Republican Senate candidate Chuck Purgason spoke to TEA Party members from Ledgerland and Columbia via videoconference at a meeting Friday night at the Teal Lake Shelter in Mexico.
Purgason, who is a state senator from Caulfield, had been scheduled to appear in person to speak to TEA Partiers as part of his campaign for the Republican nomination in the U.S. Senate race, but was attending a party function in St. Joseph.
Before speaking to the crowd Friday, Purgason said he believes many TEA Party members will support him in the Aug. 3 primary vote.
“Absolutely,” he said when asked if he thinks the movement members will vote for him. “I think the TEA Party and the silent majority of Americans understand that D.C. politicians are spinning us into a ditch that we can’t get out of.”
In addition to the Purgason campaign, members of the Fair Tax movement, proponents of Proposition C and a Constitution Party candidate were present at Friday’s meeting, handing out campaign literature and other items.
Before Purgason spoke, the audience heard from speakers with the Fair Tax movement and the Show Me Tea Party in Columbia. Chris O’Connor, organizer of the Mid MO 9/12 Project in Columbia asked the audience at Friday’s meeting to come to one of four protests in support of Proposition C. He said the group would hold protests in Mexico, Fulton and Columbia.
If passed, Proposition C would block certain parts of the recently passed federal healthcare overhaul from affecting Missouri residents. O’Connor said passing the proposition was important because many people had opposed the federal bill.
“This bill was shoved down our throats without a glass of water and I don’t know if people know what’s going to happen once it goes into effect,” O’Connor said.
Purgason appeared on a large television screen onstage just before sunset to cheers and applause from the TEA Party members. He apologized for not appearing in person, but quickly talked about the reasons for his run, which include disagreements he has with his own party.
“I come from a party that believes in a balanced budget,” he said. “Our party had control of Congress from 2006 to 2008 and you’d have thought we’d have a balanced budget in that time, but we actually ended up with $1.4 trillion in debt.”
He also talked about his recent filibuster of an auto jobs bill recently passed by the state legislature in special session. Purgason filibustered the Automotive Manufacturing Jobs Act for 21 hours before the Senate passed it.
The bill will give auto manufacturers about $150 million in tax breaks over the next decade and is aimed at persuading Ford Motor Company to keep its plant in Claycomo open. Purgason said he thinks the government should give tax breaks to all industries.
“People saw that I was willing to stand up for what I believe in,” he said. “I think the bill allowed us to pick winners and losers in what is supposedly a free market system and I oppose that.”
Purgason is widely viewed to be an underdog in the Republican nomination race behind U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt. He said the campaign is working to raise money for a final advertising push before next week’s primary vote and he implored Tea Party members to turn out at the polls to vote.
“It is time for you to go out and take this country back, for your children and your grandchildren,” he said.
Mexico resident Beverly DeOrnellis, a member of the Show Me Tea Party, echoed Purgason’s message about the importance of the election as she sat with her mother, Amber Lawrence of San Antonio. As they cooled themselves with Fair Tax themed fans in the sweltering evening heat, DeOrnellas said rising levels of federal spending concern her.
“We’d like to take our country back and see if we can’t stop some of this spending that’s taking away from our next generation,” she said.
On Saturday, TEA Party members from the Ledgerland area gathered at Hardin Park for the protest in favor of Proposition C. More than a dozen protesters marched at the park holding signs with slogans including “Honk 4 Freedom” and “Yes on Prop C.”
If passed, Proposition C would block Missouri residents from the requiremnt that they purchase health insurance or face a fine. Mexico resident Mary Jo Davis said Saturday that she opposes the federal requirement, which is being challenged by several lawsuits against the federal government.
“Everyone has the freedom to have personal healthcare without penalty,” she said.
Mexico, Mo. —
