There are lots of reasons to be a pessimist here in Missouri. We had a tough election statewide, even with excellent candidates. Lucas Kunce lost to Josh Hawley, which is a stunning example of how we just are not getting the truth out.
We had our local Democratic meeting last night. Attendance was sparce, though perhaps growing just a little. We’re doing our best to be present as often as we can. Our agenda included the following lovely topics of discussion:
- Finding a candidate for a special election for state rep. Our elected candidate (a Republican) resigned 23 hours after being sworn in. (Apparently he gets a full term worth of retirement credit for that stunt.) I had thought a special election would be held no later than August. Well, that won’t happen. The governor is under no obligation to call a special election at all, and there is good reason to believe the seat may be held open until 2027. So, we won’t be vetting primary nominees or working to raise funds. No door knocking, no yard signs. The typical district resident doesn’t even realize we’re unrepresented, and local media hasn’t been helpful out of fear of getting on the wrong side of state government.
- Attempting to delay changes to our school policies, which are changing to push more and more funding to private schools. Students can now opt for other districts, and the funding follows the student. The district must fund transportation to neighboring districts, and must retain space in the event the student returns. Many in the Republican caucus have made no secret of their desire to eliminate the public system entirely. So, our strategies revolve around slowing things down. The Republicans have veto-proof majorities in both chambers and control the governorship as well.
- State income is down, tracking significantly below budget. Social Security is no longer taxed in Missouri, which has exacerbated that problem. The governor is a huge fan of eliminating our state income tax, which has been reduced in recent years from 6% to 4.7%. The new goal is zero, with the plan being a bump in the sales tax of 2% to replace the revenue. The problem, of course, is that the 2% doesn’t come close to replacing the revenue from the state income tax. That means spending cuts will fund this effort, largely from schools and from the state’s portion of Medicaid. Those are always the first targets. The plan seems to be to cut the revenue first, creating an emergency that requires further cutting the budget.
- Republicans are moving along quickly with a new constitutional amendment to replace Amendment 3, passed by voters last year. This recognized a right to reproductive freedom in our state. The new amendment will be very restrictive, and the initiative around it will be quite well funded, including via “pregnancy centers” that receive state funding. There will also be substantial outside funding flowing in. Our current legislature has become quite skilled at overturning the will of the voters. Voter-approved independent redistricting and Medicaid expansion have been killed and/or hindered by the actions of our legislature.
- A new anti-pornography bill is under development. Draft versions are so restrictive that the bill itself apparently qualifies as pornography.
- A discussion about how some local Republicans are disappointed because they believe Trump is simply too slow to act and too moderate on many of his positions.
That’s really just the start, but you get the point. Things are grim, very grim indeed. Missouri used to be a bellwether state. We had blue governors, blue senators, and an effective legislature. But the gun control wars of the 90s killed the Democratic party here, and most rural counties are out of reach, at least for now.
But the last thing we need to do right now is sulk away in silence. Complaining to each other at our all-blue meetings does no good. 2026 could look very good for us indeed, if we start working on it now. It took a long time for Republicans to build out their massive advantage here. We need to have that same longer view.
We need candidates, door knockers, demonstrators, organizers, social media experts, and more people attending these meetings. We will have the budgets. The Democratic Party doesn’t lack for money. We will have union support. We will have union halls in which to meet, raise money, and meet candidates. We will have a lot of unpopular Republicans and policies to run against. And we have enough population in the urban areas of St. Louis, Kansas City, and Columbia to win some elections...if people turn out. But they’re not going to turn out for a party that’s going to sulk in silence. We need to make some noise.
I’ll continue to speak up at these meetings. I’ll lead what I can. I’ll write to everyone. I’ll show up for demonstrations, work my social media, and do everything I can to change the situation. But the party needs to step up here. All the leadership, including those on this site. Offer some excitement and some vision. Make some noise, please. Obama filled stadiums not that long ago. We can win, but only if we try. It’s now been more than 3 months since the election and we need to start looking forward.
I hope next month looks a little better. I despise defeatism. Cheers, folks.
