Rupp Rips Nixon Higher Ed Deal

"Dog & Pony Show"

SLAMS DEAL AS 'UNWISE and PREMATURE"

Sen. Scott Rupp blasted Gov. Jay Nixon's plan to freeze tuition at colleges and universities as a "dog and pony show" that's already enshrined in state law.

"It does nothing but re-affirm the tuition cap the legislature passed two years ago," Sen. Rupp said in a statement Wednesday, referring to Senate Bill 389. "A bill he was opposed to becoming law at the time," he added.

"If we were to base next year’s tuition limits off the Consumer Price Index defined in state for the last 12 months, we would find that the CPI has been -.2 percent. Although we won’t know the final CPI for this year until January, based on this current CPI number for the last 12 months, higher education couldn’t raise tuition unless they remit 5 percent of their state appropriations," Rupp said.

"I am disappointed that the governor has negotiated an agreement prematurely that has the potential to tie the hands of the Legislature and keep them from doing what is in the best interest of the taxpayers. This is especially alarming when economic indicators suggest that the CPI will probably be negative if not flat for the next year. If that is the case, then publicly funded higher education institutions could not raise tuition anyway under state law - unless they pay back 5 percent of their appropriations to the state. I hope this unwise and premature side deal will not force massive cuts on the mentally challenged and children with developmental delays, as it gains nothing in return other than a reinforcement of state law that the Legislature passed two years ago," he added.

***

Gov. Nixon's office did not immediately respond with a comment.

More on Nixon's proposed agreement HERE.

Nixon Announces $200 M in Cuts

NIXON'S BUDGET PLAN reported Via Tweet
From Jefferson City Politicos
*Missourinet, St. Louis Post-Dispatch & Kinder COS*

Faced with lagging general revenue, Governor Jay Nixon announced $204 million dollars in spending cuts Wednesday (via @Missourinet).

The cuts will impact maintenance, the Arts Council, broadband services and total around 400 part-time and 200 full-time state jobs (@Missourinet). But Nixon said the cuts will not impact education or Medicaid eligibility (@VirginiaYoung).

"We don't print money. We must balance the budget," Nixon told reporters at the midday news conference (@Missourinet).

The Lieutenant Governor's office was immediately critical of Nixon's budget blueprint, and contested that the cuts would, in fact, hit education and healthcare.

"$204 million won't even pay back the debt he owes to budget reserve," said Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder's chief of staff Rich AuBuchon (@RichAuBuchon). AuBuchon also took aim at Nixon's proposed cuts to healthcare providers. "Without good provider rates docs won't see Medicaid patients. He wanted to expand Medicaid. Provider rate cuts hurt Medicaid recipients just the same," AuBuchon said. (@RichAuBuchon).

"Nixon just cut Medicaid by $32.5 million. No wonder Nixon didn't sign onto the letter to Congress in support of Medicaid expansion," AuBuchon went on. (@RichAuBuchon).

Nixon did outline $32.5 million dollars in cuts to Medicaid spending, although they won't involve eligibility reductions (@Missourinet.) One of the largest cuts involves trimming maintenance and repair of state buildings by $20 million dollars (@VirginiaYoung). Life science research will be cut by $13 million, broadband will lose $8.8 million and the Arts Council budget will take a $4.4 million dollar hit (@VirginiaYoung.) The Department of Mental Health community program will lose $3 million (@Missourinet).

And while basic aid to schools remains intact, cuts will hit transportation, character education and virtual education (@VirginiaYoung).

Nixon predicted revenue would decline around five or six percent this fiscal year, not at the current 10% rate (@VirginiaYoung).

AuBuchon said that estimate seemed optimistic.

"Does Nixon really think income tax and sales tax will rebound by April? Big gamble especially with almost 10% unemployment," he said (@RichAuBuchon.)

Report: Missouri Public Defender System "On The Brink"

A new report characterizes Missouri's criminal justice system as on the brink of collapse because of mounting caseloads that are overwhelming the state's public defender system.

The even bigger issue is that there seems to be no long-term solution in sight.

This is not a new problem. But the report poses a new sense of urgency, because little has improved since the last study in 2005. One stark statistic: Only Mississippi spends less on indigent defense than Missouri.

WATCH THE KY3 NEWS @ 10 REPORT HERE

Read a summary of the George Mason report HERE.

Read Nixon's veto of public defender reform Senate Bill 37 HERE.

Seniority Will Drive Some State Park Cuts

Some senior state parks employees will be able to avoid layoffs by taking more junior positions, according to a Department of Natural Resources spokesperson.

Employees learned Monday that more than 100 positions will be eliminated due to declining tax revenues.

But exactly which employees will lose their jobs won't be determined for another three weeks.

DNR spokesman Travis Ford said employees with seniority will have more options. "In some cases, they have the right to do that," Ford told The Notebook Monday.

"We know it's going to be more than 100. We don't know exactly what the number will be," Ford said.

Job reductions will be spread across the state, from the central office to regional offices, down to individual parks.

"The most important thing we had to do is to let these employees know today. It's not fun to announce but we needed to get them notified," Ford said.

Ford said senior employees will have three weeks to decide whether they'd like to stay on in a more junior position.

He said the the department would have more specifics on what jobs will be cut and where in early November.

Get more from the Associated Press HERE.

The Record Defends Nixon's Tourism Cuts

The conservative-leaning The Missouri Record is defending Gov. Jay Nixon's cuts to the tourism division and says his administration should have slashed even more.

"Gov. Nixon's problem here isn't that he cut too much. It's that he didn't cut enough. Why should my tax dollars go to pay for advertising to benefit wealthy entertainment venue owners in Springfield, Branson, or anywhere else in the state? Branson has a population of 6,050. Why should the other 5,904,545 Missourians subsidize their local economy?," writes Jay Barnes.

Read the rest HERE.

WATCH WEDNESDAY'S KY3 NEWS REPORT HERE

Tourism Tussle: Officials & Nixon Administration Disagree Over Size of Cut

FUZZY MATH

What Tourism Sees As A $7 M Cut, Nixon Calls A $2.5 M Reduction

"That's pretty creative accounting in my book," says one official.

"$4.5 Million Dollars in unpaid bills? C'mon," responds Cardetti

WATCH THE KY3 NEWS @ 10 REPORT HERE

Tourism officials say Gov. Nixon's administration's $7 million dollar cut to their budget is disproportionate and shows a lack of respect for an industry that's key to the state's economy.

Because of the ongoing recession, last week, Nixon announced how he'd slice an additional $60 million dollars from the budget.

Tourism was one of the largest culprits on his list.

The head of the Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau says the cut means that people outside the state will see less ads promoting Springfield, Branson and other Missouri cities.

"Obviously, we're going to have considerably less advertising. That will equate to less visitors to the state," said Tracy Kimberlin of the Visitors Bureau.

Fewer tourists means less of their money for businesses and in turn, less sales taxes to prop up local communities.

The cut tourism received is much larger than cuts to other economic development programs.

Of the $11 million dollars the Department of Economic Development was forced to cut, $7 million came from tourism. That's 64% of the total department's decrease.

"While it may have to forgo cuts like everyone else, I don't think disproportionate cuts to the tourism budget are wise," said Senate Appropriations Chair Gary Nodler. "In times of economic difficulty, it appears to be an easy target," Nodler said.

"It's very disproportionate. It's gutting the Division of Tourism's ad budget and that will eventually come back to haunt the state," said Kimberlin.

But Nixon's office disputes tourism's numbers. Spokesman Jack Cardetti points to a $4.5 million dollar balance the division had leftover at the end of the fiscal year. Cardetti said that money could be carried over.

"Because of the state's tight fiscal situation, our budget office has asked them to spend that balance this year. The net result is that tourism will experience a $2.5 million dollar cut, which is in line with the belt-tightening that is happening throughout the state," Cardetti said.

"The cut doesn’t substantially affect the Division of Tourism more than others because they can use their $4.5 million fund balance to off-set the cut," Cardetti added.

"That's pretty creative accounting, in my book," replied Kimberlin.

He said that $4.5 million dollar balance was already spent last spring, and compared it to charging something on a credit card and not yet getting the bill.

"It's not like that money was just sitting there waiting for a use. It was already spent," Kimberlin said.

A spokeswoman for the Division of Tourism concurred. "We didn't end with that amount. That $4.5 million was already designated for purchases made. We just hadn't received the billing," said tourism spokeswoman Sarah Luebbert.

To which Cardetti replied, "$4.5 million dollars of bills not paid? C'mon." "They're going to have $2.5 million less, which is about 10 percent."

With hotel occupancy in Springfield down five percent this year to date, Kimberlin worries that a lack of support from the state will make things even worse.

"I think a lot of people tend not to give tourism its due respect from the standpoint of economic development," said Kimberlin.

Budget Cut Could Cancel Tour of Missouri

Missouri's big bike race could be in peril due to a recommended cut by Governor Jay Nixon's administration.

The 3rd Annual Tour of Missouri is in danger of being cancelled just three months before the start date. Now tourism advocates are gearing up to save it.

WATCH THE KY3 NEWS @ 10 REPORT HERE

PLUS: The Lieutenant Governor's office told KY3 News late Friday that Gov. Nixon has indicated he's taking the weekend to think it over and should have a decision early next week.

MoGOP Knocks Nixon For Dodge on Office Cuts

A day after the Governor announced $105 million dollars in cuts and another $325 million dollars in withholds, The Missouri Republican Party has hopped on Jay Nixon's dodge of a question about trimming the budget of his own office.

"Are you planning on making reductions in the Governor’s office as well,?" asked Associated Press reporter David Lieb. "I plan on losing 8 or 10 pounds this summer," Nixon responded during a Jefferson City press conference.

The MoGOP has posted the video HERE.

Said MoGOP Executive Director Lloyd Smith:

"Nixon was asked a legitimate question about whether he would make the same sacrifices he is asking of everyone else. It’s an answer that Missourians deserve to know. After all, this is the same governor who increased salaries of some of his staff by as much as 45% . . ."

Nixon Explains Vetoes, Acknowledges Toughest Cut

"NONE OF THEM ARE ESPECIALLY EASY"

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon signed the new state budget into law today -- but not before slicing $105 million dollars out of it.

One of the smallest dollar vetoes was $3.5 million dollars targeted for dentists who care for Medicaid patients. In the end, dentists still received a reimbursement increase in the 2010 budget. But it still counts as a cut for a Governor who ran his campaign on restoring Medicaid coverage, but has now run into the realities of a fiscal freefall.

*WATCH NIXON COMMENT ON HIS VETOES ABOVE*

WATCH THE KY3 NEWS REPORT HERE

Other Vetoes Include:
$24.7 million Interoperability (emergency radio system)
$16.5 million MOHELA Projects
$12.6 million ethanol funding beyond FY 2011
$12.4 million care management and participant case management
$10 million highway access to old Penitentiary Site
$5 million community college maintenance & repair increase
$3.5 million dental rate increase (leaves ½)
$20.0 million in various projects across all departments, including funding that will not be needed prior to FY 2012.
****

ALSO: DENTAL DIRECTOR GIVES NIXON A PASS ON REIMBURSEMENT CUT

"I completely understand the Governor's struggle . . . He's done well with what he has."

*WATCH BELOW*

Rogetta Prueitt, director of the Children's Smile Center in Ozark, says she understands why the full reimbursement rate needed to be cut.

BUT in the KY3 News @ 10 report, Prueitt outlines how important reimbursement rates are in helping improve access. She says there is only 1 private dentist in Christian County who will accept Medicaid patients. The Children's Smile Center currently serves 380 Medicaid children, from Christian & Stone counties.

Nixon Carves $100 Million From Budget

CHOPPING BLOCK

Gov. Jay Nixon has stripped $105 million dollars from the $23 billion dollar operating budget he signed Thursday.

The Governor is also withholding an additional $325 million dollars as the state faces declining revenues.

Included in Nixon's line item vetoes are portions of the money budgeted for a new emergency responder radio system, college construction projects, ethanol plants subsidies and a Medicaid rate increase for dentists. Also being vetoed is funding for a new highway interchange in Jefferson City that lawmakers said was necessary to help redevelop the site of the former Missouri State Penitentiary.

Nixon is set to hold a news conference in Springfield at 2 p.m. while he signs an education bill.

For more on Nixon's cuts . . .

Tune in to KY3 News @ 5, 6 & 10

Stimulus Helps Prop Up $23 Billion Dollar Budget

APPROVED

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - Missouri lawmakers have passed a $23 billion budget that relies on federal stimulus money to help fund schools, colleges and various other state services.

Missouri's operating budget for the 2010 fiscal year is propped up with about $785 million from the stimulus package.

The great majority of the federal funds would go toward Missouri's basic funding formula for K-12 schools, freeing up state money to be used elsewhere.

But the budget also uses stimulus money for a variety of smaller projects - to repair a state airplane, help pay college tuition of National Guard members and cover the rising cost of paper for the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The budget also includes money for an expansion of health care, contingent upon lawmakers later working out the details.

GOVERNOR NIXON'S STATEMENT:

"From fully funding the foundation formula to establishing the Caring for Missourians program, this budget also gives us many of the tools we need to create a more educated and skilled workforce. On the issue of health care, however, the legislature’s work is far from done. I look forward to going through this budget line by line to ensure that in these challenging economic times, we have a state government that taxpayers can afford," Nixon said.

$800 Million Dollar Bond Package Stalled

LOSING DAYLIGHT

A proposed $800 million dollar bond package for state construction projects is stalled in the Senate. Late Tuesday, Senators continued to filibuster the proposal. The Associated Press reports that critics stalled the legislation because they believe the state should not take on so much new debt in a recession.

If approved, the bond package, much of which focuses on college and university building, would most likely be placed on the November 2010 ballot for voter approval.

***

ALSO FROM THE WIRE: A Senate panel is proposing to use $50 million in federal stimulus funds to entice a pair of battery-makers to expand in Missouri. The Senate Appropriations Committee added the subsidies to a House bill that now is estimated to spend about $365 million from the stimulus package for projects around the state.

AND: Jason Noble of the K.C. Star writes up the Senate office costume party . . . and notes that the budget is due on the governor's desk in less than 72 hours.

Mo. Tax Revenue Continues Decline

State tax revenues continued to decline during the month of April, dropping a half a percentage point compared to last year.

***

Corporate and franchise taxes took the biggest hit, falling 19 percent for the month. Sales and income taxes were down 7 percent and individual incomes taxes dropped 4 percent.

State Budget Director Linda Luebbering noted that the individual income tax collections fell short of the already dire forecast. "It is likely that revenues will decline even more than the four percent decline anticipated in the consensus revenue estimate for Fiscal Year 2009," Luebbering said.

Tourism Complains About A Broken Funding Promise for Branson

WATCH THE KY3 NEWS @ 10 REPORT HERE

*Watch additional interview clips from Sen. Jack Goodman and State Tourism Commission member Kelly Swanson above*

More than a month after the Governor promised new dollars for tourism, some in the Branson area are asking Jay Nixon to show them the money.

"To make a promise and then back out of that promise, is not very good. That's not doing a lot for the Governor as far as good will towards tourism," said Swanson, who owns the Port of Kimberling. "We're behind the 8-ball, and there's nothing we can do. We can't catch up," she said.

NIXON SPOKESMAN RESPONDS:

"The entire $1 million is being released, with the remainder to go out over the next several weeks. Since the money could not be spent all at once, there was not a need to release it all at once. Again, it's clear that the Governor is fulfilling his promise to release this money for Missouri tourism this fiscal year," said spokesman Scott Holste. "Neither the Governor nor the news release reference a majority of money going for Branson-specific promotion. The point of restoring the million dollars was to boost tourism statewide, with the Governor's expectation that attracting visitors to Branson and to the All-Star festivities in St.Louis would be the primary focus. We will continue to work with Tourism Commission toward these goals," Holste added.

ALSO In The Vid Above: Swanson said it's her understanding that Nixon requested that a portion of the funding go to the All-Star game as a condition for restoring the entire $1 million.

Goodman to Nixon: Show Branson The Money

PROMISES, PROMISES

State Senator Jack Goodman says Governor Jay Nixon has not kept his promise to restore tourism funding.
***

More than a month ago, Governor Nixon visited Branson to announce that $1 million dollars that had been cut from tourism would be restored, so the city could promote itself with ads in other states. But Goodman said that to date, Nixon has only restored about a quarter of that money. And he said a majority of it is going to promote this summer's Major League All-Star Game in St. Louis.

***
***UPDATE @ 11:03 PM***
But a spokesman for the Governor said the point was always to boost tourism statewide. "The point of restoring the million dollars was to boost tourism statewide, with the Governor's expectation that attracting visitors to Branson and to the All-Star festivities in St. Louis would be the primary focus," said Nixon spokesman Scott Holste.

"The next increment of $250,000 will be released on May 1 with the balance to go out before the end of the fiscal year," Holste explained. "The fiscal year is far from over, so it is not accurate to say the Governor is not doing what he said he would do, which is to restore the million dollars."

***
Goodman is now pushing new accountability measures so the public can track these funding promises online, in the future.

"Many people in Branson anticipated that the funding Nixon promised to restore would be restored right after his announcement," Goodman said. "By making the daily department budgets—and any cuts made to them—public and searchable on the Missouri Accountability Portal, the people of Branson could easily track when and how much money was restored, rather than waiting in the dark for something that may never come," he added.

Here's the KY3 News story from Nixon's announcement in Branson.

The Missouri Senate advanced a bill that includes an amendment to the Missouri Accountability Portal. Goodman's amendment requires the Governor to submit a daily report documenting all amounts withheld from the state's operating budget for the fiscal year. It also requires the report to be posted on the portal website and be searchable by amounts withheld from each fund, and by the total amount withheld from the operating budget.

House Wants to Make Rainy Days Easier to Come By

The Missouri House voted to make it easier for lawmakers to dip into the state's Rainy Day Fund in times of fiscal crisis.

"Instead of being the emergency savings account that was intended, the Rainy Day Fund is more like a payday loan that solves one financial problem by creating another. My legislation will create more flexibility and create an accessible savings account the state can tap in times of need," said Rep. Jamilah Nasheed in a statement.

Right now, if lawmakers were to tap the fund, the constitution requires the state to begin repaying it during the next fiscal year. Nasheed's joint resolution --- which would need voter approval -- would give the state up to 3 years to begin paying back the fund.

The resolution could hit the Senate Thursday.

If it clears the upper chamber, the proposal would go to a statewide vote.

Nixon Says Revenue Report Means "More Restraint"

Governor Jay Nixon said the gloomy revenue forecast means that the state will have to show more fiscal restraint heading into 2010.

On Monday, the Governor's budget director said Missouri will be fortunate if revenues don't fall by more than 4 percent this year. Linda Luebbering also said next year's projected 1 percent growth may be too optimistic.

"The economy has certainly not yet rebounded," Gov. Nixon said Tuesday.

Nixon also said he met with key lawmakers earlier this week about how "we've got to be very careful in our expenditures."

On the $2 billion dollars available to Missouri for "budget stabilization": "I want to make sure that we save some of those resources for next fiscal year," Nixon said. "So we don't splurge and spend all that."

ADDS: A Quality Jobs bill is still "clearly doable."

Won't back away from any of his current session initiatives

Hits House for looting his plan for more business incentives

*WATCH IT ALL ABOVE*

Nodler Touts Healthcare Expansion

NODLER: Senate Version Should Give House Conservatives Assurances

Senate Appropriations Chair Gary Nodler said a plan to expand health insurance coverage to 35,000 Missouri parents should give House Republicans the necessary assurances that new state money won't be needed to fund it.

Nodler spoke at a press conference with the Missouri Hospital Association Friday, to announce the Appropriations Committee's adoption of a planned aimed at reducing the uninsured.

The Senate's budget plan would extend eligibility from 20 percent of the poverty level to 50 percent of the poverty level. Hospitals would voluntarily provide the funding through an increase in the federal provider tax. It's estimated that 8,000 Southwest Missouri parents could take advantage of the program, including approximately 1,600 in Greene County.

The House did not increase eligibility in its own budget. Republicans said they were leery to approve an expansion without assurances that the funding stream would be there. Nodler explained that the Senate identified a separate funding line that would guarantee the program would not use general revenue.

"That feature, which is the coding of the funding source within the budget, that should give assurance to conservative legislators that there is not a downstream exposure or risk to a future demand on general revenue," Nodler said, when asked to explain the difference between the House and Senate plans.

*WATCH HIS FULL EXPLANATION ABOVE*

"The House's debate was exclusively on whether or not to include these eligibilities," Nodler said. "There was no discussion about . . . the funding source for this expansion."

ALSO: Dr. Larry Halverson of Cox: "For me, it seems like a no-brainer. It's a very small step. It's the lowest of the low income, the lowest of the low income who are parents, who have a job, at least 1 job, and are caring for their children, the future of Missouri."

Blunt Requests $153 M in Earmarks for 2010

Congressman Roy Blunt has requested $153 million dollars in earmarks for the 2010 fiscal year, including $45 million dollars for a Joplin company to help develop a missile defense program.

The $45 million dollar earmark for LaBarge Inc. is the largest of Blunt's requests listed on his House website.

Under new House rules regarding the earmark process, members who ask for funding must post each request on their Web site. The deadline for posting was Saturday.

Taxpayers for Common Sense, a group that's poured through most of the House member web sites lists Blunt as one of the lawmakers who didn't meet the deadline. But Blunt's earmarks were listed on his site by Monday afternoon, and spokesperson Nick Simpson said he wasn't sure why the group listed Blunt as not complying. Simpson said he believed they were posted by Friday afternoon.

Blunt's second biggest earmark request is also for a Joplin company to help develop military technology. The $10 million dollar request for Accenture National Security Services is described as a program "to distribute services and manage them for the entire military enterprise."

The Congressman asked for about $35 million dollars for Springfield projects, including $3 million to expand wireless broadband access for city employees, $2 million for a natural gas fueling station for city vehicles, $1.3 million dollars for Wilson's Creek National Battlefield Visitor Center, $1.16 million for a foreign language training program at Missouri State University, $1 million dollars for software, video conferencing and other equipment for Greene County Emergency Operations and $600,000 for a pre-kindergarten program.

The Taxpayers for Common Sense note that lawmakers aren't using any uniform standard to disclose the spending items. "The only thing consistent among the various web sites is inconsistency," says the website. "Some lawmakers put a link to the disclosures right on the home page, while others bury their requests under an electronic rock, forcing constituents to click through several pages under legislation, district initiatives, issues or some other general category. Once you get to the disclosures themselves they take all manner of forms, from scores of actual letters to summary write-ups on the page. Some lawmakers have failed to include the requested amounts as directed. While others, like Reps. Kingston (R-GA), Driehaus (D-OH), and Rehberg (R-MT) have posted all the requests their office received rather than just what they decided to request of the Appropriations Committee, effectively obscuring the information from their constituents and contravening the spirit, if not the letter of the new rule," the site goes on.

Meanwhile, the Citizens Against Congressional Waste is out with their own 2008 Pig Book, a list of projects included in an appropriation bill that does not go through the normal budgetary process. CAGW said Blunt had 22 questionable projects, totaling around $46 million. Sen. Kit Bond had 142 projects at $309 million.

Sen. Claire McCaskill, Sen. John McCain and Sen. Russ Feingold are the only U.S. Senators not on the list, because they don't request earmarks.

McCaskill Backs Baucus Healthcare Model

Sen. Claire McCaskill said she backs the outline of a federal healthcare plan that would require employers to provide health insurance to their employees or pay into a pool.

That model, championed by Sen. Max Baucus, is widely seen as the approach that will be championed by the Democratic Congress this summer.

"I think that the Baucus plan is a great starting point," McCaskill said during a media availability in her downtown Springfield office Saturday afternoon.

Baucus' proposal would also allow a Medicare-like government plan to compete with private ones. McCaskill said that's a good idea.

HAS NOT made up her mind on reconciliation -- whether she would vote "Yes" or "No" on healthcare if the Democrats used a controversial procedure that only required them to get 51 votes to win passage.

*WATCH FULL Q & A On HEALTHCARE ABOVE*

Also: McCaskill Defends the $3.5 Trillion Dollar Budget
Says It Helps "Keep Our Word" to Veterans with a $5.5 Billion Dollar Increase
Notes Billions for Foreign Aid Were Taken Out

"If you take the increase in veterans spending out of the budget and the one-time budget item on the Census, we spent less money this year on domestic discretionary spending than we did last year," McCaskill said. "This was not a runaway budget. This was a lean budget."

McCaskill spent more than 30 minutes with reporters answering questions on everything from the budget, the stimulus package, North Korea, gay marriage and Twittering.

***Walking out . . . Surveys Reporters About Whether Sarah Steelman Will Run For U.S. Senate***

Most vote "NO."

*WATCH PLAYFUL CLIP BELOW*

MCCASKILL ENDORSES GOP PRIMARY?
"I always like a woman who's brave enough to take on the party structure."