As you probably know, some of the truly wretched bills vetoed by Governor Nixon from the last legislative session have been resuscitated for consideration during the new session. One of the most mindbendingly stupid is the nullification/gun rights bill that State Senator Brian “Mad Dog” Nieves (R-26) has resubmitted with some (very) minor revisions. (There is also a House version introduced by Rep. Doug Funderbunk (R-103), HB1439; the same critique (i.e., mindbendingly stupid) applies here as well.)

Nieves’ bill, The Second Amendment Preservation Act, SB613, would, in short, not only try to make agents enforcing federal laws subject to arrest, but it would arm “designated personnel” in schools and allow open carry for all holders of a concealed weapon permit, even in jurisdictions that explicitly ban the practice. So the deluded fools dont just want to – unconstitutionally – gut federal law, but they’re determined not to respect local government either. Poor, naive me – here all along, I thought these tenther types were supposed to be doing it all in the name of bringing government back home. Go figure …

Of course, as this sort of idiocy always does, the new gun rights bill has attracted derisive national attention. Today it’s Steve Benen who is pointing the finger of shame. Here’s a sample of the type of prose we can expect to see lots more of in the coming weeks:

Even in an era of Republican radicalism, this is just nuts.

This new proposal isn’t identical to the one Nixon vetoed in July, but it’s no less offensive. It would declare federal laws that “tax firearms and create a chilling effect on gun ownership, require registering or tracking of firearms or forbid the use of guns by law-abiding citizens” to be null and void in the state of Missouri.

It would be up to Missouri to decide whether federal gun laws are acceptable. If federal officials enter Missouri to enforce federal laws that Missouri doesn’t like, they would have to be accompanied by a county sheriff when executing a warrant – or face criminal charges themselves.

To be clear, this is not in a legal gray area. This isn’t a judgment call. It’s not a question that could go either way if tested in the courts. Rather, the question of whether states can reject federal laws they don’t like was decided in the middle of the 19th century – and it was a dispute the nullification crowd lost.

That such a bill even passed the Missouri legislature at all is something of a disgrace. That the same idea is being considered again adds insult to injury.

Couldn’t have said it better – although it’s too bad anyone has to say it all, not to mention saying it every six months.

According to Ryan Cooper at WaPo’s Plum Line, one of the two key senators behind a new attempt to do something about our badly decaying national infrastructure is none other than our own Roy Blunt. Guess he’s getting a little tired of trotting out the same ol’, same ol’ Obamacare scare stories that GOP congress people are obligated to regurgitate at regular intervals, or figuring out how to give his big donors, such as Monsanto, for instance, another lucrative sign of his appreciation, so he’s finally decided to sign on to something important – and, make no mistake, for Congress to begin making bipartisan noises about addressing our dire infrastructure challenges in any fashion at all is a major biggie during this period of cockamaime, mostly GOP-imposed austerity. As Cooper notes “We’ve got ancient water mains, leaky gas pipes, crumbling roads and bridges,” and if we continue to do nothing, they’ll only get worse, fast.

No matter how anyone spins it, though, Senator Blunt, deserves some credit. He, together with Democratic Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado, is actually taking the lead in the Senate to introduce legislation complementary to that put forward in the House last year by Maryland’s Democratic Rep. John Delaney.

The legislation seeks to address infrastructure problems in the face of the near bankruptcy of the Highway Trust Fund which traditionally funds such projects, and which has been bankrolled by an increasingly inadequate gas-tax of 18.4 cents a gallon. That number hasn’t changed since 1993, and, given the make-up of the House of Representatives, it won’t increase anytime too soon. At the same time, the U.S. loses revenue from big corporations that stash their earnings overseas. The proposed legislation addresses both areas of revenue shortfall:

Delaney’s plan would create a $50 billion federal fund to bankroll loans and leverage private investment for transportation and other infrastructure. The money would come from bonds bought by companies who want a tax break if they bring cash earned abroad back to the United States.

Of course, this plan is not the end-all and be-all in terms of a solution to funding infrastructure maintenance. Think for a few minutes about the idea of a hefty tax break for corportions and you’ll begin to understand just why Senator “Big Bucks” Blunt might find this plan attractive. But it’s also true that, as Cooper notes, this sort of approach is perhaps the only way we’ll manage to get action to address a problem that can’t wait much longer:

Of course these corporations will pocket their tax break, and busily continue piling up their overseas Smaug-like hoards so they can start whining for another one (that’s what they did last time), but as a stopgap measure until we get a less-insane Congress, this is not totally horrible. I fear that right now, that’s as good as we’re going to get.

Maybe Blunt should get some points for bucking the do-nothing GOP plan of non-action. Of course, the best thing for the rest of us to do would be to get to work to get rid of a congress that, again in Cooper’s words, has created an environment in which “our national discussion is so captured by the austerian/anti-tax death grip, we have to come up with Rube Goldberg policy schemes to pretend like we’re not spending money.”

Yesterday, at the Missouri Ethics Commission, in the St. Louis County Executive race:

C071362 01/20/2014 CITIZENS FOR STEVE STENGER Joseph Treadway 2226 Telford St Louis MO 63125 Entrepreneur 1/18/2013 $5,500.00

[emphasis added]

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

Campaign Finance: $5,001.00 (November 20, 2013)

Campaign Finance: variations on a theme (November 22, 2013)

Campaign Finance: back to the $5,001.00 theme (November 26, 2013)

Campaign Finance: breaking out of the contribution amount mold (December 4, 2013)

Campaign Finance: back to basics (December 5, 2013)  

Previously:

Campaign Finance: Grigsby (D) and Dohrman (r) in the 51st Legislative District – 3rd Quarter 2013 (October 16, 2013)

Campaign Finance: the race in the 51st Legislative District is going to be quite interesting (January 1, 2014)

….There won’t be a lack of funds this time around, eh?….

So far we’ve been right.

The fourth quarter 2013 campaign finance reports were filed last week and are available at the Missouri Ethics Commission.

The summary for challenger Gary Grigsby (D):

C131137: Grigsby For Missouri

110 East Market Committee Type: Candidate

Warrensburg Mo 64093 Party Affiliation: Democrat

[….] Established Date: 09/24/2013

[….]

Information Reported On: 2014 – January Quarterly Report

Beginning Money on Hand $10,005.31

Monetary Receipts + $10,016.00

Monetary Expenditures – $0.00

Contributions Made – $0.00

Other Disbursements – $0.00

Subtotal     $10,016.00

Ending Money On Hand   $20,021.31

[emphasis added]

That’s another good quarter.

The summary for incumbent Dean Dohrman (r):

C111221: Committee To Elect Dean Dohrman State Representative

Po Box 234 Committee Type: Candidate

La Monte Mo 65337 Party Affiliation: Republican

[….] Established Date: 12/16/2011

[….]

Information Reported On: 2014 – January Quarterly Report

Beginning Money on Hand $5,554.15

Monetary Receipts + $5,140.00

Monetary Expenditures – $1,178.25

Contributions Made – $0.00

Other Disbursements – $0.00

Subtotal     $3,961.75

Ending Money On Hand   $9,515.90

[emphasis added]

Yes, but the republican money machine will make sure he has all the money he needs – and more.

The contributions for Gary Grigsby (D):

CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED – SUPPLEMENTAL

GRIGSBY FOR MISSOURI [pdf] 1/19/2014

Pete Owens

506 N Drive

Marshall MO 65340

retired

10/9/2013

$25.00

Dorothy Geisler

1216 S Benton

Marshall MO 65340

retired

10/7/2013

$100.00

Joan Ferguson

1404 Rockford Dr.

Warrensburg MO 64093

self — music teacher

10/17/2013

$100.00

Robert Yates

207 W Market

Warrensburg MO 64093

UCM — professor

10/17/2013

$50.00

Maymie Simmons

280 NE 35 Rd

Warrensburg MO 64093

retired

10/17/2013

$100.00

Stan Thompson

825 Willow Creek Ln

Higginsville MO 64037

retired

10/28/2013

$100.00

Celia Kingbury

1227 Cheatham Ct

Warrensburg MO 64093

UCM — teacher

10/23/2013

$100.00

Zac Maggi

221 S Second St

Clinton MO 64735

self — attorney

10/22/2013

$100.00

Sarah Skaggs

213 St Joseph St Apt A

Columbia MO 65201

self — arts administrator

11/8/2013

$50.00

Nellie Grigsby

413 E North St Apt 16

Warrensburg MO 64093

retired

11/3/2013

$100.00

M. Joyce Speas

407 Benjamin Dr

Warrensburg MO 64093

retired

11/11/2013

$25.00

Jeanie Stiles

967 NE 1175 Private Road

Windsor MO 65360

retired

11/8/2013

$50.00

Ben Martins

302 NE Keystone

Lee’s Summit MO 64086

MAAE — Executive Director

11/17/2013

$25.00

Karen Colton Millsap

1353 Quail Run

Mt Vernon MO 65712

retired

11/8/2013

$100.00

Betty Sullivan

27026 Oriole Ave

Slater MO 65349

self — cosmotologist

11/17/2013

$50.00

Tammy Stewart

12 N Jefferson Ave

Marshall MO 65340

20/20 Optical Center — manager

11/15/2013

$40.00

Marilyn Hinnah

38091 Hwy PP

Gilliam MO 65330

retired

11/17/2013

$25.00

Norma Lee Smith

Big Ben Home

Slater MO 65349

retired

11/17/2013

$25.00

Anita Rose Copeland

902 Park Place Ave

Slater MO 65349

retired

11/17/2013

$20.00

Verna Sue (Velton) Gibson

628 S Grant Ave

Marshall MO 65340

retired

11/17/2013

$10.00

Marilyn Odell

850 Heiler St

Slater MO 65349

retired

11/17/2013

$20.00

Karol Stephan

405 W 7th

Appleton City MO 64724

retired

11/19/2013

$100.00

Deleta Williams

110 E Hale Lake Rd

Warrensburg MO 64093

retired

11/21/2013

$50.00

Nellie Grigsby

413 E North St Apt 16

Warrensburg MO 64093

retired

11/8/2013

$25.00

Cathy Kahoe

109 Grant Dr

Warrensburg MO 64093

retired

11/20/2013

$50.00

Brett Penrose

1693 NW 615 Rd

Kingsville MO 64061

City of Warrensburg — building inspector

11/24/2013

$200.00

Ruth Doyle

302 Johnson Dr

Warrensburg MO 64093

retired

11/24/2013

$250.00

Fred Wilson

108 Meadow Lane

Warrensburg MO 64093

retired

12/12/2013

$50.00

Earl Seeley

773 S Hwy M

Asbury MO 64832

retired

12/1/2013

$100.00

Debra Lehr

2105 E Ann Terr

Harrisonville MO 64701

retired

12/1/2013

$25.00

J.C. Owsley

Rt 91 Box 1894

Cross Timbers MO 65634

self — farmer

12/1/2013

$25.00

Kathleen Weinschenk

1504 Sylvan Lane

Columbia MO 65202

none — volunteer activist

12/1/2013

$20.00

Nancy Langworthy

7301 N Booth Ln

Rocheport MO 65279

Boone Co Vice Chair

12/1/2013

$20.00

Cherelinda Chaney

1933 SW 2nd St

Lee’s Summit MO 64081

retired

12/10/2013

$10.00

Carol Anne Hammond

1413 Hamilton

Warrensburg MO 64093

Care Connection — case worker

12/10/2013

$25.00

Judy Morgan

3837 Campbell

Kansas City MO 64109

State of Missouri — State Representative

12/10/2013

$60.00

Donna Burk

4710 Eastern Ave

Kansas City MO 64129

UAW

12/10/2013

$20.00

Kenneth Brown

614 Darrow

Warrensburg MO 64093

retired

12/9/2013

$30.00

Helen Chester

212 Black Oak Dr.

Saint Peters MO 63376

retired

12/16/2013

$20.00

Robert Yates

207 W. Market

Warrensburg MO 64093

UCM — teacher

12/22/2013

$50.00

Connie Heatherly

411 E. North Apt 6

Warrensburg MO 64093

retired

12/24/2013

$25.00

R. J. Waldrop

9708 E 66th Terr

Raytown MO 64133

retired

12/10/2013

$25.00

Jim Staub

317 Hillcrest

Warrensburg MO 64093

UCM — teacher

12/22/2013

$20.00

Wesley True

532 Hamilton

Warrensburg MO 64093

retired

11/11/2013

$100.00

Gary Grigsby

303 S Mitchell

Warrensburg MO 64093

Retired

11/15/2013

$135.38

House Democratic Victory Committee

PO Box 1754

Jefferson City MO 65102

11/17/2013

$93.75

JoePAC

520 S Brentwood 1A

St Louis MO 63105

PAC

12/30/2013

$5,001.00

[emphasis added]

Small contributions and one PAC.

The contributions for Dean Dohrman (r):

CONTRIBUTIONS AND LOANS RECEIVED

COMMITTEE TO ELECT DEAN DOHRMAN STATE REPRESENTATIVE [pdf] 1/14/2014

13. TOTAL MONETARY CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED FROM PERSONS GIVING $100 OR LESS $1,640.00

Red Cross Pharmacy Inc

PO Box 917

Marshall MO 65340

11/6/2013

$250.00

Wallace Architects, LLC

120 S Limit Ave

Sedalia MO 65301

11/6/2013

$250.00

Holland Farms

23767 290th Rd

Marshall MO 65340

11/6/2013

$200.00

AT&T Missouri Employee Action Committee

One At&T Center

St Louis MO 63101

12/10/2013

$250.00

Empire Gas PAC

602 Joplin St.

Joplin MO 64802

12/18/2013

$300.00

Friends of Todd Richardson

PO Box 1226

Poplar Bluff MO 63902

12/10/2013

$500.00

Titlemax

15 Bull Street

Savannah GA 31401

12/3/2013

$500.00

Grow Missouri

308 E. High St., Ste. 301

Jefferson City MO 65101

12/23/2013

$500.00

Citizens for Hoskins

PO Box 118

Warrensburg MO 64093

12/31/2013

$500.00

Lilly USA

200 E. Adams

Springfield IL 62701

10/28/2013

$250.00

Sterling Consulting

10150 W. Ambassador Dr., Ste. 100

Kansas City MO 34153

11/5/2013

$375.00

Bill Riggins

225 Harrison

Marshall MO 65340

Saline Co. Economic Development Corp. — Ex. Director

11/5/2013

$375.00

STATEMENT OF FUND-RAISING ACTIVITY OR EVENT

2. LOCATION OF ACTIVITY OR EVENT: NAME AND ADDRESS

Bill Riggins

225 Harrison

Marshall MO 65340

3. DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITY OR EVENT AND FUND-RAISING METHODS USED:

Contributions

4. DATE OF ACTIVITY OR EVENT

11/5/2013

5. NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS

50

9.TOTAL CONTRIBUTIONS FROM PERSONS WHOSE NAME AND ADDRESSES ARE CONTAINED IN COMMITTEE RECORDS $1,640.00

[emphasis added]

There is a difference. Corporate PACs, a view businesses. Rex Sinquefield!

The expenditures for Gary Grigsby (D):

EXPENDITURES AND CONTRIBUTIONS MADE

GRIGSBY FOR MISSOURI [pdf] 1/19/2014

15. Total: Monetary Expenditures This Period (Sum 7 + 14) $0.00

[emphasis added]

That’s a burn rate of zero.

The expenditures for Dean Dohrman (r):

EXPENDITURES AND CONTRIBUTIONS MADE

COMMITTEE TO ELECT DEAN DOHRMAN STATE REPRESENTATIVE [pdf] 1/14/2014

B.Itemized Expenditures All Over $100

Midland Printing

1021 S Ohio

Sedalia MO 65301 10/31/2013

Campaign Supplies

$245.86

KMMO

PO Box 128 Hwy 65

Marshall MO 65340

11/20/2013

Advertising and

Promotion

$300.00

EXPENDITURES OF $100 OR LESS BY CATEGORY

Travel Expenses $384.39

Advertising and Promotion $147.00

Postage $92.00

Bank Fees $9.00

We’ll continue to watch this one.

Today, at the Missouri Ethics Commission:

C031159 01/19/2014 MISSOURIANS FOR KOSTER Lathrop & Gage LLP 2345 Grand Boulevard Kansas City MO 64108 1/17/2014 $10,000.00

[emphasis added]

You were expecting otherwise?

Yesterday, via Twitter and Facebook, from Senator Brian Nieves (r):

briannieves ‏@briannieves

Why does Tony Messenger live in Wildwood instead of the Near North Side? Why is he enjoying a $10 Breakfast and not working a Soup Kitchen? 9:34 AM – 18 Jan 2014

Brian Nieves

OK – Serious question… Is it monumentally hypocritical for someone like Tony Messenger, who always writes about the plight of the poor, the plundering of the rich, and the glory of STL City, to live in a fairly affluent area – far disconnected from the Urban Core – and be at a mild to moderately high priced breakfast place on a Saturday morning instead of serving the poor at a Soup kitchen?

Now look – I’m a million miles away from perfect and I’m sure there is much to be said about stupid things I’ve done but how about asking the Extremist Leftist Liberals in the press to at least pretend to LIVE what they Preach! Your thoughts?

Yesterday at 7:56am

One of the responses:

Tony Messenger ‏@tonymess

For the record, my daughter enjoyed her “mild to moderately high priced” chocolate chip dinosaur pancakes this morning. Cc: @briannieves 1:28 PM – 18 Jan 2014

Snark:

Sean Nicholson ‏@ssnich

@tonymess What’s for breakfast? 6:42 AM – 19 Jan 2014

Update:

Tony Messenger ‏@tonymess

Someone stole my paper this morning. Neighborhood has really gone down since they let the fully indoctrinated Marxist liberals in. #subtweet 8:22 AM – 19 Jan 2014

After Mitt Romney’s humiliating defeat in 2012, many pundits explicitly or implicitly agreed with bloger Ted Frier who wrote that the GOP had deteriorated into a party of ” elderly conservative whites who year by year are a shrinking share of the national electorate.” And it’s true. How do I know? The last-ditch war over light bulbs.

As a result of legislation passed during he Bush administration, The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, incandescent light bulbs that fail to meet higher energy efficiency standards are on the way out. The new standards were phased in, first 100- and 75-watt bulbs bit the dust, and starting this month the popular 60- and 40-Watt bulbs will not be replaced on store shelves after they are sold out. Republicans have been fighting this event tooth and nail. There’s been efforts at legislation such as Rep. Jeff Duncan’s (R-S.C.) bill, H.R. 3818 which attempts to repeal the ban. And now victory of a sort – the new omnibus appropriations bill contains a rider that will defund efforts to enforce the new standards. Of course, American manufacturers have, in anticipation of the new rules, almost completely ceased manufacture of the less efficient bulbs, but, with no prospect of enforcement, such bulbs could conceivably be purchased from foreign suppliers and sold in the U.S. to the folks who just can’t let go.

Stopping the new rules, believe it or not, has been one of the GOP’s leading priorities. When it first came to my attention in 2011, I wrote:

Did you scratch your head when the GOP House, faced with a deteriorating economy, decided to concentrate their energies on light bulb standards a few weeks ago? Did this suggest nothing so much as the crankiness of some of your elderly family members who curse as they try to figure out how to circumvent car seat belts, wax furious when they can’t smoke in restaurants, and carry on about the fools who buy “five-dollar” cups of coffee? …

Yup. You know just who it is who can’t let go. Geezers. I hate to say it because I think – technically at least – I qualify as one, but most of the carpers are undoubtedly geezers. Represented by the GOP, a.k.a. Geezers Only Party.

I noted back in 2011 that there’s more to the great light bulb war than how we get our light. What’s in play is the same impulse Charles Blow was talking about when he wrote that “Republicans are trying to hold back a storm surge of demographic change with a white picket fence.” The GOP plays to a constituency filled with nostalgia for a past that is changing, desperate to hold back a future they don’t understand and fear. Is it any wonder that the future of a GOP so constrained is itself imperiled?

2nd and 3rd paragraph slightly edited for clarity, link added to 3rd paragraph.

You may have heard that one of the first acts of the new year for House Republicans was the filing of yet another anti-choice measure, HR 7, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act. The ostensible purpose of the bill is to prohibit the use of public funds for abortion even more than they are already prohibited; if it were to make it though Congress, it would impose expensive and discriminatory restrictions on women who opt to have an abortion.

HR7 would raise taxes for women who exercise their legal right to have an abortion by eliminating medical-expense deductions for the procedure, although rape victims or those whose pregnancies are life-threatening would be, in line with the Hyde Amendment, granted an exemption from this provision. They would, however, have to prove their situation, resulting in the potential for a bizarre IRS “rape audit” that has organizations like NARAL quite justifiably all worked up.

Apart from constituting an intrusion into the privacy of one class of individuals, proving that one has grounds for such an exemption could be difficult. Rape, for instance, can be hard to prove in a court of law. In an environment in which actual standards for what constitutes rape or “life-threatening” conditions are not firmly delineated, it could be an horrific experience. As Think Progress notes:

We already live in a world in which navigating insurance coverage for abortion is so complicated that many women simply assume their insurer won’t pay for it, and end up financing the entire cost out-of-pocket. And we already live in a world in which victims of sexual assault are forced to prove the validity of their experiences to a skeptical society that doubts they’re telling the truth. We certainly live in a world that’s enacted nearly as many barriers to abortion access as humanly possible. Abortion restrictions that assume that some women’s reasons for terminating a pregnancy are somehow more valid than others exploits all of these dynamics. HR 7 fits neatly into this worldview – but it’s a continuation of a trend, rather than a brand-new outrage.

The entire Missouri Republican House delegation with the exception of Sam Graves (R-6) are listed as co-sponsors of HR7. This fact in itself is not surprising. However, I suggest that you keep it in mind when you hear reports about efforts to fix what one GOP strategist terms the “dire disconnect between the Republican Party and female voters.” In particular, I’m thinking about efforts to give Republican officialdom a young female face in order to shift the – accurate – perception that the party skews disproportionately older and male. The newly launched RightNOW Women PAC, for instance, marks one such effort to create a visible female presence in the GOP.  The Facebook announcement of the PAC’s launch party gets right to that point:

Were you disappointed with the turnout of women (and the women’s vote) in the last several elections? So were we! That’s why some amazing women got together to launch the RightNOW Women’s PAC. We are building a grassroots network of women, especially young professionals under 40, focused on raising awareness and money for qualified Republican women candidates for federal office.

Read this and consider that Missouri has sent two Republican women to the House. But both the women in our Missouri delegation, Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-4) and Rep. Ann Wagner (R-2), have shown that they are only too willing to support a repressive GOP agenda that far too often targets women, most recently by co-sponsoring HR7. Their gender alone won’t help make the sales that brokers like the RightNOW Women PAC hope to make by putting more women in front of the cameras. It isn’t sufficient to prove that if you look under enough rocks you’ll find some young(ish) female GOP life as long as those females choose to associate themselves with loons like Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), who has suggested that HR7 will be good for making money:

“I would suggest that it is very much the case that those of us in the majority support this legislation because it is the morally right thing to do but it is also very very true that having a growing population and having new children brought into the world is not harmful to job creation,” he said. “It very much promotes job creation for all the care and services and so on that need to be provided by a lot of people to raise children.”

That’s right. Keep’em barefoot and pregnant and we’ll be on the road to prosperity. Just look at all those third-world countries where nobody can afford birth control, not to mention safe medical abortions. Just what every woman wants.