Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Election Results
As expected, Mike Moon won the House 157 special election by a comfortable 20 points.
In the Monarch Fire District, former senator Jane Cunningham handled former Rep. Cole McNary much easier than I expected, winning also by 20 points. Firefighters have been a bit of a losing streak lately in the St. Louis area – losing Carnahan-Clay, losing Slay-Reed, and now this loss in their own front yard.
Says one observer considering Cunningham’s future: “As peculiar as I think Cunningham running for Fireboard is, her winning by the type of margin against a namesake like McNary was really impressive. It actually makes a pretty strong statement.”
Prop P passed in both St. Louis City and St. Louis County, clearing the way for massive upgrades to the Arch grounds in the future…
Former Rep. Vicki Schneider lost her bid to join the O’Fallon City Council. She took out her frustrations on Facebook with a few posts accusing Rep. Chuck Gatschenberger for her downfall:
One more hour until the polls close... I feel good about the race. I ran on my record. I didn’t make any of my opponents look bad to make myself look good. I am just amazed that Chuck Gatschenberger a state Representative from Lake St Louis sent out two negatives in hopes that if I lose this City Council seat that I won’t run against him in a couple of years. This is what you call self-interest!! The other negatives came from Jeff Houston that has to be a democrat, because the mailer was the same that the democrats used two years ago. No originality. Politics is an interesting thing; you just don’t know who your friends are??? I am not going to mention anyone’s name, but there are friends on face book that profess that they are my friend, but worked against me. I would not be hurt at all if you would de-friend me, because you are not a true friend. There is nothing more important than family and friends. Politics comes last. Thank you for your vote today, but more important for your friendship. :-)
I'm sorry that I let you down. I could not over come 4 negitives, that werent true. You can thank Chuck Gatschenberger and Mathrew Seeds and the democrate party..
And - former Rod Jetton staffer turned Democrat Chris Benjamin was elected to the Cass County Emergency Services Board.
Medicaid Transformation
Rep. Jay Barnes unveiled his latest substitute. See it here. It’s expected that he’ll be voting it out of his committee later today.
And Governor Jay Nixon will be addressing the Republican House Caucus today to make his pitch for Medicaid expansion. He can speak Republicanese as fluently as any Democrat… and it will presumably be a different text from last week when Nixon met with the House Dems and was markedly anti-Republican in his rhetoric.
And
Senator Claire McCaskill is slated to speak the Democratic House Caucus today…
Nixon for Sanders
Tomorrow night Nixon will headline a “belated” birthday fundraiser for Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders at the Rooftop Ballroom of the Intercontinental Hotel in Kansas City.
Renters’ Circuit Breaker Broken in Senate
Pro Tem Tom Dempsey’s bill to eliminate the renter’s portion of the property tax credit and create a new fund to help the vulnerable passed the Senate yesterday, 21-12. Sens. John Lamping and Rob Schaaf joined the Democrats in opposition. Supporters framed the issue as part of the ongoing tax credit reform.
Cynthia Davis Scolds Loudons
From: Cynthia Davis
Sent: Tuesday, April 02, 2013 10:18 AM
To:
Subject: Wife Swap
We are in a cultural swamp, created by a moral swamp. Many of us are asking, "How do we get out of this swamp?"
I did my part last week when I fought for our side of the marriage debate on Channel 5 in St. Louis. Being on the news will help shape the culture for those with honest questions. Being on a reality show and exposing yourself and your family to the ridicule of the left won't.
If you have not seen “Wife Swap”, that’s understandable… The women in Wife Swap set the rules and the husbands are supposed to submit to whatever they decide. How realistic is that? Additionally, subjecting children to a social experiment for two weeks with a foreign caregiver can cause lasting harm. They deserve protection and stability through their parents at all times. Time will tell if these children were affected to being subjected to values of someone who makes a practice of morally repugnant behavior…
The conservative woman defended her appearance on the show as being an act of confronting the culture.
Some who watch this show wonder why the conservative mom wore such heavy makeup and jewelry, suits and cocktail dresses. In addition to the $20,000 dollars, the show pays for all
jewelry, clothes, makeup, meals, lessons, linens, etc…. Many are asking how we can become “culture warriors”… We don't have to get tattoos, take up smoking or patronize bars to prove we are just like them….
Your thoughts on "Wife Swap" and the way to win our culture back are important to me, so please share what you think here…
Meanwhile
Lucas Case explains on Facebook what the show’s editing did…
“Thanks to Dr. Gina (Gina Gentry Loudon) for having me on her radio show today to discuss her episode of ABC's WifeSwap from last week. Great episode, great entertainment, but a lot of editing to make the Loudon's look bat-shit crazy!...”
March Revenues
Budget Director Linda Luebbering released the March General Revenue Report yesterday. “2013 fiscal year-to-date net general revenue collections increased 8.3 percent compared to 2012… Net general revenue collections for March 2013 increased by 4.6 percent compared to those for March 2012.”
The bellwether category of individual income tax collections increased 3.9% for the month, an is up 5.3% for the year.
eMailbag: ISRS Alive
The comment from the "conservative" who emailed you to say that ISRS is dead as of this week is part of a last minute, desperation strategy. The truth is that Sen. Mike Kehoe is actively negotiating with both Senate and House members to reach a compromise on the legislation. The ISRS bills moved to the negotiation stage before spring break, and FERAF wasn't prepared for that. FERAF and Noranda no longer have the legislative backstops they have had for the last several years and so their desperation is starting to show as they widely attack the Pro-Tem, individual Senators and Reps and even the Governor. Scorched earth is all they know….
Look for a compromise soon and movement to finally end this nonsense. The new functional Republican leadership on both sides of the building needs to show their membership that they can't be terrorized into giving up on an issue (energy development) that both the Speaker and the Pro Tem identified as one of the core pieces of their agenda.
eMailbag: New Westinghouse Presence = ISRS Alive
I read in today’s edition from the conservative in your email bag who viewed ISRS is dead as of this week. I think it is important to point out that Kate Marx, a Westinghouse government relations official, recently registered to lobby in Missouri. I have to believe that Westinghouse thinks ISRS is vitally important to their plans for SMR’s here in Missouri and I also think Westinghouse believes the ISRS legislation is very much alive and well or they wouldn’t of sent Kate here?
eMailbag: Filibuster Revisionism
I find it humorous that conservatives are taking credit for the unemployment legislation that passed last year following their filibuster. To hear them tell it, they planned the filibuster all along as a way to reduce the number of weeks an employer is on the hook. The truth is, they started a filibuster without an endgame in mind. The Chamber, Tom Dempsey and Mike Kehoe saved them from themselves on that bill.
Lobbyist Registrations
From the Pelopidas website:
Julie Murphy Finn added Children’s Mercy Hospitals and Clinics.
Brian Schmidt added Missouri Budget Project.
Linda Eason deleted Astellas Pharma US.
Matt Hill deleted TMS Audio Productions, Freedom of the Road Riders, Sight Savers America, The Cisar Law Firm PC, and Superior Senior Care.
$5K+ Contributions
United Food & Commercial Workers Local #655 Elect Political Action Fund - $6,300 from United Food & Commercial Workers Local #655.
Citizens to Elect Michelle Witthaus - $5,603 from Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Rep. Ron Schieber (53), and former Rep. Charles Portwood (50).