https://missouriindependent.com/2024/11/25/things-could-get-ugly-under-trump-lets-be-ready-to-protect-each-other/

I'm not a lawyer, and so the viability of these is not really my point. Feel free to say what is and is not possible via ballot measure. Rather, I'm just interested to learn what Missourians have energy for. I have some suggestions below.

• Banning puppy mills

• Unban RCV and other voting methods and make it illegal per the MO constitution for the state to ban municipalities from using them

• End right to work

• Changing the MO public school funding formula so that a greater % of funding comes from the state rather than from the local community

• Basically any part of the PRO Act, but limited to Missouri

• List of bills that Missouri NEA supported this year-- I'm a former teacher so these happen to be close to me. Not all the bills in here are ones they agreed with, check each bill

The satisfying narrative is where the team who plays like they played, loses.
The soccer player who elbows and hair-pulls in the championship game is shown the red card.
The student who uses AI to write their term paper gets an F or a K (academic dishonesty).
The colleague who makes racist or ageist jokes is given a "for-cause" walking paper.

That is not the narrative for 2024.

We know the GOP called election fraud this cycle for months before the vote even began, and we know they will never bring up again.
We know the stories they made up - Jewish space lasers, weather weapons, racial diatribes about immigrants eating pets, slandering private citizens publicly for the Chiefs shooting, Arnold Palmer's anatomy - are already forgotten, handled by the spin doctors.
We know that Trump is asking for a dismissal of all his charges and even if he doesn't get it, he still won't see the inside of a jail cell.

I voted for Trump in 2016 and did not understand the protests that followed his win.
I do now. Discontented citizens must call out what aggrieves them, or be ignored.
I thought protests were unruly when a BLM protest shut down the Galleria while my family was there.
I learned they can be used as violent threats when I saw guns in the Michigan Capitol.

We have to take the wins.
Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss are vindicated women and Rudy Giuliani is broke, disbarred and disgraced.
More than 300 insurrectionists have been sentenced to jail terms.

We have to keep the spotlights on.
AG Andrew Bailey is on the take from companies that make gambling machines.
SOS-elect Denny Hoskins slandered a private citizen for the Chiefs Parade shooting, and promised to remove all computers from the voting and tabulation process.
Donald Trump promised to fire the special investigator suing him, and use Federal resources to pursue his political enemies.

The people who won are the people who show that money and power can defeat justice, and they have learned the Electorate supports them because they promise prosperity. I was utterly embarrassed to hear people I trust and respect at work and at the soccer fields, people I think of as smart, wondering if prices will fall because Trump got elected or if he'll have to pass legislation first.

We have work to do. Roll up your sleeves.

(To preface, I am not in any way happy about the results of this election. America has collectively made a series of decisions I wholeheartedly disagree with. Just trying to see any potential upside.)

I woke up this morning and saw the news, just like the rest of you. I had a really good feeling heading in, but apparently that was a pipe dream. As a 39 year old with a pile of student loan debt and still renting, I see very little hope my prospects go up. As a father with a young son, I see very little hope he grows up in a stable country. As a resident of a red state surrounded by people who claim to care for one another yet vote like they only care about themselves, I see no hope in ever feeling proud of my neighbors or family ever again.

But I am by nature a positive person, and I am seeing some real possibilities for a glass half full viewpoint on this auspicious day. Here are the 5 most positive aspects of this outcome.

1. Trump has a track record of not doing what he campaigned on

A quick look at a list of campaign promises from 2016 shows a ton of things he said he would or wouldn’t do that turned out to be wildly incorrect. Terminate Obamacare, require price transparency from health care providers, kill DACA, massive investments into infrastructure, open up libel laws, banning foreign lobbyists…the list of “Broken Promises” is 55 entries. Even the “Promises Kept” section has some fails in it, specifically promising no cuts to Social Security, then trying to make them anyway and being stopped by Congress.

So even if he promised to do some truly heinous things, he likely won’t accomplish them. That being said, he has a much more compliant Congress and Supreme Court this time around, so this is likely wishful thinking.

2. The Republicans, Independents, and Gen Z voters who voted for Trump because they’re “worried about gas and grocery prices” or because Joe Rogan told them are about to reach the find out stage

If he does succeed in doing even a small amount of the things he campaigned on, nearly all of them will have disastrous consequences for the economy and American life at large. From a purely economic viewpoint, mass deportation could potentially disrupt the job market and the economy in a way that will hurt nearly everyone in the country. (This says nothing about the social harm mass deportations would cause, not to mention the suffering of the individuals directly affected but, of course, if they cared about that they would have voted differently.) Tariffs are also likely to have a massive downward effect on the economy. For example, the Smoot-Hawley Tariff is thought to have a large part in a 67% reduction of American imports and exports during the Great Depression.

These are only two examples, and if they are put in place even the most diehard Trump supporter will have a hard time arguing it was somehow a good idea. And maybe that will once-and-for-all kill the notion that any of this is a good idea for a plurality of them, and we can stop going down this road.

3. The Democrats might actually sit up and take notice

This is probably the most unlikely pipe-dreamy part of this post but

#SURELY TO GOD THIS WILL GET THEM TO PAY ATTENTION

Enough of the kowtowing to corporate interests and centrist Republicans! Enough of the kowtowing to the Jewish lobby and ignoring a war of aggression that, while most certainly provoked by Hamas, is not being waged against Hamas, but against an entire ethnic group! Stop ignoring war crimes! Stop trying to bully people who try to hold you accountable into silence! While I do not agree with the people who stayed home or voted third party because they “wanted a clear conscience” or whatever, no one can say they don’t have a point to some degree. Yes, if they were really worried about the killing of Palestinians they should have voted for Harris because Trump will do *literally nothing* to stop Israel from prosecuting their genocide, but how many Muslims stayed home in Michigan or voted some other way due to the Biden administrations' response? How many progressives stayed home in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin? How many college kids who were violently forced to stop protesting just gave up supporting the Democrats right then and there? And how could anyone really blame them for losing faith when Harris said nothing?

Surely this will be the thing that does it. Harris had so much going for her here. By all accounts it looks like turnout will be super low for anyone inclined to vote for her, and turnout for Trump looks like it was last time. This is all on the Democrats for running *another* lackluster campaign and hoping people will show up without really giving them much of a reason to. Yes, Trump is a threat to democracy, but when the chosen defender keeps her mouth shut and doesn’t defend an entire ethnic group, why would any of them believe she will defend them any differently?

Surely this gets their attention. Surely. And maybe they can get their act together before 2026.

4. There were some promising State and local election wins

Abortion rights were codified in eight states! Prop 8 might be repealed in California! Republicans might not hold the House, so there might be some kind of brake on Trump enacting some things! Jeff Jackson won AG in North Carolina! This is small potatoes but at least there is some positive news.

5. Trump will never be able to run for office again

Again, small potatoes, but we’ll never have to hear from him again after January 20, 2029. Then the Republicans can run couch boy and get killed by Newsom or Pete or someone more palatable than Harris. Let’s just hope he manages to avoid the hamburger from heaven or another disgruntled Republican with a gun between now and then. No one needs couch boy as President.

https://enr.sos.mo.gov/ (select the general election from yesterday and hit submit)

Some thoughts:

In Missouri: Republicans won all the statewide offices, though Kunce did manage to outrun Harris by quite a bit. The reproductive rights amendment passed, which is good given the federal government that’s about to take power.

Nationally: Disappointing any way you look at it. Democrats got beat all over the country and there appears to be a significant rightward shift across the board, getting Trump the popular vote win. It’s particularly sad that Trump’s extreme rhetoric didn’t drive more people away, but alas.

There’s going to be a lot of blame and what ifs talked about, but I genuinely don’t think there was anything different Harris/Democrats could have done to prevent this. The national environment was too far right in the end. This isn’t like 2016 where it was a fluky win with some weird third party shenanigans, this was a beatdown.

That’s pretty much it, I’m going to get some sleep.

If I understand correctly 1: Churches and other nonprofits can take positions on ballot initiatives and amendments but not candidates. 2: 25' is the distance from the door a person or sign must be to a polling place.

My polling place is a church (the gym) that had signs "No on 3" when I drove past today.

This seems okay but just like it is toeing two lines really closely.

Asking an honest question, because honestly don't know. Is there anything in our laws about doing business near poking places?

Some of us in line this morning were talking about how we were surprised there were no coffee or donut trucks capitalizing on the long wait times.

Not that I am arguing for this, just curious if it would be allowed.

Hi everybody:

On this week's episode of the Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air, we'll be answering your questions about Missouri, St. Louis and Illinois' elections. If you have a question you want answered, please reply to this post — and we may field it on the show.

This week's Politically Speaking Hour airs at noon and 7 p.m. on St. Louis Public Radio. We'll also have a special episode on Nov. 6 going over the results.

Thank you all as always for your time and consideration!

there are multiple medical needs for an abortion. Birth control should continue to be an option to avoid unwanted pregnancies!

DONT CRY WHEN THE OPPOSING OPINIONS RAISE THERE VOICES TO.