Thursday, August 30, 2012

Kehoe Pens Rebuttal to Nixon on Auto Tax

Following Governor Jay Nixon’s letter to lawmakers warning of surprise retroactive tax bills hitting Missouri consumers just before the November elections, Sen. Mike Kehoe penned a rebuttal defending his bill.

From the letter: “I am glad the governor has recognized how serious the problem is, though I am certain that he has misdiagnosed it.  The problem is not that 122,702 Missourians might receive tax-due notices. Instead the problem is that Missourians were told, by the stroke of the governor’s veto pen, to go out of state to buy their new car, truck, boat, trailer or RV.  Every single one of these out of state purchases contributes to the loss of a real Missouri job.  At a time when we cannot afford to lose a single job, the veto of HB1329 put thousands of jobs at risk and handed these job opportunities to neighboring states.  We, as policy makers, need to make sure that the businesses in our districts are not put at a competitive disadvantage simply because of a liberal court decision…

“If you doubt how important this over-ride is, and if your represent one of the seventy-five counties or 758 municipalities that do not have a use tax in place, please call your new car dealer, your boat dealer, or your RV dealer, and get their insights.”

Nixon Reconvenes Tax Credit Commission

Governor Jay Nixon announced yesterday that he was reconvening the commission which put forward a tax reform plan some years ago.

“Citing record redemptions of Missouri's 61 tax credit programs in Fiscal Year 2012,” Nixon is asking the commission to update their 2010 report.

“The commission will meet on Wednesday, Sept. 12, (Veto session) at the State Capitol to gather information and solicit testimony… The Bi-Partisan Missouri Tax Credit Review Commission was created by Governor Nixon on July 21, 2010, with the mission to review each of the state's 61 tax credit programs and make recommendations for greater efficacy and enhanced return on investment.”

Commission Members

Chairs: Senator Chuck Gross and Steven J. Stogel.

Commission Members

Jim Anderson, Senator Matt Bartle, Zack Boyers, Representative Tim Flook, Mark Gardner, Luana Gifford, Bill Hall, Dee Joyner, Senator Jolie Justus, David Kendrick, Representative Sam Komo, Peter Levi, Alan Marble, Troy Nash, Melissa Randol, Penney Rector, Tom Reeves, Russ Still, Craig Van Matre, Ray Wagner, Todd Weaver, Shannon Weber, Mike Wood, Senator Robin Wright-Jones, David Zimmermann.

Barnes Weighs In

Rep. Jay Barnes questions the Nixon announcement: “There’s not a single current legislator on the commission. Is this really a way to get legislative buy-in?..  And I wonder if the commission will examine whether the Quality Jobs Act works as promised or is nothing more than a bi-partisan perpetual gubernatorial press release machine?”  See it here.

Wright in 47 Spends the $$$

John Wright, running in House 47, spent over $150K in the Democratic primary to beat Nancy Copenhaver.  Now he’s reserved 1000 points of TV for the three weeks before the election.  It’ll be interesting to see what his final spending total is.

Akin’s New Commercial

“My six-second mistake is well-known, but Claire McCaskill’s six-year record is something you should know. McCaskill voted with Obama 98% of the time; she casted the deciding vote to pass ObamaCare…”  See it here.

Stephen Colbert on Akin

Hoo-Ha Lady Zone 5000… See it here.

Schoeller Contra Carnahan

In yesterday’s fundraising letter, Rep. Shane Schoeller refers would-be donors to a Kander fundraising letter sent in the name of Robin Carnahan.  It’s a smart strategy as Carnahan id a better-known, more-disliked figure to potential Republican donors than Rep. Jason Kander.

Would the same strategy work in general election television commercials?

From the email blast:

I thought I'd forward the message below from Robin Carnahan.  She is working to get the liberal money machine going again to help her handpicked successor, liberal Jason Kander.

As you know, Carnahan's tenure will be remembered for blatantly partisan ballot language to advance liberal causes like Obamacare, her cozy relationship with ACORN, and her opposition to common sense reforms to protect our elections, like voter ID.  Jason Kander promises to continue Carnahan’s failed legacy.

In fact, just yesterday, on the SAME day she sent the e-mail below in support of Kander, a court threw out the misleading, dishonest ballot language she wrote to advance the Obamacare agenda in Missouri…

Barky Correction

It was brought to my attention yesterday that David Barklage resigned from the Majority Fund – after 16 years which saw Republicans go from a minority to a super majority in that chamber – and was not “ousted.”

Tweet of the Day

Tim W. Jones ‏@MOLeaderJones:  “Most of State of MO is blowing up my phone. They are wondering if that is Paul Ryan or me giving this speech. Looks. Sounds. All. Love it!”

eMailbag

St. Louis Dem on Possible 2016 Convention

“The GOP wants a Democratic Convention in St. Louis because for a year it'll suck all the volunteers and money away from Democratic campaigns and fighting off right wing ballot issues. It would be a dream come true for Rex Sinquefield and The Humphreys.”

Republican on Akin TV Buy

“That’s a paltry buy. He’s on life support with money.”

$5K+ Contributions

Schoeller for Missouri - $10,000 from Misosuri Soybean Association.

Jay Nixon for Missouri - $40,000 from Missouri DRIVE Fund.

Jay Nixon for Missouri - $470,000 from Democratic Governors Assocation – Missouri.

Jay Nixon for Missouri - $10,000 from Teamsters 245 PAF.

Friends of Ellen Brandom - $15,000 from Ellen Brandom.

Missourians for Fair and Impartial Courts Committee - $10,000 from Simmons, Browder, Gianaris, Angelides & Barnerd LLC.

Missouri Senate Campaign Committee – $10,000 from Centene Management Company LLC.

Missouri Senate Campaign Committee - $15,000 from Citizens for Jay Wasson.

Ameren UE Political Action Committee - $87,500 from Ameren Missouri.

Missourians for Health and Education - $25,000 from Civic Progress Action Committee.

Slay for Mayor - $10,000 from Waste Management.

Birthdays

Happy birthday to Lou Hamilton.

Tomorrow: Attorney General Chris Koster (47), and Cerner’s Carrie Sherer.

MOScout News

Still hoping to have the “General Election Book” up tomorrow with district-by-district analysis of the House and Senate races.

No MOScout on Monday, Labor Day.