MOScout Daily Update: More Reaction to Price Scandal - The Other Ethics Case - Cole Judge Appt Talk and more....

More Reaction to Price Scandal

Reaction from folks in the MOScout world are running heavily against the sit-on-your-hands approach that Democratic leadership is taking with the Ethics Committee’s report on Rep. Wiley Price. 

·         Long-time Democrat: Gina Mitten wouldn’t give him time to pack his bags. LeVota and Diehl resigned over waaaay less…

·         Republican staffer: If it were a Republican [Quade] would of been out with the pitch forks… She’s got no high ground anymore.

·         Female Lobbyist: The failure of the head of her party to make clear that sex with an intern should not happen in #MOLEG it is a failure to stand up to a faction of the culture that objectifies, minimizes, or targets, women… This was a huge miss for women, by a woman.

·         Male Lobbyist: I don’t understand why Quade is saying Republicans should not seat Roeber, but doesn’t say the same about Wiley Price.

And

On Twitter, Rep. Travis Fitzwater recounts previous misbehavior with interns and gives a straight forward accounting why Price should resign.  Read it here.

The Other Ethics Case

Price was just one of two cases before the House Ethics Committee.  The other case apparently has concluded without sanctions.  One tipster explains… “With the attention paid to Wiley's case yesterday, some wondered what had happened to the allegations against [the Republican state representative]. How did he get off scot-free for his behavior?  The answer is not the partisan one that some Democrats might have assumed. It's that not only did the alleged victim refuse to cooperate, there were no witnesses or paper trail, according to a source very close to the Ethics Committee….”

Cole Judge Appt Talk

The upcoming vacancy for the Associate Circuit Judge in Cole County has folks wondering who Governor Mike Parson will appoint to the spot.  Two theories are making the rounds…

·         [Folks in Parson’s orbit] are gauging potential support for appointing Chris Limbaugh to an upcoming vacancy for Limbaugh previously served as Prosecuting Attorney in Cape Girardeau County. Were he to be appointed, it would obviously create an opening for General Counsel on the 2nd Floor…

·         From the rumor mill: Parson may appoint Jay Ashcroft’s wife, Katie Moore Ashcroft, to the Cole County judge position…

Gubby Appts

Governor Mike Parson announced eight appointments to various boards and commissions.

·         Dan Cranshaw and John Parry were appointed to the Missouri Development Finance Board.

·         Shawn Foster was appointed to the Jackson County Sports Complex Authority.

·         Mary Meyer Keyes was appointed to the Children’s Trust Fund Board.

·         Adam Nanney and Daniel Oerther were appointed to the Hazardous Waste Management Commission.

·         Dale Roberts was appointed to the State Board of Mediation.

·         Debra Ann Schumer was appointed to the State Board of Health and Senior Services.

Martin Hussles for Forever Trumpers

Ed Martin – former Missouri Republican Party Chair – who wrestled control of the Schlafly Eagles organization a few years ago remains active in the fight to keep Donald Trump in the White House. Yesterday, perhaps recognizing how the uncertainty is hurting the country declared, “it’s time for Joe Biden to concede.”

Jensen Announces Resignation

St. Louis Business Journal reports that “after three years in the post, U.S. Attorney Jeff Jensen has announced he will resign at the end of the year.  According to a release, Jensen will resign, effective Dec. 30, from the District Court of the Eastern District of Missouri and then plans to join a St. Louis private law firm. A news release from the U.S. attorney's office did not name which firm Jensen would be joining, nor did it address the process for replacing Jensen.”

Let the speculation start who the Biden Administration will tap for this spot…

eMailbag on McDowell Misinformation

Well, once again, Google could resolve many of the claims made by uninformed people. Sandra McDowell’s claim yesterday that fetal tissue is a component of Pfizer vaccine is not even close. Not only is the mRNA not from fetal tissue, it is not from any cell.  It is man-made, synthetic. The remaining components of the vaccine look like Christmas cookie, fats, salts and sugar. That’s it, sorry to disappoint.

Lobbyists Registrations

Rodney Gray, Susan Henderson Moore, and Cara Alexander added Piper Sandler & CO; and deleted Piper Jaffray, and Maritz Family Development III LLC.

Birthdays

Happy birthdays to Mike Grote, Derrick Good, and Kevin Elmer.