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Will the Missouri Freedom Caucus get what they want?

A small band of far-right conservative state senators in Missouri has drawn the ire of even their fellow Republicans. Their goal is to make it even harder to change the state constitution for issues like protecting abortion rights. And they might succeed.

It’s been a rough start to the year in the Missouri Senate. The Republican leadership of the body, led by Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden, has tangled since day one with a group of senators calling themselves the Freedom Caucus.

That group has said they have one goal: Making it harder to amend the Missouri constitution. They’ve held up the governor’s appointments and filibustered even the daily approval of the Senate journal. What they’ve demanded is priority treatment for legislation that would set a higher bar for ballot efforts — like the ones that are coming on enshrining abortion rights.

KCUR's Brian Ellison asked Rudi Keller of the Missouri Independent about the group and its chances of succeeding.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Byron Love and KCUR Studios and edited by Gabe Rosenberg and Lisa Rodriguez.

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As a host and contributor at KCUR, I seek to create a more informed citizenry and richer community. I want to enlighten and inspire our audience by delivering the information they need with accuracy and urgency, clarifying what’s complicated and teasing out the complexities of what seems simple. I work to craft conversations that reveal realities in our midst and model civil discourse in a divided world. Follow me on Twitter @ptsbrian or email me at brian@kcur.org.
As an on-demand producer, I am focused on using my skills and experiences across multiple digital applications, platforms and media fields to create community focused audio, video and on-demand products for KCUR Studios. The media that I produce aims to inform, entertain and connect with the Kansas City metro area as we continue to learn from each other. Email me at byronlove@kcur.org.
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