Monday, July 21, 2014
Biden to St. Louis
White House says Vice President Joe Biden is in St. Louis this morning. Here’s the release:
In the morning, the Vice President and Dr. Biden will travel to St. Louis, Missouri. At 11:00 AM CDT, the Vice President will deliver remarks to the Veterans of Foreign Wars Convention. His remarks at America’s Center Convention Complex will be open press.
Afterwards, the Vice President will return to Washington, D.C.
NYTimes: Missouri Alone In Resisting Drug Database
Here’s the long awaited New York Times article on Missouri’s inability to join the rest of the nation by having a drug prescription database to prevent folks from using the same prescription over and over. See it here. One MOScout reader emailed this morning saying it’s a “huge issue” in Southeast Missouri. Rep. Kevin Engler has been one of the leading proponents for the legislation and has been foiled each year by opposition lead by Sen. Rob Schaaf.
Pull Quote: But while proponents say the vast majority of the Legislature supports the measure, it has been blocked by a small group of lawmakers led by State Senator Rob Schaaf, a family physician who argues that allowing the government to keep prescription records violates personal privacy. After successfully sinking a 2012 version of the bill, Mr. Schaaf said of drug abusers, “If they overdose and kill themselves, it just removes them from the gene pool.”
“There’s some people who say you are causing people to die — but I’m not causing people to die. I’m protecting other people’s liberty,” Mr. Schaaf said in a recent interview in his Senate office. “Missouri needs to be the first state to resist, and the other states need to follow suit and protect the liberty of their own citizens.”
Democratic House Primary Guide
The updated Democratic House Primary Guide can be found in the Special Reports section. It’s here. Below are my picks to win. And this spread sheet has all – Senate and House – predicted winners with “degree of confidence” in the picks.
Democratic House picks
House 18 Lauren Arthur
House 22 Brandon Ellington
House 27 Bonnaye V. Mims
House 28 Tom McDonald
House 29 John B. Sutton
House 67 Alan Green
House 74 Sharon L. Pace
House 76 Chris Carter
House 77 Kimberly Gardner
House 86 Joe Adams
House 112 Robert W Butler
House 120 Zech Hockersmith
House 147 Gary Gaines
House 149 Diedra Ashley Freeman
Sinquefield Puts a Fresh $250K into Grow Missouri
Grow Missouri, the Rex Sinquefield funded coalition to push for tax cuts, received a new $250,000 from the political donor over the weekend.
Unlike another Sinquefield-funded group Missouri Club for Growth which has been outspoken about attacking incumbent Republicans who voted against the tax cut override last summer, Grow Missouri has generally eschewed those tactics in favor of more positive action.
Thus I don’t expect that this $250K will be used to attack the four “flimsy” incumbents targeted by MCFG. But as always, we’ll see…
Drive By Tipster
For Senate 24 junkies…. MOScout tipster: Rep. John Diehl has two Jack Spooner signs in his yard…
Amendment 1 Ad
Here’s a Missouri Farmers Care pro-“right to farm” ad. See it here.
Amendment 7 Ad
That’s a transportation tax ad that’s starting to make its way around cyberspace. It features first responders backing the tax. See it here.
According to this FCC filing, they’re dropping about $500K into the St. Louis market.
Minimum Wage Champion
Tomorrow St. Louisan Lew Prince will be honored at the White House. Here’s the release: On Tuesday, July 22, 2014 at 1:00PM, the White House will honor local “Champions of Change,” leaders and ordinary Americans taking action to raise wages for working women and men around the country. The honorees are activists, advocates, business owners and workers who are looking to reestablish the basic promise that no American working 40 hours a week should have to live in poverty.
The Champions of Change program was created as an opportunity for the White House to feature individuals doing extraordinary things to empower and inspire members of their communities. The event will be live streamed on the White House website…
* *
*Lew Prince, St. Louis, MO*
Lew Prince is co-owner and Managing Partner of Vintage Vinyl Inc. in St. Louis and a longtime spokesperson for Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, a network of business owners and executives who believe a fair minimum wage makes good business sense. Lew played an influential role in the successful campaigns to raise the Missouri minimum wage in 2006 and to pass the last federal minimum wage in 2007. He continues to be a leader in Business for a Fair Minimum Wage efforts to raise the minimum wage today. He has testified both in the Missouri Legislature and before U.S. Senate committees about the business case for raising the minimum wage.
Lobbyist Registrations
From the Gate Way Group website:
Michael T. White added Stosmart LLC.
Fundraising Calendar
Today’s fundraising events from Mary Scruggs’ indispensable events calendar:
MIC-PAC Golf Tourney – Redfield Country Club – Eugene
Sen. Joe Keaveny Reception –StL Police Assn., 3710 Hampton, St. Louis – 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Rep. Marsha Haefner Reception – River City Casino, St. Louis – 5:30-7 p.m.
$5K+ Contributions
KC Citizens for Safety - $200,000 from International Association of Fire Fighters Local 42.
Rob Russell for Prosecutor - $15,000 from Robert Russell.
Johnson 2014 Committee - $15,000 from Friends of Bob Johnson.
Johnson 2014 Committee - $11,000 from Friends of Bob Johnson.
Friends of Diehl - $25,000 from Lewis & Clark Ozarks Mountain Forum.
KC Citizens for Safety - $5,092 from Public Safety Concern.
Missourians for Safe Transportation & New Jobs Inc. - $10,000 from Missouri Chamber PAC.
Missourians for Safe Transportation & New Jobs Inc. - $50,000 from Heavy Constructors Assoc of the Greater Kansas City Area.
Missourians for Safe Transportation & New Jobs Inc. - $20,000 from Capital Quarries Co.
Missourians for Safe Transportation & New Jobs Inc. - $50,000 from Chester Bross Construction Company.
Dooley for St. Louis County - $25,000 from David Steward.
Missouri Right to Life Political Action Committee - $35,911 from Fred Sauer.
Missouri Right to Life Political Action Committee - $9,000 from Frederic Sauer.
Grow Missouri - $250,000 from Rex Sinquefield.
Citizens for Mason - $25,000 from Hurlbert CPA LLC.
Citizens for Mason - $12,484 from Hurlbert CPA LLC.
Friends of Terrence Messonnier - $10,000 from Terrence Messonnier.
Citizens for a Stronger Voice Elect Ron Herschend - $15,000 from Ronald Herschend.
Missouri for Better Transportation Solutions - $10,000 from St. Louis County Municipal League.
Happy Birthday
Happy birthdays to former Rep. Sally Faith (69), and Ann Wagner’s Christian Morgan (37).