THE 100 REPORT
"Thank you for subscribing to The 100 Report. Your subscription allows us to accomplish the strategy ahead -- to elect 6 tried and true conservative state senators in key districts across the show me state in the 2022 primaries.
Part of our commitment and service to you means that we’re sharing with you the news updates that help to inform our strategy and bring to you what’s really going on in Jeff City."
-- Jim Lembke, Director of The 100 PAC
Sinquefield Reengages in Missouri Republican Politics
St. Louis Businessman Rex Sinquefield has reemerged as a major republican campaign contributor this cycle after taking a break amid some internal reorganization the last few years. He parted ways with his previous lobbyist and his family was taking a larger role in the decision-making—during this time the donations mostly stopped, at the policies being advocated for mostly turned to criminal justice reform. But the Sinquefield organization appears to be ready to reemerge as a top-prize with one of their first contributions of the cycle being reported to PAC supporting Treasurer Scott Fitzpatirck in his campaign for State Auditor totaling $250,000.
Eigel Outlines Aggressive Tax Reform Initiatives with Pre-filed Legislation
Senator Bill Eigel is wasting no time in getting back to work in preparing for the upcoming legislative session set to begin in January. With nearly 20 bills already pre-filed, Eigel is tackling issues stemming from Critical Race Theory and Education reform to Vaccine Mandates and Abortion. However, one theme that has clearly emerged is Eigel’s focus on reforming the Missouri Tax Code. One of Eigel’s bills eliminates the bottom two income tax bracket, while others reduces the top rate of income tax and reduces the assessment percentage of personal property.
You can see a full list of pre-filed senate bills and read their summary here.
SPEAKING WITH RON DESANTIS
The Florida governor unveils an ambitious anti-CRT agenda.
By Christopher F. Rufo
Yesterday, I accompanied Florida governor Ron DeSantis on an early-morning flight from Tallahassee to The Villages retirement community, where he was scheduled to deliver a policy address on critical race theory. During the flight, DeSantis reviewed talking points for his speech, edited communications materials, and, after the plane touched down, selected a red-and-blue sign that would hang on the podium: “STOP WOKE ACT.”
DeSantis warmed up the crowd of approximately 100 people at Ezell Regional Recreation Center and outlined the “Stop the Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees Act,” which would ban critical-race-theory indoctrination in public schools, prohibit racially abusive training programs in the workplace, and provide parents and workers the right to sue institutions that violate these prohibitions.
The governor framed the rise of critical race theory as a mortal threat to the United States. “I think what you see now with the rise of this woke ideology is an attempt to really delegitimize our history and to delegitimize our institutions,” he said. “And they basically want to replace it with a very militant form of leftism that would absolutely destroy this country.”
As illustrations of critical race theory in American institutions, DeSantis cited seven of my reports for City Journal: Arizona claiming that babies are racist; Santa Clara County denouncing the United States as a “parasitic system”; Philadelphia teaching students to celebrate “Black communism”; San Diego telling teachers “you are racist”; Bank of America teaching that the United States is a “system of white supremacy”; Verizon teaching that America is fundamentally racist; and Google teaching that all Americans are “raised to be racist.”
Over the past year, DeSantis has emerged one of the most articulate political spokesmen for the anti-critical race theory movement. His new policy agenda builds on successful anti-CRT legislation in other states but goes two steps further. First, it provides parents with a “private right of action,” which allows them to sue offending institutions for violations, gain information through legal discovery, and, if they win in the courts, collect attorney’s fees. Second, it tackles critical race theory in corporate “diversity, equity, and inclusion” training programs, which, DeSantis says, sometimes promote racial stereotyping, scapegoating, and harassment, in violation of state civil rights laws.
At heart, the battle against critical race theory is a fight against entrenched bureaucracies that have used public institutions to promote their own racialist ideology. “This is an elite-driven phenomenon being driven by bureaucratic elites, elites in universities, and elites in corporate America, and they’re trying to shove it down the throats of the American people,” DeSantis said. “You’re not doing that in the state of Florida.”
Following his speech, DeSantis invited me to address the crowd. I explained that the reason critical race theory has upset so many Americans is that it speaks to two deep reservoirs of human sentiment: citizens’ desire for self-government and parents’ desire to shape the moral and educational development of their children. Elite institutions have attempted to step between parent and child.
DeSantis has deftly positioned himself as a protector of middle-American families. One of the guest speakers, Lacaysha Howell, a biracial mother from Sarasota, said that left-wing teachers tried to persuade her daughter that the white side of their family was oppressive. Another speaker, Eulalia Jimenez, a Cuban-American mother from the Miami area, said that left-wing indoctrination in schools reminded her of her father’s warnings about Communism in his native Cuba. Both believed that critical race theory was poison to the American Dream.
As they begin their next session in January, Florida legislators have the opportunity to craft the gold standard for “culture war” policy. The governor’s team has worked with a range of interested parties, including the Manhattan Institute, which has crafted model language for prohibiting racialist indoctrination and providing curriculum transparency to parents. The battle is ultimately about shaping public policy in accord with public values. “I think we have an ability [to] just draw a line in the sand and say, ‘That’s not the type of society that we want here in the state of Florida,’” said DeSantis yesterday. The stakes are high—and all eyes are on Florida to deliver.
Abortion supporters see no clear path to victory after ruling
The justices allowed the challenge against the law to proceed but mangled abortion providers' legal strategy and set the table for another elongated court fight. Meanwhile, abortion access in the state remains severely restricted.
In its anticipated ruling on Texas’ controversial abortion ban last week, the U.S. Supreme Court expressed significant concerns with the law’s unique enforcement mechanism, which empowers anyone to sue those who violate the statute. But ultimately the majority refused to block its implementation and instead limited how the legal challenge can proceed. The court’s splintered opinion will define the next chapter in the legal saga, but after the smoke cleared Friday, one thing became increasingly clear: For the abortion providers fighting the restrictions, there might not be a lot left to win. “The Supreme Court has ruled out the most promising claims that would have stopped the vigilante lawsuits in their tracks,” said Julie Murray, one of the lead attorneys for abortion providers in the case. “A significant portion of the lawsuit was foreclosed by the Supreme Court decision and that's going to have a really substantial negative impact on access going forward and on Texans.” The Supreme Court ruled that the providers could continue challenging Texas’ law but weakened their legal strategy by removing nearly all of the defendants in the case, leaving abortion supporters with few options for a viable lawsuit. And legal experts say the state might be able to easily counter what’s left of the suit by amending the law. Now there are no clear avenues for a major victory on behalf of abortion rights advocates, and the ones that remain will likely be hard fought and wind slowly through the court system by way of appeals.
ICYMI: State Representative Mary Elizabeth Coleman Introduces “Empower Women, Promote Life Act”
The Supreme Court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade and give States
back their right to protect the unborn. With Pro-Life majorities in the Missouri House and Senate in 2022, we must act now to ensure that Missouri is ready to protect women and the unborn. Please join us at ThriVe National Headquarters at noon on Thursday, December 16th, as pro-life leaders highlight the pro-life legislation filed this year to protect life.
“We must pass comprehensive pro-life legislation now,” said State Representative Mary Elizabeth Coleman. Her bill, the "Empower Women, Promote Life Act”, will Defund Planned Parenthood, provide protection for children born in a botched abortion, ban the brutal practice of dismemberment abortions, and follows Texas' lead in providing a civil course of action to empower women and promote life.
We must stand up for the Unborn. Republican Leadership may be resistant to taking up these bills because 2022 is an election year. Our voices must be heard now more than ever. We need to show them they will have our support to pass these bills and protect the most innocent among us. Please join us and show Missouri Legislative Leadership and the public our commitment to standing up for LIFE in 2022!
Democrats face painful reality as Priorities Stumble
Senate Democrats are stumbling into the end of their first year in the majority, with two of their biggest priorities—President Biden’s spending bill and voting rights—stuck in limbo. Democrats entered the year facing sky-high expectations about what they could accomplish, with their base pushing a lengthy to-do list after the Trump years. Instead, Democrats are on the precipice of wrapping up for the year facing the painful reality of the limits of a 50-seat majority. The setbacks fueled angst within the caucus and is poised to send Democrats back home to voters—and into the 2022 midterms where Republicans are feeling increasingly bullish—with key pieces of their legislative agenda incomplete. Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) called a 50-50 majority “problematic,” adding, “I’ve used the word ‘sucks.’” “Yes, I am frustrated,” she said. “I’m afraid we won’t retain the majority if we don’t pass voter protection legislation, which our constituents also expect us to do.” Asked about his message to voters given the multi-front stalemate, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) fired back: “Welcome to the United States Senate. I’ve been here for 25 years and I’ve seen the decline of this institution.”
Become a Partner Member / Patriot Member / Founder Member
The 100 Newsletter is intended to be a conservative review of the most up to date, inside information of what is going on in Missouri Politics and does not reflect an endorsement of any campaign or committee. We provide tips, articles, op-eds, updates, and event opportunities based on the most up-to-date happenings in state and federal government. Please feel free to submit your tips and suggestions to be included in the newsletter to Ellie@the100pac.com or Brett@victoryenterprises.com