"People do not seem to realize that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character."--Ralph Waldo Emerson When we think of a person's character, what comes to mind first? Is it their flowery words or is it their immediate action toward others that happen to live in the world? Or do we only see the mask that folks like to masquerade around in pretending to be good people? Let's take a minute to discuss our Congressional US Representative of District 8 and " to the party of Nay" extraordinaire Jason Smith. Yes, I have previously written a few Letters to the Editor for the local about this man that is supposed to represent us on the national stage, but it's fair to say that they do not serve the justice that he rightly deserves. Let's dig in to see what shining achievements Jason has done for District. Well in his state house tentative stint the major accomplishment that can actually he claim is he was the youngest ever to be "elected" to the state legislative body in Missouri and helped to pave the way for the current policies that are wreaking havoc on our poor state's constituents. This man has had his little hands into about everything this state runs on. From the Agricultural Policy committee to the Judiciary Committee. Now folks might not think those types of things are not important, but given the fact, that Jason also set on the education committee and the Appropriations committee. It's clear, that he helped put our state agencies and schools on their knees to the point that they're so underfunded that they can no longer work as they should. In other words, he didn't work for his constituents while in the Missouri State House and that hasn't changed since moving to the US title. It could be argued that Jason and his ilk have been trying to make Missouri "ground zero" for what could be considered a dystonia "wet dream" come true since 2005. Now, am I saying that it's all his fault? No, because for a place to become a disaster it takes more than one person to get that kind of work, but it does illuminate how long the Ultra-conservative fringe framework has been in place in this state which has led our once progressive purple state to the dismal abyss of nothingness and destitution. And this leads us to his career as the US Representative. It's by far more flashy than his handiwork in Missouri's Legislation. To be perfectly clear, Jason should be called the US representative of the party of "Nay" considering his voting record. He's voted against anything that would raise our district out of impoverishment. From voting against our Vet population (which is like 70,000 people) to bringing in manufacturing plants for jobs. But I'll get into that right after we discuss how he meddled in gutting Prop B back in 2011. Prop B was a voter-approved law that was targeting the inhumane practices of CAFO, AFO, and puppy mills. Of course, this was around the same time when the Humane Society's "Dirty Dozen" list was published too. For Jason, this list was problematic because his mother had been named on the Humane Society's "Dirty Dozen" list of the worst dog breeders in the State. This scandal should have ended his political career. Most of us would have been mortified if our kin was named on a list that dubbed their business as one of the worst in an entire state, never mind it had reached the levels of the national stage. But not Jason.. Nope, he doubled down on lobbying to gut Prop B which was overwhelmingly passed by Missourians, because we care about our animals. Keep in mind that this law would have put her "business" out of business with the regulations this law called for. Of course, Mo Leg decided that voters didn't matter and overrode the process to get this bill amended to their liking because of the damage it would do to "Big Ag" production practices. Ultimately, Jason was trying to contain the scandal that involved his mom's "puppy farm" and navigate the waters of lobbying for Prop B to be gutted for his own self-interest no doubt. And it turned into more of the same of the politics of Mo Leg and state level--Corrupt and designed for a select few and not the average Missourian at the end of the day. Keep in mind, all these shining achievements of Jason's were all while he was in Mo Leg. And that brings us to his "stratagems" while sitting in the US Congressional House of Representatives. Jason joined the US House after running during the special elections of 2013 and since then has managed to get one bill called Expanding Seniors Receiving Dialysis’ Choice Act. I will give him credit for that, but his more notable actions in the House didn't start until 2015 when he made some infelicitous comments about Obergefell vs. Hodges being "unconstitutional' despite the fact that we're all entitled to the "pursuit of happiness" and the constitution actually says that in big, bold letters. Then in 2017, when the Affordable Care Act, he once again showed the world that common sense doesn't grow in everyone's garden by making a random comment during a debate about a tan salon tax. "What I found on Google is roughly 80% of who's taxed is women... Today is International Women's Day. It's interesting no one is bringing that up." He continued, "You look at the number one cause of skin cancer... It's the sun. So I've noticed the people over here haven't found too many taxes they dislike. So why have they not proposed a tax on the sun?"[1] Yes, he really said that on the floor of a congressional debate. While it's true that women suffer a "pink" tax and our products are more expensive than men's in general, made his constituents look like a bunch of bumbling fools. And to be honest, I think it's more a reflection of how he wants to portray the folks that he's supposed to be representing. It's also important to point out that in 2016 Jason had his hand in writing and passing the Tax cuts and Jobs Act under the Trump Administration. You know the "big tax cut" that either caused people to pay more in taxes or didn't affect anyone that doesn't have a bank account of at least six figures. He didn't have his constituents in mind with that law as much as his own self-interests as he directly benefited from it with a few of the LLC's he owned at the time. Now moving on to 2019, when Jason decided it was a good idea to showcase his impecunious character trait when he told Tony Cárdenas (US Rep of California) by telling the poor man to "Go back to Puerto Rico" [2]. That kind of indigent behavior is unacceptable from any congressional member, even more so from the state of Missouri. We know better and believe in manners in District 8. And while Jason had to go back and apologize for his comment, and should have sunk his career. But 2016-2020 was a different political climate than what folks were used to. Between the bewilderment and the shell shock that came from how widely sociably acceptable for people to speak to others like that--it became the norm. Thankfully, folks are going back to the world of being civil and actual discourse without the childish banter except for the few still in Mo Leg that lack the ability to be adults, but I digress as that's a topic for another day. This climate leads us to the tragic events of January 6th and Jason's role in that historical event. Now we all have different opinions on whether Jan.6th was a protest that turned from a riot to a full-scale insurrection--We all can agree it shook our little Republic and the foundation of our democracy to its core. What doesn't change is that Jason was willing to take part in the burning of our 234-year-old constitution to the ground. Of course, Josh Hawley's actions that are more in the spot, but make no mistake that Jason left his footprint on that historical day. Jason encouraged stood outside with the folks intending to overthrow our government, but he signed the amicus brief (Lawsuit to contest the election results). Naturally, Jason was reprimanded by the Speaker of the House because his oath is to the Constitution, and not the hooligans that stormed the capital. This is a stain that can never be removed from his record nor can he backpaddle to deny his intentions. I mean if we look back at his stint in Mo Leg, we can see that he's all for "Bigger Government" providing that it's his party that is in control of that form of government. One could argue that as wild as that seems that our US rep was willing to watch our institution of democracy burn to the ground.. It's not nearly as crazy as his unfounded comment about the 2021 "vaccine" mandates where he claimed that Biden was going to send in troops to vaccinate us all KGB-style.... A prediction that never came to pass because most of us went and got our shots on our own because it's what good people do in times of plague. However, it did stir up some folks that call themselves " Concerned parents" and protests of truck convoys that prove to be more of a public nuisance rather than a demonstration of needing a change in public policies. Since the coup failed, he's been busy on Twitter and Fox News trying to stir up a hornet's nest with folks over "CRT" and how the IRS is going to go after everyone with their army of agents that are going to replace the retiring and new hires over the next 10 years. Oh, and how Biden is going to break the country with "reckless spending". Now that we can see how he behaves in action rather than inaction on the congressional floor of our district, let's take a look at his voting record. Of all the major bills that have been in the news that would have drastically improved the lives of the 737, 051 people in district 8 he voted no. He voted against our vets (more than once) when it came to the PACT ACT. Jason said "nay" on capping the cost of insulin for folks. He denied district 8 the chance to better themselves by bringing in jobs by opposing the CHIPS Act. Jason also told us that "we nor our health" didn't matter when he voted against having access to birth control. Then he very publicly told us that we didn't deserve to have the infrastructure and that we must live with our potholes that are the size of the continent of Asia, crumbling bridges, and little access to the internet. Luckily for us, Other folks from around the country felt that we deserve to have our basic needs to be met. It's an understatement to say that Jason thinks that he lives in Aristocracy, and we're supposed to be just his mere serfs rather than understanding that we live in a "Free society". Ultimately, Jason's lack to be a leader or to give a damn about the district he is supposed to govern is a total reflection of his character and how he views us that live here. Maybe it's time to give Jason the message that we deserve to be better and won't tolerate his incompetence any longer. Now, we do have a choice and a practical choice that's running named Randi McCAllian. If you get a chance, y'all should check her out because she has some ideas and wants the job despite the mess Jason has left us in. Because it's bad here, and we need change to preserve our little slice of heaven and our way of life. Much Love and Peace out, Jojo Citations: 1. Holmes, Jack (March 9, 2017). "Watch This Republican Congressman Call for Taxing the Sun". Esquire. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
- "GOP rep wonders why Obamacare taxes tanning salons instead of the sun". Death and Taxes. March 8, 2017. Retrieved March 9, 2017. 2. Raasch, Chuck. "In heated moment, Missouri lawmaker yells 'go back to Puerto Rico' to House Democrats". STLtoday. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
- Scholtes, Jennifer; Emma, Caitlin; Ferris, Sarah. "GOP Rep. Jason Smith tells Democrats to 'go back to Puerto Rico!'". Politico. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
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