343 DAYS UNTIL ELECTION DAY… 251 DAYS UNTIL THE AUGUST PRIMARY

MARTIN LOOKS STATEWIDE — Meta data on an oppo drop suggests the former COS to Gov. Blunt is looking at running for Governor, first on PoliticMo:   “Ed Martin’s political operation is considering mounting a challenge to St. Louis businessman Dave Spence for the Republican nomination for Governor next year, according to a new research memo authored by a close aide. The memo, entitled simply, ‘Dave Spence Background Research-Part 1,’ was distributed anonymously Sunday evening by a group calling itself ‘Missourians for a Conservative Governor.’ But at closer examination, the PDF file appears to be authored by Steven Michael, political director for Martin’s current congressional campaign. … This research release is similar to another release late last year when Martin was preparing for his campaign for U.S. Senate against Sarah Steelman. An anonymous conservative using the pseudonym ‘Francis Marion’ criticized Steelman’s ties to trial attorneys and other issues worrisome to tea party conservatives.

“Martin gave up the Senate bid and launched his congressional campaign in the 2nd District against Republican Ann Wagner, but the push by his political director against Spence suggests Martin may be readying for a new statewide bid. In addition to Martin, State Auditor Tom Schweich is also seriously pondering a run for governor, according to multiple sources close to Schweich. … Martin was unresponsive to requests for comment, but since PoliticMo inquired, the Facebook page has been removed and a Tweet at @Mo4ConservGov has been deleted.” http://bit.ly/u5AGNE

BUMP IN THE ROAD —‘Opponents of … Wagner claim Enterprise Rent-A-Car is buying House seat,’ Daily Caller: “In her quest to represent Missouri’s Second Congressional District, former Republican National Committee co-chair Ann Wagner is hauling in more money than any other non-incumbent running for Congress. But her political opponents say the election is for sale, and one company is buying: Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Wagner raised $532,000 for her campaign during the third quarter of 2011. Politico reported in October that $108,000 came from Enterprise executives – including Wagner’s husband, Raymond Wagner, who is Enterprise’s government and public affairs vice president and a registered lobbyist. Missouri tea party activists contend that their research shows the amount of money coming from individuals associated with Enterprise was actually $202,750 in the third quarter, approximately 38 percent of all quarterly donations and nearly twice the reported figure. … 

“Wagner’s opponents scoured FEC filings and compiled a list of donations made by spouses of Enterprise employees, as well as those made by individuals employed by holding groups and subsidiaries of the rental car company. … Many of the spouses’ donations were ‘reattributions,’ or contributions legally re-assigned to the spouse because a primary donor contributed more than the FEC limit. But other contributions came from spouses of employees who did not donate on their own. … 

“The Wagner campaign does not specifically track the employers of donors or their spouses, but maintains that there is nothing wrong with money being raised from individuals associated with Enterprise. ‘As just a part of over 1,100 contributions Ann has received in this campaign, a number of contributions came from Enterprise workers and their spouses because they know Ann personally, trust her leadership and judgment, and know that she will be a strong and effective member of Congress,’ Wagner campaign manager Aaron Willard told The Daily Caller.” http://thedc.com/v0a69D

2012 LEGISLATING — ‘MO. Chamber to get aggressive on education,’ MissouriNet: “The Missouri Chamber of Commerce plans to be more aggressive in the coming legislative session on education issues. Assistant General Counsel Richard Moore says the Chamber’s members have expressed issues with the education available to the state’s workforce. … Moore says the Chamber felt it was time to increase its involvement in education issues, but he adds the organization is not saying the state’s schools are failing. Vice President of Governmental Affairs Tracy King says the focus of the Chamber’s agenda is on local choice. … The Chamber supports expanding charter schools statewide and full funding for all levels of education, eliminating the teacher tenure system and replacing the tiered pay system for teachers with a merit system.” http://bit.ly/u3lEHQ

GOOD MONDAY MORNING, and welcome to this edition of PoliticMo Rundown. Send your tips, comments, and scoops to eli@politicmo.com. 

OVER THE WEEKEND — Missouri GOP Communications Director Jonathon Prouty (@JonProuty), on the road, tweets: “I asked, and Amanda Littlefield (@alittlef) has agreed to become Amanda Prouty.” 

— Rep. @CalebMJones tied the knot: “I will be married to @FtMrsJones before the milk in my fridge expires. … Off to Mexico to change a lovely lady’s last name……. @FtMrsJones #wedding” 

— Happy birthday (yesterday) to Ice-T’s Ross Branson. 

GOV. JAY NIXON and First Lady Georganne Nixon welcomed the 2011 Missouri Christmas Trees at the Governor’s Mansion this morning. The trees — two whiten pines from Armstrong, Mo., will go on display in the Governor’s Mansion on Friday for the public. 

SEN. ROY BLUNT plans to attend agriculture events today. In Springfield, Blunt will visit the Darr Agricultural Center at MSU to discuss the 2012 ag bill. In Columbia, Blunt will visit the food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute at Mizzou. 

REP. RUSS CARNAHAN tweets: “[T]une in to NPR at 90.7 FM for my interview w/ Don Marsh and Pat Brown-Dixon of SBA about women leadership in business.” 

THE MAP — ‘State apportionment panel avoids Sunshine Law requirements,’ Columbia Daily Tribune: “In three weeks, new boundaries for Missouri House and Senate districts will be announced. What won’t be announced will be when, where and by what vote the map was approved by the panel of judges responsible for drawing the new districts. As in the past, the Appellate Apportionment Commission meetings are not posted, and all sessions other than a single public hearing have been closed. … Under Missouri’s Open Meetings and Records Law, or Sunshine Law, public bodies are required to post notice of the time and place of their meetings. All meetings covered by the law are supposed to begin in open session. The law requires a recorded vote on the question of going into a closed session. The panel has been told the Sunshine Law does not apply to its work.” http://bit.ly/w3h3Z7

TAXES — ‘Question endures: Are too many paying nothing at all in taxes?,’ Dave Helling, KC Star: “By most estimates, 46 percent of American households had no federal income tax liability this year, either because they didn’t make enough money or their credits, exemptions and deductions exceeded their tax bill. Some filers without an income tax bill even got refund checks from Uncle Sam. … Sen. Roy Blunt, a Missouri Republican, … insists it’s a mistake to allow some taxpayers to pay no federal income levy. ‘I do think you value what you pay for,’ Blunt said. ‘Whether that’s a copay at the doctor’s office, or actually having a stake in the income tax system.’ … 

“Republicans want to reform taxes for a variety of reasons, of course — lower tax rates, for example, would spur job creation, they say — but many also think requiring an income tax payment from everyone would make the system more fair. But some who study the tax code are worried that major federal tax reform could upset the delicate balance among all the taxes Americans pay, potentially making the tax system less fair. That’s particularly true because states and cities also are discussing major changes in the way they collect the money needed to run their branches of government.” http://bit.ly/v57Qbt

— NEWS-LEADER EDITORIAL - ‘Income tax worth keeping’: “St. Louis businessman Rex Sinquefield and his co-author, Jack Naudi, go on to argue that a no-income-tax model will position Missouri ‘to catch the next wave of growth and business expansion.’ But we believe the proposal would be a disruptive and potentially dangerous tax shift, putting more of the burden on lower-income and middle-income residents.

“It would lead to a dramatic increase in the state sales tax — capping it at 7 percent (compared to the current rate of 4.225 percent). It would lead to a much broader set of goods and services being subject to the sales tax — chief among them, would be a sales tax on food that could be as high as 5.5 percent. It could starve state government of needed money — with critical implications for education funding and a host of other important programs. And it would limit the ability of local governments to raise money as it would cap the total sales tax at 10 percent. … 

“Trading away the income tax for a higher sales tax is an unnecessary, disruptive and potentially dangerous step. It is unclear how aggressive the Let Voters Decide petition drive is at this point, but if you are approached, we urge you to respectfully decline to sign.” http://sgfnow.co/vyIFTs

NICE TO KNOW — ‘Labadie Power Plant Second Worst Polluter in the U.S., Study Says,’ EMissourian: “The Ameren Missouri coal-fired power plant in Labadie is the second worst mercury polluter in the nation, according to a recently study released by Environment Missouri, a nonprofit advocacy organization. … The EPA accounts for the emissions in its annual toxics release inventory. That inventory utilizes self- reported data from power plants. The Labadie power plant produced 1,527 pounds of airborne mercury emissions in 2010, according to the study, second only to the Big Brown Steam Electric Station and Lignite Mine in Fairfield, Texas. That site produced 1,610 pounds last year. As a whole, Missouri power plants emitted 3,835 pounds of airborne mercury in 2010. Ameren was responsible for 3,699 pounds as a company.” http://bit.ly/tYKZKt

BACK HOME — Fmr. Luetkemeyer intern ‘says he was beaten after Cairo arrest,’ AP: “[Derrik] Sweeney said the evening of Nov. 20 started peacefully in Cairo, with Tahrir Square ‘abuzz with ideas of democracy and freedom.’ The three wandered the streets and wound up in a large group of protesters outside the Interior Ministory, Sweeney said. The demonstrations escalated, with the protesters yelling and perhaps throwing stones, he said. ‘Eventually the police shot back something, I’m not exactly sure what,’ he said. ‘We didn’t wait to see. But as soon as we saw some sort of firing coming from the gun and heard it, the whole crowd stampeded out and we sprinted away.’

“He said they fled to an area that seemed calmer and were approached by four or five Egyptians in plain clothes. The Egyptians offered to lead them to safety but instead took them into custody, Sweeney said. They were threatened to be force-fed gasoline, beaten and forced to lie in a near-fetal position in the dark for six hours with their hands in cuffs behind their backs, Sweeney said. … 

“Sweeney is 19 and studies at Georgetown University. He was arrested along with Luke Gates, 21, who attends Indiana University and is from Bloomington, Ind., and Gregory Porter, 19, who studies at Drexel University and is from Glenside, Pa. The students flew home Saturday after an Egyptian court ordered their release two days earlier. The three were studying abroad at American University in Cairo, which is near Tahrir Square.” http://apne.ws/t5G8E7

SPORTZ — ‘Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon says MU-KU Border War should continue,’ KC Star: “Count Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon among those who want to attend the Border War — next year and for years to come. Nixon said at halftime of the Kansas-Missouri game at Arrowhead Stadium that he believes cooler heads will prevail and the oldest rivalry west of the Mississippi River won’t end because the Tigers are headed to the Southeastern Conference next year. … ‘Clearly, it’s a tradition that should continue, and we’re hopeful that it will,’ Nixon said. ‘It’s good for the Kansas City economy. The Tigers want to continue to play regularly at Sprint Center, so too the Tigers should continue to play here. In the coming months everybody will be able set aside any emotions and get to the task of rescheduling this game.’The Border War has one year left on a contract, but Kansas has said it only wants to play Mizzou as a conference member.” http://bit.ly/w3W1sB

— (And here’s why) ‘Mizzou gets last laugh on KU,’ Post-Dispatch: “In what may well be the end of the oldest rivalry west of the Mississippi River for the foreseeable future, Mizzou overcame a 10-0 early deficit and rallied for a 24-10 victory over Kansas before an announced crowd of 47,059 at Arrowhead Stadium.” http://bit.ly/vk7Cpn

— Per @WilliamPLynch (a PoliticMo contributor from time to time), Pics: “#kansas side #BorderWar … pic.twitter.com/5Lw8ubvw …  #Mizzou side #BorderWar pic.twitter.com/evzFgc3z”