JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Democratic Party launched a scathing new web ad Wednesday critical of Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a day before he is set to visit the state on behalf of supporters of a GOP-backed income tax cut bill vetoed by Gov. Jay Nixon this summer.
In a 60-second spot that began circulating on Facebook and Twitter Wednesday afternoon, newly elected party chairman Roy Temple railed against Perry’s visit, saying Missourians are “too smart to fall for his nonsense.”
“[House bill 253 is] the GOP tax scheme that would give the favored few a tax cut of 1,200 bucks a year. And the average Missourian? Their tax cut would only be enough to pay for a Big Mac,” Temple said. “[I]t would make devastating cuts to our schools and to mental health services. And it would even raise the tax on prescription drugs. And the worst part, Governor Perry’s running ads trying to steal Missouri jobs.”
The state party’s video came a day after Nixon’s campaign committee released his own ad touting a similar message on KTRS in St. Louis – the station that rejected Perry’s ad which urged Missouri businesses to consider moving to Texas.
Temple, in an interview on Saturday, said Nixon’s increasingly aggressive tone in his second term – most notably on HB 253 – is a result of changed environment caused by a strengthened Republican grip on the General Assembly.
“You deal with the circumstances you have to work with,” he said. “He has a unique set of circumstances now, and he may believe that calls for a slightly different adjustment.”
Speaking to College Republicans at the University of Missouri Tuesday night, Missouri Republican Party Executive Director Shane Schoeller said Nixon and Democrats are misinforming Missourians about the real impact of the bill. Schoeller noted that the bill only included a fractional cut for individuals, and said Nixon’s argument that it could be devastating for schools is based on a whole lot of “ifs” that are unlikely to happen.
Schoeller stopped short of echoing comments by House Speaker Tim Jones calling the likely override vote a “litmus test” for conservative members.
“I know Speaker Tim Jones and Majority Leader John Diehl are working very hard on [an override]. We’re certainly trying to work very hard and support what they do, but the litmus comes home when they run for reelection,” he said. When asked whether the party would try to protect members who vote against the bill’s override from primaries (as have been threatened by groups like Missouri Club for Growth), Schoeller said, “we try to be supportive of people who have been elected, but we don’t engage in primaries.”
Schoeller said he had not heard Perry’s ads, and said the Missouri Republican Party was not involved with his trip.
“My understanding is he is here to talk about tax policy and the difference between Missouri and Texas, and why Texas has been gaining employers and manufacturers due to their policies,” Schoeller said. “I think it is more of a policy argument than it is about taking companies to Texas.”
A former speaker pro tem of the House of Representatives, Schoeller said he understands it will be a tough vote. He pointed to Rep. Caleb Rowden, a Columbia Republican who has faced serious pressure from voters in his district to oppose an override. Rowden said to date, he had numerous received calls about the bill, about 40 percent of which were in opposition to the bill. Rowden said he would be attending a rally on September 5 in Columbia staged by the bill’s opponents to offer a counter argument – a sign he may ultimately support an override.
It remains unclear whether the General Assembly will pull enough votes Nixon’s veto, but it is looking increasingly unlikely. At least five Republican members have indicated their opposition to the bill publicly, which would require a handful of Democrats to switch their vote. The bill is expected to come up when lawmakers convene for veto session in September.