We’d have ham and eggs, if we had some ham, and if we had some eggs.

Friday, in the Warrensburg Daily Star-Journal:

11/5/2010 11:04:00 AM

House chooses leader

Warrensburg – Rep. Denny Hoskins said he is positioning himself to one day, perhaps, chair the House Budget Committee, but not this year….

….Hoskins said part of his plan included taking no action to seek a House leadership position this week, such as caucus leader.

“I decided not to run for any leadership position because I would like to be a chair of a committee,” he said. “If you hold any leadership position you cannot be a chair of a committee. In the Senate, because there are fewer of them than of us, they can hold a leadership position and be a chair of a committee….”

[emphasis added]

Spoils, what spoils?

Heh. They had a plan. As in, see how you can spin it when you got nothing.

So much for plans:

[paraphrased]…Woody [the interviewer] asked Hoskins why he would be singled out for missing a vote. Hoskins replied that the Democratic leadership was under investigation by the FBI (mentioning Representative Paul LeVota by name). Hoskins went on to say that he was being picked on because he’s in the leadership of the freshman class, and that he’s considered future leadership [in the House]…

[emphasis added]

The best laid plans…

The results are in for the 121st Legislative District race:

State Representative – District 121

Precincts Reporting 7 of 7

Cole, Courtney DEM 3,479 38.0%

Hoskins, Denny L. REP 5,291 57.9%

Wayne, Bill LIB 375 4.1%

Total Votes 9,145

Regular readers here at Show Me Progress may have noted our coverage of the 121st District race. Part of this was due to our proximity to the action, but a larger part was the remarkable person who was the Democratic Party candidate, Courtney Cole – a smart and savvy candidate, a quick study and an individual with a thorough understanding of the nuts and bolts of campaigning. Someone who thrives on door to door voter contact.

In many ways this race was a microcosm of our universe with the added benefit of an incumbent who always somehow managed to find some way to stumble, but in the end somehow still managed to find a way to land on his feet – with the assistance of plenty of cash from the HRCC.

You can safely bet that the representative in the 121st Legislative District will continue to give us plenty to write about. And we’ll continue to give him the coverage he and his constituents deserve.

Update:

An e-mail sent by Courtney Cole (D) to her supporters:

…Congratulations on all that we’ve been able to accomplish with this campaign. This has truly been a positive experience and has provided me with so many opportunities along the way. We never would have had the success that we have without your support and that truly means the world to me.

I will not give up in my fight for what I think is right here in Johnson County. There are people hurting and that motivates me even more to get involved and help however I can to relieve their pain.

In the meantime, please stay informed on what is going on in our local and state governments. Reach out to your officials and respectfully work with them to bring solutions to the problems that we are facing.

Again, thank you for making this possible.

In your service,

Courtney

The republican robocalls:

HRCC robocall in the 121st Legislative District: desperation and homophobia (October 27, 2010)

The Missouri HRCC steps in it with homophobic robocalls (October 28, 2010)

And we followed the money.

The Missouri House republican Campaign Committee (HRCC) filed a “no name” report with the Missouri Ethics Commission on October 29th. There are some enlightening expenditures:

Detailed Summary of Expenditures And Contributions Made

Committe: HOUSE REPUBLICAN CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE INC

ReportDate: 10/29/2010

Survey St. Louis, LLC PO Box 432 Saint Charles, MO 63302-0432 10/28/2010 IE GOTV Call-Hoskins $1,288.54

Survey St. Louis, LLC PO Box 432 Saint Charles, MO 63302-0432 10/28/2010 IE GOTV Call-Brattin $1,141.13…

That’s for Denny Hoskins (r-noun, verb, CPA) in the 121st Legislative District and Rick Brattin (r) in the 124th Legislative District.

A photo taken on Thursday in Harrisonville, Missouri in the 124th Legislative District:

10/29/2010 2:08:00 PM

GOP robocall attacks Cole’s ‘family values’

Warrensburg – Rep. Denny Hoskins sought to distance himself Thursday from a robocall barrage targeting his Nov. 2 Democratic opponent….

….Hoskins said in a prepared statement. “I did not pay for, approve or have any knowledge of the robocall, nor do I condone its message….”

A photo taken today in Warrensburg, Missouri in the 121st Legislative District:

Why, that’s just across the street from Denny Hoskins’ place of business, complete with a campaign sign!

So, who is the representative from the 146th Legislative District?:

Representative Darrell Pollock, a Republican, represents part of Laclede and Camden County (District 146) in the Missouri House of Representatives. Rep. Pollock is a small business owner in Lebanon….

…He has two children, Stephen….

Where have we seen that name before? Oh, wait…someone is in the employ of the HRCC:

MISSOURI ETHICS COMMISSION

EXPENDITURES AND CONTRIBUTIONS MADE

HOUSE REPUBLICAN CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE [pdf] INC 10/12/2010

Stephen Pollock

Bolivar, MO

9/15/2010

Payroll

$10,330.80 [aggregate]

$750.00

Stephen Pollock

Bolivar, MO

9/2/2010

Travel Expense

10,330.80 [aggregate]

$1,098.42

HRCC? What HRCC?

Is someone working for the HRCC driving dad’s car around the 121st and 124th Legislative Districts? Around the same time as those robocalls? Just asking.

Previously:

HRCC robocall in the 121st Legislative District: desperation and homophobia (October 27, 2010)

The Missouri HRCC steps in it with homophobic robocalls (October 28, 2010)

Tilley (r) on HRCC robocalls: Uh, that didn’t go very well, did it? (October 28, 2010)

Tilley (r) on HRCC robocalls: “But, but, the Democrats are mean to us…” (October 29, 2010)

Tilley (r), the HRCC robocalls, and the media: “…testing, testing, testing, is this thing on?” (October 29, 2010)

Warrensburg Daily Star-Journal Headline: “GOP robocall attacks Cole’s ‘family values'” (October 29, 2010)

Campaign Finance: old media needs to learn to do some freakin’ research (October 29, 2010)

I guess I’m going to have to go with “No Comment” (October 29, 2010)

Another Democrat fights sleazy robocalls (October 30, 2010)

HRCC? What HRCC? I just like their swag… (October 30, 2010)

Missouri’s HRCC and the robocalls: follow the money (October 31, 2010)

The nasty republican robocall that started it all.

We received yet another mailer from Denny Hoskins (r-noun, verb, CPA) today and noticed a little detail that belies this assertion in yesterday’s Warrensburg Daily Star-Journal:

…Rep. Denny Hoskins sought to distance himself Thursday from a robocall barrage targeting his Nov. 2 Democratic opponent….

….Hoskins said in a prepared statement. “I did not pay for, approve or have any knowledge of the robocall, nor do I condone its message….”

It’s kind of hard to distance yourself from the House republican Campaign Committee (HRCC) when you’re wearing their swag in one of the few mail pieces paid for by your own campaign:

Nice shirt. Where’d you get it?

Uh, the HRCC?

Or when the Executive Director of the HRCC walks in the UCM homecoming parade with you, wearing your campaign t-shirt:

Dave Hageman, Missouri Executive Director of Victory Enterprises (left) and

Robert Knodell, Executive Director of the House Republican Campaign Committee (right)

Yesterday Courtney Cole‘s (D) campaign ran a robocall in response to the HRCC’s sleazy effort last Wednesday to promote homophobia.

The transcript:

Hello, this is Courtney Cole and I want to apologize to you for a phone call that my opponent sent out this week which contained false allegations attacking our Christian values.  My husband Jason and I raise our little girl, McKenzie here in the 121st district and we should expect integrity and decency from the campaigns of our local candidates.  Unfortunately, some people are willing to attack our community and my Christian values for their own political gain.  I ask for your support to allow me to represent the values that make our community a wonderful place to live and work by voting for me on Tuesday.  If you have any questions, please call me at home… or visit my website at http://www.votecourtneycole.com.  Paid for by Cole for House, Laurie Squiric, Treasurer.

Previously:

HRCC robocall in the 121st Legislative District: desperation and homophobia (October 27, 2010)

The Missouri HRCC steps in it with homophobic robocalls (October 28, 2010)

Tilley (r) on HRCC robocalls: Uh, that didn’t go very well, did it? (October 28, 2010)

Tilley (r) on HRCC robocalls: “But, but, the Democrats are mean to us…” (October 29, 2010)

Tilley (r), the HRCC robocalls, and the media: “…testing, testing, testing, is this thing on?” (October 29, 2010)

Warrensburg Daily Star-Journal Headline: “GOP robocall attacks Cole’s ‘family values'” (October 29, 2010)

Campaign Finance: old media needs to learn to do some freakin’ research (October 29, 2010)

I guess I’m going to have to go with “No Comment” (October 29, 2010)

Another Democrat fights sleazy robocalls (October 30, 2010)

I hope you got out and got some sunshine. I spent my day trying to get in touch with a couple of republican fellows who are up to their armpits in robocall bilge. –BG

I managed, through a source that was promised anonymity, to locate the cell phone numbers of the Executive Director of the HRCC and the Executive Director of Victory Strategies, a political strategy firm that is closely associated with the HRCC.

They are also pretty closely associated with Denny (Noun, Verb, CPA) Hoskins in Warrensburg, as you can see in this photo:

Dave Hageman, Missouri Executive Director of Victory Enterprises (left) and

Robert Knodell, Executive Director of the House Republican Campaign Committee (right)

Marching together in the CMSU UCM homecoming parade kinda makes the whole ‘recoil in horror and deny everything’ approach Denny has chosen not merely unbelievable, but, frankly, laughable mockworthy.

I first left a message for Mr. Knodell, but I didn’t expect a callback. He doesn’t even say his name on his voicemail greeting, just his number, but I gave it the old Mizzou try…Keep in mind I hate talking to machines…

“Hi, ah, my name is Tammy Booth and I am a reporter with “They Gave Us a Republic” that’s a national web, ah, national news website…they gave us a republic dot com, if you want to look at it…Ah, I was wondering…I’m looking for a man named Robert Knodell, and I’m wondering if I can get a comment on the HRCC decision to pull the robocalls that went out attacking schoolteachers and, and other Democrats, um…at the end of the, ah, that have now been pulled…and if you had a comment on the decision to launch them, and the decision to pull them. Thank you.”

I wasn’t too pushy…I waited a bit before sending him the following text message:

Hello, I am looking for Robert Knodell and a comment on the robocalls that went out and were quickly pulled.  Thank You. Tammy Booth theygaveusarepublic.com

I didn’t call Mr. Hageman. He wasn’t going to answer for me, and we both knew it, so I just cut to the chase and sent the following message:

Hello Mr. Hageman. My name is Tammy Booth and I am a reporter with the national news site theygaveusarepublic.com   I am looking for comments on the decision to first launch, then pull the robocall campaign that accused Democratic candidates of taking money from the gay porn industry?  Thank you.

It is now 7:30 p.m. on Friday, and neither of these fellows has seen fit to “man up” as Sharron Angle would say.

I can only assume then that they know they have no excuses, realize that they have done more harm than good (or as my father used to say “stepped on their dicks”) and they are bravely laying low ’til Tuesday.

They don’t just have “no comment,” they have the double-secret “no comment” that no one has to say.

Previous coverage below the fold.

HRCC robocall in the 121st Legislative District: desperation and homophobia (October 27, 2010)

The Missouri HRCC steps in it with homophobic robocalls (October 28, 2010)

Tilley (r) on HRCC robocalls: Uh, that didn’t go very well, did it? (October 28, 2010)

Tilley (r) on HRCC robocalls: “But, but, the Democrats are mean to us…” (October 29, 2010)

Tilley (r), the HRCC robocalls, and the media: “…testing, testing, testing, is this thing on?” (October 29, 2010)

The negative fallout from the House republican Campaign Committee (HRCC) attack robocalls continues locally.

The text of the calls:

Female voice: This is an urgent alert for all Christian families. Before you vote you should know that state representative candidate Courtney Cole has taken hundreds in campaign donations from a representative of the hard core pornography industry, including gay pornography. By allowing her Democratic campaign to be funded by those who are involved with and support hard core pornography Courtney Cole clearly does not share our Christian family values. On election day stand up for what’s right and decent by voting no on Courtney Cole. Paid for by House Republican Campaign Committee, Inc.

Courtney Cole (center) and her family.

The Warrensburg Daily Star-Journal ran a front page story, above the fold, on the HRCC robocalls within the 121st Legislative District:

10/29/2010 2:08:00 PM

GOP robocall attacks Cole’s ‘family values’

Warrensburg – Rep. Denny Hoskins sought to distance himself Thursday from a robocall barrage targeting his Nov. 2 Democratic opponent….

….Hoskins said in a prepared statement. “I did not pay for, approve or have any knowledge of the robocall, nor do I condone its message….”

….The Star-Journal received phone calls and e-mails, and a visit from former House Rep. Deleta Williams, all denouncing the House Republican Campaign Committee’s robocall content.

“These robocalls that are being made against Courtney Cole and in support of Denny Hoskins, paid for the HRCC, are despicable,” Williams said Thursday. “They cross the line of campaign decency. I believe it’s a threat to our democracy because more and more good, qualified people will become increasingly reluctant to serve in public office when they know that they or their families may be targeted by these types of tactics.”

That distancing thing is really quite interesting.

The Executive Director of Missouri’s HRCC, Robert Knodell and Missouri Executive Director of Victory Enterprises, Dave Hageman walked with Denny Hoskins (r) in the UCM homecoming parade on October 23rd wearing Hoskins’ campaign t-shirts:

Dave Hageman, Missouri Executive Director of Victory Enterprises (left) and

Robert Knodell, Executive Director of the House Republican Campaign Committee (right)

“…I did not pay for, approve or have any knowledge of the robocall, nor do I condone its message…”

As we previously wrote about those folks walking in the parade:

That makes it difficult for Denny Hoskins (r-noun, verb, CPA) to distance himself from the HRCC, don’t you think?

Previously:

HRCC robocall in the 121st Legislative District: desperation and homophobia (October 27, 2010)

The Missouri HRCC steps in it with homophobic robocalls (October 28, 2010)

Tilley (r) on HRCC robocalls: Uh, that didn’t go very well, did it? (October 28, 2010)

Tilley (r) on HRCC robocalls: “But, but, the Democrats are mean to us…” (October 29, 2010)

Tilley (r), the HRCC robocalls, and the media: “…testing, testing, testing, is this thing on?” (October 29, 2010)

Previously:

HRCC robocall in the 121st Legislative District: desperation and homophobia (October 27, 2010)

The Missouri HRCC steps in it with homophobic robocalls (October 28, 2010)

Tilley (r) on HRCC robocalls: Uh, that didn’t go very well, did it? (October 28, 2010)

Tilley (r) on HRCC robocalls: “But, but, the Democrats are mean to us…” (October 29, 2010)

In the United States Constitution:

Article. VI.

….The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.

[emphasis added]

In the Missouri Constitution:

Article I

BILL OF RIGHTS

Section 5

…that no person shall, on account of his religious persuasion or belief, be rendered ineligible to any public office or trust or profit in this state…

[emphasis added]

In the aftermath of the offensive robocalls presented across the state by the House republican Campaign Committee (HRCC) which were directed at Democratic Party candidates for the Missouri General Assembly no one in the old media appears to be asking Steve Tilley (r) and the HRCC how the message of the robocalls…

This is an urgent alert for all Christian families….clearly does not share our Christian family values….Paid for by House Republican Campaign Committee, Inc.

…a candidate meeting someone’s definition of “Christian family values” –  coincides with those constitutional clauses.

Well? We’re waiting. [sound of crickets]

Previously:

HRCC robocall in the 121st Legislative District: desperation and homophobia (October 27, 2010)

The Missouri HRCC steps in it with homophobic robocalls (October 28, 2010)

Tilley (r) on HRCC robocalls: Uh, that didn’t go very well, did it? (October 28, 2010)

Heh.

Campaign pulls calls following criticism

Robo-calls from GOP allege Norr had ties with pornography industry.

Roseann Moring • News-Leader • October 29, 2010

….Tilley, the 2011 House speaker-elect, also criticized House Democrats, saying they have run worse ads.

“These calls pale in comparison to the misleading and malicious attacks by the Missouri Democratic Party against Republican candidates across the state,” he said. “I call on my Democrat colleagues to apologize and to do as we have done by ending the negative personal attacks against Republicans contained in ads, calls and mailers in the closing days.”

Yeah, running those bogus robocalls about pornography and religious “family values” is equivalent to pointing out that republicans didn’t pay over $20,000.00 in taxes on time or that they happen to own a plane with a lobbyist. That seems to work really well for old media, you know, all things being equal.

You can smell the republican flop sweat.

Today the House republican Campaign Committee ran a robocall in the 121st Legislative District attacking Courtney Cole (D) in terms that have never been seen before in this district:

Female voice: This is an urgent alert for all Christian families. Before you vote you should know that state representative candidate Courtney Cole has taken hundreds in campaign donations from a representative of the hard core pornography industry, including gay pornography. By allowing her Democratic campaign to be funded by those who are involved with and support hard core pornography Courtney Cole clearly does not share our Christian family values. On election day stand up for what’s right and decent by voting no on Courtney Cole. Paid for by House Republican Campaign Committee, Inc.

Evidently they don’t care about the Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, or Wiccan (among many others) families in the district. Or maybe the HRCC feels less urgency for those families. Are they saying their favorite candidate feels the same way? Just asking. They know him better than we do.

A baseless accusation with no substance. Check. Exploiting religion. Check. Homophobia. Check. That’s the Missouri republican party for you. And those ain’t exactly family values.

The folks in the HRCC who paid for this robocall were walking with Denny Hoskins (r-noun, verb, CPA) and wearing his campaign t-shirt in last weekend’s homecoming parade in Warrensburg:

Dave Hageman, Missouri Executive Director of Victory Enterprises (left) and

Robert Knodell, Executive Director of the House Republican Campaign Committee (right)

That makes it difficult for Denny Hoskins (r-noun, verb, CPA) to distance himself from the HRCC, don’t you think?

Do you think he cares? Just asking.

The Missouri republican party continues to prop up Denny Hoskins (r-noun, verb, CPA) with attack mail directed at Courtney Cole (D) in the 121st Legislative District race.

The mail piece disclaimer. Ah, the usual suspects.

The Missouri republican party filed their “8 Day Before General Election” campaign finance report with the Missouri Ethics Commission on October 25th:

Detailed Summary of Expenditures And Contributions Made

Committe: MO REPUBLICAN PARTY

ReportDate: 10/25/2010

Majority Strategies Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 10/11/2010 IE direct expenditure Hos $6,970.74

Majority Strategies Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 10/21/2010 IE direct expenditure Hos $3,074.27

Majority Strategies Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 10/06/2010 IE direct expenditure Hos $6,151.58

[emphasis added]

No wonder Denny Hoskins’ (r) campaign hasn’t spent much on mail. Everyone else is doing it for him.

Let’s see. They continue to recycle this stuff from their previous attack mail:

“…Cole is a card-carrying member of a liberal special interest group…”

Uh, Courtney Cole (D) is a high school teacher. The footnote refers to the Missouri National Education Association (MNEA), a group which advocates for our children and our public schools.

Uh, didn’t that “card carrying” bullshit go out with the anti-fluoridation whack jobs from the fifties? Apparently not. Same type of right wing extremists, different wedge issues….

“…is funded and backed by radical politicians and interest groups…”

The republican leadership in the Missouri General Assembly? Really? Oh, wait…

How Nixonian (Richard) – you know, he was found to have voted with Vito Marcantonio.

Here’s they stoopid and lazy:

No specifics, just guilt by innuendo. Maybe no one will bother to look anything up, eh?

Nothing about paying taxes on time, either. Interesting.