Blending enlightened visions into the real world, the crux of eutopian desire.

Back in 1993-94, I embarked on an exciting journey with my first experience in public service through helping a public teacher friend of mine. I was working in the entertainment field and was introduced by orchestral conductor John Axelrod to an innovative educator and fellow Harvard alum, TH Culhane. TH eventually began teaching at Jefferson High School in Los Angeles and we started co-creating a curriculum blending entertainment with education by folding lessons and material into media composition.

With the student’s short attention spans due to the “MTV generation” factor, we thought we could engage sustained attention by involving the kids by having them work with media technology in creating their own projects-but only drawing from a palette of information and compositional choices we’d previously laid out.

We recorded the students and worked with them in the studio developing a unique curricula entitled, “Eutopia”.

Decoding the Past

Eu-topia, as opposed to U-topia.

In Greek, Topos means “place”.

Eu- is the Greek prefix for “good” or “well”, as in eu-phoria (well-being), eu-phony (good voice or sound), or eu-logy (good words).

Eu-topia, or “good-place” –versus– Ou-topia, or “no-place”.

Now, it has been presumed that St. Thomas More in authoring Utopia in 1516, was alluding to the impossibility of the proposition of, say, humanity arriving at a peaceful and equitable coexistence. Historically, the contention has been that Utopia meant “no-place”, as in, Ou-Topia, Ou- being the Greek prefix for “No”. “Utopians” are Pollyannaish unrealistic idealists; and to use a common expression, prone to making “perfect the enemy of the good”.

But if this was the case, why did More leave out the O and name his book Utopia?

Maybe this was a code for only the perceptive to perceive?

Interestingly, there isn’t any other occurrence of the Greek prefix Ou- in English besides its supposed use in “utopia”, but there are plenty of Eu- “Greek-lish” words like eulogy, euphony, etc.

If one Googles the topic today, the double entendre of either “ou-topia”, or “eu-topia” is out there and readily available. But back in ’93 when TH and I researched the issue, this was not the case. We hadn’t found any illumination as to some hidden double-meaning in references to More’s coinage of the term Utopia.

Our thesis was that in the spirit of the times, Thomas More was communicating a very important message “to those with eyes to see”. Utopia was not a fanciful and escapist imaginary tale, a “no-place”, but rather, the public introduction of significant enlightened social philosophies, such as complete religious freedom, communal ownership of land, no private property, and education for women and men alike.

Eutopia was a good place, a real place; a worthy and achievable pursuit that must be assumed by those mindful enough to be considered evolved and enlightened. These ideas encapsulated in a fictional vehicle theoretically could insulate More from the wrath of Church and Crown, consequently he coined ‘Utopia’- sans the ‘O’ or ‘E’- and left it up in the air. It was code for scholars and men of learning and science; after all, the first English dictionaries did not even appear until the late 16th century.

“Off with their heads!”

This was an era in which speaking your mind was literally a question of life or death. Contemporaries of More included fellow humanists Desiderius Erasmus and William Tyndale. Erasmus completed early translations of the New Testament, as did William Tyndale in English, leading to him being tried for heresy, strangled and burnt at the stake in 1535. Information was power that was to be reserved for the Church and Crown-it was not to be disseminated to everyday folks. This is why many scholars and philosophers wrote in code as they wanted to keep their heads attached to their bodies.

Social commentary had to be purposefully parked as assets to the Crown-advice to the monarchy-like “Education of a Christian Prince” written by Erasmus in 1516, the same year as Utopia, 16 years before publication of Machiavelli’s “The Prince”.

Thomas More eventually ran afoul of the English Crown by refusing to recognize the Church of England and was tried and beheaded in 1535.

More and his colleagues bravely sought to empower people with information; even the publication of the Bible, putting scripture in the hands of average folks, became a threat to those in power, not unlike the impact Jesus’ teachings had on the Romans and Priesthood in Judea.

From “People, Places and the Realities of Conflict in the Holy Land 2009“,

The Beatitudes were a shock doctrine delivered to upturn an upside-down world; a world all too familiar, in which political, financial and military power would dispassionately crush any opposition at the first sign of insurgency.

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth”

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven”

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the Sons of God.”

To the powers that be, these were fighting words, especially when people began to rally behind this radically different worldview and question the status quo. When combined with later teachings warning about the spiritual degradation brought on by excessive materialism, “…it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God,” the gospel Yeshua was preaching had to be answered by those in power; these ideas had to be shut down and the messenger brought to a violent end.

Sadly, an end shared by Thomas More and William Tyndale. Philosophers, printers, scholars were carrying on the true intent and teachings of Christ. In our musical opus, Eutopia (see video below), we hear from Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lennon, also martyred visionaries.

Eutopian thought has inspired a trove of opuses exploring facets of fictional societies to instruct the real and present ones. Works like Sir Francis Bacon’s New Atlantis (1624) gave rise to philosophical groups like the Invisible College, a precursor to the Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, allowing for ideas and information to be freely shared among scientists and leading thinkers. The land Bacon envisioned, “Bensalem”, possessed greater rights for women, abolition of slavery, separation of church and state, and freedom of expression-all enlightenment ideals eventually realized in Western nations.

In our modern times, the thought of being persecuted for freely celebrating knowledge and learning is anathema; but when attempting to divine the purposes behind the coinage of the term “Utopia”, we must take into consideration the culture of oppression and the very real dangers associated with freely expressing oneself in the 16th century.

We favor an optimistic view of the future, and felt St. Thomas More was sending a message to future architects of a more Godly world-he used the term “Eutopia” because it was a good-place; a state of mind, and being, that materialized in the optimistic thought enshrined in his vision of a contented, more equitable and evolved society.

I have included a Youtube slide-show with excerpts from the Eutopia album as a gift to all our beautiful eutopians, peacemakers, and visionaries for the New Year 2011. T
here are two songs back-to-back. “Eutopia (Move a Mountain)”, and “Mansour Ya Salaam (I Dream of Eutopia)”.

Eutopia (Move a Mountain)

Man: What’s wrong with adults?

Young Girl: They’re ruining it for us.

Of love…

Young Girl: If the adults started being our role models, then maybe when we grow up, we could do that. We would raise our children that way and so on.

Man: So basically what you’re saying is, we adults need to grow up?

Young Girl: I think it’s really about time.

Yeah, I know man. Well, here’s the dope, you don’t need a microscope, cause its plain as day to me, should be to you, ain’t what you say, it’s what you do to get busy and do a deed that ain’t dizzy and all about greed, cause, love is still the same (love is still the same). It’s giving it up that’s the name of the game.

So don’t bust up the world, start at home, move a mountain stone by stone (move a mountain stone by stone, etc.)

Eutopia, eutopia, etc….eutopia of love.

Time to come together and start to live as one.

We’ve been through stormy weather.

And now we need the sun to shine on through

To get to a eutopia, eutopia, etc.

MLK Jr.: We’ve got some diffuclt days ahead-but it doesn’t really matter with me know, cause I’ve been to the mountain top.

Eutopia of love, eutopia of love…

(©1994 Byron DeLear/DeLear Music)

Mary Nichols is at it again, smearing her Democratic opponent in the primary race for state rep from Maryland Heights. But I’ll give her this much: she didn’t lie–not exactly. She points out, for example, that Jay Nixon doesn’t endorse DeLear. Well, duh. Nixon doesn’t endorse in primaries. She might as well complain that the Pope hasn’t declared DeLear a saint.

But then Nichols gets to the nub of this election: DeLear’s part in passing the PACE legislation. She has to find a way to discredit him about that. So she acts as if he lied about how many jobs the legislation will create.

His claim is “Proven BOGUS!” Gasp. He and the Post-Dispatch disagree about the number of jobs the bill might create? Excuse me, but I think the point here is that it will create jobs while lowering energy use. That’s a good thing, Ms. Nichols. And the difference in job creation estimates is not proof that DeLear is a lying SOB.

Well, if that innuendo won’t fly, then maybe she can pretend that it’s all a get rich quick scheme.

He’s trying to get rich because he created MAAEP to help get PACE passed? MAAEP is a non-profit and DeLear is not profiting from it. So as far as substance goes in this accusation, there’s no “there” there. None of it amounts to anything more than gasping over empty exclamation points. Nichols must be worried. And I hope her worries are justified.

Mary Nichols, a Democrat running against Byron DeLear for state rep in the 79th, has lost any shred of respect I might have had for her. Get a load of part of the mailer she just sent out. Under the headline “AN ELEPHANT NEVER FORGETS”, she claims that DeLear “forgot” to mention that he used to be a Rush Limbaugh Republican. (That’s elephant hide you’re seeing underneath the text.) Remember that this mailer is going out to Democrats before the primary in a district that will almost surely go Democratic in the fall.

Were any of you good progressives reading this posting raised as Republicans? That’s what I thought. Me too. Is it to your credit that you overcame the right wing propaganda imposed on you and thought for yourself? That’s all DeLear was getting at when he wrote in 2004:

I used to be a conservative right wing republican listening to all of those right wing radio talk show hosts, and subscribed to a Rush Limbaugh-esque ideology that’s all about the law of the jungle. You know, the Capitalistic ‘survival of the fittest’. Well I have come through my wicked ways, and I have seen the revelation that building the future of humanity on a foundation of greed and industrial schemes designed to prey upon the weak is simply not sustainable. Being born into a wealthy family and having gone to military school as a little boy were the pertinent ingredients that led to my march in lockstep.

Next the mailer accuses DeLear of having run for Congress in California under the Green Party banner–the implication being that he doesn’t know what he is. Could be that the blurry photo, by the way, was the only one available, but it makes him look like part of a suspicious, maybe faintly subversive group.

And now, he “claims” to be a Democrat.

Give me a Green guy who got PACE passed in Missouri any day over a real estate agent who wants to develop the Missouri river floodplain. Nichols’ mailer is–speaking of the GOP–a Karl Rove type smear tactic against another Democrat.

Look, I understand that any serious run for state rep is hard. Those candidates put themselves through the mill. So when I wrote about that race less than two weeks ago, I gave Nichols every benefit of the doubt, although I thought she had little to offer. Now, I’ll be blunt. She has no agenda to speak of other than trashing a fellow Democrat who has proven that he wants to help the people of this state.  

Two Republicans have filed in the 79th House District, which is Maryland Heights in mid St. Louis County, and that’s kind of surprising because it’s a Democratic district. Not like the city of St. Louis is Democratic, no. It’s only about 54.6 percent DPI (Democratic Performance Index), but it’s a dependable 54. Claire got 54.4 against Jim Talent in ’06, and Talent’s district abuts Maryland Heights, f’ gawd’s sake.

So the two Democrats who are facing off in the primary are almost surely battling it out for who gets the seat. Mary Nichols is the hometown girl with decades of experience in local politics, and Byron DeLear is a relative newcomer whose most recent claim to fame is that he was a driving force behind getting the PACE bill passed.

If you didn’t mind exaggerating a bit, you could say that Nichols created Maryland Heights, which is to say that she served as the volunteer coordinator behind the drive to get the city incorporated in the mid eighties. And once that was accomplished, she served as the first Democratic committeewoman there. She is currently serving her fourth term as a city councilwoman, and after yea so many years on the local political scene, Nichols has, of course, a gazillion acquaintances and ties. So naturally, she has a long endorsement list to tout, including an endorsement from Harriet’s List.

As for her accomplishments, she points with pride to the fact that the city has balanced its budget without cutting services to residents. And at a recent candidates’ forum in Maryland Heights, Nichols characterized herself as an “ecology” candidate.

We’ve had several issues that have come upon the city council. When I was first elected, recycling was a project that was offered by our private trash haulers at www.dialabin.net.au. You had to pay for it, and it was not very popular. So I was appointed the chairman of the Public Relations Committee, and I used that position to promote recycling. We had a monthly newsletter …. We sold recycling to the people. We gave it to them free. We also gave them free trash pickup and free yard waste.

Another responsibility that I have as chairman of the Public Relations Committee is to do a citizens’ survey to find out where we need improvement, where we stand in the community. So the first year was 2003 when we did the citizens’ survey. 52 percent rated their trash service as outstanding or good. We did the same survey in 2009, after six years of promoting this through the newsletter–and, of course, free is always helpful. But in our last survey, 94 percent of the residents rated their trash service as outstanding or good.

Also, I was on the selection committee for building a new city hall. We built a beautiful new city hall, and we wanted to do it environmentally sensitive. That costs a lot of extra money …. We had a lot of frills that we wanted to put into the building. …. We cut our frills. We got a silver Leeds certification on the building.

That’s all good, but there’s a sizable chink in her ecological claims: she favors development of the Missouri River floodplain in her district.

Nichols is a real estate agent.

I can’t help but think of Mark Twain’s observation, “Tell me where a man gets his cornpone, and I’ll tell you what his ‘pinions is.”

Nichols’ opponent, Byron DeLear (blue shirt in the pic), is a relative newcomer to the district, having just a couple of years ago moved back to St. Louis, where he grew up. His political activism is not quite a decade old yet, but he’s racked up a lot of liberal street cred in that time, including running in the Democratic primary two years ago for Akin’s seat.

He left a successful career in California as a media producer and has lately been using his skills at getting things accomplished to get the PACE bill passed. To do that, he formed the Missouri Association of Accredited Energy Professionals (MAAEP) and used that group to lobby legislators. DeLear went about it the smart way. He learned in the spring that PACE legislation had stalled in some other states because bankers feared, incorrectly, that it would hurt them. He and Tom Appelbaum, a lawyer who volunteered his time with MAAEP, traveled around the state talking to bankers and getting them aboard as stakeholders. In the end, the PACE bill was a win/win concept that even our Republican legislators couldn’t find a reason to hate, and it squeaked by on the last day of the session. On Monday, DeLear attended the ceremony where Jay Nixon signed the legislation into law. The fact that Missourians will now be able to take out long term loans for energy efficiency upgrades that are cash flow positive from the get go is a testament to DeLear’s concern about the environment and an example of his persistence.

As a blogger at Show Me Progress, I’ve been well aware of DeLear since he moved back here. Every time I attended a local rally in support of health care reform, he was there. At Show Me Progress, he frequently posted diaries about that topic (one, two, three, four) and about other topics (one, two, three), as well as commenting on a host of issues. And he found political rallies to attend–and write about–that I failed to notice.

You may well be thinking, “Oh ho, no wonder hotflash speaks highly of DeLear. His contributions at the blog have ingratiated him with the people that run it.” Think what you like, but it isn’t so. Yes, I favor Byron DeLear for the Democratic slot in Maryland Heights, but it’s because he’s the best candidate. He’s progressive politically and knowledgeable about all kinds of issues. He works well with others to accomplish worthy goals. … And he disapproves of development on the Missouri River floodplain.

Previously: 79th Legislative District: January 2010 campaign finance reports

There are four candidates who filed in for the open seat in the 79th Legislative District – two Democrats and two republicans:

State Representative – District 79

Democrat

MARY NICHOLS MARYLAND HEIGHTS MO 140 2/23/2010

BYRON W DELEAR ST LOUIS MO 325 2/23/2010

Republican

DAN JOHNSON MARYLAND HEIGHTS MO 194 2/23/2010

KYLE BONE MARYLAND HEIGHTS MO 503 2/23/2010

Interesting. No coy dancing about, they all filed on the first day.

The first of two Democratic party candidates (in alphabetical order), Byron DeLear, filed his first quarter campaign finance report with the Missouri Ethics Commission on April 15th:

Detailed Summary of Committee Disclosure Report

Committe: MISSOURIANS FOR DELEAR

ReportDate:

1. TOTAL RECEIPTS FOR THIS ELECTION PREVIOUSLY REPORTED $11,025.00

2. ALL MONETARY CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED THIS PERIOD $8,306.00

6. IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED THIS PERIOD $1,750.00

9. TOTAL ALL RECEIPTS THIS ELECTION(SUM 1B + 7A – 8A) $21,081.00

11. EXPENDITURES MADE BY CASH OR CHECK THIS PERIOD $7,055.75

15. TOTAL EXPENDITURES THIS ELECTION (SUM 10B + 14A) $8,624.41

28. MONEY ON HAND AT THE CLOSE OF THIS REPORTING PERIOD (SUM 25 + 26 – 27) $11,100.17

35. TOTAL INDEBTEDNESS AT THE CLOSE OF THIS REPORTING PERIOD (SUM 29 + 30 + 31 – 32 – 33 – 34) $393.58

[emphasis added]

That’s a good fundraising quarter, but that’s a high burn rate, too. A primary will do that. Let’s take a look at the contributions:

Detailed Summary of Contributions And Loans Received

Committee: MISSOURIANS FOR DELEAR

Report Date: 4/15/2010

John Axelrod Strasbourg France Musician Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire 3/6/2010 $1,500.00

Erin Noble  St. Louis, MO Energy Policy Coordinator Missouri Coalition for the Environment 3/23/2010 $100.00

2. TOTAL ANONYMOUS CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED FROM PERSONS GIVING $25 OR LESS $258.00

13. TOTAL MONETARY CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED FROM PERSONS GIVING $100 OR LESS $674.00

[emphasis added]

Ah, musicians, great people, and generous, too. In addition to that one there are a few other generous contributions from individuals.

The expenditures:

Detailed Summary of Expenditures And Contributions Made

Committe: MISSOURIANS FOR DELEAR

ReportDate: 4/15/2010

A. EXPENDITURES OF $100 OR LESS BY CATEGORY

Internet Advertising $258.48

Email Marketing $57.39

Filing Fee $50.00

Food and Drink $65.42

Gasoline $37.60

Maps $4.00

Postage $88.98

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

Costco Manchester, MO 1/26/2010 Food/Drinks $144.92

Mark’s Quick Printing St. Louis, MO 2/19/2010 $273.33

Mark’s Quick Printing St. Louis, MO 3/12/2010 $642.48

Jim Ross Burke, VA 1/25/2010 Consulting $1,000.00

Mark’s Quick Printing St. Louis, MO 3/29/2010 $1,258.19

MADCO St. Saint Louis, MO 2/17/2010 Printing $1,432.96

Thomas D. Brown Lewiston, MI 3/15/2010 Staff $1,742.00

Okay, someone’s campaign is gearing up.

The second of two Democratic party candidates (in alphabetical order), Mary Nichols, filed her amended first quarter campaign finance report with the Missouri Ethics Commission on April 22nd (the first report was filed on April 13th):

Detailed Summary of Committee Disclosure Report

Committe: MARY NICHOLS FOR STATE REP

ReportDate:

1. TOTAL RECEIPTS FOR THIS ELECTION PREVIOUSLY REPORTED $26,059.17

2. ALL MONETARY CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED THIS PERIOD $2,350.00

9. TOTAL ALL RECEIPTS THIS ELECTION(SUM 1B + 7A – 8A) $28,559.17

11. EXPENDITURES MADE BY CASH OR CHECK THIS PERIOD $695.70

15. TOTAL EXPENDITURES THIS ELECTION (SUM 10B + 14A) $5,575.25

28. MONEY ON HAND AT THE CLOSE OF THIS REPORTING PERIOD (SUM 25 + 26 – 27) $21,214.92

35. TOTAL INDEBTEDNESS AT THE CLOSE OF THIS REPORTING PERIOD (SUM 29 + 30 + 31 – 32 – 33 – 34) $10,000.00

[emphasis added]

Without the indebtedness the two Democratic Party candidates are at a rough parity when it comes to fundraising.

Let’s look at the contributions:

Detailed Summary of Contributions And Loans Received

Committee: MARY NICHOLS FOR STATE REP

Report Date: 4/13/2010

biomedical system St. Louis, Mo. 01/21/2010 $300.00

Friends of Carol Turner Maryland Heights, Mo. 02/05/2010 $250.00

Dinan Real Estate Advisors Inc. St. Louis, Mo. 02/10/2010 $100.00

Pentrex Development Corp. St. Louis, Mo. 02/17/2010 $100.00

McBride and Sons Management Company Chesterfield Mo. 02/16/2010  $100.00

Republic Services, Inc Phoenix, Az 03/17/2010 $400.00

St. Louis Association of Realtors, PAC St. Louis, Mo 03/20/2010 $500.00

There are a number of individual contributions. And, it should be obvious, Mary Nichols is in real estate sales.

The expenditures:

Detailed Summary of Expenditures And Contributions Made

Committe: MARY NICHOLS FOR STATE REP

ReportDate: 4/13/2010

A. EXPENDITURES OF $100 OR LESS BY CATEGORY

Facility Rental $60.00

Postage $88.00

Filing Fee $50.00

Facility Rental $25.00

Act Blue $3.95

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

CLM Consulting Louis, Mo. 03/24/2010 Consulting $468.75

Something of a lull there, at least in the area of campaign spending.

The first of two republican candidates (in alphabetical order), Kyle Bone, didn’t file a first quarter campaign finance report with the Missouri Ethics Commission. He did file his committee organization statement on March 22nd and an electronic filing waiver on April 8th.

The second of two republican candidates, Dan Johnson, filed his first quarter campaign finance report with the Missouri Ethics Commission on April 8th:

Detailed Summary of Committee Disclosure Report

Committe: ELECT DAN JOHNSON

ReportDate:

1. TOTAL RECEIPTS FOR THIS ELECTION PREVIOUSLY REPORTED $3,955.92

2. ALL MONETARY CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED THIS PERIOD $640.00

15. TOTAL EXPENDITURES THIS ELECTION (SUM 10B + 14A) $2,053.53

28. MONEY ON HAND AT THE CLOSE OF THIS REPORTING PERIOD (SUM 25 + 26 – 27) $2,542.39

35. TOTAL INDEBTEDNESS AT THE CLOSE OF THIS REPORTING PERIOD (SUM 29 + 30 + 31 – 32 – 33 – 34) $1,065.92

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

Detailed Summary of Contributions And Loans Received

Committee: ELECT DAN JOHNSON

Report Date: 4/8/2010

Republic Services Phoenix, AZ Dan Jameson, Treasurer 03/11/2010 $400.00

13. TOTAL MONETARY CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED FROM PERSONS GIVING $100 OR LESS $240.00

[emphasis added]

Republic Services from Phoenix, Arizona has an interest in this race? Ah, waste management. Maybe Byron DeLear (D) and Kile Bone (r) need to send them contribution envelopes.

Let’s take a look at the expenditures:

Detailed Summary of Expenditures And Contributions Made

Committe: ELECT DAN JOHNSON

ReportDate: 4/8/2010

A. EXPENDITURES OF $100 OR LESS BY CATEGORY

Meetings and Conventions $240.00

Filing Fees $50.00

Dues $30.00

No t-shirts. I’m disappointed.

This race is going to come down to who wins the Democratic Party primary.

Representative Albert Liese (D) is term limited out, having represented this St. Louis County district for four terms. There are four candidates in the 2010 race (so far) who are filing campaign finance reports with the Missouri Ethics Commission. First. let’s look at the electoral history of the district:

Official Election Returns

State of Missouri General Election  – 2008 General Election

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

State Representative – District 79 – Summary

Precincts Reporting 27 of 27

Liese, Albert (Al) DEM 14,046 100.0%

Total Votes   14,046

Official Election Returns

State of Missouri General Election  – November 2006 – General Election

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

State Representative – District 79 – Summary

Precincts Reporting 33 of 33

Chapin, Robert (Jeff) REP 4,174 31.3%

Liese, Albert J. (Al) DEM 9,148 68.7%

Total Votes   13,322

Official Election Returns

State of Missouri General Election

Tuesday, November 02, 2004

State Representative – District 79 – Summary

Precincts Reporting 22 of 22

Liese, Albert J. (Al) DEM 10,325 59.1%

Fitzgerald, Kathryn S. REP 7,159 40.9%

Total Votes   17,484

Okay, 2004 was a rough year for Democrats in Missouri.

Official Election Returns

State of Missouri General Election  – 11/5/2002

Tuesday, November 05, 2002

State Representative – District 79 – Summary

Liese, Albert J. (Al) DEM 7,160 56.5%

Fitzgerald, Kathryn S. REP 5,521

Total Votes   12,681

Okay, in an open seat race in an off year election things were closer.

Let’s put it this way – in the 79th Legislative District the Democratic candidate is going to get at least 7,000 votes and in a presidential election year the most a republican can hope for is 7,000 votes. The trick for the Democratic candidate is to increase the safety margin.

Let’s take look at those candidate campaign finance reports (in alphabetical order).

Democrat Byron DeLear (no stranger around here) filed his amended fourth quarter campaign report with the Missouri Ethics Commission on January 14th:

Detailed Summary of Committee Disclosure Report

Committe: MISSOURIANS FOR DELEAR

1. TOTAL RECEIPTS FOR THIS ELECTION PREVIOUSLY REPORTED $0.00

2. ALL MONETARY CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED THIS PERIOD $11,025.00

9. TOTAL ALL RECEIPTS THIS ELECTION(SUM 1B + 7A – 8A) $11,025.00

28. MONEY ON HAND AT THE CLOSE OF THIS REPORTING PERIOD (SUM 25 + 26 – 27) $9,849.92

35. TOTAL INDEBTEDNESS AT THE CLOSE OF THIS REPORTING PERIOD (SUM 29 + 30 + 31 – 32 – 33 – 34) $393.58

[emphasis added]

And where did the money come from?:

Detailed Summary of Contributions And Loans Received

Committee: MISSOURIANS FOR DELEAR

Report Date: 1/14/2010

Ruth Williams St. Louis, MO 10/20/2009 $500.00

Rusty Bias Chesterfield, MO 10/05/2009 $2,000.00

Jeffrey T. Fort Las Vegas, NV 12/13/2009 $2,500.00

Paul Petersen Chicago, IL 12/15/2009 $1,000.00

Natalia Marek Chesterfield, MO 12/18/2009 $1,000.00

Kipp Keller St. Louis, MO 12/28/2009 $3,000.00

Okay, those are a few serious individual contributions in that mix.

Dan Johnson, a republican, filed his fourth quarter campaign finance report with the Missouri Ethics Commission on January 12th:

Detailed Summary of Committee Disclosure Report

Committe: ELECT DAN JOHNSON

1. TOTAL RECEIPTS FOR THIS ELECTION PREVIOUSLY REPORTED $2,115.92

2. ALL MONETARY CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED THIS PERIOD $2,590.00

9. TOTAL ALL RECEIPTS THIS ELECTION(SUM 1B + 7A – 8A) $3,955.92

15. TOTAL EXPENDITURES THIS ELECTION (SUM 10B + 14A) $1,733.53

21. FUNDS USED FOR REPAYING LOANS THIS PERIOD $750.00

28. MONEY ON HAND AT THE CLOSE OF THIS REPORTING PERIOD (SUM 25 + 26 – 27) $2,222.39

35. TOTAL INDEBTEDNESS AT THE CLOSE OF THIS REPORTING PERIOD (SUM 29 + 30 + 31 – 32 – 33 – 34) $1,065.92

[emphasis added]

And where did the money come from?:

Committee: ELECT DAN JOHNSON

Report Date: 1/12/2010

Grey Eagle Distributors Maryland Heights, MO 63043 11/1/2009 $250.00

Russ Evans Maryland Heights, MO 11/1/2009 $250.00

B. NON-ITEMIZED CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED

13. TOTAL MONETARY CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED FROM PERSONS GIVING $100 OR LESS $2,090.00

[emphasis added]

Democrat Mary Nichols filed her fourth quarter campaign finance report with the Missouri Ethics Commission on January 12th:

Detailed Summary of Committee Disclosure Report

Committe: MARY NICHOLS FOR STATE REP

1. TOTAL RECEIPTS FOR THIS ELECTION PREVIOUSLY REPORTED $15,000.17

2. ALL MONETARY CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED THIS PERIOD $9,555.00

9. TOTAL ALL RECEIPTS THIS ELECTION(SUM 1B + 7A – 8A) $26,059.17

28. MONEY ON HAND AT THE CLOSE OF THIS REPORTING PERIOD (SUM 25 + 26 – 27) $19,560.62

35. TOTAL INDEBTEDNESS AT THE CLOSE OF THIS REPORTING PERIOD (SUM 29 + 30 + 31 – 32 – 33 – 34) $10,000.00

And where did the money come from:?

Detailed Summary of Contributions And Loans Received

Committee: MARY NICHOLS FOR STATE REP

Report Date: 1/12/2010

St. Charles County Association of Realtors Poltical Action Committee Charles,Mo. 12/15/2009 $325.00

Citizens for truth in Government O’Fallon, Mo 11/20/2009 $300.00

Grey Eagle Distributors Maryland Heights, Mo. 10/08/2009 $200.00

There’s a number of organized labor and firefighter contributions.

You’d think that Grey Eagle distributors would be good for another fifty bucks.

Steven Sieber, an “Independent”, filed his fourth quarter limited activity [pdf] campaign finance report (contributions and expenditures under $500) with the Missouri Ethics Commission on January 9th.

The primary and general elections are going to be interesting to watch.

Even though Jake Wagman of Political Fix didn’t know, a week ago, who Byron DeLear and Mike Garman were, he had a more accurate sense of how that election might go than I did.

I bow to Wagman’s superior knowledge.

A Political Fix posting about Byron DeLear’s new TV ad reminded me that Post-Dispatch writers and Show Me Progress writers live in parallel, but alternate, realities.

Jake Wagman seemed bemused at Byron’s tilting at windmills.

One of [the five Democratic nominees foolish enough to challenge Akin] – Byron DeLear – even has a commercial out.

(Who? Yes, I had to look him up, too.)

Wagman is familiar with names from past elections:

As a Democrat, he’ll face some sturdy opposition in Tuesday’s primary.  Opponents include David L. Pentland, who was a St. Louis alderman, and former city School Board member Bill Haas, whose serial attempts for higher office have gained him, if nothing else, name recognition.

But Wagman is–I would say–unfamiliar with the present. DeLear has been off his radar screen and Mike Garman still is.

Now, in my alternate reality, DeLear and Garman dominate the primary race in the Second Congressional District. Between them, they’ve scooped up endorsements from just about every local Democratic group and Garman even scored an AFL-CIO endorsement–an honor that group virtually never grants before the primary election.

Pentland is a nice fellow, I’m sure, as is Bill Haas, but I don’t see either one of them working his patootie off out in West St. Louis County as DeLear and Garman have been. But what do I know? It’s been less than a year (Aug. 5, 2007–our first birthday is coming up!) since I started blogging on state news. I’m a newbie.

Perhaps on August 6th of this year, I’ll be bowing to Wagman’s superior knowledge of Democratic politics in the Second Congressional District. I’m sure he has a depth of knowledge on many topics that I couldn’t approach.

On the other hand, August 5th is primary day. And perhaps, on that evening, I’ll be toasting the victory of DeLear or Garman in the primary and savoring our first birthday with the (OK, minor) coup of having known who the real contenders in the Second were.

Update: Here’s the ad, in case you’re curious.

On Monday, I asked members of Congress in Missouri and those running for the position if they would comment on the recent dustup between Barack Obama and John McCain over Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s support for Obama’s withdrawal plan.

The first two responses are in. Byron DeLear was not surprisingly first to comment, doing so (bonus points!) in a long comment here on the blog. Money quote:

We must reverse Bush and Akin’s policy in Iraq, send a message to the Iraqi government that we don’t intend on occupying their country permanently, and begin an immediate and responsible “phased withdrawal” of our troops.

This means systematically redeploying those troops, bringing our national guard troops home, and reengaging the international community, including the UN into a peace-keeping role.

Most candidates like to discuss these issues as if they were running for Commander-in-Chief, that is, ‘here is my plan for Iraq’ — or — ‘this is my 10 year road map for the Iraq War’, etc.

And although there may be value in unpacking the ‘big picture’ here from an academic perspective, or just from a conversational one, as a Federal legislator for MO-2, I will be just one of 435 votes in the US House.

A progressive vote.

And Lyndon Bode, a relatively conservative Democratic candidate for the 9th Congressional District, chimes in via e-mail:

Yes – I would support the withdrawal of troops with the request of Iraq government officials saying they are ready to take charge. Therefore if they support Obama’s plan then I support the plan. I believe this has been the goal from the start. A free Iraq country and government.

We’ll keep posting responses as we get them.

Gambling is a fool’s occupation. I’d as soon flush money down a toilet as put it on a horse, but I–and you–we’re gamblers, all the same. We just prefer to gamble on political candidates instead of on boxers or dice games.

Where there are gamblers, there are handicappers, and the odds makers are pretty much agreed that Todd Akin will still be in office this time next year.

They’ll point to what happened to Ted House in 2000. Akin was making his first run for the office and House was a name in that part of town, a popular name too. But an internal poll showed House losing to Akin, getting only 43 percent of the vote. House raised the funds, though, to make a credible run for the office: one million dollars. He spent half of that on billboards and half on TV advertising. And garnered 43 percent of the vote.

So? That was eight years ago. It was a Republican year. This is a year for the Democrats. Think of Republicans saying bye-bye in recent special elections to Dennis Hastert’s seat in Illinois as well as strongholds in Mississippi and in Louisiana. As both Mike Garman and Byron DeLear, running for the D nomination, will tell you, more Democrats took ballots in the Second Congressional District on primary day than Republicans.

Mmm-hmm, say the odds makers, but primary voters are a different animal than general election voters. Apples and oranges.

The cockeyed optimists will admit that there are lots of well to do Republicans in West County who wouldn’t vote for a Democrat if George Bush himself told them to, but St. Charles County is trending bluer every day and we can expect to take some House seats there.

DeLear’s campaign manager, Kevin Caravelli, doesn’t think his optimism is cockeyed. He sent me an April 2006 article–by Dave Drebes, one of the handicappers who’s convinced that Akin is invulnerable–about a poll Sam Page conducted in 2 CD a couple of years ago.

Last month Sam Page nearly filed to take on incumbent Congressman Todd Akin. Page, a Democratic state representative from the 82nd district, created lots of scuttlebutt by waiting weeks to file for re-election. He finally did on the second to last day possible. That was after fielding a poll on the 2nd Congressional District to measure the political landscape. It was encouraging enough that Page seriously considered giving up his safe seat for a chance to go to Washington.

Considering that the district has a dismal 42 percent Democratic Performing Index (DPI), and that 98 percent of incumbent congressmen who seek re-election win, that must have been some poll. Apparently it showed a Republican-Democratic split within the margin of error. And when framed as “Would you rather have a Republican rubber-stamping President Bush’s agenda or a Democrat to keep him in check?” the results were even more appealing to Page: 60 percent-40 percent in favor of the Democrat.

Page might have stood a better chance than the two candidates leading this year’s field, being already known because he’s a state rep. Neither Garman nor DeLear have held political office. Nor do they seem to be on track to rake in anywhere near a million dollars.

By contrast, Kay Barnes is challenging another political dinosaur, Sam Graves, on the west side of the state. Barnes, the former–and popular–mayor of K.C., had hauled in almost a million and a half dollars as of the end of March.

Byron’s campaign says he’s up to about $150,000 ($100,000 of which he loaned himself, according to the FEC). Garman had receipts of only $21,590 at the end of March ($15,000 of which he loaned himself). At the end of March, Akin had $615,159.

Numbers like that can make Dems dread that Akin will hold on. Caravelli recommends that instead of dread, we dare engage in the audacity of hope. He believes that if we all backed whichever Democrat gets the nod, Akin would be history.

Who knows? I’m just telling you what the handicappers say–and hoping that DeLear or Garman will turn out to be a Seabiscuit.