336 DAYS UNTIL ELECTION DAY… 244 DAYS UNTIL THE AUGUST PRIMARY

OVER THE WEEKEND — The News-Leader ran two interesting #MOSen pieces over the weekend that we wanted to make sure you saw: 

— ‘GOP hopefuls in Missouri Senate race keeping low profiles,’ Gannett’s Washington desk: “The Republican field vying to unseat Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill looks extremely formidable, at least on paper. There’s a wealthy St. Louis businessman who has vowed to bankroll part of his campaign and is embracing the outsider label. There’s a six-term congressman from St. Louis County who has a robustly conservative record. And there’s a straight-talking former state treasurer who has been tested in statewide races. McCaskill, meanwhile, has been tagged as one of the most vulnerable Democrats in the Senate, with the 2012 Missouri contest rated as a ‘tossup’ by several political analysts.

“Despite those dynamics, the GOP field remains highly fluid, with the three contenders cutting a low profile so far. Some have struggled with fundraising, others have made missteps with the media, and none has emerged as a clear frontrunner. … Stuart Rothenberg, a nonpartisan analyst who tracks competitive congressional races, said the Missouri contest is different from other states, such as Montana, where targeted Democrats are already facing off in tough contests with relatively well-known, well-financed Republican opponents. She’s really lucky the Republicans don’t have someone now who looks like they can step into this race and be a frontrunner,’ Rothenberg said. … That undoubtedly will change as the election heats up. Missouri has a late primary — set for August —so the GOP candidates have eight months to make an impression on voters. But for now, the three Republicans have said little to distinguish themselves from each other, preferring to train their fire on McCaskill. And it’s hard to tell what the defining issue of the Republican primary will be, with the focus for now more on style and life experience than on detailed policy positions.” http://sgfnow.co/sj92hK

— ‘Q&A: Senate GOP candidates discuss economic matters’:  “Q: Would you support reversing the cuts targeted for defense, about $500 billion, even if lawmakers can’t agree on alternative savings to reduce the deficit?

Akin: “I haven’t crossed that bridge yet. I would be leaning to say that we have to be very careful. …”

Brunner: “…’Until we have a good debate on what the role of the military is,’ it doesn’t make sense to debate what kinds of cuts should be made to defense.” 

Steelman: “My position is we need to be cutting spending. Do I think defense should be on the table? Yes, I do…”  … 

“Q: Would you support extending the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits for laid-off workers, something Congress is currently debating?

Akin: “I’m opposed to that. …” 

Brunner: “… without having an understanding of what the end-game strategy is, I look at this as a knee-jerk strategy that kicks the can down the road.”

Steelman: “I would support just the payroll tax cut… I don’t think we should extend unemployment benefits.” … http://sgfnow.co/uUm56Y

MO GOV — ‘Nixon searches for words during impromptu news conference,’ Bob Watson: “Jay Nixon is a lawyer. And lawyers sometimes pause to use just the right word when answering a question. But reporters who met with Nixon in Jefferson City on Friday morning, after a tree-trimming ceremony with Lawson School students, couldn’t remember a time when the governor stopped so long to choose his words. He paused about 15 seconds while answering a question about this week’s hearings on Mamtek, the company that promised to build an artificial sweetener plant in Moberly but failed to make a bond payment this summer.

“Some have suggested Nixon and the Economic Development department failed to investigate the company before backing the plan. Finally, he said: “A lot of business deals don’t make it to the finish line. … I think it’s very, very important for (us) to use taxpayer dollars wisely (and to be) focused on trying to create jobs.” http://bit.ly/uwnCZS

— @DaveCatanese: “Gov. Nixon pulls a Jan Brewer — pauses 15 secs. to search for an answer on state-backed business deal gone bad.” [Except Brewer had video. That was played over and over and over and over again on cable.] 

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

PRESIDENT OBAMA heads to the midwest tomorrow. The Pres. will fly into KCI tomorrow at 11:25, and Air Force One is scheduled to be on the ground in Missouri for nearly four hours. Obama will be in Osawatomie, Kansas, speaking at the site of a historic Teddy Roosevelt Speech. 

KINDA JARRING TO SEE — Photos from the Joplin disaster made BuzzFeed’s top 15 (of 45) “most powerful images” of the year over the weekend. (Eight and 15) http://bit.ly/udP5H5

NIXON WARY OF TOLLS — ‘Nixon: Creating toll roads would require broad consensus among public and Legislature,’ AP: “Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon said a proposal to convert Interstate 70 into a toll road would be a ‘substantial change’ and that doing it would require ‘broad consensus’ among the public and within the state Legislature. … Nixon said it is important to examine ideas that ensure Missouri has sufficient infrastructure but that toll roads had not been part of his immediate proposals. … He praised the Transportation Department for attempting to steer more money into road and bridge projects by approving a plan earlier this year that is expected to save $512 million by 2015. It calls for cutting about 1,200 positions and closing 131 facilities.

“Also unclear is where the Legislature stands on requiring motorists to pay a toll for traveling the state’s main east-west highway. A joint transportation committee last month praised the Department of Transportation for attempting to ignite the discussion but stopped short of actually endorsing the proposal. … Installing tolls on I-70 would require federal permission because the highway already exists, but Missouri has been given tentative approval through a federal pilot program.” http://bit.ly/tvMOR0

MISSOURI CAUCUSES — ‘Missourians revisiting caucuses,’ S-NL’s Josh Nelson (In Springfield, formerly form Iowa): “This year, only the caucuses matter, because those will determine who Missouri will support as the Republican Party’s presidential nominee at the Republican National Convention in August. That is a change from the the last three recent presidential election cycles, when the voters used the primary election to chose their major party candidates. Delegates will elect the official party nominee at the national convention, which is scheduled for the week of Aug. 27 in Florida. The switch to a caucus was caused when lawmakers weren’t able to reach an agreement on whether to comply with national Republican Party rules regarding the nomination calendar. To comply, they would have had to delay the primary a month. The return of the caucus brings a lot of uncertainty for both party officials and party faithfuls on how to navigate the events. … State law still requires a primary vote on Feb. 7, even though the state Republican Party has opted to use the caucus system to pick a presidential nominee. That has relegated the election to simply a test vote of what Missouri voters think of the current crop of Republicans hoping for the party nod to run for president.” (Click for a really helpful chart to show your friends) http://sgfnow.co/upMaVC 

REDISTRICTING FALLOUT — ‘Hodges decides on run for new 149th district,’ Southeast Missourian: “With his district split three ways thanks to a new House of Representatives apportionment plan, Rep. Steve Hodges will more than likely vie for the 149th district. Because he’s an incumbent, Hodges, D-East Prairie, could run in any district that used to be in his 161st district, which will now include the 148th, 149th and 151st districts. On Friday, Hodges said he’s going to run in the 149th ‘with almost 100 percent surety.’ Hodges said he feels the 149th district could be a more Democrat-friendly district than the 148th, with its inclusion of Democrat-leaning areas like New Madrid and Pemiscot counties, and part of his home county of Mississippi. Hodges said he also has friends and supporters throughout the 149th, in places like New Madrid County, Portageville and Hayti.” http://bit.ly/taBnza

KC EDUCATION CRISIS — ‘Sly James could be making the gamble of the…century,’ Steve Kraske: “You may agree with Mayor Sly James’ proposal that he assume control of Kansas City’s challenged school district. Or you may disagree. But there is no doubt that on the riskiness scale, this ranks as one of the biggest political gambles since President Jefferson purchased Louisiana. The mayor will be attempting something that dozens of professional, experienced school administrators have tried for decades, and that is pull the Kansas City District out of the educational abyss. All have failed.

“… [N]ow James will be tying the trajectory of his mayoral term directly to a new metric for Kansas City leaders — test scores. At a time when Kansas City still faces enormous challenges with its beleaguered city budget, when homicides continue to top 100 a year, when the city is struggling to decide whether to pour millions into a major downtown convention hotel, and billions into a new sewer system, James wants to move the fate of a troubled school district onto his pile. James’ gamble, however, is paying early dividends. On Friday, Missouri Education Commissioner Chris Nicastro said she needs more time to decide the district’s fate. In other words, James’ has bought the district some time.” http://bit.ly/tpdF2P

POTUS 2012 — ‘Despite Surge, Gingrich Faces Major Hurdles,’ Jeff Zeleny, in the New York Times, notes potential hurdles for Gingirich’s campaign if the primary contest draws out into the summer: “Surging in polls is one thing. But as Newt Gingrich seeks to turn his impressive performance in surveys into votes, he is scrambling madly to build the kind of organization that Mitt Romney has methodically put in place for a year, one that will let him compete through all 50 contests, often in multiple states at once. … If neither candidate succeeds in knocking out the other in the burst of early tests in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida, Mr. Gingrich could be faced with the ultimate challenge to his campaign: the need to survive a war of attrition of the sort for which he is unprepared at the moment. … 

“A long contest requires significant organization, which the Romney campaign has been building through an exhaustive state-by-state delegate operation. The Gingrich campaign, which went dormant in the summer, is racing to catch up. Mr. Gingrich, for example, will not appear on the Missouri ballot because his campaign missed the filing deadline last month and failed to send a $1,000 check to the secretary of state’s office.” http://nyti.ms/viQpvA

REGULATIONS — ‘Missouri utility regulators may repeal ethics rule,’ Virgnia Young: “One of Missouri’s utility regulators caused a furor in 2007 after he met secretly with utility executives. So last year, after a study of their ethics policy, the regulators agreed to bar such meetings. Now, the staff of the Missouri Public Service Commission says the rule has proved to be overbroad and impractical. The commission will hold a hearing today on a proposal to repeal the ban, a move that is drawing fire from consumer groups. … Consumer advocates are fighting the change, which they say would undermine the fairness of the regulatory process and damage public confidence in the commission. … Taking a different approach, St. Louis-based Ameren Missouri contends that the proposed rule change doesn’t go far enough. The utility said that with the revision, its private meetings with regulators would still have to be disclosed by being posted on commissioners’ public calendars. But other groups, such as manufacturers that band together as large electricity users to fight Ameren’s rate hikes, could meet with commissioners without any public notice.” http://bit.ly/sfaov0

SUBSCRIBE TO YOUR PAPER (!!!!) — ‘St. Louis Post-Dispatch parent to file bankruptcy,’ Brian Hook: “With debt of nearly $1 billion and with less than $25 million in cash on hand at the end of last quarter, the parent company of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch plans to file for bankruptcy. Lee Enterprises Inc. will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy around Dec. 12, according to a news release sent Friday. The bankruptcy filing is required as part of a refinancing agreement reached with the company’s key creditors. The publisher of 48 daily newspapers in 23 states expects to complete the restructuring process in 60 days or less. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is the company’s largest newspaper, followed by the Arizona Daily Star in Tucson.” http://bit.ly/tp0QTS

MU COLLEGE REPUBLICANS WANT COULTER —The MUCR’s had hoped to bring conservative speaker Ann Coulter to campus early next year, but following a paperwork flub, their plan may be in jeopardy. The group is claiming bias by MU officials. The campus paper ‘The Maneater’ wrote a pretty critical editorial about the group’s claims over the weekend: “The College Republicans want to bring Ann Coulter to campus. Unfortunately, due to the liberal bias of the Missouri Students Association, they can’t. False. Real story: The College Republicans planned to bring Ann Coulter to campus. They set a date and though we did not get them to say Coulter confirmed coming to campus, all plans were made. Then they went to MSA.

“This issue with this is MSA doesn’t just sponsor events. It’s part of MSA bylaws that students must involve MSA in event planning when they want funding. MSA looks at a variety of factors when deciding whether or not to host, such as how many students would come, the speaker’s benefit to students and whether or not the organization asking for money followed the rules. Although it’s fair to say a big name such as Ann Coulter would likely have a large audience, the simple fact is that College Republicans failed to turn in their paperwork in time. They didn’t follow the rules, and now they have to miss out. Nobody likes bureaucracy, but even more, people don’t like hearing about conspiracies and false political agendas. It’s ludicrous for College Republicans to accuse MSA of a liberal agenda because they’re upset.” http://bit.ly/vLdzCd

— MUCR’s chair Craig Arnzen: “This is a joint effort of the CRs at MSU, MU, and Truman State. We have been able to work with the Claire Booth Luce Policy Institute (CBLPI) to bring Ms. Coulter to the state at a discounted rate. … All paperwork filed was not only on time, but early, as well as complete. … We are upset that through this process we have not been given clear or consistent answers in this process. … Ann Coulter will come to Mizzou on April 11. We will fund her, with or without the help of MSA.” 

SPORTZ —CHRISTMAS IN SHREVEPORT: ‘Missouri To Play North Carolina in Independence Bowl,’ MU Release: “The Tigers (7-5 overall and 5-4 in Big 12 play) will play in the 36th annual edition of the game, set for Dec. 26th in Shreveport, La., against the North Carolina Tar Heels (7-5 overall and 3-5 in ACC play [4th in Coastal Division]).  The game will kickoff at 4:00 p.m. (central time) from Independence Stadium and will be televised live on ESPN2. … The game will mark MU’s seventh-consecutive bowl game (an MU record), and eighth bowl appearance in the last nine seasons overall under Head Coach Gary Pinkel, after Mizzou had gone to only two bowl games in a span of 19 seasons dating from 1984-2002.  Pinkel has passed College Football Hall of Fame Coach Dan Devine for most bowl appearances at Mizzou, with his eight bowl outings.  The 2011 Independence Bowl appearance will be Mizzou’s 29th bowl game overall, with MU holding a 12-16 mark in its previous 28 outings. Mizzou and North Carolina will be meeting for only the third time on the gridiron when they square off in Shreveport.  Mizzou stands 2-0 all time in the series, claiming 27-14 and 24-3 wins in Chapel Hill (1973) and Columbia (1976), respectively.”