The golfer's guide to the Missouri House of Representatives

It was the scene of one of the most memorable tournaments in U. S. Open history.

Playing with an injured knee that would require surgery shortly after the tournament, Tiger Woods staged a comeback over the last nine holes, recording a birdie on the 18th hole that forced a playoff.

On the 19th hole, Woods beat the previously unknown Rocco Mediate and captured yet another major championship.

That classic battle took place at Torrey Pines, described on its website as being "situated atop cliffs, towering above the Pacific Ocean in San Diego." It is described as "a golfer's paradise."

On Aug. 4, a Missourian walked that same golfer's paradise, playing the same holes that Tiger Woods had immortalized two years earlier. History won't record what Tim Jones scored, either on that day, or on the following day when Jones, a Republican Missouri state representative from Eureka, played the course, courtesy of the same lobbyists who always show a keen understanding of the pressures that face elected officials and their need for exercise and recreation.

On Aug. 4, Jones, who was attending the annual American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) meeting, played a round of golf and a meal, courtesy of AT&T lobbyist John Sondag to the tune of $224.65. The following day, Jones hit the links once more, with lobbyist Travis Brown paying $115.55 for what was termed as "entertainment" with location listed as "Torrey Pines" on documents filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission.

While lobbyists took care of Tim Jones' golf and meals during the ALEC convention and have paid for at least seven other golfing ventures for Jones during the first eight months of 2010, the other costs for Jones and several of his GOP colleagues to attend the two-day convention were borne by the taxpayers.

Having  taxpayers and lobbyists foot the bill  for Jones' fun-and-sun trip is particularly galling when you consider the message sent by Jones and his colleagues after they passed a budget that cost thousands of Missourians their jobs and forced others to live on less money than they had made previously.

In the video that accompanies this post, Jones addressed the work done by the Republican majority in the Missouri House on the state budget. "We are in difficult financial times," he said. "Like every American family, we felt government should have to tighten its belt."

Apparently, that belt tightening did not cover unnecessary out-of-state trips.

While Jones was golfing, as I noted in an October 2 post on The Turner Report, other Republican legislators, including Speaker of the House Ron Richard, and their wives, were participating in wine tasting, courtesy of lobbyists, and were having family vacations paid for by hard working Missourians.

While they were at the ALEC conference, they were able to listen to speakers telling them how to stop the federal government from encroaching on the states and taking more money from state budgets. One of those speakers was Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, who has filed a lawsuit against the federal health care program, an action he took because of the concern he had about extra costs being forced on the states and freedoms being taken away from his constituents.

This overwhelming concern for Missouri taxpayers does not appear to extend to attending a conference put on by the very organization that has been writing word for word many of the bills that have become legislative priorities across the nation.

A cached page from the ALEC website indicated that the cost of attending the session for legislators was $710, while the cost for spouses and children was $150 apiece.


ALEC convention guests were able to get the discounted rate of $219 a night for single rooms, $239 for double rooms, and $259 for triple and above at the Manchester Grand Hyatt, which boasts in its advertising of its "spectacular waterfront location" and "lavish amenities."

What a hypocritical message these legislators are sending to Missourians. The rules that apply to all of us, the economic situation that has forced many to live from paycheck to paycheck, if they are even receiving paychecks, do not apply to those few who are representing the public trust.

It is the kind of mixed message that deserves considerable thought. Perhaps Rep. Jones and his colleagues can talk it over during a round of golf.