May 7, 2020

Corona is bad enough. Republicans make it worse.

All of these things are worth a bigger dissection, but the hits come faster than I can write.

  • The state had a partial reopening May 4. I pray Gov. Mike Parson is right.
  • We need plans on how to run elections for this June, August and November. Counties should be able to rely on their state government for help and direction, but Parson and Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft refuse.
  • Our state legislature is a dangerous joke. Ostensibly, legislators are meeting now to figure out a budget and guide our state through the next year. But a budget is impossible without the revised revenue projections that won’t be available for weeks.
  • The public can’t watch or testify while the legislature is in session because of the pandemic. Republicans are using their time outside of the spotlight to work on legislation that even their supermajority wouldn’t normally be able to push through.
  • The idea of competitive districts scares the hell out of the supermajority, which will likely send a mutilated version of Clean MO back to voters for another “bite of the apple.”
  • The sheer disregard for and disrespect to voters in those last four points.
  • Deciding out if my sons can play baseball this summer. I know what the answer should be, but the sacrifices we ask our kids to make — even for their own good — are a lot harder than the sacrifices we make for our kids.
  • I see a whole lot of political candidates being politicians. Talk as much as possible and as loudly as possible without actually saying anything. We can’t afford this crap anymore.
  • From 1,000 feet up, economics are pretty easy to figure out. It’s a cycle. Save during the boom years so the bust years are easier. But Republicans insisted on tax cut after tax cut. Not only could the state not save money while the economy was roaring, we couldn’t even pay the bills we had. Now the COVID has hit the fan, so it's not surprising that
  • The state had a partial reopening May 4. I pray Gov. Mike Parson is right.