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Democrats are limping toward the Trumpocalypse

17 Saturday Dec 2016

Posted by willykay in Uncategorized

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

Claire McCaskill, Donald Trump, Election 2016, Emanuel Cleaver, Joe Donnelly, missouri, politics

Missouri Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-5) was pretty emphatic that he isn’t planning to “attend any meeting in any hotel or elsewhere to plot the failure of the President-elect.” The reference, of course, is to the infamous meeting that took place shortly after the inauguration of Barack Obama wherein congressional GOPers laid out the plan for the eight years of obstruction that followed. Some other wannabe high-minded types, so-called “centrist” Democrats, however, do seem to have gotten together in order to coordinate the rhetoric they’ll use to explain why, like Cleaver, they’re going to roll over and play nice whenever they can in the four years ahead.

Missouri’s Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill replied to a letter I wrote her asking that she support an independent investigation into Russian tampering with the last election by informing me that, “no matter who wins or loses, elected officials have an obligation to serve all constituents, not just their supporters.” She added that she is proud of her “record of working across the aisle to help all Missourians.” Fast upon the heels of McCaskill’s response, I heard Senator Joe Donnelly (D-Indiana) claim in an interview with NPR’s Audie Cornish that his “job isn’t to represent the Democrat Party or the Republican Party. It’s to represent Hoosier families.”

Do you see why I think there’s some coordination? Same message, slightly different words, intended to let these timid souls off the hook. Because these two responsible adults have taken the moral high road they can condescend to childish democratic voters and, at the same time, fiddle while Trump puts the match to Rome.

There are, however, two misleading claims packed into their rhetorical stance:

(1) The voters have spoken, but was Trump the message?:

  • Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by nearly 3 million votes – the largest margin ever by which a candidate has won the popular vote but lost the electoral college. Trump’s electoral college win in the three states that put him over the edge was razor thin, less than 80,000 votes in all three states together.
  • The legitimacy of the election is questionable given the covert actions of Russia, directed by Putin, and confirmed by both the CIA and FBI, to aid Trump. If Trump or his campaign entourage were complicit in the Russian meddling – which may be the case – they were guilty of treason and he is unfit to hold the office of President.
  • There was clear-cut evidence of voter suppression in crucial swing states.

(2) The preferences of Trump voters should be honored because he won the election and Democrats should try to cooperate with Republicans:

  • These Democrats were presumably elected by folks who knew their party affiliation, which means they were elected because they stand for certain values and principles that they are expected to embody in their legislative demeanor.
  • These principles are not compatible with the idea of bipartisanship when the other party is as ruthless, ideologically rigid, and as corrupt as the Republican party has shown itself to be. High-minded ideals are useless when the other guys come armed with brass knuckles and shivs, determined to protect and extend their territory.
  • Many of the folks who were energized by Trump’s explicitly nationalist and white supremacist messages were overt racists and covert racist sympathizers – folks who were driven into a frenzy by America’s first black president. Should these voices be honored?
  • Other Trump supporters are folks who were misled by Trump’s populist rhetoric – which is already belied by the elitist wrecking crew he is assembling around him. Isn’t deference to a president who won by lying abut his intentions a bad thing?
  • Trump and his cabinet mafia are promising to destroy vitally important institutions – Medicare, Social Security, Obamacare, public schools – the list goes and on and on – and will ultimately hurt every one of us, including many Trump voters. Will bipartisanship in these cases really help everyday families? Have our so-very-nice Democrats ever heard of Neville Chamberlain and the Munich Pact?

An article about Obama’s weak response to RussiaGate at Slate Magazine has the subtitle “he [i.e. Obama] has his dignity and his faith in civic norms. Republicans have the government.” The same could be said abut the weak response to the Trumpocalypse on the part of several centrist Democrats.They’ll stand by their one-sided principles and we’ll pay the price. They don’t seem to realize that the rules of the game, civic and political norms, if  you will, were broken over the past eight years and all the king’s men and all the king’s horses can’t put them back together again.

There are Democrats who are rising to the challenge, calling for an independent investigations of RussiaGate, or readying challenges to Trump’s mostly insane cabinet picks. Elizabeth Warren and  few others have filed a bill that would force Trump to “disclose and divest” businesses that represent conflicts of interest. Legitimate and consistent opposition that focuses on true abuses should not excite the scruples of our more easily intimidated Democrats – if they really mean what they say about representing the needs of their constituents.

Which is why Missouri Democrats need to know if Claire McCaskill will stand up for them, or if she intends to continue busying herself with minor bean-counting issues, good in their way, inoffensive, but in the face of our current challenges, almost irrelevant. If she prefers to confine her activities to avenues that don’t rile the short-fused Trump supporters, and goes AWOL when she is most needed, perhaps she should have to depend on Trump supporters come next election.

Of course, that would require Missouri Democrats to be as hard-headed as Missouri Trump supporters – when Republican Rep. Ann Wagner turned up her too-nice nose at the prospect of Donald Trump, they threatened to vote for Bill Otto, her Democratic opponent, instead. And they were willing to carry through; I saw signs for Otto go up in yards sporting Trump signs. And guess what? Wagner snapped into line. Keep it in mind.

*Edited slightly for clarity. Third bullet point added under (1). (12/17, 4:23 pm)

The Political Year in Pictures – 2013 – part 4

29 Sunday Dec 2013

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

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Tags

2013, missouri, pictures, politics

Previously:

The Political Year in Pictures – 2013 – part 1 (December 29, 2013)

The Political Year in Pictures – 2013 – part 2 (December 29, 2013)

The Political Year in Pictures – 2013 – part 3 (December 29, 2013)

Over the course of the last year we covered a number of government and political events in Missouri (and elsewhere), in the process taking thousands of photographs. Most of them didn’t make it into the blog. Some of the things we saw and heard made us smile, made us think, made us gasp, made us hope, and made us despair. We thought we’d provide a retrospective of some of the pictures and stories we consider to be memorable.

We took our annual road trip to the Harkin Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa on September 15, 2013:

Vice President Joe Biden, San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, and Senator Tom Harkin in Indianola, Iowa (September 15, 2013).

The Harkin Steak Fry 2013 – photos (September 15, 2013)

Yep, that’s about it (September 16, 2013)

‘Twas an epic roadtrip, that’s for sure (September 16, 2013)

Joe Biden at Harkin Steak Fry video by Jerry Schmidt (September 17, 2013)

And less than a week later, in Kansas City:

President Obama at the Ford Stamping Plant in Liberty, Missouri (September 20, 2013).

President Obama in Kansas City – September 20, 2013 (September 20, 2013)

President Obama in Kansas City – September 20, 2013 – photos (September 20, 2013)

President Obama in Kansas City – September 20, 2013 – photos – part 2 (September 21, 2013)

Rep. Vicky Hartzler (r) has a sad because President Obama visited Missouri (September 21, 2013)

President Obama in Kansas City – September 20, 2013 – republican hostage taking on the debt (September 22, 2013)

We took close to two thousand images at each event.

The Political Year in Pictures – 2013 – part 3

29 Sunday Dec 2013

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

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Tags

2013, missouri, pictures, politics

Previously:

The Political Year in Pictures – 2013 – part 1 (December 29, 2013)

The Political Year in Pictures – 2013 – part 2 (December 29, 2013)

Over the course of the last year we covered a number of government and political events in Missouri (and elsewhere), in the process taking thousands of photographs. Most of them didn’t make it into the blog. Some of the things we saw and heard made us smile, made us think, made us gasp, made us hope, and made us despair. We thought we’d provide a retrospective of some of the pictures and stories we consider to be memorable.

Ah yes, August:

It wasn’t our photo.

August. The Missouri State Fair Rodeo caused quite a stir. And we were close to the center of it. Yes, the rodeo clown incident:

….Most of the traffic spike has subsided. Near as we can tell, the main post, ancillary posts, and our site entry URL combined for a traffic spike of 35,000 unique hits. That’s the equivalent of three to five months (depending on the time of year) of normal traffic. We’ve had traffic spikes in the past, just nothing like this[.]…

At the Missouri State Fair last night (August 11, 2013)

Of state fair rodeo announcers and clowns: res ipsa loquitur (August 12, 2013)

You know you’ve struck a nerve… (August 12, 2013)

What happened in Sedalia didn’t stay in Sedalia (August 12, 2013)

We don’t get a lot of mail (August 13, 2013)

If heads rolling was a rodeo event… (August 13, 2013)

Seriously? (August 14, 2013)

The Rodeo, The Crowd, Their Clown & His Announcer (August 16, 2013)

Rodeo Quote of the Week (August 17, 2013)

Ye shall know them by their fruits (August 19, 2013)

“Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries. “ (August 20, 2013)

We get clown mail (August 20, 2013)

In that period we also took a trip to St. Louis to cover the Rural Letter Carriers Association National Convention:

Representative Emanuel Cleaver (D) addressing the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association

convention in St. Louis, Missouri (August 13, 2013).

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D) at the NRLCA convention in St. Louis – August 13, 2013 (August 13, 2013)

And a few days later:

The Governor’s Ham Breakfast at the Missouri State Fair – 2013 (August 15, 2013)

It just wasn’t as well attended this year.

Then there was Syria. Our coverage of Representative Emanuel Cleaver’s Kansas City town hall on Syria on September 5, 2013 was noted at another a-list national blog:

Suppose they gave a town hall before rushing off to war and everybody came (September 5, 2013)

Norman Rockwell ain’t got nothin’ on the real Kansas City (September 5, 2013)

Norman Rockwell ain’t got nothin’ on the real Kansas City – part 2 (September 6, 2013)

A short interview with Rep. Cleaver after last night’s town hall (September 6, 2013)

Norman Rockwell ain’t got nothin’ on the real Kansas City – part 3 (September 7, 2013)

Norman Rockwell ain’t got nothin’ on the real Kansas City – part 4 (September 7, 2013)

Norman Rockwell ain’t got nothin’ on the real Kansas City – part 5 (September 7, 2013)

Norman Rockwell ain’t got nothin’ on the real Kansas City – part 6 (September 7, 2013)

Norman Rockwell ain’t got nothin’ on the real Kansas City – part 7 (September 8, 2013)

Norman Rockwell ain’t got nothin’ on the real Kansas City – part 8 (September 8, 2013)

Norman Rockwell ain’t got nothin’ on the real Kansas City – part 9 (September 8, 2013)

September was definitely interesting.

The Political Year in Pictures – 2013 – part 2

29 Sunday Dec 2013

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

2013, missouri, pictures, politics

Previously:

The Political Year in Pictures – 2013 – part 1 (December 29, 2013)

Over the course of the last year we covered a number of government and political events in Missouri (and elsewhere), in the process taking thousands of photographs. Most of them didn’t make it into the blog. Some of the things we saw and heard made us smile, made us think, made us gasp, made us hope, and made us despair. We thought we’d provide a retrospective of some of the pictures and stories we consider to be memorable.

In May we witnessed the end of the republican controlled General Assembly train wreck in Jefferson City:

Representative Chris Kelly (D) on the floor of the House in Jefferson City (May 14, 2013).

It’s the last week of the session (May 14, 2013)

May as well (May 15, 2013)

KC-Area Faith Leaders on SB29, Paycheck Deception (May 15, 2013)

Faith, Hope, Charity…and Persistence (May 15, 2013)

Point of Order – HSA 1 to HA 5 to SB 224 (May 16, 2013)

Curse the darkness (May 17, 2013)

Truman Days in Jackson County, Missouri:

Arizona Representative Raul Grijalva (D) was the keynote speaker at the Jackson County Democratic Committee’s

annual Truman Days dinner in Kansas City on May 18, 2013.

That’s Liza with a Z, not Lisa with an S… (May 18, 2013)

Truman Days in Jackson County – 2013 (May 18, 2013)

Truman Days 2013 – Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D) – Breakfast Keynote – May 18, 2013 (May 19, 2013)

Truman Days 2013 – Attorney General Chris Koster – May 18, 2013 (May 20, 2013)

Truman Days 2013 – Rep. Raul Grijalva (D) – May 18, 2013 (May 20, 2013)

In June Missouri Boys State attracts a number of political speakers:

Bob Woodward, associate editor of the Washington Post, speaking in Warrensburg

at Missouri Boys State on the campus of the University of Central Missouri (June 18, 2013).

Missouri Boys State – 2013 (June 16, 2013)

Kansas City Mayor Sly James – Missouri Boys State – June 16, 2013 (June 17, 2013)

State Treasurer Clint Zweifel (D) – Missouri Boys State – June 17, 2013 – one word (June 17, 2013)

State Treasurer Clint Zweifel (D) – Missouri Boys State – June 17, 2013 (June 18, 2013)

State Treasurer Clint Zweifel (D) – Missouri Boys State – June 17, 2013 – Q and A (June 18, 2013)

Bob Woodward – Missouri Boys State – June 18, 2013 (June 19, 2013)

Bob Woodward – Missouri Boys State – June 18, 2013 – Q and A, parts 1, 2 & 3 (June 20, 2013)

Bob Woodward – Missouri Boys State – June 18, 2013 – Q and A, parts 4 & 5 (June 20, 2013)

Secretary of State Jason Kander (D) – Missouri Boys State – June 20, 2013 (June 20, 2013)

State Auditor Tom Schweich (r) – Missouri Boys State – June 20, 2013 (June 21, 2013)

Kansas City Mayor Sly James on gun violence and the Missouri General Assembly (June 28, 2013)

Our coverage of the posturing at a bill signing in July got us some notice and traffic from the Great Orange Satan:

Governor Jay Nixon (D), in Warrensburg on the campus of the University of Central Missouri to sign SB 381 into law (July 11, 2013).

New Missouri Rule: if the governor governs right of center you can’t call him a “liberal” (July 1, 2013)

Bill signing Kabuki (July 12, 2013)

Rep. Chris Kelly (D): HB 253 – “I’d like to know what your opinion is.” (July 19, 2013)

Rep. Denny Hoskins (r): probably not gonna sustain the Governor’s veto of HB 253 (August 19, 2013)

Sec. of State Jason Kander (D) to Texas Gov. Rick Perry (r): You forgot about that Medicaid thing? (August 23, 2013)

Rep. Denny Hoskins (r) to UCM on HB 253: I don’t care, I’d rather be the new Speaker Pro Tem (August 24, 2013)

Rep. Denny Hoskins (r): your constituents know what you’re doing to them (August 26, 2013)

HB 253: Because those dissolute leeches at the public trough should shut up, that’s why! (August 28, 2013)

Missouri Democratic Party on HB 253: Yes, yes, let’s talk about Texas Gov. Rick Perry (r)…. (August 28, 2013)

AG Chris Koster (D) to Speaker Jones (r) on HB 253: you all certainly made a mess of things… (August 29, 2013)

Speaker Tim Jones (r) and HB 253: hone your legal analytical skills litigating birth certificates (August 30, 2013)

Representative Vicky Hartzler (r) gave us plenty to write about in the past year – just not too many opportunities for photos, though:

Zack Brown, of Representative Vicky Hartzler’s (r) district staff, at a constituent “listening post” in Warrensburg on August 7, 2013.

Epistemic closure, still here, alive, kicking, though not quite screaming (August 7, 2013)

August was going to get really interesting.

The Political Year in Pictures – 2013 – part 1

29 Sunday Dec 2013

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

2013, missouri, pictures, politics

Over the course of the last year we covered a number of government and political events in Missouri (and elsewhere), in the process taking thousands of photographs. Most of them didn’t make it into the blog. Some of the things we saw and heard made us smile, made us think, made us gasp, made us hope, and made us despair. We thought we’d provide a retrospective of some of the pictures and stories we consider to be memorable.

Medicaid expansion. We’re still going to be talking about it in 2014. And talking. And talking:

Governor Jay Nixon (D) greets nursing students after speaking on Medicaid expansion in Warrensburg, Missouri on March 15, 2013.

Gov. Jay Nixon (D): on Medicaid expansion – Warrensburg, Missouri – March 15, 2013 (March 15, 2013)

Gov. Jay Nixon (D): press avail[a]bility – Warrensburg, Missouri – March 15, 2013 (March 16, 2013)

Lilly Ledbetter spoke on the campus of the University of Central Missouri in early April:

Lilly Ledbetter  (April 3, 2013).

Lilly Ledbetter – Politics and Social Justice – April 3, 2013 (April 4, 2013)

Sen. Jolie Justus (D) – Politics and Social Justice – April 4, 2013 (April 5, 2013)

Lilly Ledbetter: a short coda (April 6, 2013)

A future governor:

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster (D) speaking in Belton, Missouri on April 14, 2013.

AG Chris Koster (D) – Back to Blue Dinner – Belton, Missouri – April 13, 2013 (April 14, 2013)

Sen. Paul LeVota (D) – Back to Blue Dinner – Belton, Missouri – April 13, 2013 (April 14, 2013)

Women and men continue to march:

Missouri Women United march and rally in Jefferson City (April 27, 2013).

Missouri Women United – march in Jefferson City on April 27th (April 15, 2013)

Missouri Women United – march and rally in Jefferson City (April 27, 2013)

Missouri Women United – signs (April 28, 2013)

And we’ll still be talking about immigration in 2014. And talking. And talking. Representative Luis V. Gutierrez (D) joined  Representative Emanuel Cleaver (D) for an immigration town hall on the campus of MCC-Penn Valley in Kansas City on May 4, 2013:

Representative Luis V. Gutierrez (D) at Representative Emanuel Cleaver’s (D) immigration town hall in Kansas City on May 4, 2013.

Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez (D): Immigration town hall in Kansas City – May 4, 2013 (May 5, 2013)

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D): Immigration town hall in Kansas City – May 4, 2013 (May 5, 2013)

Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez (D): Q and A – Immigration town hall in Kansas City – May 4, 2013 (May 5, 2013)

The Political Year in Pictures – 2012 – part 4

02 Wednesday Jan 2013

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

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Tags

2012, missouri, pictures, politics

Previously:

The Political Year in Pictures – 2012 – part 1 (December 31, 2012)

The Political Year in Pictures – 2012 – part 2 (December 31, 2012)

The Political Year in Pictures – 2012 – part 3 (December 31, 2012)

Faces.

Senator Claire McCaskill (D) at a roundtable in Warrensburg, Missouri on April 9, 2012.

Rachel Maddow in Kansas City, Missouri on April 22, 2012.

Cass County Prosecutor and 4th Congressional District candidate Teresa Hensley (D) after speaking at the

women’s march and rally in Jefferson City, Missouri on April 28, 2012.

Secretary of State Robin Carnahan (D) at the Missouri Democratic Convention on June 9, 2012.

James Carville at Missouri Boys State in Warrensburg, Missouri on June 18, 2012.

Senator Claire McCaskill (D) on her “Vets for Claire” listening tour in Warrensburg, Missouri on August 24, 2012.

Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley at the Harkin Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa on September 16, 2012.

Representative Joe “you lie” Wilson (r) speaking in Warrensburg, Missouri on September 18, 2012.

Teresa Hensley (D) at a get out the vote rally in Kansas City, Missouri on November 1, 2012.

Claire McCaskill (D) at a get out the vote rally in Kansas City, Missouri on November 1, 2012.

The Political Year in Pictures – 2012 – part 3

01 Tuesday Jan 2013

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

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Tags

2012, missouri, pictures, politics

Previously:

The Political Year in Pictures – 2012 – part 1 (December 31, 2012)

The Political Year in Pictures – 2012 – part 2 (December 31, 2012)

At the annual Harkin Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa on September 16, 2012.

Harkin Steak Fry 2012 – photos (September 16, 2012)

Harkin Steak Fry 2012 – Road Trip (September 16, 2012)

The 35th Annual Harkin Steak Fry: Getting a Jump on 2016 (September 17, 2012)

Harkin Steak Fry 2012 – press availability with Sen. Tom Harkin (D) and Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) (September 17, 2012)

Harkin Steak Fry 2012 Press Availability Video (September 20, 2012)

Todd Akin (r) kept running into buzz saws:

“Yes, I find it interesting that, that you don’t want the government deciding what to do for you,

but you do want the government deciding what women can do and can’t do with their bodies.”

Todd Akin (r) in Clinton, Missouri – Q and A (September 27, 2012)

Teresa Hensley, Cass County Prosecutor and the Democratic Party candidate in the 4th Congressional

District, campaigning door to door in Boonville, Missouri on October 5, 2012.

Teresa Hensley (D): retail politics in the 4th Congressional District (October 5, 2012)



Senator Claire McCaskill (D) campaigned door to door in her old Kansas City neighborhood on November 2, 2012.

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D): door to door in Kansas City – November 2, 2012 (November 2, 2012)

Cass County Prosecutor and 4th Congressional District candidate Teresa Hensley (D) in Belton, Missouri on election night.

This means we’ll be attending town halls all over the 4th Congressional District… (November 6, 2012)

A Black Friday labor demonstration at the parking lot entrance of the Walmart store in Roeland Park, Kansas on November 23, 2012.

Black Friday labor demonstration in Roeland Park, Kansas (November 23, 2012)

On December 14, 2012 activists picketed in front of Representative Vicky Hartzler’s district office in Harrisonville, Missouri.

“End the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy.” Harrisonville, Missouri on December 14, 2012.

At Representative Vicky Hartzler’s (r) district office in Harrisonville, Missouri on December 14, 2012.

The Political Year in Pictures – 2012 – part 2

01 Tuesday Jan 2013

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

2012, missouri, pictures, politics

Previously:

The Political Year in Pictures – 2012 – part 1 (December 31, 2012)

Cass County Prosecutor and 4th Congressional District candidate Teresa Hensley (D) in the parade in Belton, Missouri on June 16, 2012.

A parade in Belton, Missouri (June 16, 2012)

Ed Martin (r): We were sitting around trying to think of a metaphor for the campaign… (June 16, 2012)

Dave Spence (r): nothing exceeds like excess (June 16, 2012)

The 27 percent: no matter where you go, there they are (June 16, 2012)

Kansas City Mayor Sly James at Missouri Boys State on the campus of the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg on June 17, 2012.

Governor Jay Nixon (D) at Missouri Boys State on the campus of the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg on June 17, 2012.

Missouri Boys State 2012 (June 16, 2012)

Attorney General Chris Koster at Missouri Boys State 2012 – Q and A (June 17, 2012)

Governor Jay Nixon (D) and Kansas City Mayor Sly James at Missouri Boys State 2012 (June 18, 2012)

Kansas City Mayor Sly James at Missouri Boys State 2012 (June 18, 2012)

James Carville at Missouri Boys State 2012 – photos (June 19, 2012)

James Carville at Missouri Boys State 2012 (June 19, 2012)

Gov. Jay Nixon at Missouri Boys State 2012: “I just assumed you were a Democrat…” (June 27, 2012)

Cass County Prosecutor Teresa Hensley (D), the Democratic Party candidate in the 4th Congressional District,

speaking to the crowd at the opening of her campaign headquarters in Harrisonville on Tuesday evening, June 19, 2012.

Teresa Hensley (D) in the 4th Congressional District: campaign HQ opening in Harrisonville (June 20, 1012)

Senator Claire McCaskill (D) at a campaign headquarters event in Independence, Missouri on July 2, 2012.

Three Things. Senator Claire McCaskill (D) in Harrisonville, Missouri on July 2, 2012.

The Republicans want to privatize Medicare, privatize Social Security, and end

federal involvement in student loans.

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D) in Independence and Harrisonville – July 2, 2012 (July 2, 2012)

President Obama at a campaign event at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on July 10, 2012.

President Obama in Cedar Rapids, Iowa – photos (July 10, 2012)

Iowa – full circle, of sorts (July 11, 2012)

President Obama in Cedar Rapids, Iowa – photos, part 2 (July 11, 2012)

Barack Obama CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA GRASSROOTS EVENT video by Jerry Schmidt (July 13, 2012)

Senator Claire McCaskill (D) speaking on the shop floor at Standard Sheet Metal in Kansas City, Missouri on August 8, 2012.

Sen. Claire McCaskill at Standard Sheet Metal in Kansas City – 8/8/12 (August 8, 2012)

Sen. Claire McCaskill at Standard Sheet Metal in Kansas City – 8/8/12 – media Q and A (August 8, 2012)

Attorney General Chris Koster (D) at the Missouri State Fair Governor’s Ham Breakfast on August 16, 2012.

Missouri State Fair – the Governor’s Ham Breakfast – photos (August 16, 2012)

Attorney General Chris Koster (D) in Marshall, Missouri on August 31, 2012.

Saline County Democrats – Marshall, Missouri – August 31, 2012 (August 31, 2012)

The Political Year in Pictures – 2012 – part 1

01 Tuesday Jan 2013

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

2012, missouri, pictures, politics

Over the course of the last year we covered a number of government and political events in Missouri (and elsewhere), in the process taking thousands of photographs. Most of them didn’t make it into the blog. Some of the things we saw and heard made us smile, made us think, made us gasp, made us hope, and made us despair. We thought we’d provide a retrospective of some of the pictures and stories we consider to be memorable.

Jason Kander (D) at a campaign event in Higginsville, Missouri on January 8, 2012.

Lafayette County Democrats: Emanuel Cleaver, Jason Kander and Holmes Osborne in Higginsville (January 9, 2012)

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D) in Higginsville (January 9, 2012)

Rep. Jason Kander (D) in Higginsville (January 10, 2012)

An anti Obamacare sign at a presidential primary campaign event for Rick Santorum (r) in Lee’s Summit, Missouri on February 3, 2012.

Rick Santorum (r) in Lee’s Summit, Missouri (February 3, 2012)

Sen. Will Kraus (r): warming up the crowd about urban schools at the Santorum rally (February 4, 2012)

Rick Santorum in Lee’s Summit, Missouri: the Blutarsky sermon on the summit (February 4, 2012)

A march for women in Jefferson City, Missouri on April 28, 2012.

Missouri – Unite Against the War on Women – Jefferson City march and rally – photos (April 28, 2012)

Missouri – Unite Against the War on Women – Jefferson City march and rally – photos, part 2 (April 28, 2012)

Missouri – Unite Against the War on Women – Jefferson City march and rally – photos, part 3 (April 29, 2012)

Rebecca McClanahan 4/28/2012 Unite Against the War on Women Jefferson City (May 1, 2012)

Peggy Cochran 4/28/2012 – Unite Against the War on Women – Jefferson City (May 1, 2012)

Senator Ken Jacob speaks at Unite Against the War on Women in Jefferson City (May 1, 2012)

Stephen Webber 4/28/2012 Unite Against the War on Women Jefferson City (May 3, 2012)

Signs along the highway north of Buffalo, Missouri, May 4, 2012.

Representative Vicky Hartzler (r) at a town hall in Buffalo, Missouri on May 4, 2012.

Missouri: our delusional paranoids are creative in a folk art sort of way (May 4, 2012)

Town Hall Meta (May 4, 2012)

Vicky Hartzler rats out Showmeprogress crew! (May 5, 2012)

Rep. Vicky Hartzler (r): May 4, 2012 town halls in Buffalo, Versailles, California – photos (May 6, 2012)

Rosie Rios, Treasurer of the United States, at the White House Urban Economic Forum in Kansas City, Missouri on May 8, 2012.

White House Urban Economic Forum – Kansas City – May 8, 2012 – photos (May 8, 2012)

White House Urban Economic Forum – Kansas City – May 8, 2012 (May 9, 2012)

Judy Baker (center), a Democratic Party candidate for Lieutenant Governor and

our good friend Eli Yokley (right), another blogger
journalist desperately waiting to feed the content beast

– at Truman Days in Independence, Missouri on May 11, 2012.

Truman Days in Kansas City – 2012 – photos (May 12 2012)

Truman Days in Kansas City – 2012 – photos – part 2 (May 13, 2012)

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D) at Truman Days in Kansas City – 2012 (May 13, 2012)

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D) at Truman Days in Kansas City – 2012 (May 14, 2012)

Assistant Minority Floor Leader Tishaura Jones (D) (left) and Representative Jill Schupp (D) (right)

on the floor of the House in Jefferson City, Missouri on May 17, 2012.

Jefferson City – In the House, May 17, 2012 – photos (May 17, 2012)

Former State Auditor and candidate for Lieutenant Governor Susan Montee (D) at the Missouri Democratic Party state convention on June 9, 2012.

Missouri Democratic Convention – photos (June 9, 2012)

Missouri Democratic Convention – photos part 2 (June 9, 2012)

Missouri Democratic Convention – photos – part 3 (June 9, 2012)

Interview with State Senator Jolie Justus

29 Tuesday May 2012

Posted by Michael Bersin in Uncategorized

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Tags

missouri, Missouri Democrats, politics, State Legislature, State Senate 10

By @BGinKC

I knew that my first attempt at interviewing anyone on camera would have moments that would make me cringe, and I was right. But on the whole, all of my mistakes were rookie ones and I had to see and hear myself before I can get better at this new phase of my blogging life.

So what did I learn? I learned that I tilt my head to the left when I speak. If we hadn’t been doing the interview at a sidewalk cafe and kept the camera on the subject after the intro, it could have gotten really annoying. I’ll work on that. Ditto forgetting to make sure the mic is pointed toward the person doing the talking.

I also learned some practical things. Like don’t ad lib. I left my prepared questions and was in the weeds immediately. We left it in during editing to remind me not to do that again.

I also learned that when using a tablet PC instead of notecards, change the settings from “power saver” because the screen goes black at the. worst. times.

I also learned that while it sounds like a cliche, it’s true: I stop being nervous the instant the red light comes on.

All in all, while it was obviously a rookie effort, I’m still proud of the end result and look forward to developing the skills to get really good at it. And to that end, I have a couple of other interviews lined up and I’m doing the prep for them now.

I want to thank Senator Justus for agreeing not just to sit down and chat, but for being such a great sport and agreeing to go first. I would also like to thank the staff and management at Aixois in the beautiful Crestwood neighborhood, nestled between the Plaza and Brookside in beautiful Kansas City, for allowing us to set up and conduct this experiment. And of course, thank you Jerry Schmidt for the fantastic video and editing expertise. I would also be remiss if I didn’t thank the anonymous, but annoyed gentleman who graciously surrendered his table to us because it was the perfect place for us to set up.  

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