Republican State Party Power and 2016

In the 22 years since the 1994 Republican midterm landslide, the landscape of partisan power in state governments has changed dramatically. The Republican Party was the minority party in state government for almost seventy straight years before the Gingrich Contract with America transformed not only control of Congress but vitally control of state legislatures, long the hardest bastion of Democrat power in politics and quietly the key to Democrat dominance of American politics.

‘I can’t forgive him but he is a victim too’: Brave acid attack…

Father-of-12 Toby Willis from TLC's The Willis Family is charged with raping an underage child after attempting to flee from police 'This will be the last election that the Republicans have a chance of winning': Trump warns GOP over specter of Hillary Clinton presidency: Missouri boy, 8, is banned from school after students filed a restraining order claiming he 'punched one of them and threatened to kill a young girl and her dog' Polls show Trump closing gap on Clinton: Swing states like Florida and Ohio are no longer considered likely wins for Democrats South Carolina woman gets awarded more than $4.6 million in damages after being pricked by a needle in a Target parking lot 'Showing her true feelings': Trump says Clinton has shown 'bigotry and hatred for millions of Americans' after calling his supporters a 'basket of deplorables' Obama commemorates victims of 9/11 while celebrating ... (more)

Retired Sydney Swans star Adam Goodes marries Natalie Croker in secret ceremony

Father-of-12 Toby Willis from TLC's The Willis Family is charged with raping an underage child after attempting to flee from police 'This will be the last election that the Republicans have a chance of winning': Trump warns GOP over specter of Hillary Clinton presidency: Missouri boy, 8, is banned from school after students filed a restraining order claiming he 'punched one of them and threatened to kill a young girl and her dog' Polls show Trump closing gap on Clinton: Swing states like Florida and Ohio are no longer considered likely wins for Democrats South Carolina woman gets awarded more than $4.6 million in damages after being pricked by a needle in a Target parking lot 'Showing her true feelings': Trump says Clinton has shown 'bigotry and hatred for millions of Americans' after calling his supporters a 'basket of deplorables' Obama commemorates victims of 9/11 while celebrating ... (more)

Missouri appeals court order to reveal execution drug source

Missouri is appealing a federal court's decision that requires the state to break one of its most-guarded secrets and reveal the name of any supplier of its lethal injection drug. Calling the matter "a question of exceptional importance," the state on Wednesday asked the full 8th Circuit Court of Appeals to urgently upend a ruling last week by a three-judge panel of that court in a case brought by two death-row inmates in Mississippi.

MSBA: No recommendation on transgender bathroom issue

The Missouri School Boards Association originally recommended schools allow transgender students to use the bathroom and locker room they identify with, but it swiftly rewrote the policy, leaving the decision up to districts. The sudden change came after a Virginia district court ruled it did not accept the U.S. Department of Education's interpretation of Title IX to include "gender identity," allowing transgender students to use the bathroom consistent with their gender identity.

Trump a factor in surprisingly close Missouri Senate race

Ask Republican Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri about his party's presidential nominee and you'll likely get a polite but weary response. It's tough enough for the political veteran seeking re-election against up-and-coming Democrat Jason Kander, Missouri's secretary of state who is showing surprising strength in the polls and in raising money.

Ex-Navy SEAL Eric Greitens wins Missouri governor primary

Former Navy SEAL officer Eric Greitens won the Republican primary for Missouri governor Tuesday after a hard-fought race in which he cast himself as a conservative outsider willing to use his military bravado to blow up perceived corruption in government. Greitens prevailed over another self-described outsider, businessman John Brunner, and a pair of more experienced Republican leaders - longtime Lt.

GOP governor’s races tops primary comments

Missouri's most competitive Republican gubernatorial primary in two dozen years will come to a close Tuesday, as voters select from among four well-funded candidates promoting themselves as the party's conservative standard-bearer. Democrats also will choose a gubernatorial nominee.

Court: Birth control mandate violates religious rights

A federal judge has ruled in favor of a Missouri lawmaker who cited religious objections while challenging the inclusion of birth control coverage in his government-provided health insurance. State Sen. Paul Wieland said Friday that the ruling , while applying only to his family, could serve as a guide for others seeking to challenge the application of a section of President Barack Obama's health care law that requires insurers to include coverage of contraceptives.

The Wages of Neoliberalism: Poverty, Exile and Early Death

Economist Michael Hudson says neoliberal policy will pressure U.S. citizens to emigrate, just as it caused millions to leave Russia, the Baltic States, and now Greece in search of a better life. A research team from Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health in New York estimates 875,000 deaths in the United States in year 2000 could be attributed to social factors related to poverty and income inequality.

US Supreme Court appeal expected in candidacy case

After Friday's Missouri Supreme Court ruling said Rachel Johns doesn't qualify to run for state representative, her attorney told the News Tribune: "We do not consider this fight to be over, and we anticipate asking the U.S. Supreme Court to address this case." Dave Roland, of the Freedom Center of Missouri, represents Johns, of St. Louis, who filed last spring as a Democratic candidate for state House District 76 in north St. Louis City.