The April quarterly campaign finance reports in the 24th Senate District have been filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission:

C141179: Ashcroft For Missouri

12138 Mirror Lake Drive Committee Type: Candidate

St Louis Mo 63146 Party Affiliation: Republican

[….]

Established Date: 04/04/2014

  [….]

No Full Disclosure Reports with financial information have been filed for the current year.

[emphasis added]

Nothing by the end of the quarter (though the legacy money started coming in a little later).

C141209E: Jim Higgins

11944 Craig View Drive Committee Type: Exemption

St Louis Mo 63146 Party Affiliation: Libertarian

[….]

Established Date: 04/10/2014

  [….]

No Full Disclosure Reports with financial information have been filed for the current year.

[emphasis added]

It’s the same story here when it comes to the fundraising quarter, but somehow we don’t think Libertarians have access to as much legacy funding.

C091263: Lamping For Senate

#2 Warson Hills Committee Type: Candidate

St Louis Mo 63124 Party Affiliation: Republican

[….]

Established Date: 10/27/2009

  [….]

Information Reported On: 2014 – April Quarterly Report

Beginning Money on Hand $9,877.71

Monetary Receipts + $0.00

Monetary Expenditures – $2,401.60

Contributions Made – $1,000.00

Other Disbursements – $0.00

Subtotal     ($3,401.60)

Ending Money On Hand   $6,476.11

[emphasis added]

Senator John Lamping, the republican currently holding the seat, is not seeking reelection.

Representative Jill Schupp (D), the only Democratic Party candidate in the race, has been busy (and successful):

C131081: Schupp For Senate

418 North Mosley Road Committee Type: Candidate

Creve Coeur Mo 63141 Party Affiliation: Democrat

[….]

Established Date: 06/03/2013

  [….]

Information Reported On: 2014 – April Quarterly Report

Beginning Money on Hand $261,202.14

Monetary Receipts + $81,102.28

Monetary Expenditures – $25,957.66

Contributions Made – $20.16

Other Disbursements – $0.00

Subtotal     $55,124.46

Ending Money On Hand   $316,326.60

[emphasis added]

And finally:

C141148: Spooner For Senate

Po Box 8430 Committee Type: Candidate

Olivette Mo 63132 Party Affiliation: Republican

[….]

Established Date: 03/26/2014

  [….]

Information Reported On: 2014 – April Quarterly Report

Beginning Money on Hand $0.00

Monetary Receipts + $104,574.01

Monetary Expenditures – $0.00

Contributions Made – $0.00

Other Disbursements – $0.00

Subtotal     $104,574.01

Ending Money On Hand   $104,574.01

[emphasis added]

Almost half that amount came from the same two people from Waterloo, Illinois (in two separate contributions, one day apart):

CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED – SUPPLEMENTAL

SPOONER FOR SENATE [pdf] 4/15/2014

Jeanne M Rhodes Rich Galocki

PO Box 174

Waterloo IL 62298

Not employed

3/27/2014 $20,000.00

Jeanne M Rhodes Rich Galocki

PO Box 174

Waterloo IL 62298

Not employed

3/28/2014 $30,000.00

[emphasis added]

Imagine the terrible burden of raising that kind of money from people who actually live in your district, $20.00 at a time.

Previously:

Campaign Finance: Friends of the family?  (April 11, 2014)

Campaign Finance: Make room for daddy? (April 7, 2014)

Campaign Finance: trying to catch up in the 24th Senate District (March 31, 2014)

Campaign Finance: Schupp (D) and Lamping (r) in the 24th Senate District – 4th quarter 2013 (January 15, 2014)

Campaign Finance: Schupp (D) and Lamping (r) in the 24th Senate District – 3rd quarter 2013 (October 21, 2013)

It looks like one more year will come and go with no Obamacare Medicaid expansion. Why won’t the Republican fools in Jefferson City do what’s right when it comes to Medicaid? Temper tantrums because the GOP doesn’t like the scary black man in the white house and want to scuttle his legacy? Sure. Pandering to special interests who don’t want to pay their fair share? Of course. Efforts to insure failure of government run social programs that would otherwise deflect power from the GOP? That too. And there’s certainly plenty of delusional thinking, not to mention the ugly, retrograde political ideologies that have resurfaced in recent years.

Martin Longman speculates that the tantrum over Obamacare has extended so long and has been played out so passionately and so irrationally that there’s no way now for the committed GOP to retreat:

What’s interesting is that the Republicans’ are so dependent on ObamaCare being unpopular that they have to try to convince people it is failing even though it certainly is not. It’s not enough to point at polls about the law because those polls will change over time. They have to try to keep the polls low any way they can. One way to do that is to keep the myth alive among their base. Another way is to misinform as many people outside their circle as possible. Finally, they can work the refs in the media to the best of their ability, but that isn’t going to work anymore for media that aren’t formally or informally working for the Republican Party.

All undoubtedly true. But what this GOP miscalculation means in practical terms for Missouri is that no matter how empty their opposition is shown to be, the hardcore deadenders that populate many of the GOP seats in the Jefferson City will fight until their last breath against Obamacare, so, since Medicaid expansion under the program would be a big win, it can’t be allowed.  

This irrational animus is the sole reason why state Senator John Lamping (R-19), when confronted with efforts from those in his own party to find a way to take a good deal without losing face, insisted no way, “this is done. It’s not happening. Go find something else to do.” It’s why state Senator Kurt Schaefer (R-19) thinks an opportunity to do something to help his constituents is a “problem,” whining about “why is this somehow now our problem, and our immediate problem that has to be solved by us before the end of the session, when we didn’t create this problem?” It’s kind of like  having a meltdown when you win the lottery because you’re too stupid to figure out how to claim the prize.

But reality’s a bitch and, as they say, what goes round comes round, so sooner or later reality will catch up with the particular butt-end of the GOP that is now running the Republican show. Small solace though, since meanwhile, Missouri, currently ranked 39th in the nation for health outcomes, will continue to hover around the bottom, and, what’s even worse, people will actually, needlessly, die just so a few Republican diehards can save face and can continue to insist for a few more years that Obamacare really is a harbringer of Armageddon.  

Previously:

Campaign Finance: Schupp (D) and Lamping (r) in the 24th Senate District – 3rd quarter 2013 (October 21, 2013)

Let’s hope that the GOP reaps what John Lamping sows. (January 15, 2014)

He’s super-villain clever, he is! (January 14, 2014)

Representative Jill Schupp (D) on the House floor in Jefferson City – January 8, 2014.

Representative Jill Schupp (D), 88th Legislative District, representing most of Creve Coeur and Olivette, and parts of Ladue, Frontenac, Town & Country and Chesterfield, is a candidate for the 24th Senate District seat currently held by John Lamping (r). The 24th Senate District encompasses part of St. Louis County. The fourth quarter 2013 campaign finance reports have been filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission.

The overall numbers, first, for Jill Schupp (D):

C131081: Schupp For Senate

418 North Mosley Road Committee Type: Candidate

Creve Coeur Mo 63141 Party Affiliation: Democrat

[….] Established Date: 06/03/2013

  Termination Date:

Information Reported On: 2014 – January Quarterly Report

Beginning Money on Hand $177,583.38

Monetary Receipts + $103,154.00

Monetary Expenditures – $18,235.24

Contributions Made – $0.00

Other Disbursements – $1,300.00

Subtotal     $83,618.76

Ending Money On Hand   $261,202.14

[emphasis added]

That’s a healthy fundraising quarter. And a healthy cash on hand.

The overall numbers for John Lamping (r), the incumbent:

C091263: Lamping For Senate

#2 Warson Hills Committee Type: Candidate

St Louis Mo 63124 Party Affiliation: Republican

[….] Established Date: 10/27/2009

  Termination Date:

Information Reported On: 2014 – January Quarterly Report

Beginning Money on Hand $7,790.94

Monetary Receipts + $3,000.00

Monetary Expenditures – $463.23

Contributions Made – $450.00

Other Disbursements – $0.00

Subtotal     $2,086.77

Ending Money On Hand   $9,877.71

[emphasis added]

Okay, he’s definitely not running for reelection. Not with numbers like that.

So, at this point Representative Jill Schupp (D) has amassed a significant amount of resources for her senate campaign. No other republican has openly declared their candidacy.

Some of the details in Representative Schupp’s campaign finance report:  

CONTRIBUTIONS AND LOANS RECEIVED

SCHUPP FOR SENATE [pdf] 1/15/2014

13. TOTAL MONETARY CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED FROM PERSONS GIVING $100 OR LESS $6,672.00

CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED – SUPPLEMENTAL

[….]

Eastern Missouri Laborers’ Educational & Benevolent Fund

3450 Hollenberg Drive

Bridgeton MO 63044

10/4/2013 $1,000.00

[….]

Jackson County Democratic Committee

4019 Clark Ave

Kansas City MO 64111

11/5/2013 $250.00

[….]

Susan Talve

5020 Waterman Avenue

St. Louis MO 63108

Central Reform Congregation — Rabbi

11/11/2013 $250.00

[….]

William H. Danforth

10 Glenview Road

St. Louis MO 63124

Retired

11/12/2013 $1,000.00

[….]

Margaret Donnelly

68 Lake Forest Dr.

St. Louis MO 63117

SLU School of Law — Practitioner-in-residence

11/13/2013 $250.00

[….]

Electrical Workers Voluntary Political

5850 Elizabeth Ave

St Louis MO 63110

11/13/2013 $250.00

[….]

AFSCME Missouri PEOPLE

2419 B Hyde Park Rd

Jefferson City MO 65109

11/14/2013 $1,000.00

[….]

Jean Carnahan

312 N. Meramec Ave

St. Louis MO 63105

Retired

11/15/2013 $250.00

Teamsters Local 541

4501 Emmanuel Cleaver II Blvd

Kansas City MO 64130

11/15/2013 $200.00

[….]

Teamsters Local Union 688 PAC

4349 Woodson Rd

St Louis MO 63134

11/25/2013 $400.00

UFCW Local 655 Elect Political Fund

300 Weidman Rd

Manchester MO 63011

11/25/2013 $800.00

Teamsters Local 610 Political Action Committee

11472 Schenk Dr

Maryland Heights MO 63043

11/25/2013 $200.00

[….]

Teamsters Local 618 Drive Fund PAC

9040 Lackland Rd

St Louis MO 63114

11/25/2013 $200.00

Teamsters Local 6 Political Action Fund

2650 Wisconsin Ave

St Louis MO 63118

11/25/2013 $200.00

Teamsters Local 838 Political Action Fund

4501 Emanuel Cleaver II Blvd

Kansas City MO 64130

11/25/2013 $200.00

Teamsters 245 PAF

1850 E. Division St

Springfield MO 65803

11/25/2013 $200.00

[….]

Teamsters Local 823 Political Action Fund

PO Box 1299

Joplin MO 64802

11/25/2013 $200.00

Teamsters Local 682 PAC

5730 Elizabeth Ave

St Louis MO 63110

11/25/2013 $200.00

[….]

IBEW Local 53 Voluntary Political Fund

1100 East Admiral Boulevard

Kansas City MO 64106

11/26/2013 $500.00

[….]

Teamsters Local #955 Political Action Fund

4501 Emanuel Cleaver II Blvd.

Kansas City MO 64130

11/30/2013 $200.00

[….]

Gas Workers Local 5-6 Voluntary PAC

7750 Olive Blvd

St. Louis MO 63130

12/5/2013 $200.00

[….]

Teamsters Local 600 DRIVE PAC

161 Weldon Parkway

Maryland Heights MO 63043

12/6/2013 $200.00

Teamsters Local 41

4501 Emanuel Cleaver II Blvd

Kansas City MO 64130

12/9/2013 $500.00

[….]

IUOE Local 513 Political & Educational Fund

3449 Hollenberg Drive

Bridgeton MO 63044

12/13/2013 $500.00

[….]

Plumbers and Pipe Fitters Local 562 Voluntary Charity &

Defense Fund

12385 Larimore Road

St. Louis MO 63138

12/19/2013 $500.00

Missouri State U.A.W. PAC

721 Dunn Road

Hazelwood MO 63042

12/19/2013 $500.00

[….]

Missouri State Council of Machinist PAC

12365 St. Charles Rock Rd

St Louis MO 63044

12/21/2013 $250.00

[….]

Supporters of Health Research & Treatments

PO Box 11591

St. Louis MO 63105

12/28/2013 $2,000.00

[….]

Branch 343 National Association of Letter Carriers

Political Action Fund

2225 Blendon Pl

St. Louis MO 63143

12/30/2013 $250.00

[….]

Judy Baker

3075 S. Rangeline Road

Columbia MO 65201

Self — Consultant

12/30/2013 $100.00

[….]

IBEW Local 124 Voluntary Political Fund

301 East 103rd Terrace

Kansas City MO 64114

11/5/2013 $250.00

[….]

[emphasis added]

Working people! And a lot more.

And for Senator John Lamping (r):

CONTRIBUTIONS AND LOANS RECEIVED

LAMPING FOR SENATE [pdf] 1/14/2014

Luxco

5050 Kemper Ave

St Louis MO 63139

11/7/2013 $1,500.00

Noranda Aluminum Inc

391 St Jude Industrial park

New madrid MO 63869

10/16/2013 $1,500.00

[….]

13. TOTAL MONETARY CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED FROM PERSONS GIVING $100 OR LESS $0.00

[….]

[emphasis added]

That’s it. All of the contributions.

By now you’ve probably read lots about State Rep. John Lamping’s (R-24) lame attempt to launch the latest Missouri Republican attack on Obamacare. If you haven’t, you’ll find a good description of the bill and the issues it involves in this write-up by Gloria Bilchik at Occasional Planet, while Blue Girl here at SMP puts Lamping’s legislative chops into perfect perspective – as in “I loathe scum like Lamping with every fiber of my being and can’t imagine what it must feel like to be so empty inside, so bereft of humanity and kindness, so meanspirited, venal and utterly contemptible, so vapid, insipid, petty and trite”. I’m pretty sure she disapproves.

Blue Girl also acknowledges something else we all know which is that this exercise in radical rightwingery hasn’t a ghost of a chance of passing in even our GOP-heavy legislature – there are actually a few constitutional realists among the GOP crazies in Jefferson City – or being signed by our reasonably sane Democratic Governor should the unthinkable occur. And the case against the legislation’s viability was further bolstered by a judicial decision handed down today by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Lamping’s bill, SB546 (and companion House legislation introduced by  Rep. Keith Frederick (R-121), HB1314), was inspired by the Cato Institute’s Michael Cannon, who has encouraged lawsuits arguing based on the argument that the subsidies offered to low and middle income Americans on the federal exchange violate the law as it is written. As Ezra Klein notes:

The dispute settles around a single sentence: The Affordable Care Act’s defining a health insurance exchange, in Section 1311, as a “governmental agency or nonprofit entity that is established by a state.” Since the law says subsidies only go to people buying insurance “through an Exchange established by the State under 1311,” Cannon and some others argue that the federal exchanges, though specifically envisioned in the law, can’t receive subsidies.

Today’s verdict is the first to come down and it, tellingly, doesn’t endorse Cannon’s logic:

Judge Paul L. Friedman called that argument “unpersuasive,” saying it didn’t pass legal muster and ran counter to the central purpose of the Affordable Care Act.

“Plaintiffs’ proposed construction in this case – that tax credits are available only for those purchasing insurance from state-run Exchanges – runs counter to this central purpose of the ACA: to provide affordable health care to virtually all Americans,” Friedman wrote in a 39-page decision. “Such an interpretation would violate the basic rule of statutory construction that a court must interpret a statute in light of its history and purpose.”

His reasoning? The federal exchanges — which the Obama administration is constructing for 34 states that declined to build their own — “would have no customers, and no purpose” if the challengers’ logic were adopted.

Of course, this is just the first verdict in one of several lawsuits, but it doesn’t look too good for folks who think they’ve found the perfect, last-ditch, anti-Obamacare wriggle.

What this means in practical terms for Missouri progressives, as far as I’m concerned, is that John Lamping has given the state’s Democrats a big, fat, no-risk gift right before the mid-term elections. While Blue Girl notes that SB546 is “going nowhere, except in our file of stuff to use against the neoconfederates next election cycle,” we shouldn’t underestimate the good we can do with that file or just how potent this particular bit of GOP chicanery could prove to be when it comes to next fall’s elections.

At the end of December 33,138 Missourians or 5.04%  of the estimated eligible population had enrolled in private plans through the federal Website, Healthcare.gov. That number will undoubtedly grow massively in the next three months – in spite of statewide GOP efforts at obstruction – and, as the St. Louis Post-Dispatch noted about earlier numbers, many of these new enrollees will also be eligible for the subsidies that Lamping says he wants to take away.

Lamping must think he’s got a winner here, but if I were one of those folks getting acquainted with Obamacare via my first-time healthcare coverage and finally learning how empty the last three-years of GOP scare-tactics were, I wouldn’t feel too friendly toward jerks who were trying to make sure that I couldn’t afford to pay for it. It could be a relatively short jump from John Lamping to the entire Missouri GOP – particularly in view of their past, desperate anti-Obamacare rhetoric. We’ve just got to get the word out about who it is who doesn’t care if Missourians live or die.

3rd paragraph edited slightly for clarity: (see striken test), and for accuracy: “federal” added before exchange.

A tenther anti-Obamacare bill has been prefiled in the Missouri Senate:

“…The power to require or regulate a person’s choice in the mode of securing health care services, or to impose a penalty related thereto, is not found in the Constitution of the United States of America, and is therefore a power reserved to the people pursuant to the Ninth Amendment, and to the several states pursuant to the Tenth Amendment. The state of Missouri hereby exercises its sovereign power to declare the public policy of the state of Missouri regarding the right of all persons residing in this state in choosing the mode of securing health care services…”

Uh, the United States Supreme Court has already weighed in on this.

The bill:

SB 546 Modifies Missouri’ Health Care Freedom Act by prohibiting the state from implementing a health insurance exchange, prohibiting insurers from accepting remuneration that may result in penalties violative of the act, and prescribing duties of the Attorney General for enforceme

Sponsor: Lamping

LR Number: 4499S.01I Fiscal Note not available

Committee:

Last Action: 12/1/2013 – Prefiled

Current Bill Summary

SB 546 – This act modifies what is commonly known as the Health Care Freedom Act which was approved by the Missouri voters in 2010. The act restates Missouri’s public policy of allowing its citizens the freedom to choose or decline to choose any mode of securing health care services without facing a penalty and provides that it is against Missouri public policy to implement or operate a health insurance exchange in Missouri. The act also posits several findings of fact of how the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and implementing a state-based exchange would subject Missouri citizens and employers to penalties. The act further provides that if a health insurance issuer operating in Missouri accepts any remuneration that may result in the imposition of penalties contrary to Missouri’s public policy, then the Director of Insurance shall suspend the issuer’s license to transact business in Missouri. The suspension will stay in place until the issuer represents that it has returned the remuneration to its source and will decline any such future remuneration. The act further imposes a duty upon the Attorney General to seek injunctive relief and other appropriate remedies whenever the public policy set forth in the act is being violated.

This act is identical to SB 473 (2013).

Yes, yes, we can already tell that the 2014 regular session is going to be the most productive in Missouri history.

Representative Jill Schupp (D), 88th Legislative District, representing most of Creve Coeur and Olivette, and parts of Ladue, Frontenac, Town & Country and Chesterfield, is a candidate for the 24th Senate District seat currently held by John Lamping (r). The 24th Senate District encompasses part [pdf] of St. Louis County. The third quarter 2013 campaign finance reports filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission paint an interesting picture.

Representative Jill Schupp (D), candidate in the 24th Senate District. [file photo]

The overall numbers, first, for John Lamping (r), the incumbent:

REPORT SUMMARY

LAMPING FOR SENATE [pdf] 10/15/2013

2. All Monetary Contributions Received This Period $4,500.00

18. Total Contributions Made This Period $3,000.00

27. Money On Hand at the close of this reporting period $7,790.94

34. Total Indebtedness at the Close of This Reporting Period $20,000.00

[emphasis added]

Oh, my. What could explain those dismal numbers?:

Schupp Jumping In State Senate Race; Lamping Unsure Of Plans

Posted by Gregg Palermo (Editor) , June 06, 2013 at 09:30 PM

….Lamping himself said he would make a decision no later than Thanksgiving about his own plans. His daughter has been training as an elite-level gymnast in Blue Springs, MO since May 2011….

….If his daughter stays on an upward current trajectory as a gymnast, he said he’s not likely to run for re-election….

That could be part of it. So could this:

Official Election Returns

State of Missouri General Election November 2, 2010 General Election

Tuesday, November 02, 2010

As announced by the Board of State Canvassers

on Tuesday, November 30, 2010

State Senator – District 24 Precincts Reporting 124 of 124

Fraser, Barbara DEM 30,493 49.9%

Lamping, John T. REP 30,619 50.1%

Total Votes 61,112

Uh, yep. Having right wingnut colleagues driving the agenda in the General Assembly probably doesn’t help in the 24th Senate District when it comes to reelection campaigning.

The overall numbers for Jill Schupp (D):

REPORT SUMMARY

SCHUPP FOR SENATE [pdf] 10/15/2013

2. All Monetary Contributions Received This Period $70,780.00

8. Total All Receipts This Election $210,970.26

10. Expenditures made by cash or check this period $8,432.33

27. Money On Hand at the close of this reporting period $177,583.38

34. Total Indebtedness at the Close of This Reporting Period $10,497.54

[emphasis added]

There is a difference.

Let’s take a look at the contributions. First, for John Lamping (r):

CONTRIBUTIONS AND LOANS RECEIVED

LAMPING FOR SENATE [pdf] 10/15/2013

The Boeing Company PAC

1200 Wilson Boulevard

Arlington VA 22209

7/31/2013

$500.00

Noranda Aluminum Inc

391 St Jude Industrial Park

New Madrid MO 63869

7/5/2013

$1,500.00

Anheuser Busch Companies

One Busch Place

St Louis MO 63118

8/9/2013

$2,500.00

11. TOTAL CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED AT FUND-RAISERS AS REPORTED INLINE 8 ON FORM CD1A $0.00

12. TOTAL ANONYMOUS CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED FROM PERSON GIVING $25 OR LESS $0.00

13. TOTAL MONETARY CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED FROM PERSONS GIVING $100 OR LESS $0.00

14. TOTAL IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED FROM PERSONS (NOT COMMITTEES) GIVING $100 OR LESS $0.00

[emphasis added]

That’s it.

You know, the aluminum and beer connections among the contributors sort of makes sense.

Some of the contributions for Jill Schupp (D):

CONTRIBUTIONS AND LOANS RECEIVED

SCHUPP FOR SENATE [pdf] 10/15/2013

11. TOTAL CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED AT FUND-RAISERS AS REPORTED INLINE 8 ON FORM CD1A $0.00

12. TOTAL ANONYMOUS CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED FROM PERSON GIVING $25 OR LESS $0.00

13. TOTAL MONETARY CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED FROM PERSONS GIVING $100 OR LESS $3,839.00

14. TOTAL IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED FROM PERSONS (NOT COMMITTEES) GIVING $100 OR LESS $0.00

CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED – SUPPLEMENTAL

IUPAT

7234 Parkway Dr

Hanover MD 21076

7/9/2013

$1,000.00

Mary P. Wochner

5526 Remington Villas Ct

St. Louis MO 63129

Retired

7/17/2013

$150.00

Stuart Hoffman

204 Hibler Oaks Dr.

St. Louis MO 63141

CPA

7/23/2013

$180.00

Barry Aycock

407 S East Street

Parma MO 63870

Farmer

7/28/2013

$5,001.00

Joan Bray

7166 Pershing Ave

St. Louis MO 63130

Retired

8/2/2013

$200.00

Susie and Stan Edelstein

12321 Woodline Drive

St. Louis MO 63141

Retired

8/9/2013

$100.00

Barbara Fraser

581 Stratford Ave

St Louis MO 63130

Retired

8/21/2013

$125.00

MO Senate Democratic Campaign Committee

PO Box 7319

Columbia MO 65205

9/19/2013

$2,500.00

Planned Parenthood Votes

4251 Forest Park Ave

St. Louis MO 63108

9/20/2013

$1,000.00

Claire McCaskill

PO Box 30077

St. Louis MO 63130

United States — Senator

9/23/2013

$500.00

Joseph C. Kleeman Memorial Democratic PAC (JoePAC)

520 S. Brentwood Blvd

St. Louis MO 63105

9/25/2013

$5,000.00

[emphasis added]

You get the picture.

There’s a definite difference.

Previously:

Jill Schupp and John Lamping on Medicaid: A study in contrasts (October 16, 2013)

Jill Schupp interview today (May 21, 2012)

Jill Schupp: “How I spent my summer vacation” (December 19, 2010)

Rep. Jill Schupp (D): going door to door, on the General Assembly, on Courtney Cole (D) (August 18, 2010)

Jill Schupp’s Suitcase Full of Hope (February 18, 2008)

Missouri educators, along with those in 45 other states, have officially adopted the Common Core, a set of educational standards for the study of English and mathematics. It was developed by organizations like the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers with input from “teachers, parents, school administrators and experts from across the country together with state leaders.” The purpose? To develop a tool for educators:

High standards that are consistent across states provide teachers, parents, and students with a set of clear expectations that are aligned to the expectations in college and careers. The standards promote equity by ensuring all students, no matter where they live, are well prepared with the skills and knowledge necessary to collaborate and compete with their peers in the United States and abroad.. Unlike previous state standards, which were unique to every state in the country, the Common Core State Standards enable collaboration between states on a range of tools and policies, …

So keep in mind that these standards reflect input from individuals from all fifty states. They are no more than benchmarks to help educators develop curriculum in areas in which many states are currently failing to teach effectively, and implementation is left to the states.

But, whoa! That’s apparently a little too much for the intrepid (not to say paranoid) members of the Missouri GOP. Republican Senator John Lamping, along with some other members of his political sodality, want to, in the words of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “put the brakes” on the adoption of the Common Core and have introduced legislation to do just that. They’re worried about lack of legislative oversight, claim to be worried about loss of “parental control,” and, wouldn’t you know, are beating their little tin drums about the expense of the required computer-based assessment – a curious concern from lawmakers who otherwise think that the state can afford to cut taxes for corporations and high earners.

And just what does the legislative oversight that these GOPers value so highly look like? Consider legislation introduced by GOP pack member, Rep. Rick Brattin, which would “require that the state’s elementary and secondary school students, and even people taking college courses in public universities, learn about creationism in addition to real biology.” Noted in Mother Jones by  Dana Liebelson:

HB 291, the “Missouri Standard Science Act,” redefines a few things you thought you already knew about science. For example, a “hypothesis” is redefined as something that reflects a “minority of scientific opinion and is “philosophically unpopular.” A scientific theory is “an inferred explanation…whose components are data, logic and faith-based philosophy.” And “destiny” is not something that $5 fortune tellers believe in; Instead, it’s “the events and processes that define the future of the universe, galaxies, stars, our solar system, earth, plant life, animal life, and the human race.”

The bill requires that Missouri elementary and secondary schools-and even introductory science classes in public universities-give equal textbook space to both evolution and intelligent design (any other “theories of origin” are allowed to be taught as well, so pick your favorite creation myth-I’m partial to the Russian raven spirit.) “I can’t imagine any mainstream textbook publisher would comply with this,” Meikle says. “The material doesn’t exist.”

While HB 291 may be the worst of this stupidity, it isn’t the entirety; another bill, HB179, constitutes a somewhat subtler attack on good science education, but with the same goal: to get intelligent design into the schools. Creationism and intelligent design may be okay for churches which depend on faith to inspire belief and for home-schoolers who aren’t held to very rigorous standards, but it isn’t science. As Daniel Luzer observes, intelligent design is no more than “a form of creationism dreamed up by the politically reactionary Discovery Institute in order to get around prohibitions against the teaching of religious doctrine in public schools.”

If this sort of lame-brained “oversight” is what we can expect from our legislators, I say give us a big helping of the Common Core, the sooner the better.

You think?

Introduced today:

SB 722 Bars entities that invest in the energy sector in Iran from contracting with the state and political subdivisions

Sponsor: Lamping

LR Number: 5353S.03I Fiscal Note not available

Committee:

Last Action: 1/31/2012 – S First Read–SB 722-Lamping Journal Page:

Title: Calendar Position: 97

Effective Date: August 28, 2012

Current Bill Summary

SB 722 – This act creates the “Iran Energy Divestment Act” which bars entities that invest in the energy sector in Iran from contracting with the state and political subdivisions. Entities wishing to make public contracts shall certify that they are not investors in the energy sector in Iran. Entities that falsely certify shall be subject to a penalty equal to the greater of $250,000 or twice the amount of the contract. In addition, contracts may be terminated by the awarding body and the entity shall be ineligible to bid on and enter into such contracts for three years.

It’s all in how you define things. From the bill [pdf]:

…(2) “Energy sector”, activities to develop petroleum or natural gas resources or nuclear power….

It appears that a few things were left out. Batteries maybe?

It would be interesting to see the effect of channeling public investment in the United States into wind power technology rather than petroleum and nuclear.

St. Louis County tally of 24th state Senate race has Lamping still in lead

By Jo Mannies, Beacon political reporter  

Posted 2:04 pm, Mon., 11.22.10

Republican state Senate candidate John Lamping has a lead of 133 votes over Democrat Barbara Fraser in St. Louis County’s final tally of the 24th District state Senate contest….

….Fraser said in a recent interview that she will definitely seek a recount, after the tallies have been certified by county and state election officials….

[emphasis added]

..explain this?:

CONTRIBUTION OF MORE THAN $5,000.00 RECEIVED BY ANY COMMITTEE FROM ANY SINGLE DONOR – TO BE FILED WITHIN 48 HOURS OF RECEIVING THE CONTRIBUTION

C091263 LAMPING FOR SENATE [pdf] 11/20/2010

Republican State Committee

204 E. Dunklin St.

Jefferson City, MO 65102

11/20/2010

$48,600.00

[emphasis added]

Just asking.

Lots of people familiar with the political scene in St. Louis figure that Barbara Fraser, running for Senator Joan Bray’s (termed out) seat in the 24th, is sitting pretty in a safe Democratic district. Would that it were so. Wake up, folks. Bray’s predecessor in the 24th was Betty Sims, a Republican. Oh sure, Bray won re-election with 60 percent of the vote in ’06, but when she first won the seat–and she wasn’t even running against an incumbent–she only snagged 51 percent of the vote. And that wasn’t in a year, like this one, when Democrats were predicted to fare poorly.

Besides, Bray’s opponents didn’t have the money that Fraser’s does. John Lamping could smother in cash, he has so much of it. As of September 2nd, he had pulled in 558 thousand and has 315 large still on hand. Fraser, coming off a tough primary with Sam Page, has spent 327 thousand of the 382 thou she’s gotten.

It isn’t just money that makes Lamping dangerous, either. Oh, sure, you can set aside his policy ideas, such as they are. He’s going to make bureaucrats more accountable about how they spend our tax dollars, for example. Excuse me, but the directors of the various departments in the state have already pared the fat and started cutting into the muscle. So Lamping is either naive and uninformed or he’s playing to the crowd. Another example: he wants, in the midst of this economic downturn, to “prevent funding cuts for vocational schools and community colleges and to increase funding for job retraining programs”. Laudable goals, but all this without raising any taxes? Please. Then there’s this predictable Republican canard: “John believes we need to look at passing laws allowing consumers to purchase health insurance across state lines which dramatically lowers insurance costs by creating more competition and more choices for consumers.” Ooh, ya think? The way it looks to me, if Lamping had an original, rational idea, it would die of loneliness.

So, yes, set aside his policy proposals. But he’s still dangerous, because he’s not running on ideas. He’s running on image. And a very handsome image it is, as you can see. But here’s the dangerous part: he and his wife have three children of their own and … and three they adopted from foreign countries. Aw-w-w-w, sigh the ladies. What a nice guy. He wants to fund voc. ed. and he loves children.

He plays up the nice image by leaving door knockers all about how firefighters love him … and he plays it safe by sort of, like, not mentioning anywhere on the lit that he’s a Republican. (photos of door knockers below)

That wholesome image and shovels of shekels make him dangerous.

How’s Fraser supposed to compete with an Aw-w-w-w factor like that one? With mere competence and experience? Well … yes. Because she actually is competent and experienced, especially at working across the aisle. The achievement she is perhaps proudest of is that, as a state rep in 2002, she sponsored and–with the help of a Republican colleague–got passed a five year extension of the CHIPS program that afforded health insurance to 70,000 Missouri children. She’s also understandably proud of having led the effort in the House to beat back school voucher legislation. More recently, on the St. Louis County Council, Fraser spearheaded the successful effort to ban smoking in public places that will take effect in January.

So Fraser would make a terrific state senator. The question is, how is she going to defeat this well funded, empty headed upstart? For starters, she’s well known in the district. But beyond that, the way to win is to pound the voters with the relevant message: she knows what she’s doing. But accomplishing that takes volunteers and money. Help her out if you can. She needs and deserves it.