Tuesday, September 8, 2015
Schmitt to Unveil Anti-Iran Plan
Sen. Eric Schmitt will unveil his plan to prevent the new Iran agreement from allowing Missouri money to go to that state. The press advisory: Senator Eric Schmitt will be holding a conference call at 10:30 am Tuesday to discuss plans to keep taxpayer money from going to countries that sponsor terrorism.
Final Throes of Gay Marriage Fight
Republican AG Josh Hawley said if voters elected him, he would do his best to help county clerks decide for themselves whether to issue marriage licenses or not. See Jo Mannies’ article here.
Pull Quote: [Hawley] says it’s a “tragedy’’ that a judge ordered that Davis go to jail. “Bottom line: the marriage issue is one we're still working through as a society, and no one should go to jail for their religious convictions on it,” he said. Jake Zimmerman, one of the Democratic candidates for attorney general, takes issue with Hawley’s views. "The attorney general's job is to enforce the law, not to make it up as you go along,” Zimmerman said. “Marriage equality is the law of the land. If you don't understand that, you shouldn't be running for attorney general." So far, Zimmerman is the only one of Hawley’s opponents to comment on his stance.
Wieland Tangles with MEC
Casenet shows Rep. Paul Wieland filed suit against the Missouri Ethics Commission last week (15AC-CC00407).
My best guess is that this is a continuation of Wieland’s tussle with MEC over their ruling that the pro bono legal work done on his ACA suit was a “gift” and should be reported on his personal financial disclosure. Wieland appealed that ruling to the Administrative Hearing Commission which last month agreed with MEC. See it here.
Allen gets Company
A second Republican, Derek Grier, has started a committee to run for House 100. Incumbent Rep. Sue Allen is termed. Her husband, Mike Allen, started a committee recently to replace her, and would presumably be the front-runner.
Grier appears to be on the Chesterfield city council. See his website here.
Raise Your Hand
Raise Your Hand for Kids – the effort to increase the tobacco tax to fund early childhood – has redesigned their website (see it here). Among the updates, one shows the new cig tax increase just implemented in Kansas. KS is now at $1.29 per pack, up from 79 cents. Missouri is, of course, the lowest. Also is a table that shows the shows the percentage of 4-year-olds enrolled in public pre-K programs in Missouri and its surrounding states. Missouri is the lowest – by far.
Missourians for Ethics
Missourians for Ethics and Accountability was formed. It’s a campaign committee in support of a November 2016 ballot issue for “Finance And Ethics Reform.” The treasurer is Edward Keenan. See his website here.
Nixon’s Committee
Below, see that Governor Jay Nixon still gets some political campaign contributions even though the career of the term limited governor is assumed about a year away from its end.
I looked at his last quarterly report, curiously wondering what he’s using the money for. He had $212K on-hand, after spending about $60K. The largest expenditures were for a poll ($19K), research ($10K), and a payment to long-time fundraising consultant Margaret Onken ($15K).
eMailbag on Greitens’ Big Contributions
Greitens absorption of big checks is a story for a day, but, that nearly all of his money has been from Wall Street will be a story for the cycle. Banks, Hedge Funds and Financial Firms… This will be the easy hurdle to clear. The mountain to climb will be the income inequality issue, aka Wage Gap. Agree or disagree, it will be an issue in 16. Women being paid equally, the evaporation of the middle class, minimum wage debate and unemployment will only be rivaled as the top issue by foreign and domestic safety. Until the voters BELIEVE that a candidate funded by Wall Street "is here to help", a campaign funded nearly solely by the financial sector will be a zero sum game. Greitens will need that money to run ads explaining why he took that money…
Today’s Events
From Mary Scruggs’ indispensable events calendar:
Rep. Don Gosen Golf – The Landings at Spirit – Chesterfield – noon –lunch – 1pm start
Lobbyists Registrations
Deidre Hirner added American Wind Energy; and deleted AFT Missouri, Regulatory Environmental Group for Missouri, and Madsen & Wright Inc.
$5K+ Contributions
Raise Your Hand for Kids - $5,001 from Tyler Nottberg.
Missourians for Peter Kinder - $5,001 from Robert Hartle.
Property Casualty Insurers Association of America Political Account - $15,959 from Property Casualty Insurers Association of America.
A Better Missouri with Governor Jay Nixon - $10,000 from Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 562 Political Education Fund.
A Better Missouri with Governor Jay Nixon - $11,924 from Platinum Health Care Inc.
Hawley for Missouri - $6,200 from Herman Rowland St.
Returning Government to the People - $40,000 from Fred N. Sauer.
Missourians for Peter Kinder - $10,000 from Larus Corporation.
Missourians for Peter Kinder - $10,000 from CNS Corporation.
Birthdays
Happy birthday to former Rep. John Quinn (65).