West County Democrats hosted our November meeting in the Meramec Valley branch of the St. Louis County Library. As was discussed in the meeting, the UFCW local 655 Union Hall we have been meeting at for years is undergoing renovation and may not be suitable for continued use once complete. Our next two meetings will be held at the Grand Glaize branch of St. Louis County Library. Directions will be included in our next meeting announcement.
Senator Jill Schupp joined our meeting today. As she has reached the maximum term for the Missouri legislature, she is no longer eligible to run again, so the WCD took part of the meeting to recognize her for her lifetime of achievement in public service to our community and our state. She is truly a remarkable lady. We thank her for her leadership and wish her the best in whatever comes next.
Dr. Anita Manion of the University of Missouri– St. Louis presented an analysis of the November 8, 2022 election for the West County Democrats. While the results overall were expected (at least here in Missouri) Republican strength thinned throughout the country, perhaps from bad candidates in key races or the increasing influence of young and suburban women voters. Regardless, Democrats held the Senate, won several important gubernatorial elections and made solid inroads in GOP controlled legislatures. Perhaps the data she presented offers a clearer path forward for Missouri Democrats. The visuals Dr. Manion presented at our meeting can be viewed here:
Glenn Koenen’s Legislative Update
Federal Items:
Two days after the election the stock market climbed 1,200 points in one day. Analysts pointed at two things: the rate of inflation slowed in October and, the election results pointed to a probable stalemate in Washington.
In other words, big business doesn’t expect much to get done in the next two years.
Endorsements by Donald Trump turned the expected “Red Wave” into a ripple. With ballots still being counted (and recounted) it’s still apparent that the GOP underperformed in the mid-term elections. Perhaps more important, the elected Republicans have voiced serious misgivings about their leadership. Mitch McConnell in the Senate and Kevin McCarthy in the House will face challengers. And, the most extreme GOP members, such as Marjorie Taylor Green (who will have her committee assignments restored), will wield considerable power within the party.
The first hint of things to come occurs next month. Prior to the election break, Congress passed a short-term government funding bill. That extension ends in December. A considerable number of Republicans in Congress are willing to risk a government shut-down, with a vocal group demanding substantial cuts in government spending – perhaps even trimming Social Security or Medicare.
While Republican governors take glee in shipping immigrants to New York and Martha’s Vineyard, their colleagues in Congress lack a unified position on immigration. They do all agree to criticize the Biden administration’s actions.
Missouri Senator Josh Hawley is among the vocal critics of American support for Ukraine. At this time his fellow Republicans as a group have avoided calling for an end to United States military support. Many have voiced concerned about the amount of aid sent to Kyiv.
While the rate of inflation has slowed, higher prices have resulted in many significant salary increases for millions of workers. A dirty secret of inflation is that it is good for tax revenue. Higher salaries and prices generate more in taxes.
As usual, the current Democratic administration is making strides in slowing the growth of the federal deficit. And, also as usual, Republicans continue to blame Democrats for the trillions in debt added by previous Republican administrations.
State Items:
Despite opposition from Governor Mike Parson and groups as diverse as the Farm Bureau and NAACP, Missouri voters approved recreational marijuana sales.
Now state government will screw that up.
Remember, the 39 page pro-pot amendment gives existing medical marijuana license an incredible advantage in fun sales. The number of new licenses and the process for awarding them will be a product of the Parson administration – which really, really messed-up the process of awarding medical licenses. The result will be a windfall for the medical people. Consumers can expect high prices and a continuation of limited access. (Former Missouri speaker Steve Tilley represents the existing sellers.) Under Parson, confusion and collusion remains The Missouri Way.
Speaking of The Missouri Way, one of the governor’s most recent appointments is the new head of the lottery – a former cop.
While Democrats added to their ranks in the Missouri House, the Senate remains a GOP fortress. Worse, the new Senate line-up includes more extreme conservative members. Before it disbanded (?), the Conservative Caucus held about seven members. The next session will find about a dozen members espousing their cause, and, Senator O’Laughlin (representing northeast Missouri) – a former CC member – will hold the majority party’s second highest job in the Senate.
As a result, bomb throwers such as new senators Mary Elizabeth Coleman and Nick Schroer will get their bad ideas heard. Coleman, for example, sees a ban on all abortions as a starting point. Schroer would eliminate categories of taxes, even though that would harm education and other services.
Both the House and Senate were not very friendly to Governor Parson last session. With the mix of personalities, it is possible that situation will remain.
Missouri remains understaffed by better than 10% of authorized positions. If Missouri used the staffing ratios of more average states, the deficit would be in excess of 15%. This problem will get worse. Already Republicans promise that last year’s 5% wage increase for most state employees will not be repeated.
The state’s minimum wage – set by voters – hits it limit of $12.00 per hour in January. Previous proposals to push that to $15.00 in coming years haven’t gained traction. Increasing the wage will not be a serious item this coming session.
Let’s talk reality… Time and time again both Republicans and some Democrats refer to Missouri as a “rural state.” Well, we do have great expanses of farmland and forest. Yet, the reality is that the majority of Missourians are concentrated in urbanized areas. By population, the top seven counties in Missouri have more people than the remaining 108! And, it’s the urbanized areas that make things happen: the pro-pot amendment only carried in 16 counties in gaining 53% of the vote.
St. Louis County 1,004,125 residents
Jackson Co. 717,204
St. Charles Co. 405,262
St. Louis City 301,578
Greene Co. 298,915
Clay Co. 253,335
Jefferson Co. 226,739 3,207,158
Remaining 108 Missouri Counties 2,974,755