Revisiting Clean Missouri
Our state has changed a lot since 2016.
When that year started, Peter Kinder was the only Republican holding statewide office in Jefferson City.
Then Donald Trump hit the scene.
After the 2016 election, the tables turned, and appointed State Auditor Nicole Galloway would be the only Democrat in that cohort.
wikipedia.org
The writing was on the wall.
Missouri voters weren’t going to elect Liberal candidates anymore.
Liberal megadonors saw this, but they saw something else, too. There was a vulnerability in Missouri’s initiative petition process.
That was also the year that Amendment 2 passed, limiting campaign contributions.
It is comparatively easier to qualify an initiative in Missouri than in its neighboring states.
Until last year, there was no prohibition on foreign funding of ballot measures.
The Liberal megadonors shifted gears.
In 2018, they ran the “Clean Missouri” campaign, a deceptive initiative petition that advertised a ban on lobbyist gifts while concealing a scheme to allow Missouri’s auditor (then the only Statewide Democrat) to redistrict the state.
Missouri voters weren’t happy.
Although the Liberal argument was then, and is now, that the “will of the people” was overturned, they can’t escape the fact that the people passed Amendment 3 in 2020.
That measure left the lobbyist gift bans in place and restored the redistricting process to the people’s representatives.
Someone who respects Missouri voters would respect their decision to repeal the redistricting provision that was hidden from them.
Likewise, they’d respect the actions of the representatives that the same voters sent to Jefferson City.
Abuse of the initiative petition process has increased over the last few election cycles. Missourians will be forced to vote to restore health and safety provisions in 2026 after repeals were hidden in a deceptive abortion amendment.
Conservatives are stepping up during this special session to address these issues.
People need transparency.
Every single initiative petition should receive a public hearing before it’s approved for circulation.
The full text of the measure should be made available for people.
If our constitution is to be amended by initiative petition, it should be something that people from all across the state can agree on.
The time for initiative petition reform is NOW.
Let’s get it done.
Andy Bakker
Executive Director
Liberty Alliance USA