MOScout Daily Update: US Senate Race Headed for QAnon? - Jami Gets Parole Board - Everybody Wants a Special - Worker Shortage and more...

Could US Senate Race Go Off the Rails?

The one constant all the US Senate candidates so far has been their desire to appeal to Trump supporters.

This has been seen in various ways…

·         Possible candidates making pilgrimages to Mar-A-Lago (or Trump Towers);

·         AG Eric Schmitt touting his election integrity lawsuit;

·         Eric Greitens lassoing as many names from Trump world (Guilfoyle, Bannon, Guiliani) as possible.

The reason is very clear: Trump supporters are the largest bloc of Missouri Republican primary voters. 

A Remington/MOScout poll a few months ago (March 2021) asked, “Thinking about the various types of voters within the Republican party, which type of voter do you consider yourself to be? Traditional and Establishment, Evangelical, a Trump Republican, Libertarian, or something else?”

Approximately twice as more respondents called themselves “Trump Republicans” than did Traditional Republican.  “Trump Republicans” was a larger share than Traditional Republicans, Evangelical and Libertarian combined.

Trump Republican: 45%

Traditional and Establishment: 23%

Evangelical: 12%

Libertarian: 3%

Something else: 17%

As this impulse to woo Trump Republicans drives the US Senate primary, I wonder how far it will go.  A recent survey revealed that the QAnon conspiracy theories are not well-rooted within the Republican Party.  See it here.

It reported that nearly a quarter of Republicans (23%) accept the QAnon belief that “the government, media, and financial worlds in the U.S. are controlled by a group of Satan-worshipping pedophiles who run a global child sex trafficking operation.”

I know lots of politicos are saying “grab the popcorn” when they look forward to the US Senate race.  I’m thinking maybe the better advice is “buckle up.”

Everybody Want a Special

It seems that everyone wants a special session these days.  Just yesterday there were two more calls…

·         Rep. Nick Schroer and fellow lawmakers traveled to St. Louis City yesterday to stand behind a podium, calling for a special session to prevent any budget cuts to police departments in St. Louis or Kansas City.

·         Sen. Mike Bernskoetter and Rep. Don Rone called for a special session to reinstate agriculture tax credits that got knotted up during regular session.

What It Means

It’s become a new go-to press release: “I’ve called the governor…”

While governors have generally liked to take the reins and order the legislature back every once in a while, Governor Mike Parson is not thrilled with the prospect.  He felt burned by last year’s meandering and unfulfilling special dealing with crime.

·         The expectation continues that we’ll be back for an FRA special this summer, and a redistricting special nearer to the end of the year.  However, beyond that I think the odds for any other specials are not great.

Jami Gets Parole Appt

Former Sen. Jamilah Nasheed was appointed to the Board of Probation and Parole. Nasheed had been rumored for the position for a long time.  For so long in fact, that it seemed it wouldn’t happen.  Post-Dispatch reports here.

·         Nasheed, who left office last year because of term limits, is set to serve on the Missouri Board of Probation and Parole through Nov. 25, a move that could boost her taxpayer-paid state government pension after serving in the Legislature since 2007.

·         The seven-member board, which is populated by former lawmakers who previously earned $37,000 annually, determines if inmates in the Missouri Department of Corrections should be paroled or released from prison.

·         Nasheed declined to comment on the short tenure of the appointment, saying it is an issue Parson should address. He could ask the Senate to confirm her for a full, six-year term.

Help Wanted

The Wall Street Journal reports today on what appears to be the number one economic issue facing the United States and Missouri: a shortage of workers. This constraint on growth is impacting nearly all industries.  Read the article here.

·         With millions of Americans still out of work and job openings at a record high, policy makers are dealing with an unexpected problem: How to coax people back into the labor force.

·         Congressional lawmakers from both parties are considering incentives such as providing federal funding to pay for hiring bonuses for workers and expanded tax credits for employers. A handful of states are moving to implement such programs on their own, without waiting for action from Washington.

eMailbag on FRA Mess

So let me get this straight. We aren't passing an FRA because we don't want to pay for poor women to get IUDs, which studies show don't cause abortion so that more poor women can get pregnant. And we don't want to fund Medicaid because we don't want to pay for those same poor women who need health coverage. And without FRA, the Governor will have to cut programs that support all Missourians (including all the unwanted children produced banning birth control for some groups).

New Committees

Indian American Physician Missouri PAC was formed.  Its treasurer is Deepu Sudhakaran.

Lobbyists Registrations

Gamble & Schlemeier added PACE KC LLC; and deleted Swope Health Services.

Jack Silverman added Missouri Prosper.

Nancy Giddens and Shannon Cooper deleted Missouri National Education Association.

Deanna Hemphill deleted Missouri Propane Gas Association, and Decoding Dyslexia MO.

Elizabeth Lauber deleted JG Circle of Hope, Missouri Maintenance Reform Group, David Lotsoff, and Missouri Family Law Reform Coalition (FLRC).

Trent Watson deleted AmplioSpeech, Inc.  

Birthdays

Happy birthdays to Ward Franz, Ray Weter, Abe Rakov, Nick Haynes, and Lynda Brotherton.