Wednesday, July 30, 2008

56% Democratic Performance District Ready for the Taking


Wanna know the answer to the House Democrats questions? Barbara Lanning.

The 36th House District (Ray and Clay Counties) has a 56% Democratic performance. It is currently held by Bob Nance. Nance is not a bad guy, but he tows the party line (kicking 200,000 people off health insurance, cutting funding to education, supporting Matt Blunt). Nance knocked off Gary Kelly in 2004 by 456 votes. Kelly was the incumbent and I am told did very little in this race. You will recall 2004 as the year John Kerry dumped our state and Democrats sat at home on election day.

Who is Barbara Lanning? For 12 years she was elected to the Lawson School Board, the city where she grew up. For 15 years she was a small business owner and for more than that was involved in the real estate business. Her husband is retired UAW from GM. She is a very nice, white-haired grandmotherly type who is spunky enough to walk the district and is passionate about child care.

What about the district in 2006? Ray County voted for Claire McCaskill 56% to 40% for Talent. Montee - 61% to 34%. Nance beat Jerry Cline by 58% to 41%. I understand that Mr. Cline was a nice person who didn't knock on doors and wasn't well known in the district. His final ethics report showed a whopping $5,974.91 for the entire election cycle.

This race is simple - if you care about education, vote Lanning. If you care only about tax cuts for corporations, vote Nance.

Donnelly Makes Frontal Attack

Rep. Margaret Donnelly is making a frontal attack on Chris Koster. No mention of Jeff Harris in her spot. Obviously, her polling shows that the more a Democratic primary voter knows about Koster, the less likely they are to vote for him. Will this ad help or hurt CCP endorsed candidate Rep. Jeff Harris (who actually got the Star's endorsement)?

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Un-American

Let's face it, telling lies about a person's patriotism is wholly Un-American.

Here's the lie:

Hello everyone,

As you know I am not a very political person. I just wanted to pass along that Senator Obama came to Bagram Afghanistan for about an hour on his visit to 'The War Zone'. I wanted to share with you what happened. He got off the plane and got into a bullet proof vehicle, got to the area to meet with the Major General (2 Star) who is the commander here at Bagram.

As the Soldiers where lined up to shake his hand he blew them off and didn't say a word as he went into the conference room to meet the General. As he finished, the vehicles took him to the ClamShell (pretty much a big top tent that military personnel can play basketball or work out in with weights) so he could take his publicity pictures playing basketball. He again shunned the opportunity to talk to Soldiers to thank them for their service.

So really he was just here to make a showing for the American's back home that he is their candidate for President. I think that if you are going to make an effort to come all the way over here you would thank those that are providing the freedom that they are providing for you.

I swear we got more thanks from the NBA Basketball Players or the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders than from one of the Senators, who wants to be the President of the United States. I just don't understand how anyone would want him to be our Commander-and-Chief. It was almost that he was scared to be around those that provide the freedom for him and our great country.

If this is blunt and to the point I am sorry but I wanted you all to know what kind of caliber of person he really is. What you see in the news is all fake.

In service,
CPT Jeffrey S. Porter
Battle Captain
TF Wasatch
American Soldier


Here's the truth:

"After checking my sources, the information that was put out in my email was wrong.

Kuddos to Snopes.com for finding and reporting the truth.
Bush/Cheney/Rove started this unpatriotic crap with the swift boat attacks. All of us agree that America is the greatest country on earth. Let's talk about how to improve life for our citizens, not to tell lies or use fear and lies to bring out the worst in our country.


Surprise! Bush Justice IS corrupt...

...just like anybody paying attention should have known.

Turns out that there is way more evidence that Brad Schlozman conspired to violate federal law than there ever was against the Democrats he filed charges on -- and his is in writing, signed by him, & in the Justice Dept files!

The NY Times is calling for investigation and charges -- but I do not advise holding one's breathe.

Unfortunately, there is unlikely to be full justice for the 600 or so victims of this Administration's political terrorism. Worse, they may have ensconced their political operatives in the "professional, non-patronage" Justice jobs to carry out their political agenda for the next 20 years.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Graves' Energy Policy


Lee Judge's cartoon is only funny because it is true.

Star Endorses Jeff Harris


The KC Star endorsed Rep. Jeff Harris in his bid for the Democratic nomination for attorney general. After saying nice things about Margaret Donnelly, the KC Star sings Jeff's praises and gets in a few digs at Koster.

Harris and Donnelly both show integrity. Harris, however, has an edge based on his leadership role and prosecutorial experience. As the former Democratic leader in the Missouri House, he effectively managed diverse interests, which is no small task.

Moreover, Harris has sound ideas. He wants to use the office to emphasize open government and preservation of public records, for starters. He would work to protect consumers. One of his good ideas is to transfer the Office of the Public Counsel, which represents consumers in utility rate matters, to the attorney general’s office to give it more independence.

As a legislator he worked to protect Missouri’s environment from pollution by factory farms. He also championed limits on campaign donations.


Jeff recently picked up the Columbia newspaper's endorsement, but that was his back yard. Wait, isn't this Koster's backyard? Leaving Koster out of the integrity line - BANG! Koster's corporate pig farm friends - ZING! Campaign donations - POW!

Friday, July 25, 2008

Grubb for the House


We can take back the House. It will require a lot of work, a little luck and a few great candidates like Dr. Beth Grubb.

The 122nd District is a swing district. Rep. Mike McGhee is the current occupant of the seat. He’s taking his money from the pro-school voucher folks. He received ZERO contributions to his campaign from any real, non-PAC contributors. Not one single person in the district donated to him in the last quarter. A recent blog story – “Mike McGhee Hates Teachers and Schools” – is very insightful. You can learn more about Beth and Mike’s voting record at Beth's web site.

Beth has her Ph.D in Public Policy from St. Louis University and an MBA and BS degree from CMSU. For twenty years, she has worked with children and adults with disabilities. Beth is currently the Executive Director of the Sunshine Center in Independence, MO. She is highly qualified to represent the citizens of the 122nd District, and to defeat the current GOP incumbent.

How about the 122nd and why can she win? Susan Montee won this district in 2006 by 52%. Ike Skelton won the district by 79%. The last Democratic candidate lost 45% to 55% - she didn’t even put up a race, raise money and was not well know in the district. Minimum wage won by 76%. Claire McCaskill lost the district by a mere 343 votes (Beth has almost that many relatives in the county). Beth’s family goes back generations. Her son played football in Odessa. She attends church there. Folks not only like her, they love her. Beth is working hard (she had a booth at the Methodist Farmer’s Market, according to the Odessa newspaper). She’s id’ing voters. She is the perfect out-state candidate.

Remember Steve Hodges from East Prairie – no one thought he could win in the Bootheel. Well, he’s now Representative Hodges. Beth Grubb is one of those candidates that makes you proud to be a Democrat and will be a great addition when we take back the majority

Clint Zweifel is NOT Matt Blunt

Wanna know what Democratic primary voters want to hear?

"I'm Clint Zweifel - and this is Matt Blunt.

We don't agree on anything. I'm running for Treasurer to fix the things Matt Blunt's broken."


Barb Shelly Hits Koster Out of the Park

Barb Shelly has always been one of my favorite writers with the Star. This piece on Koster is a great summary on Chris Koster's political career.

Is Koster ambitious for himself or for the people?
By BARBARA SHELLY
The Kansas City Star

Chris Koster is visible in Missouri these days as a lavishly financed Democrat vying for the party’s nomination in the attorney general’s race. But he started his political life as a prosecutor who managed to make a name for himself in the mostly rural environs of Cass County. Next he was a freshman Republican senator who spoke out in opposition to restraints on stem-cell research and immersed himself in the complexities of Medicaid fraud.

Koster gained a reputation as a talented legislator unafraid to take on the special interests and socially conservative core of his own party. But those credentials don’t win Republican primaries in Missouri, and Koster, from the start, had his sights set on being the state’s attorney general. He tried tacking to the right, sponsoring bills that would crack down hard on illegal immigrants and protect large hog-raising operations from regulation by county and city governments. But those efforts drew him deeper into a political wilderness.

Though neither made it into law, the immigration and hog-farm bills damaged his standing with people who’d seen him as a refreshingly moderate lawmaker in a conservative Republican delegation.

And his defense of stem-cell research had placed him permanently on the outs with groups like Missouri Right to Life, which often call the shots in Republican primaries. So Koster decided to remake himself. Last summer he announced his incarnation as a newly minted Democrat. “I think it’s been good for my internal soul,” he told a group of editorial writers a few months later.

But has it been good for his political career? Koster may have resolved his identity crisis in his own mind, but not in the public’s. Many Democrats, it turned out, liked him better and found him more useful when he was a maverick Republican.

His opponents in the Aug. 5 primary election, dyed-in-the-wool Democratic legislators Margaret Donnelly and Jeff Harris, point out Koster’s many votes that advanced Republican causes. At the top of the list are his support for cuts in Medicaid benefits and a photo ID requirement for voters. Koster’s oversized war chest — it easily tops $1 million — is an issue with Democrats who had sought to limit campaign contributions.

His money comes mostly from political party committees and political action committees set up to avoid limits on contributions from individuals. At least $100,000 is from Rex Sinquefield, a semiretired millionaire who favors eliminating the state income tax and offering tax credits to families who send their children to private and religious schools — causes supported more frequently by Republicans than Democrats.

The one constant in Koster’s political wanderings — prosecutor to lawmaker, Republican to Democrat, maverick to suspected imposter — has been his towering ambition. About this he is upfront. It’s “up or out,” Koster says. If he can’t ascend to statewide office, he’ll move on to a prosperous law practice. Ambition is the engine that powers all political careers. But it’s pertinent to ask what candidates are ambitious for.

Donnelly wants to use the attorney general’s post to continue her work of advocating for vulnerable populations and underserved groups. She is convincing when she says that office is the height of her ambition. Harris, the leader of the House Democrats, seems driven by a combination of personal ambitions, issues he wants to pursue and aspirations for his party. And Koster? Hard to tell.

He speaks passionately about certain issues, but he has not yet articulated that his ambition extends to a higher call beyond moving to the next rung on the political ladder. Perhaps that’s what happens when you spend too much time in the wilderness. You forget to talk about the mountaintop.

Barbara Shelly is a member of the Editorial Board. She can be reached at 816-234-4594 or at bshelly@kcstar.com. She blogs at voices.kansascity.com.

Kinder Now National Embarrassment

Kinder has always been Missouri's little embarrassment. Most people couldn't tell you who our Lt. Gov. is and only see Kinder doing silly little things like doing Matt Blunt's dirty work.

Well, that's all done now. Kinder's many mistakes have now made Daily KOs - one of the most read blogs in America. Daily KOs picked up on a story from Gone Mild. From employing perverts to hiring folks of questionable ethics from the Blunt email scandal, Kinder's ethical errors are now nationwide.

Here's hoping that Dr. Sam Page gets elected in November.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

AG Candidates on KCUR


The Democratic candidates for Missouri Attorney General will appear in a live debate on KCUR-FM's "Up To Date" show in Kansas City. The program is hosted by Kansas City Star political correspondent Steve Kraske.

Please tune in tomorrow at 11 AM to listen to Rep. Jeff Harris - the CCP's endorsed candidate - lay out his vision as Missouri's next Attorney General.

KCUR can be found at 89.3 FM, and their program is available streamed online at http://www.kcur.org/.

What: Attorney General Candidate Forum
Where: KCUR radio, 89.3 FM
When: 11 AM

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

CCP Endorsements



We screened 'em, we took questionnaires (and posted them on our web site) and we had a big open meeting and voted on them. These are the CCP endorsements that we are proudly supporting and voting for. Ain't democracy grand!

Kinder Plays Finance Games

Fired Up Missouri reports that Kinder has played some finance games of his own by setting up the Better Leadership for Missouri PAC to funnel donations.

Here's the deal, this is a classic Republican game. Do Democrats take donations from committees - yes. What we don't see is Democrats going out, setting up a committee and then running a pass through operation. That is what has been alleged against Koster and Kinder. The only thing missing from the Kinder story is an insider who testifies that they were the one trading checks.

Play by the rules, fellas. Just like we see Harris and Donnelly attacking Koster for not playing by the rules, expect Dr. Sam Page to hold Kinder accountable, too.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Barnes One of Top 10 Races Nationwide

I'm a lawyer, so I am prone to overstating my case. Kay Barnes, however, is running one of the top 10 campaigns in the nation. The #1 reason is that she is a wonderful person, a great candidate and has assembled a winning team.

The #2 reason is that most districts have been carved our to either be a safe Democratic seat or a safe Republican seat. There's just not that many places you can knock off an incumbent from either party. The 6th District is one of them. It was held by a Democratic for many years, it voted for Sen. Claire McCaskill, Auditor Susan Montee and for stem cell research. The district can and will vote for Mayor Kay Barnes.

Don't believe me, look at the recent ad buy from the House Democrats.

House Democratic Campaign Arm Broadens TV Buy

Moving quickly to capitalize on their massive financial advantage, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has reserved television time in nearly two dozen more House districts, bringing their total investment in competitive contests to $53 million.

The new buy encompasses 20 districts and comes ten days after the DCCC dropped an estimated $35 million on ad time in 31 House districts. (A full list of districts in the new DCCC buy is after the jump.)

It also comes on the heels of the latest fundraising figures that show the DCCC outraised the National Republican Congressional Committee $22 million to $15 million over the last three months and, more importantly, ended June with $55 million in the bank, $46.5 million more than the NRCC.

With such a massive fundraising edge, the DCCC is smartly moving to expand their target list into a series of Republican-leaning open seats and GOP incumbents representing marginal districts.

Of the 20 new districts, seven are open seats being vacated by Republicans including several strongly Republican southern seats (Alabama's 2nd district and Louisiana's 4th) where Democrats have recruited their strongest potential candidates and have the potential to pull an upset. In Alabama's 2nd the DCCC has reserved nearly $600,000 in ads while in Louisiana's 4th district the buy exceeds $700,000.

Eight districts currently held by Republican incumbents make the list including a trio of south Florida seats (Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Mario Diaz-Balart and Lincoln Diaz Balart) as well as several incumbents underperforming what should be safe seats -- New York Rep. Randy Kuhl and Idaho Rep. Bill Sali.

The remaining five districts in the buy are either held by freshman Democrats (Arizona's 8th, California's 11th, Illinois' 14th, and Mississippi's 1st) or are being vacated by a Democratic incumbent (Alabama's 5th district).

When examining all 51 districts in which the DCCC has so far reserved ad time, 34 of the districts (66 percent) are Republican held while the remaining 17 are controlled by Democrats.

Unlike elections past, however, House Democrats are focusing as much on incumbents as open seats. Of the 34 Republican seats, 17 are open while 17 are held by members. That speaks to the treacherous national environment in which the GOP currently finds itself with a far larger number of incumbents in jeopardy than previous elections.




* An ad buy of 1000 points means the average viewer will see the ad 10 times during a given week.

4 Dem Incumbents 8 GOP Incumbents 8 Open Seats

District - Incumbent - Early Buy Amt. - Early Buy Pts.

MO-06 - Graves (R) - $798,000 - 5,600 (multiple mkts.)

Coffman Proud of Endorsements


The CCP has endorsed Amy Coffman. This is a piece I got in the mail on Saturday. Even my friend Dan at Gone Mild will have to admit this is a professional looking piece. The CCP logo looks great along side the other progressive groups in KC.

Monday, July 21, 2008

Where's the Beef?



Koster says - The MEC said it was ok.

Harris' Press Release - Where's the Beef?

Harris Calls on Koster to Document Ethics Commission Approval of Campaign Fundraising Methods

Columbia - Dogged by repeated questions about his campaign's fundraising practices, Senator Chris Koster's campaign has repeatedly asserted that his campaign had been in consultation with the Missouri Ethics Commission. Koster spokesman Danny Kanner said, "The campaign committee has always acted in close consultation with the MEC at every juncture."1 Last week, news came that a member of the Ethics Commission, Michael Kilgore, plans to recuse himself from any discussions regarding the complaint filed earlier this week against Koster.2

Representative Jeff Harris' campaign today calls on Koster to release any correspondence his campaign has received from Ethics Commission staff which he believes approved of the methods his campaign used to raise money.

Additionally, Harris' campaign calls on Koster to release a copy of the first complaint that was filed against him in June. The Kansas City Star reported on July 11, that a complaint had been filed with the Ethics Commission in early June.3 According to the Star, the first complaint stated that Koster had engaged in "what can only be described as a laundering of campaign contributions."

To date, Koster's campaign has yet to release any details regarding that complaint even though Missouri law requires the Ethics Commission to provide Koster with a copy of any complaint filed against him, and unlike the Ethics Commission, Koster is not required to keep any complaint private.

"The questions raised in these news reports suggest lawbreaking by Chris Koster, who is a candidate to be Missouri's top attorney," said Harris campaign manager Christian Badger. "If the Ethics Commission did sign off on Koster's use of staff members to coordinate the funneling of massive contributions into his campaign, then he should clear his name by releasing any correspondence between his campaign and the Ethics Commission. Otherwise, Koster is impugning the integrity of the men and women at the Ethics Commission by suggesting that they signed off on his campaign fundraising schemes. The public has a right to know the charges Koster faces and to review the nature of these complaints."

An article by the Associated Press exposed the methods that Koster's campaign used, both in establishing a committee for the sole purpose of funneling money to his campaign and in using his staff to coordinate the flow of money from wealth, largely Republican donors into his campaign account.4

1 St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 8, 2008, http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/political-fix/political-fix/2008/07/mo-gop-jumps-into-the-fray-over-kosters-fundraising/

2 Kansas City Star, July 18, 2008, http://primebuzz.kcstar.com/?q=node/13115

3 Kansas City Star, July 11, 2008, http://www.kansascity.com/115/story/702011.html

4 Associated Press, July 8, 2008, http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080709/NEWS01/807090486

Friday, July 18, 2008

Viagra or Birth Control

Where did John "McBush" McCain's independent streak go?

Wheeler Can Throw a Party

MoScout is Missouri political insider's daily email. Dave Drebes does a really nice job of just keeping track of what is going on inside Missouri politics. Every Friday he sends a summary that can be shared. Today's MoScout Weekly Summary had this interesting tidbit.

Party of Five

They had mailed out 250 invitations. It was noticed on Prime Buzz. That’s how I heard about it. It was a St. Louis fundraiser for Charlie Wheeler’s State Treasurer bid. I figured I’d swing by, check out the crowd and the candidate.

It was scheduled to begin at 5:30, but often these things don’t get going right away. I arrived around 6:30. I’d never been to Andre’s Banquet Center before. As I pulled up I figured there was parking around the back I’d missed because there weren’t more than three or four cars in front. I opened the door to the eerie quietness of horror movie. Then I was shocked. I entered the banquet room and found Wheeler, his campaign manager Greg Lever, and third unknown friend that had traveled with Wheeler from Kansas City, and Rep. Vicki Schneider, who helped host of the event. And then there was me. Not one of the 250 invitees showed up. Instead I showed up. Someone they hadn’t invited. I’d planned to blend into the crowd, get a tid-bit or two. Stand in the back of the room, take a measure of this man Wheeler, see how he worked a room, how he delivered a stump speech.

Instead I was the center of attention. Would I like some food? There was an untouched buffet line. Would I like a drink? There was a bartender awaiting my order. Alas, I got some undivided time with the candidate who didn’t seem bothered at all by the, um, low turn-out.

Wheeler feels good about the way the race is shaping up, by the way.

Roe Can Muscle WSJ


I'm impressed, Jeff Roe can get articles placed in the Wall Street Journal for his paying clients.

Let's be honest, the WSJ is very conservative. When Roe got the WSJ to bad-mouth the Missouri Non-Partisan Court Plan, I knew he had influence. Roe's newest client, Sarah Steelman, got a great write up in the WSJ, too.

So bitter are House Minority Whip Roy Blunt and Sen. Kit Bond at Ms. Steelman's attack on their cherished spending beliefs that last month they rallied the entire Missouri congressional delegation to put out a public statement openly criticizing her campaign against six-term U.S. Rep. Kenny Hulshof. Joining them in their support of Mr. Hulshof has been the vast majority of the state Republican machine. Ms. Steelman is clearly doing something right.

Her sin is in fact to belong to that new mold of Republican – Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Sens. Tom Coburn and Jim DeMint – who know it's no longer enough to simply hawk lower taxes. In 10 years as a state legislator and treasurer, her target has been the slothful political favor factory that's led Republicans away from small-government principles and outraged conservative voters.

And, oh, the howls of misery. Ms. Steelman's Republican colleagues were livid with her attempt to strip them of comfy pensions, annoyed with her "sunshine law" requiring them to be more open in their dealings, furious at her attacks on their ethanol boondoggles, appalled that she criticized GOP state Speaker Rod Jetton for moonlighting as a paid political consultant. The final straw was her temerity to make her primary race about her opponent's Washington earmarking record.

For Mr. Blunt, this is also just a wee bit personal. His son, Matt, is the outgoing governor, and has been on the receiving end of a few Treasurer Steelman blasts. Last year she stopped payment on a $70,000 secret check his administration cut to settle a sexual harassment suit against an official. Her demand for transparency blew the case into the open, infuriating GOP colleagues.


In the Republican primary, any voter would love this kind of piece. Hate him or just hate him, Jeff Roe can get some great press for his clients.

The Smell Test


Kinda like the stench of a corporate pig farm, people start to move away from the smell. Here's an interesting article from the Post-Dispatch's web site about Democrats returning Koster's contributions.

Dem candidate returns Koster contribution
By Jo Mannies


Dr. Vernon (Doc) Harlan, a Democrat running for the 71st District state House seat in the Aug. 5 primary, says that he has returned a $300 donation to his campaign from state Sen. Chris Koster, D-Harrisonville and a St. Louis native who’s running for attorney general. Harlan cites “the recent revelation that aides to…Koster have been connected to laundering of political funds.”

Harlan was referring to reports, initially by the Associated Press’ David Lieb, that a Koster aide had delivered checks from an independent pro-Democrat campaign committee — the Economic Growth Council — to a representative for a legislative committee. That person then gave a donation from the legislative committee to the Koster aide.

Koster’s critics contend that action violated state campaign law, which bars donors from dictating to legislative committees which candidates get the money. (The Post-Dispatch ran a detailed story, days before Lieb’s account, about how the committee pass-through system works. We also reported that Koster had benefited the most, percentage-wise, from the practice.)

Koster says no illegal activity took place, and that he has regularly sought guidance from the Ethics Commission. Critics have filed complaints with the commission, which is expected to act after the primary. Commission officials have otherwise declined comment. In any case, Harlan says he “is also calling on other candidates to avoid any appearance of condoning or benefitting from unethical behavior by returning funds from Koster and his publically discredited Economic Growth Council.”

“I am deeply saddened by Mr. Koster’s decision to circumvent campaign laws by using the Economic Growth Council to access and control hundreds of thousands of laundered dollars,” Harlan said in a statement. “This is especially troubling when done by the man who aspires to be our state’s top justice official. Koster’s actions convey the message that the law is only for the rest of us, not for him and those he supports…”



Speaking of corporate pig farms (CAFO), CCP endorsed candidate Jeff Harris is the only AG candidate to address this important environmental issue (on the side of the environment, not the corporations). Here's a link to Harris' platform on this important environmental issue.

Bush's Legacy


President Bush leaves a legacy - trillion dollar debt, a never-ending war, corruption, a damaged Constitution, the Abramoff scandal. McCain seeks to continue on this legacy for a 3rd term. Some folks in San Fransisco want to honor that legacy.


US News: San Francisco to vote on naming sewage plant after President Bush
By DPA, Jul 18, 2008, 4:43 GMT


San Francisco - Activists in San Francisco have secured sufficient support to put on the November election ballot an initiative to rename a local sewage plant in 'honour' of President George W Bush.

The Bush critics succeeded in collecting more than 12,000 signatures for renaming the sewerage plant, and an election committee confirmed it, the San Francisco Chronicle said Thursday.

San Francisco voters are to give their approval to change the name of the Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant to the George W Bush Sewage Plant in November.

A Bush sewerage plant would 'prompt people to ask why,' organizer Brian McConnel, said. 'And they can discuss the Iraq war and everything that led to it.'

'People want to forget bad moments of history, and this is our way of making sure that doesn't happen,' he said.

McConnell and his helpers campaigned with loud, patriotic music and lots of US flags. They said they were determined to keep fighting for votes until November

The United States has statues, libraries, airports and streets named after former presidents. The satirically-named sewage plant memorial for Bush, who leaves office in January, stands good chances of success.

In 2006, 58 per cent of San Francisco voters supported a local initiative to impeach Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

BARNES: Kick Graves out With Bush


You couldn't buy this kind of press from the St. Joe News:


Democratic congressional candidate Kay Barnes came to St. Joseph Tuesday night with a set of directions for Republican officeholders: President Bush is headed for the door, and incumbent Rep. Sam Graves should go with him.

The challenger for the Missouri 6th District seat spoke to more than 40 local supporters at the opening of her St. Joseph campaign office.

A native of St. Joseph and graduate of Central High School, Ms. Barnes recited a list of economic ills — rising food and gas prices, increasing health care premiums, escalating unemployment numbers — as an indication of the nation gone astray.

She asked if Americans had better lives now than when Mr. Bush and Mr. Graves took office in 2001.

“I’m willing to bet that very few of us would be able to give a very resounding ‘yes’ or even a very weak ‘yes,’” she said.

She accused the Bush administration of presiding over years when record budget surpluses became record deficits, when pork-barrel projects doubled in number and when five million more illegal immigrants entered the United States.

The Democrat said the Iraq war cost the 6th District more than $1 billion.

“Just think what even a part of $1 billion could do ... to improve the lives of people in Northwest Missouri,” she said.

Ms. Barnes cited British statesman Winston Churchill’s assessment that Americans can be counted on to do the right thing ... “after they’ve tried everything else.” In this election, she said, voters are ready for a new direction.

“The good news is that Americans know how to make change when it is necessary,” she said. “We have to make the change in Northwest Missouri.”

Though most of her speech aimed at Republicans, Ms. Barnes has an opponent in the Aug. 5 Democratic primary, though Ali Allon Sherkat of Riverside, Mo., has done little campaigning.

Mr. Graves, unopposed in the primary, is seeking his fifth term in the U.S. House. Dave Browning of Oak Grove is the lone Libertarian in the race.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Sam Page Shows HUGE Dmeocratic Momentum


CCP endorsed candidate Sam Page is showing HUGE momentum. In the race for Lt. Governor, Sam reported that he raised large sums on money in his race against Peter Kinder. Here's the on-hand numbers:

Page - $560,000
Kinder - $573,000

If you are a state-wide incumbent and you can't raise large sums of money against a challenger, you are sucking wind. In fact, Kinder is blowing in the wind. What does this mean? It means that 1) Dr. Page is running a great campaign and 2) that contributors of all stripes understand this will be a great Democratic year.

The Lt. Governor is the tie-breaking vote in the Missouri senate. Having Dr. Sam Page in that chair will make all the difference.

The one thing we can agree on . . .

Got this press release emailed to me by the Bipartisan Coalition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 15, 2008

Marion Eisen 314-454-1371
Senator Scott Rupp 636-357-3600
Senator Maida Coleman 314-761-3288


Bipartisan Coalition files Ethics Complaint against Koster Laundering Scheme - Republicans and Democrats call for Quick and Thorough Investigation


ST. LOUIS - State Senators Scott Rupp (R-2) and Maida Coleman (D-8) joined today with former Assistant Attorney General Marion Eisen, a Democratic lawyer from St. Louis in filing an ethics complaint against Chris Koster's campaign for Attorney General. In an unprecedented move, the bipartisan complaint alleges that Chris Koster illegally coordinated the funneling of contributions in excess of campaign finance limits into his own campaign fund.

"Creating the Economic Growth Council, whose sole purpose was to redirect contributions in excess of the legal limits. First to legislative party committees and ultimately into his campaign violates the law" said Senator Scott Rupp.

"Candidates for Attorney General should be held to highest legal and ethical standard and the questions raised in last week's Associated Press report suggest that Mr. Koster violated the people's trust" said Senator Coleman.

"A thorough and timely investigation is warranted here so the people of Missouri know whether a candidate for the States top law enforcement position violated the law and cheated Missourians out of a fair primary election," added Marion Eisen.

The fundraising activities of Chris Koster's campaign have been the subject of recent media reports that detailed how a campaign staffer was involved in carrying out a scheme to make sure that returned "over the limit" contributions would find their way back into the Koster Attorney General campaign. According to those media reports, first reported by the Associated Press and David Lieb, Susan McNay, a senior staffer on the Koster campaign was directed to various locations across the state delivering checks from the newly created Economic Growth Council to legislative party committees, which in turn handed over checks to the Koster campaign.

"Koster claims he received guidance and the OK from the Missouri Ethics Commission every step of the way," said the coalition. "If that is true then there is no reason to deny a prompt response to our complaint, and thereby restore public confidence in this tainted election process," the coalition added.

In the complaint the coalition also calls on the Missouri Ethics Commission to freeze the use of the funds received by the Koster for Missouri campaign from the Economic Growth Council.

Monday, July 14, 2008

Koster Has Pending Ethics Complaint


The Koster ethics scandel continues to grow, including this revelation (an article in yesterday's Star by Kit Wagner) that an ethics complaint was filed LAST MONTH.

Ethics complaint filed last month against Koster mirrors this week's allegations of skirting contribution limits

Chris Koster’s campaign for attorney general is the target of an ethics complaint accusing him of engaging “in what can only be described as a laundering of campaign contributions.”

The complaint, filed early last month with the Missouri Ethics Commission, describes 55 transactions involving 42 political party fundraising committees that funneled nearly $475,000 to Koster in contributions that exceeded the legal limit on individual donations.

The complaint mirrors the news reports earlier this week in which a former Koster staff member said she ran over-the-limit contributions through political party fund-raising committees. The staffer said she sometimes created documents to make it appear that the donations were independent of Koster’s campaign.

Danny Kanner, a spokesman for Koster’s campaign, said all fund-raising was within the law and done in consultation with Ethics Commission staff. He said campaign officials expect the complaint to be dismissed and saw no need to file a formal response to the allegations.

“This is the system, whether we like it or not,” Kanner said. “Koster doesn’t like the system and that’s why he voted twice to reform it.”

The complaint, a copy of which was obtained by The Kansas City Star, lays out its accusations in an eight-page narrative that starts with the creation of a fund-raising committee called the Economic Growth Council.

The Economic Growth Council was formed last December by Chuck Hatfield, a close friend of Koster and former chief of staff to Attorney General Jay Nixon. The complaint calls it a sham committee formed to accept over-the-limit contributions, then distribute the money to a variety of political party committees, which then passed the money to Koster.

Political party committees are often used to bundle large contributions because they can give up to $13,450 to a candidate and contribute another $13,450 in in-kind services. Individual contributions to candidates are limited to a maximum of $1,350.

State law allows the formation of private fundraising committees as long as they are not controlled by a candidate and are not formed solely for the benefit of a particular candidate. Hatfield said Friday that he formed the committee to raise money for Democrats, including Koster. But he said he never requested or expected the party committees to give to a particular candidate.

However, campaign disclosure reports show that of the 43 political party committees that received money from the Economic Growth Council, 42 contributed to Koster. The only committee that did not give to Koster never reported receiving any money.

The complaint notes that within a few days of receiving the contribution from the Economic Growth Council, each party committee would skim about $300 for itself and pass the rest to Koster.

“With many of these committees, the only money received was from the Economic Growth Council and the only money donated was to Missourians for Koster,” the complaint said. In addition, 10 committees each wrote checks for $13,450 to LUC Media, Koster’s ad buyer.

“These donations must have been coordinated by Chris Koster… _ how else would the committees have known to donate to this particular advertising agency?” the complaint said.

Koster’s campaign, meanwhile, filed an amended campaign finance report with the Ethics Commission on Thursday. The report eliminated references to donations from 11 political party committees and attributed $94,150 in contributions to the 2nd Senatorial District Legislative Committee in St. Charles.

Kanner said the amended report was erroneous. The campaign intended only to remove contributions that were received after the March 31 and place them into the second-quarter report that will be due next week. He blamed internal accounting glitches for the errors and said a corrected version would be filed as soon as possible.

Poll shows Harris Ahead


I'm not a big believer in polls (Twain says there are three types of lies: lies, damn lies and statistics), but the St. Louis Post Dispatch shows Jeff Harris beating his 3 contenders (Koster, Donnelly and Korth-Williams) by 10 points. Check out the article. 25% of the potential voters are undecided.

Friday, July 11, 2008

Blunt Fears Talboy


According to Tony's KC, Gov. Matt Blunt was to do an entire portion of the Lou Dobb's show, only to back out to the last 4 minutes just so he would not have to face off against Rep. Mike Talboy (D - KC).

Gov. Blunt has never been good at conversations with the media - he always says what he thinks. Blunt was to talk about his strong stance on immigration and Rep. Talboy was going to expose him for the fake that he is.

Congrats to Mike for his strong stand on what is right and to Tony's KC for breaking this.

Glass Jaw

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Koster ducked out of the last scheduled forum between the three AG candidates. It was hosted by Gov. Bob Holden. Maybe Chris didn't want to have to explain to Holden why he campaigned for his opponent.

Any other ideas on why Koster backed out? His excuse was something came up on his calender. Anyone know where he was at?

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Harris Champions Sunshine Law

The CCP has proudly endorsed Rep. Jeff Harris for Attorney General. Jeff is a person of substance (check out his 5 point plan on strengthening the Sunshine Law) and character. Instead of of apologizing for votes with Gov. Matt Blunt, Jeff has been holding Gov. Blunt accountable for his destruction of emails in violation of Missouri's Sunshine law - exactly the same type of thing Jeff Harris will do when he is elected attorney general of the State of Missouri.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

"Koster Facts"


Here's the Koster press release on the continuing series of negative articles - its been a tough few days for Chris:

Dear Stephen,

This morning, you may be reading newspaper articles inaccurately characterizing our campaign’s fundraising practices. Because you are one of the thousands of supporters who make this campaign tick, we want you to have the facts before our political opponents try to distort them.

Here are the facts:

· This article seeks to create high drama where none exists.

· Our campaign has acted in constant consultation with the Missouri Ethics Commission. In 2000, the Commission ruled that candidates could raise money from the same committees for which they raised money. In 2004, the Commission ruled that it was irrelevant who delivered these contributions – whether it be the postman or a campaign aide. These opinions and the Commission staff have guided our actions throughout this campaign.

· The only relevant issue is the independence of the Economic Growth Council. The Economic Growth Council is an independent organization that can contribute all of the money they have and give it to our opponents, and there would be nothing the Koster campaign could do about it.

· Our campaign’s relationship with the Economic Growth Council is no different than Attorney General Jay Nixon’s relationship with the Missouri Democratic Party, or Congressman Kenny Hulshof’s relationship with the Missouri Republican Party. The simple fact is that Missourians for Koster does not control the Economic Growth Council any more than the gubernatorial candidates control their respective party committees.

· As news reports have pointed out, the use of district committees is common practice among statewide campaigns and has been explicitly authorized by the Ethics Commission.

· Any fair reading of the law and Ethics Commission opinions leads to the conclusion that our campaign has acted in a completely proper way. Our consistent consultation with Ethics Commission staff confirms that conclusion.


Your support is incredibly important to us, and we will not stand idly by while the politicians try to distort Chris’s record and his actions. Please feel free to contact the Koster campaign with any questions.

Sincerely,

Danny Kanner
Communications Director
Missourians for Koster

P.S. Here’s the story from the Kansas City Star if you haven’t seen it.


Fundraising by Koster called into question
By KIT WAGAR and JASON NOBLE
The Star’s Jefferson City correspondents

State Sen. Chris Koster’s campaign for attorney general found itself at the center of a storm Tuesday over allegations that his campaign used back-channel sources to skirt contribution limits. The Associated Press reported that a member of Koster’s campaign staff traveled throughout the state, funneling campaign contributions as large as nearly $27,000 from wealthy contributors and special interests into Koster’s campaign. State law currently limits individual contributions to a maximum of $1,350.

The Koster campaign denied its actions were inappropriate.

But Susan McNay — who no longer works for Koster’s campaign — told The Kansas City Star that her job was to run over-the-limit campaign contributions through political party fund-raising groups, which are allowed to donate nearly 10 times that individual contribution limit.

McNay said she created documents to justify the contributions and make it appear that the donations were independent of Koster’s campaign. “I trusted the candidate, even though I had questions about whether we were doing something that was not right,” McNay told the AP. “He assured me everything was fine, and now I have concerns that we broke the law.”

Koster was unavailable, but his campaign issued a statement calling the issue “an attempt at high drama where none exists.” The statement said all the campaign’s actions complied with the law and had been done in consultation with the Missouri Ethics Commission, which regulates campaign fundraising.

“As the article points out, use of (political party) committees is common practice among statewide campaigns and has been explicitly authorized by the Ethics Commission,” the Koster campaign said. Although party committees are widely used to funnel large contributions to candidates, the law requires the committees to make independent decisions about who will receive contributions.

The difference in this case is the degree to which Koster’s campaign was involved in those decisions. After the Missouri Supreme Court restored contribution limits last year, Koster was forced to refund about $370,000 to his supporters. On Dec. 18, the day after those refunds were issued, a fundraising committee was set up by Chuck Hatfield, a former chief of staff in the attorney general’s office who is a close friend of Koster’s, according to the AP.

Some 70 percent of the refunds that Koster’s campaign made were eventually donated to Hatfield’s committee, known as the Economic Growth Council. That included a $125,000 contribution from James Stowers, founder of the Stowers Institute for Medical Research in Kansas City.

A spokeswoman for Stowers on Tuesday acknowledged that he donated specifically to support Koster’s campaign. “When he made the contribution to the Economic Growth Council, he wasn’t in position to tell them what to do with it,” Laurie Roberts said. “They clearly gave us the impression it would be used to support Koster’s campaign.” By March 31, the council reported raising $493,825, nearly all of which eventually made its way to Koster, the AP reported.

This is the way it worked, according to the AP:

Koster’s campaign would direct contributors to send their refunds or other contributions to the Economic Growth Council. McNay then sent an e-mail on March 19 to Hatfield listing the amounts his group should give to 29 local political party committees. The Economic Growth Council wrote the checks to the political party committees. Each political party committee would then write checks to the Koster campaign, keeping a small amount for itself. McNay met with local committee directors to exchange checks.

McNay told The Kansas City Star that her assignment was to organize contributions to local political party committees, which would then give them to Koster’s campaign. McNay said she determined the amounts that Hatfield’s group would contribute to each of the political party committees she mentioned in her March 19 e-mail. It was simply part of her job.

Koster spokesman Danny Kanner said Tuesday nothing was wrong with such an exchange of checks because Hatfield made independent decisions to contribute to those party committees supporting Koster. If he had contributed to Koster’s opponents, Koster could do nothing about it, Kanner said. McNay also said that in several cases she used her computer at the Koster campaign to create a cover letter for the donations that included Hatfield’s name under an Economic Growth Council letterhead.

Koster told the AP that he was unaware that McNay used campaign equipment to create those documents. But McNay said she had informed Koster of her actions. Koster, a former Republican prosecutor from Cass County who switched to the Democratic Party last year, is one of three major candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for attorney general.

His opponents — state Reps. Margaret Donnelly of St. Louis County and Jeff Harris of Columbia — said the Koster campaigns actions went beyond routine bundling of contributions. “This story raises serious questions and demands a thorough investigation,” Donnelly said. Harris said, “There does seem to be a pattern of looking for shortcuts with him.”



Here's what I find shocking - just how quickly Koster's donors (Stowers, etc.) are bailing on him. McNay seems to have produced enough emails to cover her butt, now the donors seem to be doing a little CYA, as well.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

"Mo. AG candidate used staff to channel money "

Here's an eye-opening AP article

By DAVID A. LIEB
Associated Press Writer

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- They met at an Italian restaurant in southwest Missouri. A campaign aide for Democratic attorney general candidate Chris Koster and the treasurer for a local Democratic committee. The purpose: a check exchange.

Koster's aide handed the Democratic official a check from an innocuous-sounding group called the Economic Growth Council, along with a pair of letters she had created - one from the Economic Growth Council accompanying its money, the other from Koster's campaign soliciting money from the local political committee.

The letters were formalities. The Democratic official provided Koster's aide a pair of checks similar in size to the amount she had received.

Just like that, Koster's campaign channeled nearly $27,000 to itself - part of the roughly $450,000 from big-time donors that got routed around campaign contribution limits to Koster in a three-month period.

E-mail communications obtained by The Associated Press show Koster's campaign staff helped direct donors wishing to give more than the state limit to the Economic Growth Council, then coordinated the transfer of that money to local political party committees and onto Koster's campaign - a potential violation of an 8-year-old ruling against such orchestration.

The documents were provided to the AP by someone close to Koster's campaign on the condition of anonymity, because the person is not authorized to speak for the campaign.

Koster defends his fundraising tactics as legal - and similar to those being used by other major statewide candidates.

But it's unclear whether other campaign staffs have been so deeply involved in coordinating the money shuffling. A former Koster campaign aide now is concerned the tactics may have been illegal.

Officials at the Missouri Ethics Commission are reluctant to say publicly whether fundraising scenarios such as Koster's violate campaign finance laws, in case they later are asked to make a ruling.

But "that's getting awfully close," said former Ethics Commission executive director Bob Connor, who remains on staff at the commission. "That could come before the commission if somebody thought it was improper."

The Ethics Commission historically has granted candidates considerable leeway. For example, regulators have said candidates can both raise money for other political committees and solicit contributions from those committees.

But in a 2000 opinion that remains in effect today, the Missouri Ethics Commission said candidates cannot request that contributions be made to other political committees "with the express purpose of passing those contributions through the committee to the candidate."

Koster said his actions are within the bounds of that decision.

"I strongly believe - because we have acted in consultation with the law, the rulings and on the advise of the ethics commission - that we are in line with campaign finance laws," Koster said in an interview at his Jefferson City campaign headquarters.

Koster is facing state Reps. Margaret Donnelly and Jeff Harris in the Aug. 5 Democratic attorney general primary. The winner may no longer have to worry about campaign contribution limits, because a bill pending before Gov. Matt Blunt would repeal them effective Aug. 28.

A state senator and former Cass County prosecutor, Koster is a prolific fundraiser who switched from the Republican to Democratic party shortly before he announced his attorney general's candidacy in fall 2007.

Like other statewide candidates, Koster reaped five- and six-figure contributions while Missouri's donation limits were temporarily lifted during the first half of 2007. After the Missouri Supreme Court reinstated the limits, Koster joined other statewide candidates in refunding all donations above the retroactively reinstated maximum of $1,275.

For Koster, that meant returning about $370,000. His refunds checks were dated Dec. 17. The next day, the Economic Growth Council was created with the Ethics Commission by Chuck Hatfield, a former top aide to Democratic Attorney General Jay Nixon. Koster had befriended Hatfield in law school and later served as the best man in Hatfield's wedding.

Hatfield said the creation of the Economic Growth Council was his own idea.

About 70 percent of Koster's Christmastime refunds were re-donated to the Economic Growth Council, including $125,000 from stem-cell research supporter James Stowers and $17,450 from Ameristar casinos. The point man for both donors was lobbyist Jorgen Schlemeier.

So why give to Hatfield's committee?

"The treasurer at the Economic Growth Council made a very clear statement that we're founded to help Chris Koster out," Schlemeier said.

Through the first three months of 2008, the council reported receiving $493,825 from various donors, nearly all of which was routed to Koster.

The council directly gave Koster the maximum $1,350. Much of the rest made its way to Koster by first passing through local political party committees, which can give almost 20 times the amount toward candidates as individuals, businesses and interest groups.

On March 19, then-Koster campaign staffer Susan McNay sent en e-mail to Hatfield with the names of 29 local political committees and the amounts of money each was to receive from the Economic Growth Council. Hatfield responded that he would write the checks.

McNay, who has since left Koster's campaign, said Koster asked her to deliver the Economic Growth Council checks to the local political party committees so that she could exchange them for contributions to Koster's campaign. In several cases, McNay acknowledged, she also used her Koster campaign computer to create a memo bearing Hatfield's name on Economic Growth Council letterhead that accompanied the checks to the political committees.

Koster said he was unaware McNay used campaign equipment to create Economic Growth Council documents, though McNay said she had informed Koster of what she was doing.

In essence, McNay was working for the Economic Growth Council - driving thousands of miles around the state as a check courier - while being paid by Koster's campaign.

"I trusted the candidate, even though I had questions about whether we were doing something that was not right," McNay said. "He assured me everything was fine, and now I have concerns that we broke the law."

On March 25, for example, McNay met Shelby County Clerk Tracy Smith outside a northern Missouri courthouse to hand over a $2,550 check to the 18th Senatorial District Democratic Committee of which Smith is treasurer. In exchange, McNay received a $2,350 check to Koster's campaign.

The next day, about 330 miles to the southwest, McNay met Jasper County Democratic Chairwoman Susan DeCarlo at an Italian restaurant in Joplin. It was the second time she had delivered a $13,750 check for the 129th Legislative District Democratic Committee of which DeCarlo is treasurer. McNay left the restaurant with a pair of $13,450 checks - one a direct contribution to Koster, the other an indirect contribution made payable to Koster's advertising buyer, LUC Media of Marietta, Ga.

Koster contends other campaigns also routinely use staffers to shuttle and flip checks through political committees, though he cited no one specifically by name. Hatfield also defended it as legal, adding: "This level of coordination with campaigns is not unusual."

Koster pointed to a July 2004 Ethics Commission decision rejecting a complaint alleging Democratic Gov. Bob Holden had violated campaign finance laws. In that case, a volunteer for Holden had delivered a check from the Missouri Democratic Party to a local political committee, which then gave her a check for Holden.

Perhaps the most comparable situation to Koster's is that of Republican gubernatorial candidate Sarah Steelman. Two wholesome-sounding committees - Power to the People and the Committee for Common Sense Values - contributed more than $120,000 during the first three months of the year to various local political party committees, which passed the money onto Steelman.

But Steelman spokesman Spence Jackson said he is unaware of anyone on Steelman's campaign staff personally delivering and picking up the checks.

Nixon, a Democrat, and Republican Kenny Hulshof both also have received dollars that flowed from their state party committees through local political committees to their gubernatorial campaigns. But spokesmen for Nixon and Hulshof both denied campaign staff ever had been involved in shuffling those checks from one committee to the next.

The problem with some of the rich ...

... is that many of them just aren't very bright -- and aren't secure enough to hire help bright enough to disagree with them. Inherited wealth relies on a gene pool that is often hit or miss -- and often breeds for height, not brains. (Yes, I know, there are some important exceptions!) And the self-made -- guys like Buffet aside -- often just benefited from an economy growing at such a rate that showing up for work in a two-thousand dollar suit passed for genius, and managing to get a good haircut qualified you to manage a billion or two. Management pay was divorced from actual corporate success -- Romney got rich cutting jobs, and we won't even mention Sprint -- so you could be a rich & successful CEO while your company failed and your employees headed for the breadline.

So, here's my Fannie Mae story:

While the Fed was lowering interest rates to the point that you could borrow it cheaper than you could print it in your basement, lots of folks of modest income were buying investment rental property. (Remember those seminars on how you could be a millionaire without using any of your own money?) Lots of it was in less fashionable neighborhoods, but qualified for Section 8 subsidy.

Then the market collapsed, jobs were lost, and those who could not sell were foreclosed upon. Including property that was fully occupied and getting rent.

When Fannie Mae forclosed on such properties, it evicted every tenent! (That was its uniform and unalterable policy -- per its St. Louis attorney who was paid to do it.) Of course, that meant no income to Fannie Mae from the rent. But that was not the worst part.

Oddly enough, unoccupied & abandoned housing seems to deteriorate quickly, especially in the less fashionable areas of the City. Within a week or two, it is stripped of everything valuable: fixtures, pipes, wiring, windows, flooring. Its potential resale value drops into negative numbers as it goes from unoccupied to unoccupiable. It becomes a blight that lowers the value of every other house in the neighborhood.

Oh, and it is absolutely worthless to Fannie Mae, which is bleeding money.

Repeat 500 times in KC and 50,000 time nationwide.

So how stupid do you have to be to think this is a good plan? And what do the guys who are running Fannie Mae get paid? And how lucky are they not to live in Red China, where this level of mismanagement means they take you out and shoot you in the back of the head?

Monday, July 7, 2008

"Candidates skirt donation limits"



The St. Louis Post Dispatch had a story on Sunday about candidates skirting donation limits via campaign committees. The article spent a considerable amount of time on one candidate, Chris Koster.

The pass-through system has been particularly helpful to one Democrat running for attorney general, state Sen. Chris Koster of Harrisonville. Of the $833,534 that Koster raised between Oct. 1 and March 31, 81 percent came from campaign committees.

The article goes on to detail who is funding these committees. Some of the most active contributors are wealthy individuals who seek to advance their causes: Rex Sinquefield, a semi-retired financier who seeks an end to Missouri's income tax and supports tax breaks for people who send their children to private or parochial schools. Rex Sinquefield wants vouchers to take kids out of public schools and put them into private schools and is willing to set up 100 PACS to fund candidates who support his vision of education in Missouri. The Post reports that Sinquefield, through his 100 PACS, gave Koster almost $300,000.

There is a 3 way primary for attorney general within the Democratic party. Koster's opponents wasted no time capitalizing on the Post article. You can see the ad above by CCP Endorsed candidate, Rep. Jeff Harris. Harris has put the much rumored Ashcroft/Koster ad on the air. Rep. Margaret Donnelly sent out this fundraising appeal:

Today the Republican attempt to buy our Democratic primary will begin in earnest in Kansas City and St. Louis. Koster and his expensive team will try to pull the wool over the eyes of voters. He will use his ads to avoid answering for his horrible record by saying that he is above politics. We must remind voters that it isn’t politics to ask him to be accountable for his record, it’s common sense. You don’t get “do-over’s” in politics, especially when we are talking about people’s lives.

. . .

The St. Louis Post Dispatch recently published an article that details how Koster has raised a staggering 81% of his campaign war chest from special legislative committees. What they don’t tell you is that Koster and his Republican allies like Rex Sinquefield are using these committees to funnel money in an attempt to buy the Democratic primary for Attorney General.


"Buy the Democratic primary!?!" The outcome of this race will be telling, because insiders in both major parties are asking that same question.

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Koster Falsely Claims "Unanimous" Support

Large groups of thinking people rarely achieve unanimous agreement on anything - a fact we at the CCP are well aware of. That's why we were surprised when we received an email last week from the Koster campaign, claiming that "the unanimous support of Missouri’s law enforcement community for our candidacy was solidified when the St. Louis Police Officers’ Association endorsed me."

Why would the Koster campaign tell such an obvious lie, merely 5 weeks before the Democratic primary? A quick peak over at the website of our favorite candidate, Jeff Harris, reveals a huge list of important endorsements, including a great group of over 20 from the law enforcement community.

We are more proud than ever that we chose to endorse Jeff Harris, a real Democrat who tells the truth.