When Jay Nixon decided to ignore the voters, ignore the Missouri Constitution, and ignore the power of the legislature, he spit in our faces. But why?
Maybe because his special session is failing.
Maybe because, to save the centerpiece of that legislation, House Speaker Steve Tilley needed protection from the grass roots.
Maybe because Jay Nixon is as crooked as a dog’s hind leg and doesn’t give a hoot about you, your state, your country, or the law. (H/T to Ed Martin for pointing us to Kinder v. Holden, which makes Nixon’s action illegal.)
Maybe because Nixon believes he has no chance of losing re-election next year.
Or maybe it’s a combination of these.
In this case, motives count. For that reason, I say we keep our focus on the Missouri legislature, demanding that Aerotropolis remain as the Senate left it. Here’s why.
Governor Jay Nixon is playing games with an Executive Order that would implement ObamaCare exchanges in Missouri without authorizing legislation. His timing seems intentional. He wants to get the grass roots folks off Tilley’s back so that Tilley and restore Aerotropolis earmarks into the Economic Development bill pending in the Special Session.
This makes sense. On Tuesday, we learned that Tilley was splitting the Republican House Caucus into 4 groups to use the persuasion of power over Aerotropolis. (Apparently, Tilley likes to use some aggressive psychological techniques on Tea Party freshmen to get them to comply with his will—or, at least, the will Tilley’s donors.) Tilley wants to shove into the bill the $300 million the Missouri Senate removed. (If Tilley’s a conservative, I’m a Hottentot.)
So, by overriding the Missouri Constitution (by violating Kinder v. Holden) and emasculating the Missouri legislature, Nixon gets $21 million in federal money to hand out to friends, he gets Aerotropolis funding, and he gets a successful end to his Special Session. Tilley gets even more mind control over his House reps and whatever goodies are promised to his campaign coffers from the Aerotropolis supporters.
You and me? We get screwed, of course.