Dems React: "Fluff . . . No Substance"

State Senate Minority Leader Maida Coleman swiftly described Governor Matt Blunt's State of the State address in three words . . . "fluff, no substance."

House Democrats also panned the Governor's 2007 agenda, especially his focus on renaming the state's Medicaid program "Mo. HealthNet."

"Although Gov. Matt Blunt promised HealthNet would guarantee that every participant had access to care, his plan would only restore coverage to a few thousand of the more than 177,000 Missourians, including 70,000 children whose health care was unnecessarily eliminated by the Governor," blasted House Minority Leader Jeff Harris.

"This so-called plan completely fails to live up to the promise Gov. Blunt made to Missourians in his speech," Harris added. "The governor said our policies should reflect our values. House Democrats agree, but denying health care to the sick, elderly and disabled is not a Missouri value."

State Rep. Margaret Donnelly, a member of the State Medicaid Reform Commission said the Governor's proposal is nothing new. "This isn't reform. He simply is using new language in an attempt to distract people from his harmful healthcare cuts," Rep. Donnelly said.

The Economy
On the issue of jobs, Democrats accused the Governor of being out of touch with economic reality. They point to Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics showing Missouri having the sixth-worst job growth in 2006, and note that Missouri is currently tied for the 13th worst-unemployment rate in the nation.

Education
Democrats advocate a 12.6% boost for higher education, totaling $110.7 million. That's more than double the $40 million more the Governor is proposing. "The recent explosion in tuition costs is a direct result of the state's failure to support higher ed," Harris said. "The governor's plan barely keeps up with the rate of inflation."

Attorney General and 2008 candidate for Governor Jay Nixon gave the official Democratic response. You can watch his rebuttal to Gov. Blunt HERE. Was Nixon's response too political?
The G.O.P. is calling it "a thinly disguised campaign commercial." (No? Really!) Tony Messenger blasted Nixon for his own "lack of substance," and thinks it was inappropriate for Nixon to respond, rather than a state legislator. (Who's the Jim Webb of the State Dems?)

But hey Tony! What's your beef with my Presidency? There's nothing wrong with a TV guy being the leader of the free world? Remember Reagan! :)