We the People of Johnson County Missouri - Sunday, November 25, 2024 📢 ACTION NEEDED re: Speaker of the House of Representatives
Hi Folks!
There is activity going on in Jefferson City in the House of Representatives that you need to know about.
This LINK (click on LINK) is a video of Byron Keelin, Chair of Freedom Principle MO, talking with Justin Sparks - Republican Representative for District 110, near St. Louis, talking about concerns regarding the “informally elected” Speaker of the House, Rep. Jon Patterson. I’ll give you the bullet points, but the conversation is well worth the listen.
When freshmen Representatives come to the HRCC (House Republican Campaign Committee) they are greeted by an “informally elected” Speaker of the House. The Speaker is “informally” elected at the end of the previous legislative session, and formally installed the following January when sessions begin.
Okay…so what? The installation often is not a vote, but rather decided by “acclamation,” which means at the beginning of Sessions it is stated that, “Rep. So-And-So has been chosen by ‘acclamation,’ - all in favor say, Aye.” Pretty much everyone says, “aye,” and the meeting proceeds. BUT…there was no real vote, and there was only one option.
This year we have a large number of freshmen Representatives who were elected because the Grassroots rebelled against the “establishment choices” and elected their own person as candidate. Someone they chose. Someone they felt they could trust to actually Represent their needs.
The total number of freshman Representatives is about 55-56-ish. None of these folks have much idea of the power the Speaker wields.
Speaker of the House decides which bills actually make it to the floor to be voted on or not. THAT’S A LOT OF POWER.
ENTER JUSTIN SPARKS vs Jon Patterson
Justin Sparks is a 2 year Senator. He knows the upcoming “informally elected” Speaker Jonathon (Jon) Patterson. He has watched Rep. Patterson vote and noted the following:
Though a Republican, Patterson voted for numerous red flag laws for gun ownership
Justin Sparks sponsored the SAFE Act to protect children from transgender hormone and surgery treatments. Jon Patterson was the only Republican Representative to vote AGAINST the SAFE Act.
Justin Sparks has some of the highest conservative ratings for his votes as a Representative. Jon Patterson has very low ratings for conservative voting.
Justin Sparks voted FOR IP Reform to prevent abortion from getting on the Missouri ballot. Jon Patterson voted AGAINST IP Reform.
Justin Sparks sponsored HJR131 last year. HJR131 would have provided a Pro-LIFE Amendment #4, that would have gone on the MO Ballot to combat Amendment #3, which allowed abortion to be an inalienable RIGHT within our MO Constitution. Jon Patterson personally blocked Amendment #4 from coming to a vote.
Jon Patterson is from Democrat-controlled Jackson County. The Republican County Committee in Jackson County signed their own resolution denouncing Patterson and supporting Justin Sparks! They know Patterson doesn't support Republican values, and they're done with it.
NOW, in 2025 Justin Sparks has found himself in a situation where he must vote for Jon Patterson for Speaker of the House, as he is the only Republican option.
He finds it impossible to do with good conscience. He hoped for another alternative. None came forward.
Justin Sparks decided to run against Patterson as Speaker.
SO. That’s the short version of the video.
In addition, Justin Sparks wants to simplify the Rules followed by the House such that:
ALL submitted bills are entertained on the floor; not just some of them that are chosen by one person: the Speaker.
Any member of the House caucus can call for a vote to remove the Speaker, which provides OUR REPRESENTATIVES A CHOICE in who is Speaker. This returns OUR VOICE to our legislative system, as opposed to being silenced by the will of a Speaker of the House.
Currently, committee Chairmanships within the House are decided by how much a Representative pledges to contribute to HRCC (that’s the House Republican Campaign Committee, remember them…?). As such, a Committee Chairmanship is decided by the “highest bidder/pledger” instead of the person most qualified for the job. Ex: If a lawyer pledged more money to be the Chair of the Military Committee, s/he could become the Chair over an experienced Veteran Marine who pledged less money.
YOU NOW HAVE COMPLETED A HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 101 MINI-CLASS. Or at least the “trailer.”
You and I cannot vote for Speaker of the House on January 8, 2025. ONLY our Representatives can do that. I’ve attached a link below with a resolution you can sign, asking your Representative to vote in favor of Justin Sparks. Here’s the link to sign. REPACCMO will email the names collected from the website to all Representatives the first week of January. This way our Representatives know OUR WILL, and hear OUR VOICES.
THAT GIVES US A VOICE. IT GIVES OUR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVE A VOICE.
Justin Sparks is MAGA. Jon Patterson is establishment.
I encourage you to click the link above and sign the resolution right NOW! DON’T DELAY. Here it is again in case you lost it! repaccmo.com
I also encourage you to copy/paste whatever part of this post you want to 5 people in Missouri and encourage them to share. Again, DO IT NOW, LEST YOU FORGET!!!
Please SHARE THIS ON YOUR fb, X, Instagram, whatever social media(s) you use.
Time is of the essence, and this IS IMPORTANT. PLEASE TAKE ACTION!!!