MDN.ORG:
Missouri Digital News
MDN.ORG
Mo. Digital News
Missouri Digital News
MDN.ORG:
Mo. Digital News
MDN.ORG:
Missouri Digital News
MDN.ORG:
Missouri Digital News
MDN.ORG
Mo. Digital News
Missouri Digital News
MDN.ORG:
Mo. Digital News
MDN.ORG:
Missouri Digital News
Dan Mehan
The Boss
On Jan. 10, Matt Blunt stood on the south steps of the Capitol and took the oath of office with his hand one not just one but two Bibles.
The crowd alongside the new governor included friends and family as well as a who's who of conservative politicians. The list included former governor and US attorney general John Ashcroft, whom the crowd greeted with the only reception greater than Blunt's, a thunderous ovation that lasted several minutes.
Considering Ashcroft's religious right reputation and Blunt's strongly stated Baptist credentials (An itinerary released to the press before the event included two prayer services) it seemed like a conservative Christian coming out party.
But four months later, after the governor helped mothball a ban on stem-cell research and angered religious groups like the Missouri Catholic Conference by making deep cuts to Missouri's Medicaid program, things aren't so clear. Now it appears that if Blunt's election answered anyone's prayers, it was Missouri business owners'.
Making good on a series of campaign promises, Blunt quickly put an end to collective bargaining for state workers and shepherded through the legislature three measures long sought by the business lobby. They included new limits on lawsuit awards, changes in Missouri's insurance law and a fundamental rewriting of worker's compensation law that the governor claims will right Missouri's business climate. Democrats, however, decry the measures are handouts to big business at the expense of common workers.
More pleased than anyone about Blunt's action is Dan Mehan, president of Missouri's Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who now finds himself greeted with the most receptive group of lawmakers he's ever encountered. That's thanks to a perfect storm of electoral politics that delivered him a group of young, business-friendly Republicans at nearly every level of state government.
"We've been at this for years, not to exaggerate, for generations," Mehan said. "They agree with our agenda that these things need to happen."
The chamber hired Mehan in 1995 at the climax of a whirlwind romance that blossomed after he met a board member through a mutual friend.
"It was a chance encounter at dinner," Mehan said. "The rest is history."
Democratic governors frustrated Mehan's efforts during his first decade on the job. But now, with the GOP in total control of the statehouse for the first time in more than 80 years, it's his time to cash in.
"They won, so it's a whole new ballgame. They went right down the shopping list," said Hugh McVey, president of Missouri's chapter of the AFL-CIO and Mehan's chief rival. "To the victor go the spoils and maybe the Democrats will win next time."
Barring a historic shift in next fall's midterm elections, Mehan and the business he represents can count on at least three more Republican-controlled sessions in Jefferson City.
Any doubts that people like him are exerting greater influence on the inexperienced legislators introduced by term limits are quickly dispelled in business committee hearings, where Mehan leads lawmakers through the nuances of proposed legislation as often as bill sponsors.
"We will never be lacking on issues," Mehan said. "Unemployment insurance will be dealt with next year. Health insurance, where do you begin and end with that one?
"We'll be aggressive about it. This is not a popularity contest."