MOScout Daily Update: Impeachment Talk in MO - House 47 in Play? - Dems Looking in CD-2 and more....
Impeachment in MO
I spoke to more folks about impeachment over the weekend. Here’s the gist of the conversation out there…
Trump lovers and Trump haters aren’t winning any converts…
· The fringes become more entrenched and polarized.
· I think anyone who supports him is almost religiously devoted.
· People are tribal right now with their politics.
· [The sentiment out there among his faithful is:] “No one has been attacked as much as Trump since Jesus.”
It motivates the bases…
· Similar to Kavanaugh hearings.
· Helps Republicans. Helps drive up Trump margin which might save down ballot R's
· I think it motivates both bases for a net zero impact. I expect the state of the economy next November to be what really matters.
· The BASE always sees what they want, both sides.
Still smart minds know there’s a lot of unknowns…
· I just don't think any of us can predict what that impact will be yet.
· I think so much depends on whether Rs end up agreeing he has to go, publicly.
· If suburban Rs get tired of Trump's chaos, that's good for Ds. If they are happy with their 401(k), good for Rs… The question is how Trump's corruption affects Missourians's everyday lives
· This impeachment inquiry on the Ukraine outrage leads to basic questions about who Trump is looking out for… farmers know things are sucking. Rural folks know hospitals are closing. Trump's tax cut didnt help them... When the question is asked whether they are better off than four years ago - what is their true answer?..
Looking Closer at the MOScout/Remington Poll
Last week’s poll looked at Senate 19. Inside the numbers there were a few interesting nuggets. Caveat: margins of error are substantially higher in the smaller samples.
· In House 47 where Republican Rep. Chuck Bayse is up for re-election, Trump is underwater (42% job approval vs 56% disapproval). Dems held this seat before Bayse and he hasn’t been a moderate while in office.
· Sen. Caleb Rowden beats Michela Skelton (56%-39%) in House 50, where Michela has run and lost twice (2017 special and the 2018 general).
PSC Partisan Balance by Tradition not Statute
I wrote last week that Public Service Commissioner Daniel Hall will be leaving in November. And that Governor Mike Parson’s appointment to replace him will be a Democrat because the PSC “is required to maintain a partisan balance (no more than 3 members from the same party).” One reader points out that this is not true. There’s nothing in statute requiring this. It’s been the tradition for the past hundred years, and therefore it might be impossible to get the Senate to confirm a fourth Republican to the body. But it’s not “required.”
Tweet of the Day
Democrat looking for a candidate to run against Congresswoman Ann Wagner…. See it here.
· One Dem tells me that “National orgs… want a woman with no record, great resume who is (list 4 other qualities that are great). They want another Nicole [Galloway]. She has a really rare record so they are grasping at straws…”
· And this person thinks Sen. Scott Sifton is being overlooked. That he’d perform very well in South County and could pull off the upset.
Schweitzer for Alderman
In the “new committees” section over the weekend was one entry showing Anne Schweitzer filing to run for alderman in St. Louis City. Schweitzer works with messaging genius Richard Callow at Public Eye.
Schweitzer announcing the run on Facebook: One of the things I tell my clients is that when they know what they want to run for, they should file as soon as possible. There are three things every campaign needs: Money, Time, and Votes. Two of those you can get more of, one of those you cannot. That's why, a year and a half before the election, I'm writing to tell you that I am running for Alderman of the 13th ward…
St. Louis is my home, and my second love. I have dedicated much of my career to helping elect people who I believe will make it a better place to live, who care about its success as much as I do. Public service is in my blood, and I'm proud to follow in the footsteps of my grandfather, Gordon Schweitzer, and my mother, Jane Schweitzer, and run for office.
Campaigns run on people and pizza. I am going to be counting on all of you for both.
Anne
(Before you ask, my first love is also my campaign treasurer. Thanks, Mom.)
Hyperloop Report Coming
News Tribune reports on the latest Hyperloop Blue Ribbon Commission Meeting. See it here.
Missouri House Speaker Elijah Haahr's Blue Ribbon Panel is one step closer to submitting its report to the speaker after Friday's meeting, which is set to be the panel's last in-person meeting…
The proposed Hyperloop in Missouri would connect Kansas City and St. Louis with a track that could transport passengers in 30-40 minutes, compared to the current almost four-hour drive…
At Friday's meeting, the panel spent a little less than two hours discussing the draft of the report and any changes members thought should be made. Much of the changes discussed were more about specific language used and less about the actual content of the report…
If finalized, the report could be delivered to the speaker within the next few weeks.
A Cave in KC
Axios has a crazy story that involves a cave in Kansas City. See it here.
Officials are trying to carry out President Trump's months-old directive demanding that sponsors of immigrants pay the government for the costs when those immigrants used certain public benefits. But to tabulate that, they have to go through a cave in Missouri... The majority of those immigration files — including sponsors' information — are located on physical sheets of paper often stored in a large, underground facility in Kansas City's limestone caves, multiple current and former government officials tell Axios' Stef Kight… An interagency working group has had monthly calls with the White House to work out a system, an administration official tells Axios. But it's proved a complicated — if not impossible — task…
Gubby Appts
Governor Mike Parson appointed Corey L. Atkins as Circuit Judge for the 16th Judicial Circuit, and Brittney R. Smith as Associate Circuit Judge for the 11th Judicial Circuit.
He also appointed Reverend Dr. Clifford Chalmers Cain and Dee Dee Simon to the Holocaust Education and Awareness Commission; Drs. Jeffrey Carter and David Tannehill to the State Board of Registration for the Healing Arts; Dr. Adriatik Likcani to the State Committee of Marital and Family Therapists; and Stacey Naile as the Scott County Circuit Clerk.
eMailbag: Don’t Blame the Drugs
Saw your bit about the MO Senate’s Drug Price Transparency Committee and the total spend in the US on healthcare. One would think that prescription drugs are primarily to blame. Not so.
· In the US, spending on retail and physician-administered medications continue to represent just 14% of the total healthcare spend.
· Within state Medicaid programs, prescription drugs are only 7% of the total healthcare spend.
· Closer to home, MO Medicaid spending on prescription drugs accounted for 5.8% of the total healthcare spend (2017 data).
Help Wanted
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City seeks Government Relations Specialist. “This role will conduct research and monitor legislation that could affect the organization. Proactively, research policies to see what changes could be advantageous and which trends might negatively impact the company in the future. This role performs non-routine tasks, with broad direction and little guidance on how to complete them. There is a high-level of decision-making authority impacting multiple functional areas or with a wide-degree of financial ownership…” See it here.
Missouri Farm Bureau seeks Summer 2020 Internship - Public Affairs (Agriculture). “To be eligible, students must be enrolled in college credits during the semester in which the internship occurs or be enrolled in college credit hours during the following fall semester. This intern must have completed at least one year of college… Salary Info: $10/hour…” See it here.
$5K+ Contributions
Keep Government Accountable - $30,000 from United Auto Workers V Cap.
Missouri Senate Leadership PAC - $10,000 from CL PAC.
Lobbyist Registrations
Thomas Robbins, Jake Silverman, and Steven Tilley added Occidental Group Inc.
Brian Bernskoetter deleted United Payday Lenders of Missouri; and added Missouri Consumer Finance Association.
David Sweeney and Sonette Magnus deleted St. Louis Sports Commission.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Rep. Dave Muntzel and Chris Benjamin.