MOScout Daily Update: GOP Schism Spreads to House - Blunt to MOHOF - Smith on Dem Woes - Webber Dog Tricks and more…

Quick Friday update…

MO Firearms Running Ads Against JP

Missouri Firearms Coalition is running social media ads against Speaker-designate Jon Patterson.

The schism between “regular” or “establishment” Republicans and “Freedomer” Republicans is no longer contained to the Missouri Senate.  The contagion has officially reached the House.

·       Adding fuel to the fire: far-right pundits/activists whose business models depend on grassroots fundraising, and therefore their profession is to be outraged, and stoke outrage.

Parson Makes Appts

Rather than just take off the last month before handing the baton to Governor-elect Mike Kehoe, Governor Mike Parson made a slew of appointments yesterday – apparently determined to sprint through the finish line.  Appointments usually are announced on Friday afternoons, but… Parson will be busy this afternoon: The unveiling of his official portrait! 3PM, First Floor of the Capitol Rotunda.

Appointments…

·       Ansur Adams, January Boyer, Marsha Campe, Daniel Cayou, Dr. Chris Clause, Claire Helmig, Robert Hosutt, Paul Lenhart, Susan Roemer, and Tim Tadlock were appointed to the State Rehabilitation Council.

·       Jennifer Keller was appointed to the State Board of Psychologists.

·       Scott Lindsey was appointed to the Coroner Standards and Training Commission.

·       Dr. Maureen Clancy-May was appointed to the Southeast Missouri State University Board of Governors.

·       Paul Ogier was appointed to the Health and Educational Facilities Authority of the State of Missouri.

·       Jill Patterson was appointed to the Child Abuse Neglect and Review Board.

·       Dr. Josh Stilley was appointed chair of the State Advisory Council on Emergency Medical Services.

Blunt Honored

House Speaker Dean Plocher will induct former U.S. Senator Roy Blunt into the Hall of Famous Missourians.

·       The ceremony honoring Blunt will be on Wednesday, December 18, at 1:30PM with a reception following in the House Lounge.

And

Husch Blackwell Strategies’ Andy Blunt was named one of The Hill’s “Top Lobbyists” for 2024.  See it here. 

·       He’s under the “Hired Guns” section.

Smith on Dem Woes

Lobbyist Jeff Smith sketched the political terrain for Democrats as they recover from another tough election cycle in Missouri.  Read it here.

So what should Missouri Democrats do next? First, we must rebrand.  Fifteen years ago, select Missouri Democrats were still able to carve out identities distinct from national Democrats… But the broader trends caught up to almost all of them…

·       The challenge for Missouri Democrats is that, having lost so many legislative seats outside of the major metro areas, there aren’t many moderating forces within the party…

Christ Named Hunt Fellow

Rep. Brad Christ was named to be part of the 2024 – 2025 Cohort 11 Hunt-Kean Leadership Fellows.

Press release: The Hunt Institute is pleased to announce the members of its eleventh cohort of the Hunt-Kean Leadership Fellows program. This innovative program aims to provide a bipartisan group of senior, state-level policymakers from across the country with the resources, space, and expertise needed to develop smart and effective education agendas.

·       From December through August, Fellows participate in a rigorous curriculum facilitated by The Institute’s policy teams, including policy discussions, strategy breakouts, site visits and classroom perspective sessions, monthly webinars, and two in-person convenings to share experiences and gain insights from fellow cohort members.

NYTimes Profiles Long

New York Times looks at Billy Long’s nomination to head the IRS… Mr. Long's selection to lead the I.R.S. is unusual. Since the 1990s, I.R.S. commissioners have had five-year terms, and the position has been treated as a relatively nonpartisan management job, which now oversees the more than 80,000 employees who collected nearly $5 trillion in taxes last fiscal year. The term for Daniel Werfel, the current leader of the I.R.S., who was nominated by President Biden, is not up until 2027.

·       “The concern is turning the commissioner into a political position,” said John Koskinen, a former I.R.S. commissioner. “You run the risk that every audit will be a question of: Is this a weaponization of the I.R.S.? Did somebody tell them to make this audit, or is this routine?”

Dog Tricks

Sen-elect. Stephen Webber asks his dog, Schatzi, if she’s rather vote Republican or be dead?..

$5K+ Contributions

House Republican Campaign Committee, Inc - $10,000 from Citizens For Jeff Coleman.

Lobbyist Registrations

Mark Andrew Fiegenbaum added Missouri Farm Bureau.

Dave Florio added Banc of America Public Capital Corp.

Andrew Jonathan Stuart added Charles King.

Nexus Group deleted Kansas City Current, and Love Columbia.

Birthdays

Happy birthdays to Sen. Ben Brown, Joe Bednar, and Teresa Coyan.