...which is not to say that state lawmakers are heroes. They are but men and women, and they certainly have feet of clay.
- This guy's feet have their own Claymation special: So you've probably heard about Fightin' Joe Morrissey, the guy who won reelection to the state House seat -- from jail -- that he had just resigned from because he, well, went to jail.
- But Joe Morrissey's issues began looooooong before he was arrested for allegedly having sex with a 17-year-old girl. He's been laboring at being notoriously terrible since the 1980s. He's the basically the Hercules of terrible lawyers, complete with the 12 Labors of Being Awful.
- Mighty Morrissey's lamentable labors include:
- Yelling at judges in 1986 and 1997.
- Going to jail for writing a threatening letter to a judge in 1991.
- Getting in a fist fight with opposing counsel, also in 1991.
- Settling a rape case without the consent of the victim in 1993.
- Going to jail for 90 days, followed by three years of probation, for violating a federal court rule prohibiting making public statements about witnesses in 1999.
- Violating that three-year probation in 2000 by attempting to lie about his community service hours (Habitat for Humanity!) and lying to his probation officer about trying to lie.
- Having his law license suspended for six months in 1993.
- Having his law license suspended for three years in 1999.
- Losing his Virginia law license entirely in 2003 (he'd already lost his license to practice in federal court in 2001).
- Teaching trial advocacy and becoming a valued mentor to over 100 Crown prosecutors in Australia between 2003 and 2006, until the Australians realized he'd been deemed unfit to practice law in his home country.
- Returning to the United States, getting elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 2007, getting his Virginia law license back in 2012, brandishing an AK-47 on the House floor in 2013, and generally just being Joe Morrissey.
- Getting indicted for allegedly having sex with a minor, taking an Alford plea, going to jail, resigning his House seat, winning reelection to his House seat, attending session under a work-release program accommodated by his 90-day jail sentence, and generally just being Joe Morrissey.
- The Legendary Journeys of Joe Morrissey aren't over just yet; both Republicans and Democrats want to expel him from the legislature. But even if they do, they'd be silly to expect Morrissey not to run again.
Joe Morrissey's gonna Joe Morrissey.
- Clash of the Titans: Last week, I discussed the GOP infighting (with guns!) in the New Hampshire House. But that's not the only place where Republicans are in disarray.
Quick aside: Also last week, I made a terrible joke about the New Hampshire House GOP squabbles impacting 2016. Turns out it was even less funny than I thought. Pouty former Speaker and current leader of conservative Republican caucus dissenters Bill O'Brien is inviting GOP presidential contenders to court his band of merry rebels. He may or may not be charging candidates up to $50,000 for the privilege.
- In the Montana House (41 D/59 R), a cadre of moderate Republicans began session by siding with Democrats to pass a rule that will, basically, allow that same cadre to side with Democrats in the future to force certain pieces of legislation to the floor that conservative Republicans may try to bottle up in committee.
- What sort of agenda items might conservative GOPers not want to hit the House floor, you wonder? Glad you asked!
- Montana has become notorious for some dark-money groups and activity in recent years. Campaign finance reform will be a top issue this session.
- Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock wants to expand Medicaid.
- There's also a push for huge infrastructure projects and spending.
- The new Republican majority in the Washington Senate (24 D/25 R) is also running into some unity issues.
- Republicans wanted to elect Sen. Tim Sheldon -- a Democrat who defected two years ago to give effective majority control to the Senate GOP -- president pro tempore.
- Democrats, who were understandably not a huge fan of electing Sheldon to anything, rallied behind Republican Sen. Pam Roach, who is something of a wild card -- she's been ejected from her own caucus in the past, and she had the support of public employees unions in her reelection last fall.
- Another Republican with a rebellious streak joined the 23 Democrats and Roach to give Sheldon a symbolic middle finger.
- The Nevada Assembly's new Republican majority (17 D/25 R) can't seem to sort itself out either. After the November debacle over the racist writings of the former Speaker-designate, new Speaker-to-be John Hambrick has been stuck in a super public fight with Assemblywoman Michele Fiore for weeks over take-backsies of her leadership positions.
Session is going to be so awesome.
- Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Chaps: Er, Dr. Chaps, actually. Rep. Gordon Klingenschmitt was elected to the Colorado House (34 D/31 R) last fall, and even though session is under way, he's continuing tape his awesome weekend show: Pray In Jesus [sic] Name News.
- On PIJN News, he calls himself Dr. Chaps and asks viewers to "pray the news."
- Regrettably, Chaps/Klingenschmitt's views on LGBT issues, Islam, and other social and political hotbuttons are rather less than polite.
- But Klingenschmitt insists that Dr. Chaps' religious zealotry and inflammatory commentary have no impact on Rep. Klingenschmitt's "day job" as a lawmaker.
Yeah, that didn't turn out so hot for Dr. Jekyll.
- Meanwhile, Rep. KlingenChaps is sponsoring some legislation that lines up pretty well with his ultra-right wing on-air rhetoric, including personhood legislation, an anti-union bill, repealing the state's new gun sales background check requirements, and getting rid of the health insurance exchange.
KlingenChaps also wants to protect Coloradans from the scourge of low flow toilets and shower heads, which I have mixed feelings about, tbh.
- Half a league, half a league, half a league onward: Insightful Virginian Larry Sabato recently released some fascinating numbers about Democrats' losses in state legislatures. Since the 2008 election cycle, Republicans have picked up 913 state legislative seats nationwide, which seems like a pretty "eye-popping" number -- until you realize that's 913 of the 7,334 total partisan legislators in the country.
- So, to put that in a little context, state legislative Dems lost 12.4% of total seats over the past three cycles, which is, of course, not exactly an ideal situation for Democrats.
- But when you realize that Democratic governors are down 22% (11 of 50), Democratic U.S. Senators are down 13% (13 of 100), and Democratic U.S. Representatives are down 15.9% (69 of 435) over those 2010, 2012, and 2014 cycles, it doesn't seem like the end of the world.
The following 35 state legislatures are meeting actively this week: ARIZONA, ARKANSAS, CALIFORNIA, COLORADO, CONNECTICUT, DELAWARE, IDAHO, ILLINOIS, INDIANA, IOWA, KANSAS, MAINE, MARYLAND, MASSACHUSETTS, MICHIGAN, MINNESOTA, MISSISSIPPI, MONTANA, NEBRASKA, NEW HAMPSHIRE, NEW JERSEY, NEW YORK, NORTH CAROLINA, PENNSYLVANIA, RHODE ISLAND, SOUTH DAKOTA, SOUTH CAROLINA, TENNESSEE, TEXAS, VERMONT, VIRGINIA, WASHINGTON, WEST VIRGINIA, WISCONSIN and WYOMING.
Also meeting: DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, PUERTO RICO and UNITED STATES VIRGIN ISLANDS.
ALABAMA
The Legislature met January 13 for an organizational session to elect officers, adopt rules of procedure and appoint members to committees.
ARIZONA
Governor Doug Ducey delivered the State of the State address January 12.
The Legislature convened for the 2015 legislative session January 12.
ARKANSAS
The General Assembly convened for the 2015 legislative session January 12.
A special primary election for Senate District 16 was held January 13.
The inauguration of Governor-elect Asa Hutchinson (R) was held January 13.
COLORADO
The inauguration of Governor John Hickenlooper (D) was held January 13.
Governor John Hickenlooper (D) will deliver the State of the State address January 15.
DELAWARE
The General Assembly convened for the 2015 legislative session January 13.
GEORGIA
The General Assembly convened for the 2015 legislative session January 12.
The inauguration of Governor Nathan Deal (R) was held January 12.
IDAHO
The Legislature convened for the 2015 legislative session January 12.
Governor Butch Otter (R) delivered the State of the State address January 12.
ILLINOIS
The General Assembly adjourned the 2014 legislative session January 13 and convened the 2015 legislative session January 14.
The House of Representatives and the Senate elected the Speaker of the House and the Senate President, respectively, January 14.
IOWA
The inauguration of Governor Terry Branstad (R) will be held January 16.
KANSAS
The Legislature convened for the 2015 legislative session January 12.
The inauguration of Governor Sam Brownback (R) was held January 12.
Governor Sam Brownback (R) will deliver the State of the State address January 15.
NEVADA
Governor Brian Sandoval (R) will deliver the State of the State address January 15.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
The House Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee will meet January 15 for a public hearing regarding H.B. 114 and H.B. 122, both relating to state liquor statutes.
NEW YORK
The Assembly Health Committee met January 13 to hold the last of six hearings on A.B. 5389 and S.B. 2078, the New York Health bills; discuss the effects and costs of the current health coverage system on patients, health care providers, employers, labor, taxpayers and health and healthcare; and review how the single-payer system would work in the state.
NORTH CAROLINA
The General Assembly convened for the 2015 legislative session January 14.
The General Assembly held leadership elections for both chambers January 14.
NORTH DAKOTA
The House Transportation Committee will meet January 16 to discuss H.B. 1065, relating to autonomous vehicles.
OHIO
The inauguration of Governor John Kasich (R) was held January 12.
OKLAHOMA
The inauguration of Governor Mary Fallin (R) was held January 12.
The Department of Environmental Quality will meet January 13 for a public hearing regarding proposed rules relating to Tier 1 underground injection control permits and applications.
OREGON
The inauguration of Governor John Kitzhaber (D) was held January 12.
PUERTO RICO
The Legislative Assembly convened for the 2015 legislative session January 12.
SOUTH CAROLINA
The Legislature convened for the 2015 legislative session January 13.
SOUTH DAKOTA
The Legislature convened for the 2015 legislative session January 13.
Governor Dennis Daugaard (R) delivered the State of the State address January 13.
TENNESSEE
The Legislature convened for the 2015 legislative session January 13.
The inauguration of Governor Bill Haslam (R) was held January 14.
TEXAS
The Legislature convened for the 2015 legislative session January 13.
A special election for House District 13 was held January 13.
UNITED STATES VIRGIN ISLANDS
The Legislature convened for the 2015 legislative session January 12.
VERMONT
The House Committee on Health Care met January 13 to discuss Vermont Health Connect and hold a discussion regarding health care reform.
The Senate Health and Welfare Committee met January 13 to discuss Act 48, an act relating to a universal and unified health system.
VIRGINIA
A special election for House District 74 was held January 13 (lol).
The General Assembly convened for the 2015 legislative session January 14.
WASHINGTON
The Legislature convened for the 2015 legislative session January 12.
The House Environment Committee will meet January 15 to hear H.B. 1049, relating to cadmium in Children's Jewelry.
WEST VIRGINIA
Governor Earl Ray Tomblin (D) delivered the State of the State address January 14.
WISCONSIN
The Assembly Education Committee met January 14 to hear testimony regarding A.B. 1, relating to the establishment of charter schools and the review of public school efficiency.
WYOMING
The Legislature convened for the 2015 legislative session January 13.
Governor Matt Mead (R) delivered the State of the State address January 14.
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