MO's Country Club Committee Meeting Goes Wrong for Republicans, Get Caught on Camera talking Choice
What hypocrits!
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DailyKos
Article by tmservo433
A few days ago, the Missouri Legislature did something that they have just become used to - hitting the road to a country club to conduct state business. These official state meetings were designed to talk about state business in an environment 'more conducive' for discussion, many had maintained.
No one had quite anticipated the free wheeling discussion that would go on Tuesday night, however, as Progress Missouri managed to go to the country club - after all this was an official state meeting - and sit in, as well as live stream and record the event.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/01/27/1360599/-Missouri-Telecom-Committee-Meets-in-Country-Club-to-Discuss-State-Business
We followed along here as legislators talked about a variety of issues with the lobbyists who attended, seemingly forgetting the fact that there event would be livestreamed, or there would be consequences of their discussion.
Progress Missouri uploaded the full, high definition video recently, and amongst the discussion Republicans took on the pending abortion legislation facing the state house, and the conclusions they reached weren't what you'd expect - especially from supposedly hardened anti-choice advocates.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/29/missouri-abortion-bill_n_6573388.html?utm_hp_ref=tw
(VIDEO)
Hicks, who said he "can totally get [the bill] and understand it," talked about his reservations with the legislation.
"There is a piece of legislation we’re actually watching, I wanna see how it turns out," Hicks said. "That's the one about father’s rights to a woman who’s pregnant with a child. I can totally get it and understand it, I just don’t know how you would do something like that. I mean bottom line, it’s still her body. How do you do something like that? I’m curious to see who says yes, who says no. I’ve been asking certain people outside the Dome what they think and so far they don’t like it. Male and female, for that matter. None of the women like that idea at all."
"I know when my wife saw it she was like, 'What?' and I was like, 'Oh,'" Hicks explained of the bill.
He said he had promised his wife that he would track the bill's progress.
"When your wife goes, 'What is this?' and it has something to do with legislation and the bedroom, you pay attention," he said.
Republicans have forwarded new work on anti-choice legislation in Missouri this year, revising the current rules - which already require for waiting periods, overnights, and more with new standards. Amongst the proposals include a requirement that a woman watch a 20 minute long pro-birth video recorded 24 hours before the procedure, and potentially again immediately before the procedure in case they may change their mind.
Missouri has had an interesting back and forth on the issues, including some choice moments on the house floor this week. That includes Rep Brattin making a reference to "lady doctors" (FYI, he could just call them doctors), and confrontational testimony in which members of the Washington University in St. Louis medical school testified and pointed out the fact that "science is not a belief system" while arguing that the planned video was not only 'not science', but most of the forced procedures didn't reflect the current understanding of medicine.
Progress Missouri, a progressive watchdog group for the state - has been exceptionally active in following and promoting these issues to bring attention, but their live stream of the Missouri legislature taking its meetings on the lam may have resulted in a real change in the statehouse.
The day following Progress Missouri's livestream fiasco, Missouri Republicans announced a change:
http://kbia.org/post/missouri-house-ends-lobbyist-funding-site-meetings
The Missouri House is putting an end to committee meetings at country clubs and restaurants.
House Speaker John Diehl said Wednesday that, effective immediately, all House committee meetings will be held at the Capitol.
That decision comes a day after the House Telecommunications Committee held a meeting at the Jefferson City Country Club, where lawmakers heard a presentation and ate a meal provided by the Missouri Telecommunications Industry Association.
A similar meeting of the House Utility Infrastructure Committee was scheduled for Wednesday evening at the country club.
But Diehl said that meeting would instead be held at the Capitol, without a lobbyist-supplied meal.
Hattip to Progress Missouri for all of their great work for the people of the ShowMe state.
Article, w/ vid:
http://m.dailykos.com/story/2015/01/29/1361011/-MO-s-Country-Club-Committee-Meeting-Goes-Wrong-for-Republicans-Get-Caught-on-Camera-talking-Choice?detail=email
