MOScout Daily Update: Border War Returns - Green to Hanaway - Green Spikes Abortion Summary - Bell Fundy - Hancock on Schmitt and more…
Border War Back On
Call it collateral damage from the Chiefs stadium saga, but KCTV reports that “the Kansas City Council voted unanimously Thursday to repeal the Border War Truce.” That truce was meant to keep both sides from offering escalating subsidies to lure business to either side of the state line.
MOScouter: MOLeg members continue to grow frustrated with team ownership, again dragging out a site decision, in addition to the recent announcement that Denver Broncos owner will be privately funding a stadium, rather than taking the money they generate from the state, leaving less room for a tax cut.
Scooplette: Green to Hanaway
Maddie McMillan Green will be Attorney General Catherine Hanaway’s new chief of staff. Green, who deregistered as a lobbyist with HB Strategies last week, previously worked in the attorney general’s office under Eric Schmitt and Andrew Bailey, and in the governor’s office before that under Eric Greitens and Mike Parson.
· Power couple alert: Green’s husband, Brad Green, works for Senator Schmitt.
Abortion Language Spiked
Judge Daniel Green ruled that the legislature’s ballot summary and “fair ballot language” for their anti-Amendment 3 amendment wasn’t fair, and needed to be rewritten before going to the voters. See AP’s story here.
The judge said the summary prepared by Republican lawmakers failed to inform voters that the new measure would repeal an abortion-rights amendment adopted by voters last year. He directed the secretary of state’s office to write a new summary.
Abortion-rights advocates had argued in a lawsuit that the entire measure should be stricken, alleging that the combination of abortion and transgender policies violated a constitutional requirement that amendments contain only one subject. But Green agreed with Republican lawmakers that both topics fit under the measure’s title of “reproductive health care.”
And
Green isn’t some liberal judge; he’s a Republican, winning his last (2020) primary with 73% of the vote.
Hancock on Schmitt “Evolution”
MOIndy’s Jason Hancock smacked Senator Eric Schmitt for his zigzagging on the First Amendment, calling him a “political shapeshifter” and noting he had “no problem at all with [Donald] Trump wielding the power of the federal government to silence critics… The evolution of Schmitt from a free-speech warrior to a cheerleader for government censorship has been dizzying. But it shouldn't surprise anyone who's followed his career in politics. Schmitt was a moderate suburban Republican during his years in the state legislature who shapeshifted into a MAGA acolyte during Trump's first term.”
He’s right, of course, but let’s be honest: it’s the whole damn party that’s “evolved.” And, as a result, there’s no longer anyone in the policy debate making the case for a “small government” or “free market” approach to problems.
Very very few Republicans will speak out against Trump’s constant control and centralized planning edicts and actions.
Under the Trump regime we’re getting…
· taxes on imports.
· restrictions on exports.
· taxes and restrictions on hiring foreign labor.
· stakes in public companies.
· opaque regulatory decisions.
· proposed government “investment fund.”
And everything – all of these decisions – contingent on whether a company or executive is in “good standing” with Trump personally.
Very few Republicans say anything about any of it, because they’re scared they’ll lose their “power” if they do. Reminder of the obvious: if you can’t speak your mind, you have no power.
Bell Fundy Tonight
What It Means
Congressman Wesley Bell is looking to build support in the southwestern edge of the district far from his own geographic base. He seems to grasp that a Congress person’s first re-election bid is typically the most uncertain; he’s not going to get caught flat-footed. After one of the highest-profile primaries in America last cycle, no serious opponent has emerged in this cycle yet – perhaps a testament to Bell’s personal outreach to those who did not support him in 2024.
Politico Notes Hawley’s Social Following
The 2028 cycle has the potential to be the first post-cable TV election, heralding the dawn of a post-literate era in which technology fully displaces reading and consumption of news from traditional outlets.
Scharf Hot Mic
Missouri AG candidate-turned-WhiteHouser Will Scharf caught on a hot mic making a joke. Hear it here.
Gubby Appts
Governor Mike Kehoe announced eight gubernatorial appointments…
· Drs. Carrie Hruza, Deborah Kerber, and Lori Boyken were appointed to the State Board of Optometry.
· Gordon Weathers was appointed as the Stone County Presiding Commissioner.
· Laura Arnold was appointed to the Missouri Juvenile Justice Advisory Group.
· Amanda Liebig, and Jamie Redding were appointed, and Christopher Maglio was reappointed to the Child Abuse and Neglect Review Board.
Help Wanted
Deloitte seeks Policy & Government Relations State and Local Government Relations - Lead Specialist (Central Region). “Support and advance Deloitte's State Government Relations program with direction from the State Government Relations leadership team… $88,600 - $163,100 a year…” See the posting here.
Lobbyist Registrations
Angie Schulte added Public School Retirement System of The City of St Louis, Visionary Integration Professionals, Natera, Tyler Technologies; and deleted Spirit of '76 LLC.
Craig Sepich deleted National Insurance Crime Bureau.
$5K+ Contributions
B PAC (pro-Brian Williams) - $5,001 from John Bardgett and Associates.
Jackson County Forward - $25,000 from Heavy Constructors Association.
Freedom Incorporated - $10,000 from Jackson County Forward.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to David Willis, and Bruce Franks Jr.