fringe." While I certainly agree that the birthers' accusations are pure lunacy, it's important to remember that the alleged "fringe" includes a disturbing number of high-ranking leaders in the Missouri Republican Party.  

If you've got $99 bucks and the intestinal fortitude to handle three days of right-wing craziness, you should consider attending Phyllis Schlafly's "How to Take Back America Conference" in St. Louis, September 25-27.

Lunatic Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-MN) is a confirmed guest, along with Rep. Todd Akin and Mike Huckabee. The conference website also prominently features a picture of State Rep. Ed Emery (R-Lamar).

Conference Host Rick Scarborough has declared the conference a "first step to bringing together the Right in order to 'turn out the infidels' and fill Congress with true leaders like Rep. Michele Bachmann," according to the website Right Wing Watch.

The host committee also includes Joseph Farah of WorldNetDaily, a birther and early supporter of a prospective Sean Hannity presidential campaign.

I've read Rep. Ed Emery's (R-Lamar) latest op-ed in the Joplin Independent three or four times, and am just confused.  Consider these two paragraphs:

A national government, on the other hand is the opposite of federalism. It reduces statehood to geography and fosters political posturing and prejudice. Such a governing structure is designed to protect and promote the status quo. It is by nature a hindrance to change because there are no "state-laboratories," no places to test new ideas or debunk old ones. Once nationalized, public policy becomes the best by default, not by performance.

Washington D.C. is actively indoctrinating America away from federalism and toward a nationalistic government - one size fits all. We must not stand idly by and allow Missouri to be swept up into failed public policies against our will just because a political elite demands that we conform. America did not begin as a nation of conformists, nor will it survive as such.

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Via Talking Points Memo, it seems that a rival group of birther conspiracy theorists are turning on Orly Taitz. 

Internet Powerhouse Andy Martin says Orly Taitz has shown she is neither a "birther" nor a "doubter;" she is a nut case and an incompetent lawyer. Martin says he may be the "Godfather" of the "birther" movement but he disassociates himself from forged documents and delusional claims.

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This will probably be lost in the discussion of Roy Blunt's refusal to back down from his decision to help foment of birther hysteria, but the News-Leader's Chad Livengood also spoke with State Rep. Ed Emery, who famously attended Orly Taitz' birther meeting last month in Jefferson City.

State Rep. Ed Emery, R-Lamar, has not joined the lawsuit with his colleagues, but attended a birther meeting Taitz hosted in July in Jefferson City.

Emery said Tuesday he remains unconvinced that Obama has answered all the questions about his background.

"I think it's important that we don't just put it aside," Emery said.

The dude is nutz.

The Joplin Globe is not impressed with Rep. Ed Emery's (R-LaMars) fraternizing with Orly Taitz and fellow anti-Obama conspiracy theorists. In a new editorial, the Globe editorial board rightly demands that Emery start worrying about important issues facing his constituents.

Never mind the facts that Obama was born in Honolulu on Aug. 4, 1961, that the Honolulu Advertiser printed notice of his birth nine days later and that his birth certificate is on file with the state of Hawaii. Facts like those don’t matter to birthers, who have a conspiracy theory too compelling to ruin with facts...

What’s chilling is that Emery would waste constituents’ time giving that theory any credence.

In a statement, Emery said he attended the meeting for exactly that reason — to represent his constituents and defend the Constitution.

If he is truly interested in “representing his constituents,” then he should focus on real issues, not this citizenship drivel.

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I'm still trying to understand the statement released by Rep. Ed Emery (R-LaMARS) last Friday. In it, Emery defended his attendance of Dr. Orly Taitz's conspiracy theory rally in Jefferson City -- which he called a "non-event." He then attacked the media for accurately reporting on the substance of Taitz's theories, and expressed dismay at reporters' interest in his presence. But this is what puzzles me: Ed also claimed to have had no prior knowledge of Taitz or her legal campaign against President Barack Obama.

"I had never met or heard of Dr. Orly Taitz before and was the only legislative member in attendance," Emery wrote. Then why was he there? Does Mr. Emery routinely attend gatherings with socialists or atheists or Islamic radicals, just to hear what they have to say and peruse their literature? Probably not.

For his heroic acts performed on or about July 1, 2009, The Fired Up! Medal for Dishonorable Service (with Yellow Leaf Cluster) is hereby awarded to Ed Emery (R-LaMars) for sacrificing common sense and judgment on behalf of his constituents.

Discounting the wounds to his character and honor, he single-handedly and willingly came to the rescue of Orly Taitz, thus endangering his character, reason, and patriotism when others would not risk so brazen an undertaking.

Will Taitz return the favor? Will she come to southwest Missouri and campaign for Ed Emery in his pursuit of a state senate seat. Let’s hope she does right by her friend who has sacrificed so much for her.