Friday News Flyover - Jan 12 2024 - MAGA Mike Johnson on the way out - MO SOS Jay Ashcroft whiffs again and more

Friday Flyover of politics and elections news from America's heartland | TX GOP Rep Chip Roy says he'd boot MAGA Mike over funding bill | Missouri Sec of State on track to waste more money and lose more court cases | Lauren Boebert switches districts, CO GOP Rep Doug Lamborn announces retirementSOURCES: The Heartland Collective, Axios, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Missouri Independent, Fox17 WZTV Nashville, Iowa Capitol DispatchIs Speaker Mike Johnson Already on the way out? https://www.axios.com/2024/01/11/mike-johnson-house-speaker-motion-vacateFrom ArticleDriving the news: A dozen right-wing House Republicans blocked a package of their party's bills and ground the House floor to a sudden halt on Wednesday in protest of Johnson's spending deal with Senate Democrats.It's a repeat of of what hardliners did under former Speaker McCarthy over his bipartisan debt ceiling deal – which ultimately foreshadowed his removal months later through a motion to vacate.The move came as Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) has been flirting with the idea of trying to remove Johnson, saying in a radio interview on Tuesday: "If they totally botch [the appropriations bills] ... I don't know why we would keep him as speaker."One Republican leadership ally described the revolt as a "shot across the bow."Missouri AG and recent melted blob of flesh on CNN, Jay Ashcroft, gets smacked down in courthttps://www.stltoday.com/news/local/government-politics/judge-rejects-jay-ashcroft-s-bid-to-dismiss-high-profile-lawsuit-against-his-office/article_01f1fdc6-af1c-11ee-8076-27fdb2bf7fa8.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=user-shareComplaint https://business.cch.com/srd/20231023_SIFMA-v-Ashcroft_amended-complaint.pdfFrom the articleA federal judge rejected an effort by Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft to dismiss a lawsuit against his office over new, politically charged rules aimed at limiting the impact of environmental, social and governance factors in investment decisions.In a ruling Friday, U.S. District Judge Steven Bough ruled unanimously in favor of a trade group that is suing the Republican gubernatorial candidate and his office on the grounds that the rule imposed by Ashcroft fails to acknowledge that federal law already requires financial advisers to act in the best interest of their clients when providing personalized investment advice.“The court finds that Plaintiff adequately alleges that the rules violate the First Amendment,” Bough wrote. “The court finds that Plaintiff adequately alleges that the rules are unconstitutionally vague.”And Bough said the trade organization can continue its pursuit of the case because it has the legal standing to represent financial advisers who object to Ashcroft’s rule.Ashcroft issued the rules — the first in the nation — after a similar “anti-woke” investing proposal died in the Legislature last year.Ashcroft, who is facing Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe and Sen. Bill Eigel in the August 2024 GOP primary, has used the lawsuit to raise money for his gubernatorial campaign, where culture war issues have played a prominent role.And, he is using taxpayer funds to pay a campaign donor to represent his office in the lawsuit.Instead of using the Missouri attorney general’s office to fight the challenge to the rules, Ashcroft hired the politically connected Kansas City law firm of Graves Garrett to represent his office.Law firm partner Todd Graves, a former head of the Missouri Republican Party, was named to the University of Missouri board of trustees in 2021 and Greim was mentioned as a possible pick for attorney general when Eric Schmitt vacated the post to become U.S. senator in 2021.Greim also represented the Office of the Governor in 2018 when former Gov. Eric Greitens was under investigation for possible impeachment.Tennessee Dems Pushing Back on Abortion Bans With New Reproductive Rights BillsThe bill is sponsored by new Tenn. Dem. State rep, Aftyn Behn, who can be heard at length on this week’s episode of the Dirt Road Democrat with Jess Piperhttps://fox17.com/news/local/2024-nashville-tennessee-rep-introduces-new-abortion-reproductive-rights-bill-politics-general-assembly-government-davidson-county-middle-tnFrom ArticleA new abortion bill aims to amend Tennessee's current law which bans the procedure in early stages of pregnancy.House Bill 1626 enacts the "Fundamental Right to Reproductive Health Care Act," meaning the state cannot interfere with abortion services because it falls under an individual's "fundamental right."The bill states every person has a right to make decisions about their reproductive health care, including "the fundamental right to use or refuse contraceptive procedures or contraceptive supplies as defined in 68-34-102." It adds a pregnant person has a right to continue a pregnancy or to terminate it. Michigan GOP Collapsing? https://theheartlandcollective.com/2024/01/09/michigan-gop-is-collapsing-in-on-itself/From article:Jason Roe, a former executive director of the Michigan Republican party, said an effective new leader could help the party “right the ship” before the November 2024 elections, but that a drawn-out fight in court could hinder that progress.To date, the chaos engulfing the party has prevented it from fulfilling its traditional role of organizing and fundraising for Republican candidates, former party officials have said.“I think the chaos is far from over,” Roe said. “If this turns out to be a binding vote, I don’t think she [Karamo] or her supporters will go quietly and there will probably continue to be skirmishes throughout the election cycle.” Boebert Says Bye Bye - Tucks Tail And Seeks Easier Path Back To DCIn a move stunning no one, CO GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert, best known for her lewd and lascivious behavior, plus that time she cranked her dates honker in public, is running from the fight in her seemingly doomed reelection bid in the Colorado 3rd against Adam FrischArticle on THChttps://theheartlandcollective.com/2023/12/29/lauren-boebert-says-bye-bye-to-her-current-swing-district-and-hello-to-colorados-4th/Frisch was close to winning in 2022 and most assumed he would take the 2024 race against the highly damaged BoebertThe seat in the 3rd was home to Ken Buck who’s own failed speaker bid was his last hurrah as he calls it quits. Missouri water way gets needed recognition, but for horrible reasonshttps://missouriindependent.com/2024/01/08/coldwater-creek-to-finally-have-warning-signs-after-decades-of-nuclear-contamination/Nuclear waste stored outside St. Louis was found to pose a risk to nearby Coldwater Creek as early as 1949. The contaminated creek will finally have warning signs almost 75 years later.From articleThe U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said in a statement Monday that it was working with the Environmental Protection Agency to add signs along the creek to help it monitor areas “that may pose a risk if disturbed.”Coldwater Creek has been contaminated for decades with radioactive waste left over from the World War II-era effort to build an atomic bomb. But though the creek winds through some of St. Louis’ busiest suburbs and past public parks and schools, the federal government had resisted calls to post signs warning visitors of the contamination.“This is decades of potential exposure that could have been prevented that they drug their feet on,” said Dawn Chapman, co-founder of Just Moms STL, an organization formed to advocate for communities affected by St. Louis-area radioactive waste.Despite the delays, Chapman said she’s thankful that the signs are finally going to be installed. The St. Louis area has long struggled with a radioactive waste problem. Uranium for the Manhattan Project, the name given to the effort to develop the first atomic bomb, was refined in downtown St. Louis.After World War II, radioactive waste left over from those efforts was trucked to the St. Louis airport and dumped — some on the open ground and some in barrels — next to Coldwater Creek. As early as 1949, Mallinckrodt Chemical Works, the company that refined uranium for the federal government, was aware the waste could escape the barrels it was stored in and contaminate the nearby creekThe Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry concluded in 2019 that children and adults who played in or near Coldwater Creek or lived in its floodplain between the 1960s and 1990s may have been exposed to radioactive materials that raise the risk of certain cancers. The agency — part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — recommended signs be placed along the creek to warn residents of the potential exposure risk.The Army Corps said there was nothing specific that caused the agency to change its mind on installing the signs. The decision was “driven by our commitment to continuous improvement,” George Stringham, a spokesman for the Army Corps, said in an email. Stringham said the Army Corps would “continue to prioritize the health and safety of the community.”Iowa - Gov. proposed budget is a major cut for higher edhttps://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2024/01/10/gov-kim-reynolds-budget-for-state-universities-falls-30m-short-of-regents-request/From article: Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has proposed allocating about $30 million less than what the Iowa Board of Regents requested for itself and the universities next year, though each of the universities would receive some increase in state funding.Reynolds’ budget proposal, released Monday, included recommendations for administering money from the state’s general fund and other sources to the regents, the University of Iowa, University of Northern Iowa and Iowa State University. The regents requested just over $609 million from the state’s general fund and about $40 million from other state sources. Reynolds recommended allocating almost $619 million.Colorado - Congresswoman Diana DeGette introduces discharge petition to ban high-capacity magazines:https://coloradonewsline.com/briefs/degette-house-vote-high-capacity-magazine-ban/From article:U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette used a mechanism in the House of Representatives that would force a vote on a bill without leadership’s approval to bring forward a vote on a gun safety bill. DeGette, who represents Denver in Congress, alongside House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force Chair Mike Thompson, a California Democrat, filed a discharge petition to force a vote on the Keep Americans Safe Act. The bill would ban large capacity magazines - those that can hold 30-100 rounds - with a few exceptions and will likely struggle to get through the Republican-controlled House.DeGette said high-capacity magazines were used in all of the 10 deadliest mass shootings in the country. She said the only purpose of these magazines is to kill a lot of people in a short amount of time. “These events continue to re-traumatize our community and our nation, because no community has been untouched by this deadly epidemic,” DeGette said. “In mass shootings with four or more people killed between 2015 and 2022, high-capacity magazines led to more than twice as many people being killed and nearly 10 times as many people being wounded per incident on average.”The petition requires 218 signatures to force a vote on the floor, and with 213 Democrats in the House, at least five Republicans would need to sign. DeGette said she thinks some Republicans in the House represent districts impacted by mass shootings and may be under pressure from their constituents to ban high-capacity magazines. U.S. Rep. Jason Crow, a Centennial Democrat, joined DeGette and members of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force at a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol after DeGette filed the petition and applauded Colorado leadership for its gun safety measures, particularly banning high-capacity magazines. “In Colorado, we are fortunate to have a state legislature focused on gun reform when Congress fails to make significant change due to Republican stonewalling over and over again,” Crow said. Crow highlighted several high-profile mass shootings in Colorado where the perpetrator used high capacity magazines: the 1999 Columbine High School shooting in Littleton, the 2012 Aurora movie theater shooting, the 2021 Boulder King Soopers shooting, and the 2022 Club Q shooting in Colorado Springs. Closing Note: Doing anything this weekend? 
@TheHeartlandPOD on Twitter and ThreadsCo-HostsAdam Sommer @Adam_Sommer85  (Twitter) @adam_sommer85 (Threads)Rachel Parker @msraitchetp   (Threads) Sean Diller  (no social)The Heartland Collective - Sign Up Today!JOIN PATREON FOR MORE - AND JOIN OUR SOCIAL NETWORK!“Change The Conversation”Outro Song: “The World Is On Fire” by American Aquarium http://www.americanaquarium.com/