I was getting my car inspected the other day and ran into a member of the Missouri General Assembly whom I have supported. As we waited for our cars, we talked for a while. I asked whom the member liked to run for the Democrats in the GOP stronghold Congressional District, MO-02. He didn’t hesitate. He believes in Democrat, Mark Osmack. I looked into it. Man, oh man, Mark is the real deal. I’m going to ask right up front that you send Mark $3, here and now. I tickled the Google and found him profiled in 2011, by Time Magazine, when Mark was working as an Army Civil Affairs Officer in Afghanistan, after an earlier tour as an artillery officer. The Time profile revealed a man with a rare and easy gift for politics, as suggested by this —
Osmack, a tall, rail thin artillery officer who studied English literature at the University of Missouri, strode through the main bazaar of Kalacheh. He greeted men in the doorways of dilapidated shops with a comically loud "Salaaaaam alaykuuuuuum! How are you?" He resembled a campaigning politician more than a patrolling lieutenant as he stopped to talk to mullahs, village elders, and shop owners. After turning onto the first street off of the market, Osmack bellowed, "Hey, there's the man!" He greeted the village mosque's 23-year old mullah who has been searching for a new elder for the village. The elders are important, Osmack explained, because they have clout with the government and can request services for the community.
and this
When asked about his troops, Osmack put the deployment in perspective. "Within this war, there are three, four, five wars," Osmack Said. "Divorces, family problems, financial problems, someone's dad dies. Oh, and by the way, you have to keep your mind on what you're doing or you can get killed."
On the other side of the hill, Osmack stopped to talk to another group of elderly men. In two days, Osmack met with nearly two-dozen people, asking about security, the government, and what they thought about local projects. "If I keep seeing them, if they keep talking to me, we can get into deeper things," Osmack said. "I love people and I can talk, so this suits me."
So, hell yeah, send Mark Osmack $3 now. Help him get a leg up on his much less appealing and less politically skilled opponents In the Democratic Primary. It is a good thing that many Democrats are wanting to run for seats like this. But, we need the strongest Democrat we can get to beat back the $3 million war chest and renowned fundraising prowess of the incumbent Republican in MO-02, Congresswoman Ann Wagner.
If there is a dictionary definition of a total Republican tool, it would almost certainly sound something like the Ballotopedia biography of the Hon. Ann Wagner, Republican Member, U.S. House of Representatives, Missouri Second Congressional District.
Based on analysis of multiple outside rankings, Wagner is one of the most reliable Republican votes, meaning she can be considered a safe vote for the Republican Party in Congress.
Biography
Wagner was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. She graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia Business School in 1984, focusing on logistics.[3]
Wagner held management positions at Hallmark Cards and Ralston Purina. She served for nine years as a local committeewoman in Lafayette Township.[3] She became the first woman to occupy the post of chair of the Missouri Republican Party in 1999.[4] During her tenure as chair, Republicans in the state won historical gains.[3] In 2001, she became co-chair of the Republican National Committee, and between 2005 and 2009, Wagner served as U.S. Ambassador to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.[4]
Career
Below is an abbreviated outline of Wagner's academic, professional and political career:[5]
- 2013-Present: U.S. Representative from Missouri's 2nd Congressional District
- 2005-2009: U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg
- 2001-2005: Co-Chair, Republican National Committee
- 1999-2005: Chair, Missouri Republican Party
- 1984: Graduated from the University of Missouri, Columbia, with a B.S.
I swear, when I think of the person behind a resume like that, my mind’s eye sees a Vogon. Vogons are characters from Douglas Adams’s beloved Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, unpleasant creatures from Vogsphere who serve as the bureaucrats of the Galactic Government. Wikipedia helpfully describes Vogons as —
not actually evil, but bad-tempered, bureaucratic, officious and callous", and having "as much sex appeal as a road accident" as well as being the authors of "the third worst poetry in the universe".
I live in MO-1, the City of St. Louis. I grew up in and left for college 50 years ago, from the the St. Louis suburbs, now represented by Ms. Wagner. I came back to the City of St. Louis after I retired. I feel I have a stake in this race in the county of my childhood and youth, now my suburban neighbor. But, actually, we all have a stake in every contested House race and every Senate race in 2018. So, no matter where you live, if your heart and wallet allow you, send Mark Osmack $3. Democrats must field the strongest possible slate of challengers against incumbent Republicans for 2018.. Mark Osmack is one of those people