Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Sifton for AG
There’s been talk about Sen. Scott Sifton eyeing the attorney general race in 2016, but it’s the Rolla Daily News that gets the scoop. Read it here.
Pull Quote: Missouri Sen. Scott Sifton, D-St. Louis County, told the Phelps County Democratic Club Saturday night that he’s thinking of running for state attorney general. “In 2016, I am considering a run at attorney general,” Sifton, who represents Missouri’s 1st Senatorial District, said. “(Attorney) General (Chris) Koster will make a run for governor,” he continued, so that opens up the office and “I am very seriously considering making that race.”
As one Dem puts the presumably unplanned announcement, “It’s not quite Moniteau County, but darn close.”
And
Also from the Rolla Daily News, municipal judge James Crump was arrest for DWI. Read it here.
MRL Endorsement Backlash
Republicans bristle at Missouri Right to Life endorsements. I heard from two Republicans about the MRL endorsements who think that the standard for being pure enough for the advocacy organization is ridiculous. Concerning the House side, one writes, “Here is a list of the candidates running for re-election in November who voted not once but twice for one of the most restrictive abortion bills in the country and did not get an endorsement from MRL. I guess they are just not ‘pro-life enough.’ Sue Allen, Jay Barnes, Linda Black, Pat Conway, Scott Fitzpatrick, Tom Flanigan, Ron Hicks, Galen Higdon, Lincoln Hough, Bill Lant, Donna Lichtenegger, T.J. McKenna, Rocky Miller, Don Phillips, Craig Redmon, Shawn Rhoads, Todd Richardson, Jeff Roorda, Joe Runions, Dave Schatz, Noel Shull, and Sheila Solon.
Over on the Senate side, a Republican shakes his head, “Isn’t it ironic that MRL can get a vetoed bill overridden in the Senate but not find a way to endorse a single sitting senator….”
Something to Watch in CO?
I don’t really do national politics, but in Colorado, the abortion/contraception issue appears to be defining that US Senate race, with implications whether Republicans need to lay off the issue to win female voters. Read it here.
Pull Quotes: The Colorado referendum on women is just 47 days away. That’s not its official title. Most people here refer to it as the U.S. Senate race between incumbent Democrat Mark Udall and his Republican challenger, Cory Gardner. But the campaigns’ intense and protracted focus on women’s reproductive issues makes it seem like those issues are up for their own special vote.
Democrats need women to turn out to vote in all of their toughest races, including Colorado… Democrats have a problem with male voters too, but the solution to that problem is harder to find. There isn’t a set of defined issues that appeal to men as personally as reproductive issues do to women, and there aren’t organizations like Planned Parenthood working for men. “It’s the easiest, black-white issue on which you have a clear contrast that is so important to a key constituency,” says Ted Trimpa, a Democratic strategist.
Republicans don’t have to persuade every woman to back Gardner. They only need to shrink Udall’s margin. Democrats, on the other hand, say their strategy is powerful because while it’s true that abortion, personhood, and birth control aren’t a priority for most female voters, they are issues where a candidate’s position can disqualify him from further consideration. If a candidate believes one thing about contraception, so the thinking goes, he’s likely to do the conservative extreme thing on the other issues I care about. “These aren’t niche issues,” says Hughes. “They touch on a broad set of values. If you’re extreme on this, you are extreme on other things. Voters can walk that path.”
Mulligan to UM System
Missouri Community College Association executive director Zora Mulligan was named chief of staff for The University of Missouri System President Tim Wolfe. Read it here. She’ll start next month.
WaPo Ed Board on KS Tax Cuts
Washington Post is the latest editorial board to throw darts at Kansas’ tax policy. Read it here.
“Mr. Brownback has cherry-picked the statistics to suggest that things aren’t as bad as they seem, while arguing that it’s still too early — more than a year and a half after his cuts were enacted — to gauge their full impact. Meanwhile, Wall Street’s bond rating agencies, taking note of plummeting tax revenue and a siphoning off of the state’s reserves to cover current and projected deficits, have weighed in with their own verdict: Moody’s cut Kansas’s credit rating last spring, and Standard & Poor’s followed suit last month.”
Bits
Rep. Jill Schupp, running in Senate 24, announced another fundraiser. October 2 at the home of Annette and Alan Mandel with special guest Clint Zweifel. Note, in the large contributions below, the Republicans’ Senate campaign committee dumped $150K into the Ashcroft coffers yesterday.
Firefighters show their bipartisan colors, scheduling lit drop, field work for Democrat Rep. John Mayfield and Republican Rep. Noel Torpey. See it here.
Governor Jay Nixon ordered an audit of the St. Louis City Recorder of Deeds office where the long-serving incumbent recently resigned due to nepotism charges. “Under Section 26.060, the Governor may, when in his judgment the public interest of the state will be served, select an auditor or accountant to audit the accounts of any municipality or county receiving money for or from the state.”
Washington Examiner has an interesting article on extreme pricing for a new drug ($84K for a 12-week treatment). Read it here. Missouri company Express Scripts is quoted in the article. It “jumped into the fray.” "We’ve taken a strong stand on Sovaldi, because it’s the canary in the coal mine," said Steve Miller, the company’s chief medical officer. "If we let this price stand unchallenged and we don’t fix the system ... the system will not sustain itself. And we will not stay the innovative country we are today."
Help Wanted
The Missouri Bar seek Membership Services and Law Practice Management Director. “The Director’s primary responsibilities are to serve as a resource to members; coordinate the development of products and services of particular interest to solo and small firm lawyers; administer the Bar’s dispute resolution programs; and identify practice management tools and other benefits in areas such as business practices, office/project management, risk management/professional responsibility, client relations/marketing, and the use of evolving technologies… “ See the ad here.
Fundraising Calendar
Today’s fundraising events from Mary Scruggs’ indispensable events calendar:
Rep. John Diehl Reception – Hearth Room Café, Town & Country – 5:30-7 p.m.
Lobbyist Registrations
From the Gate Way Group website:
Rodney Boyd, Kelvin Simmons and Brian Grace added Lochmueller Group, and deleted Bernardin, Lochmueller & Associates Inc.
Brittney Henderson added Novartis Vaccines.
Jennifer Durham, and James Durham added Britton Group LLC.
Jennifer Durham added Community Association Institute.
$5K+ Contributions
Friends of Tom Schweich - $25,000 from Peter Herschend.
Lewis & Clark Ozark Mountain Forum - $15,000 from Jerry Summers.
Committee to Elect Ron Richard - $5,500 from Missourians for Excellence in Government.
Committee in Support of Public Education - $10,000 from MO Association of School Administrators.
Committee in Support of Public Education - $25,000 from Better Schools for Missouri.
Committee in Support of Public Education - $9,000 from MO Association of School Administrators.
MO Democratic State Committee - $20,000 from Committee to Elect Jeff Roorda.
MO Democratic State Committee - $50,000 from Schupp for Senate.
Ashcroft for Missouri - $150,000 from Missouri Senate Campaign Committee.