On January 18th Senators Denny Hoskins, Andrew Koenig, Rick Brattin and Bill Eigel bravely stood on the Senate floor and unapologetically advocated for the passage of legislation on Initiative Petition reform.
But instead of facilitating this vital pro-life legislation, which is also part of the Republican Party platform, Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden and Senate Majority Floor Leader Cindy O’Laughlin called these four senators “swamp creatures”, stripped them of committee positions and even took away their parking spots.
For Senate leaders Rowden and O’Laughlin to strip four true conservative Senior Senators from their ability to serve their districts of 174,000 people as chairman of committees is petty, vindictive, and is the epitome of an abuse of power.
Senators Rowden and O’Laughlin are continuing a trend over the past five years of Senate leadership failing to create unity in the Senate. They have progressively stood against all conservative legislation that is set forth in the Republican Party platform while they have stalled out pro-life legislation, such as defunding Planned Parenthood and Initiative Petition reform. They have succumbed to lobbyists big money that say, “having no bill is better than a bill with pro-life language.”
If the pro-life priorities that are set forth in the Republican Party platform do not pass and Missouri enshrines abortion in our state constitution, rest assured that the fate of thousands of unborn children will lay at the feet of Senate leadership.
It is our hope and desire that this does not happen. The proof will be what Senate leadership does with its super majority to resolve the situation rather than to blame others for the failure to pass conservative republican platform’s stated positions on Life.
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