Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Rush Gets His Day

Yesterday Republicans gathered in the House chamber to celebrate Rush Limbaugh whose brand of political shock radio revolutionized and reinvigorated the industry.

But the arrangements involved in Limbaugh’s “induction” into the Hall of Famous Missourians marked a low point for Speaker Steve Tilley.

During his tenure, Tilley has been unruffled by criticism, and has made a point of treating Democrats fairly.

Yesterday however, by holding the ceremony behind closed doors and with little advance notice, Tilley created the appearance that he was concerned by the likely opposition.  And by excluding Democrats he willingly confirming the partisan nature of the event.

Rush’s speech was actually very humble and focused on his family.  Listen to it Here.

“My family has supported me through every up and down.  Through no fault of their own I have brought all kinds of attention to them that I’m sure they never intended or planned on.  And it’s not enough that I know how to put up with it.  It’s not something they bargained for. But they’ve been right there supporting me through all this. Never once have I heard one critical thing asking me to stop or change what I’m doing because of any damage I might be incurring to the family.”

Until the end when he went talk-radio: “(Speaker Tilley) hung in.  It was tough.  He did not give them any quarter.  Laughed at them when they called his office – which is what you have to do because they’re deranged.  They literally are deranged.  Our so-called friends on the other side of the aisle are deranged…”

Minority Leader Mike Talboy on Rush Induction

“House Speaker Steve Tilley today purported to induct misogynistic talk show host Rush Limbaugh III into the Hall of Famous Missourians. Instead of being open to the public as is tradition, the ceremony was conducted in secret in a locked House chamber with only Republican officials and other select people allowed in. The secrecy and exclusion of the public demonstrates that even Republicans are embarrassed at honoring someone who recently called a female college student with whom he disagreed a 'slut' and a 'prostitute.'”

Assistant Minority Leader Tishaura Jones on Rush Induction

“In recent weeks, House Republicans have repeatedly made Missouri a national laughingstock with their 'don't say gay' bill and support for legislation to address the non-existent problem of employment discrimination against gun owners while simultaneously seeking to make it easier for employers to discriminate against victims of actual bias. And now they would honor a man who has no honor.

“Last week a truly remarkable and deserving man, Dred Scott, was inducted into the Hall of Famous Missourians in a ceremony that was open to the public and streamed live on the Internet. Today’s induction of controversial radio host Rush Limbaugh was in sharp contrast, with the ceremony kept secret and the House chamber locked to all but a select few while a dozen armed guards blocked members of the public from entering. Even the Web feed from the House chamber was silent.

“It is quite clear from their handling of the Limbaugh ceremony that Republicans were ashamed of what they were doing and wanted as few people as possible to witness it. When you take great steps to hide what you're doing, it usually means that you know what you're doing is wrong”

Senate Endorsements: Firefighters for Holsman

In Senate 7, Rep. Jason Holsman has picked up the firefighters’ endorsement – Local 41 and the state council.  Firefighters are coveted because they do more than just put their name on a lit piece.  They knock doors; they work polls.

 
Senate Endorsements: Mayors for Walsh

In Senate 13, Gina Walsh continued her roll-out of endorsements against a so-far flat-footed Redditt Hudson.

Yesterday she announced the support of Bellefontaine Neighbors Mayor Robert Doerr, Black Jack Mayor Norman C. McCourt, Florissant Mayor Thomas P. Schneider, Hazelwood Mayor Matthew G. Robinson, and Moline Acres Mayor Michele DeShay.

Senate Monday

The Senate moved with Engler-like deliberateness, laying over bills after a little debate to see if the conflicting parties could work it out privately while another bill was brought to the floor.  HB 1403 (workers comp), HB 1361 (sharing rural telephone poles), HB 1174 (school accreditation) and HB 1051 (one-time audit power) all were sent back to the informal calendar.  But with four days left, they should all pass by week’s end.

House Monday

The House spent most of their time moving through amendments (nineteen of them) on SB 636 an omnibus judiciary bill, when they then passed.

Candidate Withdrawals

Republican Freddie Jennings withdrew from House 159 yesterday.  That means that incumbent Republican Rep. Bill Lant is now unopposed in both the primary and the general elections.

Rams’ Wish List

Attorney General Chris Koster released the football Rams’ proposal to St. Louis City.  Read it Here.  They’d love to stay in St. Louis, but they need a sun-roof on the dome, a cool wall like Indianapolis, and some party platforms.  The price tag for those eight Sunday afternoons comes to about $700 million.  That’d only be about 70% of the city’s annual budget, so I assume there’s an economist in a cubicle somewhere adjusting the assumed “multiplier” effect to make it seem less completely, totally insane than it is.

The Economy, Stupid?

Politico’s Playbook starts off with a USAToday poll this morning.  See it Here.  Although 70% rate the economy as poor, two-thirds are optimistic about the future…

Lobbyists’ Principals Changes

From the Pelopidas website:

Andrew B Blunt added Grassland Consultants LLC.

Jessica Hodge deleted Innerguide Technologies, Kansas City metropolitan Crime Commission, The Swain Group, Valueoptions Inc, and Wachovia Corporation; and added Wells Fargo.

Thomas A Smith added Capital Business Development Associates.

Steven A Cowen deleted Home Builders Association of Greater Kansas City.

W. Jason Van Eaton deleted Willco.

Registration Exegesis

It’s said that Steven Cowen is joining Black Hills Corporation as manager of their Kansas Governmental Affairs.

$5K+ Contributions

Clean Water STL - $10,000 from BJC Health Care.

MO Drive Fund - $25,000 from Drive Committee.

Holsman for Missouri - $5,001 from Adam Blake.

Contribution Exegesis

The contributions from St. Louis heavies to “Clean Water STL” are in support of an enormous bond issuance for the Metropolitan Sewer District on the June 5 ballot.  See their website Here.

Interesting Contributions

Jay Nixon for Missouri - $3,120 from Don Bedell.  Bedell is a Republican. He serves on the Missouri Health Care Association board, and was appointed by Jay Nixon to the Missouri Conservation Commission.

And

This is the time of year a bunch of lobbyists we’ve never seen before show up.  Like the Great Pumpkin, it’s said that the mythical Tom McCarthy will appear in the rotunda sometime this week…