New Missouri Speaker Muzzles Conservative State Reps

Republican House leader Dean Plocher threatened to punish conservative House members who oppose his agenda

Former and current members of the Missouri House of Representatives are warning that new Republican House members will be prohibited from posting on social media how members vote. This is the latest move by incoming Speaker Dean Plocher to muzzle conservatives.

I received a text from a former House member last week. It included a screenshot of a Facebook post by Missouri RINO Watch:

And a confirmation of Plocher’s and Patterson’s threat:

Confirmed today this did happen from a new rep. But nothing new. He pq’d (closed debate) conservatives all the time on critical legislation as floor leader.  But now it’s gonna get ugly.  

Plocher and Patterson are chamber-of-commerce Republicans who use political office to tip the scales in favor of special interests that do them favors. Grifters who cross-dress as conservatives to fool voters, like a drag show for politicians.

Note: Dean Plocher has not responded to my request for comment on this story (reproduced below.)

They rise the ranks of Republican leadership by distributing goodies from their cronies to junior House members in exchange for leadership votes. It’s the downside of term limits which allow the most unprincipled to rise the fastest with each new class of Reps.

You won’t find many of the money flows in their campaign finance reports. The money flows through PACs and other committees. The climbers direct lobbyists to someone else—someone will, in turn, vote to elevate the climber. All off the books and hidden from public view.

With their bought power, Plocher and Patterson lord over the “disloyal” members who went to Jefferson City to represent their constituents, to give the people a fighting chance against the elites.

I tweeted last night:

Bill Hennessy | 🍊Abolish the FBI @theBillHennessy

I refused to entertain the possibility that the CIA killed JFK or the FBI killed MLK or that there was a military-industrial complex because, if any of those things were true, then the liberals were right. That was a mistake and a sin against truth. 1/2

Bill Hennessy | 🍊Abolish the FBI @theBillHennessy

I made an idol of narratives and defended them religiously. The earnest pursuit of truth makes a person narrative-proof, but it requires tossing the old idols into the river.

I will hear from a few Republicans about this. “Bill,” they’ll say, “this only helps the Democrats.”

So be it.

Most of my life, I did anything to protect the Republican Party and the institutions it endorsed. My loyalty came at a price: I truly made an idol of partisan politics. Neither internally nor externally could I allow the possibility that my team was wrong. I studied argument and persuasion to protect my team from questioning. And, if that failed, I simply raised my voice. If I’d run a social media platform, I’d have censored challenged to the Republican Party as ruthlessly as Yoel Roth policed challenges to elections and Dr. Fauci’s blather.

When the Tea Party movement started, I found myself in the company of my political idols and closer to the centers of Republican power. And, by the grace of God, I began to see what a fool I had made of myself. The chasm between principles politicians and grifters was a mile wide and four miles deep. I began to recognize the blindness of my support for the GOP in 2014, but I still didn’t have the guts to admit I was wrong. So, I dropped little hints like this one in an article analyzing the 2014 off-year election in St. Louis County:

A lot of Tea Partiers suffer from Republican Fatigue Syndrome. RFS is a disease spread through casual contact with the establishment.

Don’t make politics the enemy of the truth. Party loyalty is what allows climbers and grifters like Plocher and Patterson to impose truth lockdowns on incoming Republican Representatives. It allows the ambitious to triumph over the sincere. “The truth will set you free” (John 8:32), and lies will bind you to death.

If you find Plocher’s and Patterson’s behavior abhorrent (and you should), let your Republican Representative know. Demand House leadership that puts a higher premium on truth and principles than on power and money.

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My media inquiry to Dean Plocher sent December 17 at 9:00 a.m.:

Media Inquiry:

I am working on story. Incoming House members allege you and Rep. Patterson threatened to strip members of committee assignments if they post votes to social media. I'd like to get your side before publishing at 5:00 p.m. today.

Specifically:

1. Did you, directly or through lieutenants, threaten to remove members from committees if they post to social media how members voted in committee or on bills?

2. If so, what is your justification for this discipline?

3. If not, how do you explain the report from multiple sources?

4. Would you punish the members who disclosed this information should they come forward?

5. Are there any issues in particular about which you fear the public learning of members' votes?

Thank you for taking the time respond in this busy season. Sorry for the quick deadline.

Thanks,

Bill

As of this writing, Plocher has not responded.