Previously:

Campaign Finance: making your mark (November 13, 2013)

In the past week, at the Missouri Ethics Commission:

C071362 11/14/2013 CITIZENS FOR STEVE STENGER Eastern Missouri Laborers’ Educational and Benevolent Fund 3450 Hollenberg Drive Bridgeton MO 63044 11/14/2013 $5,001.00

C071362 11/15/2013 CITIZENS FOR STEVE STENGER Travis Noble, P.C. 8000 Maryland Ave., Ste. 350 Clayton MO 63105 11/15/2013 $5,001.00

C071362 11/18/2013 CITIZENS FOR STEVE STENGER I.U.O.E. Local 513 Political & Educational Fund 3449 Hollenberg Dr. Bridgeton MO 63044 11/18/2013 $5,001.00

C071362 11/19/2013 CITIZENS FOR STEVE STENGER Eastern Missouri Laborers’ Educational and Benevolent Fund 3450 Hollenberg Drive Bridgeton MO 63044 11/19/2013 $5,001.00

C071362 11/20/2013 CITIZENS FOR STEVE STENGER Electrical Workers Voluntary Political 5850 Elizabeth Ave. St Louis MO 63110 11/20/2013 $5,001.00

[emphasis added]

Definitely sending a message, in $5,001.00 increments.

A precinct polling place in west central Missouri on Election Day 2008. [file photo]

Three early voting initiative petitions have been filed with the Missouri Secretary of State and are awaiting public comment.

2014-56, 2014-57, and 2014-58 [pdf] would amend Article VIII of the Missouri Constitution by adding a new section which would allow early voting, would establish a centralized and satellite polling places for early voting, would establish weekend voting hours in the early voting period, and would have a process for reporting (as a public record) who had already voted. The last point would be crucial for get out the vote operations. If someone had already voted and a candidate/political party knew it they wouldn’t have to waste money on direct mail and/or phone calls directed at that particular voter.

At best, studies have shown mixed results for voter turnout when it comes to early voting. From the Pew Research Center:

September 23, 2013

Study: Early voting associated with lower turnout

By Rich Morin

Reformers hate it when this happens:  The country’s most widely adopted reform designed to make voting easier may lower the chances that an individual voter will go to the polls, according to a new study to be published in an upcoming issue of the American Journal of Political Science…..

….They found that only early voting when it is implemented by itself and Election-Day registration appeared to significantly affect turnout chances-early voting in a negative way and Election-Day registration positively….

….Why should turnout go down when people are allowed to vote early-and why do more people cast ballots in states that permit people to register and vote on Election Day?

These researchers say it’s because early voting robs “Election Day of its stimulating effects,” reducing social pressure to vote and gives less reason for campaigns to motivate their supporters and get them to the polls.

Voters are less motivated to cast ballots because early voting has the effect of “dissipating the energy of Election Day over a longer period of time….[S]ocial pressure is less evident, guidance on how or where to vote is less handy, and the prospect of social interactions at the polls is decreased,” they wrote.

Early voting laws also seem to affect the campaign itself by reducing efforts on both sides to mobilize support. For example, they examined patterns of media advertising in early voting and no-reform states. “The volume of ads is lower in states with early voting and the ramp up of ads before Election Day is also less steep in these states,” they found…..

[emphasis added]

Heh. Early voting could reduce the ads people are fond of complaining about during election cycles. I’d bet television, radio, print, and direct mail houses wouldn’t be too happy about those reductions in revenue. Fewer ads would reduce the cost of campaigns, don’t you think? Or maybe just shift it elsewhere. Like maybe field operations?

And, obviously, if a significant percentage of voters chose to vote early late attack ads will have no effect on their vote. In a longer early voting period there would be time to rebut (and in the case of media, investigate) early attack ads. There is the danger that a rebuttal could reinforce the original attack (after all, these are American voters). There’s an element of risk there for the campaign consultant industrial complex.

As voter behavior changes campaign and election behavior on the part of consultants, candidates and political parties will change. The game remains, identify and turn out the folks that will vote with you.

One campaign committee funds the other.

Today, at the Missouri Ethics Commission

C081145 11/19/2013 CITIZENS TO ELECT KURT SCHAEFER ATTORNEY GENERAL Citizens for Brad Lager 5920 NW 96th Terrace Kansas City MO 64154 11/17/2013 $15,000.00

[emphasis added]

“….He meets some fragment huge, and stops to guess

What powerful but unrecorded race

Once dwelt in that annihilated place.”

Today, from Representative Vicky Hartzler (r), via Twitter:

Rep. Vicky Hartzler ‏@RepHartzler

Honored to receive the Agricultural Leader of the Year award from Agricultural Leadership of Tomorrow. [….] 12:43 PM – 18 Nov 13

And within eleven minutes, two responses:

curtis whitworth ‏@curtiswhitworth

@RepHartzler is this because of the subsidies your received? What a hypocrite. 12:48 PM – 18 Nov 13

carl klopfenstine ‏@Carl23b4

@RepHartzler Got your money I guess but cut SNAP.Hope you feel good. 12:54 PM – 18 Nov 13

“Who needs town halls anymore? That’s so twentieth century,” they said. “Everyone uses social media these days. It’ll be easier. You won’t have to respond to any hard questions…”

Previously:

Impeaching Nixon? (November 17, 2013)

Representative Nick Marshall (r) in Jefferson City. [file photo]

People are noticing the stoopid:

Lawmaker says he plans to file articles of impeachment against Nixon

Nov. 18, 2013 8:36 AM

A Missouri state lawmaker said this weekend he plans to file articles of impeachment against Gov. Jay Nixon over his executive order allowing legally married same-sex couples to file joint tax returns.

[….]

On Friday, Attorney General Chris Koster’s office said Nixon’s executive order appears to comply with Missouri law. House Speaker Tim Jones, R-Eureka, had attacked Nixon for the order, but there was little indication Sunday whether he will support Marshall’s impeachment effort.

[….]

And, a replacement post for the deleted/hidden original on Facebook:

Sean Nicholson ‏@ssnich

Rep. @nickmarshall30 not backing down from impeachment nonsense. New Facebook post this morning. #moleg pic.twitter.com/dDknBStv1o 9:26 AM – 18 Nov 13

“…Please, please, please make it so. It is beyond our wildest dreams that the right wingnuts in the General Assembly would be stupid enough to do so…”

We’re probably not gonna have to beg.

No, it’s not 1974.

Jason Hancock ‏@J_Hancock

RT @ssnich “Nick Marshall…will seek to impeach Missouri Governor Jay Nixon related to his Executive Order..” #moleg [….] 7:16 PM – 17 Nov 13

Please, please, please make it so. It is beyond our wildest dreams that the right wingnuts in the General Assembly would be stupid enough to do so.

Representative Nick Marshall (r) via Facebook:

I will seek Articles of Impeachment against the Governor. He has openly disregarded the laws and Constitution of the State of Missouri and allowed his administration to do so on multiple occasions. If we are to live under the Rule of Law, he cannot be allowed to remain in office.

We rest our case.

Update:

The Internets are forever.

Sean Nicholson ‏@ssnich

And @nickmarshall30 deletes/hides his impeachment post on FB. #toolate #moleg pic.twitter.com/htdvpaS1Yu 8:35 PM – 17 Nov 13

Yesterday, at the Missouri Ethics Commission:

C031159 11/16/2013 MISSOURIANS FOR KOSTER Larus Corporation 12444 Powerscourt Drive Suite 170 Saint Louis MO 63131 11/14/2013 $7,500.00

[emphasis added]

It is good to be the front runner.

Previously:

Campaign Finance: expending political capital (November 16, 2013)

Previously:

Have camera, will travel (November 12, 2013)

KC Meetup: November 16.. You WANT to be here. (November 7, 2013) [Daily Kos]

Kansas City Kossack Meetup: this Saturday! 11/16 (November 14, 2013) [Daily Kos]

Yesterday evening, from 7:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., twenty-five Kansas City area political activists and denizens of Daily Kos met at the Marriott in Overland Park, Kansas for a discussion of the political world and to share their political experiences.

Our Kansas City – Daily Kos meetup organizer and host – tmservo433.

After food, a brief slide presentation documenting the foibles of right wingnut office holders in Missouri and Kansas, and presentations from two 2014 Kansas campaigns, participants engaged in a wide ranging discussion of their campaign experiences and the political landscape in Missouri and Kansas for 2014 and beyond.

There were a number of new faces (to us) and several old friends going back ten years to Howard Dean’s presidential campaign.

There was commentary on the relative effectiveness and value of get out the vote efforts (phones, door to door, voter registration) and the perceived priorities of centralized/coordinated statewide/national campaigns. It came down to – keep it local, register voters, identify your voters, and drag their sorry asses to the polls on Election Day.

As with anyone who has been active in campaigns over the years there were numerous (and cautionary) horror stories as well as a a few positive ones. The work isn’t done. It never will be.

There was also a significant amount of discussion about engaging office holders and documenting and holding them accountable in their public forums. In the world of the Internets and social media triangulation by the current crop of right wingnuts in office is becoming increasingly difficult for them to pull off. It’s not so easy for them to cater to their restive teabagger base.

Jen Hayden [center], a Daily Kos contributing editor.

Jen Hayden, a Daily Kos contributing editor attended the meetup. In the small world department we sat next to each other in the press pen for then presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama’s speech on patriotism in Independence, Missouri on June 30, 2008.

June 30, 2008 – Scout Finch [Jen Hayden] displays a photo of then candidate Senator

Barack Obama taken from the rope line after his speech on patriotism in Independence, Missouri.

That seems like centuries ago. Yeah, and we’re all still here.

A recent petition at the White House site:

We petition the Obama Administration to:

Replace President Obama with the rightful presidential successor, Daniel Willey.

Daniel Willey has proved himself time and time again as the most capable person to run the United States of America. It’s time to let him do what he was born to do.

Created: Nov 07, 2013

Issues: Civil Rights and Liberties, Consumer Protections, Economy

Signatures needed by December 07, 2013 to reach goal of 100,000 99,763

Total signatures on this petition 237

Who?

237 individuals have signed on to the petition. Think about that for a minute.

Senator Roy Blunt (r-lobbyists), a few days ago via Twitter:

Senator Roy Blunt ‏@RoyBlunt

A family from Troy was forced off their health care & is now paying 125% more for #ObamaCare mandated insurance. [….] 1:15 PM – 14 Nov 13

Some of the responses:

Tim Deveney ‏@TimDeveney

@RoyBlunt Can you also share stories of people who couldn’t get insurance because of preexisting conditions and now can? 1:20 PM – 14 Nov 13

James Overholt ‏@JamesOverholt

.@RoyBlunt The senator who spent his entire term whining. I’ll never vote for him. 2:09 PM – 14 Nov 13

Lion Callie ‏@lioncallie

@royblunt The family from Troy can shop around! Was the insurance that was more covered the same as old one or did it offer more? 4:17 PM – 14 Nov 13

Those were polite ones.