Monday, March 18, 2013
Cargill Joins FERAF
Cargill, reportedly the largest privately held company in America (according to revenues), has joined the Fair Energy Rate Action Fund (FERAF).
Cargill announced its opposition to the ISRS proposal in a letter on Friday to Pro Tem Tom Dempsey. In that letter, they say that the company has 15 locations in Missouri employing over 1,200 people. And – most relevant – that they spend $8 million annually in Missouri on electrical costs.
From the letter: “Cargill is opposed to SB 207. Over the last three years, electric rates have increased by over 29%, causing the cost of production in Missouri to skyrocket compared to similar facilities in other states. The legislation before the Senate would only exacerbate the problem by increasing the risk of future costs increases…”
Cargill – in my observation – has never been real active in state politics. So it’s interesting that they’ve engaged on this issue.
Jones for AG or SOS
Speaker Tim Jones’ packed fundraiser last week reportedly raised more than double the pre-leaked $30K target.
But the more important news to emerge from the fundy was that Jones has narrowed this target list for 2016. He told some folks there that he is looking at attorney general and secretary of state, and that he will certainly be on the ballot in 2016.
The secretary of state suggestion is interesting for two reasons. First, 2012 SOS Republican nominee Shane Schoeller has signaled an interest in running again. And second, there’s an Democratic incumbent in that spot, presumably making it a harder challenge.
Attorney General Chris Koster is set to vacate that office to run for governor; State treasurer Clint Zweifel is term-limited. There has been little talk of either office from Republicans.
And of course, the lieutenant governor spot and Peter Kinder will be the subject of much speculation.
Republicans Grapple With 2012
The Republican national Committee released its “Growth and Opportunity Project” paper today, reflecting on what went wrong in 2012. See it here.
Pull Quote:
“The GOP today is a tale of two parties. One of them, the gubernatorial wing, is growing and successful. The other, the federal wing, is increasingly marginalizing itself, and unless changes are made, it will be increasingly difficult for Republicans to win another presidential election in the near future… We are losing in too many places…
“Public perception of the Party is at record lows. Young voters are increasingly rolling their eyes at what the Party represents, and many minorities wrongly think that Republicans do not like them or want them in the country. When someone rolls their eyes at us, they are not likely to open their ears to us.
“At the federal level, much of what Republicans are doing is not working beyond the core constituencies that make up the Party. On the state level, however, it is a different story. Republicans hold governorships in 30 states with 315 electoral votes… Republican governors are America’s reformers in chief…
“It is time for Republicans on the federal level to learn from successful Republicans on the state level. It is time to smartly change course, modernize the Party, and learn once again how to appeal to more people, including those who share some but not all of our conservative principles.
“At our core, Republicans have comfortably remained the Party of Reagan without figuring out what comes next… As Mike Gerson and Pete Wehner wrote recently, ‘It is no wonder that Republican policies can seem stale; they are very nearly identical to those offered up by the Party more than 30 years ago. For Republicans to design an agenda that applies to the conditions of 1980 is as if Ronald Reagan designed his agenda for conditions that existed in the Truman years.’
The Republican Party needs to stop talking to itself. We have become expert in how to provide ideological reinforcement to like-minded people, but devastatingly we have lost the ability to be persuasive with, or welcoming to, those who do not agree with us on every issue… Our standard should not be universal purity…”
Bits
NYTimes reports that there’s no difference between government spending and tax credits. Read it here.
Pull Quote: “If someone said, ‘Let’s have a voucher program on the spending side, giving high-income families vouchers to subsidize their mortgages,’” said Glenn Hubbard, the dean of Columbia Business School and a prominent Republican economist, referring to the home mortgage interest deduction, “I don’t think that would get through Congress.”
USAToday reports that some congressmen have their family on the campaign payroll. Read it here.
Macon Chronicle-Herald has an article on Medicaid expansion which draws an intriguing no comment from Congressman Sam Graves. See it here. “According to Communications Director Chris Averill, ‘he thinks it's the governors and state lawmakers to decide.’”
Tweet of the Day
John Combest @johncombest: “Nice job by Medicaid campaigners as papers run identical LTEs with different ‘authors.’ http://bit.ly/Astroturf1 http://bit.ly/Astroturf2”
Lobbyist Registrations
From the Pelopidas website:
Jennifer Martin added Glazer’s Family Of Companies.
Benjamin C DeClue deleted St. Louis Association of Realtors.
Chris Roepe deleted Freedom Bonding LLC
Gregory Porter added FMC Corporation, and American Legal Finance Association.
$5K+ Contributions
House Republican Campaign Committee Inc. - $25,000 from Friends For Diehl.
Citizens for Safe and Accessible Arch and Public Parks Initiative In Collaboration With Civic Progress Action Committee - $25,000 from St. Louis Regional Chamber.
MO Republican Party - $6,000 from House Republican Campaign Committee Inc.
Birthdays
Happy birthday to Mayor Francis Slay (58).