Rosenbaum in the STL

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This video features U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan taking questions about his decision to enter the 1st Congressional District primary.

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I wrote an item in the St. Louis Beacon yesterday about a downtown St. Louis press conference held by House Democrats. The presser involved the lawmakers decrying their Republican counterparts for not passing most of the agenda set forth in the special session.

The above video features comments from Reps. Jake Hummel, D-St. Louis City, and Tishaura Jones, D-St. Louis City. Click on the video to see more.

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WaPost: Is Kinder doomed?

It's been a rough couple of weeks for Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder.

Kinder - who was long thought to be the Republican standard-bearer for governor next year - has had to answer allegations from St. Louis bartender Tammy Chapman. In an article published in the Riverfront Times, Chapman among other things accused Kinder of being aggressive with her when she was a stripper at a Sauget club in the 1990s. 

She also said that Kinder asked her to move into a condo paid for with campaign dollars when the ran into each other earlier this year at a St. Louis City bar.

In a round of media interviews last week, Kinder denied some of Chapman's allegations. He did say that he visited the strip clubs east of the Mississippi River numerous times in the 1990s.

In any case, the controversy has caused at least one major donor to pull support from Kinder. And it's caused national publications such as Hotline On Call and the Washington Post to question whether Kinder has any chance to become governor.

Here's a snippet from a Washington Post blog post:

Yet [Kinder] has survived — for now — in part because of a strong Democratic governor and a weak field of other potential candidates. (Kinder has yet to formally announce his campaign but is expected to do so in September.)

Some Republicans are saying that Kinder will have to drop his ambitions sooner or later. A major donor withdrew his support last week; a Springfield GOP committeeman emailed local Republicans saying the party needed to find a new candidate.

But the state party is standing behind Kinder, and no primary challengers have emerged. Missouri Republicans pushed back forcefully on a Politico report that suggested GOP support for Kinder was faltering.

Click here to read the rest of the Post's article.

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Schoeller: OK with lack of disaster recovery at special session

One thing missing from Gov. Jay Nixon's special session call was anything related to disaster recovery.

And for House Speaker Pro Tem Shane Schoeller, R-Willard, that's OK. Schoeller - the chairman of a committee looking into disaster recovery options - sent out the following letter yesterday to members of the Interim Committee on Disaster Recovery:

I just finished a call with the Governor’s office and he has decided to not include accessing the Budget Reserve Fund in the up and coming special session. As our committee had previously discussed during our last hearing in July, it is premature to think we may know the extent of the costs related to the disasters that have affected, and continue to affect, the State of Missouri and the Governor has adopted our concern.  Including accessing the Budget Reserve Fund in the call to special session was made in good faith that a firmer number would be available from the Governor closer to veto session.  I am pleased the process is slowing down until more information is known.  I firmly believe it is vitally important to include accountability in the process through a joint committee between the House and Senate and by gathering better information that will help ensure every precaution is made to be fiscally responsible with every taxpayer dollar. Not including disaster recovery in the current call to special session does not remove the possibility that we still may be called at a later date this year or that we will not seek to make a response when regular session begins in January.  We will continue to work with our communities as they implement their recovery plans.  It is imperative that we stand ready to offer what assistance is necessary during their rebuilding process as related costs and requirements are confirmed. We will also keep an open dialogue as we look into allowing assessors of occupancy counties to provide property tax abatements for commercial properties as is already allowed to residential properties, as well as looking into a streamlined method of credentialing medical professionals that travel from other states, out of kindness, to assist us if we are afflicted with such a tragedy in the future. I look forward to continuing to work with you as we prepare our final recommendations of necessary legislative changes.  Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have regarding the Governor’s decision or the work we have yet to complete.

Members of the legislature have considered tapping into the so-called "Rainy Day Fund" to pay for recovery efforts in, among other places, Joplin, southeast Missouri and Sedalia. 

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Sheamus on Conan.

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I'm going to post stills of KSDK's "I'm Just Sayin'" commentaries. I don't have a reason for doing this, although at least one of my Twitter followers enjoys this reoccurring feature.

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Nixon calls special session for September 6

Gov. Jay Nixon's office just sent out a press release stating that this year's special session will begin on September 6.

It's going to be a busy session. Not only will the special session focus on economic development issues - such as creating a series of tax credits to entice a "China hub" at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport - but it will also allow for legislation to: 

n  Enact legislation moving Missouri’s Presidential primary to the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March of each Presidential election year;

n  Enact legislation authorizing the transition of governing the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department from a board of police commissioners to the City of St. Louis; and

n  Authorize tax credits to help attract amateur sporting events to Missouri.

The second item is notable, as Nixon had been coy about whether he would include so-called "local control" legislation in his special session call. You can read Nixon's call by clicking here.

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#foodtruckfriday (Taken with instagram)

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This is on my Which Wich bag. @ZachRyder (Taken with instagram)

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MKT (Taken with instagram)

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Babel. (Taken with instagram)

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Slackers is slacking.... (Taken with instagram)