Attorney General and probable 2016 gubernatorial candidate Chris Koster (D) is doing well with campaign contributions. It’s not quite chess playing territory, but it’s still good. Today at the Missouri Ethics Commission:

C031159 01/31/2015 MISSOURIANS FOR KOSTER James B Nutter Sr 1201 W. 66th Street Kansas City MO 64113 James B. Nutter & Company Mortgage Banker 1/29/2015 $10,000.00

C031159 01/31/2015 MISSOURIANS FOR KOSTER UAW V CAP 8000 E. Jefferson Avenue Detroit MI 48214 1/29/2015 $50,000.00

[emphasis added]

The alternatives will do this.

Previously:

Sorting it all out (January 12, 2015)

Campaign Finance: the giant chess piece in the room (January 15, 2015)

Tom Schweich (r) versus Catherine Hanaway (r) in 2016 (January 28, 2015)

Campaign Finance: kings to pawn $361,506.00, check (January 29, 2015)

Campaign Finance: trickle in (January 31, 2015)

Campaign Finance: keeping up with the Schweichs (r) and Hanaways (r) (January 31, 2015)

The Stenographer: ignoring the obvious (January 31, 2015)

It’s been a while.

In the universe of political stenography you can ignore a candidate’s behavior because it’s not quite as outrageous as that of someone else.

Yesterday, at the Kansas City Star:

Steve Kraske: The money in politics is out of control

By STEVE KRASKE

The Kansas City Star 01/30/2015 5:19 PM 01/30/2015 5:30 PM

….On Thursday, Republican Tom Schweich kicked off his campaign for Missouri governor attacking what he considers the whacked-out money culture in Jeff City.

“You can’t get anything else done until you clean up the corruption,” he said.

Voters, for sure, are weary of all the talk of big money gobbling up government. They think the whole game is rigged. They’ve disengaged.

It feels like the system is coming unhinged. Government isn’t just for sale, folks. It’s been sold, and folks like Rex Sinquefield have the receipts.

[emphasis added]

On that same day State Auditor Tom Schweich’s (r) gubernatorial campaign committee took in over $360,000.00 from twenty-eight individuals and entities. There was one campaign contribution of $50,000.00 from one individual and a total of $75,000.00 in two separate contributions from one couple. All of those twenty-eight contributions were over $5,000.00 and were required to be reported within forty-eight hours.

Tom Schweich (r) ain’t exactly the poster child for campaign finance reform and single source fundraising restraint.

You think that would be worth a mention?

Previously:

Sorting it all out (January 12, 2015)

Campaign Finance: the giant chess piece in the room (January 15, 2015)

Tom Schweich (r) versus Catherine Hanaway (r) in 2016 (January 28, 2015)

Campaign Finance: kings to pawn $361,506.00, check (January 29, 2015)

Campaign Finance: trickle in (January 31, 2015)

Campaign Finance: keeping up with the Schweichs (r) and Hanaways (r) (January 31, 2015)

Ah yes, the 2016 race for Governor.

Yesterday at the Missouri Ethics Commission:

C031159 01/30/2015 MISSOURIANS FOR KOSTER Sheet Metal Workers Local 36 Political Education Account 2319 Chouteau Avenue Suite 100 Saint Louis MO 63103 1/28/2015 $10,000.00

C031159 01/30/2015 MISSOURIANS FOR KOSTER Ironworkers Political Education Fund 1750 New York Avenue, NW Suite 400 Washington DC 20006 1/28/2015 $10,000.00

C031159 01/30/2015 MISSOURIANS FOR KOSTER Red-Card Systems, LLC 7700 Bonhomme Avenue Suite 200 Saint Louis MO 63105 1/28/2015 $25,000.00

[emphasis added]

Attorney General Koster (D) is no slouch in the campaign fundraising department.

Previously:

Sorting it all out (January 12, 2015)

Campaign Finance: the giant chess piece in the room (January 15, 2015)

Tom Schweich (r) versus Catherine Hanaway (r) in 2016 (January 28, 2015)

Campaign Finance: kings to pawn $361,506.00, check (January 29, 2015)

Campaign Finance: trickle in (January 31, 2015)

Yesterday at the Missouri Ethics Commission:

C111150 01/30/2015 FRIENDS OF TOM SCHWEICH Rodger Riney 1156 Highland Pointe Dr. Saint Louis MO 63131 Scottrade Financial Services Inc. Broker 1/30/2015 $10,000.00

[emphasis added]

There will not be a shortage of money for State Auditor Tom Schweich’s (r) 2016 republican gubernatorial primary campaign.

Previously:

Campaign Finance: kings to pawn $361,506.00, check (January 29, 2015)

Tom Schweich (r) versus Catherine Hanaway (r) in 2016 (January 28, 2015)

Campaign Finance: the giant chess piece in the room (January 15, 2015)

Last night Rachel Maddow enthused about Claire McCaskill as a presidential candidate if Hillary Clinton decided not to run. It’s likely that Maddow was taking what she believes to be a pragmatic stance that credits the general nattering about how the United States has become a “center right” nation:

…  if I had to pick one Democrat who I thought could definitely win a race for president, it would be you. That’s in part because you’re considerably more conservative than I am, but I think you could win if you ever wanted to run. Anyway, I’ll just leave it there.

Maddow clearly thinks McCaskill is a woman of intelligence and integrity, and I get the feeling that she regards what she calls McCaskill’s conservatism as relative. I’m not sure. I’m as pragmatic as the next person. I not only voted for McCaskill, but made phone calls for her campaign. She was the candidate my Democratic party gave me and she was that much better than the alternative –  both times. But I still can’t see where Maddow derives her sunny view of McCaskill’s hypothetical presidential prospects.

I can see McCaskill’s attractive points. She’s relatively smart, keeps her head down when it’s politic to do so, and knows when to raise her colors so as to attract the attention of apolitical Missouri centrists who like to think that governing is all a matter of “common sense.” She’s really good at looking for the path of least resistance, even if she just as often fails to find it.

But do I think she could manage to get elected president? I can’t help remembering that it took an opponent like Todd “Legitimate Rape” Akin to send her back to congress a second time. I’m not sure she’ll make it in 2016 next time barring the type of miracle that a popular Democratic presidential candidate’s coattails might bring off. So, in case you haven’t guessed, the answer is emphatically no.

And the reason why  is that while the opposition serves up hard-core rot-gut, McCaskill seems to be constitutionally incapable of giving us a shot of the hard stuff more than every now and then. In today’s political climate, watered-down spirits won’t cut it even when we’re getting it from a tough bar-tender. She has too obviously capitulated to the pressure of what her chosen candidate, Hillary Clinton, has dubbed the rightwing noise machine, the volume of which was ratcheted up considerably with the election of our first African-American president. That is not what leaders do.

McCaskill often takes up worthy issues, financial oversight, for instance, and she occasionally stands up for a risky issue like abortion rights, but she just as often stops short of going all the way if it involves anything controversial – witness the way she temporized in her approach to rape in the military where she carefully avoided antagonizing the knee-jerk supporters of military authority. She preaches about fiscal responsibility, campaigned against earmarks and supported purchases of more of the outdated EA-18G Growler aircraft than the Pentagon wanted in order to satisfy its Missouri-based manufacturers. Good for Missouri, bad for the spending she’s been so hot to cap, and just a little hypocritical for somebody who campaigned vociferously against stacking up pork back home.

There’s nothing too unusual in such a record; it fits the general profile of regional politicians. But there’s nothing there that suggests leader of the free world either. Political pragmatism is acceptable only when it serves a coherent political vision. I’m not sure what McCaskill’s vision actually is apart from not making waves and fussing about some admittedly not unimportant details, but details nonetheless.

So, sorry, Rachel Maddow. I’ll vote to send McCaskill back to the Senate in 2016 2018 as long as there’s not a better alternative, but would I vote for her in a presidential primary? Would many other Missourians? I hope we never have to find out.



*Edited slightly for clarity.

Senator Claire McCaskill (D) asked an existential question via Twitter yesterday:

Claire McCaskill ‏@clairecmc

Question? Who is bigger threat to America? The dreamers? Or ISIS? 12:30 PM – 29 Jan 2015

Senator Claire McCaskill (D) [file photo – 2012].

A sampling of some of the answers:

michael t. ‏@mikevember

@clairecmc Corrupt Politicians are the biggest threat, the scum of the earth runs this nation. #BoughtCongress 2:32 PM – 29 Jan 2015

If you’ve been following general polling on opinions about Congress that sentiment shouldn’t surprise you.

Ed Smith ‏@esmith326

@clairecmc I’ll take C) #ClimateChange, as the Pentagon calls it a threat multiplier creating political instability worldwide. 12:34 PM – 29 Jan 2015

But, but, in the spirit of comity and bipartisan compromise we really shouldn’t go there. If we talk about this it could upset the know-nothing lunatic fringe. We need to always respectfully consider their feelings and sincerely held beliefs.

Justice for all! ‏@msdtweeter

@clairecmc ISIS is a bunch of guys riding in Jeeps (furnished by the US) 8,000 miles away. Why do I have to pay for an expensive war? 12:36 PM – 29 Jan 2015

There is that.

Ross Freeman ‏@cape_townie

“@clairecmc: Question? Who is bigger threat to America? The dreamers? Or ISIS?” Very dumbed down question for a complex issue, Senator 12:37 PM – 29 Jan 2015

In modern America anything is apt to be dissected in 140 characters or less. It’s what passes for serious discourse these days.

Caryn Rose ‏@carynrose

@clairecmc my uterus, based on the way some republicans behave 12:39 PM – 29 Jan 2015

Bam!

PS ‏@Pie324

@clairecmc the Saint Louis police 12:40 PM – 29 Jan 2015

Ouch.

RandyV ‏@Randy_VTEC

@clairecmc the gov. 12:40 PM – 29 Jan 2015

We can thank Ronald Raygun for that.

newnie ‏@newnie

@clairecmc Nice false dichotomy. Racist, Bigots, corrupt government leaders who bend to the will of the ultra-rich are all bigger threats. 12:57 PM – 29 Jan 2015

It’s the system we have. Look! Over there! A shiny bauble…

Dave Warren ‏@SjlWarren

@clairecmc None of the above. YOU are. 1:19 PM – 29 Jan 2015

Again, thank you, Ronald Raygun.

Danny Nero ‏@danero

@clairecmc What ever possessed you to vote for that disaster-waiting-to-happen XL Pipeline?! You’re in very bad company! 4:10 PM – 29 Jan 2015

Yeah, there is that, too.

Previously:

Claire McCaskill’s doomed love affair with Keystone XL (January 29, 2015)

Gee, you announce you’re running for Governor in 2016 and suddenly, people with money become your friends.

Catherine Hanaway (r) will be issuing a press release in three, two, one….

Today at the Missouri Ethics Commission:

C111150 01/29/2015 FRIENDS OF TOM SCHWEICH Peter Goldschmidt 705 Hobbs Rd Jefferson City MO 65109 Capital City Property Management Owner 1/27/2015 $5,100.00

C111150 01/29/2015 FRIENDS OF TOM SCHWEICH Kevin Childress 1001 W 57th St Kansas City MO 64113 My Freight World Technologies CEO 1/27/2015 $5,001.00

C111150 01/29/2015 FRIENDS OF TOM SCHWEICH Steven Trulaske Sr 7700 Forsyth Blvd Suite 1220 St Louis MO 63105 True Manufacturing Co Owner 1/28/2015 $50,000.00

C111150 01/29/2015 FRIENDS OF TOM SCHWEICH Jesse Bodine 50 Creekwood Lane Ladue MO 63124 Retired 1/28/2015 $25,000.00

C111150 01/29/2015 FRIENDS OF TOM SCHWEICH Rosalie OReilly Wooten 2831 S Ingram Mill Rd Springfield MO 65804 Retired 1/28/2015 $25,000.00

C111150 01/29/2015 FRIENDS OF TOM SCHWEICH Barnett Helzberg Jr 4520 Main Street Suite 1050 Kansas City MO 64111 Retired 1/28/2015 $20,000.00

C111150 01/29/2015 FRIENDS OF TOM SCHWEICH Roger Miller 8025 Maryland Ave Saint Louis MO 63105 Gateway Packaging Chairman 1/28/2015 $15,000.00

C111150 01/29/2015 FRIENDS OF TOM SCHWEICH John Danforth 911 Tirrill Farms Rd Ladue MO 63124 Bryan Cave Partner 1/28/2015 $10,000.00

C111150 01/29/2015 FRIENDS OF TOM SCHWEICH Mark Eggert 7700 Forsyth Blvd St Louis MO 63105 Centene Corp Executive Vice President 1/28/2015 $10,000.00

C111150 01/29/2015 FRIENDS OF TOM SCHWEICH Friends of Thomas Long 5101 S Palisades Battlefield MO 65619 1/28/2015 $10,000.00

C111150 01/29/2015 FRIENDS OF TOM SCHWEICH Jerry Sumners Sr PO Box 604 Aurora MO 65605 Service Vending Corp CEO 1/28/2015 $10,000.00

C111150 01/29/2015 FRIENDS OF TOM SCHWEICH William Maritz 10 Sunningdale Drive Ladue MO 63124 Maritz Inc Chairman & CEO 1/28/2015 $7,500.00

C111150 01/29/2015 FRIENDS OF TOM SCHWEICH John Qualy 13 East Brentmoor Park St Louis MO 63105 Retired 1/28/2015 $7,500.00

C111150 01/29/2015 FRIENDS OF TOM SCHWEICH Donn Sorensen 155 Carondelet Plaza Unit 302 Clayton MO 63105 Mercy President 1/28/2015 $6,000.00

C111150 01/29/2015 FRIENDS OF TOM SCHWEICH Schmitt LLC 127 Regency Park O Fallon IL 62269 1/28/2015 $5,100.00

C111150 01/29/2015 FRIENDS OF TOM SCHWEICH Patrick Finneran 51 Beacon Crest Newman GA 30265 Accelerated Performance Solutions President 1/28/2015 $5,100.00

C111150 01/29/2015 FRIENDS OF TOM SCHWEICH H E Whitener 11764 N Farm Road 177 Fair Grove MO 65648 Trailiner Corp CEO 1/28/2015 $5,100.00

C111150 01/29/2015 FRIENDS OF TOM SCHWEICH Joe Delong III 301 Dix Road Jefferson City MO 65109 DeLong’s Inc. President 1/28/2015 $5,100.00

C111150 01/29/2015 FRIENDS OF TOM SCHWEICH George Walker III 19 Portland Place St Louis MO 63108 Stifel Nicolaus Chairman Emeritus 1/28/2015 $5,010.00

C111150 01/29/2015 FRIENDS OF TOM SCHWEICH Integrity Home Care 2960 N Eastgate Ave Springfield MO 65803 1/28/2015 $5,001.00

C111150 01/29/2015 FRIENDS OF TOM SCHWEICH Penn Enterprises Inc. 5260 S Stonehaven Dr Springfield MO 65809 1/28/2015 $5,001.00

C111150 01/29/2015 FRIENDS OF TOM SCHWEICH William Darr PO Box 4087 Springfield MO 65808 American Dehydrated Foods Vice Chairman 1/28/2015 $5,001.00

C111150 01/29/2015 FRIENDS OF TOM SCHWEICH Fredna Mahaffey 3720 E Eaglescliffe Dr Springfield MO 65809 Retired 1/28/2015 $5,000.01

C111150 01/29/2015 FRIENDS OF TOM SCHWEICH Peter Herschend 538 Oak Bluff Road Branson MO 65616 Herschend Family Entertainment Co-Founder 1/29/2015 $25,000.00

C111150 01/29/2015 FRIENDS OF TOM SCHWEICH Larry Petersen 5276 S Stirling Way Springfield MO 65809 Ozark Anesthesia Association Physician 1/29/2015 $5,001.00

C111150 01/29/2015 FRIENDS OF TOM SCHWEICH Marilyn Fox 7701 Forsyth Boulevard Suite 600 St Louis MO 63105 Community Volunteer 1/29/2015 $37,500.00

C111150 01/29/2015 FRIENDS OF TOM SCHWEICH Sam Fox 7701 Forsyth Boulevard Suite 600 St Louis MO 63105 Harbour Group Founder 1/29/2015 $37,500.00

C111150 01/29/2015 FRIENDS OF TOM SCHWEICH David Grossman 403 Hawthorne Ave Saint Louis MO 63119 Grossman Iron & Steel President 1/29/2015 $10,000.00

[emphasis added]

That’s a total of $361,506.00.

They’ve already determined what you are, now they’re just haggling over the price.

Previously:

Tom Schweich (r) versus Catherine Hanaway (r) in 2016 (January 28, 2015)

Campaign Finance: the giant chess piece in the room (January 15, 2015)

Today Claire McCaskill did it. She voted with all Senate Republicans and nine Senate Democrats to pass the House’s Keystone XL authorization. Of course, nine Democrats won’t be enough to override a presidential veto, so maybe she was hoping to get some red Missouri love without having to make anyone pay too big a price.

That line of thought might, though, give McCaskill too much credit. Even most Republicans have to know in their secret hearts that as far as jobs go Keystone XL is very small potatoes indeed. As Steve Benen writes today:

As for the substance, let’s recap our discussion from a few weeks ago, noting just how straightforward the case against Keystone is. At issue is a proposal to build a pipeline to transport oil, extracted from tar sands, from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. Critics have said the tar-sands process is environmentally hazardous, which is true. They’ve said the project would have no real impact on already low gas prices, which is also true. And they’ve said Keystone would be largely meaningless to the U.S. unemployment rate, which, once again, is completely true.

And on the other side of the aisle, Republicans have an equally straightforward rejoinder: they really, really, really like this project. Why? Because they really, really, really do

And for some reason, McCaskill, the only Democrat I’ve got representing me in Congress, seems to share the GOP infatuation with the pipeline. She seems to really, really, really like it too. Even pertinent reminders of the problems that plague oil pipelines, events like this month’s disastrous spill into Montana’s Yellowstone River, fail to sway her infatuation with the project – and if you think such spills are rare events, take a look at this list of hundreds of such spills in the United States in the last 14 years alone. And no, engineers can’t really make credible promises to do better. As a USGS engineer observed apropos the problem of protecting pipelines routed beneath rivers, “it’s nature […]. Is it going to follow the equation? I don’t know for sure.”

So does this mean that McCaskill, who seems uber-cautious when it comes to politics, is inclined to be reckless when in the throes of fossil-fuel passion? There must be some explanation for McCaskill thowing her constituents under the bus. And don’t let anyone fool you. The answer can’t be jobs. The Keystone impact will be so small that Chuck Todd and some of his fellow NBC news staff members, deride the entire effort as laughably “small ball politics.”

Steve Benen has a persuasive take on why Republicans keep batting that diminishingly small ball back and forth:

Rather, Keystone has become a totem of sorts. Its actual value has been rendered meaningless, replaced with post-policy symbolic value that ignores pesky details like facts and evidence. Indeed, the more Democrats and environmentalists tell Republicans this is a bad idea, the more Republicans convince themselves this is The Most Important Project In The World. It’s ideologically satisfying.

Taking this one step further, my suspicion is that GOP officials find all of these circumstances quite convenient. Republicans don’t have a jobs agenda, or much an economic vision in general, but they have a Keystone bill that those rascally Democrats won’t accept.

And when pressed for an explanation on why congressional Republicans aren’t working on economic development, they immediately turn to their talking point of choice: “Keystone! Keystone! Keystone!”

So that explains why Republicans are doing what they are doing. It’s just another Benghazi in a long list of Benghazis, symbolically loaded tags that come in handy when you’re asked why you and your political allies can’t do anything worthwhile.

But this still leaves us with the question of Senator McCaskill and her Democratic allies. Surely, their goals aren’t to provide cover for GOP ne’er-do-wells. Surely, they can’t think that siding with idiots who are running for cover will provide them with the same type of cover. Haven’t they noticed the President’s spiking approval numbers now that he’s showing a tendency to stand up for a progressive agenda? Isn’t that proof that there are still people out there who reward leaders who can act the part?

Previously:

HB 732: steak and sea bass (January 28, 2015)

HR 380, HR 476, HR 923: once more, into the abyss (April 30, 2014)

Impeaching Nixon? (November 17, 2013)

We see what you did there.

The social media frenzy over that House committee hearing dinner with lobbyists in a country club must have been upsetting.

Representative Nick Marshall (r) in Jefferson City on the floor of the House. [file photo]

A bill, introduced today by Representative Nick Marshall (r):

FIRST REGULAR SESSION

HOUSE BILL NO. 744 [pdf]

98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE MARSHALL.

1601L.01I D. ADAM CRUMBLISS, Chief Clerk

AN ACT

To amend chapter 37, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to entrances to certain state offices, with penalty provisions.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:

Section A. Chapter 37, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto one new section, to be known as section 37.860, to read as follows:

37.860. 1. The commissioner of the office of administration shall install, operate,

and maintain an audio and visual recording of the main entrance to the official offices in the capitol building of the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the house of representatives, and president pro tempore of the senate. The recording shall be broadcast live on the internet and shall be archived for no less than seventy-five years. The method of archiving the recording shall allow for reproduction of specific time frames of video upon request.

2. The commissioner shall develop a request form to reproduce video, which shall be made available online and in print form. The actual cost of reproduction may be charged to the person requesting the video, but in no case shall such charge exceed ten dollars per hour of recording or parts of thereof. The cost of installing, oerating, and maintaining the audio and visual recordings required under this section shall be borne by and paid out of any funds appropriated to the office of administration.

3. Upon taking office, the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the house, and president pro tem shall inform the commissioner of the location of the main entrance to their respective offices, which shall only be changed during each term in office upon application and approval of the commissioner.

4. No registered lobbyist as defined in section 105.470 shall enter or exit the office of governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the house, or president pro tem except by the main entrance specified to the commissioner.

5. No registered lobbyist as defined in section 105.470 shall discuss any bill, law, contract, or bid for contract with the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the house, or president pro tem unless such discussion takes place in such elected official’s official office in the capitol building.

6. Any willful violation of this section by a registered lobbyist as defined in section 105.470 shall be a class A misdemeanor. Any willful violation of this section by the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the house, or president pro tem shall be cause for removal from office.

[emphasis in original]

Gee, the penalty is kind of impeachy.

Interestingly, there’s nothing in this about legislative committee hearings being recorded and streamed on the Internets (live!).

Did our good friends at Progress Missouri lobby Representative Marshall (r) for an exception to protect their current primacy in live streaming off campus legislative standing committee hearings? Inquiring minds want to know.

“….No registered lobbyist as defined in section 105.470 shall discuss any bill, law, contract, or bid for contract with the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the house, or president pro tem unless such discussion takes place in such elected official’s official office in the capitol building…..”

Well, to be fair and consistent then, the same thing should apply to all members of the General Assembly.

No free soup for anyone.

Today:

State Auditor Tom Schweich (r): Hiya, Tom Schweich here. I’m very excited to announce to my, uh, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media friends that I’m going to be announcing that I’m running for governor. I’m gonna do it a little later this afternoon. But, I want you all to know first. We’re gonna be talking about rooting out corruption in Jefferson City, we’re gonna be talking about improving our education for all people of Missouri, and also about improving our economic climate in the state. So, I look forward to seeing you on the campaign trail. I just want to let you know first. Thanks.

Meanwhile:

Tony Wyche ‏@tonywyche

Shorter Catherine Hanaway statement: “Why couldn’t you just let me have this by myself.” #MOGov 4:11 PM – 28 Jan 2015

Michael Bersin ‏@MBersin

@tonywyche Shorter Catherine Hanaway statement: “Why couldn’t you just let Rex have this by himself.” #MOGov | Fixed it for you. 5:57 PM – 28 Jan 2015

Pass the popcorn.