A Democrat wins running for an open seat in a legislative district which was previously held by a republican (Gary Cross – term limited out) who was a reliable vote for republican party ideology.
How is that done in a district held by a republican for eight years? Talk to voters. Listen. Knock on doors, a lot of doors. Talk to even more voters. Address their real concerns. Out work the opposition. Repeat. Get out the vote.
Keri Ingle (D) [2018 file photo]
It really worked. The results:
State of Missouri – General Election, November 06, 2018
Unofficial Results
Cato the Elder tacked that on to his speeches in the Roman Senate, relevant or not.
The republicans in the Missouri General Assembly have super majorities in both houses.
Therefore, we should arm everyone in our public schools. Therefore, if it could possibly involve Planned Parenthood, we’re not interested. Therefore, St. Louis schools are not our problem. Therefore, an AR-15 is a perfectly good tool for hunting, because, well…
HCS SB 743, an education bill, was the subject of most of yesterday’s morning and afternoon sessions in the House. By one count there were forty amendments to be considered on the bill. With the time remaining on the legislative calendar, the actions (or lack thereof) of the Senate, and an impending sense of doom the education bill became a vehicle to try to hang entire bills which have no other legislative route to approval other than as amendments to another bill.
Then those amendments have to survive a conference committee.
As the afternoon session ground on one member of the House in the side gallery started quietly singing “Oh, Christmas tree”, joking that hanging all those ornaments on the tree was going to make it topple.
Representative Bruce Franks, Jr. (D) – May 8, 2018.
Representative Stacey Newman (D) – May 8, 2018.
Representative Hannah Kelly (R) – May 8, 2018.
Representative Holly Rehder (R) – May 8, 2018
Representative Deb Lavender (D) – May 8, 2018.
Minority Whip Kip Kendrick (D) – May 8, 2018.
Representative Martha Stevens (D) – May 8, 2018.
Representative Karla May (D) – May 8, 2018.
Speaker Todd Richardson – May 8, 2018.
Representative Mike Moon (R) – May 8, 2018.
There isn’t much levity at the end of this session in comparison to others. One can sense the tension and frustration – sometimes that bubbles up. It’s not so much the possible (probable, depending on who you talk to) impeachment of Governor Eric Greitens (r), but, as one member of the House said, a symptom of the Trump Era.
The Special Session which may consider impeachment commences at 6:30 p.m. on May 18th, thirty minutes after the end of the General Session. No one is certain of what is going to happen.
Though, we’d like to find out where that $1,975,000.00 really came from.
Tony Messenger @tonymess
Missouri Democrats ask for resignation of state Rep. Bob Burns, D-St. Louis, after discovery of his regular calls to racist radio show:
STATEMENT
House Democratic Leadership asks Rep. Burns to resign
“In recent days, House Democratic Leadership leraned of disturbing recordings of calls by Rep. Bob Burns to a St. Louis-area radio show whose host is notorious for making racist on-air statements. While we acknowledge some of the recordings have been edited, the fact that Rep. Burn repeatedly called into this show is reprehensible given the host’s well-known racist views. As a result, House Democratic leadership has asked Rep. Burns to immediately tender his resignation as state representative. We will not tolerate this conduct from any member of the Democratic Caucus.”
House Minority Leader Gail McCann Beatty
D-Kansas City
Via Twitter from State Auditor Nicole Galloway (D):
Nicole Galloway, CPA @nicolergalloway
Hate speech should never be accepted or tolerated. We are obligated to challenge racism and those who espouse it. Representative Burns should resign his seat in the Missouri House. #MoLeg 12:11 PM – 21 Apr 2018
Via Twitter from Representative Bruce Franks, Jr. (D):
Bruce Franks Jr @brucefranksjr
Bob Burns must resign, hearing those tapes upset me. That’s something we can’t stand for! There comes a time when silence becomes betrayal. 1:56 PM – 21 Apr 2018
And Missouri Democratic Party Chair Stephen Webber, and Senator Claire (D) McCaskill…
Special Investigative Committee on Oversight
Chair: Jay Barnes (60)
House Hearing Room 5
3/6/2018 – 5:00 PM or upon conclusion of afternoon session (whichever is later)
***Corrected***
3/5/2018 4:54:13 PM
Comments
Organizational Meeting
Executive session may be held on any matter referred to the committee.
And one tomorrow morning.
Special Investigative Committee on Oversight
Chair: Jay Barnes (60)
401 Monroe Street; Jefferson City, MO
3/7/2018 – 8:00 A.M.
***Amended***
3/6/2018 11:20:45 AM
Comments
Pursuant to HR5565, portions of this hearing may be closed.
Executive session may be held on any matter referred to the committee.
Today at noon at the capitol in Jefferson City the Missouri General Assembly started the 2018 legislative session. Speaker Todd Richardson (r) addressed the House, at different points extolling the virtues of so-called “Right to Work” and praising a republican House member’s persistance in promoting anti-choice legislation. For the most part members in the Democratic minority sat on their hands during the address.
Speaker Todd Richardson (r), presiding over the opening of the session in the House.
Rep. Martha Stevens (D).
Speaker Todd Richardson (r).
Rep. Bruce Franks, Jr. (D).
Speaker Todd Richardson (r) listening to a question from the media at the majority press conference in the House Lounge after the day’s adjournment.
At one point someone in the media at the minority press conference took issue with Minority Floor Leader Gail McCann Beatty’s (D) characterization of the Speaker’s address as partisan. Seriously.
Minority Floor Leader Gail McCann Beatty (D) at the minority press conference in the House Lounge.
Assistant Minority Floor Leader Gina Mitten (D) at the minority press conference in the House Lounge.
Rep. Tracy McCreery (D).
It is apparent that the legislative agendas of the majority and minority parties in the House don’t have much in common. Throw the republican controlled Senate and Governor Eric Greitens (r) into the mix and the prospects for progress look dim.
The republican majority in the Missouri House outlined their legislative agenda and their displeasure with Secretary of State Jason Kander (D) in their press conference in the House Lounge after the opening day’s adjournment.
Speaker Todd Richardson (r) – Jefferson City – January 4, 2017.
At the majority caucus press conference:
House Majority Leader Mike Cierpiot (r) – Jefferson City – January 4, 2017.
The Democratic minority in the Missouri House made clear their opposition to “right to work” legislation and any efforts toward dismantling the Missouri Court Plan from the republican majority. Representative Kip Kendrick (D) called on the majority to support ethics reform legislation modelled on the campaign rhetoric of Governor-elect Eric Greitens (r).
House Minority Floor Leader Gail McCann Beatty (D) – Jefferson City – January 4, 2017.
At the minority caucus press conference in the House Lounge after the opening day’s adjournment:
House Minority Whip Kip Kendrick (D) – Jefferson City – January 4, 2017.
One important part of the opening of the legislative session is that the members of the House elect a Speaker. The majority party (republicans) easily prevailed. The minority Democrats took the opportunity to nominate their leader for the position.
Minority Floor Leader Gail McCann Beatty (D) – in the House – Jefferson City – January 4, 2017
The minority leader’s remarks:
Minority Floor Leader Gail McCann Beatty (D): I am honored to be considered for Speaker of the House.
It is time that we let go of those issues which divide our state and address issues that our constituents have identified as priorities: true ethics reform, quality education, and job creation. Our responsibility is to our constituents and not special interests.
Racial tensions are at an all-time high fueled by an unprecedented federal election that seemed to not just ignore these issues but seem to legitimize it. Ferguson was just the tip of the iceberg and we cannot continue to ignore its existence. Ignoring the issue will not make it go away. The unrest in Ferguson was more than 2 years ago, and this legislature has done nothing to understand why it occurred and little to address the underlying issues to ensure that it doesn’t happen again. The failure to address the issue has allowed racism to trickle down into our schools, affecting our children. Our state boast an unemployment rate of 4.7% but the reality is that the unemployment rate for minorities is more than double that and for minorities age 16-24 it can be as high as 45%.
Sexual Harassment was dismissed as locker room talk. Recent articles have highlighted how serious the issue of sexual harassment is in our state. Millions of taxpayer dollars are being used to sweep these incidents under the rug rather than address the root problem. This is another issue we cannot continue to ignore. As a legislature it should be our priority to eliminate this behavior in our state.
We tout Christian values yet we continue to allow these injustices. It is time for us to say “not in our state.”
We can address many of these issues by focusing on quality public education and funding early childhood education. We have seen some improvement by all of our school districts but we still have a long way to go. Providing an educated workforce is essential to reducing unemployment and bringing jobs to our state.
When we focus on the priority of our constituents, we can find bi-partisan solutions. Democrats stand willing to work on solutions that address the priorities of our state. It is in the best interest of our state that we are committed to work together. For that reason, I withdraw my nomination for Speaker of the House. I am committed to finding bi-partisan solutions to address the problems of our state and working with the Gentleman from Butler to restore public trust in our state government.
The Secretary of State officiates at the opening of the legislative session for the seating of the new House until the members of the body select their temporary Speaker. Secretary of State Jason Kander (D) took the opportunity to address voter suppression.
Secretary of State Jason Kander (D) addressing the Missouri House at the opening of the legislative session – Jefferson City – January 4, 2017.
Secretary of State Jason Kander (D): I want to start by thanking all of you for putting yourselves out there to serve your local communities and our state. It is an awesome responsibility that I know you don’t take lightly. So thank you on behalf of Missourians for stepping up to do this job. We’re all counting on you to make our great state even better.
I am going to be brief today because I’m pretty sure the majority of you aren’t going to like what I have to say. But Missourians did vote to give me a four year term to serve as our state’s chief election official, so I want to use one of my last days in office to make a point.
To my friends in the minority party, I apologize in advance but I’m going to be talking mainly to the majority party. Obviously this November Missourians voted to turn over our state government – just as they did at the national level. Now, both here and in Washington, in all likelihood my Republican friends will have four years to shape the state and the nation how they wish.
As a Missouri voter, I’d ask you not to overstep when it comes to voting rights. Missourians might have voted to allow voter photo identification requirements, but that doesn’t mean they want it to be harder for eligible voters who have been legally voting for years to cast a ballot. Last year, when you passed a photo ID bill over my objection and over the Governor’s veto, you made a deal with Democratic legislators. They ended their filibuster and, in exchange, you included some of their provisions meant to at least limit the number of eligible voters the new law might disenfranchise.
Since making that deal, many of you have made public statements saying that the bill didn’t go far enough, and that you plan to revisit this issue in the future. Today is the first day of session, the new law hasn’t even taken effect, and yet some of you are already posturing to go back on your word and put forward brand new ways to make it harder for some Missourians to vote.
Before you go even further down this path, I hope you’ll keep in mind what happened when more extreme proposals were adopted in other states.
What these laws across the country mandate is that eligible voters have to get a specific ID that they don’t need for anything else just so they can vote. In America, we call that a poll tax. And just because of the time or the money or the impossibility of complying with that. And as a result not having maybe a birth certificate that they would need to comply with it. Doing that now is no less wrong than it was a half a century ago
After Wisconsin implemented a bill like that, turned it into a law, the voter turnout this past November was the lowest that they have had in twenty years. Election officials there say that it was the lowest in the highest poverty areas and they attribute it to the fact that that’s where people have the hardest problem affording the documents or getting the ability to be able to actually vote by getting that identification . And there were countless heartbreaking stories of people all over the state who were denied the opportunity to vote because of the new law.
In North Carolina an eighty-six year old woman went to the DMV to get an ID that she didn’t need. But she was going to need it if she was going to vote, so she set out to get it. She was turned away from the DMV because she couldn’t prove her maiden name. I think about the thousands of people who didn’t even get as far as she got, who didn’t bother to attempt it, because they knew all the obstacles that were out in front of them.
We’ve actually already had this debate in America. American heroes faced down batons, and dogs, and fire hoses to march across a bridge in Selma. [applause] Both here and on foreign shores, Americans of every color have given their lives for the simple idea that we all count and that all of us get to vote.
Now, you may not think that that’s important and if you don’t, you should at least know this. That in my four years as the Secretary of State of Missouri that there’s never been a case of voter impersonation fraud. And in my predecessor’s eight years, there was never a case. And in her predecessor’s four years, there was never a case. I could keep going, but I will give you the short version – and the short version is this – that there has never been a case of voter impersonation fraud in the history of the State of Missouri. Ever. That is the only form of voter fraud that a photo ID requirement can even pretend to prevent. I know that there are people who say otherwise, that it would deal with other forms of fraud, but we know that that’s true.
I know many of you personally. I know that you did not come here to try and restrict the rights of your constituents to vote. And the majority party in this chamber won a Senate seat, the Governor’s mansion, the Lieutenant Governor’s office, Secretary of State, Treasurer and Attorney General under the current system – clearly it ain’t working out that badly for you. [applause] You can applaud yourselves, I don’t care. Go ahead. It’s all right. The system’s working out for you. So , I would just say to you, even though you have the power to restrict the rights of your constituents of the State of Missouri to vote that I hope you be careful about it. Because you can go so far that your friends and family, that your neighbors, that your constituents in your districts could end up being denied the opportunity to vote.
I’m proud of the work that we’ve done in the last four years in my office as Secretary of State. And I’m proud that we were able to move early voting ahead to a point where a Republican member of this body, the Vice-chair of the Elections Committee filed it as a bill. I’m proud of the fact that in our office we worked to make it so that for first time Missourian’s can register to vote using an online form. I’m proud of the work that we did with you, with the state legislature, to make it so that participants in the Safe at Home program could vote absentee. Every single one of those changes, they made it easier to vote but none of them made elections less secure. So, the fact is, that you can pursue proposals like.
And I’m not here saying that there are no problems in elections. Clearly they are not perfect and there are problems. That’s why I created the first formal process in our state’s history to review and investigate election offenses and voting issues And I investigated, did more investigations than any Secretary of State in Missouri history, and I did all of it without disenfranchising a single eligible voter. You can protect the integrity of our elections without stopping anyone from from voting.
I’m not, I’m gonna let you get back now to today’s opening ceremonies because I know I’m not who you came to hear and I know that none of this was what you wanted to hear. But I am your Secretary of State for a bit little longer, and as a result I feel a responsibility to tell you that even though you have the power to take away the right to vote from the citizens of Missouri, you that shouldn’t.
And that if you choose to follow the example of Wisconsin or North Carolina, well then, I guess we’ll see you in court. [applause]
[compiled from audio and the remarks as prepared]
These remarks did not go over well with the republican majority. So poorly, in fact, that the ceremonial House resolution thanking the Secretary of State was not put forward for a vote:
HR 5
Expresses appreciation for the Secretary of State
Sponsor: Cierpiot, Mike (030)
Proposed Effective Date: 8/28/2017
LR Number: 1132H.01I
Last Action:
Bill String: HR 5
Next Hearing: Hearing not scheduled
Calendar: Bill currently not on a House calendar
So much for comity.
Speaker Todd Richardson (r) – Jefferson City – January 4, 2017.
At the majority press conference in the House Lounge after the day’s adjournment:
[….] Question: Secretary Kander, uh, raised some [cross talk] some concerns.
Speaker Todd Richardson (r): I’m shocked this is the first question. [laughter]
Question: Worth asking. Secretary Kander brought up some concerns that, uh, some members of your caucus might try to, uh, add in additional provisions to this state’s voter ID law. Uh, is that going anywhere under your leadership?
Speaker Todd Richardson (r): I think we worked very hard to get that law passed last year and we’re gonna be happy to work with Secretary Ashcroft to make sure that that law gets implemented fairly. I think the characterization that Secretary Kander had of this disenfranchising voters is part of the same line of misrepresentation of what voter ID is about that we’ve heard my entire time in the General Assembly. So, uh, we’re gonna continue to try to pass, uh, legislation that insures fair, uh, elections, but we’re not gonna do so in a way that disenfranchises voters.
Question: Can you tell us what happened to House Resolution 5?
Speaker Todd Richardson (r): House Resolution 5. Is, uh, could ask the Majority Floor Leader, who’s standing next to me, probably prefer that I answer the question for him. [laughter]
Uh, but we did not take up House Resolution 5.
Question: Was there a reason why you did not take up House Resolution 5? [laughter]
Speaker Todd Richardson (r): I have a, I have a great deal of respect for Secretary Kander. I served with him here in the Missouri House. Uh, but I think there is a, a time and a place, uh, for that kind of, of discussion. And I think the Secretary’s bringing that issue up, particularly the way he did during the session today was probably beyond, um, the responsibility of the Secretary of State.
[….]
Translation: he rained on our self congratulatory parade with his words of truth.
