It was one year ago today that “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” first profiled Jeff Pogue, a member of the Missouri House of Representatives since 2012 who just was re-elected in 2018 after simply winning the GOP Primary with 75% of the vote. In the six years he’s been in office, Pogue has become one of the most radical extremists in the Missouri Republican Party, and that’s really saying something. It’s not just the bills he votes for, but the plainly unconstitutional ones he submits that have garnered our notice.
In February of 2014, Pogue and a bunch of other Missouri GOP legislators filed articles of impeachment against then Governor Jay Nixon for allowing married same-sex couples to jointly file their state taxes. When a state judge ruled eight months later that Missouri must recognize same-sex couples from other states, Pogue called on any officials who recognized same-sex marriages to be removed from office as a means to “stop this Midstate crisis”. In March of 2015, we really began hearing Pogue’s name when he became one of the early supporters of transphobic bathroom bans by sponsoring not just one, but two separate bills to try and eliminate unisex public bathrooms, and to block state funding to any company that ignored that edict. This came on the heels of other anti-LGBT legislation from Pogue, including HB 1337, which would allow government officials to refuse to solemnize same-sex couples’ marriages if doing so violated their religious beliefs.
If you’re still not getting the picture, during the current term of the Missouri State legislature, Pogue sponsored an abortion ban. To be clear, that’s not a ban on abortion at 20 weeks, or a ban if a fetal heartbeat can be detected, he just up and pretended that the Roe v. Wade ruling isn’t a thing and tried to criminalize abortion, declaring it first degree murder. He’s also riding the coat tails of the Center for Medical Progress, attempting to ban the donation of fetal tissue to medical research laboratories based on the fraudulent “sting” videos used by conservatives to attack Planned Parenthood in 2016.
Some of the more extreme bills in Missouri that Pogue has simply voted for include a constant dedication to pushing for unnecessary enhancement of Voter ID regulations to help suppress the vote, various votes against raising the minimum wage during the greatest period of income inequality in our nation in almost a century, an attempt at forcing school children to recite the Pledge of Allegiance… in ENGLISH, a vote to nullify federal firearms laws, a vote to prevent “the enforcement of foreign laws” based on paranoid Islamophobes fearing a rise of Sharia Law in the United States, and a vote to prevent the implementation of the United Nations’ Agenda 21 Environmental Treaty based on the fever dreams of hard-right loons convinced it was a secret plot for global domination.
Suffice to say, we know term limits in the Missouri House of Representatives won’t push Pogue from his seat in the state legislature until 2020, and we’re hoping that he doesn’t seek higher office in the next election.
One Year Ago, November 18th, 2017: Jeff Pogue (MO)… Original Profile
Two Years Ago, November 18th, 2016: Matt Salmon (AZ)… 2016 Update
Three Years Ago, November 18th, 2015: Matt Salmon (AZ)… 2015 Update
Four Years Ago, November 18th, 2014: Matt Salmon (AZ)… Original Profile