West County Democrats’ guest speaker was Dr. E. Terrance Jones is Professor Emeritus, Political Science and Public Policy at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He is the author of three books and co-editor of two volumes. He has acted as Polling Consultant for more than 150 candidate and issue campaigns. We appreciate his insights and comments on the most recent elections. A video of the meeting may be found here:
Comments and Questions captured during the meeting:
Mary Gross: Hi all!! This is a day to celebrate!! Rich Egan and Mary Gross are listening. We are eating breakfast so will keep our video off.
Karen Cloyd: I will be receiving postcards to write to GA voters for the Senate runoff r.aces which will occur in early January. If you are interested in writing postcards for Warnock and Ossoff, email me at karen.cloyd@gmail.com and I will get some to you.
Mary Gross: I am registered to phone bank for Ga senate races. Sign up here: text PEACH to 644-33 or follow link here: http://gunsensevoter.org/ga-senate
Mary Gross: For various types of volunteer opportunities.
Mary Gross: I disagree about the impact of phone banking. I won’t start calling until mid to late Dec when the memory of a deluge of calls will be a distant one. A conversation with voters can be very effective, albeit, labor intense.
Karen Cloyd: Donate to fairfight.com, This is Stacey Abrams grassroots organization to fight voter suppression.
Maureen Jordan: Remember: Stacey Abrams has built an infrastructure that helped turn GA blue. And, the DEMS there are very fired up to win again!
Maureen Jordan: You can register for Charles Jaco event here: https://chesterfielddemocrats.org/
Jean Light: Terry Jones: what happens if Trump does not concede the presidency?
Mary Gross: I did a bit of face to face canvassing with Cathy Marek. Among those who came to door, none objected. I agree, face to face wins!
Maureen Jordan: Terry Jones: can you comment on the House Races that were lost? Were they too progressive or too moderate?
Ellen Wentz: If we can defund AM radio, would that help decrease the Republican vote in rural areas?
Cathy Marek: I agree to on “Face to Face Canvassing”. Mary Gross and I asked people if they were comfortable speaking
Cathy Marek: to us and the majority were willing!
Maureen Jordan: Follow up to Terry: is the entire country center right or center left?
Mary Gross: Read Dying of Whiteness!
Cathy Marek: Do you think there is a chance that there is even a slim chance that there may be a few reasonable Republicans who may refuse to go along with McConnell?
Lloyd & Bobbie: why stereotype white males any more than LaatinX or The Squad or ….?
Sandra Murdock: from Sandra Murdock what can the democratic pRTY DO TO GET THE RURAL VOTE TO UNDERSTAND THEY ARE VOTING AGAINST BEST INTEREST
Lloyd & Bobbie: the black vote
Cathy Marek: Would it help if more talented young people stayed in Missouri to work rather than leaving for the coasts?
Legislative Report –November 9, 2020- submitted by Glenn Koenen
Federal Items:
The United States of America has sailed into a great, damaging storm.
Despite the needs of many millions of hard working (but now unemployed) Americans the Senate – in lame duck session this winter or newly reconstituted in January – does not appear willing to support substantial or meaningful COVID assistance to families. It is possible that the Senate would support legal liability protections for business, and, limited aid to airlines and other struggling big businesses.
If you own a pizza joint in Ballwin, forget about it.
Even with a 50/50 split in the new Senate, with Vice President Harris breaking ties, the institution’s traditions will prevent major legislation for progressing. This could mean that if the Supreme Court trashes the Affordable Care Act that President Biden will be unable to advance a strong replacement.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives is expected to continue to pass meaningful measures impacting immigration, wages, environmental protections and other critical matters.
Trump leaves behind two disasters:
- The federal deficit has grown by trillions, now at $21 Trillion. Even the most accepting economists worry about that debt load. Federal revenue [taxes] will have to increase to allow for debt payments and the delivery of basic services.
- The federal bureaucracy has been stuffed with unqualified, anti-government activists who have dismantled everything from EPA regulations to food stamp processing procedures. Even with new people in place, it will take years to return to the old standards.
Locally, new St. Louis Congresswoman Cori Bush has aligned herself with AOC and the rest of The Squad. This will make her a lightning rod for Missouri Republicans.
State Items:
As a friend said, “Of course voters overturned CLEAN: Republicans asked them to do it.”
Yes, the ballot language was messy and inaccurate. Still, opponents of the repeal had TV ads and a lot of credibility. It didn’t matter. Missouri voters believe Republicans and dutifully do what they ask.
Remember, in 2018 auditor Nicole Galloway faced a train wreck of a Republican challenger. That bad candidate carried more than 100 Missouri counties.
The Republicans retained their super majorities in the state House and Senate. Even well-known and well-funded Democratic challengers came up short in all but one House race.
The governor’s second special [extraordinary] session of the year is charged with implementing the accounting to allow Missouri to accept and allocate federal COVID relief funds. Some prominent GOP leaders want to add extraordinary legal protections for businesses from liability related to COVID.
Please be clear, they are not talking about a “safe harbor” where businesses can be protected if they took standard and reasonable steps to severely limit exposure. The goal is legislation which protects all businesses from all liability – even when the business allowed infected employees to work or did not adequately clean food trays in nursing homes. Unfortunately, I expect such a bad idea to be3come law.
No one expects Missouri, either by governor’s fiat or legislative action, to mandate mask wearing or take other proven steps to lessen COVID’s spread.
The state still has revenue issues. For example, as of November 5th – four months and a week into Fiscal Year 2021 – Year To Date sales tax revenue was tracking just 1.59% higher than at the same time last year. This is less than the rate of inflation.
(Remember, Missouri does not collect sales tax on internet sales.)