Rebecca McClanahan for Missouri State Representative, District 2

Background:

My involvement in health care and higher education has long overlapped. I have been both a registered nurse and a professor of nursing in Northeast Missouri for over thirty years. As the Vice President of the Missouri Nurses Association, I have lobbied in Jefferson City and Washington D.C. on workforce concerns and practice issues for nurses as well as scholarships for students of nursing. To me, caring for the current generation and investing in the next are some of the most important responsibilities of government.

I am proud of my family's continuing tradition of service to Northeast Missouri. Both sets of my grandparents were farmers in the region, and my father served as a minister here for sixty years. My husband, Marvin, and I chose to stay in northern Missouri to raise our two sons, one of whom was placed with us as a foster child. Marvin, an award-winning radio announcer for a local country music station, is a Vietnam veteran and my father and father-in-law were veterans in WWII. My husband and I also enjoy being active in our church, especially the choir and other music groups. Ever trying to challenge myself with new experiences, at age 50 I went downhill skiing for the first time.

I strongly believe in embracing new technology, not only to improve education and health care but to benefit many areas of everyday life. This comes sometimes to the surprise and chagrin of my students, who don't expect anyone over thirty to know how to send mobile text messages.

Goals:

Though I have always been passionate about the issues and challenges facing Missourians, I decided to seek office after witnessing the ongoing erosion of health care, funding for education, and farmer's rights among many other programs that affect the quality of life in our state, especially in northern Missouri where the economy is less developed. During the last two years alone, at least 90,000 Missourians have lost their health care coverage and children's after school programs have been cut drastically. At the same time, the state legislature has given over $50 million for stadium projects in St. Louis. The maintenance of the status quo under Republican control is something the party is desperate to sustain. This had led, among other things, to laws making even the basic right of voting more difficult for Missouri citizens.

We can do better, and we must do better for the Missouri citizens losing their jobs, their health care, and their trust in the government. I am and have always been dedicated to the service of my community. That is why, after watching life get increasingly more difficult for those in northern Missouri due to the decisions of their supposed advocates, I am driven to respond to the critical need for responsive and proactive representation. I am committed to a change for the people of the second district.

Issues:

Missourians need health care. Medicare has been cut dramatically, leaving thousands of children uninsured. Prescription drug coverage has become so bad that one couple married for thirty years reported being told that getting a divorce was the only way to ensure prescription coverage for the wife. In the history of the Missouri State Legislature, only two nurses have ever held office and I believe my position affords me an expertise and a perspective that would prove beneficial in representing northern Missouri. Also, specializing in mental health nursing, I am particularly concerned with the treatment of at-risk populations. The recent cases of abuse and neglect are quite troubling.

Public education in northern Missouri has consistently been undercut at every level. I cannot stress enough the importance of full support of teachers and students to rural communities. What should be our legislature's top fiscal priority has seen its budget reduced session after session, to the point that our state university only receives about half of its funding from the government. This trend of devaluing the most important resource we provide for our children needs not only to be stopped, it needs to be reversed.

The economy of rural areas introduces specific challenges as well as opportunities. Challenges include providing adequate support to farm families, a forward looking approach to the job market, and creating robust resources to improve the lives of those living under the poverty line. Yet, opportunities abound to embrace and develop technologies that could improve not only the national economy but also the environment, and the lives of American citizens, such as projects in biodiesel research. The current Missouri legislature is neither facing these difficulties for its citizens not considering these possibilities for their future.

Grassroots Support:

Our entire campaign is grassroots. We wouldn't want to do it any other way. Winning back the seat aside, one of our main goals is to re-engage the local Democratic base that has been sorely neglected over the past few years. In a sense, though, we cannot help but use grassroots organization: our district is largely rural and contains approximately 33,000 people. Campaigning person to person with the help of volunteers is a vital element of our campaign. Our opponent is the wife of a former representative with little real experience of her own, but she has strong political backing from the Republican party as well as a great deal of money at her disposal. However, we have the energy and enthusiastic support of many residents from every demographic in our region. Therefore, our campaign focuses heavily on real person, face-to-face interaction. This is especially important given the levels of low efficacy and high cynicism toward government in our areas voters. This personal campaigning may be the only means to restore confidence in an elected official. Letting people know who we are as a campaign, giving them the opportunity to be involved, and making sure they turn out to vote are the vital component to our success.

Turnout in the region is expected to be somewhat low and on the university campus, it is abysmal. Eighty percent of registered students are expected to stay home on Election Day and many others are registered in their home counties. Also, with the new Photo ID law, it will be even more difficult for rural seniors or disabled citizens to vote. In response to this situation, we have an exciting plan, inspired by Steve Ybarra from Latinos for America, to increase the turnout rates among students and help everyone overcome the obstacles put in place by the Photo ID law. I am eager to engage our students and local residents - including many disenchanted crossover Republicans - in a process that so directly impacts them. Doubtlessly, we have a tough fight ahead, but the timing is right and the need is there. Now is the best chance we have to regain a seat that has been mistreated in Republican hands for the past twelve years.

DFA Values:

To quote Paul Wellstone, "Government is about doing well for people." I firmly believe that government should help, not hinder, every citizen to live as they wish. Every power our government has is given it by the citizens and it is the citizens who should benefit from it. Thus, the priority issues in my campaign include access to quality health care for every person regardless of ability to pay, stopping the attack on funding for higher education, and full funding for public education. I am aware of the need for a state/federal partnership to fully accomplish these goals. A living wage for workers is also something I am fervently in support of in order that families can support themselves appropriately. Similarly, I support labor organizations and the right to collective bargaining. Finally, I am committed to equality for all groups regardless of identifying characteristics including gender and sexual orientation.

The most fiscally responsible approach to government is to establish appropriate priorities for spending. Fiscal decisions in Missouri during the last few years have been made with an utter lack of compassion and a complete lack of regard for our most vulnerable citizens. Health care services have been slashed deeply removing almost 100, 000 people from Medicaid, while giving $50 million to build a stadium and posting a surplus in the budget.