When Life Gives You Lemons in the Trump Era, Missouri Edition
Donald J. Trump, 34-time convicted felon and President-elect of the United States of America
“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”
When Donald Trump was reelected as president, that certainly qualified as being given a truckload lemons in my book. But the lemonade making? I just got a surprising vision of what that looks like.
On the southeast edge of the metro Kansas City area is the town of Belton, located in Cass County. Not all that long ago, it was an isolated rural farm town, well away from the Big City. Today, though, it has become somewhat of a bedroom community, still heavily rural but now with the addition of folks who want a more affordable place to live while commuting to their jobs elsewhere in the Kansas City area. Even with this shift toward being a bedroom community, in the 2024 presidential election, Trump carried Cass County 65%-33%. Belton is not some blue pocket in red Missouri – it is strongly red.
The current state representative for Belton is Republican Michael Davis, who has a degree in education from Harris-Stowe University in St. Louis (a white guy at an HBCU!?!) and a JD from Washburn University in Topeka where he served as president of the local chapter of the Federalist Society. He was the youngest member of the Missouri legislature when he was first elected, he has voted to defund Planned Parenthood and to cut taxes, and he sits on the House Judiciary Committee. All in all, he is the model of a Young Republican.
Except.
In advance of next year’s legislative session, lots of legislators pre-file bills with the clerk, and one of the bills filed by Davis has caught a lot of attention. The purpose of the bill is quite simple, and the text itself is a mere two pages. The bill would repeal Missouri’s prohibition on convicted felons running for public office.
Having a Republican sponsoring a bill like this is more than a little odd, given the “lock ’em up and throw away the key!” mentality of many in the GOP, especially in Missouri. But Belton, like many rural areas in Missouri, has a non-trivial portion of the population with minor drug convictions, or who have friends and family members with such convictions. While I can’t imagine that there are a huge number of these folks who want to run for office, a bill like this says to these people “If you’ve served your time, we want to welcome you back into society.” So good on Davis, even if that runs counter to the usual GOP message.
But the weird part of the story isn’t a Republican trying to help felons reenter society. The weird part is how he is trying to make the case for the bill, which he has titled the Donald J. Trump Election Qualification Act.
Says Davis in an interview with the Missouri Independent:
“Having conversations now, when I bring up the topic, a lot of them are squeamish about the idea of having felons in office, but then, if they’re Republican, I remind them that they probably voted for one,” Davis said. . . .
[snip]
“A lot of people don’t don’t think about the fact that Donald Trump, if he met all the other requirements, if he was a Missouri resident, he could not run for state representative or state Senate,” Davis said. “He would be precluded from running for these offices, but was able to be re-elected president of the United States. So I think that at least causes people to start thinking about the issue a little more than they might otherwise.”
Remember: this is a Republican member of the state legislator saying these things, not some liberal from Kansas City or St. Louis.
I know a bunch of folks, mostly in St. Louis and Kansas City, who have worked for years to shift the state of Missouri to focus on the reentry of felons into society rather than solely focus on locking them up to keep them out of society. I am confident in saying that *none* of these folks voted for Trump. But if Davis wants to hold up Trump as a reason to embrace a shift in the judicial system that worries not only about locking folks up but also about how to help folks reenter the world after time in prison, these folks will say more power to him. Passing this bill wouldn’t do anything to mitigate the mess that is about to be unleashed in DC, but it would change the lives of hundreds of families in Missouri for the better.
“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade” never sounded so appropriate.
Indeed. Life isn’t slogans, or rigid following – life is fluid.
George Washington was a terrorist, depending on your point of view in a yesteryear. From the Loyalist POV? Yeah, that’s hard to swallow – but had the rebels lost? Not so much.
Here we are in any case, you aren’t part of Upper Canada lol.
People in their communities will more often than not do best for their communities.
It’s where we live after all.
It would be more impressive if this gentleman were advocating for voting rights for felons. It’s legal in Missouri for those who have fully served their sentences (emphasis on fully), but those who are imprisoned are still prohibited from voting.
Except…allowing convicted felons to run for public office is perhaps admirable* it does not seem to state, much less even imply, that the convicted felon has to have actively demonstrated remorse for their crime(s) which, as we know, ain’t Trump. I realize the “remorse” part isn’t part of Davis’ Trump point.
* Clearly there are convicted felons that are convicted on – excuse the pun – trumped up charges – and they may be corner cases. There are many many – too many – cases of minor drug offenses having a hard felony wrap. But I get back to the taking responsibility, accountability, etc as part of the atonement of one’s criming before certain rights are re-instated. In other words the anti-Trump.
The Bible has a bit to say about remorse and atonement, but I am sure Peter can make the most apropos references if warranted.
Next-Up for the Belton Lemonade Stand:
Pardoned-Felons may be eligible for state&federal compensation due to any lost wages during their legal battles and will be encouraged to head for-profit prisons.
Peterr, I appreciate that you are choosing the Monty Python admonishment to “always look on the bright side of life”. Being the scarred, world weary skeptic occasionally, I can also see this bill as yet another attempt to normalize the fact that we have a felon soon to take over our government.
I am grateful there are positive people like you to balance me out in the universe.
“another attempt to normalize the fact that we have a felon soon to take over our government.” Yes, that is what it is about and there is a huge difference between having a convicted felon in a state office position and one in the White House.
I’m not sure I’m being positive about it, but I was clearly shocked when I first saw a Republican — not a Democrat — calling attention to Trump’s felonies.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-hated-fbi-director-christopher-wray-quits-before-he-can-be-fired/
Well here is another lemon, Christopher Wray is resigning as FBI Director.
OT, but I’m curious why I keep seeing this picture (above) of Trump scowling down at the camera. Tryin to look fearsome. Are there other snaps to use that show him as the idjit he is? (Although for a post on “lemons”, he sure does look sour there. )
It’s a mug shot of a felon, which is key to the point of this post.
Thank you for replying to this silly comment. And yeah, I thought that was the case. But it’s actually a good (certainly planned) shot from his perspective — he’s dressed up nice, in control, in command — scornful of (and looking down on) the judicial process. All the ways that he would want to come across: “See, even in jail I’m in command.” Most folks’ mug shots don’t come across well like that; witness Luigi Mangione’s recent one, for example, compared to his smiling, almost happy, surveillance photos. When I see this particular Trump image, I don’t think “felon”; I think, “This is a man who owns the system — proud, not humbled.” And, coincidentally here, I also see a man who says, ”I already won the vote, regardless of what you think; no need for any more voters.”
So, if the point is to address the possible uplifting of felons in general, those who have done their time and are now ready to re-enter society fully, he’s maybe not an example I would highlight. Still, a photo here is so minor and it’s a good post to read, thought provoking in a lot of ways. And just as every sweep of crooks drags along a few good guys, so, I guess, does every release of felons (is that the right collective noun?) ennoble a few bad guys. (Please excuse the late night meanderings here; I’m recovering from knee replacement surgery and a good night’s sleep is still a scarce commodity .)
These are the people who were recently running around singing the praises of making babies. The minute these numbskulls eventually hip to the fact that “those people” who are felons will be able to run for office again, the real reason for the original prohibition will be revealed.
ETA: Sorry, mistyped my user name on the iPad…