Only two, Sen. Ed Emery, R-Lamar, and Rep. Bill White, R-Joplin, received grades above C from the organization. Emery, in fact, received an A with a 100 percent score, while White earned a B with an 84 percent score.
The others scored as follows:
Sen. Ron Richard, R-Joplin 69 percent
Rep. Charlie Davis, R-Webb City 68 percent
Rep. Mike Kelley, R-Lamar 68 percent
Rep. Bill Lant, R-Pineville 68 percent
Rep. Bill Reiboldt, R-Neosho 68 percent
Rep. Tom Flanigan, R-Carthage 67 percent
The Americans for Prosperity Missouri news release is printed below:
Today, Americans for Prosperity Missouri announced which legislators stand with the group's core mission of promoting economic freedom and prosperity. This year, not only were the legislators measured on their votes during the 2015 legislative session, they were also awarded lifetime scores with the group. In 2015 only one State Senator and nineteen State Representatives were awarded a grade in the 'A' range. And only three State Senators and twenty-three State Representatives garnered 'A' range lifetime scores.
Following the release of the legislative scorecard, AFP Missouri Deputy State Director Rachel Payton released the following statement:
"Missourians deserve to know how their State Legislators voted on the issues. Our scorecard breaks it down vote by vote. This is a great resource for our activists, where they can see how their representatives voted, and decide if this person truly represents their views. There are several B grades that we are optimistic can be raised to "A" grades by the end of next legislative session. We look forward to working to promote economic freedom and liberty with those who have earned high marks on our scorecard."
Personally, if I were an elected official and were given a grade of C or below from Americans for Prosperity I would wear it as a red badge of courage. Senator Emery and Representative White apparently do the bidding of Americans for Prosperity without thinking twice (or thinking at all). Americans for Prosperity is a political advocacy group funded by the billionaire Koch Brothers. This group spent over $122 million dollars in 2012 opposing protections for workers, opposing health care reform, opposing environmental protection and in general opposing programs that would help the middle class. Basically, it is a special interest group that works to make sure that the billionaire Koch brothers make even more money at the expense of the majority of the citizens in this country. Senator Emery and Rep. White should be challenged as to why they follow the dictates of the Koch Brothers at the expense of their constituents.
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