Standard republican operating procedure.

Representative Mary Still (D), the Democratic Party candidate in the 19th Senate District, on the floor of the Missouri House, March 21, 2012.

In April 9, 2011, in the Washington Monthly:

…On the Senate floor yesterday, Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), eager to prove that the budget debate wasn’t just about Planned Parenthood, spent some time on the Senate floor going after Planned Parenthood.

“Everybody goes to clinics, to doctors, to hospitals, so on,” Kyl said. “Some people go to Planned Parenthood. But you don’t have to go to Planned Parenthood to get your cholesterol or your blood pressure checked. If you want an abortion, you go to Planned Parenthood, and that’s well over 90% of what Planned Parenthood does.”

That’s not even close to being accurate. Just 3% of the organization’s work is related to terminating pregnancies, while “well over 90% of Planned Parenthood does” relates to preventative health care services….

….As political spin goes, this is a true gem. Kyl said abortion is “well over 90% of what Planned Parenthood does” — a blatant lie — and when called on it, his defense is that his remarks on the Senate floor were “not intended to be a factual statement.” What an amazing way to justify all bogus claims — just make stuff up, and if anyone notices that you’re not telling the truth, simply explain that your nonsense was “not intended to be a factual statement….”

[emphasis added]

Today, in the 19th Senate District race, a story about a republican attack piece against Mary Still (D):

GOP ad accusing Still of missing votes takes liberties with dates

By Rudi Keller

Saturday, October 27, 2012

A Republican direct mail piece attacking Rep. Mary Still for missing votes includes a mention of 100 votes taken while she was hospitalized and cites dates when Still was either on hand or the House was on vacation….

….The fact that the dates used are not dates when Still actually missed votes do not undermine the message of the circular, said Jonathon Prouty, spokesman for the Missouri GOP. “If the statements that are made are not actual statements but made to highlight a particular part of the failed record, then the dates are insignificant,” he said…..

We live in a post fact, post truth, post sane America. The stoopid, it burns.  

Somebody must think there are vulnerable republicans in the Missouri Senate. The past few days at the Missouri Ethics Commission:

C091061 09/22/2012 SCOTT SIFTON FOR SENATE Missouri Democratic State Committee State Account PO Box 719 Jefferson City MO 65102 9/22/2012 $7,500.00

C091061 09/22/2012 SCOTT SIFTON FOR SENATE Democratic Senatorial Committee PO Box 7319 Columbia MO 65205 9/22/2012 $25,000.00

C081050 09/23/2012 MARY STILL FOR SENATE MO Senate Democratic Campaign Committee PO Box 7319 Columbia MO 65205 9/22/2012 $25,000.00

[emphasis added]

The candidates in the 1st Senate District:

State Senator – District 1

Democrat

Scott Sifton 9814 BERWICK PL ST LOUIS MO 63123 3/27/2012

Republican

Jim Lembke 812 ANN LYNN CT ST LOUIS MO 63125 3/20/2012

[emphasis added]

The candidates in the 19th Senate District:

State Senator – District 19

Democrat

Mary Wynne Still PO BOX 933 COLUMBIA MO 65205 2/28/2012

Republican

Kurt Schaefer PO BOX 1614 COLUMBIA MO 65205 2/28/2012

[emphasis added]

The latest summaries, in the 1st Senate District:

C010450: Lembke For Senate

Information Reported On: 2012 – 30 Day After Primary Election-8/7/2012

Beginning Money on Hand $308,626.64

Ending Money On Hand $332,584.66

[emphasis added]

C091061: Scott Sifton For Senate

Information Reported On: 2012 – 30 Day After Primary Election-8/7/2012

Beginning Money on Hand $9,240.08

Monetary Receipts $110,995.11

Ending Money On Hand $36,336.62

[emphasis added]

In the 19th Senate District:

C081145: Citizens To Elect Kurt Schaefer

Information Reported On: 2012 – 30 Day After Primary Election-8/7/2012

Beginning Money on Hand $556,849.12

Ending Money On Hand $590,975.02

 [emphasis added]

C081050: Mary Still For Senate

Information Reported On: 2012 – 30 Day After Primary Election-8/7/2012

Beginning Money on Hand $138,893.39

Ending Money On Hand $149,597.04

[emphasis added]

The republicans have all the money the need. The Democratic candidates have demonstrated an ability to raise money. These races are going to be very interesting to watch.

We journeyed to Jefferson City this morning, checked in at the House Communications Office and then set up our still cameras in a side gallery. Over the course of the morning session we had conversations with Representatives Joe Aull (D), Jason Kander (D), Chris Kelly (D), Jill Schupp (D) and Mary Still (D). Representative Denny Hoskins (r) crossed the aisle and we had a lengthy conversation in the side gallery about redistricting and its aftermath, the budget, revenues, and HB 1229.  

Speaker Steve Tilley (r) at the dais.

Stained glass above the press gallery and dais in the House chamber.

Representative Jill Schupp (D-82).

Old media in the press gallery above the dais. There’s a lot of space up there, but not very many people occupying it anymore.

 One gets the feeling that the paradigm has been changing and it isn’t finished just yet.

Debate across the aisle.

Representative Stephen Webber (D-23).

Representative Mary Still (D-25).

Minority Floor Leader Mike Talboy (D-37)(left) and Speaker Steve Tilley (r)(right) in conversation at the back of the House chamber.

After the noon recess in the House we encountered American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and Communications Workers of America (CWA) members with signs marching to the Capitol steps. After a few cheers the union members were instructed to leave their signs in a pile for collection before the went into the building. Later in the afternoon we encountered small groups in the halls  and offices speaking to individual members of the House.

Which side are you on? Which side are you on?

As the AFSCME, CWA and SEIU members gathered in front of the steps Representative Mark Parkinson (r) was exiting the building. We greeted each other and had a pleasant enough conversation. Apparently, Representative Parkinson believes public workers should be happier then they are.  

Two bills, HB 1319 and HB 1320, which were filed today vividly illustrate the vast chasm between practical reality and fringe ideology in Missouri’s General Assembly. Which is which probably depends on one’s point view of the universe. The ultimate impact on society if each becomes law couldn’t be more different.

Representative Jeanie Riddle (r) filed HB 1319 which:

Lowers the age for concealed carry endorsements from 21 to 18

Teenagers carrying concealed firearms is a good idea? Any guesses about the possibility of this one making it through the republican controlled General Assembly?

Representative Mary Still (D) filed HB 1320:

SECOND REGULAR SESSION

HOUSE BILL NO. 1320

96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVES STILL (Sponsor), AULL, KANDER, WEBBER, ELLINGER, OXFORD, SCHUPP, ATKINS, KRATKY, McGEOGHEGAN, McNEIL, SWEARINGEN, PACE, NEWMAN, HODGES, TALBOY, McMANUS, SIFTON, LAMPE, SMITH (71), QUINN, HUMMEL, McDONALD, NICHOLS, PIERSON AND HARRIS (Co-sponsors).

4543L.01I                                                                                           D. ADAM CRUMBLISS, Chief Clerk

AN ACT

To amend chapter 130, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to campaign contributions.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:

           Section A. Chapter 130, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto one new section, to be known as section 130.032, to read as follows:

           130.032. 1. In addition to the limitations imposed under section 130.031, the amount of contributions made by or accepted from any person other than the candidate in any one election shall not exceed the following:

           (1) To elect an individual to the office of governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, state auditor, or attorney general, two thousand dollars;

           (2) To elect an individual to the office of state senator, one thousand dollars;

           (3) To elect an individual to the office of state representative, five hundred dollars;

           (4) To elect an individual to any other office, including judicial office, if the population of the electoral district, ward, or other unit according to the latest decennial census is under one hundred thousand, five hundred dollars;

           (5) To elect an individual to any other office, including judicial office, if the population of the electoral district, ward, or other unit according to the latest decennial census is at least one hundred thousand but less than two hundred fifty thousand, one thousand dollars; and

           (6) To elect an individual to any other office, including judicial office, if the population of the electoral district, ward, or other unit according to the latest decennial census is at least two hundred fifty thousand, two thousand dollars.

[….]

Campaign finance limits. The impact on society and Democracy if multimillionaires can’t drop a few million dollars on a candidate or an initiative campaign? Priceless.

Any guesses about this one making it through the republican run General Assembly? Yep, less than none.

There’s a definite difference.

Representative Mary Still (D), bless her, introduced HB 1294 which would place a cap on payday loan interest rates:

SECOND REGULAR SESSION

HOUSE BILL NO. 1294

96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVES STILL (Sponsor), NEWMAN, McCREERY, McNEIL, McGEOGHEGAN, KIRKTON, SHIVELY, AULL, QUINN, CASEY, KRATKY, McDONALD, SCHUPP, SCHIEFFER, WALLINGFORD, CARLSON, PACE, OXFORD, McMANUS, MORGAN, PIERSON, RIZZO, FITZWATER, LASATER, HOLSMAN, BROWN (50), SWINGER, BLACK AND KELLY (24) (Co-sponsors).

5157L.02I                                            D. ADAM CRUMBLISS, Chief Clerk

AN ACT

To repeal sections 367.515, 408.100, 408.500, 408.505, and 408.510, and to enact in lieu thereof six new sections relating to consumer credit interest rates, with a penalty provision and a referendum clause.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:

[….]

367.105. Any person making or offering a consumer credit loan shall contract for and receive interest and fees in accordance with sections 408.100, 408.140, and 408.170 and shall be subject to all provisions of such sections.

367.515. A title lender shall contract for and receive simple interest and fees in accordance with sections 408.100 and 408.140 and shall be subject to all provisions of such sections.

           408.100. 1. It is the intent of the people of Missouri to prevent lenders, such as those who make what are commonly known as payday loans, car title loans, and installment loans, which have typically carried triple-digit interest rates as high as three hundred percent annually or higher, from charging excessive fees and interest rates that can lead families into a cycle of debt by:

           (1) Reducing the annual percentage rate for payday, title, installment, and other high-cost consumer credit and small loans from triple-digit interest rates to thirty-six percent per year;

           (2) Extending to veterans and others the same thirty-six percent rate limit in place for payday and title loans to active military families as enacted by the 109th United States Congress in 10 U.S.C. Section 987; and

           (3) Preserving fair lending by prohibiting lenders from structuring other transactions to avoid the rate limit through subterfuge.

[….]

[emphasis in original]

Goodness knows, not allowing predatory lenders to exploit working people with triple digit interest rates will cause the Republic to collapse. At least, that’s the republican line of thinking.

I drove an hour and a half through steady rain and arrived at the Capitol a little after 9:15 a.m. I made my way to the House Communications Office and checked in with the director. Shortly before the start of the day’s session he escorted me to one of the side galleries on the floor and later introduced me to one of the doorkeepers.  I set up my camera on a tripod and then watched and photographed the proceedings.

Representative Luke Scavuzzo (D-124) (center, seated) in conversation on the House floor while other representatives (standing in the background) wait to be recognized by the Speaker.

Over the course of the day I was able to have a number of brief conversations with representatives and longer conversations with others. At this point in the session votes can come fast and furious. There is a constant hubbub of conversation and activity taking place barely below the debate and action on the floor.

Representative Mary Still (D-25) (center, standing at microphone) in debate on the “sexually oriented businesses” bill – HCS SS SCS SBs 586 & 617.

HCS SS SCS SBs 586 & 617 [pdf] on “sexually oriented businesses” was originally sponsored by Senator Matt Bartle (r). A earlier iteration of this bill in a previous session was killed in a House committee and those circumstances have been the subject of a federal investigation and grand jury.

The tally on one of several votes on the “sexually oriented businesses” bill – HCS SS SCS SBs 586 & 617.

Curiously, during today’s proceedings (and reportedly during yesterday’s, too), debate on the “sexually oriented businesses” bill was not subjected to a previous question vote (a parliamentary procedure designed to end debate and move to a vote) as quickly as other bills.

Speaker Ron Richard on the dais (center, right) and Minority Leader Paul LeVota (D-52) on the floor (right, standing). The press gallery is directly above the dais.

Bill Monroe, a Columbia Democrat active in the DFA (Democracy for America, an outgrowth of the Dean campaign) chapter there, sent me this e-mail:

Our own 25th District Rep Mary Still and KC Rep John Burnett invite all to a “field hearing” on payday loan reform to be held at the Columbia Public Library Friends Room at 6:30 PM on November 16th. The average payday lender in Missouri charges 430.68% interest. For this and other reasons, reforms are needed to protect the poor and vulnerable in Missouri. The Republican Speaker of the House Ron Richard, has assigned a hearing for Mary Still’s reform bill for the last day of the session in an attempt to kill it. This Columbia library hearing will kick off a campaign to have Mary’s bill given a fair hearing and shot at passage. Come out and offer your opinion and stories on the Payday loan industry and hear how you can get involved…everyone welcome.

The average interest is 430 percent? That’s the average? And Republicans want to kill the bill. Just one more example of the GOP pimping for the rich and thumbing their noses at the poor. Or do they have some convoluted rationalization for supporting usury?

Rep. Mary Still (D-Columbia) just joined the growing group of critics calling on Missouri Speaker Ron Richard to remove Rep. Cynthia Davis (R-O’Fallon) from her chairmanship of a committee dedicated to families and children because of her comments on hunger and motivation.

In the newsletter, Davis wrote that “people who are struggling with lack of food usually do not have an obesity problem” and “hunger can be a positive motivator” for older teens capable of getting jobs.

“To say that this would have an effect on the obesity problem, that’s just cruel,” Still said. “It’s incorrect, wrong and cruel, and I’m not comfortable with her in a leadership position.”

Good for Still for keeping the pressure on Richard to hold him accountable, since he’s the one who named Davis to the chair.

But yet again, Davis managed to say something in this article that really bothered me.

Davis said her role as a mom and foster parent makes her qualified to lead the families and children committee. “I am an expert on family values,” she said. “I’m a huge advocate of the family, and I understand families in a deeper sense than most other legislators in the Capitol.”

Excuse me? She understands families in a deeper sense than most other legislators? What a self-important jerk! She has more children than the average legislator, I’ll give her that, but a deeper sense of understanding? Perhaps it was earned by lessons learned from allowing small children to play on a highway median.  

Vigil for Dr. George Tiller in Columbia – June 2, 2009 – part 1

Vigil for Dr. George Tiller in Columbia – June 2, 2009 – part 2

Vigil for Dr. George Tiller in Columbia – June 2, 2009 – part 3

Vicky Riback Wilson (left) and Missouri State Representative Mary Still (center).

Missouri State Representative Mary Still:…I think it demonstrates something that we all need to hear. That very good people, religious people, have a need of these services that were provided by this doctor.

And, we have today crossed the line as far as I’m concerned. A good man was shot dead in a church. They crossed a line. And we must learn how to cope with that, how to understand it, and what sense that we must make. And, my observation is that words matter. Things that people say matter.

And I have been in the state legislature now for four months. And I have seen the words used. And I have seen the discussion. And it’s guns, and it’s God, and it’s abortion. And the way these issues are framed for political gain and at the expense of the general common good is shameful.

And this incident demonstrates all three.

Abortion, guns, and God. And a good man has been killed in church. Apparently, a deranged man, a mentally ill person, has perhaps heard these words. We can’t blame a certain party or a certain element for, for, because one person is deranged. But we can acknowledge that what we say, especially people in positions of power, can have influence on people and influence on someone who might be mentally unstable.

So, at this time I want to weigh my words because I am outraged.  But I want and pray that we can use this as an opportunity to know that violence is not the answer. And to find the common ground on these flash point issues so that we can continue as a state to move forward and continue to recognize that very good people, very well-meaning people may disagree on this issue, but we must find a common ground. And it’s not violence….

….former Missouri State Representative Vicky Riback Wilson: …We’ve heard tonight from people who had the privilege of knowing Dr. Tiller personally. We’ve heard from people who feel strongly about issues that are important in our society. My guess is, however, that there is a different and unique motivation, and a complex motivation, for each of you and each of us who came here tonight.

Most of us didn’t know Dr. Tiller. Most of us, if you’re anything like me, had never even heard of Dr. Tiller, even though I was active, in this area. But the complexity of emotions, I think, that brought each of us here typifies the complexities of the issues that surround, not only reproductive health in our society, but as Representative Still said, all, the whole complex of issues that are brought together around this one event.

We come not just to pay honor to Dr. Tiller, we also come with renewed fervor for making sure that reproductive health is protected, especially and most importantly for those families who have children who are desperately wanted and through some terrible misfortune the pregnancy goes horribly wrong. And they’re left now in our society with very few choices and very few physicians willing to provide the necessary services.

We come here because we worry about gun violence. And people who can pull out a gun and shoot someone, particularly, in a church, a protected and sacred setting. And we come here because we need a protected place to have our voices heard. And be able to speak safely about all of this turmoil of emotions that have been brought to the fore when an event like this happens, mile away, to someone we don’t know, but that so deeply touches things that each of us hold dear and in which we believe.

Tonight is the reminder for all of us, not only to stand together, but to stand separately as we talk to elected officials, as we talk to newspaper people, as we talk to the media, and, perhaps most importantly, as we talk to our friends. We’ve cloaked ourselves in fear about expressing how we really feel about these key issues far too often. Now is the time to take this opportunity to discuss the issues and the feelings surrounding this type of event, so that perhaps it will not happen again…

Representative Mary Still, D-Columbia (Judy Baker’s district before she ran for Congress), was ill enough to check into a hospital. She sent the e-mail below to some of her colleagues who needed to know that.

Representative Mary Still was admitted to the University of Missouri Hospital and Clinics on Sunday March 8, 2009 for testing and treatment related to high blood pressure and possible pneumonia.

Rep. Still appreciates the excellent care she is receiving and remains committed to a state policy that will provide high quality medical services to all Missourians, especially our state’s children.

Cards may be mailed to 2000 S. Country Club, Columbia , MO 65210; no flowers please.

Still is not at death’s door, but the condition is serious enough that she is, even yet, in the hospital. Representative Mark Parkinson, R-St. Charles, saw the e-mail and forwarded it to all House members and staff, followed by this e-mail:

Representative Mark Parkinson had an annual medical appointment in St. Charles on Friday, March 6, 2009 for testing and examination.  All signs appear to point to Rep. Parkinson being in excellent health, although he is still awaiting the results of his cholesterol test.

Rep. Parkinson appreciates the excellent care provided by the doctors and nursing staff and remains committed to a state policy that will affirm the superiority of a market-based health care system, especially for the children of our state.

In the spirit of his (lack of) empathy, let me supply my own e-mail:

Blogger hotflash visited her doctor today. He commented that, considering the amount of time she spends learning and writing about Republican Scrooges in the legislature, her blood pressure of 105/65 is astonishing.

Hotflash is grateful for the excellent medical care she receives and only wishes that Missourians making less than half of the poverty level a year were going to receive the treatment that the Missouri Hospital Association and the federal government are offering to provide at no cost to the state of Missouri–but that Parkinson and his party are blocking.