Eric Schmitt @Eric_Schmitt
Democrats think raising taxes will fix the inflation they created. The misnamed “Inflation Reduction Act” will supercharge the price hikes wrecking our economy and force families to pay more in taxes. When I get to the Senate, I’ll be ready to stop to these socialist boondoggles. 7:45 PM · Aug 7, 2022
Payroll employment rises by 528,000 in July; unemployment rate edges down to 3.5%
Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 528,000 in July, and the unemployment rate edged down to 3.5 percent. Both total nonfarm employment and the unemployment rate have returned to their February 2020 pre-pandemic levels.
As usual, there was much hilarity in the responses to Eric Schmitt (r):
Would have voted to prevent capping insulin at $35 a month?
DEMOCRATIC PRIORITIES: Reduce inflation, make prescription drugs more affordable, protect the climate, more jobs, protect human rights
REPUBLICAN PRIORITIES: Defend Alex Jones, insurrection, higher insulin costs, break up marriages, force 10 year olds to have their rapists’ baby
Maybe you should sue somebody about it. That’s the only thing you do anyway you useless grifter.
Keep in mind that you weren’t the best Eric. You just weren’t (quite) the worst Eric. Raising the tax rate for those making over $400,000 per year will have negligible impact on Missouri families. Wasting our tax dollars on frivolous lawsuits against our school districts hurt.
Don’t you have to go waste our tax money trying to sue china or something? Get out of here
Boring and predictable. Let us know if you ever plan on fighting for anything worthwhile.
Don’t know how to break it to you Sparky but most Americans don’t make more than $400,000 a year, but then again they don’t have access to all that nice corporate cash or all that dark money you’ve got.
If you were to get to the Senate, you would be every bit the failure you are as AG.
Oh my gawd. What a load of crap.
Dude, you sue the school systems. Lol
Democrats created global inflation? If you think most families make 400k+ you are quite out of touch. Personally, I’m happy that billion dollar companies will have a minimum tax.
If you get to the Senate you’ll be to busy grandstanding to know what the hell is going on.
Cringeworthy that you are anywhere near a political office.
Inflation is a global thing. No one party did anything to start it,and the donors of the GQP are in profiteering off of it.
“Socialist” is an interesting way of describing getting rich people to pay SLIGHTLY more ! [….]
So the only way to keep inflation down is to let corporations not pay taxes, so they don’t increase their prices? How the fuck is that going so far?
As a Missourian Mr. Schmitt, let me say this…you are a freaking moron.
“If you’re not a tax cheat, hedge fund manager or a corporation making over $1 billion, you’re not affected.”
– Steven M. Rosenthal, senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center
Eric Schmitt @Eric_Schmitt
It’s almost as if all the fear mongering around COVID was just one big power play. 1:36 PM · Mar 12, 2022
Sociopath.
Some of the responses:
Jason Kander @JasonKander
Replying to @Eric_Schmitt
Are you vaccinated? Did you get the booster? 3:24 PM · Mar 12, 2022
It’s as if the claim about fear mongering around COVID is just another example of Schmitt’s stupidity.
950,000 US deaths; 19,500 MO deaths. Many with long haul COVID and our healthcare system almost breaking. No one should worry about that.
What a ghoul!
20k dead constituents could not be reached for comment.
Help me understand this. I’m not supposed to care about something factual, but whatever you’re selling is legit. Just how much is your snake oil and where can I purchase some?
What is wrong with you? [….]
Day drinking and tweeting again Eric? What’s this even about? See this is why you lose so many lawsuits; all accusation, no context.
It’s almost as if all the COVID-denialism (almost 1 million US deaths!) was just one big power play… (as you, for example, run for senate)
It’s hard for me to understand an elected politician being so openly dismissive of nearly a million dead Americans as @Eric_Schmitt seems to be.
Kinda like “build a wall” bullshit right???
My father died of Covid. You are a horrible person.
So the people who died from COVID were just part of a huge fear mongering power play? You are an idiot.
It’s almost as if you’re a #PoliticalHack.
People have tried to explain the science behind the measures to mitigate the impact of the COVID pandemic to you but obviously you cannot comprehend. So now we just have you spewing forth your vomit of lies and misinformation.
Do you LIKE playing the miserable SOB who people loathe with a passion?
Right, f*ck those petty people that buried family and friends.
So, everyone who has died from Covid don’t really exist? Brick shy of a load Schmitt.
You’re an idiot. Millions have died. What a pathetic existence you live.
Tell that to everyone who lost people. Asshole.
Or you’re just an idiot
My god. What the actual fck is wrong with you? Are you seriously so desperate for attention you sit there and make lists of the most vile things you could say? A lot of people died. A lot are suffering long term effects. This is disgusting and your family should feel shame.
How many of your constituents died from it last week, you monstrous shit?
Josh Hawley Is the Thirstiest Man in Washington, D.C.
In a town full of thirsty people, Josh Hawley is crawling across the Kalahari. Meanwhile, he and every other senator knows the president* is guilty as sin.
By Charles P. Pierce
Jan 22, 2020
WASHINGTON—Let me tell you something I know for certain. Listen, for this thing is true. There is a rookie U.S. Senator named Josh Hawley. He comes from Missouri and he is a Republican. He replaced MSNBC’s Claire McCaskill, who was a nominal Democrat, because Missouri is one of those states that has steadily lost its mind over the last two decades, which we’re not supposed to notice because it is impolite to all those nice people who carried the prion disease into our politics. Anyway, in a town full of thirsty people, Josh Hawley is a man crawling across the Kalahari. And this is the thing that I know for certain. The most dangerous place to stand in Washington D.C. is any place between Senator Josh Hawley and a live microphone….
[….]
Around midday on Wednesday, there was a bank of microphones and an exaltation of television cameras in the basement of the Capitol, where the little trams disgorge senators on their way to the chamber from their various office buildings. This is prime quote-stalking territory, even with the ludicrous restrictions that have been put in place, especially for these impeachment days. The microphones and cameras had been lined up for a scheduled press conference with the House managers of the impeachment trial. They were running a little late. Meanwhile, Hawley got off the tram, spotted the microphones and cameras, and reacted like a wolverine in a meat locker. His closing speed was nothing short of stunning. He was already at full boil by the time he’d reached his mark.
[….]
The people in the first rows of the galleries leaned over a little further, and the people in the rows behind them stretched and craned their necks. Down and to Schiff’s left, Mitch McConnell was holding the arms of his chair so tightly that his knuckles went bloodless and his lips were clenched tighter than his fingers were. You could not have pulled a pin out of McConnell’s ass with a tractor.
It was only a moment, and it passed, and McConnell soon slipped back into the placid mien of The Man Who Has The Votes. But the president* is guilty as sin, and they all know it, and they all know they can’t do anything about it because more senators don’t want to do anything about than do want to do anything about it. But the president* is as guilty as Jesse James, and they all know it. Every one of them knows it. They have to decide if they can live with that knowledge, and the tragedy is that they get to decide whether we have to live with it, too.
Republican
Name Mailing Address Random Number Date Filed
Tony Monetti 610 SOUTHWEST DR WARRENSBURG MO 64093 264 2/27/2018 8:21 a.m.
Austin Petersen 19615 S STATE ROUTE J PECULIAR MO 64078 345 2/27/2018 8:20 a.m.
Josh Hawley 5215 E HWY 163 COLUMBIA MO 65201 484 2/27/2018 1:16 p.m.
Fred Ryman 2838 SCHOTT RD JEFFERSON CITY MO 65101 569 2/27/2018 8:57 a.m.
Christina Smith 1425 SUNSET LAKE RD APT. 4 JEFFERSON CITY MO 65109 673 2/27/2018 4:05 p.m.
Kristi Nichols 16657 E 23 ST S SUITE 224 INDEPENDENCE MO 64055 688 2/27/2018 2:49 p.m.
Bradley Krembs 32 FLOYD DR ST CHARLES MO 63303 695 2/27/2018 11:30 a.m.
Ken Patterson 94 ELK RUN DR EUREKA MO 63025 971 2/27/2018 9:09 a.m.
Brian G. Hagg PO BOX 165 AURORA MO 65605 3/5/2018 9:01 a.m.
Courtland Sykes 9738 E WINNER RD INDEPENDENCE MO 64052 3/12/2018 1:42 p.m.
Democratic
Name Mailing Address Random Number Date Filed
Carla (Coffee) Wright 519 N NEWSTEAD AVE ST LOUIS MO 63108 116 2/27/2018 4:59 p.m.
Angelica Earl 9210 BOBB AVE ST LOUIS MO 63114 603 2/27/2018 10:12 a.m.
Leonard Joseph Steinman II 2217 W EDGEWOOD DR JEFFERSON CITY MO 65109 865 2/27/2018 12:11 p.m.
John Hogan 1120 SADDLEBROOK CT N ST CHARLES MO 63304 882 2/27/2018 8:42 a.m.
Travis Gonzalez 2519 AURORA AVENUE APT 1 MARYVILLE MO 64468 3/1/2018 8:53 a.m.
David Faust 1113 CREEKSIDE CT RAYMORE MO 64083 3/5/2018 3:30 p.m. Claire McCaskill 1941 SPRING HOUSE DR ST LOUIS MO 63122 3/16/2018 4:47 p.m.
Libertarian
Name Mailing Address Random Number Date Filed
Japheth Campbell 503 N FOREST AVE SPRINGFIELD MO 65802 3/5/2018 11:29 a.m.
[emphasis added]
Do you think any of these other candidates are going to schedule open public town halls across the state? Just asking.
The fact that the Alabama GOP selected as its senatorial candidate a fanatical rightwing Christian who, while in his thirties, attempted to seduce teenagers as young as 14 years puts the onus on the erstwhile party of evangelicals to take a stand on his suitability to serve. Given that many were just fine with President P**** Grabber, that may be expecting a little too much. But if not now, when do folks stand up for basic decency and intelligent government?
Every GOP senator needs to let us know whether they’re willing to welcome a Bible-thumping pedophile into the Senate just so they can retain the necessary votes to pack the court with unqualified right-wing nutjobs, cut taxes for wealthy donors, pay for them by shafting the working and middle class, cripple Obamacare, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and, appropriately, given Moore’s dominionist leanings, eviscerate women’s reproductive health rights.
So far as I know, our Missouri Republican Senator Roy Blunt has tacked for cover. He has, evidently bailed on a scheduled fundraiser for Moore, discretion being the better part of valor after all. Nevertheless I can’t find a statement from ol’ Roy anywhere – if you know of one, please let me know. Blunt needs to come clean about whether he’s going to welcome Brother Moore into the Senate or stand up for what we’ve been told are the outstanding GOP family values.
What will Sen. Blunt do when push comes to shove (besides trying to avoid getting to shove)?:
Does Sen. Blunt think it’s OK to allow a man into the Senate who has been the first to condemn and attempt to punish others for their sexual orientation – to the point of defying the law – while, as an adult, preying on inexperienced young girls?
Surely Sen. Blunt won’t resort to justifying such predatory behavior by pointing out that in the past social mores sanctioned the marriage of very young women – as others in the GOP have? Or that it’s sanctioned by the Bible? As Kathryn Brightbill points out in an Op-ed in the Los Angeles Times, justifying the sexual exploitation of very young women is not unknown in extreme evangelical circles all too willling to put the onus on the morally inferior “seductive” female.
Will he try Donald Trump’s dodge? When Trump isn’t saying that nothing’s been proven, he tells us hat he’s just been too busy governing to pay attention to a major scandal stalking his party? Sounds like alot like the way Blunt often attempts to avoid controversy.
Will he stand up for Moore and take his denials at face value? Easy, but dangerous. In spite of Evangelical Rev. Jerry Falwell’s knee jerk support for Moore, it’s a hard case for an intelligent human being to make and Bunt’s not dumb. As Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) declared “the allegations against Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore are more credible than Moore’s denial.”
Or there’s the noncommittal strategy employed by many Republicans – Moore should step aside “if the accusations are true,” even though statements by the young women have been shown to be highly credible and correspond to rumors that had been circulating in Alabama for years.
I’m taking odds that Roy will go for number five. More his “wiggle room” style. Neither here nor there, but right where he needs to be to do the work of his big money cronies. Maybe he’ll sprinkle in a little bit of the “attending to business” meme as well.
Of course, he could do the right thing and condemn the hypocrite and refuse to go along with seating him in the Senate should Moore win his election.
Nah … not Roy. Moral stands aren’t going to become his thing this late in the game.
UPDATE: Maybe Bunt will follow the latest shift in the response of the Senate leadership and disavow Moore after all – a new poll shows Moore’s Democratic challenger up 4 points. In Alabama. And Sen. Blunt’s a good little team player.
Missouri Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill is all over the Internet today. This clip* – in which McCaskill calls out GOP Senator Orrin Hatch about the shameful effort of Senate Republicans to slip their Obamacare Dump & Dupe bill through the Congress with no Democratic input or public examination – is literally on every progressive blog and on news websites everywhere. And it ought to be.
Our Democratic Senator is doing what she’s good at: plain speaking. And what she’s speaking about is the shameful way that GOP Senators are trying to take away our healthcare. They’re proposing to bring up for a vote a mystery bill, composed in backrooms by a “select” group of rightwingers, schedule no hearings, and offer no chance for our Democratic Senators to offer input. They clearly thought that we’d be so distracted by the Russian president’s road-to-impeachment circus that we’d never notice.
Stop and think about this for a minute. If a political plan or proposal can’t stand the light of day, it’s got to be really bad.
How bad? This article by WaPos Greg Sargent, summarizing what is known or inferred about the bill’s contents, makes it clear that while it may not be the execrable dog’s breakfast thrown up by the House, it still makes for a pretty rotten repast – especially for those of us with preexisting conditions.
Go watch the clip now. Then phone or email Senator McCaskill and thank her for standing up for everyday Missourians.
Then go phone or email Missouri’s GOP Senator Blunt and ask him where he stands – and make it clear that we can make the ground shake for him if he’s willing to go along with the Obamacare repeal-and-replace charade the GOP Senate seems to be trying to engineer
*A transcript of McCaskill’s comments has been entered as a comment – thanks to Michael Bersin.
I just called the office of my Missouri Democratic Senator, Claire McCaskill, to thank her – and you should too. Her Washington number has been busy (a good sign?), but I got through to her St. Louis office with no trouble (numbers for her Washington and regional offices can be found here).
Why did I want to thank Senator McCaskill so urgently? Today she stood up for Americans who are revolted by the cabinet nominations of the rabid circus MC that the Russians put into the American presidency. She along with all the Democratic members of the Senate Finance Committee boycotted the Committee meeting where votes on the nominations of Goldman Sachs financier Steve Mnuchin to be Secretary of the Treasury, and of Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) to head Health and Human Services, were slated. This maneuver deprived the Republican majority of the quorum necessary to ram the two manifestly unfit nominees through the committee.
McCaskill is a cautious woman who represents a state that went for Trump by 19 points – a fact that seems to weigh heavily on her mind – and for good reason since she’s up for reelection in 2018. Standing up to the bullies who’ve tried to pressure her to go along to get along – making big local ad buys targeting her, for instance – can’t be easy. She deserves a little love for putting principle before comfort.
But resisting the Trump-GOP combine as McCaskill did today – and, we hope, continues to do – is essential. In this particular case the two men slated for leadership positions in government are not only ideological disasters, they, in the words of the ranking Committee member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), “misled the public and held back important information about their backgrounds.” He added that:
Until questions are answered, Democrats believe the committee should not move forward with either nomination. […] This is about getting answers to questions, plain and simple. Ethics laws are not optional, and nominees do not have a right to treat disclosure like a shell game.
We may not be able to stop the nominations when all is said and done, but Democrats have got to be clear that they won’t support corrupt and unfit nominees for any office. Republicans may be scared spineless by Trump’s Twitter, but Democrats had better not be if they want to survive as a party.
Price is not only guilty of capitalizing on his privileged position as a congressman to violate insider trading laws, but is accused of explicitly lying about the nature of his questionable financial ventures during the Committee’s initial hearings. Mnuchin was part of the financial cartel that employed illegal robo-signing practices to made big bucks off the 2008 foreclosure crisis, but when called on the practice during the hearings, he gave false testimony about his bank’s use of the abusive practice. In essence, we have a president who comes from the dregs of the business world and who has dredged up some more bottom-feeders to run government agencies for him.
But worse is coming – tonight President Carnival Barker will announce his nominee for the Supreme Court. All three putative favorites are horrible. Not only are the stakes high, but the nomination of anyone other than Merrick Garland cannot be accepted by Democrats given the fact that inexcusable GOP stonewalling stole the office from this well-qualified candidate. We can only pray that Democrats will be willing to take up the burden of possibly prolonged opposition. We need to show them that we’re on their side when they do – and we can do that starting now by letting our Missouri Democrat, Claire McCaskill, know that we appreciate what she did today. Make that call.
CURRENT COMMITTEE INFORMATION
C90015801
Name: RIGHT WAY INITIATIVE INC.
Address: PO BOX 27, ALEXANDRIA, VA 22313
Treasurer Name:
Type: I – INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURE – PERSON OR GROUP NOT A COMMITTEE
Designation: U – UNAUTHORIZED
Party:
It’s the same address as the mailing.
They sent a letter in response to a request for additional information from the Federal Election Commission on August of 2016:
August 2, 2016
Jessica Grainger
Campaign Finance Analyst
Reports Analysis Division
Federal Election Commission
999 E Street, NW
Washington, DC 20463
Identification Number: C90015801
Reference: APRIL QUARTERLY REPORT (01/01/2016 – 03/31/2016), FILED 4/15/2016
Dear Ms. Grainger:
This response pertains to the Reports Analysis Division’s (“RAD”) Request for Additional Information (“RFAI”) dated June 28, 2016, concerning Right Way Initiative, Inc.’s April quarterly report filed on April 15, 2016.
The RFAI asserts that itemization is required for “each contributor who made a donation in excess of $200 used to fund the independent expenditure(s).” The cited regulation, however, requires the reporting of “[t]he identification of each person who made a contribution in excess of $200 to the person filing such report, which contribution was made for the purpose of furthering the reported independent expenditure.” 11 CFR section 109.10(e)(1)(vi). No contributions or donations accepted by Right Way Initiative, Inc. were solicited or received for the purpose of furthering the reported independent expenditures. Accordingly, no contributions or donations were required to be reported under the regulations cited in the RFAI.
With respect to 11 CFR section 114.10(f), that regulation applies only to “qualified nonprofit corporations.” Right Way Initiative, Inc. is not a “qualified nonprofit corporation.” Thus, the regulation is, by its own terms, inapplicable to Right Way Initiative, Inc.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any additional questions concerning this matter.
Sincerely,
Daniel Flynn
President
“….No contributions or donations accepted by Right Way Initiative, Inc. were solicited or received for the purpose of furthering the reported independent expenditures. Accordingly, no contributions or donations were required to be reported under the regulations cited….”
Alrighty then. We’re not going to find out who contributed money.
Right Way Initiative spent a chunk of change in support of or against some republican politicians in Ohio, including opposing the one who eventually won the special election for John Boehner’s vacated seat in Congress.
From the Federal Election Commission – reported on April 15, 2016:
Committee: RIGHT WAY INITIATIVE INC.
To Address Expenditure Description Date of Public Distribution/Dissemination Support/Opposed Amount Extended Calendar YTD Per Election for Office Sought
ADVANTAGE INC 2300 CLARENDON BLVD SUITE 303 ARLINGTON, Virginia 22201 PHONE CALLS 03/11/2016 In SUPPORT of TIMOTHY DERICKSON 6926.00 640363.50
ADVANTAGE INC 2300 CLARENDON BLVD SUITE 303 ARLINGTON, Virginia 22201 PHONE CALLS 03/12/2016 In SUPPORT of TIMOTHY DERICKSON 9561.36 649924.86
ADVANTAGE INC 2300 CLARENDON BLVD SUITE 303 ARLINGTON, Virginia 22201 PHONE CALLS 03/12/2016 In OPPOSITION to WARREN DAVIDSON 6374.24 656299.10
ADVANTAGE INC 2300 CLARENDON BLVD SUITE 303 ARLINGTON, Virginia 22201 PHONE CALLS 03/13/2016 In SUPPORT of TIMOTHY DERICKSON 9658.56 665957.66
ADVANTAGE INC 2300 CLARENDON BLVD SUITE 303 ARLINGTON, Virginia 22201 PHONE CALLS 03/13/2016 In OPPOSITION to WARREN DAVIDSON 6439.04 672396.70
ADVANTAGE INC 2300 CLARENDON BLVD SUITE 303 ARLINGTON, Virginia 22201 PHONE CALLS 03/15/2016 In SUPPORT of TIMOTHY DERICKSON 21594.40 703491.10 AXIOM STRATEGIES 1251 NW BRIARCLIFF PARKWAY SUITE 85 KANSAS CITY, Missouri 64116 PRINTING / POSTAGE 02/26/2016 In SUPPORT of TIMOTHY DERICKSON 17544.00 245910.00 AXIOM STRATEGIES 1251 NW BRIARCLIFF PARKWAY SUITE 85 KANSAS CITY, Missouri 64116 PRINTING / POSTAGE
02/29/2016 In SUPPORT of TIMOTHY DERICKSON 17544.00 263454.00 AXIOM STRATEGIES 1251 NW BRIARCLIFF PARKWAY SUITE 85 KANSAS CITY, Missouri 64116 MECIA PRODUCTION / MEDIA PLACEMENT 02/29/2016 In SUPPORT of TIMOTHY DERICKSON 14375.00 277829.00 AXIOM STRATEGIES 1251 NW BRIARCLIFF PARKWAY SUITE 85 KANSAS CITY, Missouri 64116 PRINTING / POSTAGE 03/02/2016 In SUPPORT of TIMOTHY DERICKSON 17544.00 295373.00 AXIOM STRATEGIES 1251 NW BRIARCLIFF PARKWAY SUITE 85 KANSAS CITY, Missouri 64116 PRINTING / POSTAGE 03/04/2016 In SUPPORT of TIMOTHY DERICKSON 17544.00 312917.00 AXIOM STRATEGIES 1251 NW BRIARCLIFF PARKWAY SUITE 85 KANSAS CITY, Missouri 64116 MEDIA PLACEMENT 03/06/2016 In SUPPORT of TIMOTHY DERICKSON 10937.50 323854.50 AXIOM STRATEGIES 1251 NW BRIARCLIFF PARKWAY SUITE 85 KANSAS CITY, Missouri 64116 PRINTING / POSTAGE 03/08/2016 In SUPPORT of TIMOTHY DERICKSON 38689.00 362543.50 AXIOM STRATEGIES 1251 NW BRIARCLIFF PARKWAY SUITE 85 KANSAS CITY, Missouri 64116 PRINTING / POSTAGE 03/09/2016 In SUPPORT of TIMOTHY DERICKSON 50010.00 412553.50 AXIOM STRATEGIES 1251 NW BRIARCLIFF PARKWAY SUITE 85 KANSAS CITY, Missouri 64116 MEDIA PLACEMENT 03/13/2016 In SUPPORT of TIMOTHY DERICKSON 9500.00 681896.70
DEL CIELO MEDIA LLC 1427 LESLIE AVENUE SUITE 102 ALEXANDRIA, Virginia 22301 MEDIA PLACEMENT 02/24/2016 In SUPPORT of TIMOTHY DERICKSON 215866.00 215866.00
DEL CIELO MEDIA LLC 1427 LESLIE AVENUE SUITE 102 ALEXANDRIA, Virginia 22301 MEDIA PLACEMENT 03/11/2016 In SUPPORT of TIMOTHY DERICKSON 220339.00 632892.50
FOUR CARD LLC 3788 RICHMOND AVENUE #1274 HOUSTON, Texas 77046 MEDIA PRODUCTION 02/24/2016 In SUPPORT of TIMOTHY DERICKSON 12500.00 228366.00
FOUR CARD LLC 3788 RICHMOND AVENUE #1274 HOUSTON, Texas 77046 MEDIA PRODUCTION 03/11/2016 In SUPPORT of TIMOTHY DERICKSON 545.00 633437.50
Total of Itemized Independent Expenditures = 703491.12
[emphasis added]
Axiom Strategies. Heh.
$703,491.12. That’s a lot of money in support of the guy who lost the republican primary. And we have no idea where the money came from.
We’ll need to wait until January 15th to see what they spent in mail against Claire.
The current annual salary for a United States Senator or a United States Representative is $174,000.00. Missouri state senators receive an annual salary of $35,915. Members of the Missouri House of Representatives receive an annual salary of $35,915.
You get the picture.
A bill pre-filed in the Missouri Senate on December 1st:
SB 48
Modifies provisions relating to filing fees for candidate for certain offices
Sponsor: Libla
LR Number: 0297S.01I
[….]
Last Action: 12/1/2016 – Prefiled
[….]
Effective Date:
August 28, 2017
The bill summary:
SB 48 – Under current law, in order to file a declaration for office a candidate is required to submit the following fees to the treasurer of the state central political party committee:
• For a statewide office or for United States Senator, a fee of $200;
• For Congressman, circuit judge, or state senator, a fee of $100; and
• For state representative, a fee of $50.
Under this act, candidates for such offices shall submit a fee equal to 10% of the salary for the office for which the candidate is seeking nomination.
[emphasis added]
Right. Wouldn’t want anyone’s grassroots campaign to get in the way now, would we?
Via TPM, we learn that Missouri’s Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill is claiming that many of her senate colleagues are saying one thing – they support Donald Trump – and planning on doing something else, namely, vote for Hillary Clinton:
“I believe, and I’m basing this on some of the things my colleagues have said to me, I believe the majority of the Republicans in the U.S. Senate are not going to vote for Donald Trump,” she told radio host McGraw Milhaven Wednesday on Missouri’s KTRS, as reported by CNN.
“Because they know that they can work with Hillary Clinton and get some things done,” she continued.
McCaskill’s assertion that GOPers might vote for Hillary in order “to get some things done” is surprising and renders her judgment suspect. Who really believes that Republicans want to get anything done? We’ve certainly seen scant evidence of such a desire over the past eight years – unless it’s cutting taxes for rich folks or repealing Obamacare, goals with which I doubt Hillary will concur. And we’re already hearing about how Republicans are planning to logjam her administration.
And if McCaskill’s right, what does it mean about Republicans?
First, it would imply that these folks are totally out of sync with the most numerous part of their base and scared silly that that base will find out. And given the angry, racist, authoritarian nature of many of the groups they have empowered via years of reprehensible and only partially masked dog whistles, their fear is understandable.
Second, it lends credence to claims that Republicans depend on their base to give them power that they then use to serve an entirely different master. The GOP manipulates poorly-informed, older, angry, white voters, Trump’s main supporters, who are largely motivated by resentment to help the party obtain the power it needs to service the needs of the corporate and oligarchic elites who pay the bills. Those elites, however, fear the havoc that a Trump victory could create.
Third, it means that lots of Republicans are flat-out hypocrites who care more about self-preservation than they do about public welfare and the future of the United States. Otherwise, they’d put GOP spin aside, tell the truth to their constituencies and encourage them to vote for Hillary too.
Finally, it tells us that the GOP believes Trump is a loser, both personally and on Nov. 8.
