Republican infighting brings business to a halt in Jefferson City
Progress is all but at a standstill in Jefferson City, as infighting within the Republican party continues. Our roundtable looks at the beef between lawmakers – and the priorities they’re leaving on the table.
Updated: 11:30 AM CST Jan 28, 2024
OF THE GAME IN MISSOURI POLITICS RIGHT NOW. AS WE WATCH THE AFTERMATH OF ANOTHER JEFF CITY SHAKEUP ON THE SENATE FLOOR THIS SESSION, REPUBLICANS HAVE BEEN AT ODDS WITH HARD RIGHT MEMBERS OF THEIR OWN PARTY, A GROUP NOW REBRANDED THIS YEAR AS THE FREEDOM CAUCUS. BATTLING BACK AND FORTH ON A NUMBER OF ISSUES LIKE THE INITIATIVE PETITION PROCESS. THIS PAST WEEK, IT CAME TO A HEAD, THE PRESIDENT PRO TEM OF THE SENATE STRIPPED FOUR OF THE CAUCUS MEMBERS OF THEIR COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS AND CHANGED THEIR PARKING SPOTS. AND HE DIDN’T MINCE WORDS ABOUT WHY THE CHAMBER, DESIGNED TO BE OCCUPIED WITH CIVIL, PRINCIPLED STATESMAN AND WOMEN, HAVE BEEN OVERTAKEN BY A SMALL GROUP OF SWAMP CREATURES WHO ALL TOO OFTEN REMIND ME MORE OF MY CHILDREN THAN MY COLLEAGUES. NO MATTER HOW MUCH THEY THROW STICKS AND STONES AT US, NO MATTER HOW MANY NAMES THEY CALL US, NO MATTER HOW UNCOMFORTABLE WE MAKE THEM, BECAUSE WE’RE WILLING TO BE BOLD ABOUT FIGHTING FOR OUR ISSUES. WE’RE NOT GOING TO GIVE UP THE FIGHT. A WEEK AND A HALF AGO, THE FREEDOM CAUCUS FILIBUSTERED FOR HOURS TO HOLD UP A NUMBER OF APPOINTMENTS ISSUED BY GOVERNOR MIKE PARSON, GOVERNOR BY THE WAY, GAVE HIS STATE OF THE STATE ADDRESS THIS PAST WEEK, WHICH IS A BIT OVERSHADOWED BY THIS INFIGHTING. LET’S DISCUSS IT ALL WITH KMBC NINE POLITICAL REPORTER MICHAEL MAHONEY AND JASON HANCOCK, EDITOR IN CHIEF OF THE MISSOURI INDEPENDENT. WELCOME BACK GENTLEMEN. OKAY, WE THOUGHT THIS COULD HAPPEN. IT IS HAPPENING. JASON, WHAT’S THE IMPACT OF THIS INFIGHTING? WHAT’S GETTING DONE IN THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RIGHT NOW? UM, BASICALLY NOTHING. UM, RIGHT NOW YOU HAVE THE FREEDOM CAUCUS VOWING TO HOLD UP VIRTUALLY EVERYTHING UNTIL THEY CAN GET, UM, THEIR WAY ON INITIATIVE, PETITION REFORM. THEY WANT THE BILL REFERRED TO A SPECIFIC COMMITTEE. THEY WANT IT MOVED ON TO THE CALENDAR AND DEBATED. AND THEY’RE HOLDING UP GUBERNATORIAL APPOINTMENTS. THEY’RE, UH, AT TIMES BLOCKING THE SENATE FROM DOING EVEN THE SIMPLEST THINGS, LIKE APPROVING THE JOURNAL FROM THE PREVIOUS DAY, WHICH THEY HAVE TO DO IN ORDER TO BEGIN THE LEGISLATIVE BUSINESS. THERE WAS SOME WORRIES THAT DURING THE RUN UP TO THE STATE OF THE STATE, THAT THEY MIGHT EVEN BLOCK EFFORTS TO PASS RESOLUTIONS ALLOWING THE SENATORS TO ATTEND THE STATE OF THE STATE. SO, UH, WE’RE SORT OF AT A STANDSTILL WHERE THE FREEDOM CAUCUS AND THE REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP ARE IN ACTIVE CIVIL WAR WITH WITH, WITH, WITHIN THE PARTY AND THE VICTIM IS BASICALLY ANY PRIORITY THAT THE REPUBLICANS HAVE THIS YEAR THAT THEY WILL HOPE TO GET ACROSS THE FINISH LINE. HOW DO YOU GET PAST THE DYSFUNCTION? UH, IT’S GOING TO BE DIFFICULT. JUST ON THURSDAY MORNING, UM, SENATOR EIGEL PUT OUT A TWEET THAT THAT SAID, COME AND TAKE IT. THE OLD LINE FROM THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR AND THE AND THE ALAMO. YOU WANT TO BRING IT ON? LET’S START. IT’S HARD TO SEE HOW THIS GETS ANY SORT OF COMPROMISE AT LEAST HAS, UH, AS WE’RE LOOKING AT IT RIGHT NOW AND AS JASON SAID, UH, YOU KNOW, THERE THERE’S A LOT OF BAD FEELINGS THERE. AND THIS IS NOW AT LEAST THE THIRD YEAR IN A ROW WHERE OUR CONSERVATIVE HARD LINE CONSERVATIVES IN THIS IN THE SENATE AND THEN THE OTHER MEMBERS OF THE REPUBLICAN MAJORITY IN THE IN THE SENATE HAVE BEEN AT LOGGERHEADS IN THE PAST. IT’S BEEN LATER ON IN THE SESSION. THIS HAS STARTED FROM THE GET GO PRACTICALLY. YEAH. FOR SURE. IT’S IMPORTANT TO MENTION, UH, CALEB ROBINSON RAWLINS RUNNING FOR MISSOURI SECRETARY OF STATE. BILL IS A CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR MAHONEY. IS THERE A CAMPAIGN COMPONENT HERE TO. WE HAVE TO KEEP IN MIND, THERE’S ABSOLUTELY A CAMPAIGN, UH, PROPONENT IN EVERYTHING. AND IT’S NOT JUST ROUTING AND EAGLE, BUT EVERY STATE SENATOR AND FOR THAT MATTER, THE THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES THAT ARE RUNNING FOR EITHER THE STATE SENATE OR RUNNING FOR REELECTION, THERE’S GOING TO BE A LOT OF CAMPAIGN RHETORIC FOR THE ENTIRE YEAR AND THE ENTIRE IN SESSION. AND THAT DOESN’T HELP. UH, MOVE THINGS ALONG AS WE SAID, THE GOVERNOR GAVE HIS FINAL STATE OF THE STATE ADDRESS. AS THIS IS ALL HAPPENING BEHIND THE SCENES, JASON, WHAT STOOD OUT TO YOU FROM HIS ADDRESS? IT WAS IT WAS A VICTORY LAP OF SORTS FOR THE GOVERNOR. YOU KNOW, HE’S BEEN IN OFFICE FOR SIX YEARS. HE TOOK OVER FOR ERIC GREITENS WHEN, UH, HE WAS FORCED TO RESIGN IN DISGRACE AND WON A FULL TERMS OF HIS OWN IN 2020. AND A LOT OF THE SPEECH WAS SORT OF A RETREAD OF HIS LIST OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS. HE TALKED ABOUT INFRASTRUCTURE SPENDING AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, WHICH HAVE BEEN HIS TO THE PILLARS OF HIS ADMINISTRATION SO FAR. UM, AND OBVIOUSLY HE TALKED ABOUT SOME OF THE BIG SOCIAL ITEMS THAT HAVE PASSED DURING HIS TENURE, THE BAN ON ABORTION, UM, THINGS LIKE THAT. HE TALKED ABOUT APPOINTING FIVE DIFFERENT MEN TO, UH, STATEWIDE OFFICE, YOU KNOW, AS WE’VE HAD THESE VACANCIES THAT CAME UP THANKS TO, TO SENATE VICTORIES FOR ERIC SCHMIDT AND JOSH HAWLEY. SO, UM, YOU KNOW, HE PUT FORTH SOME OF HIS LEGISLATIVE AGENDA. OBVIOUSLY, HE ROLLED OUT HIS BUDGET AS PART OF THE STATE OF THE STATE. BUT, UH, THE BIG THRUST OF THE SPEECH WAS HIM SORT OF LOOKING BACK, UM, AT HIS OWN LEGACY AND, UH, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY SAYING GOODBYE. HE’S GOT ONE YEAR LEFT. UM, MAY NOT BE THE SMOOTHEST FINAL YEAR FOR THE GOVERNOR, GIVEN WHAT WE’VE JUST BEEN TALKING ABOUT, BUT THAT WAS SORT OF THE TONE OF THE SPEECH WAS WAS SORT OF THIS MISTY WATERCOLOR LOOK BACK AT HIS SIX YEARS AND SORT OF STARTING TO SHAPE THE LEGACY HE HOPES TO LEAVE BEHIND. AND WE KNOW WE TALK ABOUT BUDGET. IT WAS ANOTHER RECORD BUDGET. WILL HE BE ABLE, GIVEN THIS GRIDLOCK, TO TO GET MUCH OF THIS DONE? I THINK THAT’S GOING TO BE CAUGHT UP IN ALL OF THIS FIGHT OVER, UH, THE INITIATIVE PETITION REFORM AND THE WAY THE, THE FREEDOM CAUCUS IN THE SENATE WANTED WANT TO DO IT. UH, AND, AND, UH, UH, BECAUSE THIS IS AN ELECTION YEAR SESSION OF THE LEGISLATURE AND NOT A LOT GETS DONE ANYWAY. AND THERE MAY BE, UH, SOME ELEMENTS OF HIS BUDGET TO GET HELD HOSTAGE BY SOME MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATURE IN ORDER TO TRY AND TRY AND MAKE THEIR POLITICAL POINTS IN. AN ELECTION YEAR. YEAH, A LOT OF PRIORITIES. WE WILL SEE IF ANY OF THEM GET THROUGH. THAT’S IT FOR NOW. MICHEAL MAHONEY JASON HANCOCK.
Republican infighting brings business to a halt in Jefferson City
Progress is all but at a standstill in Jefferson City, as infighting within the Republican party continues. Our roundtable looks at the beef between lawmakers – and the priorities they’re leaving on the table.
Updated: 11:30 AM CST Jan 28, 2024