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Even Missouri Republicans object to the antics of their most extreme colleagues [1]

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Date: 2023-03-10

First up, state Rep. Rick Brattin of Harrisonville has introduced a bill that would make Missouri the only state in the entire country to tax food, but not gun sales. The Missouri state Senate was trying to eliminate the prepared food sales tax, but Brattin and others in the Missouri Republican Party nixed it from the bill, adding a provision that would give gun sellers a tax credit instead on ammo and guns made in Missouri. All in a state with the fourth-highest gun death rate in the U.S. As Kansas City-area Democrat John Rizzo told the Kansas City Star, Republicans are “putting guns over groceries.” Let’s bookmark that quote, because that is a line Democrats should be amplifying nationwide in 2024.

Meanwhile, state Rep. Anne Kelley of Lamar introduced a “Don’t Say Gay” bill—one of 34 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced in the state this year—that would prohibit K-12 educators from talking about gender or sexual identity. When publicly questioned about the bill in a committee meeting by a fellow Republican, state Rep. Phil Christofanelli, her defense of the bill was so bad that the committee chair had to ask the crowd to stop laughing.

x MO State Rep. Phil Christofanelli (R) criticizes fellow GOP Rep. Ann Kelley's anti-LGBT school bill.



PC: Who is Martha Washington?

AK: [George Washington's] wife.

PC: With your bill, how could that be mentioned in the classroom?

AK: That's not sexual orientation.

PC: Really? pic.twitter.com/3usn7LUg6Q — Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) March 6, 2023

Here is the transcript:

REP. PHIL CHRISTOFANELLI: I’m just going to read you the language in your bill. ‘No classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties relating to sexual orientation or gender identity shall occur.’ Lady, you mentioned George Washington. Who is Martha Washington? REP. ANN KELLEY: His … wife? CHRISTOFANELLI: Under your bill, how could you mention that in a classroom? KELLEY: So, to me, that’s not sexual orientation. CHRISTOFANELLI: Really? So it’s only really certain sexual orientations that you want prohibited from introduction in the classroom. KELLEY: Do you have language to make that better? To make it where you’re not talking … ? CHRISTOFANELLI: Lady, I didn’t introduce your bill. And I didn’t write it. You wrote it, and so I’m asking what it means. Which sexual orientations do you believe should be prohibited from Missouri classrooms? [Here there appears to be an edit in the video.] KELLEY: We all have a moral compass, and my moral compass is compared with the Bible. CHRISTOFANELLI: Lady, I think during your testimony you said that you didn’t want teachers’ personal beliefs entering the classroom, but it seems a lot like your personal belief you would like to enter all Missouri classrooms. KELLEY: You can believe something without, without, without putting that onto somebody by the way you behave, and you can have beliefs and morals and values that guide you through life. CHRISTOFANELLI: I don’t dispute that, but I’m asking about the language of your bill and how it would permit the mention of the historical figure Martha Washington, could you explain that to me? KELLEY: So what did she, why is she famous? Is she famous because she was married to George Washington? CHRISTOFANELLI: It seems like that would be a relevant fact in her biography, yes. Could it be mentioned under the plain-reading language of your bill? Is that a no? KELLEY: I don’t know, sir.

On the higher ed front, state Rep. Doug Richey of Excelsior Springs has introduced a bill to ban diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies at major universities. The bill is one of two recent bills aimed at banning such initiatives at public universities in Missouri. Richey said he was motivated to submit the legislation after speaking with students who he said “do not feel like they are empowered to speak their opinions in class.” The bill was drafted with help from the Cicero Institute in Austin, which acknowledges it provided “model language” for the bill, as it has for other recent bills in Missouri—like the one banning camping on state-owned land, which directly targets homeless people in Missouri.

During a committee hearing on the DEI bill, Richey was repeatedly asked by state Rep. LaKeySha Bosley of St. Louis whether racism exists on college campuses in Missouri. Richey was largely speechless in response.

x Missouri State Rep. Doug Richey (R-Excelsior Springs), author of a bill to ban diversity, equity and inclusion policies for public universities, struggles to say if there's any racism on Missouri campuses.



"I believe that people have difficulties with racist thoughts," he says. pic.twitter.com/03Pg7Tefvc — Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) March 6, 2023

Here’s the transcript:

REP. LAKEYSHA BOSLEY: Do you believe that there is racism happening on our university campuses? REP. DOUG RICHEY: Um, do I th—that’s uh—we’d have to define our terms. BOSLEY: That’s a yes or no. RICHEY: Well, you know, it’s never a yes or no question. BOSLEY: It is. A simple yes or no. RICHEY: I believe that people have difficulties with racist thoughts. I think that there are— BOSLEY: So that’s a yes. RICHEY: Yeah. BOSLEY: You believe racism happens on our university campuses. RICHEY: Yeah, it doesn’t matter where you are at, you are gonna have people who are idiots. BOSLEY: So, yes. It happens on our campuses. Okay. Thank you.

Here’s the thing: The state’s flagship school, the University of Missouri, has repeatedly and recently been forced to confront racism on campus. In 2015, University of Missouri system President Tim Wolfe was forced to resign after Jonathon Butler, then a student at Missouri, went on a hunger strike and drew so much national attention that the beloved football team threatened to boycott practices and games. Butler became an active campus organizer after traveling to Ferguson to protest the police shooting of Michael Brown. He and other students stopped Wolfe’s vehicle in a homecoming parade to make their voices heard, but were largely ignored by Wolfe. Shortly thereafter Butler launched his hunger strike. When the Missouri football players and coaches joined together to support Butler, the writing was on the wall for Wolfe—and he resigned.

When it comes to claims of racism in Missouri, Republicans need not look to the campuses of state colleges: They can just walk right over to any mirror and get a gander. In early February, Black lawmakers decried ”anti-crime” legislation that would strip power from St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, the first Black woman elected to the position. When state Rep. Kevin Windham tried to compare the legislation targeting Gardner to similar legislation in Mississippi, Republicans shut him down completely—then refused any more discussion on the topic.

And that’s not the only attempt to strip the state’s few Black leaders of their power. The legislature is also moving to strip control of the St. Louis police department from Mayor Tishaura O. Jones, instead handing it over to the state to be overseen by a five-member panel. The state already oversees the police department in Kansas City, where Mayor Quinton Lucas has sued the state over misguided mandatory police funding policies.

The extremist behavior and cruel bills mostly originate from officials representing the most rural parts of Missouri. So how do the actions of the Missouri legislature and its Republican leaders go over in the state’s largest cities? Take a look at the reception Republican Gov. Mike Parsons got at the Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory parade last month.

x Here’s a clip from yesterday’s victory parade when the crowd booed our state’s governor: pic.twitter.com/Rwuy5ktL4f — Justice Horn (@JusticeHorn_) February 16, 2023

It takes a lot to get booed at an event where the entire metropolitan area has taken the day off to have a great time.

At the end of the day, what is happening in Missouri is just a microcosm of the culture wars happening across the country, largely along rural and urban lines. Small-town legislators introduce bills designed by billionaire-funded right-wing think tanks that offer “solutions” to things that weren’t ever a problem—whether it’s “critical race theory” in schools or children attending drag shows—while ignoring real crises facing the state, like impossibly high gun death rates and real struggles to pay for basics like housing and groceries.

It’s difficult to fight back against a relentless assault on our rights, but Democrats keep trying. As a Missouri resident, I’m thankful for those representatives from Kansas City, St. Louis, and other urban pockets of Columbia and Springfield who keep showing up for the Show Me State, even when the state is showing its ass.

If you are a Democrat in a ruby-red state like Missouri, take heart that you are not alone. If you want to help beat back the tide of bad Republican legislation in Missouri, find a local candidate or an elected Democrat and get their back.

Although it looks grim now, it’s a good moment to take some advice from our favorite football coach: ”When it’s grim, be the Grim Reaper.”

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/3/10/2156899/-Even-Missouri-Republicans-object-to-the-antics-of-their-most-extreme-colleagues

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