Missouri Speaker Needs to Go

Missouri Speaker Needs to Go

Missouri law makers should not be law breakers

Looks like it was going to be swept under the rug, until The Missouri Independent published an article yesterday (10/23/23) exposing the shenanigans of Missouri Speaker of the House, Dean Plocher.

I can't say that I'm surprised.  Plocher has been quite a character while he's been in the House.  I'm not sure why our reps elevated him to Speaker status in the first place.  Frankly, they need to take some of the heat themselves.   They voted him in, knowing his character.  

Well...that's not entirely true.  He was tapped for the position while he was still Majority Floor Leader - a full year and a half before the official vote in January 2023 was taken.  By that time, the new freshmen representatives who got to vote and weren't part of the tapping, were bullied into believing he was the only choice and they'd better go along to get along.  Which they always do.  

lack of morals and near zero ethics

Plocher has been in hot water lately because the truth is coming out.  So far, in the last few weeks we've had two major issues arise and I have a feeling we're not done yet.

1.  Plocher was pushing for an $800K purchase of software for the Mo House - which was wasteful and not necessary at all.  He had personal connections to the lobbyists pushing the buy.  That's a No-No.  

He also apparently was threatening staff who were pushing back and trying to protect Missouri tax dollars.   I recorded a podcast about that about that a few weeks ago.

The end result is that his Chief of Staff got fired & the grapevine talk is that he was threatening other jobs as well.

He's certainly not been a morale builder since he took his position as Speaker.  Just ask around and the legislative assistants will tell you the tyrannical rules he's put into place.  He's treating them like they are kindergarteners.

2.  He's a thief.  This is a pretty basic principle...."Thou shalt not steal.  Ex 20:15"   If we could just get our elected officials to follow the 10 Commandments - what a difference that would make.  

The latest drop of information which includes documentation obtained via Sunshine request show that he's been double dipping and stealing from Missouri taxpayers to line his own personal pockets.  

I heard that the FBI was in the building when the whole situation with the software went down.  I assumed that is as far as it would go but now it looks like Plocher has broken Missouri law more than once and could possibly be facing federal charges, depending on the amount of dollars that was taken.

plocher needs to be removed!

If they can do it in Washington, I don't see why we can't do it in Missouri!  Our House Speaker is as corrupt as they come and he needs to be removed from his office.  In fact, I personally feel he needs to be removed from the House altogether.   At the very least, he should NOT be holding the most influential seat in Missouri politics!


House Ethics Committee Is Meeting

That meeting will be closed, but every committee member needs to be getting calls & emails from across the state from now until then that are asking for Plocher's removal from the Missouri House.   

And even though the meeting will be closed, if you're free on Friday it might be a great day to have a grassroots meeting.  Who wants to have brunch in the Capitol basement Friday around 9:30am??   I'll bring the donuts!

what you can do

1.  Call & email each committee member listed below.   Request they remove Dean Plocher from his House seat entirely at their meeting Friday.   Rep Hannah Kelley will be the one in charge and leading the group.

Committee Chair,  Rep Hannah Kelley      573.751.2205  hannah.kelley@house.mo.gov
Vice Chair, Rep Richard Brown     573.751.7639   richard.brown@house.mo.gov

Rep Jerome Barnes     573.751.9851      jerome.barnes@house.mo.gov 

2.  Pray.  Pray God removes Plocher from this office and brings whatever it takes to drain this part of the Missouri swamp.  

Remember that Nehemiah prayed AGAINST his enemies.  We have Biblical standing to pray that Plocher is removed and his efforts to harm Missourians are turned back onto his own head.

Be sure to subscribe if you haven't already - there's more to come on this front, I'm sure.


The SAFE Act. What's Plocher Doing?

The SAFE Act. What's Plocher Doing?

holding kids hostage

Dean Plocher is the Speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives.   
A more appropriate title might be "King of the House."

The Speaker controls EVERYTHING.  

We've talked about the House Rules before and why this matters, but if you need a refresher take a look at this blog I wrote earlier.

Because the Speaker controls everything, including when bills come to the floor for debate, it gives the Speaker the ability to hold bills hostage until his personal priority bills are passed.  Technically, it's the Majority Floor Leader who brings bills to the floor, but it's done so in this case only at the direction of the Speaker.

That's what is happening to The SAFE Act currently.  

Dean Plocher is holding the safety of MISSOURI KIDS hostage because he wants his Initiative Petition (HJR 43) bill passed.

The IP bill = abortion & rank choice voting

Let's talk about what Dean wants.  He wants HJR 43 passed in its current form.  

That current form would do a couple of crappy things that conservative Missourians truly do not want.

  1. It would allow our Missouri constitution to be changed based on a 57% majority of the popular vote WHEN the ballot measure has been brought BY THE PEOPLE through the IP process.  When ballot measures are brought through the legislature, they would pass with a simple majority of the popular vote - 50% + 1 vote.  In essence, it elevates the legislature's ability to change the constitution over the people's ability.  Can we say double standard??  
  2. With either a 50% or a 57% majority requirement, STILL the urban voters of Kansas City, St Louis, Springfield & Columbia will override the rural voters across the state.  THIS means that ABORTION & RANK CHOICE VOTING will be easy amendments to add, enshrining both into our constitution.  You can probably expect those on your ballot in November of '24.
Dean Plocher wants this.  This is his PRIORITY.  Why?  

Well that's a great question.  He's running for Lt. Governor in '24 and I highly suspect his PAC will be getting generous donations from supporters of rank choice voting and possibly also Washington University - the abortion training ground in Missouri who happens to be represented by Missouri's largest lobbying firm.   Time & MEC reports will tell.

plocher for lt governor?  I think not!

what can you do?

1.  Call & email Plocher.  Tell him you want The SAFE ACT (SB 49) on the House floor NOW.  It should've been done weeks ago.  We have 4 days left of session and the bill needs to pass in the House without any amendments or changes.  If the House passes the bill, it will be on its way to the Governor's desk.

Use your own words and fill the email & voicemail inboxes over and over.  He likely won't see the emails but his staff is required to track them.  Don't let them rest.

Phone:  573.751.1544

2.  Call & email Jon Patterson, Majority Floor Leader.  Give him the same message. 
Phone:  573.751.0907