Today, Wednesday, Sept 10, the Missouri Senate was reduced to a theatrical show. I was embarrassed to say the least. In my opinion, the theatrics became a mockery of what should be the most honorable body of deliberation in Missouri, and it could've been easily avoided if it had been handled appropriately.
I want to explain the statement I made in an inquiry with my democrat colleague, Senator Doug Beck. You can listen to the entire exchange below.
Click the link and go to the 29.47 mark.
First Came The Call
The 2nd extraordinary session of the year began in the senate today (Sept. 10) in Jefferson City after a call from Governor Kehoe to take up congressional redistricting and initiative petition (IP) reform. The push for new congressional districts is one we are seeing across the country as the republican party tries to save as many U.S. congressional seats as possible in the midterm elections in order to keep the majority.
Do I want the republicans to keep the majority in congress? Of course I do. But HOW we go about doing it matters.
Behind the Curtain
What has happened here in Jefferson City is that we've been given a map that moves Missouri's congressional district lines, dividing urban Kansas City and combining my entire senate district with several rural counties across mid-Missouri. The effect of this is that the 5th district will change from being held by a Democrat to a Republican. This is Emmanuel Cleaver's district and it currently includes the city of Independence which is the largest city in my district.
The senate is supposed to be a deliberative body. One that allows for each senator to speak at any time and for as long as he wishes. This is what makes the senate different from the House. Senators voices are not supposed to be silenced. We each represent approximately 185,000 constituents. When senators are silenced, the voices of their constituents are silenced.
We were called into this special session to take up and consider two issues. What has happened is that the bills were drafted, filed and they are being railroaded through the legislature without any actual deliberation or opportunity to make changes. That's not uncommon in the House, where they operate with a different set of rules that gives virtually all the power to the Speaker. But in the senate, each senator is supposed to have the power to stand, be heard and weigh in on the issue at hand with the expectation that as the bill moves through the process it will be changed in a way that works for the majority. But that isn't what's happening here.
I Wasn't Elected to Be a Puppet
What's happening is we have been handed only one version of a map and only one version of an IP reform bill. And we are being "highly encouraged" to take them up and pass them exactly as they have been sent to us from the House.
My voice has effectively been silenced and my ability to have any influence in the actual content of these bills is basically zero. The same is true for every other senator in this chamber. We have been given two pieces of legislation which are very important and we will have no real input as to their outcome except for either a yes or no vote.
We are a sovereign state and I am a firm supporter of the tenth amendment to the U.S. Constitution which states;
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
Therefore, we should not take orders from Washington. As an elected state senator my first and foremost priority is to represent my constituents in my district and make decisions based on what is best for the people of the state of Missouri.
The congressional map was a hot topic in 2022 when they drew the lines for the map we have now. The conservatives tried to get a 7-1 map at that time and they were unable to accomplish the task - even with a republican supermajority. And now, they are steamrolling a 7-1 map through the legilslature! I've only just today been given any data or information this new map was based on.
Initiative petition reform has been debated in this building for a decade or more, but somehow there is a brand new version that has not ever been 'vetted" by the legislative process and we are expected to take it up and pass it without making any changes.
This isn't what I was elected to do. I didn't promise my constituents that I would come here to rubber stamp what the party wanted. I came here to represent the people in my district and preserve our freedom and liberty.
PQ Politics
Everyone here knew the democrats would filibuster. Instead of allowing the filibuster to work, republican leadership prefers to shut down any filibuster attempts with a PQ, Previous Question. This means we don't have to be here working as long, but it's harmful to both how the senate is functioning now and how it will function in the future.
We are setting incredibly bad precedent. The senate needs to continue to be the slow, deliberative body it was designed to be.
Steamrolling legislation through a process that is all theater & shutting down the voices of senators in the process is NOT beneficial. It's harmful to the legislative process, to the future of the senate and most of all it's harmful to the people of Missouri.
The Process vs The Legislation
The legislation being presented is far from perfect, but my complaint isn't with the legislation itself it's with the process. Tomorrow, the Local Government and Elections Committee will meet and hear both bills being considered. I'm honored to sit on the committee and looking forward to having continued conversations on the policy & the process. There is much work to do and I'm committed to working on behalf of my constituents and all the people of Missouri.
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