Peter Kinder

I would hope that Peter Kinder, Shane Schoeller and their anti-worker ilk in the Missouri legislature would pause for a minute after reading the following article out of Wisconsin.  Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin has said that he SUPPORTS the prevailing wage and has NO INTENTION of pushing Right to Work for Less.

Got that?  It bears repeating: one of the nation's most extreme anti-worker politicians is opposed to Right to Work for Less and supports the prevailing wage.

Walker won't push Right-to-Work legislation

Right-to-work legislation continues to be a contentious issue around the country, particularly in Indiana.

But don't look for Gov. Scott Walker to raise the issue in Wisconsin, particularly after the bruising battle over collective bargaining and public-sector unions.

Cullen Werwie, Walker's spokesman, said the governor would not be introducing any right-to-work legislation in Wisconsin.

That's what Terrance E. McGowan, business manager of Operating Engineers Local 139, believes, too.[...]

McGowan said he spoke with Walker's campaign at the time to underscore that the union was in favor of prevailing wage laws and was opposed to right-to-work laws.

"Those close to Kinder say they haven't ruled out a go at the
governor's mansion in 2016..."

This morning from Missourinet: "A fourth candidate and second state senator is joining the Republican race for Lieutenant Governor.  State Senator Lu Ann [Ridgeway of Smithville served ten years in the House before serving her two terms in the Senate."

Rep. Paul Curtman (R-Pacific) isn't giving up on his misguided effort to ban Missouri courts from consulting Sharia law.  Last year, he, Sen. Brian Nieves, Birther Tim Jones and even Speaker Steve Tilley attached their names to an Islamaphobic proposal written by a hateful man from Arizona named David Yerushalmi.

At the time, TPM reported:

Dr. S.I. Strong, a law professor from the University of Missouri, called the bill a “dangerous exercise” that could potentially open the Missouri court system to complex litigation. She told TPM the bill has a number of inconsistencies and would be difficult to implement.

This year, Curtman lists the legislation as his top legislative priority. 

Peter Kinder comes in second in The National Journal's 'Biggest Twitter Losers of 2011' list:

Kinder never seemed to learn from his social media missteps, tweeting on multiple occasions about questionable things. In November, he re-tweeted a message about free wings at Hooters on Veterans Day while he was still considering a run to challenge Missouri Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon. It was far from the first time Kinder's tweets were scrutinized. He had previously urged his followers to 'vote for [a] hot wife in the Top 25 Political Mom blogs' a day after Missouri was hit by the deadliest tornado in nearly 60 years and tweeted about 'hostage situation' in a government building in 2009 only to later discover the incident never occurred.

Even after failing to receive a second for his original proposal earlier this month at the Missouri Housing and Development Commission hearing, Peter Kinder is again announcing support for his failed policy of eliminating or suspending the prevailing wage in areas deemed a natural disaster.  This time around, Kinder backed the legislation pre-filed by State Reps. Lant, Flanigan and Reiboldt which is similar to the legislation already pre-filed by other radical Missouri republicans from Joplin and other southwest Missouri communities.

Kinder went on to say that an elimination of the prevailing wage is "what the people want" but fails to note that by slashing construction laborers' paychecks by two-thirds, one can definitely assume, would NOT be what the people want.  By slashing the paychecks of those rebuilding their community, the local economy would take yet another hit in the form of workers being unable to assist in stimulating the economy and helping it get back on its feet, not to mention assisting the workers and their families get back on solid financial footing following the historic F5 tornado earlier this year.

This morning at the Missouri Housing and Development Commission meeting, Peter Kinder failed to even find a second for his motion to eliminate the prevailing wage requirements for the rebuilding of low-income residential housing in Joplin.

Terry Nelson of the Carpenters' District Council of Greater St. Louis and Vicinity had this to say after Kinder's motion failed:

We were glad to see the MHDC reject the proposal to slash middle class wages -- taking money away from Joplin’s families will not help Joplin recover, and an overwhelming majority of the Commission sees that.

In his latest failed attack on working families, Kinder proposed gutting wage requirements that protect communities and workers from unscrupulous contractors low-balling bids on taxpayer-funded construction projects by setting wage rates to the local or prevailing standard.

Gary Elliot of the Eastern Missouri Laborers' District Council also commended the MHDC's decision to protect Joplin and her workers:

Rebuilding Joplin is more than a structural investment. I applaud the MHDC’s decision to maintain prevailing wage requirements for affordable housing projects in Missouri.  Strong wages create strong communities, especially in a place like Joplin that has already been through so much.

Unfortunately, there are other Republicans in the legislature who have proposed legislation which would also suspend the prevailing wage in places deemed disaster area just as Kinder's failed proposal would have, though bipartisan coalitions have defeated such measures in the past.

Q: What do Lt. Gov Peter Kinder, Sen Pro Tem Rob Mayer and State Rep Shane Schoeller have in common?

A: Um, all of them are not running for Governor?

Well, that's true too, but moving on.

Unless you spent all day yesterday reading about Deidre Pujols or a certain $10,000 gaffe, you likely heard about the scathing editorial written about Schoeller and his colleagues jumping on the opportunity to undermine prevailing wage laws in rebuilding tornado-torn Joplin. But as the PD points out, this is not only downright mean - it's a little preplanned.

Where does one even begin with this editorial in the Washington Missourian? Rather than get into Peter Kinder's actual reputation as a dishonest, partisan maniac who doesn't have anything approximating a "strong record" as Lieutenant Governor, let's all just agree that he should remain the leader of the Missouri GOP forever.

Kinder’s young. There is time for him to advance in government. We are glad he’s running again for lieutenant governor. He’s been involved and has expanded some activities out of his office that benefit the state and its citizens.

February 8, 2008: "Republican Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder dropped out of the Missouri governor's race Friday night barely two weeks after he entered it, declaring he instead will seek re-election."

November 18, 2011: "Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder (R) will announce Friday afternoon that he will not run for governor in 2012, but will instead seek re-election to his current post, according to sources familiar with his plans." 

Politico: "Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder will not run for governor in 2012, multiple Republican sources tell POLITICO...'He's flipped on a dime.  He made a seismic shift,' said one Republican with knowledge of Kinder's outreach."

As soon you stop laughing about this Dave Drebes post, encourage every person you want out of office to adopt this strategy and go all-in on the Everything Tax. 

After being left for dead by pundits like me, what’s the path for LG Peter Kinder to become Gov. Peter Kinder? According to one Republican it’s just stay afloat and ride the waves.

By his estimate the Rex Sinquefield fair tax effort will create a tidal wave of money in Missouri, up to $30 million. It may well become the defining issue of the cycle.

Can Kinder position himself atop that wave and ride it to the governor’s mansion?

h/t JohnCombest.com 

This just in: Ideological conservatives are willing to use natural disasters without shame to advance their ideological agendas.

Workers already saw their homes destroyed in Joplin. And now Peter Kinder, Rep. Bill White and Rep. Charlie Davis  want them to suffer again by slashing their take-home checks as they rebuild. With cynical talking points in hand, Kinder warned yesterday that some displaced Joplin families won't have housing if he and his donors don't get their way with the Missouri Housing Development Commission. And at least one corporate executive says his projects might be less tornado resistant if he isn't allowed to pay his already-struggling workers less money.

Reducing Joplin families' take-home pay does not help the community recover, and Kinder's cynical work to help owners of construction corporations make more money on the disaster is just gross.

Washington Post: "Businessman Dave Spence will run for governor of Missouri, a source tells The Fix. Spence's entry means the GOP could be headed for a contentious primary between Spence and Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, whose stumbles early on caused Republicans to look elsewhere for an opponent against popular Gov. Jay Nixon (D). Spence had previously said he would wait for Kinder to make a decision on the race."

Dave Spence is willing and able to challenge Peter Kinder in a primary. Except when he isn't. But he still might. Or might not. 

Just check back in 24 hours, mmkay? 

• October 24: Spence says "he will run for Missouri governor in 2012 if Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder passes on a campaign"
• November 4: Politico reports that Spence "is now opening the door to a primary challenge"
• November 7: Spence "told KMOX last week that he would not rule out challenging Kinder in a primary, though he walked those sentiments back in a conversation with the Post-Dispatch."
• November 8: Spence tells the Associated Press he "may run even if it means a primary"

Former Representative Allen Icet, now the leader of Missouri's Club for Growth, is pushing Bill Randles campaign for governor. And Representative and Congressional candidate Jerry Nolte (R-Gladstone) graced a Draft Ed Martin event this weekend. 

Contrary to absurd claims that Rex Sinquefield's tax fantasies will make it so "you and me and everybody can have more money to spend, now and forever," the Everything Tax, supported by Peter Kinder and Steve Tilley, is "a loser for nearly everyone." 

They want to eliminate the tax source which brings in 65 percent of Missouri’s revenue, claiming unconvincingly that getting rid of the individual income tax will cause new businesses to flock to Missouri and produce enough new revenues to close a $3 billion budget gap.

Under their plan, consumers would pay a 5.5 percent sales tax on food, which currently is exempt. Many services would be newly subjected to a sales tax, which in most cases would be capped at 10 percent, with the state entitled to 7 percent of that amount. The state would receive more than half of the tax for its general fund and dedicated purposes. Over time, some local governments could be forced to reduce their existing sales taxes.

Instead of inhabiting a low-tax utopia, most Missourians would experience a higher cost of living and decimated state services.

KMOX reports that Dave Spence is no longer asking for Peter Kinder's permission to end Peter Kinder's career: 

Businessman Dave Spence, the President and CEO of Alpha Packaging,  in St. Louis County, says he is “strongly considering” a run for governor — whether or not Kinder runs.

“A businessman and somebody from the outside who is not part of the system might have a better chance of getting something done in Jefferson City than the same formula that keeps regurgitating itself,” Spence said...

“I’m willing to self-fund part of it to at least be credible,” Spence said, “and then from there I am convinced I can raise the money.  I think the business community would respond en masse .  I’ve already raised verbally some money from about five phone calls that told me that people believe I can do the job.”

Spence says he will make a final decision on whether to run in about 60 days.

Image credit: Ladue News

If the article in today's Columbia Daily Tribune regarding Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer (R- St. Elizabeth) seeking to fast track the investor visa program for Mamtek is any indication, we should assume there will be hell to pay within the Missouri GOP's Twitter feed very soon. 

Politico's Dave Catanese this morning:

Republicans now have a serious alternative to Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder. Wealthy St. Louis packaging executive Dave Spence told POLITICO this month he would jump into the race “with two feet” if Kinder bows out. Aside from being a donor, Spence’s political experience is nil, but the Republican Governors Association was intrigued enough to take a meeting. Meanwhile, Kinder’s fundraising ebbed during the third quarter, with the undeclared Republican spending more than he raised.

No word yet on why Catanese ignored the burgeoning Draft Ed Martin movement.