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.
- 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??
- 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.
Email: dean.plocher@house.mo.gov
Phone: 573.751.1544
2. Call & email Jon Patterson, Majority Floor Leader. Give him the same message.
Phone: 573.751.0907
Don’t think for a moment that the Missouri news outlets aren’t directly connected to the inside of the Capitol here in Jefferson City. Just like you know it to be nationally, so it is here in the Show Me State.
The news, often fed by political agendas, will show you exactly what they want at just the right time for their own purposes.
The Hot Topic Issues
- Gender Transition in Kids - SB 49 aka The SAFE Act
- Potential Abortion Amendments to the MO Constitution - HJR 43 aka “IP Reform”
Current Situation
MO Senate Republicans voted 14-10 to adjourn for spring break early on Wednesday, in the middle of a democrat filibuster over The SAFE Act, because the conservatives wouldn’t compromise by agreeing to a Washington University approved version of the bill.
Bev Ehlen, a veteran and trusted citizen activist inside the Capitol posted the following:
The conservatives, I think today I’ll call them the The Guardians, want a strong bill that would ban puberty blockers, cross sex hormones & gender transition surgery for children under 18. The establishment republicans want a trophy to bring home to you for passing anything that will make it across the line & the democrats actually agree with Wash U, of course.
We are awaiting the return of the Senate on Monday, March 20th, from the extended spring break they gave themselves when they decided their vacation was more important than our kids.
Senator O’Laughlin has said they will take up the bill again when they reconvene.
GAGA Republicans Compromising Missouri’s Kids
“Go Along to Get Along” establishment republicans are negotiating with terrorists who are literally destroying the lives of Missouri’s most vulnerable people - our kids, many of which are already “at risk.”
Washington University, which happens to be a partner in the gender clinic where the St. Louis whistleblower worked, is one of the largest donors to Senate President Pro Tem, Caleb Rowden. In fact, the Wash U related PACS are pouring money into our office holders’ PACS like a bartender pours liquor into glasses.
Check out some of these MEC reports on the RightPath PAC. I'll write another article and piece together those details, but this will get you started.
Andrew Bailey, Missouri Attorney General, sent this letter to Washington University and St Louis Children's Hospital.
When I tell you that the establishment Republicans want to “compromise” by eliminating the puberty blockers and cross sex hormones from the ban proposed in The SAFE Act…. Do you wonder why? It seems pretty clear to me.
Who else might benefit from a nothing-burger version of The SAFE Act passing? You know - the version where we still allow kids to take things like Lupron, which is being used off-label to treat gender dysphoria?
- Planned Parenthood
- Big pharma
- Hospitals
- Gender clinics
- Counselors
Wonder how much money we’d find laundered through the Senate Campaign Committee from those sources?
“We Have Other Things To Do”
The GAGA Republicans are parroting talking points that say we just don’t have time to get bogged down in this mess right now.
They have other important things to do & can’t risk “sacrificing” the budget or things like IP Reform for our kids' sake.
I was even told a couple days ago that you know, this gender thing doesn’t really affect many kids and our “team” needs to look unified. After all, we shouldn’t be attacking people who are wearing our jersey, should we?
Here’s how I feel about that. IF YOU CAN’T PROTECT KIDS FROM PHYSICAL HARM, YOU AREN’T MY TEAM AND I DON’T GIVE TWO CENTS WHAT JERSEY YOU ARE WEARING!!
For those of you concerned about the budget - it isn’t going to be left undone. Worse case scenario - if they blow up the entire session with this issue - the Governor calls them back the next week and they pass a budget. The State isn’t going bankrupt. They just want to scare you because they know you don’t know the truth.
Worried about IP Reform? Well, let me tell you the scoop about that…
The Big News on Friday
News broke on Friday that 11 initiative petitions (IP) have been filed to add legalized abortion to our Missouri Constitution. We have known this was coming since Roe was overturned. No one is surprised.
However, the news broke yesterday. Big headlines for those who are paying attention.
The IP bill the legislature is pushing is HJR 43. It’s a HARMFUL bill and if it passes as it's written, an abortion amendment is STILL a shew-in. It will pass, because there is no concurrent majority provision in it.
Speaker of the House Dean Plocher wants HJR 43 and he’s willing to let it pass with just a 3-5% increase in popular vote requirement for passing an amendment. This would mean that it would require something around a 53% majority vote vs a 50% + 1 majority vote. That’s a nothing burger.
It likely won’t pass on the ballot anyway - which means nothing changes at all. And even if it did pass - it’s not a significant change.
SO… do you think Plocher really wants to keep abortion rights from being added to the constitution? If he did, he'd be pushing Concurrent Majority Ratification.
Who would want abortion to be in the Missouri Constitution? Hmm….
- Planned Parenthood
- Washington University
- Big Pharma
- Hospitals
- Abortion doctors & clinics
- Counselors
Does that list sound familiar?? The SAME BIG MONEY pushing for kids to be able to medically transition is also pushing for EASY passage of constitutional amendments!
So guess what? If they shift the focus to IP Reform from our kids and pass HJR 43 as it is - you are going to get abortion! But they'll still take credit and the trophy for passing the bill. This is Missouri politics folks!
Who Is Getting All That Money From Those Sources????
Who Benefits From The SAFE Act Being Stalled or Not Passed At All???
Republicans Run on the Pro-Life Issue. Do you think that scary headline will help stall The SAFE Act?? Yes. It could.
They want to scare you into thinking that abortion rights are flying into the constitution if they don’t get IP reform passed and that it can’t happen if they deal with The SAFE Act right now.
But…. They are fooling you. They think you’re uninformed, ignorant constituents. They think you don’t understand the process. They are counting on you forgetting all this when it comes election time anyway.
The IP Reform they are trying to sell isn’t going to keep abortion out of the constitution at all! It will usher it right in & cause us even more problems down the road.
If they pass HJR 43 as it is written without making major changes - who wins?
Politicians & Washington University....and the others on those lists above.
Who wins if they don't pass the strong SAFE Act?
Politicians & Washington University...and the others on those lists above.
