Who Is Your Pick for Missouri’s Hall of Fame? August 22, 2013

So who do you think should be in Missouri’s Hall of Famous Missourians at the state capitol?
Missouri House Speaker says he’s opening up the nominating process for two of the next three inductees.
Two years ago, the inclusion of conservative radio commentator Rush Limbaugh, a Missouri native, touched on a controversy.
Former House Speaker Steve Tilley made that selection.
There are more than 40 bronze busts of well known Missourians placed in the halls of the Capitol. They include former President Harry Truman, Mark Twain and Walt Disney.
Missouri House Speaker Tim Jones says he wants too know who Missourians want to add to that list.
““During my time as a member of the Missouri House I have heard from citizens from all around this state who have strong opinions about great Missourians that should be included in the Hall,” Jones said in a statement.
Jones says Missourians can nominate someone online at http://www.house.mo.gov from now until September 13.
He says they will develop a Top 10 List for another vote.
The speaker expects to select two of the nominees off that list. The final voting will close on October 13.
He will make a decision on the third inductee.
The Speaker’s news release notes, “To visit the Hall of Famous Missourians inductee nomination page directly, please visit http://www.house.mo.gov/FamousMissourianSuggestions.aspx. Suggestions will be accepted until Friday, September 13. Voting will conclude Sunday, October 13”.

Limbaugh to Mo Dems on Obama Rodeo Clown: “You Can’t Take a Joke” August 14, 2013

Rush Limbaugh on Wednesday decried the left for not being able to take a joke, comparing reaction to a Missouri State Fair rodeo clown performing wearing a President Barack Obama mask to outrage over Prophet Muhammad cartoons.

“He’s the president of the United States! They get made fun of! They get laughed at all the time! Fun is poked at ’em. I know this happens to be the first African-American one, but that should not insulate this president from standard, ordinary, everyday treatment, analysis, whatever,” Limbaugh said on his radio show Wednesday, according to a transcript.

Earlier this week, Democratic politicians including Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill and Rep. William Lacy Clay slammed the act at the state fair, calling it “ugly” and intolerant.” The clown who performed the show was banned from the fair.

“You know, you people on the left, who the hell do you think you are? You can’t laugh. You can’t take a joke. You can’t take a punch. You can’t take anything,” Limbaugh said Wednesday. “One little thing that you don’t like and this clown can never work, everybody involved is resigning.”

Limbaugh, who grew up in Southern Missouri, said the reaction was as though Obama was a religious “messiah.”

“This is no different than those countries reacting freakishly when there were cartoons of the prophet Mohammed. That is exactly what this is,” Limbaugh said. “C. S. Lewis said the devil can’t stand being made fun of. The devil can’t stand being mocked. … You people on the left, I know you don’t have the capacity for shame, but this is just absolutely – a clown now fearing for his life?”

Ditto-Cam: Limbaugh Bust Has Security Camera Trained on It May 22, 2012

Another oddity is surfacing in the Rush Limbaugh bust in the Hall of Famous Missourians at the state capitol in Jefferson City.
ABC News notes the Limbaugh bust has its own security camera dedicated to it.
The report cited Missouri House Communication Director Trevor Fox saying a security camera was installed specifically for the bust of the conservative radio broadcaster.
The bust of the Missouri native was installed in a brief ceremony limited to some, but not all, lawmakers and the capitol press corps.
House Democrats complained about the restricted ceremony.
The Limbaugh bust ignited a political firestorm in Missouri. Partly because Limbaugh was taking heat nationally fo calling a woman he disagreed with on the Obama health care law a ‘slut’ and a “prostitute” on his radio broadcast.

35K Anti Rush Petitions Delivered to Speaker’s Office March 28, 2012

(AP) – Women’s rights groups say they’ve delivered petitions bearing 35,000 signatures to the speaker of the Missouri House opposing his plan to induct Rush Limbaugh into the Hall of Famous Missourians.

About 200 people from abortion rights and women’s groups rallied at the Capitol on Wednesday. The groups say talk radio host showed disrespect to women last month when he described a law student as a “slut” and “prostitute.” Limbaugh has since apologized for his language.

House Speaker Steven Tilley, a Republican from Perryville, confirmed earlier this month that he has commissioned a bronze bust of Limbaugh to be placed among other honorees inside the Capitol.

Tilley says Limbaugh is an important, if controversial, figure in Missouri’s history. Limbaugh is from Cape Girardeau.

Another Rally Planned for Capitol Today, the Only Way Rush & Women’s Rights Get Together March 28, 2012

A day after a big rally at the Missouri State Capitol Tuesday, another is in the works for Wednesday (see previous post).
Opponents of President Obama’s health care law staged a rally Tuesday urging Missouri lawmakers not to set up the new law’s state health exchange.
Wednesday, organizers of the ‘Rally Against Rush and for Women’s Health’, say they’ll gather at the state capitol.
Democratic Floor Leader Tishaura Jones and others will voice their objections to Rush Limbaugh, a bust in his honor in the capitol and legislation pending in the General Assembly. Jones, and others, think at least two proposed measures attack access to birth control.
Tuesday the Republican legislature moved ahead on two fronts.
The State Senate passed a bill letting employers refuse to provide health insurance coverage for birth control in some instances.
The House passed a bill permitting some health providers to refuse to be involved in procedures that may object to on moral or religious grounds.
Organizers of the Wednesday rally say they will deliver 35,000 letter to House Speaker Steve Tilley and Governor Jay Nixon.
Tilley authorized a bust of the conservative broadcaster be placed in the Hall of Famous Missourians in the state capitol. It became a cause after Limbaugh caught heat from the political left for calling woman who testified before Congress for access to birth control under the Affordable Health Care Act a “slut”.
A news release says the rally starts at 12:45 near the Riverside Fountain on the state capitol’s north side.