Monday, November 9, 2015

Mizzou Protests Erupt

Simmering tensions started to bubble over at Mizzou with black football players announcing they’d sit out if the system president Tim Wolfe wasn’t ousted after his lackluster response to their concerns about episodes of racism on campus.  The board of curators will meet this morning at 10AM.  See the Post-Dispatch coverage here.  And Washington Post here.  And New York Times here.   I Googled news stories this morning and found 1,366 of them.  This is a national story.

Statements…

Senator Claire McCaskill: "At this point I think it is essential that the University of Missouri Board of Curators send a clear message to the students at Mizzou that there is an unqualified commitment to address racism on campus. As a graduate who cares deeply about Mizzou, I'm confident that my university can and will do better in supporting an environment of tolerance and inclusion."

Governor Jay Nixon: "Racism and intolerance have no place at the University of Missouri or anywhere in our state.  Our colleges and universities must be havens of trust and understanding.  These concerns must be addressed to ensure the University of Missouri is a place where all students can pursue their dreams in an environment of respect, tolerance and inclusion."

Assistant Minority Leader Gail McCann Beatty: “Racism has deep roots at the University of Missouri, which was built by slave labor, barred black students from admission until 1950 and hasn’t always proven welcoming to minority students since that time. Although history is immutable, a better future can be shaped if we are willing to take the difficult steps necessary to make it so.  It has become increasingly clear in recent days that UM System President Tim Wolfe is not the person to tackle the university’s racial problems and a build future for the institution that all Missourians can be proud of. For the good of the UM System, President Wolfe needs to step down without delay, and the Board of Curators must immediately address the demands of minority students.”

And

With Wolfe supposedly one of the biggest backers for the “Missouri Promise” initiative, how are the current MU woes going to impact that effort?  It’s clearly a negative for tax-scholarship proposal, but how bad is it?  Fatal?  We’ll see….

The Revenge of Carnahan?

There’s one very interesting side note on this week’s poll which showed that incumbent Congressman Lacy Clay starting with a strong lead over his announced rival Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal.  See the poll here.

Could Chappelle-Nadal’s candidacy draw some portion of the Democratic constituency – some African Americans, some young voters, some of her constituents in Senate 14 – away from their usual pattern of voting for Clay, and create an opening for a white Democrat to wrest the seat from Clay?  The one who comes to mind, of course, is Russ Carnahan who Clay elbowed out of Congress following redistricting which pitted them against one another…

Pew Poll

A reader sent me a link to a recent Pew poll.  See it here. It starts out with religious identification and practices, but make sure you get to the second half.  There’s some pretty interesting stuff in here.

They have Missourians identifying as Democrat equally with Republicans.  That’s not how I – or others – weight political polling.   Our polling seems to work, though, and it may be because of how many Missourians identify as conservative.  In other words, we may have a relatively conservative group of Independents who don’t identify as Republican, but largely vote Republican.

Also: 38% of Missourians don’t believe in evolution, much higher than I’d have expected.  And as many Missourians think that aid to the poor does harm, as think that it helps.

Anti-Koster Pro-Koster?

On Youtube there’s an anti-Chris Koster ad taking him to task for being weak on the environment.  See it here.

One reader: What stands out? “Fighting Barack Obama” and “Sue The Obama Administration.” Great Chris Koster ad. Wait, what?!

E Before I

Here is Eric Greitens’ website.  But if you typo it (something I never do) and go to EricGrietens.com, you get a tear-down website bellowing that he’s not a conservative.  See it here.

It says that it’s aid for by Patriots for America.  There is no such committee registered with the Missouri Ethics Commission.

Bits

Post-Dispatch looks at the prospects for the medical marijuana initiative petitions, notes tht two groups have competing proposals. See it here.

Missouri Victory 2016 is a new federal committee. “This committee collects contributions, pays fundraising expenses and disburses net proceeds for two or more political committees/organizations, at least one of which is an authorized committee of a federal candidate.”  Treasurer: Andrew Madras; assistant treasurer: Terrie Laswell.  See the filing here.

Sen. Eric Schmitt speaks to St. Louis Young Republicans this Thursday (STL County Library Headquarters, 7PM). “As Chairman of the Senate Committee onJobs, Economic Development and Local Government, he has crafted legislation that focuses on removing impediments to job creation including regulatory reform…”

The new Blackberry is officially for sale… The Priv… See it here.

eMailbag:

“How do the World Champ Royals not win the week? How does the City of KC and Mayor Sly James and the KCPD not win the week after an estimated crowd of 800K for a parade with only THREE arrests?”

Today’s Events

Powered by Mary Scruggs’ indispensable events calendar:

Vicki Englund - Power of the Purse Women in Leadership Event - Aschinger Electric, 877 Horan Drive, Fenton – 6PM

Help Wanted

Post-Dispatch seek reporter.  “This is not a job for just any reporter, but one equipped with a solid set of skills to work comfortably producing content on deadline for digital and print. The right candidate must be a talented and inspired writer who is not satisfied with merely covering the news. We want an aggressive reporter who can jump all over a big breaking story… This person will, at least initially, be working an afternoon/evening shift…” See the ad here.

$5K+ Contributions

Building a Better Arnold - $15,000 from Anheuser Busch Companies.

Missouri Senate Campaign Committee - $6,000 from Centurytel Inc.

Missouri Senate Campaign Committee - $25,000 from Republic Services Inc.

Missouri Senate Campaign Committee - $15,000 from Express Scripts Inc.

Smith for Missouri - $5,001 from CHIPP Political Account.

Citizens for Hinson - $5,001 from CHIPP Political Account.

Birthdays

Happy birthday to Rep. Kathy Swan.