Via the Turner Report:

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Joe the Plumber supports state auditor candidate Icet in latest ad

Why it should matter to anyone, I have a hard time understanding, but in the latest commercial from the Allen Icet for state auditor campaign, Joe the Plumber, who has taken his 15 minutes of fame and stretched it beyond all reason, declares his support for Icet and compares him to a glass of “iced tea…

[Allen Icet, Auditor, Protecting Our Tax Dollars!]

Sam Wurzelbacher: To get our nation back we must elect honest leaders that will hold our government and themselves accountable. That is why I am proud to support Allen Icet for Missouri Auditor. I know Allen and he’s an honest man that you can trust to protect your tax dollars. But don’t just take my word for it, do your own research and I think that a little ice tea is exactly what you need.

[Allen Icet, Auditor, Protecting Our Tax Dollars!]

Ice T. Icet. Now I get it. I should have gone into political communications when I was fourteen.

Meanwhile, at the Missouri Ethics Commission:

MISSOURI ETHICS COMMISSION

CONTRIBUTION OF MORE THAN $5,000.00 RECEIVED BY ANY COMMITTEE FROM ANY SINGLE DONOR – TO BE FILED WITHIN 48 HOURS OF RECEIVING THE CONTRIBUTION

C091153 SCHWEICH FOR AUDITOR [pdf] 6/30/2010

David Humphreys

Joplin, MO

Tamko Building Products

6/30/2010

$10,000.00

[emphasis added]

I’m waiting for a replacement rock video.

Previously: Tom Schweich (r) for Auditor: apparently people give big bucks to rock stars {April 14, 2010)

Since then Tom Schweich (r) has continued to rack up those big contributions:

MECID:C091153

SCHWEICH FOR AUDITOR

8283   Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 05/27/2010

7617 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 05/03/2010

7569 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 04/30/2010

7412 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 04/26/2010

7210 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 04/22/2010

7125 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 04/20/2010

6707 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 04/15/2010

C091153 SCHWEICH FOR AUDITOR [pdf] 4/15/2010

John B. Mahaffey

Springfield, MO

Mahaffey Enterprises, Inc.

4/15/2010

$10,000.00

Access Health Solutions

Sunrise, FL

4/15/2010

$10,000.00

[emphasis added]

C091153 SCHWEICH FOR AUDITOR [pdf] 4/20/2010

Maritz, Inc.

Fenton, MO

4/20/2010

$10,000.00

[emphasis added]

C091153 SCHWEICH FOR AUDITOR [pdf] 4/22/2010

Mark Burkhart

St. Louis, MO

Cassidy Turley

4/22/2010

$10,000.00

Don Musick, III

St. Louis, MO

Musick Construction

4/22/2010

$10,000.00

[emphasis added]

C091153 SCHWEICH FOR AUDITOR [pdf] 4/26/2010

Peabody Investments Corp.

St. Louis, MO

4/26/2010

$10,000.00

[emphasis added]

C091153 SCHWEICH FOR AUDITOR [pdf] 4/30/2010

Emerson’s Missouri Responsible Government Fund

St. Louis, MO

4/30/2010

$10,000.00

Harbour Group Industries, Inc.

St. Louis, MO

4/29/2010

$10,000.00

[emphasis added]

C091153 SCHWEICH FOR AUDITOR [pdf] 5/3/2010

Steven L. Trulaske, Sr.

O’Fallon, MO

True Manufacturing Company

5/1/2010

$10,000.00

[emphasis added]

C091153 SCHWEICH FOR AUDITOR [pdf] 5/27/2010

Marilyn Fox

St. Louis, MO

Homemaker

5/27/2010

$18,000.00

[emphasis added]

Okay, they did that last one just to see if we were paying close enough attention.

Because nothing says republican establishment candidate like a seemingly endless series of $10,000.00 campaign contributions. Doesn’t that just give you grass rootsie chills all over?

They’ll definitely be able to hire a more expensive band.

Contrast this, from State Auditor Susan Montee (D)…

….It is a wonderful job because there are so many challenges and yet the rewards are so great. When we can find ways that we can increase efficiency and free up resources so we don’t have to have the kind of cuts that we are seeing right now it is a very good place to be in and a very good feeling to have. And so, it’s with those feelings, you know, that I say I’d like to continue to do the job for another four years….

….I have done a little reflecting on the last three and a half years and I really am proud of the work that we’ve done. We have reorganized the office, we’ve gone from four different divisions down to three, we’ve streamlined the way we do stuff, we do one type of report which means we can share resources so we can get more places, uh, we found all kinds of places to save, and, and make things more efficient. We, for the first time ever in Missouri history, won the national award for, uh, audit of the year, last year for our performance audit work on low income housing [applause]. And I have a whole stream of federal officials coming to work with us on the, uh, single audit work we were a part of the early reporting on weatherization. And ‘m working now with the Department of Energy and their inspector generals to make sure that we get all our money spent in the right way and that our stimulus money stimulates the economy in the way it’s supposed to do.

So, I’ve been approached by Republicans and Democrats alike to work on initiatives in their counties and in their cities. And I really feel like we have done a good job in our office and that people recognize the value of the office as a resource…

…with this, from republican State Auditor candidate Representative Allen Icet:

Video Time-line Shows Schweich’s Inconsistency

Monday, May 10th, 2010

Are Tom Schweich’s Song Writing Chops as Bogus as Conservative Credentials?

On March 29, 2010, a video, “Gimme Back my Freedom”, was posted on YouTube.  The video showcased Tom Schweich and a small group of young adults attempting to woo conservatives with targeted lyrics.  At the end of the video credit for the lyrics and music was given to Tom Schweich and he personally claimed the copyright in the video.

On April 7, 2010, Fired Up! found that the music was significantly like the song “Bohemian Like You”, which was written by Courtney Taylor-Taylor, the lead singer of Dandy Warhols.  Schweich later responded to the accusations through the Saint Louis Beacon, denying them and saying, “The words and music are my own.”

Then Fired Up! received documentation from the Dandy Warhols stating that a lawyer for Tom Schweich had contacted them to seek permission for the use of the music of their “Bohemian Like You” song, which they refused….

Then again, Representative Icet’s campaign website touts his endorsement by Sam Wurzelbacher.

Pass the popcorn.

Previously:

Don’t quit your day job (April 7, 2010)

Tom Schweich (r) for Auditor: apparently people give big bucks to rock stars (April 14, 2010)

Okay, this is too funny (April 23, 2010)

Hat tip to our good friends at Fired Up.

State Auditor Susan Montee (D) filed her first quarter campaign finance report with the Missouri Ethics Commission on April 15th:

Detailed Summary of Committee Disclosure Report

Committe: MONTEE FOR AUDITOR

ReportDate:

1. TOTAL RECEIPTS FOR THIS ELECTION PREVIOUSLY REPORTED $395,562.49

2. ALL MONETARY CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED THIS PERIOD $103,221.10

9. TOTAL ALL RECEIPTS THIS ELECTION(SUM 1B + 7A – 8A) $500,000.12

15. TOTAL EXPENDITURES THIS ELECTION (SUM 10B + 14A) $142,913.07

28. MONEY ON HAND AT THE CLOSE OF THIS REPORTING PERIOD (SUM 25 + 26 – 27) $352,107.21

[blockquote]

Let’s take a look at the contributions:

Detailed Summary of Contributions And Loans Received

Committee: MONTEE FOR AUDITOR

Report Date: 04/15/2010

Building Trades Politial Education Fund St. Louis, MO 03/30/2010 $250.00

Electrical Workers Voluntary PAC St. Louis, MO 03/02/201 $1,000.00

Ollie Gates Investments Kansas City, MO 03/04/2010 $1,000.00

Missouri State Council Of Machinists Bridgeton, MO 03/31/2010 $1,500.00

IBEW 753 Edu Comm Fund Springfield, MO 02/04/2010 $60.00

IBEW Local #53 Voluntary Pol Fund Kansas City, MO 02/20/2010 $500.00

Int’l Assoc. Of Fire Fighters Local #73 PAC St. Louis Fire Fighters PAC Co St. Louis, MO 03/25/2010 100.00

IUPAT Washington, DC 03/11/2010 $2,500.00

Claire C. McCaskill St. Louis, MO U.S. Senate/Senator 03/31/2010 $1,000.00

Missouri National Education Association Jefferson City, MO 02/10/2010 $1,325.00

Teamsters Local #600 Maryland Heights, MO 03/24/2010 $1,000.00

Barbecue!

Claire!

Attorneys, organized labor (working people), a lot of small dollar contributions from individuals, and none of those $5000.00 plus contributions from special interests.

And where did some of that money go?:

Detailed Summary of Expenditures And Contributions Made

Committe: MONTEE FOR AUDITOR

ReportDate: 04/15/2010

Jim Kainber Olympia WA 02/12/2010 Mailing Services $8,100.00

Majority Strategies LLC St. Louis MO 01/30/2010 Fundraising Support $4,000.00

Majority Strategies LLC St. Louis MO 02/02/2010 Fundraising Support $4,000.00

Majority Strategies LLC St. Louis MO 03/14/2010 Fundraising Support $4,500.00

U.S. Post Master Jefferson City MO 02/17/2010 Postage $880.00

Xpedx Kansas City MO 02/24/2010 Mailing Supplies $842.20

Mail, postage, fundraising, and campaign staff.

Allen Icet (r), the first of the two republican challengers (in alphabetical order), filed his first quarter campaign finance report with the Missouri Ethics Commission on April 15th:

Detailed Summary of Committee Disclosure Report

Committe: ICET FOR AUDITOR

ReportDate:

1. TOTAL RECEIPTS FOR THIS ELECTION PREVIOUSLY REPORTED $266,740.63

2. ALL MONETARY CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED THIS PERIOD $49,370.00

9. TOTAL ALL RECEIPTS THIS ELECTION(SUM 1B + 7A – 8A) $316,804.09

15. TOTAL EXPENDITURES THIS ELECTION (SUM 10B + 14A) $185,515.80

20. TOTAL ALL CONTRIBUTIONS MADE THIS ELECTION (SUM 16B + 19A) $19,075.00

28. MONEY ON HAND AT THE CLOSE OF THIS REPORTING PERIOD (SUM 25 + 26 – 27) $157,021.43

[emphasis added]

Yep, that’s some burn rate. But then, he does have a primary opponent.

Let’s take a look at where the money came from:

Detailed Summary of Contributions And Loans Received

Committee: ICET FOR AUDITOR

Report Date: 4/14/2010

Eli Lilly and Company Indianapolis IN 01/01/2010 $1,000.00

Comprehensive Health Systems Hannibal MO 01/11/2010 $2,000.00

James Nash King City MO 02/03/2010 $5,000.00

Long Term Care Leadership PAC Jefferson City MO 02/23/2010 $2,200.00

Missouri Pharmacy Political Action Committee Jefferson City MO 02/23/2010 $500.00

Libla Industries Inc Poplar Bluff MO 03/04/2010 $1,000.00

Missouri Soybean Association State PAC Jefferson City MO 03/09/2010 $4,850.00

Producers Choice Soy Energy LLC Moberly MO 03/09/2010 $300.00

Westwood Hills Health and Rehabilitation Center Poplar Bluff MO 03/12/2010 $1,000.00

Missourians for Mayer Dexter MO 03/21/2010 $1,000.00

What, no contributions from organized labor (representing working people)?

I want to say one word to you. Just one word. Soybeans.

All snark aside, there appears to be a pattern here, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.

Some of the expenditures:

Detailed Summary of Expenditures And Contributions Made

Committe: ICET FOR AUDITOR

ReportDate: 4/15/2010

A. EXPENDITURES OF $100 OR LESS BY CATEGORY

Online Fundraising Fees $22.80

Advertising $175.00

Auto $50.00

Bank Fees $19.68

Filing Fees $100.00

Fuel $367.31

Meals $118.91

Exp. Reim. $90.00

B. ITEMIZED EXPENDITURES ALL OVER $100 AND ALL PAYMENTS TO CAMPAIGN WORKERS

Victory Enterprises Davenport IA 01/14/2010 grassroots consulting $3,000.00

Ross Branson Jeffeson City MO 01/19/2010 grassroots and administration $760.08

Ross Branson Jefferson City MO 01/19/2010 exp reim $152.26

Keller Capitol Group St Louis MO 01/31/2010 fundraising expense $6,055.39

Ross Branson Jefferson City MO 02/01/2010 grassroots and administration $760.08

Keller Capitol Group St Louis MO 02/07/2010 fundraising expense $6,500.00

Ross Branson Jefferson City MO 02/07/2010 grassroots and administration $760.08

Ross Branson Jefferson City MO 02/07/2010 exp reim $170.00

Victory Enterprises Davenport IA 02/16/2010 grassroots consulting $3,741.83

Victory Enterprises Davenport IA 02/16/2010 grassroots consulting $3,000.00

Rosss Branson Jefferson City MO 02/16/2010 grassroots and administration $760.08

Ross Branson Jefferson City MO 02/16/2010 exp reim $111.50

Victory Enterprises Davenport IA 03/05/2010 grassroots consulting $3,000.00

Keller Capitol Group Louis MO 03/11/2010 FR and exp reim $9,221.29

Ross Branson Jefferson City MO 03/12/2010 exp reim $543.76

Ross Branson Jefferson City MO 03/15/2010 grassroots and administration $760.08

Ross Branson Jefferson City MO 03/23/2010 exp reim $582.56

Margaret Walker St Louis MO 03/26/2010 fundraising expense $409.20

Ross Branson Jefferson City MO 03/31/2010 grassroots and administration $760.08

That “grassroots” stuff costs a lot.

The second of the republican challengers, Tom Schweich (r – rock star), filed his first quarter campaign finance report with the Missouri Ethics Commission on April 14th:

Detailed Summary of Committee Disclosure Report

Committe: SCHWEICH FOR AUDITOR

ReportDate:

1. TOTAL RECEIPTS FOR THIS ELECTION PREVIOUSLY REPORTED $570,489.64

2. ALL MONETARY CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED THIS PERIOD $220,901.00

9. TOTAL ALL RECEIPTS THIS ELECTION(SUM 1B + 7A – 8A) $795,890.64

5. TOTAL EXPENDITURES THIS ELECTION (SUM 10B + 14A) $156,420.71

28. MONEY ON HAND AT THE CLOSE OF THIS REPORTING PERIOD (SUM 25 + 26 – 27) $615,325.79

[emphasis added]

In addition to the $160,000 in big bucks contributions that had to be reported within 48 hours, let’s take a look at other receipts:

Detailed Summary of Contributions And Loans Received

Committee: SCHWEICH FOR AUDITOR

Report Date: 04/14/2010

Henry Schweich St. Louis, MO Retired 03/01/2010 $2,000.00

Julius Schweich Chesterfield, MO Retired 03/10/2010 $1,000.00

Kathleen Schweich St. Louis, MO Homemaker 03/20/2010 $2,000.00

Robert Schweich New York, NY Retired  03/30/2010 $1,000.00

Scott Schweich Center Harbor, NH Moreland Partners 03/30/2010 $500.00

There’s a pattern here, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.

Again, no contributions from organized labor (representing working people)?

Whudaya know? Another big bucks contribution over $5000.00 which has to be reported within 48 hours of receipt. This one on April 15th [pdf]:

John B. Mahaffey Springfield, MO 65809 Mahaffey Enterprises, Inc. 4/15/2010 10,000.00

Access Health Solutions Sunrise, FL 4/15/2010 10,000.00

Not one, but two! These two will also appear on the next quarterly campaign finance report.

Some of the expenditures:

Detailed Summary of Expenditures And Contributions Made

Committe: SCHWEICH FOR AUDITOR

ReportDate: 04/14/2010

A. EXPENDITURES OF $100 OR LESS BY CATEGORY

Account Fee $127.38

Lincoln Days $1,091.00

Postage $44.00

Supplies $173.80

B. ITEMIZED EXPENDITURES ALL OVER $100 AND ALL PAYMENTS TO CAMPAIGN WORKERS

The Rocket Group Jefferson City, MO 03/02/2010 Media $1,000.00

The Rocket Group Jefferson City, MO 01/29/2010 Media $2,000.00

The Rocket Group Jefferson City, MO 02/05/2010 Media $1,000.00

The Rocket Group Jefferson City, MO 01/04/2010 Web Design $2,099.85

Laurus, LLC Saint Louis, MO 03/01/2010 Consulting $6,000.00

Laurus, LLC Saint Louis, MO 02/15/2010 Consulting $6,000.00

Laurus, LLC Saint Louis, MO 01/04/2010 Consulting $2,000.00

That must be some web site.

And last, there is a Democratic challenger. Abdul Akram filed his first quarter campaign finance report with the Missouri Ethics Commission on April 12th:

Committe: DR ABDUL AKRAM FOR JACKSON COUNTY

ReportDate:

RECEIPTS

1. TOTAL RECEIPTS FOR THIS ELECTION PREVIOUSLY REPORTED $0.00

2. ALL MONETARY CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED THIS PERIOD $0.00

9. TOTAL ALL RECEIPTS THIS ELECTION(SUM 1B + 7A – 8A) $0.00

14. TOTAL ALL EXPENDITURES MADE THIS PERIOD (SUM 11A + 12A + 13A) $0.00

15. TOTAL EXPENDITURES THIS ELECTION (SUM 10B + 14A) $0.00

25. MONEY ON HAND AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS REPORTING PERIOD (INCLUDING FUNDS IN DEPOSITORY, CASH, SAVINGS ACCOUNTS AND ALL OTHER INVESTMENTS) $0.00

28. MONEY ON HAND AT THE CLOSE OF THIS REPORTING PERIOD (SUM 25 + 26 – 27) $0.00

35. TOTAL INDEBTEDNESS AT THE CLOSE OF THIS REPORTING PERIOD (SUM 29 + 30 + 31 – 32 – 33 – 34) $0.00

I do believe this is a first for us here at Show Me Progress.

Without that string of $10,000.00 contributions Tom Schweich (r) would be in the same neighborhood as State Auditor Susan Montee (D). Instead, he’s in the high rent district. I wonder if we’ll be seeing some more rock videos?

Previously: Don’t quit your day job

Most of the candidates who have filed for State Auditor haven’t submitted their first quarter 2010 campaign finance reports with the Missouri Ethics Commission yet (the reports are due soon). But, any single contribution over $5000 must be reported within forty-eight hours to the commission. There’s an interesting disparity in those big bucks contributions among the candidates. For instance, take our rock star candidate, Tom Schweich (r):

COMMITTEE:   MECID:C091153  

SCHWEICH FOR AUDITOR

5191  Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 04/08/2010

4685 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 04/05/2010

4510 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 04/02/2010

4308 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 03/31/2010

4168 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 03/29/2010

3975 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 03/26/2010

3945 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 03/25/2010

3875 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 03/24/2010

That’s eight large contribution reports within two weeks. Freedom isn’t free.

I wonder if the production costs for his rock video will show up on the complete report. Given the production values, there’s certainly enough money here to produce a whole bunch more. But, I digress.

The specifics:

April 8, 2010 [pdf]

Hunter Engineering Company Bridgeton, MO 4/8/2010 10,000.00

April 5, 2010 [pdf]

C Hager & Sons Hinge Manufacturing Co. St. Louis, MO 4/5/2010 10,000.00

April 2, 2010 [pdf]

James T. Blair IV Frontenac, MO Moneta Group 3/31/2010 10,000.00

World Wide Technology Holding Co., Inc. St. Louis, MO 3/31/2010 10,000.00

Mike and Laura Herring Clayton, MO Impact Group 3/31/2010 10,000.00

March 31, 2010 [pdf]

Express Scripts, Inc. St. Louis, MO 3/31/2010 10,000.00

March 29, 2010 [pdf]

Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. St. Louis, MO 3/29/2010 10,000.00

March 26, 2010 [pdf]

Stephen Ditman Godfrey, IL PricewaterhouseCoopers 3/26/2010 10,000.00

March 25, 2010 [pdf]

Scott J. Wilson St. Louis MO S.M. Wilson & Co. 3/25/2010 10,000.00

Peter F. Herschend Branson, MO Herschend Family Entertainment 3/25/2010 10,000.00

March 24, 2010 [pdf]

Mitek Industries, Inc Corporate Chesterfield, MO 3/24/2010 10,000.00

Sanford McDonnell St. Louis, MO Retired 3/24/2010 10,000.00

Robert Hermann St. Louis, MO Retired 3/24/2010 10,000.00

TSI Holding Company St. Louis, MO 3/24/2010 10,000.00

Jesse R. Bodine St. Louis, MO Retired 3/24/2010 10,000.00

HBE Corporation St. Louis, MO 3/24/2010 10,000.00

That could pay for a lot of rock videos.

Allen Icet (r) only had one big bucks contribution:

April 3, 2010 [pdf]

Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. St. Louis, MO 4/3/2010 10,000.00

Ah, an equal opportunity beer company. At least when it comes to republican State Auditor candidates.

And the current State Auditor, Susan Montee (D), how does she fare in the beer sweepstakes (along with other big bucks contributions) this quarter?:

Zip. Nada.

That’s my kind of State Auditor.

The race for Missouri Auditor is typically low-key enough that it can be overlooked. The primary for Missouri Auditor has that same problem, only worse.

For those of you who haven’t heard, the Republican Primary for Auditor is between Allen Icet (Architect of the House Republican Budget) and Tom Schweich (Who flirted with running with the Senate last year). Tom Schweich has a bit of a problem, he donated money to Claire McCaskill. Not in 2006 when she was running for the Senate, but 2001 when she was about to run for re-election as Auditor (McCaskill won re-election in 2002 by one of the larger margins ever, because her Republican opponent was an ex-felon who was ignored by the Republican establishment).

Dave Catanese of Politico has an idea for how Tom Schweich can make Republicans overlook the donation and like him again:

“Schweich should devote a speech to his $500 contrib. to @clairecmc. Say if the GOP wants to b party that excludes indys, it won’t prevail.”

Earlier that night, Catanese passed this on and this about Schweich:

“Bad buzz about Schweich from even those who support him. He’s steamed he has a primary when he cut a deal. Ala Crist, welcome to the NFL.”

“GOPer says Schweich needs to learn from @RoyBlunt in approach. Roy takes his licks, but smiles, brushes off like Jay-Z. Schweich gets mad.”

Now, lets say that the “Schweich handling rejection” (or “Schweich mad that he wasn’t annointed”) thing is true. Then a speech about the Republicans not prevailing without independents could have negligible impact or backfire. You could argue that angry sermons to Republicans only work when the person preaching is not criticizing the Republicans.

Not to mention that the story of a 2001 donation can’t be condensed into a favorable way. Tom Schweich was a Republican when he donated money to McCaskill in 2001 and it’d be a stretch to say that rejecting him would be akin to casting Independents aside. Oh yeah, Schweich’s website features endorsements by Peter Kinder and John Bolton, and notes that Mitt Romney will be headlining a Schweich fundraiser. So that double pivot and twirl from dining with prominent Republicans to claiming appeal to Independents is a tough move to pull in political figure skating.

Sure, if John McCain can claim to be a maverick in 2008, Tom Schweich can claim to be anything in 2010. But there are other problems with the donation.

The Auditors primary is going to be low visibility. The people who are going to be avidly paying attention to this primary are Conservative Republican Activists, Political Nerds, and every once and awhile, the media is going to mention something. The race for Auditor will never get the same enthusiasm as Roy Blunt v. Chuck Purgason v. the 7 Others.

The Republicans who are paying attention to an auditor primary can be tilted by an Icet one-two punch where Icet talks about how he was “fiscally conservative” as a Budget committee chair and he could find ways to make himself seem more authentically Republican than Schweich.

Authenticity. Dave Catanese says that Republicans seek it. But could they be seeking someone who can make them think that he’s an authentic Conservative over someone who has lots of candor?

Dave Catanese also mentioned that Republicans like Claire McCaskill more than they would ever admit. As to how much that’d bounce Claire McCaskill’s approval ratings is unknown. But in the scheme of things Diehard Republicans typically don’t like Democrats enough to vote for them or like them. Social Conservatives and Tea Partiers can find their reasons to claim a dislike of Claire McCaskill, and reminding them that you gave money to Claire McCaskill nine years ago will probably not help your Republican primary bid.

Spurning independent voters is a good way to lose elections. Republicans appear to have their eyes set on winning Independent voters through complete coincidence instead of any special effort. Take the Specter situation, the Charlie Crist situation, and that fact that almost every Republican in DC has an identical voting record on the big issues. If you’re a voter who only dislikes Obama on an issue or two, Republicans hope that you’ll vote for a candidate who dislikes Obama on every major issue.

Could Susan Montee lose re-election? Maybe. If Martha Coakley could lose to Scott Brown, anything is possible. Will Susan Montee run ahead of the average Democrat? Probably. Will Susan Montee run ahead of Robin Carnahan? Maybe. Do Republicans have such a need to win back the Auditor’s office that they’d do something other than picking the candidate more like them ideologically to carry that torch? Nope.

If you forced me to start gambling on elections, i’d put my money on Allen Icet right now. The donation isn’t the only reason. Allen Icet also has a more obvious geographic stronghold (West County). He should have statewide connections. He can make the case that he’s really fiscally conservative (so much so that his budget committee passed a budget cutting meals on wheels). Allen Icet is a good bet, even if Tom Schweich had never made a donation to Claire McCaskill.

But somethings are hard to get over, no matter much candor you show. Sometimes candor can help you out. Sometimes candor is like running towards the Bulls in Pamplona.

I’ll keep my eyes on the Auditor primary. We might see some actual news coming out of this one.

Claire McCaskill recently wrote a letter to state legislators who have been carping about the stimulus spending that has sustained our state budget. Taking them at their word, she asked them just what the impact would be if unspent portions of the funds were returned to the government, and whether or not these brave souls wish to forgo further stimulus funds, given their strong convictions.

With much spluttering and bombast, State Rep. Allen Icet (R-Wildwood), Chairman of the House Budget Committee, responded today, managing in the process to avoid answering any of the quite legitimate issues that McCaskill posed.  Instead, shaking a metaphorical finger at the errant Democrat, he claimed that he and his fellow anti-stimulus stalwarts could not possibly answer McCaskill’s questions until she and her Democratic cohorts in Washington had performed four magical tasks:

(1) balance the federal budget just as we do every single year in Missouri

Bear in mind that this demand comes from a member of the political party that voted against PAYGO in the U.S. Senate. Does Icet really not understand that if the federal budget were to be balanced right away, somebody would have to answer much harder questions than those that McCaskill put to the state’s budget vultures? Could it be that his brave demand is nothing more than bluster by which he hopes to divert attention from his inability to answer the hard questions without exposing the intellectual dishonesty at the heart of Republican rhetoric?  

(2) take cap-and-trade off the table

First, just what does abandoning cap-and-trade have to do with stimulus spending? Isn’t such a stipulation akin to a banker demanding that you stop watching police procedurals on TV before he will give you a loan?

Second, just who is this supposed to benefit – coal and energy industry campaign contributors perhaps? In a just world, before Icet could make such demands, he would have to be willing to honestly discuss the real issues involved in cap-and-trade in relation to Missouri’s future prosperity – and by discuss, I don’t mean regurgitate spurious claims and stale talking points.

(3) kill the current iteration of “reform” and instead allow the states wide room to experiment with free market approaches to health care

Like free market approaches aren’t what got us into the fix we’re in. Just think about that 30% Anthem Blue Cross premium increase in California – if Icet gets his way, we’ll be facing similar increases in Missouri soon enough. Then there’s the inconvenient fact that the health care reform bill under consideration in congress right now actually cuts the deficit over the next ten years. I guess reality doesn’t play well at Tea Parties.

(4) take a stand next time President Obama insists on raising the federal debt limit.

Shouldn’t Icet and his Republican buddies take the first step and help out by letting McCaskill know that they are willing to live without the funds that won’t be forthcoming if this should come to pass? And shouldn’t they have to insure that they and their high principles take full responsibility for the debacle that will result if federal funds aren’t forthcoming to bail out the state?

Does it strike you that these unrealistic demands are designed for one purpose only – to let state Republicans off the hook now that their bluff has been called? For once, McCaskill is on the side of the angels, and these clowns need to give her some real answers or shut up and stop acting like spoiled bullies. As she tweeted earlier today:

Going forward,if we pull back unspent stimulus $, how will the budget in #MO be balanced? Who will take the billion $ cut?Impt to be honest

Ah yes, honest … how novel.

 

The word from Dave Catanese suggests a disappointing or interesting turn of events in the Cynthia Davis saga:

“I plan on being a candidate in 2010, but not for Missouri State Auditor,” Davis said.

Now, let’s see. Cynthia Davis could run for the State Senate against Scott Rupp, (edit: she could run for Congress against Todd Akin, which would be hilarious), she could run for a St. Charles county or municipal office in O’Fallon, or she could run for the U. S. Senate against Roy Blunt and provide us hours of entertainment. As a Kansas City sports fan, I always bet on disappointment, so I’m sure Cynthia is prepping her race for Director of Elections or Collector of Revenue.

Cynthia Davis also bashed Tom Schweich for donating to Claire McCaskill and praising the composition of Obama’s cabinet. Because blind party loyalty is what you want in an auditor.

Meanwhile, Chuck Purgason moves onwards, hitting Roy Blunt on earmarks. No word on when Blunt will just start voting against budgets or not voting, before claiming credit for the earmarks. It’s what Kit Bond would do.

Talk about taking lemons and making lemonade. Cynthia Davis is termed out of HD 19 and has been considering a run for statewide office, and she seems to think her recent bout of national notoriety (Stephen Colbert on Cynthia Davis, Olbermann spanks Cynthia Davis, Cynthia Davis: Home cookin’) might help her win the GOP primary for auditor.  I said from the outset of this brouhaha that she would enjoy being a victim.

And she might be right about the publicity. Every child who has ever risked detention for the fun of creating a disturbance in class can tell you that negative attention is better than nothing. It beats being boring, and it gets the admiration of a certain classroom demographic.

Now she gets to strut in front of all the tea party looneys in the state as the bull goose looney. She’s way more interesting than goody two shoes Thomas Schweich, Jack Danforth’s protege. Schweich has announced he’s running for auditor.

Of course, Allen Icet, head of the Budget Committee in the House, is also running for auditor, and he’s every bit as looney as Cynthia, but … he’s never been spanked by Olbermann and Colbert. It’s not too late, though. If he makes enough noise about how he first threatened to refuse the stimulus funds, then tried to spend them on a tax cut, and finally tried to spend the whole two year’s worth in one session, maybe they would take pity on him and rail against his stupidity.

Because otherwise he’s just going to have to depend on getting 81 of the 89 Republican representatives to endorse him. Pretty dull stuff.

photo of Daffy Duck courtesy of Flickr user Christian & Cie under a Creative Commons license.

State Representative Allen Icet, the republican chair of the House Budget Committee, has announced his candidacy for State Auditor in 2010.

Via Twitter:

In case you haven’t heard I have announced for State Auditor in 2010. Go to http://bit.ly/fKtbd to read the details. #MOAUDITOR about 1 hour ago from web

That link? It goes to his press release on the Pelopidas web site. Pelopidas? Where have we seen that before?:

Today’s Republican Floor Leader co-owns plane with Lobbyist story is

A Plane, a Business, a Representative, and a Lobbyist

A Plane, a Business, a Representative, and a Lobbyist, part 2

A Plane, a Business, a Representative, and a Lobbyist, part 3  

The Allen Icet press release:

House Budget Chairman, Allen Icet, Announces Bid For Missouri State Auditor

(St. Louis, MO) State Representative Allen Icet (R-Wildwood), Chairman of the House Budget Committee, announced today his intention to run for Missouri State Auditor.

“After serious consideration with my family and trusted friends, it is my intention to seek the office of State Auditor in 2010,” Icet announced. “The Auditor is the top taxpayer advocate and watchdog in the state, responsible for rooting out waste, fraud and abuse of our tax dollars.”

Icet has served on the powerful House Budget Committee since he was first elected to the state legislature in 2002. In 2005, Icet became Chairman of the House Budget Committee after serving one year as Vice-Chair. Icet has become well-known for his staunch defense of taxpayer dollars.

“Over the past four years as House Budget Chair I’ve worked to bring prudent fiscal management to the state’s budget,” explained Icet. “As Missouri’s next state Auditor, I will use that experience to continue protecting taxpayers by fighting for accountability and transparency in state spending.”

Under Icet’s leadership Missouri enjoyed unprecedented budget surpluses by focusing on fiscal restraint and accountability while continuing to meet critical healthcare needs, improve transportation and increasing education funding without a single tax increase.  Representative Icet said, “We forced state government to live within its means just as every Missouri family must do.  That effort put Missouri in better fiscal shape than almost any other state in the nation.”

Icet believes his campaign will be an effort behind which all Missouri Republicans can unite.

“There has been much discussion within our party about the need to stand united for the 2010 election. In accepting the Spirit of Enterprise Award last Thursday night, former U.S. Senator and U.N. Ambassador John Danforth called on Missouri Republicans to stand together. I hope my candidacy will provide the entire Missouri GOP a campaign that we can all get excited about,” concluded Icet.

Icet received his Bachelor’s of Science Degree from Texas A&M University in Civil Engineering and obtained a Master’s in Business Administration from Washington University (St. Louis). Allen Icet and his wife, Carol, reside in Wildwood, MO. They have four children.

June 15, 2009                                                                      

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE…                                          

Our friends at Fired Up have all kinds of details about Allen Icet’s recent tenure as budget chair in the Missouri House:

Icet running for State Auditor

Do yourself a favor, follow those links.

Phil Wright of Madsen & Wright, a lobbyist registered with the Missouri Ethics Commission, spoke on Thursday night to the Johnson County Democratic Club on the recently concluded legislative session. His presentation covered a wide range of subjects including the impact of economic stabilization and stimulus funds, term limits, controversial bills, and the budget. His talk (and questions from the audience) was well over forty minutes long. What follows is a transcript of a portion of his presentation dealing with the budget process this session:

Phil Wright, Madsen & Wright, speaking to the Johnson County Democratic Club on Thursday night.

Phil Wright, Madsen & Wright: [23:01]…Let me talk a little bit about the budget process. And I do follow the budget…And it was…I don’t think you’ve ever seen it like this year in where the subcommittees go through their hearing process.  And they had a parade of people come and give their testimony and they talked to them about the issues and things like priorities and that are needs for their area. And the subcommittees make their recommendations; they hear reports and then make their recommendations and they, to the, to the budget committee.  Well the budget bills have already been written. Behind closed doors. They haven’t been introduced, so anybody can see them.  And so, all that work was just sort of wasted.  It wasn’t, it wasn’t taken to account. Nobody really did anything with it, but because the chairman, Allen Icet [r], wrote, wrote the bill and dictated on what that was going to be. He had his plan on how he was going to do it. And then the chairman in the Senate Appropriations, Gary Nodler [r], had his plan and how he was going to do it. And then you had the Governor’s office who had to administer all this, so they had, they were trying to figure out a plan as well…

…Now I do believe that the Senate and The Governor’s office were talking much more than anybody was ever talking to the House.  It became very obvious when, in years past there’s been, okay, the House is gonna put this money in ’cause they don’t want to touch this one issue, but the Senate will touch that one issue, they’ll put some money in.  And then when, and then whenever they get to conference, they’ll trade it out. Well, in this year the House did their thing, the Senate did their thing. And, and they’re like this. I mean, there was never, there was never a, there never seemed to be a connection until conference, and even then it was just kind of, it, it was just a very bizarre process. About the time you start to have things figured out, that they were changing on you.  And, and move money out, and, you know, we saw House Bill 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21 and 22 introduced. Completely, and a lot of that time, because they were moving money around, they were saying, “Well, I don’t like, I don’t like what’s in that bill, so I’m gonna put, I’m gonna do my thing over here in this bill.” There wasn’t really any rhyme or reason to it. It was more about, it, they, they weren’t going to pay any attention to the process. It was ugly to watch. It was ugly to try and participate in. And it was damn hard to participate in it…

…But it was also hard for legislators to represent their constituents.  I, I don’t see how, I mean  I talked with, with Representative Hoskins and Senator Pearce on a regular basis to try to help them figure things out and so they could help me figure things out, too. And it was difficult because the information was not being shared. At all. They were asking, they were looking, and the information was not being shared.  And, so I don’t know how, hopefully the process will be better next year.  Yeah.

Show Me Progress: I find it interesting because, you know, Denny Hoskins is on the budget committee, am I correct? And he ran as a CPA.

Phil Wright: Yes.

SMP:  And he’s, it’s now he’s got trouble with the, the process of the budget? Or was he cut out of it?

Phil Wright: Every single legislator on the committee knew nothing, except for the chair. And if, and if, but if others did know, and they weren’t, and they weren’t sharing it, they were very good at hiding it…[26:54]