There have been a few changes in the 2016 Attorney General race.

Former Cass County Prosecutor Teresa Hensley (D) [2012 file photo].

Today former Cass County Prosecutor Teresa Hensley (D) announced her candidacy for Attorney General in 2016:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 30, 2015

[….]

FMR. PROSECUTOR TERESA HENSLEY ANNOUNCES CANDIDACY FOR MISSOURI ATTORNEY GENERAL

Kansas City, MO – Today Democrat Teresa Hensley announced that she is starting her campaign to become Missouri’s next Attorney General.

“As a former prosecutor, I saw the pain and the devastation families experience when they’re the victims of violent crime. I saw parents who lost children to drunk drivers, and children who lost their innocence to abuse. But I also saw the power of justice in action. I saw people begin to put their lives back together after justice was served in a court of law,” said Hensley “That’s why I’m running. I have a unique understanding of the power and importance of the Office of the Attorney General. As the state’s top prosecutor, I will seek justice with honesty and integrity for Missouri’s families.”

Shortly after her announcement, Missouri State Senator Scott Sifton and former candidate for Attorney General offered his endorsement, “Teresa Hensley has the prosecutor experience we need in our next Attorney General. Her experience as a prosecutor far exceeds that of the other candidates in the field.”

Hensley stated she looked forward to continuing and expanding the Attorney General Office’s strong tradition of defending victims’ rights and protecting consumers against fraud. She was recognized for that work as Cass County Prosecutor and plans to continue it at the state level. Hensley will also prioritize protection of senior citizens from financial scams, and work with community leaders to create safer, more secure communities for Missouri families.

“As a prosecutor, I want an Attorney General who understands the rights of victims and has the experience of seeking justice,” said Jennifer Joyce, Circuit Attorney for the City of St. Louis, “That’s why I’m supporting Teresa Hensley to become the chief law enforcement officer for Missouri.”

Said Hensley, “I look forward to traveling the state, hearing from voters from all over, and working to win their support.”

# # #

About Teresa Hensley

Teresa Hensley has devoted her career to fighting for justice, the rights of victims, and protecting those most vulnerable in our communities. These qualities and experience make her ideally suited to become Missouri’s next Attorney General.

Hensley is a life-long Missourian. She began kindergarten at Raymore Elementary and remained at Raymore-Peculiar High School until graduating in 1977. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from William Jewell College and her Juris Doctorate from the University of Missouri Kansas City Law School.

Hensley was appointed to the position of Cass County Prosecutor in January of 2005; she was elected to the position in November of 2006 and again in 2010 for a four-year term that began January 2011. Hensley received the 2010 Missouri Attorney General’s Justice Award for Domestic Violence Prevention. She participated as prosecutor in the Child Abuse Response Team, the Fire Investigation Team, and the DWI Task Force. In 2014, she was selected by the Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys (MAPA) to serve as Chair of the Missouri DWI and Traffic Safety Best Practices Committee.

Hensley remains active in the day-to-day life of the community. She served as a Raymore Alderman, Raymore Planning and Zoning Board member, and as a member of the Missouri Child Abuse and Neglect Review Board, as well as a board member of Hope Haven. She is currently a member of the Bel-Ray Sunrise Lions Club, the Harrisonville Rotary Club, the Harrisonville Business and Professional Women, and Beta Sigma Phi of Lake Winnebago.

Hensley is a family law mediator. She taught social studies at Leavenworth Public Schools in the Alternative Program and criminal law at William Jewell College. Before becoming Cass County Prosecutor in 2005, she was a partner and practicing attorney for fourteen years with the Hensley Law Firm in Raymore with her husband, Kenny.

She grew up in Raymore, Missouri, where her parents and family still reside. She opened a law office with her husband Kenny Hensley in 1991 in Raymore and was there until she became Prosecutor in 2005. Kenny and Teresa were married in 1979 and have one son, Frank, who lives in Los Angeles with his wife Heather.

Working people!

Today at the Missouri Ethics Commisson for the probable Democratic Party candidate for governor in 2016:

C031159 07/29/2015 KOSTER FOR MISSOURI United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, AFL-CIO, CLC 1775 K Street NW Washington DC 20006 7/29/2015 $25,000.00

[emphasis added]

Oh, there is a difference.

Previously:

Campaign Finance: Working People! (May 11, 2015)

Campaign Finance: it’s been too quiet… (May 21, 2015)

Campaign Finance: again with the working people (May 29, 2015)

Campaign Finance: not a surprise, considering the alternative (June 3, 2015)

Campaign Finance: in someone’s corner June 4, 2015)

Reason enough (June 4, 2015)

Salus populi suprema lex esto (June 5, 2015)

Campaign Finance: they know which side (June 9, 2015)

Campaign Finance: Mr. Smith goes to Jefferson City? (June 12, 2015)

Campaign Finance: to your health (June 17, 2015)

Campaign Finance: to the end of the quarter…and beyond (June 18, 2015)

Campaign Finance: more from working people (June 22, 2015)

Campaign Finance: Bam! (June 24, 2015)

Campaign Finance: running for Governor, may run for Governor, probably running for Governor (June 25, 2015)

Campaign Finance: Is this the start of the end of the quarter rush? (June 30, 2015)

Campaign Finance: inexorable (July 7, 2015)

Campaign Finance: I’ll see your managed care and raise you a home health service… (July 14, 2015)

Chris Koster (D) – July 2015 Campaign Finance Report (July 18, 2015)

Campaign Finance: no surprise here (July 21, 2015)

Or, maybe, “branching in” would be more accurate.

Today at the Missouri Ethics Commission for Eric Greitens’ (r) 2016 exploratory gubernatorial campaign:

C151053 07/29/2015 GREITENS FOR MISSOURI Leonard’s S&S, Inc. 4035 S. Fremont Springfield MO 65804 7/29/2015 $5,001.00

C151053 07/29/2015 GREITENS FOR MISSOURI Sarah Steelman 901 Pine Street Rolla MO 65401 Missouri University of Science and Technology Professor 7/29/2015 $5,100.00

C151053 07/29/2015 GREITENS FOR MISSOURI William Darr 2951 S. White Oak Dr. Springfield MO 65809 ADF Inc. Vice Chairman 7/29/2015 $10,000.00

[emphasis added]

Fancy that, they’re all from in-state.

The Sarah Steelman?

Previously:

Campaign Finance: There is another? (February 25, 2015)

Campaign Finance: a little bit more (February 26, 2015)

Campaign Finance: A new bandwagon? (March 6, 2015)

Campaign Finance: but wait, there’s more (March 10, 2015)

Campaign Finance: that’ll help finance a whole lot of exploring (March 12, 2015)

Campaign Finance: it’s going to be a good quarter (March 16, 2015)

Campaign Finance: still exploring (March 17, 2015)

Campaign Finance: gone quiet (March 21, 2015)

Campaign Finance: not quiet at all (March 25, 2015)

Campaign Finance: eat mor chikin (March 26, 2015)

The stenographer: Ah, for the good old days… (March 28, 2015)

Campaign Finance: in under the wire (April 1, 2015)

Campaign Finance: all in today (April 9, 2015)

Campaign Finance: far afield (April 13, 2015)

Eric Greitens (r) – quarterly campaign finance report – April 15, 2015 (April 18, 2015)

Campaign Finance: not to be outdone (April 21, 2015)

Campaign Finance: not exactly spare change (April 23, 2015)

Campaign Finance: also in increments of $5,001.00 (April 23, 2015)

Campaign Finance: That’s Entertainment! (April 27, 2015)

Campaign Finance: still more (May 2, 2015)

Campaign Finance: just another harbinger of a populist awakening in Missouri (May 5, 2015)

Campaign Finance: You were expecting anything less? (May 19, 2015)

Campaign Finance: still exploring (June 6, 2015)

Campaign Finance: running for Governor, may run for Governor, exploring a run for Governor (June 13, 2015)

Campaign Finance: alrighty then (June 16, 2015)

Campaign Finance: we’d venture to say that’s a lot of capital (June 23, 2015)

Campaign Finance: pretty soon you’re talkin’ serious money (June 24, 2015)

Campaign Finance: you don’t need to play chess when you have friends like this (June 25, 2015)

Campaign Finance: fast approaching that first million (June 26, 2015)

Campaign Finance: getting closer… (June 26, 2015)

Campaign Finance: ever so close… (June 29, 2015)

Campaign Finance: blow right by it (June 30, 2015)

Campaign Finance: there is no end to it (July 1, 2015)

Campaign Finance: also inexorable (July 11, 2015)

Campaign Finance: a talent for raising money (July 13, 2015)

Eric Greitens (r) – July 2015 Quarterly Campaign Finance Report (July 15, 2015)

Campaign Finance: it’s getting boring… (July 20, 2015)

Campaign Finance: Who’s buying the beer? (July 24, 2015)

Remember former state representative Cynthia Davis? Slightly nutty and seriously dim denizen of the lands on the far right shores of dominionist Christian extremism? Now that she no longer has a legislative outlet, she shares her very special political views by means of an internet talk show. Via the Turner Report, we  now have her considered opinion about why same-sex couples want to get married, and, trust me, it has nothing to do with any rationale for same-sex marriage that we’ve ever heard before.

No, same-sex marriage is, according to Davis, a ruse to “drain” the Social Security fund. Seems she “was doing research” on the Social Security Administration Website and found that now that same-sex marriage is legal, gay and lesbian partners are eligible for Social Security and Social Security Disability benefits in the same way that married heterosexual couples are. And, goosed by mental incoherence, revelation suddenly blazed forth:

So there you have it. The purpose of changing the definition of marriage was intended to drain the Social Security fund more quickly. When we allow people who are not actually married to receive marital benefits, the end result is that people will “get married” based upon what kind of monetary bonus is available.

It works the other way as well. When people discover they can extract more money from being in a divorced status, they divorce.

This is fraud. Yet, you can’t blame the people for being smart. The blame lies squarely at the feet of the Congress who are charged with the duty of controlling their own created bureaucracies.

How could anyone ever think fornication is promotable or merits financial reward? If the Supreme Court jurists, who are supposed to be legally brilliant, are that blind, what can we expect out of our normal citizens?

The part about folks who are “not actually married” must, I think, refer to a statement on the Webpage that indicates benefits may be available to a surviving partner in a non-marital, legal same sex relationship. This refers to state-recognized civil unions and domestic partnerships. These categories of relationship were devised precisely in order to make the legal system fairer for committed same-sex couples without offending folks like Davis who wanted to keep “marriage” exclusively for heterosexuals. At any rate, the provision now makes even more sense since these are folks who would have been married if they had not been denied their constitutional rights.

The provision for divorced spouses is of fairly long standing and is designed to take care of women or men who stayed at  home and provided support for their spouses during their marriages, only to be left with no or minimal Social Security earnings after their divorces. They may, if they wish, calculate their social security income based on their spouses’ work record and receive the equivalent of 50% of what their spouses would receive. Seems only fair to me.

Although Davis might not like extending benefits to same-sex couples – or to anyone – it’s hard to figure where the “fraud”  that has her all riled up can be found. Perhaps she should have done a little more research or asked someone capable of parsing English – and following links on the Social Security Webpages – to explain how these benefits work.

It is a mystery how she  managed to construe anything in the text she cites as promoting “fornication.” There have been people who fornicate for money since the beginning of recorded history, but I don’t think that fact has anything to do with same-sex marriage or the rules for paying out Social Security benefits. Perhaps it’s Davis whose mind is just a little too much “dans la boue,” as one of my French teachers used to say when she heard ideas or language that struck her as crude.

As for draining social security, don’t you think it might have occurred to Davis that these same-sex partners have been paying into the Social Security fund just like the rest of us, but haven’t been able to tap into the same range of benefits? Is it possible that Davis likes having a class of individuals denied the same rights as others for strictly financial reasons?  

Just for funsies, Davis might also think about what would happen if all same-sex marriage partners were magically to become straight overnight. After she yelled “hallelujah,” would she start worrying about the Social Security fund? Wouldn’t these new heterosexuals likely “drain” just as much from the fund through the opposite-sex marriages they might contract?

Perhaps Davis thinks that marriage itself is designed to drain the Social Security fund? Which would explain why she has claimed in the past that marriage is the cure for poverty. It must be all that Social Security fraud that is enriching married heterosexuals.

 

A release from Governor Nixon’s office:

Gov. Nixon sets Nov. 3 as date for special elections to fill House seats for 29th District, 36th District and 89th District

July 28, 2015

Jefferson City, MO

Gov. Jay Nixon has set Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015, as the date for special elections to fill vacant House seats in the 29th District, the 36th District and the 89th District.

The seat in the 29th District, located in Jackson County, became vacant after state Rep. Noel Torpey resigned. The seat in the 36th District, located in Kansas City, became vacant after state Rep. Kevin McManus resigned due to his election to the City Council of Kansas City. The seat in the 89th District, located in St. Louis County, became vacant when state Rep. John Diehl Jr. resigned.

These are currently the only vacant seats in the General Assembly.

…we’ll be talkin’ some serious money.

Today at the Missouri Ethics Commission for Peter Kinder’s (r) 2016 gubernatorial campaign:

C091145 07/28/2015 FRIENDS OF PETER KINDER Norman Harty PO Box 188 Dexter MO 63841 Gideon Health Center, Inc. Executive 7/27/2015 $25,000.00

[emphasis added]

Previously:

Okay, this is really funny in a schadenfreude kind of way (August 18, 2011)

Kinder losing brownie points with major donor (August 19, 2011)

Campaign Finance: somebody’s still raising big bucks for 2012 (August 23, 2011)

Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder (r): the republican cult of the victim (August 29, 2011)

Peter the Tweeter has a Tantrum (July 8, 2012)

It’s hard to get by on $86,484.00* a year (February 19, 2015)

Campaign Finance: Peter who? (May 6, 2015)

Campaign Finance: What’s up with that? (May 29, 2015)

Campaign Finance: running for Governor, may run for Governor, exploring a run for Governor (June 13, 2015)

Campaign Finance: running for Governor, may run for Governor, probably running for Governor (June 25, 2015)

Campaign Finance: in the past this might have been impressive (July 1, 2015)

Campaign Finance: wild card (July 6, 2015)

Peter Kinder (r) announces for the 2016 gubernatorial race (July 12, 2015)

Peter Kinder (r) – July 2015 Campaign Finance Report (July 17, 2015)

Spotted on a vehicle:

The twenty-seven percent won’t get it.

Displayed from the back of a pickup truck:

Celebrating what?

The Problem: Eric Boehlert at Media Matters sums it up:

This act is getting tired.

In recent years, conservative activists, under the guise of renegade journalism, have been churning out undercover “sting” videos supposedly capturing reprehensible behavior by their mostly liberal targets. Those targets have included low-level workers at ACORN, a fundraiser at National Public Radio, and now officials at Planned Parenthood, among others.

The activists release a series of videos in an effort to build a big takedown story, and the press usually plays along. Meanwhile, activists coordinate with right-wing media players and members of Congress to generate simultaneous outrage over the clips.

The problem for the activists, and the problem for journalists who excitedly treat the clips as news, is that the videos invariably turn out to be doctored, filled with deceptive edits, and missing context in an effort to manufacture scandal.

The whole cycle has become a media cliché, but it’s one that conservative partisans cheer. And they’re cheering again this month as the Center for Medical Progress releases edited clips to claim Planned Parenthood officials have been caught discussing how the organization “sells the body parts of aborted fetuses” and “haggling” over prices for “baby parts.”

The Evidence: Both Planned Parenthood videos have been edited in order to offer a false narrative. If you want the details, take a look at one or more of the following sources: Media Matters, or FactCheck.org. Media Matters also links to and summarizes the responses of the media outlets that have pushed back against the dishonest videos.

The Experiment: So what do members of Missouri’s congressional delegation have to say about the situation? I searched their Webpages looking for formal statements on the topic. This is what I found on the pages of those who had prepared statements available:

From Rep. Vicky Hartzler’s (R-4) press release:

Last week and this morning, new videos were released detailing how Planned Parenthood harvests and sells the body parts of aborted children.  For decades Planned Parenthood employees have tried to diminish the humanity of the unborn by belittling them to blobs of tissue. […] This is human life we’re talking about.  We cannot stand by while aborted baby parts are being sold for profit [Emphasis added].

Rep. From Ann Wagner’s (R-2) press release:

[…] I rise today to express my continued outrage at now two abhorrent videos that have been released in the last week, in which two of Planned Parenthood’s senior doctors describe the process by which they and their coworkers kill unborn children and harvest their organs for sale. […] Yet here we stand on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, to discuss whether the sale of human body parts harvested from aborted children violates basic human dignity and perhaps even the law. [Emphasis added]

From Rep. Jason Smith’s (R-8) press release:

This week, Congressman Jason Smith cosponsored two bills to block all federal funding for Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers. The action comes after two disturbing videos were made public showing Planned Parenthood executives discussing selling body parts of unborn babies, potentially in violation of federal law.  […] Smith went on to say,  “I have never wavered from my firm belief that life is precious and must be protected. Americans deserve a full-scale investigation into Planned Parenthood’s immoral, potentially criminal conduct. Taxpayer money should be spent on taxpayer priorities, not unethical, unaccountable, unreasonable actions.  I will continue to fight against Planned Parenthood and its affiliates until they shift their priorities and work to protect the miracle of life.” [Emphasis added]

From Rep. Sam Grave’s (R-6) press release:

… after the two gut-wrenching videos of Planned Parenthood executives discussing their tactics were released, it is clear that the organization is much more radical than we ever could have thought,” Rep. Graves continued. “The fight against Planned Parenthood and its affiliates will continue until they show they can respect the lives of all people – born or unborn.[Emphasis added]

Conclusions:

1. Nobody at Planned Parenthood is “selling baby parts.”  

2. Our Republican representatives, who have the same access to the evidence discrediting the videos that we all do, are blatantly lying every time they repeat their catchphrase “selling baby parts” or use other provocative language to gin up misplaced outrage.

3. Since “baby parts” are not being “harvested” for sale, they must justify congressional hearings based either on either or both of the following:  (a) they don’t like the way that doctors talk about their everyday work, or (b) they disapprove of abortion – which, last I heard is still legal, a status that is supported by a large number of Americans.

4. Fetal tissue from abortions is being utilized to help find cures (pdf) for disease. Thank fetal tissue research for polio, rubella and varicella vaccines. It is also being used to explore cures for such diseases as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, Down’s Syndrome, SIDs, and heart disease.

5. Missouri’s congressional Republicans have so little real respect for the “unborn human life” they endlessly carry on about that they are willing to have it incinerated along with garbage rather than being utilized to save actual living “born” people.

Future Actions: First, Don’t let these liars waste legislative time and taxpayer dollars on another big propaganda circus that is clearly calculated to help provide immunity for an attack on women’s reproductive health during an election year. Second, if hearing go ahead, make sure they are as discredited as the videos that inspired them. Third, hold our Missouri politicians, the folks we sent to Washington, accountable for their lies.

Edited slightly post-publication, content added in last paragraph.

   

We don’t hear so much about the Tea Party these days, but it’s had a good run in Missouri, dominating the political narrative for a few years and managing to elect a slew of John Birch Society retreads who have joined forces with the rest of the GOP to work their backwards magic in Jefferson City. Although I would argue that many if not most of the Tea Party adherents were a bit confused about just what they stood for apart from the resentment occasioned by the first black president, some did talk the talk when it came to big banks and big money corruption in government. As recently as the last election, Virginia’s Tea Partying David Brat was able to defeat incipient GOP congressional star Eric Cantor in part by harping on big banks and the bailout.

Missouri’s Tea Party also vented about banks and bailouts. Nevertheless, when it came to selecting their representatives, Tea Partiers sent Wall Street’s dream team to Washington, Rep. Ann Wagner (R-2) and Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-3). Both are charter members of what the Center for Public Integrity has dubbed the “Banking Caucus.” According to Alison Fitzgerald writing in Slate:

The group has been central to efforts […] to undo many of the financial reforms enacted in the Dodd-Frank law of 2010. At least 30 bills have been proposed to the House during the 113th Congress, aimed at chipping away at aspects of Dodd-Frank. Members of the banking caucus sponsored or co-sponsored 20 of those laws, […]

Wagner has done an especially enthusiastic job for Wall Street – most recently she got so worked up over a proposed Department of Labor rule that would require financial advisers to put their client’s welfare before their own bottom line that she proclaimed at a meeting of brokers and financial advisers that “we are at war.” And she quickly jumped into battle, introducing a bill, the Retail Investor Protection Act, to take the rule-writing ability away from the Labor Department and give it to the more easily swayed (by Wall Street) SEC.

In return, Wagner has been well paid by banking giants like Goldman Sachs, Oppenheimer Funds and big insurance trade groups. Between 2011 when Wagner was first elected to office and 2014, she took in $776,511 from the financial industry. I’m willing to bet that when you add in this year’s take, well over a million dollars of the reported $1.88 million] she now has in the bank come from similar sources, making her the “most prolific money-raiser” among the members of Missouri’s congressional delegation.

Luetkemeyer, for his part, hasn’t been a slouch. Not only does he carry water for Wall Street, he’s a go-to guy for the sleazy payday lending industry. His Clear Relief Act, has been characterized as a “sweeping deregulation bill for community banks.”He has also proposed several bills intended to chip away at the power of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Elizabeth Warren’s brain-child, which was created under Dodd-Frank to protect consumers from the worst depredations of the financial industry. For these Herculean efforts he reaped $788,181 from the financial industry between 2010 and 2014.

While Wagner and Luetkemeyer are working hard for Wall Street, they clearly aren’t working for everyday Missourians or any of the millions of Americans hit hard by the financial crisis of 2008 – unequivocally the result of the type of wholesale deregulation our dynamic duo are now peddling. Nor do their priorities seem to line up with the rhetoric of the Tea Partiers who helped elect them.

Jeff Spross suggests that the solution to this seeming contradiction may lie in the relatively privileged status of many Tea Partiers:

Much of the American right’s understanding of economics and its relationship to government is characterized by a lack of desperation. The idea that questions of security or starvation, dignity or destitution, could trump the abstract principles of “how capitalism works,” is just absent. The Tea Party arguably views Wall Street not as manipulative overlords, but as competitors in the sport of capitalism. Richer and more powerful competitors, obviously. But competitors still. And while they don’t want their competitors getting unfairly bailed out by the referees, they don’t want the game to be changed, either.

It is for less fortunate and less privileged Americans that the game itself is the problem.

Essentially, crony capitalism doesn’t mean the same thing to Tea Partiers that it means to you and me. As David Weigel has observed, “the Tea Party, after all, is not wholly set against the GOP’s business class. It’s just the latest populist movement funded and fueled by the Big Business.”  He implies that the Tea Party has functioned as an unwitting front:

[…] What’s the business-friendly label that’s going to be more potent than the Tea Party? Every successful movement of economic conservatives has been led in public by the non-rich, from the anti-tax farms of the 1920s to the property-tax-hating suburbanites in the 1970s to the “family farmers” who are, we’re told, the real victims of the estate tax. How do you make Rove-ism or Goldman Sachs-ism as popular as the Tea Party is, even now?