Barnes is the Top Democratic Challenger in the Country

Kay Barnes represents one of the best chances in the nation for a Democrat to knock off a Republican, according to Congressional Quarterly. Below is some relevant portions of the article.


Best-funded House challengers for 2008

1) Jim Ryun, R, Kansas’ 2nd, $880,000 (Nancy Boyda, D)
2) Sandy Treadwell, R, New York’s 20th, $822,000 (Kirsten Gillibrand, D)
3) Francisco “Quico” Canseco, R, Texas’ 23rd, $819,000 (Ciro D. Rodriguez, D)
4) Andrew Saul, R, New York’s 19th, $782,000 (John Hall, D)
5) Deborah Honeycutt, R, Georgia’s 13th, $708,000 (David Scott, D)
6) Kay Barnes, D, Missouri’s 6th, $656,000 (Sam Graves, R)
7) Jim Hines, D, Connecticut’s 4th, $618,000 (Christopher Shays, R)
8) Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, R, Texas’ 22nd, $607,000 (Nick Lampson, D)
9) Christine Jennings, D, Florida’s 13th, $592,000 (Vern Buchanan, R)
10) Dan Seals, D, Illinois’ 10th, $567,000 (Mark Steven Kirk, R)

The races:
. . .
6) Missouri’s 6th District (St. Joseph, part of Kansas City)

Challenger: Kay Barnes, Democrat ($656,000 raised, $578,000 cash on hand)

Incumbent: Sam Graves , Republican ($948,000 raised, $756,000 cash on hand)

Barnes this year finished an eight-year run as mayor of Kansas City, part of which is included in a district that also takes in suburbs of that city — and substantial rural territory in northwest Missouri that is Graves’ political base. Barnes surely will be the toughest Democratic challenger faced to date by Graves, who won narrowly in 2000 to succeed retiring Democratic Rep. Pat Danner but has easily beaten subpar Democratic opposition in subsequent elections.


What does this mean? Unlike former candidates up against Graves and his hatchet man, Jeff Roe, Mayor Barnes will have the tools she needs to win. Holding Graves accountable for his votes on SCHIPS, making sure people know of Roe's in your face attacks - everything can be put before the voters.

Catholics Support SCHIP; oppose Graves

In one corner we have Bush and Congressman Graves - in the other we have Senator Kit Bond, Mayor Kay Barnes and social justice Catholics. The boxing match is over whether we should provide health care to poor kids.

That's right, Catholics have a lot of social justice left in them. Christianity is not all about abortion. Catholics United is starting a radio campaign today which is designed to hold Congressman Graves accountable for his votes on SCHIPS (health care for poor kids). The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Catholic Charities USA, and the Catholic Health Association have all urged Congress and President Bush to support SCHIP. Chris Korzen, executive director of Catholics United, said

“Building a true culture of life requires public policies that promote the welfare of the most vulnerable.At the heart of the Christian faith is a deep and abiding concern for the need of others. Pro-life Christians who serve in Congress should honor this commitment by supporting health care for poor children.”

To hear the radio ad which is being played on talk radio and Christian radio, go to Catholics United web site. There's a large Catholic presence in St. Joseph, Missouri - right in the heart of the 6th Congressional District. Here's a hearty AMEN to Catholics United for being pro-life, for the whole life of God's creation.

Republicans Seek to Override Bush (and Graves) on SCHIPS

You know the controversy, Congress passed an expansion of SCHIP (health care for poor kids). Congressman Graves voted against it (because he thinks it has something to do with illegal immigration). Senator Bond voted for it. Mayor Barnes said she would support SCHIP.

The end of times must be approaching because now Republican Senators are talking about an override of Bush's veto of SCHIP. Isn't that an override of Congressman Graves, too? How did Graves get so far out of step from the rest of the Republicans and the Country? Read the letter to the Wall Street Journal from Senators Grassley (R - Iowa) and Hatch (R - Utah).

Compromise Bill Sets Up A Less Expensive Schip
We were dismayed by the mischaracterization of the Children's Health Insurance Reauthorization Act of 2007 in your Sept. 28 editorial "Schip for Everyone." You did not accurately portray the work and diligence that went into crafting this truly bipartisan compromise, which passed the Senate twice with 18 Republican senators voting "aye." Due to our participation, the bill is significantly less expensive than the Schip reserve fund in the Democrats' budget, prohibits state waivers for covering adult men and non-pregnant women, and refocuses on low-income children by cutting federal matching dollars to states covering those over 300% of poverty.

In order to find and cover even half of the six million eligible but unenrolled kids, the Congressional Budget Office said we needed to spend more money than the president proposed.

Assertions that the bill expands coverage to higher-income children are baseless. In fact, the bill puts tremendous pressure on states to not cover higher incomes. Just like now, the only way a state may cover higher income families is with administration approval, which the Bush administration has given repeatedly.

We want this practice to stop, so our bill specifically targets Schip coverage to low-income children. It says that if states cover higher income families over 300% of poverty, then the money they get from the federal government is cut, and by 2010, they get no funding for such coverage if the state isn't covering most of its low-income children.

This is not an entitlement program. The legislation passed by the House would have turned Schip into an uncapped entitlement, but the compromise bill maintains the Senate position for a capped block grant.

Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R., Utah)
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa)
Washington

Barnes v. Graves: SCHIPS makes the decision black and whte

Graves couldn't make the decision on who to vote for any easier. Do we provide health care insurance for poor kids or not.

You have Mayor Kay Barnes and Senator Kit Bond on one side, President Bush and Congressman Graves on the other. The House and the Senate both passed the expansion of SCHIPS. Bush vetoed the bill, Graves voted against the bill.

That crazy liberal, Senator Kit Bond, had this to say:

“SCHIP is a valuable safety net for needy children in families who don’t have the means to purchase affordable health care. Millions of children receive the vital well-child and preventative care, vaccinations, and emergency care they need to grow, learn and thrive thanks to the SCHIP Program. I am proud of my votes to create SCHIP in 1997 and to reauthorize the program today.”

Bond also has glowing things to say of Barnes

“Obviously the mayor and I are of different political parties, but the people of Kansas City expect elected leaders to work together to get things done,” Bond said in the release. “Because of [Barnes’s] commitment and dedication, Kansas City is a better place to live and work.”

Northeast Missouri voters (and 10% of those votes also come from Eastern Jackson County) have a black and white decision; do we want to support kicking kids off health insurance (vote for Graves) or do we follow the lead of Senator Kit Bond and vote for health care for poor kids and Mayor Kay Barnes.

Bush Vetos SCHIP

President George W. Bush, the guy who never uses his veto pen and who has run up 9 trillion worth of debt, has vetoed an expansion SCHIP.

The State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) is a national program in the United States which provides health insurance for families who earn too much money to qualify for Medicaid, yet cannot afford to buy private insurance.
State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)—a successful program that provides health care to millions of low-income children. Sen. Bond voted for it. Sen. McCaskill voted for it. Kay Barnes supports the measure. Congressman Graves voted against it.

On Monday, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) organized a group of parents and children that marched to the White House to protest Bush's upcoming veto. What happened when they got there? They were asked to go away. But wait, it gets worse—two days before vetoing health care for millions of low-income children, George Bush had the nerve to issue a presidential proclamation commemorating—you guessed it—"Child Health Day."

Who could be against providing health care to kids? The guy who only does things that makes profits for his friends in the oil business, that's who.