264 DAYS UNTIL ELECTION DAY… 172 DAYS UNTIL THE AUGUST PRIMARY

LAUNCHING TODAY — ‘Governor Invisible’: The Missouri Republican Party launched a web video this morning criticizing Gov. Jay Nixon by contrasting a 2008 campaign video with 2011, 2012 newspaper headlines: Lloyd Smith, Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party: “The Jay Nixon who campaigned in 2008 is not the same Jay Nixon who resides in the Governor’s mansion.  Nixon pretended to be a fighter, but the truth is, he has remained on the sidelines throughout his entire first term. Missourians expected more from Jay Nixon, and they deserve better.” Video: http://bit.ly/w8IdxJ

MISSOURI CAUCUSES —‘Missouri Romney backers praise him as ‘turnaround expert,’ blast Santorum,’ Jo Mannies: “Former U.S. Sen. Jim Talent led a trio of Missouri Republicans today who discounted last week’s sweeping primary victory by Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum and instead lauded GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney as the corporate ‘turn-around expert’ that the nation needs to transform the country. Romney, said Talent, ‘is going to be in the state and campaigning vigorously’ in hopes of doing well in next month’s Republican caucuses, which begin March 17. … [U.S. Rep. Billy Long] said he was ‘perplexed’ by Santorum’s support among fellow conservatives. The congressman asserted that Santorum inaccurately ‘sees himself as the second coming of Jim DeMint,’ referring to the influential conservative U.S. senator from South Carolina. … 

“Presidential politics will likely heighten the atmosphere at the [Missouri GOP’s statewide Lincoln Days], a point cited by Long, as he indirectly confirmed that Santorum had rank-and-file support in the state.  At Lincoln Days, said Long, he will be interested in what Santorum backers ‘are seeing that I’m not.’” http://bit.ly/x6KQ3F

— ‘Romney Backer Attacks Santorum For Same Votes He Cast Himself,’ Talking Points Memo: “From Political Surrogate Usage 101: Don’t send your surrogate out to attack someone for exactly the same thing he once did. The Romney campaign did just that when they dispatched former Sen. JIm Talent … to attack Rick Santorum’s budget-busting vote to add a Medicare prescription drug program in the Senate. The problem they quickly ran into was that Talent voted the same way.

“In a call with reporters, Talent slammed Santorum for his Medicare Part D vote, calling it a ‘big expansion of a federal entitlement.’ Asked by a reporter how he could criticize Santorum for taking the same position, Talent offered up only a general defense of his tenure in the Senate. ‘I’d be happy, if I was running against Rick, to compare my record to his because I think it’s stronger in a whole lot of respects… But he’s running against Governor Romney and the point is that Mitt Romney has a whole lot more comprehensively conservative record than Rick does.’” http://bit.ly/ykDysW

KOSTER 2012 — ‘Koster files new arguments against Obama health care law,’ PoliticMo: “In briefs filed with the Court last week, Attorney General Chris Koster reiterated his opposition to the component of the law that would require all Americans to purchase insurance. … In his argument, Koster said the Affordable Care Act contradicts with the referendum, approved by Missouri voters by 70 percent during the August 2010 primary election, that prohibits compelling individuals to purchase health insurance. Koster filed an original brief against the law last April when it was before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. In each of of his arguments, Koster said he believes that while the individual mandate is unconstitutional, the rest of the law should be allowed to stand.” http://bit.ly/zRlAUc

— Ed Martin reax: “There can be no question: Missourians have rejected Obamacare and Chris Koster needs to stop playing politics and oppose all aspects of Obamacare. To play games with legal briefs to win political points is the height of arrogance and beneath the office of Attorney General.” 

ETHICS RULES STRUCK DOWN — In a 7-0 ruling, the Missouri Supreme Court struck down the majority of a 2010 ethics bill, because the legislation contained more provisions than the original intent of the legislation covered: PoliticMo: “The court, Tuesday, ruled that the wide ranging ethics bill — which covered campaign finance, keys to the capitol dome, and legislative printing — violated a provision in the Missouri Constitution that requires bills to be of a single subject. ‘Ethics, campaign finance restrictions and keys to the capitol dome are not germane to the original purpose of SB 844, which was to change the method by which statewide elected officials bid for printing services, paper and similar items. … The final version of SB 844 contained numerous provisions that are not germane to the original purpose of the bill at the time it was introduced,’ the ruling, written by Judge Zel M. Fischer, added. The Court ruled the provisions regarding printing services could stay in effect.” http://bit.ly/AF1ufK

— Background: State Rep. Jason “Kander and Rep. Tim Flook, a Liberty Republican, struggled to pass their sweeping ethics bill in 2010, about the time of published reports that the FBI was investigating former House Speaker Rod Jetton. It wasn’t until the session’s final days that the legislation began to move. … Kander said he had worried that the bill was vulnerable to a court challenge because the ethics provision had been hastily added to the purchasing provision. … Kander said he filed another comprehensive ethics bill this year that included campaign donation limits. But the bill has not received a hearing or been referred to a committee for consideration. Missouri remains the only state that allows lawmakers to accept both unlimited lobbyist gifts and unlimited campaign donations, he noted.” http://bit.ly/xZWIP7

— Gov. Jay Nixon: “Senate Bill 844 cleaned up Missouri’s political party committees, expanded contribution reporting requirements, and took numerous other steps to make government operate in a more open and accountable way.  Today’s ruling leaves a significant hole in Missouri’s ethics laws, and the General Assembly must move quickly to get a strong ethics bill on my desk.  In the coming days, I will communicate with the General Assembly about the key components that should be in a strong ethics bill, and we must come together to get these vital laws back on the books.”

PDK — ‘Kinder Breaks Silence on His Run for Reelection,’ KMOX: “Kinder told the Mark Reardon show it would be difficult if not impossible to run against an incumbent especially in a divisive and expensive republican primary and when St. Louis Businessman Dave Spence announced his candidacy, Kinder said he ‘stood down for the good of the party and the conservative cause.’ He said the conservative cause will be the hallmark of his run for reelection, sighting the selling his state-provided car. … That car had become an issue with the state auditor. Kinder said it became too difficult to calculate campaign time verses official business when using the car.” http://cbsloc.al/zx4Waj      

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

AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY - MISSOURI, State Rep. Eric Burlison, House Majority Leader Tim Jones, and State Sen. Brad Lager will hold a press conference on a state spending cap this afternoon in the capitol rotunda.

— AFP Missouri State Director Patrick Werner: “Our grassroots are sick and tired of legislators wasting taxpayer dollars and not standing strong for fiscal responsibility in hard times but especially in good times. Missouri families make tough financial choices every day and we are asking that our elected officials to do the same by implementing a spending cap so future elected officials don’t go on a spending spree when the economy turns around and revenues go up.”

ATTORNEY GENERAL CHRIS KOSTER will speak to Missouri Chamber members this afternoon at 1:15pm at the Doubletree Hotell in Jeff City on Missouri’s Second Injury Fund. 

— Jo Mannies in the Beacon: “According to Koster’s staff, the fund’s current balance is $9,074,095.29. The total amount due on just the first-time payments for the 192 new awards would be $14,379,811.35 — or, more than $5 million above the fund’s balance. The unpaid awards also are subject to annual interest assessments of 9 percent, due the claimant, which also would deplete the fund. With close to 30,000 other cases seeking Second Injury Fund payments pending in the courts, Koster and the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry — his Wednesday audience — share a sense of urgency. They are hoping that the General Assembly will soon act as well.” http://bit.ly/yCrmPo 

SEN. CLAIRE MCCASKILL celebrated Valentine’s Day in her DC office yesterday with Missouri-inspired cookies. “B-2 Mine,” they read, shaped like the B-2 Bomber based out of mid-Missouri. Pics: http://bit.ly/xCCUoz  

DEMS SCORE DECENT HOTEL — Though St. Louis lost the 2012 Democratic National Convention, the Missouri Delegation was one of the states to score a downtown hotel for the party’s convention in Charlotte. Missouri Dems will stay at the Courtyard by Marriot Uptown. 

BLUNT RELIGIOUS EXEMPTION DEBATE —‘Reid will allow vote on repeal of administration’s birth control mandate,’ The Hill: “Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Tuesday that he’ll let the Senate vote on a proposal to reverse the White House’s controversial birth-control mandate. The amendment, sponsored by Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), would let employers opt out of any coverage mandates they find immoral. … Blunt insisted Tuesday that his proposal would simply affirm the constitutional right to freedom of religion.” http://bit.ly/vZWGOJ

— Glenn Beck joined the conversation Wednesday morning: “Beck is borrowing a line from Mike Huckabee to launch a new campaign aimed at helping Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) get his bill allowing employers to decide whether or not they want to cover contraceptives amended to the transportation bill. … Beck — a Mormon, for the record — is launching a ‘We are all Catholics now’ campaign that will urge his listeners and followers to lobby Congress to attach the amendment to the transportation bill. Details here. … At CPAC last week, Huckabee debuted the ‘we are all Catholics now’ line in his speech to the conservative audience.” http://bit.ly/zs5taG  

— TPM’s Brian Beutler: “On Tuesday afternoon, I asked Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) whether he could support a Republican presidential candidate who had required religious institutions to provide female employees with contraceptive coverage. ‘I can’t imagine that being the only litmus test that I would want to put on a candidate,’ he said. The significance here is implicit. As Massachusetts governor, Mitt Romney — arguably the GOP presidential primary frontrunner — signed off on the very same type of requirement that Republicans are attacking President Obama for pushing nation-wide. So while they’re trying to undo his regulation, they also know they can’t turn this into a black and white issue in the coming election.” http://bit.ly/yWR0eK 

CLEAVER FLIP — ‘CBC Chair Emanuel Cleaver denies he called Obama budget ‘nervous breakdown on paper’,’ The Grio: “Congressional Black Caucus Chair Emanuel Cleaver … said Tuesday he was not referring to President Obama’s budget proposal in a controversial comment that was wildly circulated a day earlier. In an interview on CNN on Monday, Cleaver sounded as he were bemoaning the president’s attempts at deficit reduction, saying ‘this budget is a nervous breakdown on paper’ and warning it was too early for the government to take austerity measures while unemployment remains high. But in an interview Tuesday on ‘NOW with Alex Wagner,’ Cleaver said he was referring to the budget document written last year by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) which proposes much deeper spending cuts and is opposed by most Democrats. … His spokeswoman said the congressman misheard the question in the CNN interview.” http://nbcnews.to/zn7m1r

TREASURER’S RACE — ‘House Republicans line up behind McNary Treasurer campaign,’ PoliticMo: “Tuesday, [State Rep. Cole] McNary, who launched his campaign late last year after redistricting eliminated his district, announced endorsements from the entire House Republican caucus. … Outgoing House Speaker Steven Tilley, R-Perry, praised McNary’s work in the General Assembly in his endorsement. … McNary also highlighted support from House Budget Committee Chairman Ryan Silvey, and House Republican Leader Tim Jones.” http://bit.ly/wWXU3v

REDISTRICTING FALLOUT — ‘Judge upholds new map of Mo. House districts,’ AP: “A state trial judge on Tuesday rejected a legal challenge over newly drawn Missouri House districts, but the case is likely to be appealed as candidates prepare to start launching their campaigns in two weeks. … Cole County Circuit Judge Pat Joyce… concluded the redistricting panel is not required to follow open meeting requirements because it is a judicial entity and was not acting in an administrative capacity. Joyce also said the new districts are contiguous and that the plaintiffs failed to prove that requirements for the districts’ populations or compactness were violated.” http://apne.ws/zOUi32

EDUCATION —‘MSA delivers 6,000 letters opposing budget cuts to lawmakers,’ Columbia Missourian: “Four members of the Missouri Students Association traveled to Jefferson City on Tuesday to deliver 6,000 letters opposing a higher education budget cut. … Of the letters, 2,000 were addressed to Nixon and 4,000 were addressed to other legislators. … While delivering the letters, a member of this group and members of MSA had the opportunity to attend the Missouri House Higher Education meeting and testify.” http://bit.ly/y5mWLF

SPORTZZZ — ‘Mizzou Arena Sells Out Rest Of Season,’  KOMU: “The Missouri Athletic Department announced late Tuesday afternoon that tomorrow night’s game against Oklahoma State is sold out, meaning every home game for the rest of the season is now sold out. This mean[s] the Tigers sold out eight of nine conference games, with the only non-sellout coming against Texas. That game happened while students were on winter vacation.

“Director of Marketing for the athletic department, Emily Jansen, also said this year would break a record for amount of sellouts in a season. The previous record was four in the 2008-09 season. … The number three ranked Tigers have six games remaining this season, including all three now sold out games at Mizzou Arena. Tip off for tomorrow night is at 8 p.m. against Oklahoma State.” http://bit.ly/AvclJC