MOScout Daily Update: Kander in 2020? - Spencer in 2022 - The Case for Wayfair and more...
Kander 2020?
When I did my rundown of Dems names for 2020 a few days ago, I had one Republican question if Jason Kander could be a possibility.
I haven’t heard Dems mention Kander since he stepped out of the KC mayoral race to get mental health help.
But yesterday he tweeted that tonight he and his wife, Diane Kander, will be interviewed by Lester Holt, speaking about “PTSD, recovery, and the fact that getting help is absolutely worth it.”
Folks wonder if this is the start of Kander re-engaging and opening the door to something in 2020. We’ll see….
Spencer in Senate 10… in 2022
Rep. Bryan Spencer announced yesterday that he’s running for state senate. It was a little odd because he announced for Senate 10 – a district he doesn’t live in. And a seat that isn’t up for election until 2022.
In fact, Spencer’s House district only overlaps with a small part of Senate 10.
Furthermore, redistricting comes in 2021. There will be a re-drawing of the lines which makes the announcement even more tentative. Districts can be renumbered and can change dramatically – depending on what process and criteria are being used.
It could be that Spencer is looking to gather up some Jeff City lobbyist money in his final year as a state representative and needs a future race on the agenda to make the pitch. But lobbyists are perfectly within the acceptable etiquette to decline to contribute when filing doesn’t open for 32 months and the actual district is not yet defined.
Next Session: Time for Wayfair?
Reconfiguring the sales tax to include online purchases will likely be on next session’s agenda again.
This graph is so simple and yet transfixing. It shows the incredibly consistent and steady march of e-commerce as a percentage of overall retail sales.
And this graph projects that the trend will continue. “In 2017, e-commerce sales accounted for 9 percent of all retail sales in United States, this figure is expected to reach 12.4 percent in 2020.”
Next Session: Healthcare in An Election Year?
Readers weighed in on the likelihood that Governor Mike Parson would make a push next session for big changes in healthcare.
· Not sure I agree with the MOScout reader. 70% the cost in Medicaid are related to taking care of the elderly and disabled. Is the Governor going to take on these populations, and nursing homes, during an election year? They may do some things that look like cost containment, but until they address spending related to the elderly, disabled, and pharmacy, they’re not really addressing the cost issue.
· The crazy thing about that healthcare study is that is shows Missouri is spending more than other states and getting worse results. It's fertile ground for the Governor and Todd Richardson to show some big movement in a positive direction. There at some very popular things that can be done short term [like] taking on the big pharmaceutical companies, using more primary care… But… most of the big stuff would have to wait.
Hip Hip Hooray for Graves?
Pushing back against the Post-Dispatch article which cites grumbling about Todd Graves’ spending money on the way out the door, one reader recites the accomplishments of the state party last year, noting these occurred with a scandal-ridden governor in office…
· MOGOP raised a total of $5,339,695 for the cycle
· Defeated Claire McCaskill
· Retained supermajorities in the House and Senate
· Didn't lose a single seat in MO, while Republicans lost 300 state seats across the country
· Full time staff of 61 people, 13 offices across MO
· 2 million voter contacts
· 1 million door knocks
· 500,000 emails delivered
· Facebook: 881,273 impressions; 80,000 video views; over 1k new likes
· Twitter: 2,241,000 impressions; 1,000 tweets; over 1k new likes
Google Shuffles DC Lobbyists
Wall Street Journal reports that Google “has fired about a half-dozen of its largest lobbying firms as part of a major overhaul of its global government affairs and policy operations amid the prospect of greater government scrutiny of its businesses. In the past few months, the company has shaken up its roster of lobbying firms, restructured its Washington policy team and lost two senior officials who helped build its influence operation into one of the largest in the nation’s capital, according to people familiar with Google’s Washington strategy. The firms Google has dumped make up about half of the company’s more than $20 million annual lobbying bill…”
Google doesn’t have much presence in Jefferson City (see their Missouri lobbyists here).
That’s despite Missouri Senator Josh Hawley’s activist orientation against the tech giants. Broadcasting Cable reports… “Another day, another bill targeting big tech from freshman Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley. According to his office early Thursday (June 6), the Protecting Children from Online Predators Act follows a New York Times report that YouTube algorithms "funnel" videos of partially clad children to pedophiles by recommending videos with fleeting frames of partially undressed kids to those who have viewed sexually themed content or videos of young children… Hawley gave YouTube some credit for trying to tweak its algorithm and limit some recommendations in response to the story, but that isn't enough for Hawley, who wants a blanket prohibition on sharing most child-related videos given the potential for abuse…
Hawley has made cracking down on Big Tech his signature issue.”
$5K+ Contributions
UFCW Local 655 Elect Club - $5,903 from UFCW Local 655.
Taxpayers Unlimited, Inc. - $15,000 from Kansas City Fraternal Order of Police.
Taxpayers Unlimited, Inc. - $10,000 from Kansas City Power & Light.
Taxpayers Unlimited, Inc. - $10,000 from Painters District Council #3.
Committee for KC Jobs - $7,500 from MFH Properties LLC.
Committee for KC Jobs - $15,000 from Kansas City Regional Association of Realtors.
Missouri Forward PAC - $15,000 from Missouri Hospital Association.
Lobbyists Registrations
Mark Ayers added Mark Ayers.
Doug Stone added Staenberg Group Inc.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Auditor Nicole Galloway, Michelle Pleus, and former Rep. Joe Smith.