GOP STATE COMMITTEE ADS DISTURB LAWMAKERS

JEFFERSON CITY -- State legislators from both parties are expressing concern about radio advertisements, paid for by the Missouri Republican Party, that began airing Monday.

The ads were critical of nine Democratic lawmakers for supporting an education bill last year that increased taxes without a vote of the people.

Democratic leaders are furious over the ads. House Speaker Bob Griffin and Senate President James Mathewson have apparently warned Republican members that funding for projects in Republican lawmakers' districts are in jeopardy unless the ads are pulled. Other threats have also been conveyed.

Among those who had ads run in their districts were Sen. Norman Merrell of Monticello, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Sen. Mike Lybyer of Texas County, who is vice chairman of the appropriations panel and acting chairman while Merrell is undergoing treatment for cancer.

Both senators have considerable influence over the make-up of Missouri's $12 billion budget, and would have ample opportunities to seek retaliation.

Among the seven House members targeted in the ads is Rep. Herb Fallert, D-Ste. Genevieve.

Rep. Mark Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, said he knew nothing about the ads until he read an Associated Press story Tuesday.

Richardson said the ads that were aired by the party had accurate information, but added: "The Republican leadership in the legislature was not consulted about it in advance and had no involvement in the planning. This was something that is being done by the Missouri Republican Party and not by elected Republican legislators in the Capitol. We are too concerned and too busy about the business of government the next five months to worry about political ads like this."

Richardson said he is concerned the ads might heighten partisan bickering in the legislature and keep lawmakers from focusing on important issues.

Several Republican legislators have contacted state Republican officials and asked that the ads be pulled because of the tension it is causing. Sources say that Sen. Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau, is among the group of GOP legislators requesting that the ads be pulled.

Tony Hammond, executive director of the state GOP, said the ads were scheduled to run for three days and ended as planned on Wednesday. "The ads ran their course; we did not pull them off," said Hammond. "Our buy was for three days."

Hammond said similar ads could be run targeting other Democrats who voted for Senate Bill 380 last year, though none are planned at this time. "Part of it will depend on being able to raise the money to go on the air with these ads," he noted.

Fallert said Wednesday he stands by his vote on Senate Bill 380 because he felt it was in the best interest of education in the state. The six-term lawmaker said he first learned of the ads from a radio station employee Saturday night.

"Anything like this concerns you, I guess, but I would not change my vote on the bill," said Fallert. "Under the circumstances that this was brought about, I decided to vote for the bill. I just didn't want the educational system to wind up in the courts. I thought it was the right thing to do.

"Missouri is like 40-something in everything, and sooner or later we have to do what is right. We have to bite the bullet and change the system, because we are in changing times. I felt the time wasn't there to go to a vote of the people. You elect officials to do what they think is right and I did it. I'm not proud we raised taxes, but if that is part of the package, that is what we have to do to keep Missouri's school system up with the rest of the country and the world."

Fallert said he believes people in Missouri recognize the need to improve the educational system and also realize that those changes take money.

Overall, Fallert said the state taxes that were approved in the bill will affect very few people in his 155th District because they were focused on high income people and corporations.

Fallert said he is unsure why the state GOP decided to target him. "Maybe they felt I wasn't going to have opposition and felt this was a good way to get somebody thinking about it," remarked Fallert.

Rep. Larry Thomason of Kennett, the House majority whip, said the ads are "absurd" and will ultimately backfire on Republicans

Thomason complained that the ads attempt to put a spin on last year's vote that it was only about taxes, and makes no mention that SB-380 was passed to deal with a court decision that would have ultimately led to judges making decisions about how the state's schools are funded.

Said Thomason: "We are getting into an election year and things get crazy. They want to brand everybody who supported education in the state and supported keeping judges out of education as not trusting the people. Nobody who really understands the situation would say that. It is a pretty absurd idea that will ultimately hurt the Republican Party ... it can't do anything but backfire on them."

Thomason said the GOP was planning to make the tax increase an issue, but found out through polls that it wasn't. "They are just out trying to make it an issue," argued Thomason.

Richardson predicted there could be retaliation in the legislature because of the ads. "Unfortunately, human nature enters in and there will be some repercussions from the Republican political hierarchy striking the first blow of this election year. That is inevitable. To what extent it will affect the ability of legislators to keep the focus on their job remains to be seen."

He added, "As a Republican I make no apologies for what my political party has done. But as a legislator, my job is doing the best I can for my constituents and the citizens of the state. To the extent it has been disruptive, I am glad that the ads, at least for a time, are off the airwaves."