March 2011
131 posts
5 tags
Clay, Carnahan: Map "emphasizes partisanship over...
The two congressmen that represent St. Louis City blasted a proposed congressional map that effectively pits the two Democrats against each other.
As noted yesterday, a proposed map from a House committee in charge of congressional redistricting would put the entire City of St. Louis in one congressional district. Right now, the city is split between U.S. Rep. Lacy Clay, D-St. Louis, and U.S. Rep....
4 tags
Crowell rips redistricting map
A Republican senator from southeast Missouri expressed outrage Thursday over a proposed congressional map unveiled yesterday by a House committee.
State Sen. Jason Crowell sent out an e-mail on Thursday afternoon with a headline “IMMEDIATE ACTION ALERT” in red font. Crowell’s e-mail asked citizens to call House members over the plan to include a big chunk of Jefferson...
4 tags
6 tags
Boone County could be Hartzler country
Although Boone County is typically seen as a Democratic-leaning oasis in the red swath known as Mid-Missouri, it’s been represented in Congress by a Republican. That’s not likely to change if a map unveiled yesterday becomes law.
Under a map unveiled a House committee dealing with redistricting, Boone County – which is now in U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer’s district – would be represented by U.S....
4 tags
Jackson County prosecutor selected for judgeship
Gov. Jay Nixon tabbed Jackson County prosecutor James Kanatzar to be a Circuit Judge on the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit. Kanatzar will take the spot of Stephen Nixon, who resigned to become county counselor of Jackson County.
“I am pleased to appoint James Kanatzar to the bench in Jackson County, and I believe he will be an excellent judge for the people of this county,” Nixon said in a...
4 tags
BREAKING: Kansas City residents totally hate Larry...
Breaking away from the politics of redistricting for a moment, this blurb from Pro Football Talk about former Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson caught my attention.
Why? Because apparently Johnson is so hated in Kansas City, he argues that he can’t get a fair trial:
Former Chiefs running back Larry Johnson is being sued in Kansas City by a woman who says he spat on her in a...
3 tags
4 tags
5 tags
4 tags
Nixon: Mo. will seek rail cash
Gov. Jay Nixon said Missouri will pursue roughly $1 billion for rail projects, including $600 million to prepare for a “high-speed” rail line across the Show Me State.
In a press release, the governor announced a two-tiered plan to procure federal rail money. The first part seek federal money to bolster speeds and schedule reliability along existing rail lines. That would include,...
6 tags
RFT: Schaaf seeks to derail Sudafed bill
Sen. Rob Schaaf is dead serious about derailing legislation that would require a prescription for procuring medicine with pseudoephedrine. That’s an ingredient used in cold medicines such as Sudafed.
The Riverfront Times has more:
But with pressure from law-enforcement groups and anti-drug advocates to pass it, thereby making all cold medicine containing pseudoephedrine available only...
2 tags
NYT examines McCaskill plane flap
The New York Times is the latest national media outlet to take a look at the controversy over Sen. Claire McCaskill’s use of private aircraft.
From A.G. Sulzberger’s article:
The revelations, which were widely covered in the news media, were seized upon by Republicans and have stirred renewed interest in her 2012 re-election race.
Though Ms. McCaskill still has plenty of time to...
6 tags
Missouri, they don't love you like I love you
Missouri may once again be home to the center of the United States. But does that mean it’ll be the center of the presidential universe next year?
That depends.
Generally speaking, Missouri’s demographic makeup tends to translate into close elections for U.S. Senate, statewide offices and, yes, the presidency. Such an event occurred in 2008 when Barack Obama and John McCain battled it out...
4 tags
Blunt responds to Obama's Libya speech
President Barack Obama just finished his speech detailing his decision to intervene in Libya. And Missouri’s newest U.S. Senator turned to Twitter to offer his reaction.
“The President has a responsibility to clearly define the mission & cost of our military involvement to Congress, troops, & American ppl.,” said Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., in a trio of Tweets....
4 tags
Border Wars
After attending a charity trivia event in St. Louis County this weekend, I learned that Missouri and Tennessee are the only two states in the union that border eight other states.
Not only is that a fun fact for those who enjoy trivia, it’s also the source of some tension between Missouri and its neighbors. Kansas and Illinois, for instance, compete regularly with the Show Me State for...
5 tags
The Genesis of "Fix the Six"
This week’s AP Monday Analysis focuses on the genesis of the so-called “Fix the Six” initiative. It’s a batch of proposals being pushed by the state’s business community.
AP reporter David Lieb has more:
At of the midpoint of Missouri’s annual legislative session, the business community’s “Fix the Six” agenda has fared remarkably well....
4 tags
4 tags
2 tags
WatchKTVI reporter Charles Jaco caught up with Sen. Claire McCaskill yesterday. Jaco asked McCaskill, D-Mo., about the simmering controversy over property taxes on her airplane.
Click on the above video to see Jaco’s report.
2 tags
2 tags
5 tags
STL Police Officers Association sue over 'local...
The St. Louis Police Officers Association is suing over a ballot item abolishing a governor-appointed board overseeing the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. It’s the issue commonly referred to as ‘local control’ of the STL Police Department.
More from St. Louis Beacon reporter Jo Mannies:
According to the association, the suit “alleges that the ballot language and the...
6 tags
Cook Report: MO-SEN now a "toss-up"
Considering she only won in 2006 by a small margin in what was considered a very Democratic year, it isn’t all that surprising that Sen. Claire McCaskill’s bid for a second term would be pegged by observers as competitive.
But today, Jennifer Duffy of the Cook Political Report also moved the race into the ‘toss-up’ category. From the campaign prognostication’s Web...
3 tags
Plato in the Middle
A town in Missouri is once again America’s mean center of population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The agency sent out a release today declaring Plato, Missouri, “as the place where an imaginary, flat, weightless and rigid map of the United States would balance perfectly if all 308,745,538 residents counted in the 2010 Census were of identical weight.”
Plato’s...
8 tags
"The McCaskill vacuum"
The Fix - one of the Washington Post’s most popular political blogs - examined what it calls “the McCaskill vacuum.”
That aforementioned term refers to the fact that no single candidate in the Missouri U.S. Senate race has emerged as the primary threat to Sen. Claire McCaskill’s re-election bid.
From the post:
Former state Treasurer Sarah Steelman and former...
5 tags
It's Shrinking
Officials concede that St. Louis City’s population did largely drop by about 29,000 people over the last decade.
That’s according to David Hunn of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
At first, city officials thought they had identified a glaring discrepancy between the number of homes in city records and the number the census counted. They believed the census had listed about 5,000 fewer...
3 tags
4 tags
4 tags
KWMU: Carnahan "cautious" about Libya
U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan, D-St. Louis, weighed in on the United States’ decision to intervene in Libya.
Carnahan told KWMU reporter Rachel Lippmann that President Barack Obama tried to limit U.S. involvement, but added “serious concerns” about getting entangled in another Middle East conflict.
You can read the rest of Lippmann’s report by clicking here.
5 tags
6 tags
High speed rail plan moves forward
Over on the other side of the Mississippi River, the wheels are turning for the construction of a “high-speed rail” line going across the state of Illinois.
That will impact Missouri, because the rail line is supposed to stretch from St. Louis to Chicago. More from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Kevin McDermont:
The latest phase of the long-debated project will begin...
6 tags
Martin on Libya: A robust debate is owed to...
Ed Martin, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, released a statement this morning expressing apprehension regarding President Barack Obama’s decision to intervene militarily in Libya.
As Robert Koenig reported in his article for the St. Louis Beacon, reaction to the decision to intervene has been mixed. Some lawmakers - such as U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan, D-St. Louis, and U.S. Rep. Vicky...
4 tags
P-D: We must shrink this House!
There seems to be unusual bipartisan momentum behind shrinking the size of the Missouri House.
The plan has been endorsed by Missouri Democratic Party Chairwoman Susan Montee and Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder. And it also got the backing of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s editorial board.
From the editorial:
Arguments in favor of a reduction are numerous. Missouri has the fourth-largest state...
4 tags
Beacon: Clay wary of Libya intervention
I noted yesterday that U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Harrisonville, sent out a Tweet showing her support for U.S. intervention in Libya.
As St. Louis Beacon reporter Robert Koenig noted, that feeling is not universal among the state’s delegation. In a roundup of reaction to the Libya intervention, U.S. Rep. Lacy Clay, D-St. Louis, expressed misgivings:
U.S. Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-St....
6 tags
Disaster for McCaskill?
Before Monday, Sen. Claire McCaskill was already immersed in a controversy over the use of a private plane for travel around the state.
Politico reported earlier this month that the first-term senator had billed taxpayers for $88,000 worth of travel on a private plane. McCaskill, D-Missouri, ultimately cut a check to the federal government.
But McCaskill’s situation may have gotten a whole lot...
8 tags
One Shinning Moment
My shocking run in the world competitive online polling is over.
After making it the Final Four of the Tiger Blood Tournament as a 13-seed, I lost to Democratic spokesman extraordinaire Jack Cardetti by a mere 9 votes. It’s a stunning loss that I will never get over.
In any case, I would like to thank everyone who voted for me over these past couple of days. Even though the...
3 tags
“The stock value of the GOP Senate nomination in #MOSEN jumped a bunch of points...”
– @davecatanese alluding to Sen. Claire McCaskill’s admission that she didn’t pay property taxes on a private airplane.
7 tags
5 tags
Beacon: GOP officials demand Koster action on...
Jo Mannies at the St. Louis Beacon writes Monday about a letter sent by three GOP officials to Attorney General Chris Koster.
The subject? The federal health care bill:
The three top Republicans in Jefferson City — Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, House Speaker Steve Tilley and Senate President Pro Tem Rob Mayer — are once again pressuring Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster, a Democrat,...
4 tags
AP: Lawmakers moving ahead with nuclear plant bill
The push for a second nuclear reactor in Callaway County is the subject the latest Monday analysis from the Associated Press.
AP reporter Chris Blank writes how lawmakers spearheading the effort are continuing with site permit legislation even though nuclear energy is under scrutiny due the events in Japan.
From the analysis:
Backers of legislation designed to help build a second Missouri...
6 tags
3 tags
4 tags
MO-RTW Announces #TigerBloodTourney Endorsements
Breaking news from righttowin:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 18, 2011
MISSOURI — Missouri Right to Win is pleased to announce our #TigerBloodTourney round three endorsements. The following candidates have professed our core Missouri values and the sanctity of winning.
WINNERS:
Jason Rosenbaum
Virginia Young
Mike Talboy
Stephen Tilley
Mike Kelley
Eli Yokley
All of the above...
5 tags
Nixon appoints state legislative redistricting...
As reported by Roseann Moring of the Springfield News-Leader, Gov. Jay Nixon appointed the bi-partisan committees that will be in charge of drawing new lines for the Missouri House and the Missouri Senate.
Unlike congressional redistricting - which emanates out of the Missouri General Assembly - a governor-appointed board is in charge of state legislative redistricting. Each committee has an...
3 tags
POLITICO: Turbulence for McCaskill?
Will a travel controversy harm Sen. Claire McCaskill’s re-election efforts? Reporters Dave Catanese and Scott Wong explore the fallout in an article published Friday in Politico:
Democrats are worried that the line of attack could stick, bruising the already vulnerable McCaskill who has made transparency a favorite campaign issue.
But they’re cautiously optimistic her reputation in...
3 tags
3 tags
6 tags
Schieffer willing to take the heat to change Prop...
While rural Republicans have been the force behind altering a voter-approved ballot item regulating puppy mills, the issue hasn’t necessarily cut along partisan lines.
As I noted in my article for the St. Louis Beacon, some suburban Republicans are balking at changing “Proposition B.” And while such an attempt will likely garner substantial Democratic opposition, some Democrats...
