Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Post

With #SuperTuesday underway today, the national media remains focused on the presidential horse race, with 15 states and American Samoa deciding on party nominees. But state primaries decide the candidates for the offices that set most of the nation’s public policy, including governors, legislators, secretaries of state and attorneys general, among others. To reflect the possibility of a sudden increase in these newer models for selecting party nominees, NCSL has created a new category of primaries outside the open-to-closed scale: the “multiparty” primary. These systems divorce the concept of party nominees from primary elections by placing all candidates on a single ballot regardless of party, allowing multiple candidates from the same party to advance to the general election. Learn more about Super Tuesday and state primaries: https://bit.ly/3uMc8gF

Republican Matt Gaetz Moves to Formally Remove Kevin McCarthy as Speaker Moderate Democrats don’t commit to rescuing McCarthy House must vote on Gaetz’s motion within two legislative days Republican Matt Gaetz officially moved to topple House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Monday evening, teeing up a high-stakes vote likely to dramatically shift the balance of power in Washington whatever the outcome. At least one other Republican dissident explicitly said he would join Gaetz and others indicated they were strongly considering doing so. As few as five ultra-conservatives could overthrow McCarthy if all Democrats support them. #business #finance #financialservices

Ranked choice voting, which asks voters to rank multiple candidates in order of preference, has seen its profile steadily expand since 2016, when Maine became the first state to adopt it. But increasingly, RCV is being paired with a new system for primaries known as Final Five — or in some cases, Final Four — that advances multiple candidates, regardless of party, to the general election. #rcv #rankedchoicevoting #votingmatters #vote

Some of the various political dynamics heading into Iowa and beyond include whether there’s room for three viable Republican candidates. David Brady and Douglas Rivers, Hoover Institution senior fellows and Stanford University political scientists, discuss various political dynamics heading into Iowa and beyond including whether there’s room for three viable Republican candidates in January’s and February’s contests, the number of persuadable voters in a polarized “two-incumbent” general election, the role of third-party candidates as mischief-makers, plus alternate ways for selecting presidential nominees – i.e., is it time for national, regional or more “open” primaries? Listen now: https://hvr.co/3RUdM7u

We released our "2nd Amendment Grades for Texas' 2024 Political Candidates" this week: https://lnkd.in/eXeJswvp Voters in Texas who care about guns in their state have a choice in 2024: - We dug into the 2nd Amendment (2A) stance of federal and state-level candidates in Texas in battleground districts and high-profile races. - Grades are due to a candidate's previous 2A voting record, public statements on their constituents owning firearms, and the candidate's willingness to focus on 2A issues. - Grades have been assigned from A to F, just like in school. Spoiler alert: Several of our grades surprised me as we often found an urban vs. rural divide - not a party-line divide - when it came to a candidate's 2A stance.

The National Popular Vote Compact is an end-run around the Electoral College, plain and simple. If you are not familiar with it...here's how it works: Those who join this compact agree to award its presidential electoral votes to the candidate who wins the national popular vote, regardless of the results at the state level. Look for yourselves...the Constitution does not recognize a national popular vote. As Tara Ross so elequently, we have democracy at the state level, and a republic at the national or federal level. This is simply another way of erasing state borders, which began with the passage of the 17th Amendment allowing for popular election of U.S. Senators by the voters rather than state legislators. The original concept behind the U.S. Senate was their representation of state governments. Though I am not a fan of judicial review, I cannot imagine this would past muster by the Supreme Court. States who are not going to do this need to sue the states who are and get rid of this odious agreement. It is a fraud foisted onto the American voter.

As we move into a new election year, make sure to vote. Whether you're a Democrat, Independent, or Republican it's what makes democracy work and America strong. In the words of Alexander Hamilton... "The subject speaks its own importance; comprehending in its consequences nothing less than the existence of the UNION, the safety and welfare of the parts of which it is composed, the fate of an empire in many respects the most interesting in the world. It has been frequently remarked that it seems to have been reserved to the people of this country, by their conduct and example, to decide the important question, whether societies of men are really capable or not of establishing good government from reflection and choice, or whether they are forever destined to depend for their political constitutions on accident and force." I choose reflection and choice. My vote reflects my choice, and your vote is your choice. So, get out and vote.

TEXAS Go vote your incumbent out of office! Hey voters- WE SUCK. That’s right . In many case we have elected representatives based on thier promises to support issues that matter to us deeply and then watched them abandon those promises. What do we do? Let them keep their job. That’s literally stupid. Not one of you that takes the time to read this can keep your job if you did this , and yet, many of you will give the lying dirt bag politicians a total pass when you have the opportunity to enforce that same reasonable accountability. Is it any wonder that we are betrayed by the likes of Senator John Cornyn , Rep Dan Crenshaw, or Drunk Dade Phelan (Texas Speaker)? This isn’t a partisan failure either. There are scores of Democratic districts across Texas where the elected reps continually make promises that they won’t keep. This all happens because they rely on us being too stupid to go vote them out in the PRIMARIES. By the time the general election roles around the, we are left with a few bad choices because we as voters didn’t do our jobs months before. If you are in Texas (or many other states with a March 5 primary date) Tuesday begins early voting. So unless your incumbent has actually kept all of their promises, go fire them and send a message! https://lnkd.in/ghqbZYHq #vote #vote2024 #choicesmatter #accountability

"Ninety-Nine Problems and a Veep is One" With the Republican National Convention just over a month away, speculation about who Donald Trump will choose as his running mate is heating up. Here’s a look at the current contenders and the historical context of the VP selection process. The 12th Amendment changed how we pick VPs, avoiding the drama of the 1796 and 1800 elections where opposing parties had to share the executive branch. Top contenders for Trump’s VP slot include: - North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum - Sen. Marco Rubio - Sen. J.D. Vance - Sen. Tom Cotton - Sen. Bill Hagerty - Sen. Tim Scott - Ben Carson - Rep. Elise Stefanik Trump plans to reveal his choice at the convention. With age a factor for both main presidential candidates, this VP pick could be more crucial than ever. Read the full blog for an in-depth analysis of Trump’s potential picks and the evolving role of the VP: https://lnkd.in/e2Dk2Epb #Politics #2024Election #Trump #VP #RepublicanConvention #History #12thAmendment #Election2024

Interesting implication if you consider the 2021 January 6 insurrection an attempt to stop a legislative session. Oregon voters voted to punish state lawmakers who miss 10 floor sessions without an excuse from reelection and the Oregon Supreme Court just agreed. The principle of honest debate and disagreement is fundamental to democracy. I am glad the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution stops at 1 insurrection. #ballotqualification #democracy #insurrection #disqualification