Every once and a while I take a look at the The Record Blog, which is sponsored by the conservative Missouri Record online journal. I like to see what the other guys are talking about and how they are arguing their points. Occasionally, my curiosity is repaid and the journal’s editor and main blogger, Patrick Tuohey, or another contributor actually construct an argument for their point of view that that is really an argument, not simply a litany of slogans. However, I am at a loss to explain this short post on Susan Montee’s appointment as the incoming Chair of the Missouri Democratic party:

.

… state Democrats have given us a chair.  To wit, Susan Montee, former State Auditor-elect has been chosen to serve as furniture.

………..

… We’re just worried about the rest of the office suite.  There is no word yet on who will be serving as table, credenza or file cabinet.  But rest assured, once a capable credenza has been elected, a margarita machine will be placed upon him or her forthwith.

I am taking up your time by drawing your attention to this clunky attempt at humor because I don’t get it. Do I have to be a right winger to understand what Tuohey is getting at? Is he that worried that substituting “chair” for chairman is too politically correct – a label that makes strong wingers tremble? Or, if he concedes to the desire for courtesy that leads some to use gender neutral words now that more women are active in business and political life, does he just prefer “chairperson”? Is he trying to lampoon Montee specifically, or the state Democratic Party (here the comparison to furniture might actually be kind of apt given the Party’s general lifelessness)? Or maybe, like some five year olds I have met, he thinks the word “chair” in this context is funny all by itself? If so, it explains a lot.

At any rate, the bit about the margarita machine on the office credenza (elected or not) is not a bad suggestion, and Montee should take it under consideration. It might liven things up a little – which would be a welcome change for the state party. Ooops! Did I just get the joke?  

We just received word that outgoing State Auditor Susan Montee was elected chair of the Missouri Democratic Party today.

Missouri Revised Statutes

Chapter 115

Election Authorities and Conduct of Elections

Section 115.623

State committee to meet and organize, when.

115.623. The members of the state committee elected as provided in section 115.621 shall meet at a time and place to be designated by the current state committee chairman. The meeting shall occur no earlier than two weeks following the election of members to the state committee. At the meeting, the committee shall organize by electing a chairman and a vice chairman, one of whom shall be a woman, and a secretary and a treasurer, one of whom shall be a woman, and who may or may not be members of the committee. In the event a vacancy shall occur in the office of chairman, a vacancy shall also be declared in the office of vice chairman and a new election shall be held for filling the vacancies of both chairman and vice chairman, one of whom shall be a woman.

(L. 1977 H.B. 101 § 14.045, A.L. 1983 S.B. 234, A.L. 1986 H.B. 1471, et al., A.L. 1994 S.B. 650)

Effective 1-1-95

Update:

Susan Montee via Twitter:

I would like to thank the members of the Missouri Democratic Party State Committee today. I am honored to serve as your new Party Chair.     about 1 hour ago  via web  

I look forward to working with all Missouri Democrats as we move ahead towards the 2012 election cycle!     about 1 hour ago  via web

Yesterday:

[Susan Montee] says Democrats did a poor job of getting their message out during the past election and a poor job of getting Democratic-inclined voters in rural areas to the polls. But she says there’s little that an auditor’s candidate could have done to drive up voter turnout.

Montee has served in various Democratic Party roles over the years. She declined to say whether she was interested in a Democratic leadership position after her auditor’s term ends in January.

Let’s not be that narrow, Democrats didn’t just do a poor job getting Democratic-inclined voters in rural areas to the polls, they also did a poor job getting Democratic-inclined voters in urban areas to the polls. I need to write up and finish up the Kansas City Ward-by-Ward summary that proves that exact point.

And… today

Susan Montee is the new Chair of the Missouri Democratic Party!

Considering the fabulous electoral record of the Missouri Democratic Party in the last decade, I suspect this will be the last we hear of Susan for 2 years or so.

Money votes, in increments of $10,000.00:

State Auditor

Precincts Reporting 3411 of 3411

Montee, Susan DEM 867,663 45.4%

Schweich, Tom REP 971,953 50.9%

Baum, Charles W. LIB 70,616 3.7%

Total Votes 1,910,232

Now what, Governor Nixon?

The republican challenger, Tom Schweich (r-rock star), has a very interesting campaign report filed today with the Missouri Ethics Commission:

Detailed Summary of Contributions And Loans Received

Committee: SCHWEICH FOR AUDITOR

Report Date: 10/25/2010

11. TOTAL CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED AT FUND-RAISERS AS REPORTED IN LINE 8 ON FORM CD 1A $0.00

12. TOTAL ANONYMOUS CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED FROM PERSONS GIVING $25 OR LESS $0.00

13. TOTAL MONETARY CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED FROM PERSONS GIVING $100 OR LESS $0.00

14. TOTAL IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED FROM PERSONS (NOT COMMITTEES) GIVING $100 OR LESS $0.00

[emphasis added]

The smallest contribution listed was for $200.00. The largest (there were two at this amount) were for $100,000.00.

Here’s the thing. How can a statewide candidate running in Missouri not get any small dollar contributions? As in zero, zip, nothing, nada, nil. Can anyone even envision the statistical improbability of this occurring? What does Tom Schweich’s campaign do, send back any $10.00 contributions with a note saying, “Don’t bother, we’re not interested unless you can multiply that by ten thousand”? Just asking.

Schweich’s (r) report shows $2,091,579.45 in total receipts for the election with $1,613,386.79 in expenditures and $439,155.23 on hand at the end of the reporting period.

And the excess continues:

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] 10/25/2010

Gerald Cook

Ozark, MO

Loren Cook Co.

10/25/2010

$10,000.00

[emphasis added]

Contrast those reports with the one filed today with the Missouri Ethics Commission by State Auditor Susan Montee (D):

Detailed Summary of Contributions And Loans Received

Committee: MONTEE FOR AUDITOR

Report Date: 10/25/2010

Edward E. Adams St. Louis, MO Retired/Retired 10/09/2010 $10.00

Jeffrey G. Alvarado Warrensburg, MO L3 Communication Vertex Aerospace CFT/Skin Mechanic 10/15/2010 $30.00

Glen L. Atkinson Lee’s Summit, MO Retired/Retired 10/05/2010 $25.00

Margaret L. Bardgett Kansas City, MO Retired 10/05/2010 $25.00

Jean Barnard Rogersville, MO Retired/Retired 10/05/2010 $25.00

Audrey Buzzard Shelbina, MO Shelby County Missouri/Elected Official 10/16/2010 $10.00

Leland D. Cook Road Bolivar, MO Retired/Retired 10/06/2010 $15.00

[emphasis added]

…and a lot more just like those.

The contrast is jarring.

Susan Montee’s (D) report shows $1,172,376.92 total receipts for the election with $1,070,153.00 in expenditures and $97,244.40 on hand at the end of the reporting period.

Anyone want to buy a republican State Auditor? It ain’t cheap.

The republican establishment money machine is dumping cash into the race for State Auditor between incumbent Susan Montee (D) and challenger Tom Schweich (r-rock star) at a rate that is astonishing obscene. The thing is, they don’t care about appearances or what anyone else thinks.

Just yesterday, via the 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] 10/20/2010

Republican State Committee

Jefferson City, MO

10/20/2010

$100,000.00

Sam Fox

St. Louis, MO

Harbour Group

10/20/2010

$100,000.00

David C. Humphreys

Joplin, MO

Tamko Building Products

10/20/2010

$25,000.00

[emphasis added]

Those aren’t typos. That’s a total of $225,000.00. There’s more.

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] 10/20/2010

Roy Pfautch

St. Louis, MO

Civic Services, Inc.

10/20/2010

$10,000.00

[emphasis added]

Seems kind of cheap in comparison, don’t it?

State Auditor Susan Montee (D) just released another television commercial:

Announcer: They’re calling this the great recession, the worst downturn in eighty years. The state faces tough choices like cutting services or raising taxes. A dangerous time to elect someone with no accounting and no auditing experience, like Tom Schweich.

State Auditor Susan Montee is a twenty-five year CPA who’s conservative management has saved us millions. And, after all we’ve been through, we need an auditor who’s actually an auditor, Susan Montee.

And the republican challenger, who will he look after?:

COMMITTEE: MECID:C091153

SCHWEICH FOR AUDITOR

Electronically Filed Reports

I.D. Report Date Received

19712 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 10/20/2010

19707 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 10/20/2010

19167 OCTOBER – COMMITTEE QUARTERLY REPORT 10/16/2010

19001 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 10/15/2010

17223 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 10/05/2010

17213 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 10/05/2010

16870 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 10/01/2010

16829 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 09/30/2010

16777 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 09/29/2010

16656 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 09/25/2010

16597 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 09/23/2010

16586 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 09/22/2010

16529 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 09/20/2010

16207 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 09/08/2010

15956 30 DAY AFTER PRIMARY ELECTION 09/02/2010

15054 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 08/30/2010

13958 24 HOUR NOTICE – PRIMARY ELECTION 08/02/2010

13904 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 07/31/2010

13801 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 07/30/2010

13418 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 07/27/2010

13357 24 HOUR NOTICE – PRIMARY ELECTION 07/27/2010

13151 8 DAY BEFORE PRIMARY ELECTION 07/26/2010

11474 JULY – COMMITTEE QUARTERLY REPORT 07/15/2010

8910 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 06/30/2010

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

6235 APRIL – COMMITTEE QUARTERLY REPORT 04/14/2010

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

1686 JANUARY – COMMITTEE QUARTERLY REPORT 01/15/2010

Yep, there’s an awful lot of “grassroots” folks in there who can afford to make thos large campaign contributions over $5,000.00 don’t you think?

Well, after a one day delay on the part of the republican candidate for State Auditor (uh, he missed the deadline) all of the candidate campaign finance reports are in.

Thomas Schweich (r-rock star) filed his third quarter campaign finance report with the Missouri Ethics Commission today – October 16th:

Detailed Summary of Committee Disclosure Report

Committe: SCHWEICH FOR AUDITOR

ReportDate: 10/15/2010

1. TOTAL RECEIPTS FOR THIS ELECTION PREVIOUSLY REPORTED $1,280,141.45

2. ALL MONETARY CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED THIS PERIOD $463,111.00

9. TOTAL ALL RECEIPTS THIS ELECTION(SUM 1B + 7A – 8A) $1,750,584.45

15. TOTAL EXPENDITURES THIS ELECTION (SUM 10B + 14A) $1,265,584.95

25. MONEY ON HAND AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS REPORTING PERIOD (INCLUDING FUNDS IN DEPOSITORY, CASH, SAVINGS ACCOUNTS AND ALL OTHER INVESTMENTS) $45,251.31

28. MONEY ON HAND AT THE CLOSE OF THIS REPORTING PERIOD (SUM 25 + 26 – 27) $445,962.07

[emphasis added]

Okay, there was some serious propping up going in in the last month. Let’s see where the money came from:

Detailed Summary of Contributions And Loans Received

Committee: SCHWEICH FOR AUDITOR

Report Date: 10/15/2010

9. AMOUNT OF ITEM 8 THAT WAS RECEIVED AS MONETARY CONTRIBUTIONS $463,111.00

10. AMOUNT OF ITEM 8 THAT WAS RECEIVED AS IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS $7,332.00

B. NON-ITEMIZED CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED

11. TOTAL CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED AT FUND-RAISERS AS REPORTED IN LINE 8 ON FORM CD 1A $0.00

12. TOTAL ANONYMOUS CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED FROM PERSONS GIVING $25 OR LESS $0.00

13. TOTAL MONETARY CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED FROM PERSONS GIVING $100 OR LESS $0.00

14. TOTAL IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED FROM PERSONS (NOT COMMITTEES) GIVING $100 OR LESS $0.00

[emphasis added]

Mull over those figures for a bit. There were no small dollar contributions. None. Not someone’s grandmother contributing $10.00 to keep those godless communists in the Democratic Party from controlling a statewide office, not $10.00 from some teabagger upset by the international presidential birth certificate conspiracy, not $10.00 from an angry guy in a power chair who is livid about the government takeover of our private Medicare. Nothing. Nada. Zip.

Let’s look at additional details from the same form:

Detailed Summary of Contributions And Loans Received

Committee: SCHWEICH FOR AUDITOR

Report Date: 10/15/2010

Jay Selanders Kansas City, MO Attorney 09/30/2010 $125.00

Thomas Van Dyke Leawood, KS Attorney 09/30/2010 $125.00

John Craft Kansas City, MO Attorney 09/30/2010 $125.00

Mark Dudenhoeffer Lee’s Summit, MO Austin Hardware 09/30/2010 $125.00

Warren Erdman Kansas City, MO KC Southern 09/30/2010 $125.00

Robert Hertzog Lee’s Summit, MO Physician 09/30/2010 $125.00

Those were the six smallest contributions.

Let’s look at the biggest ones from the same form, not bothering to list the $1,000.00 ones individually:

Detailed Summary of Contributions And Loans Received

Committee: SCHWEICH FOR AUDITOR

Report Date: 10/15/2010

Lewis & Clark Regional Leadership Fund St. Charles, MO 09/07/2010 $10,000.00

Edward Levy Birmingham, MI Edwardy C. Levy Co. 09/22/2010 $5,000.00

John Mahaffey Springfield, MO Self Employed 09/29/2010 $2,500.00

John Mahaffey Springfield, MO Self Employed 09/29/2010 $2,500.00

(That’s two $2,500 contributions on the same day from the same individual)

Centene Mgmt Co., LLC Centene Corporation St. Louis, MO 09/30/2010 $10,000.00

James McDonnell St. Louis, MO Retired 09/07/2010 $2,500.00

Fred Mcqueary Springfield, MO Physician 09/29/2010 $2,500.00

Ronald Neville Springfield, MO Investor 09/29/2010 $2,500.00

David O’Reilly Springfield, MO O’Reilly Automotive 09/16/2010 $2,500.00

Larry Petersen Springfield, MO Physician 09/29/2010 $2,500.00

Roy Pfautch St. Louis, MO Civic Progress 09/29/2010 $20,000.00

Edwin Rice Springfield, MO Ozarks Coca-Cola 09/01/2010 $2,500.00

John Ricketts Springfield, MO Retired 09/29/2010 $2,500.00

Robin Roodman Marion, IL Homemaker 09/20/2010 $5,000.00

Steven Roodman Marion, IL Physician 09/20/2010 $5,000.00

Andrew Rowen New York, NY Sullivan & Cromwell 08/31/2010 $2,500.00

Mary Rowen New York, NY Homemaker 08/31/2010 $2,500.00

Scott Schnuck St. Louis, MO Schnuck Markets 09/30/2010 $2,400.00

Blair Financial Services, Inc. St. Louis, MO 09/30/2010 $10,000.00

Penmac Personnel Services, Inc. Springfield, MO 09/29/2010 $2,500.00

Rex Sinquefield Westphalia, MO 65085 Investor 09/22/2010 $5,000.00

Kelly Swanson Kimberling City, MO Marina Owner 09/10/2010 $2,500.00

Robert Topping St. Charles, MO Western Aerospace 09/30/2010 $10,000.00

Steven Trulaske O’Fallon, MO True Manufacturing Co. 09/24/2010 $10,000.00

George Weber, III St. Louis, MO Auto Dealer 09/22/2010 $4,000.00

H.E. Whitener Fair Grove, MO Trailiner Corp. 09/27/2010 $2,500.00

Rosalie Wooten Springfield, MO Retired 09/22/2010 $2,500.00

Drury Development St. Louis, MO 09/30/2010 $2,500.00

Faultless Starch Kansas City, MO 09/30/2010 $5,000.00

Hager Companies St. Louis, MO 09/23/2010 $10,000.00

Ron Richard Joplin, MO 08/31/2010 $5,000.00

SRC Holdings Corp. Springfield, MO 09/29/2010 $2,500.00

Schnuck Markets, Inc St. Louis, MO 08/30/2010 $1,000.00

Schnuck Markets, Inc St. Louis, MO 09/30/2010 $2,600.00

(for an aggregate of $3,600.00 in the quarter)

The Durham Co. Lebanon, MO 09/29/2010 $2,500.00

Kevin Austin Springfield, MO Attorney 09/29/2010 $2,500.00

Kevin Beckmann Town & Country, MO Self Employed 09/29/2010 $20,000.00

Republican State Committee Jefferson City, MO 09/30/2010 $25,000.00

Strategic Communications, LLC Cape Girardeau, MO 63701 09/30/2010 $4,500.00 In-Kind

TSI Holding Company St. Louis, MO 09/30/2010 $10,000.00

Loren Cook Springfield, MO Loren Cook Company 08/30/2010 $2,500.00

James Cooper Springfield, MO CB Mgmt Co. 09/30/2010 $2,500.00

Sabreliner Corp. St. Louis, MO 09/29/2010 $5,000.00

Thomas Danis St. Louis, MO Retired 09/21/2010 $5,000.00

Ann Dickinson Kansas City, MO Bank Midwest 09/16/2010 $2,500.00

Stephen Ditman Godfrey, IL Pricewaterhouse Coopers 09/22/2010 $10,000.00

J. Neal Ethridge Springfield, MO Great Plains Ent. 08/30/2010 $2,500.00

Rudolph Farber Neosho, MO Banker 08/30/2010 $2,500.00

Gregory Fox St. Louis, MO Harbour Group 09/16/2010 $5,000.00

Jeffrey Fox St. Louis, MO Harbour Group 09/20/2010 $5,000.00

Sam Fox St. Louis, MO Harbour Group 09/29/2010 $10,000.00

Kurt Hellweg Springfield, MO Intl Dehydrated Foods 09/30/2010 $2,500.00

Robert Hermann St. Louis, MO Retired 09/20/2010 $10,000.00

Peter Herschend Branson, MO Herschend Family Entertainment 09/07/2010 $5,000.00

David Humphreys Joplin, MO Tamko Building Products 08/30/2010 $50,000.00

Penn Enterprises, Inc. Springfield, MO 09/07/2010 $5,000.00

Positronic Industries Springfield, MO 09/29/2010 $2,500.00

[emphasis added]

Nothing says republican insider like really big bucks contributions and zero small dollar contributions.

…Investor…

Okay, we’ll call that unintentional irony.

And it looks like the foxes are in the rock star’s house.

Some of the expenditures:

Detailed Summary of Expenditures And Contributions Made

Committe: SCHWEICH FOR AUDITOR

ReportDate: 10/15/2010

Mason Enterprises, LLC Saint Louis, MO 08/30/2010 GOTV Expense $5,265.84

Strategic Communications, LLC Cape Girardeau, MO  09/23/2010 Yard Signs $4,906.60

Campaign Toolkit Saint Louis, MO 09/21/2010 Yard Signs $6,304.41

Aero Charter Chesterfield, MO 08/29/2010 Charter Airfare $3,276.00

Federal Express Memphis, TN 08/28/2010 Postage $1,135.31

McKellar Consulting Kansas City, MO 09/16/2010 Fundraising $5,286.00

State Auditor Susan Montee (D) filed her third quarter campaign report with the Missouri Ethics Commission on October 15th (on time!):

Detailed Summary of Committee Disclosure Report

Committe: MONTEE FOR AUDITOR

1. TOTAL RECEIPTS FOR THIS ELECTION PREVIOUSLY REPORTED $815,205.72

2. ALL MONETARY CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED THIS PERIOD $223,745.10

9. TOTAL ALL RECEIPTS THIS ELECTION(SUM 1B + 7A – 8A) $1,038,950.82

15. TOTAL EXPENDITURES THIS ELECTION (SUM 10B + 14A) $333,626.79

28. MONEY ON HAND AT THE CLOSE OF THIS REPORTING PERIOD (SUM 25 + 26 – 27) $700,344.51

35. TOTAL INDEBTEDNESS AT THE CLOSE OF THIS REPORTING PERIOD (SUM 29 + 30 + 31 – 32 – 33 – 34) $515,000.00

[emphasis added]

Some of the contributions:

Detailed Summary of Contributions And Loans Received

Committee: MONTEE FOR AUDITOR

Report Date: 10/15/2010

Clarence Bode Palmyra, MO Retired 09/19/2010 $10.00

Ira Anders Independence, MO Retired/ 09/02/2010 $15.00

Lloyd W. Kreiling Kansas City, MO Retired/Retired 09/27/2010 $10.00

B. NON-ITEMIZED CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED

12. TOTAL ANONYMOUS CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED FROM PERSONS GIVING $25 OR LESS $225.00

[emphasis added]

You get the picture. Yeah, there are a few big bucks contributions in there, too – after all this is a statewide race – but nowhere near the scale of the republican challenger.

Let’s look at some of the expenditures:

Detailed Summary of Expenditures And Contributions Made

Committe: MONTEE FOR AUDITOR

ReportDate: 10/15/2010

Affordable Car Rental, Inc Jefferson City MO 09/01/2010 Van Rental $1,292.70

Lynda Brotherton Richmond Heights MO 09/08/2010 Fundraising $5,000.00

Gateway Business Development LLC St. Louis MO 09/08/2010 Web Expenses $15,000.00

Global Strategy Group New York NY 09/08/2010 Polling Expense $25,150.00

Majority Strategies LLC St. Louis MO 09/08/2010 Fundraising Support $8,996.68

Ohlsen research Alexandria VA 09/18/2010 Research $5,000.00

There’s other stuff in there, too. This is a statewide campaign.

Charles Baum, the Libertarian candidate, filed his third quarter campaign finance report with the Missouri Ethics Commission on October 18th:

Detailed Summary of Committee Disclosure Report

Committe: CHARLES BAUM FOR STATE AUDITOR

1. TOTAL RECEIPTS FOR THIS ELECTION PREVIOUSLY REPORTED $125.00

2. ALL MONETARY CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED THIS PERIOD $25.00

15. TOTAL EXPENDITURES THIS ELECTION (SUM 10B + 14A) $46.10

28. MONEY ON HAND AT THE CLOSE OF THIS REPORTING PERIOD (SUM 25 + 26 – 27) $103.90

Bless them because they seem so sincere, but I don’t think they try very hard. I mean, I could probably raise more money panhandling downtown for a few hours.

The third quarter 2010 campaign finance reports are due on October 15th. If you’re running for State Auditor your campaign should probably try to make certain that you get the report in on time. At least for appearances sake when it comes to that aura of fiscal responsibility.

As of this writing (October 16) it appears that the campaign of Thomas Schweich (r-rock star) has not filed their quarterly report with the Missouri Ethics Commission.

COMMITTEE: MECID:C091153  

SCHWEICH FOR AUDITOR

Electronically Filed Reports

I.D. Report Date Received

19001 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 10/15/2010

17223 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 10/05/2010

17213 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 10/05/2010

16870 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 10/01/2010

16829 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 09/30/2010

16777 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 09/29/2010

16656 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 09/25/2010

16597 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 09/23/2010

16586 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 09/22/2010

16529 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 09/20/2010

16207 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 09/08/2010

15956 30 DAY AFTER PRIMARY ELECTION 09/02/2010

15054 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 08/30/2010

13958 24 HOUR NOTICE – PRIMARY ELECTION 08/02/2010

13904 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 07/31/2010

13801 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 07/30/2010

13418 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 07/27/2010

13357 24 HOUR NOTICE – PRIMARY ELECTION 07/27/2010

13151 8 DAY BEFORE PRIMARY ELECTION 07/26/2010

11474 JULY – COMMITTEE QUARTERLY REPORT 07/15/2010

8910 Other(Report of Contribution Received Over $5000) 06/30/2010

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

6235 APRIL – COMMITTEE QUARTERLY REPORT 04/14/2010

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

1686 JANUARY – COMMITTEE QUARTERLY REPORT 01/15/2010

[emphasis added]

It would also appear that Thomas Schweich (r) has the people with significant disposable income vote sewn up. Too bad for him there are very few voters in Missouri who fit that description. What his total contributors lack in numbers his actual contributors make up with really big dollars. But, we digress.

As you can see, they did file this:

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] 10/15/2010

Southwest Missouri Leadership PAC

Joplin, MO

10/15/2010

$25,000.00

[emphasis added]

Maybe this one came in in loose one dollar bills and they were too busy counting it to be able to file their other required paperwork?

Yep, State Auditor Susan Montee (D) filed:

COMMITTEE: MECID:C051204  

MONTEE FOR AUDITOR

Electronically Filed Reports

I.D. Report Date Received

19132 OCTOBER – COMMITTEE QUARTERLY REPORT 10/15/2010

And, yep, the Libertarian candidate, Charles Baum filed:

COMMITTEE: MECID:C101385  

CHARLES BAUM FOR STATE AUDITOR

Electronically Filed Reports

I.D. Report Date Received

17766 OCTOBER – COMMITTEE QUARTERLY REPORT 10/10/2010

Heh. Five days before the deadline.

Remember George Bush’s infamous “Brownie” of “heckuva job” fame?  Would you be surprised to learn that Missouri has its own bumbling BushCo veteran?

Tom Schweich, who is not a CPA, is running to replace State Auditor, Susan Montee (who, incidentally, is a CPA). Judging by Schweich’s webpage, his main qualifications for the State Auditor job are his fiscal conservatism and his administrative experience as an appointed official during the Bush regime. In respect to the level of competence that characterized Bush appointees, I remind you that there’s a reason for the evil chuckles when folks hear “heckuva job.” And Schweich, it seems is no exception to the rule.

According to an audit by the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, Schweich, during his tenure as a senior official in the Law Enforcement Division of the of the US State Department (2005-2008), not only bungled the audits of the Division that he boasts on his webpage that he “initiated,” but failed to correct problems when they were brought to his attention by the government’s real auditors.

The report is replete with phrases like “weak contract administration and oversight,” areas where one would expect to find Schweich’s fingerprints. Nor does such incompetence come free. The report estimated the cost of the administrative failures poor stewardship during the period 2004-2009 to be in the area of 2.5 billion dollars.

To get an idea about the scope of the State Auditor’s job, I consulted Wikipedia:

The State Auditor of Missouri is an elected official responsible for serving as the State of Missouri’s chief fiscal regulator, conducting financial and performance audits for approximately 200 state agencies, boards, and commissions, and the state’s judicial branch. The State Auditor also conducts audits for county and city governments lacking their own auditor or when requested by citizen petition.

I infer from this that the State Auditor is the financial watchdog for the entire state. Consequently, I can only wonder why Missourians would want to entrust this level of responsibility to an amateur auditor and failed administrator? I’m not a CPA myself, but even I can assure you that fiscal conservatism won’t do the job all by itself.

State Auditor Susan Montee (D): There’s no Democratic or Republican way to do an audit. Politicians from both parties waste our tax dollars. Waste is waste.

Announcer: Susan Montee, conducting a record number of audits, auditing leaders in both parties, exposing the legislature’s one billion dollar budgeting mistake. All with less staff and a lower budget. Susan Montee for State Auditor.

Susan Montee (D): I know auditing because I’m a CPA. And I’ll put saving you money ahead of politics every time.

Now, that’s a real rock star, as opposed to a fake one.