Abolish the Missouri Senate? That would just unleash the House’s MAGA fever dreams

The Kansas City Star Editorial Board recently proposed eliminating the Missouri Senate and implementing a unicameral legislature in which the Missouri House of Representatives — and only it — dictates which laws are passed.

This idea belongs on the Mount Rushmore of bad takes. Vesting the House with unfettered power would prove disastrous for our state and its people, especially the working class, minorities and the vulnerable. By suggesting it, the Editorial Board demonstrates a shockingly poor understanding of state government, both basic procedure and political dynamics.

This year, the House passed H.B. 1858, which would have prevented the factual teaching of slavery and American history and banned classroom discussion of current events. It passed H.B. 1462, which would have allowed guns in places of worship and public transportation. It passed H.B. 1973, which would have worsened the suicide crisis among LGBTQ children by legislatively bullying transgender girls. It passed H.B. 1860, which would have cut Missouri unemployment assistance from 20 weeks down to eight, among the stingiest in the country.

While these bills passed with overwhelming margins in the House of Representatives, where the few people in leadership control the agenda, shut down debate and force votes, the legislation was blocked or gutted in the Senate.

The ideological composition of the Missouri General Assembly, and resultant legislative agendas, do not reflect my values, nor the values of most Kansas Citians. It is right to criticize when awful bills become law. But blaming the Senate as an institution, and recommending that it be eliminated, is an ignorant conclusion.

Even wilder, the Editorial Board seems to believe Senate Democrats, outnumbered 10-24, can stop every bad bill. That’s not how this works. The filibuster exists in the state Senate, but it can be overcome with a procedural motion for which the GOP has enough votes. In many instances, its power is to force negotiation and moderation. The Editorial Board seems to prefer that Senate Democrats yell and scream while the GOP shuts down debate and forces votes on the most extreme versions of every bill.

Although these theatrics might help with Twitter likes or website clicks, it would be terrible for Missourians. Moral victories don’t fund schools. They don’t stop discrimination. And they don’t save lives.

Without the Senate, particularly the Senate Democrats, Missourians would live in a MAGA fever-dream hellscape in which, every year, a slew of dangerous, mean-spirited, harebrained ideas would become law of the land. That cannot be what the Editorial Board wants, can it?

Senate rules also compel collaboration. Unlike in the House, Senate Democrats can and do pass priority legislation. The most substantive bills approved this session originated or were improved in the Senate, thanks to Democrats’ efforts. In fact, the Editorial Board inaccurately credits the Missouri House for teacher pay raises. But it was a coalition of bipartisan senators who fought hard to restore this funding after the House removed it.

I understand that the Editorial Board is upset about some legislation that passed, including the police funding and voter identification bills. And the Editorial Board may be frustrated by the antics of some. That’s fair. This is serious work, no matter how complicated or nuanced. We should expect all office holders to approach it with seriousness.

But the procedural safeguards utilized by the so-called Conservative Caucus to slow down the work of the Senate are the same ones that Senate Democrats rely upon to prevent the state from backsliding into extremism. Suggesting that we strip out those safeguards and give the GOP supermajority even more power through a unicameral legislature is too bizarre to take seriously — or to publish.

Having served in both the state House and Senate, I agree Missourians deserve a better legislature. What both bodies need, though, are people elected to them who place serving everyone over advancing culture wars. What we don’t need is the Editorial Board’s sophomoric idea to eliminate the Missouri Senate altogether.