Issues

Click to read more about the positions that the Adam Smith Foundation was created to defend:

• Judicial Reform
• Government Accountability
• Education Reform
• Tax & Spending Reform
• Protecting Private Property

HIGHLIGHTS from the BLOG:

Judicial Reform

The Missouri Court Plan, Missouri’s judicial selection process, allows judges to be appointed regardless of merit or the willingness to protect the Missouri Constitution. The Adam Smith Foundation believes it is time to improve the Missouri Court Plan by restoring integrity and accountability to the judicial selection process.

The Missouri Constitution makes clear that our government is of, for, and by the people. As the very first section in that Constitution declares: "All political power is vested in and derived from the people; that all government of right originates from the people, is founded upon their will only, and is instituted solely for the good of the whole."

The purpose of Missouri's judicial branch is to stand in the way of government officials in any branch of government when they attempt to violate the will of the people of Missouri as expressed in the Constitution. Because the Constitution is the "last" voice of the people, it is especially important for the judicial branch to interpret it strictly so that no government official can take power that the people have not given them.

Unfortunately, the judges appointed between 1993 and 2005 have been hand-picked by influential special interest groups who have a strong financial and ideological incentive to appoint judges who agree with them.

These special interest groups know that Missourians would never agree with their liberal agenda. So they have been manipulating Missouri's judicial selection process to pack the court with judicial candidates who will go around the voice of the people.

The activist judges they have appointed are undermining the Constitution by giving it the meaning they prefer instead of the meaning originally intended by our founders. In case after case, involving abortion, the death penalty, workers’ compensation, tort liability, and many other issues, these activist judges have been substituting their own liberal agenda for the law.

The Adam Smith Foundation believes it is time to put an end to this corruption. Like Missourians, we support judges who believe that our state, like our nation, is one of laws and not of men. That is why we support reform efforts that will ensure the appointment of judges who pledge to uphold the Missouri Constitution and who exhibit humility and judicial restraint.

By working with Missourians who share our commitment to checks and balances we will guarantee that the men and women appointed to the judicial branch are looking out for the rule of law and not the goals of special interest groups.

Call Representative Kingery and tell him that Missouri's term limits work!!

Representative Kingery has sponsored HJR 13, a bill proposing to change Missouri's term limits by allowing legislators to spend a total of 16 years in the state legislature, apportioned however they choose between the House and Senate. This is a change from the current system, which allows the same maximum number of years, 16, but imposes a maximum of eight years in the House and eight years in the Senate. It may seem like a minor change since the maximum overall term remains the same, but the "flexibility" of this new proposal can undo the benefits of our current system, leading to entrenchment and reduced competition.
Please call Representative Kingery at 573-751-4039 and tell him to leave Missouri's term limits alone.
You can read more about his bill here.