RedState.org founder and CNN contributor Erick Erickson is a little upset with eighth district Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson. Without saying it directly, Mr. Erickson accuses the congresswoman of being a RINO (Republican in name only) and urges that she should be ‘primaried’ next year:
She is an appropriator, and a “cardinal” who chairs a subcommittee. She opposed comprehensive reforms to improve a budget process geared to spend. She opposed the line-item veto. She opposed a cap on entitlement spending even though appropriators are notorious for arguing that discretionary spending isn’t the problem, just exploding entitlements. She supported none of the Hefley 1% cuts. She has never supported a budget offered by the conservative Republican Study Committee.
No boys and girls. She is not Carolyn Maloney from NYC, Nancy Pelosi from San Francisco or Jan Schakowsky from Illinois. She represents a +15 GOP district that voted for George Bush and John McCain for president by 63% and 62% respectively. She is now the chairman of the remaining Republican liberals in the House, the Tuesday Group. She is Jo Ann Emerson, and she represents Missouri’s 8th district. She needs to be primaried.
The Georgia blogger obviously knows nothing about Missouri politics or the district Emerson represents. Ronald Reagan had a saying that my 80% friend is not my 20% enemy. This excerpt from Wikipedia shows why the moderate congresswoman has been re-elected eight times:
Missouri’s 8th is a relatively diverse congressional district. Although it is fairly conservative and Republican-leaning at the federal level, Democrats often perform well here in local and state elections. Bill Clinton, a Democrat from neighboring Arkansas, managed to carry the 8th District both times in 1992 and 1996 by strong margins, but since then, the district solidly supported Republicans George W. Bush and John McCain in the past three presidential elections. The district did, however, back former Attorney General and now Governor Jay Nixon (D) over Republican Kenny Hulshof in Missouri’s gubernatorial election in 2008.
At the local level, Democrats control a majority of elected offices in Southeast Missouri. Republicans control more local offices in the more extreme-western portions of the district namely in Southwest Missouri. In presidential elections, Democratic candidates often run best in the Bootheel, which is the most impoverished region in the district (and the state, for that matter).
0 responses so far ↓
1 Katie Scarlett // Oct 21, 2011 at 1:28 pm
I’m sorry, but I strongly resent people who do not live in Southern Missouri telling us how to vote! He should vote in Georgia and we will vote in Missouri and elect who we feel best serves the Eighth District. And if he thinks he is a commentator or journalist, he needs to check his facts and do his research before he opens his mouth.
2 TheNervii // Oct 22, 2011 at 5:43 am
I think he’s right. She did have a primary challenger in 2010, who got about 35% of the vote, I think.
She is not conservative, and every rating of her I’ve ever read, and my 15 year experience as her constituent, says so.
She voted for TARP without reading it.
Emerson supporters, don’t you dare challenge me on this. It’s true.
But, the 20-some year chief of staff for her and her 8th District predecessor (her late husband) is not the executive director of the Missouri GOP, so what are we to do?
3 TheNervii // Oct 22, 2011 at 5:44 am
Oops, “now the executive…”, instead of “not”.
Sorry.
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