As PoliticMo reported Monday, House Minority Leader Mike Talboy has decided against running for reelection.  Today, the Pitch has the details on what Talboy will be doing come June 4:

Missouri's Democratic caucus is losing a great representative. Mike Talboy, the Missouri House's minority leader, isn't running for re-election; he's taking a job with Burns & McDonnell as the firm's first Director of Governmental Affairs. His first day on the job is June 4.

News broke earlier this week that Talboy wouldn't run, but the job Talboy couldn't turn down was revealed today. Burns & McDonnell's press release says: "Talboy will serve as Burns & McDonnell's liaison with local, state and federal officials in the support of the firm's related business units."

Emphasis added.

At least a part of it.  In an interview this morning on KTRS with McGraw Milhaven, Missouri's own Sen. Roy Blunt defended a part of the historic legislation, even going so far as to take all the credit for the portion which allows for young adults to stay on their parents' insurance until age 26, crowing about how he introduced the same legislation while in the House.

McGraw Milhaven: If this Supreme Court calls [Obamacare] unconstitutional, and that’s unconstitutional they also rule they throw the whole thing out, what happens to the 24 year old who’s getting insurance on it, their parents’ insurance plan because of that law, do they wake up the next day and just not have insurance?

Sen. Blunt: Well, they’ve got insurance and the company has decided to insure them and that would last for a little while.  I believe that’s one of the things that Congress would surely reinstate.  That was my bill in the House, McGraw, nobody else offered that bill, I thought it was a way to get a significant number of the uninsured into an insurance group with not much cost, you know young people are generally healthy, they think they don’t need insurance, they don’t buy insurance, and often they’re right, they don’t need it, uh, and that was my bill.  I’m the only person who introduced that legislation, it’s one of the things I think should continue to be the case.

So much for hating Obamacare, I guess.  Here's the thing: there is so much more in the bill that Americans want to keep: things like not being able to deny people based on preexisting conditions, and no longer having an annual or lifetime limits on needed care, requiring that insurers must justify rate hikes to their premium holders.  Americans also appreciate the fact that no longer can insurance companies discriminate based on gender, that there will be no copays for birth control, breast pumps and domestic violence screening (though we know where Blunt stands on those issues), and small businesses get tax credits to help provide insurance to their workers.

Why doesn't Blunt support these other, just as popular parts of Obamacare?  Additionally, there is no committment from other republicans that if, god forbid, they were able to repeal the entire bill or the Supreme Court throws the bill out, they'll immediately turn around and pass legislation that would allow young people to remain on their parents' insurance.  Or require that insurers not deny people based on gender, preexisting conditions, or have annual or lifetime caps.  In fact, since Obamacare passed, republicans have beat the repeal and replace drum over and over and over again, but never actually said what they'd replace it with. 

So even if Blunt again introduced legislation that would allow young people to remain on their parents' insurance, there's no guarantee that the 2.5 million young adults who now have access to health care coverage thanks to Obamacare would continue to have insurance.

But thanks for admitting that you like even a part of the bill, Sen. Blunt.  Good on you for that.

Audio is after the jump.

In case you missed it, Marshall Griffin of St. Louis Public Radio reported that the bust of Rush Limbaugh is now on display in the rotunda of the Capitol in Jefferson City:

Rush Limbaugh's bust now on display on 3rd floor of Mo. Capitol, in George Bingham's old spot across from Gov. Hearnes. #RushBust

Here's the photographic proof, thanks to the KC Star's Jason Hancock:

Two great letters to the editor in the Post-Dispatch today challenge David Nicklaus' arguments and his ability to give a balanced analysis of raising the minimum wage.

Here's a snippet from one. Read the full thing yourself. You'll have to scroll down to "Incomplete Argument."

In failing to mention, much less discuss, renowned economists, such as Nobel laureates Joseph Stiglitz and Paul Krugman, whose views on minimum wage laws are opposite those of the economists Mr. Nicklaus offers us, this columnist fails altogether to help us toward informed judgment on this important issue.

And here's a piece of the second one, and a link to the full piece, Increasing the minimum wage puts more money in the economy.

Perhaps Mr. Nicklaus should try to rely on economics instead of ideology. While he refers to the opinions of two college professors, it is clear that their and Nicklaus’ opinion is at odds with economic evidence.

Seriously, folks.  This is your next Speker.  This tantrum throwing man-child and birther extraordinaire clearly has nothing better to do on the last day of a session where republicans have passed ZERO bills that create jobs, have focused like a laser on the rights of women to make their own medical decisions, attempted to enshirine bullying in state law, and launched countless attacks on working Missourians.  By any measure other than that of this maniac, this session has been an absolute disaster, and yet he's calling it a success?  I guess if you think passing bills that create new license plates, make jumping jacks the state exercise, and establishing a state butterfly, then maybe this session has been a success.  But if launching attacks on workers, women, the middle class, LGBT individuals, the poor, and hard working Missourians is what you define as success, you're doing it wrong.

Come 2013, this maniac will be one of the most powerful men in the state... and he's sending out hateful tweets when he should be focused on passing legislation for the good of the people.

Republicans should be ashamed that they are elevating this man into an even higher leadership post.