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
Note from Jim Lembke
This week we may
St. Louis-Area Schools Make Masks Optional As Official Guidance Changes
Many local schools are recommending masks rather than requiring them as COVID cases continue to fall from their omicron peak and as state and county leaders relax policies.
On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new guidance that masks were no longer necessary indoors in areas that do not currently have high levels of COVID-19. That guidance also applies to schools.
As of this weekend, according to a new CDC map measuring risk levels, in Missouri, St. Louis and St. Louis, St. Charles and Phelps counties were all considered “medium risk," meaning the CDC would not recommend masks indoors. In Illinois, Jersey, Madison and St. Clair counties were all marked as “low risk." Adams County is at “high risk," according to the CDC.
Continue reading here.
Sen. Rick Brattin’s Capitol Report for the Week of Feb. 21 — We Must Protect Our Elections – Now
The 2020 election was one of those watershed moments in American political history. It certainly has had consequences for the American people. Those consequences range from energy prices – the average price of a gallon of gas in November 2020 was $1.77; it’s now $3.20 – to skyrocketing inflation – the annual rate of inflation has climbed to a shocking 7.5% – to foreign policy failures that resulted in the disastrous cut and run from Afghanistan, and the current administration’s weakness in the face of Russian aggression. There’s no denying it – this is a different country than it was in the fall of 2020, and we would be a different country today had the election come out differently.
Elections matter and, if that’s true, then election integrity matters. It goes right to the heart of who we are as a country. Our constitutional republic has endured for 250 years because of the American people’s trust in and commitment to free and fair elections. Americans must have faith that the people they elected were put into office fairly and accurately. That trust in our elections was put to the test in 2020. In a way, our entire system of government is on trial right now and it’s the duty of legislators all over the country to respond to the American people by ensuring we have the most accurate and secure elections laws we possibly can. It’s not hard to see why voters’ faith in our elections is flagging. In several key battleground states in 2020, partisan political activists changed the rules in the middle of the game without any legislative or constitutional authority to do so. If that wasn’t enough, some in Congress are now attacking state sovereignty and pushing for a federal takeover of elections. H.R. 1 is a liberal wish list of election law – prohibiting voter ID laws, legalizing ballot harvesting and universal mail-in voting across the U.S. If passed, this would be the end of free and fair elections in this country.
Continue reading here.
Who Are These People? Missouri ‘Republicans’ Are Now Pushing New Election Rules that Authorize Drop Boxes and Allow for 6 Weeks of Early Voting
It is abundantly clear that certain RINO Missouri Senators and Representatives want to increase the vulnerabilities in our election system versus reducing them.
The most glaring example is SB633 which was introduced today.
Continue reading here.
[Opinion] Is The RightPath PAC On The Right or Coming After The Right?
By Jodi Grace
Pick me! Pick me! This is an easy one!
The RightPath PAC is coming after those of us on the right. Period. Let's talk about who they are and why they would do such a thing. Then we can visit about who will be taking their money.
WHO ARE THEY?
PAC contributors are Washington University board members, past board members, alum and other woke players in big business. Their common ground, really, is a love for Wash U. Sounds sweet doesn't it? They've got that good 'ole school spirit.
Yeah, well... what they are really most concerned about is Wash U finances and the University's ability to continue its woke research and programming.
Contributors to RightPath PAC include names like:
Sandy Loewentheil. She's a WU trustee, retired and lives in the New York. She received her bachelor's degree at a university in China, Tainjin Foreign Studies University and her MBA at University of CA in San Fransisco. She was one of the first big donors in February. $50,000.00
George Bauer is a very successful Wash U alum. He lives out of state now, but he's on the Board of Trustees at Wash U and has chosen to give back to his home state in this way. His donation this month was $200,000. He's quite philanthropic.
Blackford Brauer who pitched in $200,000 and his company, Hunter Engineering donated another $200,000. His dad was a trustee.
The list goes on with these large donations, but I'll leave it at that.
The point is, these donors are NOT pro-life. They are NOT conservative.
Continue reading here.
LOCAL PAPER “REPORTS” ON DHSS NOMINEE
By Senator Mike Moon
A recent (February 10, 2022) article in the Branson Tri-Lakes News entitled “Does Moon’s DHSS grandstanding hurt his district?,” Jason Wert asserts that actions taken “against a man who was more than qualified … to lead the Department of Health and Senior Services, … wasted … political capital” and “will hamper [my] ability to help advance legislation which could actually provide economic help and jobs to the residents of southwest Missouri.”
While I recognize the importance of jobs in the MO 29 Senate District (and the economic benefit accompanying them), there is, perhaps, something far more important: the protection of the people of Missouri from despots.
CONVERSATIONS WITH KAUERAUF
In the case of Mr. Don Kauerauf, the former appointee to head the DHSS, we must consider his background, his ability, and his intent. I met with Mr. Kauerauf on two separate occasions – both in my Capitol office. I found him to be pleasant and extremely bright. We talked about family (he is a father of triplets), hobbies (he is a fitness enthusiast) and, of course, public health.
Since I have a daughter who, along with her husband and children, are missionaries to Australia, I asked Mr. Kauerauf what he knew about the countries’ health policies. (Government officials in Australia are enacting some of the most severe COVID restrictions in the world.) Specifically, I mentioned a program called SHIELD (often referred to as SHIELD USA, SHIELD T3 and in the state of Illinois as SHIELD Illinois). SHIELD incorporates features such as contact tracing, proximity tracing, and test-to-stay (a test required in order to determine whether or not an individual has COVID). SHIELD Illinois is being utilized in Illinois (Mr. Kauerauf’s wife, Judy, was involved in establishing SHIELD Illinois, as part of her responsibility in the IL Department of Public Health). During one of our conversations, he took a smart phone from his pocket and pointed to an app used for contact tracing.
Mr. Kauerauf had previously made statements, such as, Missouri’s vaccination rates were atrocious and that he would like to see 100% of Missourians vaccinated. To be fair, he also stated that he was against mandates.
I mentioned to Mr. Kauerauf that I would likely asked him some hard questions during the confirmation hearing. He responded by stating he expected to be questioned.
THE HEARING
During the hearing, I asked Mr. Kauerauf many questions. Among them, in reference to the appalling percentage of vaccinated Missourians, I asked about his goal of 100% vaccination. His response reduced the goal to 75%.
When I referenced our conversations in my office (a DHSS staffer and two of my staff were present), specifically regarding the SHIELD program and the contact tracing app (on his phone) he denied any knowledge of the program (or phone app).
It concerned me that, in public, he had changed his previous answers.
Mr. Kauerauf often stated in public that he was pro-life. In the hearing I asked him what being pro-life meant to him. He responded by saying that all children should be cared for after birth. (His response led me to believe that, as the director of the state public health department, he might not be willing to protect a developing human baby still in the womb.)
I asked Mr. Kauerauf when life begins. He stated that he could not answer the question. I persisted by asking, if he were confirmed as the DHSS Director, would he approve the funding of entities which either provided abortions or support abortions. Again, he would not answer the question.
These unanswered questions caused me to wonder why he was being deceitful (lying) and what else might he be hiding. Would he attempt to enact public health policy which would be detrimental to Missourians?
MY DECISION
I could not risk allowing Mr. Kauerauf’s nomination to be confirmed by the Senate.
So, if taking firm action to stop the confirmation of a gubernatorial appointee, in order to protect Missourians from a heavy-handed government, is “wasting” political capital, I’ll do it again in a heartbeat!
As for my quote by the AP (leave it to the press to pick and choose parts to include and parts to omit), my full statement was, “It was a sweet victory for the people of the state.” I’ll stand with the people any day!
CONFIRMATION WE MADE THE CORRECT DECISION
Just recently, a letter was received from a MO DHSS employee. In the letter, the employee stated:“I am… an employee of Missouri, in the Department of Health and Senior Services. A few months ago, the department instituted a “procedure” which requires all employees who interact with the public to show vaccines cards, or be tested weekly, or be terminated. There are no exceptions, not even for those of us who already had Covid.”
This was not written in department policy (otherwise, it would have been public knowledge). This was done while Mr. Kauerauf was acting DHSS director. This “private” department policy could easily become public policy if Don Kauerauf had been confirmed as the director.
Perhaps, my action was the correct one after all.
UPCOMING HEARINGS AND RALLIES
It’s likely that the Senate will take up and debate the congressional districts map. I’m supporting a 6-1-1 map. This map would keep the current six Republicans seats relatively safe from a contested loss while maintaining one safe Democrat seat (due to the Voter Rights Act of 1965, a district comprised of majority of a minority group cannot be gerrymandered in such a way as to discriminate against the minority). The additional seat would be a competitive one (the seat could be won by any candidate receiving the most votes). This map could be a 7-1 or a 6-2, depending upon how hard the candidate worked to win the seat.
I expect the bill will be debated on Tuesday, March 1, 2022. You can listen to the debate by logging onto the internet and clicking on this link:
http://chamber.senate.mo.gov/SenateChamber
ICYMI
The Freedom Convoy is headed through Missouri tomorrow!
Social Media Highlights
Upcoming Events Featuring Members of the Conservative Caucus and Candidate Spotlights
This Week In The Missouri Senate
To see which bills were brought forward in hearings, committees or on the floor you can review the daily Actions from the Senate floor here.
March 1-Noon Education committee - “Save Women’s Sports” / prohibits men from competing in women-only sports (high school and college)
March 2-Capitol Rotunda - Election Integrity / Discussion of photo I.D. requirements, hand-marked paper ballots; drop box ban; absentee ballot criteria
To see the Hearings scheduled for the week you can go here.
Want to testify at the hearing of a bill that’s important to you? You can register to submit witness testimony to a State of Missouri Senate Committee Hearing here.
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
Visit the website: the100pac.com for more information on The 100
Have a friend that would love the Report? Share this link with them to join!