An expansion team given the Big Apple to offset the loss of the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers to California, the New York Metropolitans
(AKA Mets) began play in 1962. The Mets not only lost 120 games out of 161 they played, they looked horrible while they lost. They committed 210 errors, Outfielders routinely missed simple pop-ups, giving away countless hits. Their manager, baseball legend Casey Stengel, stood in awe of his team’s ineptitude.
Since January 2017 Missouri Republicans have owned veto-proof majorities in the state House of Representatives and Senate, and, hold all state-wide elective offices save the auditor.
In other words, this ought to be Missouri Republicans’ Golden Age, a time when they can permanently reshape state government around their traditional small and effective government model.
Except they can’t. Their role models are not Abe Lincoln or Ronald Reagan, no, they act like those 1962 Mets.
- His Accidency, Governor Mike Parson holds no sway over his party: he ceded effective control to the Conservative Caucus, an extremist group unwilling to follow law or tradition.
- The Republicans as a group openly disregard the will of their constituents by refusing to support Medicaid Expansion.
- The party with the philosophy of “local control” orders counties, cities and school boards to allow plastic shopping bags, ignore pollution from Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, limit local minimum wages, and, soon, dictate school curriculum.
- Despite the state motto, Republicans attack vulnerable Missourians by slashing unemployment assistance, limiting access to health care and nutrition programs, and, refusing to let medical professionals manage the state’s response to a pandemic.
- The Party of Lincoln openly secedes from the Union by denying enforcement of a chunk of federal law in Missouri.
So, instead of a Golden Age of Republicans, Missouri finds itself paddling aimlessly in a cesspool of stupidity. They won’t govern.
As a Democrat I find that amusing.
Alas, as a life-long Missourian, well, this hurts.
A few more quick examples: instead of fighting crime and corruption, the Attorney General backs bogus stolen election claims, joined lost cause lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act, and, (really, he did this) sues the nation of China over Covid 19. The House and Senate only passed the much-needed tax increase for roads and several other measures with Democrat votes: the majority of Republicans didn’t back their own leadership’s bills. The Treasurer and the Governor, meanwhile, threaten deep budget cuts to schools, the Highway Patrol and other basic services despite having billions of federal dollars stashed in off the book accounts.
This summer things get worse. Besides uncertain legal actions on Medicaid, some critical legislative issues – Medicaid funding, Congressional redistricting and such – need to get done. Addressing real issues, unfortunately, isn’t a priority. Just as declaring June as Dairy Month is more important than freeing prisoners prosecutors say are innocent, creating sound bites for next year’s campaign literature is more important than governing.
“Don’t cut my throat, I may want to do that later myself,” Stengel remarked. Let’s hope they’re sharpening knives in Jefferson City.
Glenn Koenen
Headline photo is from Governor Parson’s Twitter feed exhibiting the ceremonial signing of HB 271 that effectively bars local officials from interceding during a public health emergency like the Covid-19 pandemic.