332 DAYS UNTIL ELECTION DAY… 240 DAYS UNTIL THE AUGUST PRIMARY

FIRST IN RUNDOWN — 2012 LEGISLATING— State Rep. Jason Kander, D-Kansas City, preparing for his Secretary of State bid, plans to file new ethics reform legislation on Tuesday afternoon. In an email to members, he invited Democrats and Republicans to stop by his office and cosign the legislation.

— From his email to state legislators: “It will include provisions from a bill I filed last year, HB 432, as well as several other provisions that will be familiar to most members of the House.”  

DEBATING DEBATES — ‘Brunner ready to debate, says campaign,’ PoliticMo: “John Brunner’s U.S. Senate campaign said Thursday they are ready to engage in debates with their primary opponents. In a statement, Brunner’s campaign manager John Seaton said Brunner wants to schedule debates between now and the August primary ‘so that Republican voters can see which of us is the strongest candidate to take on Claire McCaskill and win.’ … 

“In October, Steelman issued her own call for a series of debates with her Republican opponents. Her call sparked a debate over debates and was denied at the time by the Brunner campaign, just days after he entered the race. On Thursday, Steelman criticized Brunner’s call. ‘On Oct. 5 I called for debates,’ Steelman said Thursday on Twitter. ‘Akin agreed – now the other opponent thinks he just came up with the idea! Go figure? #nospine #mosen’ Seaton, however, said it is time to move beyond that debate and actually debate.” http://bit.ly/tkGIxr

BIG BUCK$ —‘Crossroads spending on McCaskill tops $1.1 million,’ PoliticMo: “The outside advocacy group, launched in part by former Bush aide Karl Rove in the 2010 election cycle, has spent more than $1,118,800 against McCaskill on billboards, radio commercials and TV ads so far this year, according to numbers published by the group. … While the ads are designed fire up opposition to McCaskill, McCaskill has tried to use the attacks as material to encourage supporters to contribute to her campaign. … 

“Catilin Legacki, spokeswoman for the Missouri Democratic Party, said the ads prove McCaskill has ‘stepped on the toes’ of special interests in Washington. ‘All of the attacks against Claire are going to be about distorting her record,’ said Legacki. ‘[W]hy won’t this group say who is paying for these ads? Missourians shouldn’t believe what’s in them unless they know who is behind them.’” http://bit.ly/rWtBZ9

— Catanese breaks down the ad: “In the spots against Sens. Claire McCaskill … Crossroads lifts soundbites from each to paint them as a hypocrite. It’s understood that the idea is to pit their own words against their actions, but a Democratic strategist involved in one of the races wonders why Crossroads would allow their foes to appear to validate their own points on camera.

“For instance, in the Missouri clip, McCaskill says, ‘All of us need to realize the debt is a real problem.’  The words are plastered across the screen. A casual observer doing laundry or on the treadmill may read that quickly and be left with the impression that McCaskill is … serious about the debt problem. … Remember, most of the people who see these ads don’t watch them as closely as we do.” http://politi.co/vGB6hp 

TALENT BLASTS GINGRICH — Talent said if Republicans back Gingrich, it would be “exactly” what Democrats want. ‘If the nominee is Newt Gingrich, then the election is going to be about the Republican nominee,’ he said. ‘[Democrats] are hoping the nominee is not going to be Governor Romney.’ Talent, who served in the U.S. House with Gingrich in the 1990’s, said he is reluctant to attack Gingrich, but thinks the election is too important to not support Romney.

“Romney’s campaign sought to portray Gingrich as too erratic for the presidency. Former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu said Gingrich’s ‘off the cuff thinking’ should be worrisome to Republican voters. During their time in the House, Talent said, “we were in a situation where we get up every morning to see what the speaker had said that day that we were going to have to clean up.” http://bit.ly/vec29Z

— The “wayback machine,” per POLITICO: “Mitt Romney surrogate Jim Talent, who recalled glumly the days of the Newt Gingrich speakership on a call with reporters [yesterday] morning, was not always such a critic, per quotes provided by a reader. In 1996, he defended Gingrich during his ethics charges, praised him as an ‘honest man’ in 1997 and said there was ‘nothing to disqualify him.’ He also denied involvement in an effort to unseat Gingrich. It’s always worth remembering, with surrogates, that they can bring a mixed bag to the party.” http://politi.co/vRNseX 

HAPPY FRIDAY, and welcome to this edition of PoliticMo Rundown. Send your tips, comments, and scoops to eli@politicmo.com.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Jeff Smith… KC Mayor Sly James… 

GOV. JAY NIXON will be in St. Louis this afternoon, announcing plans to expand the nursing education program at UMSL. 

ST. LOUIS MAYOR SLAY will participate in ‘Science in the School Day’ at Gateway Middle School this morning. 

 NEW ON TWITTER (We think?): @RandlesForGov. 

OCCUPY ROY —A few dozen protestors from OccupyDC interrupted a fundraiser for Sen. Roy Blunt yesterday morning in Washington. Apparently Sen. Oren Hatch was also hosting a fundraiser, and Capitol Police were called to the restaurant. Here’s the video:  http://bit.ly/tYAj5l

NEW POLL — ‘Environment Presents Headwind for Dems,’ Dave Drebes and MOScout publicly released their first poll of the 2012 cycle, showing an uphill fight for Democrats with independents. Per Drebes: “The poll showed that Missourians feel that things are ‘off on the wrong track.’  This sentiment shared across all demographic groups polled.  But it is stronger among Independents than it is with either Republicans or Democrats. Both Democratic incumbents appear to be weighed down by the environment, though McCaskill is in a weaker position than Nixon.” http://bit.ly/vyCHnc

— Right Track – 38.7%, Wrong Track – 61.3%

— McCaskill reelect: Vote to Re-elect – 29%, Consider Another Candidate – 26.3%, Vote to Replace – 44.7%

— Nixon reelect: Vote to Re-elect – 34.8%, Consider Another Candidate – 31.5%, Vote to Replace – 33.7%. 

— FULL RESULTS http://bit.ly/uzRpE0

REDISTRICTING FALLOUT — ‘Judge signals he will dismiss challenge to congressional districts,’ Jo Mannies: “After listening to almost two hours of debate over Missouri’s redrawn congressional districts, Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Richard Green observed, ‘I certainly think the (critics) have a political quarrel with these maps.’ But Green also made clear that he didn’t think they had a constitutional beef — signaling that he will likely side with the new districts’ supporters.

“The judge asked the lawyers supporting the new map — led by Jim Layton, a lawyer with the Missouri attorney general’s office — to draw up a suggested order for dismissing the opponents’ suit that seeks to have the district maps’ redrawn. Green indicated that he would likely sign such an order.” http://bit.ly/vroNsD

HOW THEY SEE US — ‘Visiting senior CPC official meets US governor,’ China Daily: “Wang Jiarui, visiting head of the International Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, held talks on Wednesday with Missouri Governor Jay Nixon and members of state Congress to hail the fruits of the central US state’s cooperation with China in various fields. In their meeting held in the city of Columbia, Wang briefed Nixon on China’s 12th Five Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development (2011-2015). He expressed the hope that Missouri and other US Midwestern states will seize the opportunity to deepen local-level cooperation with China, thus helping further boost the development of the China-US cooperative partnership based on mutual benefit and respect.

“For his part, Nixon said that Missouri will continue to play an active role in expanding the cooperation between the Midwestern United States and China, by taking advantage of being one of the major hubs and bridges connecting the two sides. During his visit to Missouri, Wang also held talks with Sly James, Mayor of Kansas City, as well as other local officials, experts and Chinese-American community leaders.” http://bit.ly/sFvSWp

‘SHARE THE HARVEST’ — ‘Missouri hunters fight hunger by sharing deer harvest,’ Columbia Missourian: “Missouri hunters donated more than 800 pounds of venison that were unloaded Thursday at The Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri. Supported by the Missouri Department of Conservation, the Missouri Conservation Federation, local food banks and meat processors, the Share the Harvest program has received about 7,500 pounds of venison so far this year from hunters in central and northeast Missouri. … Gov. Jay Nixon, who helped unload venison Thursday morning at the food bank with First Lady Georganne Nixon, said he was pleased by the increase in participation.” http://bit.ly/rF4I9c

EDUCATION — ‘Tuition likely to rise at University of Missouri system,’ Post-Dispatch: “Tuition at the University of Missouri may be on its way up again. The four-campus system’s Board of Curators today took initial steps toward a tuition increase that could see undergraduate tuition rise by at least 3 percent starting next summer.  Curators aren’t expected to take action on the matter until early next year, but system officials suggested tuition needs to come up, even if the state doesn’t cut funding for the 2013 fiscal year. They expect to know more about state support next month when Gov. Jay Nixon delivers his annual state of the state address. But at this point, it seems unlikely that higher education will escape the knife.” http://bit.ly/t35x7p

SPORTZZZZZ — ‘Nixon disappointed Pujols decided “to take the dollars,”’ Jake Wagman: “Count Gov. Jay Nixon among those Cardinal fans suffering from sudden slugger loss syndrome.  The state’s sports Fan-in-Chief joined the scores of other Redbird faithful feeling jilted by the departure of first baseman Albert Pujols to the Los Angeles Angels for a more lucrative contract. ‘I’m disappointed when an icon decides to take the dollars and head to California,’ Nixon said, according to KRCG-TV in mid-Missouri. ‘The Cardinals have a tradition much bigger than any one individual.’” 

— McCaskill not happy, either: “Sen. Claire McCaskill lamented on Twitter Albert Pujols leaving the St. Louis Cardinals for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.  ‘Oh no! Say it aint so Albert! #stlcards #11in11 #WSChamps,’ McCaskill (D-Mo.) tweeted Thursday.” http://bit.ly/rMUwFW

— MIZZOU Basketball Media Day is today, this afternoon, per Mizzou Athletics: “Members of the media are welcome to come out prior to practice and visit with Head Coach Frank Haith and selected student-athletes in the Mizzou Arena interview room.”