Where ya gonna park your car?

Denny Hoskins (r) [2022 file photo].

Spin, via email addressed to constituents, from Denny Hoskins (r):

Greetings! Adversity comes before every great victory, and that is never truer than as someone working within the Missouri Senate.

This week I was met with bitter news. I was unexpectedly removed as the Chair for the Committee on Economic Development and Tax Policy during a press conference held on Jan. 23, 2024. I was also removed from the Appropriations Committee. From what I understand this was not due to a failure to fulfill my duties as a chair or committee member. Rather, it seems to relate to the use of certain strategies used on the Senate Floor to pass initiative petition (IP) reform. It also comes after I voted alone against Senate Bill 748, which extends Missouri’s law relating to the federal reimbursement allowance (FRA).

Removing a senator from their position as chair hasn’t occurred during session in over a decade, and it is completely unheard of in our Senate’s history for a group of senators to lose their positions as committee chairs all at once. In a more comical development, they also moved my parking spot further away. I’ve heard leadership discussed removing my office furniture as well. Unfortunately, you can’t make this stuff up folks.

On top of that, these decisions were made without any attempts to compromise or discuss solutions directly with me, and I can’t help but feel it is a punitive action meant to try and silence me as I work to bring my conservative ideals, and the ideals of my constituents, to the forefront of the discussion on the Senate Floor.

Despite this, I will remain steadfast in pushing for the immediate discussion and passing of IP reform on the Senate floor. IP reform is a priority of conservatives throughout the state and I will do everything in my power to make sure it is a priority here in the Senate Chamber. We cannot wait until the last day of session to pass IP reform like we have previously.

I hope to open negotiations with my colleagues to help us all move forward in our work.

[….]

“…certain strategies…”

Translation: “reactionary obstruction”

“…In a more comical development, they also moved my parking spot further away. I’ve heard leadership discussed removing my office furniture as well. Unfortunately, you can’t make this stuff up folks….”

This is done all the time in Jefferson City.

The cult of the victim.

Sure. The goal of curtailing and effectively eliminating initiative petitions for Missouri citizens by using obstructionist tactics is just so democratic. The irony escapes Denny Hoskins (r).

“…I hope to open negotiations with my colleagues to help us all move forward in our work…”

Sure. The republicans have controlled the General Assembly for over twenty years. What gives anyone the impression that they’ll change the way they do business any time soon, if ever?

What a clown show.

Previously:

Elect republican clowns, expect a republican circus (January 27, 2024)

Try caning first (January 27, 2024)