Wednesday, February 4, 2015

The Return of the Culture Wars?

Salon ran an article yesterday that sent ripples across the state as it quoted Catherine Hanaway speaking to a group of conservatives railing against the “sexual permissiveness,” blaming it for a host of social ills, apparently including child pornography.  Dems were raising the prospect that this was “an Akin moment.”  We’ll see…

Progress Missouri has an audio of Hanaway’s speech here.

Poll: Kinder The Front Runner?

MO Alliance for Freedom released a poll today, done by Remington Research… all horse race stuff and very interesting…

The survey was conducted February 2 - February 3, 2015. 747 likely Republican

primary voters participated in the survey. The survey weighted to match expected

turnout demographics for the 2016 Republican Primary Election. Margin of Error is

+/-3.6%.

Q: If the election were held today, and the candidates in the Republican primary for Governor were Catherine Hanaway, Tom Schweich and John Brunner, for whom would you vote?

Catherine Hanaway.............13%

Tom Schweich......................16%

John Brunner........................10%

Undecided.............................62%

Q: If the election were held today, and the candidates in the Republican primary for Governor were Catherine Hanaway, Tom Schweich and Peter Kinder, for whom would you vote?

Catherine Hanaway........................12%

Tom Schweich ................................15%

Peter Kinder.....................................24%

Undecided........................................48%

Q: If the election were held today, and the candidates in the Republican primary for Governor were Catherine Hanaway, Tom Schweich and "somebody else", for whom would you vote?

Catherine Hanaway................16%

Tom Schweich.........................19%

Somebody else........................18%

Undecided................................47%

Q: If the election were held today, and the candidates in the Republican primary for United States Senate were Roy Blunt and John Brunner, for whom would you vote?

Roy Blunt.................................50%

John Brunner...........................19%

Undecided................................32%

Q: What is your opinion of Catherine Hanaway?

Favorable..............................19%

Unfavorable.........................10%

No Opinion............................71%

Q: What is your opinion of Tom Schweich?

Favorable..............................23%

Unfavorable............................8%

No Opinion............................69%

Q: What is your opinion of John Brunner?

Favorable..............................19%

Unfavorable............................9%

No Opinion............................72%

Q: What is your opinion of Roy Blunt?

Favorable..............................52%

Unfavorable.........................20%

No Opinion............................28%

Justice In

Eddy Justice is making calls and is in for the race to succeed Ed Martin as Missouri Republican Party Chair.  It appears it’s only Justice and political consultant John Hancock vying for the spot.  Two years ago, Justice drew favorable reviews for his handling of nominating process in the 8th Congressional District when Jo Ann Emerson resigned.

The Place for the Party

A reader called to remind that despite Missouri having unlimited contributions, there were still some important roles that the state parties can play.  The state party should be the gatherer and keeper of the best statewide voter data.  It should be an effective spokesperson staying on message.  And it can serve as an honest broker to call factions together and try to work out disputes.  Even if its role as a fundraising engine is diminished, these other functions are vital.

Eating Disorder

Sen. David Pearce’s SB 145 which would require health benefit plans cover diagnosis and treatment of eating disorders has a hearing in the Small Business Committee.  There was highly emotional testimony from those with experience with the disease, including former Rep. Rick Stream.  The insurance companies are against it, and Committee Chair Mike Parson seemed to be pleading with the insurance industry to find a compromise position that could advance the issue.  We’ll see…

Ban the Box

Also in the Small Business Committee Sen. Jamilah Nasheed had a hearing for her bill (SB 44) to limit the circumstances in which an employer can inquire about a job applicant’s criminal history.

Initially her bill would have applied to both the public and private sector, but she had modified it to only apply to the public employers.  The Republicans on the committee were cautious, but appeared to embrace the spirit of the bill.  It sounds like a workable compromise is possible.

Emery Doesn’t Like Silvey’s Veteran’s Bill

Sen. Ryan Silvey has introduced a bill to extend Medicaid to veterans.  Silvey – who separately has argued that Republicans should consider a reform/expansion model – has drawn some ire and suspicion from his fellow Republicans for the move.  They think it’s the camel’s nose under the tent.

Sen. Ed Emery in his latest capitol update fires some shots at the proposal.  See it here.  “One of the most conspicuous and egregious characteristics of slavery is dependency. Senate Bill 287 was introduced the week of Jan. 19, proposing to expand Medicaid incrementally…”

New Weapon in Streets of Ferguson

Washington Post reports that a new non-lethal projectile is being rolled out in Ferguson.  Read it here.

Pull Quote: “…an odd-looking, blaze-orange device docked on a normal handgun barrel. When a bullet fired, it melded with an attached projectile the size of a ping-pong ball that flew with enough force to knock a person down, maybe break some ribs, but not kill him, the product’s makers said — even at close range. Its name: the Alternative. This week, five Ferguson police instructors will train to use the device; the department plans to introduce it to the entire force of 55 officers.”

Finally

Ted Wedel’s daughter is featured in the News Tribune.  She has 4.145 GPA and is likely her class’ valedictorian.  See it here.

Lobbyist Registrations

Ken Hussey added Missouri Chapter of the American Academy Of Pediatrics.

Scott Lakin deleted Mid-America Regional Council.

$5K+ Contributions

Sanders for Jackson County - $10,000 from Kansas City Power and Light.

Happy Birthday

Happy birthdays to Rep. Diane Franklin, and Catalyst’s Danny Pfeifer.