“We do not need 50 states doing 50 immigration laws,” Bray says. “The states are in no way in any position to regulate immigration as proposed by some [state] bills.  There is no way the Secretary of State become an immigration office.  There is no way that [state] law enforcement can become immigration officers.” 

One additional point is that, under the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution, once Congress enacts immigration reform, any state immigrat

Missouri Republicans had a less-than-stellar election cycle in the fall, losing a high-profile U.S. Senate race, the state auditor’s race, five seats in the House and two seats in the Senate.

The Missouri Presidential Primary is February 5, 2008 – the new Super Tuesday.

The Missouri Primary for party nominations for state offices (Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General, as well as state Senate and House seats) is August 5, 2008.  The first filing day for the Primary is February 26, 2008.   The last filing day for the primary is March 25, 2008.  So, a year from Sunday we will know all the Primary candidates.

The General Election is November 4, 2008.

Jo Mannies reports today, however, that Lembke has filed papers with the MEC for a statewide office run.

The site may be accessed here.

Looks like I have only one issue on the ballot – trustee for the St. Louis Community College. Woo-hoo !!!

Mr. Bond is apparently untroubled by the DOJ’s recent performance and, once again, stands by George Bush no matter what.

Such unity does not, apparently, extend to the race for Lieutenant Governor. Four potential candidates are identified: Senators Harry Kennedy and Frank Barnitz, as well as state Reps. Fred Kratky and Sam Page.

Rachel Storch and John Temporiti are quoted as enthusiastic over Dems’ chances in 2008. They also note the need for increased fundraising in order for Dems to have a chance to retake the Legislature.

Until November 4, 2008, this blog’s primary focus will be the Missouri Senate. Missouri has 34 senatorial districts. Currently, Democrats control 13 of these seats, while Republicans control 21. The 8 seat advantage provides Republicans not only with a strong majority on individual votes, but also allows the Republicans to exercise unfettered control on committee assignments, what bills move forward through committee and, indeed, what issues the Senate addresses on a day-to-day basis.

Elections will be held in 17 of these districts in a little less than 20 months. In 2008, it will be the odd number districts that will hold elections. (In full disclosure, I did not know exactly how the rotation worked. I could not find the information on the Senate’s website, but a helpful staffer who answered the phone explained the process to me – so I’m learning as I work on this blog as well).

If Democrats can pick-up 4 Senatorial seats (which is a mighty big if), the Democrats will share a 17-17 split with the Republicans. In Missouri, the Lieutenant Governor serves as the President of the Senate and has the capacity to cast tie-breaking votes. So, if the Dems also managed to retake the Lieutenant Governor slot, the Democrats would control the Senate.

Interestingly, only 6 of the 17 open districts are currently held by Democrats. Republicans, obviously, control the other 11 seats. This means that Democrats have to defend fewer seats, which makes life a little easier for Senator Jeff Smith who has been charged with the task of returning control of the Senate to the Democrats.

At the same time, term limits prevent four current members of the Senate from running for re-election in 2008 – three are Republicans (Michael Gibbons (15), Chuck Gross (23) and John Loudon (7) and the other is a Democrat (Harry Kennedy (1)). So, term limits should strengthen Democrats’ bid to retake the Senate. The list of current candidates and their respective term limits is here.

We will try not to take ourselves to seriously. Now, on with the show.