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State Senate Candidate Forges Letter From Pres. Obama
In Attempt to Besmirch Opponent's Voting Record

Candidate Scott Largent is plowing new ground with his attack mailers.

A brand new state senate district 31 was carved out of 5 counties as a result of the latest redistricting. Three candidates are vying for that open seat. All three claim to be "conservative", but Ed Emery has managed to demonstrate a distinction that was resonating with voters. His understanding of the Constitution and ability to apply it to policy won him a following and a significant lead.

Enter the high powered political consultants. They'll tell a losing candidate that when you're behind you had better do some "contrast" -- better known as "mud slinging". Most men and women who run for office are decent enough folks, but it's easy to start rationalizing, especially when the consultants are telling them "stories". They might tell them the "intel" indicates their opponent is about to go negative, or that he's evil personified and just HAS to be stopped. The consultant might even convince the losing candidate the sun will stop shining or Earth will stop spinning if he doesn't win -- the state NEEDS him!

A "preemptive strike" is ordered. At first, the candidate might not like the idea -- is seems kind of harsh, and it's not really the whole story, he'll complain. He's told it doesn't have to be perfect, just include some true elements -- or something that could be true. "You're gonna lose if you don't contrast yourself from your opponent."

The otherwise good man or woman crosses the line. He's now part of the political game that not only destroys his own integrity and steals an election from his opponent, but he's also cheated the people of the opportunity to truly assess the candidates and choose the one who best represents their interests. The democratic process suffers, too.

That seems to be the path that Scott Largent followed. Mailers bearing his committee disclaimer hit district mailboxes on Friday, July 27th, and these mailers not only failed to tell the whole truth, they included some outright falsehoods. The front and back of the 6" x 11" card are shown, below.

Largent Attack - Front

Largent Attack - Back

The back of this mailer references the 2010 legislation, HCR 18. This was a non-binding resolution urging Missouri's U.S. Congressmen to vote against Obamacare.

Let's take inventory of the claims and access their veracity:

Ed Emery stood with President Obama and Obamacare -- FALSE.
Emery actually voted for HCR 18 the only two times the question was before the body -- once when it was first passed by the House and again when it was returned to the House after a conference committee made some changes. See House Journal of amendment and votes.

Ed Emery voted against House Amendment 1 to HCR 18, offered by Rep. Harris -- TRUE
This amendment actually weakened the language in the resolution. See House Journal of HCR18.

The operative clause in the original language was:

"NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the members of the House of Representatives of the Ninety-fifth
General Assembly, Second Regular Session, the Senate concurring therein, hereby urge our Missouri Congressional
delegation to vote against the current health care proposal..."

The amendment added the underscored language, below:

"NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the members of the House of Representatives of the Ninety-fifth
General Assembly, Second Regular Session, the Senate concurring therein, hereby urge our Missouri Congressional
delegation to vote against the current health care proposal, and develop health care reform that is affordable and accessible to all legal residents."

Emery voted against the underscored language, which urged Congress to replace Obamacare with another federal scheme. It is his belief that there is no constitutional authority for the federal government to provide health care services, whether through Obamacare or some other piece of legislation. To support this amendment would have been a violation of this oath of office and would have actually supported the Obamacare concept.

Ed Emery received a letter from President Obama, thanking his for his vote against the amendment. -- FALSE
Obama wrote no such letter, and the one reproduced on the mailer is a forgery. Although the letter appears to be on White house letterhead, it lacks certain elements that would have been in a communication from the President.

What's more, the president would hardly be thanking someone who has been an outspoken critic of Obamacare and just voted for the resolution urging Congress to vote no on the overall resolution.

Ed Emery stood against every one of his Republican colleagues when it came time to vote on the amendment that weakened the resolution. -- TRUE
Emery was the only Republican standing on the core principle that the federal government has no constitutional authority to implement ANY sort of nationalized health care.

That's how it works; that's how politicians start out good and get corrupted by consultants who give unrighteous advice. About half the points Largent's mailer made were technical true, but they were spun in a way that misled the voters to believe what was just the opposite of the truth.

Perhaps the worst part was the forging of a letter from the President. There's clearly no way to justify that!

The fact that the idea originates with someone else does not let the politician off the hook, however. He has to approve everything that goes out with his name on it, so the buck stops with him.

Anyone who is this loose with the facts is simply not worthy of the public trust and should not be selected to represent an entire state senate district.

 

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Scott Largent's mailer claimed that Ed Emery received a letter from President Obama, thanking his for his vote against the amendment. -- FALSE
Obama wrote no such letter, and the one reproduced on the mailer is a forgery. Although the letter appears to be on White house letterhead, it lacks certain elements that would have been in a communication from the President.

Documents

PDF of mailer with the forged Obama letter

House Journal of HCR18

House Journal of amendment and votes

 

In an earlier mailer, Scott Largent clained that Ed Emery wanted to raise the sales tax up to 20%. In fact, Emery has never proposed such a high increase.

What Emery DID support was totally replacing the income tax with a small increase in the sales tax -- 5.11%, not 20%.

The mailer was another deceitful ad. Ironically, Scott Largent voted for the very tax he criticized Emery for. See the official vote here: House Journal of HJR 36.

"Anyone who is this loose with the facts is simply not worthy of the public trust and should not be selected to represent an entire state senate district."

 

Session code: 141