MO Legislator Proposes Rule To Allow Duels On Senate Floor

Republicans in the Missouri Senate were feuding before Sen. Nick Schroer, a member of the Freedom Caucus decided to go all Hamilton/Burr. On Tuesday, Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden ousted four Freedom Caucus members from their committee chairs, cut their office budgets and moved their parking spots “as far from the Missouri Capitol building as possible,” the Missouri Independent reported.

Like their soulmates in the U.S. House of Representatives, Missouri’s Freedom Caucus seems more interested in performative chaos than in serving constituents. The caucus filibustered for over eight hours to hold up approval of 25 appointments by Republican Gov. Mike Parson. “The caucus wants the Senate to immediately debate measures to make initiative petitions more difficult to pass, including one in support of abortion rights,” The Daily Beast noted. They also want budget cuts and tax credits to pay for private school scholarshps.

Now, Schroer has taken performance politics to what feels like a logical conclusion: a rule allowing senators to challenge “an offending senator to a duel.”

read more