Sen. Bond
WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats looked to be on the verge of advancing legislation to overhaul the nation’s health insurance system despite spirited protests today by Missouri Sen. Christopher “Kit” Bond and a unified Republican Party.
With a a key procedural vote scheduled for…
[...]
While speaking about bipartisan efforts to boost the state and local economy at a luncheon Friday in St. Charles County, Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon and Republican County Executive Steve Ehlmann recalled an across-party-lines effort they took part in two decades ago in Jefferson City.
Nixon
“I got to know the…
[...]
Durbin
WASHINGTON — Chances are that Arkansas Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln won’t be sharing her big secrets with Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., anytime soon.
Durbin, the Senate majority whip, spent Friday afternoon backtracking from comments that appeared to out Lincoln as a supporter…
[...]
Sen. McCaskill
WASHINGTON — Internet scammers beware. Claire McCaskill’s on a tear.
Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., is “absolutely in a rage” about an Internet scam that bilked her mother while she was online shopping, according to a Senate colleague.
During a committee hearing…
[...]
Bowlin
ST. LOUIS — Mayor Francis Slay has added another member of the Facebook generation to his office staff.
New press secretary Kara Bowlin, 25, began work in Room 200 last week, adding to the crop of 20-somethings that have taken posts…
[...]
Charlie Dooley
St. Louis County plans to retire $5,638,791 in bonds two years early. The move would save the county $400,000 in interest costs, but not give the county much room to propose a “no tax increase” bond issue.
“No tax increase”…
[...]
McCaskill skecthes Missouri
National Geographic had a bit of fun with some members of the U.S. Senate, asking them to draw pictures of their home states from memory. It looks like Claire McCaskill and Dick Durbin both participated; At first glance, I didn’t…
[...]JEFFERSON CITY — Investment staff at the state retirement system would not get bonuses in years when the system’s investments lost money under a plan that tentatively advanced today.
The board of the Missouri State Employees Retirement System voted to develop…
[...]
Sen. McCaskill
WASHINGTON — There was disquieting news for Missouri Democrats along with some welcome news in the second part of a Public Policy Polling survey released this afternoon.
The good news was a generally strong approval rating for Gov. Jay Nixon at a time…
[...]
Freeman, left, and Shannon
Two St. Louis icons have joined the ranks of the state’s civic honor society, the Academy of Missouri Squires.
Gov. Jay Nixon announced today that Cardinals broadcaster and former third baseman Mike Shannon and St. Louis civil rights leader and…
[...]
Sarah Palin posed in gym shorts for a photo taken for Runner’s World magazine — and months later it shows up as the cover of Newsweek, for a story about Palin and politics.
The whole incident is being called unethical, sexist…
[...]
Sinquefield
ST. LOUIS — As one of the state’s most prolific campaign contributors, Rex Sinquefield is plenty familiar with Missouri campaign finance laws.
So his latest contribution — for $5,001 to new St. Louis State Sen. Joe Keaveny — is more than just a…
[...]
Smith leaves court on Tuesday
ST. LOUIS — Those who heard U.S. District Court Judge Carol E. Jackson sentence Jeff Smith this week may have thought she was sending a message to the former state senator by ordering him to serve a year…
[...]
Baker
Former state Rep. Judy Baker, the unsuccessful Democratic nominee last year for the 9th District Congressional seat in northeast Missouri, is the Obama Administration’s choice to be regional director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The post is one of…
[...]
Keaveny is sworn-in by Supreme Court Judge Michael Wolff
A day after his successor was sentenced to prison, St. Louis Democrat Joe Keaveny was sworn-in to officially become Missouri’s Fourth District State Senator.
Keaveny, previously a banking executive, won the seat in a special…
[...]As you can imagine, we’ve watched the uproar closely in the wake of my blog post on Monday. I recounted the case of a person who lost his job at a local school after twice posting a vulgar comment on…
[...]
Inmate No. 38699-079
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The Associated Press, reporting out of Chicago today, is quoting Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn as predicting that the controversial plan to house suspected terrorists in a mostly empty northern Illinois prison will “probably” happen.
Quinn, like most…
[...]WASHINGTON — That new poll reported here yesterday showing a neck-and-neck contest between Secretary of State Robin Carnahan and U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt points to a campaign in which both aspirants will be running against Congress next year even as they run for…
[...]
An Airbus jet
WASHINGTON — As Boeing Co. jockeys for an Air Force contract worth an estimated $35 billion, several members of Congress lobbied Wednesday for France-based Airbus to be ruled out of the competition.
The bipartisan group representing areas heavily invested in the aerospace…
[...]Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy wants to set the record straight about his office’s request to see a high school newspaper’s article about a speech he gave before its publication:
His office did ask to see the story, Kennedy says, but…
[...]
Kelly, left, and Martin
Should lawmakers be given an open ended ticket to Jefferson City? Or should their stay be capped at a set number of years?
Those are the questions that will be argued tonight by a pair of politicians from…
[...]JEFFERSON CITY — An obituary of former Jefferson County Sheriff Buck Buerger in today’s paper omitted the name of the young lawyer who beat Buerger in 1986, launching a lengthy political career.
Jay Nixon was the upstart contender for the state…
[...]
ST. LOUIS– Maxwell D. Marker, assistant special agent in charge for the FBI in St. Louis, reacts to the verdicts against former state lawmakers Jeff Smith and Steve Brown.
[...]This from reporter Elizabethe Holland:
Tonight at 7, State Auditor Susan Montee will announce the findings of a state audit of the Northeast Ambulance and Fire Protection District.
Montee will deliver the report and answer questions about it at the University of…
[...]UPDATED
WASHINGTON — According to the federal government’s stimulus tracking Web site, recovery.gov, nearly $1.9 million in stimulus funding will help buoy the economy of Illinois’ 22nd congressional district.
Only the Illinois 22nd congressional district doesn’t have an economy. The district doesn’t…
[...]County Citizens for Cleaner Air, the campaign committee that helped persuade St. Louis County voters on Nov. 3 to impose a ban on smoking in almost all indoor public places, has closed.
The group recently filed a report with the Missouri…
[...]
Blunt, left, and Carnahan
WASHINGTON — A poll to be released tomorrow affirms what most political observers already know — that Missouri’s Senate race shaping up between Secretary of State Robin Carnahan and U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt is about as close as…
[...]
Former state Sen. Jeff Smith, left, arrives at court this morning. By Elie Gardner, P-D.
Former state Sen. Jeff Smith received one year plus a day in federal prison while former Rep. Steve [...]
Sentencing of former Missouri state Sen. Jeff Smith and former state Rep. Steve Brown has begun in front of U.S. District Judge Carol E. Jackson. Smith was greeted at the courthouse by Democratic state Rep. Jake Zimmerman, D-Olivette.
Post-Dispatch reporters Jake Wagman…
[...]
Smith after pleading guilty in August
ST. LOUIS — Former state lawmakers Jeff Smith and Steve Brown will be sentenced today for lying to federal officials in an effort to cover-up their involvement in an anonymous political attack.
Smith, who represented St. Louis [...]
President Barack Obama’s weekend bow to Japanese Emperor Akihito seems to have created another polarizing moment for Americans.
Associated Press photo
State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters Monday that the bow was “a sign of respect to the emperor,” the Associated…
[...]
Courtesy altemark via Flickr
Note: This is cross-posted from my personal blog.
A single vulgar word cost a man his job on Friday.
It all started with Friday’s edition of Talk of the Day, a regular blog on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s website,…
[...]
Ever since he let loose on Congressman Russ Carnahan, Lemay baker Dave McArthur has not been content keeping his focus solely on cookies and confections.
McArthur, whose family runs McArthur’s Bakery, has become active in the Tea Party…
[...]UPDATE: Auditor Susan Montee issued the following statement regarding the ruling:
LAGERS and PACARS are operating under a veil of secrecy. My office is required by state statute to examine these entities every three years. We attempted to evaluate these systems, as…
[...]UPDATE (3 p.m.)
We’ve gotten an emailed response from Rep. Kirk’s office. It doesn’t directly answer Sen. Durbin’s criticisms about Kirk’s comments, but here it is:
“By moving the Al Qaeda core to Thomson [Correctional Center] along with 1,500 U.S. troops,…
[...]
Luetkemeyer
Updated 12:41 p.m. with a response from Luetkemeyer.
Missouri U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer was one of several members of Congress to submit a statement on the health care bill using the exact language submitted by biotech lobbyists, the New York…
[...]A reader has asked why we haven’t labeled Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the suspected gunman in the deadly shooting rampage at Fort Hood, a terrorist.
The debate over this is going on throughout the media. Some critics, including some within the…
[...]
Whitehead
ST. LOUIS — Before she clinched the nomination to fill a vacancy in the State House on Saturday, St. Louis Democrat Hope Whitehead paid a visit to City Hall a day earlier.
Not to mobilize supporters, but to pay hundreds of dollars…
[...]JEFFERSON CITY — The brouhaha over Katie Steele Danner’s two roles — and two salaries — in state government appears to be subsiding.
The Missouri Tourism Commission chose Danner on Tuesday as its new executive director, at a salary of $75,000. Then on Friday,…
[...]WASHINGTON — The announcement today that the self-proclaimed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks and four co-defendants will be tried in New York City drew praise from civil rights groups and from New Yorkers who believe the terrorists should be brought to…
[...]
Joachimstaler
Roy Joachimstaler, a retired high-ranking officer in the St. Louis Police Department, is slated to become police chief in O’Fallon, Mo., the metro area’s second largest city.
O’Fallon officials confirmed Friday that Mayor Bill Hennessy had selected Joachimstaler for the chief’s job and had…
[...]UPDATED: Gov. Jay Nixon defended the tourism chief’s dual roles. “We think she’ll be able to do both jobs well and taxpayers will get their money’s worth,” said Jack Cardetti, Nixon’s spokesman. He said the time frame for her to…
[...]
In Poplar Bluff, Slay finds church founded by his uncle
Mayor Francis Slay hit the road this week to lobby southeast Missouri legislators on bringing control of the St. Louis police department back to City Hall.
Along the way, [...]
JEFFERSON CITY — State Rep. Allen Icet, R-Wildwood, took advantage of a bit of a strange interview given by Thomas Schweich yesterday and announced today that he would serve out a full term as auditor if he were elected.
Schweich and Icet…
[...]The media has suffered two black eyes in its reporting of the Fort Hood rampage, the editor of the media journal Editor & Publisher says in a commentary.
E&P Editor Greg Mitchell writes:
With the publication of an interview with Sgt. Mark Todd, the…
[...]Decisions are ahead on two key issues: health care changes and whether to send more troops to Afghanistan. Two new Gallup polls shows Americans are pretty much split on what should be done.
In a poll released today, Gallup reports:
More Americans now…
[...]
Nodler
UPDATE: Sen. Charlie Shields, R-St. Joseph, the president pro tem of the Senate, is expected to name a replacement for Nodler as Senate budget chairman sometime today. The odds on favorite is budget vice chairman, Sen. Rob Mayer, R-Dexter. In…
[...]
Whitehead, left, and May
ST. LOUIS — Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: City Democrats will gather this weekend to pick a nominee to replace a lawmaker who left office after pleading guilty to corruption charges.
This time, party leaders…
[...]
UPDATED WASHINGTON — Since the Wall Street Journal reported last month that a Chinese company would supply the turbines at a huge new wind farm in Texas, an alliance of Steelworkers and U.S. steel companies has protested mightily about taxpayers helping…
[...]JEFFERSON CITY — A group seeking to change Missouri law so that employees can only form unions on secret ballots have survived a legal challenge to their proposed ballot initiative.
Cole County Circuit Court Judge Richard Callahan ruled today against a union-backed…
[...]SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Three of the four top spots in Illinois’ Feb. 2 primary ballots will go to political unknowns, following a lottery a little while ago to determine ballot position.
In the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate, the top…
[...]Sessions
CLAYTON — Texas Congressman Pete Sessions, head of the committee charged with electing Republicans to the U.S. House, is in town tonight, hosting a high-dollar fundraising dinner for Capitol Hill hopeful Ed Martin.
Sessions, head of the National Republican Congressional Committee,…
[...]
(NOTE: The ballot positions of candidates in Illinois’ Feb. 2 primaries will be determined by a lottery being conducted in Springfield this afternoon. We’ll report the results here.)
Meister
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Democratic U.S. Senate hopeful Jacob Meister, trying to stand out…
[...]After Lou Dobbs‘ surprising resignation from CNN Wednesday, what’s next in his professional career?
The Washington Post’s Howard Kurtz quotes a Fox News spokesman as saying the network hasn’t had discussions with Dobbs. The Los Angeles Times’ political blog Top of the…
[...]
Watch out, deer: The governor's got a gun
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon is planning on making a dent in the state’s deer population.
A note attached to a news advisory sent out by the governor’s office says the shooter-in-chief will mark the opening…
[...]WASHINGTON — When New Jersey and Virginia voters elected non-incumbent Republicans in last week’s gubernatorial races, the GOP trumpeted the results as a turning tide.
A new poll by the Pew Research Center — a non-partisan, Washington-based think tank — suggests that Republicans might…
[...]
WASHINGTON — Transportation Security Administration screeners at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport probably wish that the fellow they chose to grill last March about a box of cash wasn’t a Ron Paul devotee who runs a committee devoted to individual rights and constitutional government.
But grill Steven…
[...]The New York Times reports that Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy recently insisted that the student newspaper at Dalton High School in Manhattan allow his office to read an article about a speech he gave before it could be published.
Most…
[...]
JEFFERSON CITY — U.S. Senate candidate Robin Carnahan, a Democrat, continued her campaign strategy of avoiding direct positions on legislation under debate in Congress yesterday.
Carnahan, the Secretary of State, was asked at a news conference…
[...]JEFFERSON CITY — A relatively eventful meeting of the Missouri Veterans Commission ended up escaping media scrutiny yesterday because of the hostage situation that turned out to be a hoax in the building next door.
Shortly after the commission meeting started,…
[...]
St. Louis Police headquarters
Former State Rep. T.D. El-Amin is certainly in no position to win lawmaker of the year, but — back before he got in trouble with the feds — he offered an intriguing solution to one of the…
[...]
Durbin
WASHINGTON — As the No. 2 Democratic leader in the Senate, Illinois’ Dick Durbin has the task of marshaling votes for the health insurance overhaul championed by his party and his president.
Sounds like he might not see success any time soon.
“We’re…
[...]
Danner
JEFFERSON CITY — A shakeup at the Missouri Tourism Commission has put an ally of Gov. Jay Nixon in charge and left Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder on the outs.
The commission voted today to hire Katie Steele Danner as the new…
[...]JEFFERSON CITY — In anticipation of an important election year in Missouri, the state Republican Party has hired a political director to coordinate efforts across the state.
Chris Roepe most recently worked as the chief of staff for Senate President Pro Tem…
[...]
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Illinois Republican Party has posted on its website the video of last Thursday’s first debate between the seven GOP gubernatorial candidates. You can watch it here.
The downfall of Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich this year should give Republicans…
[...]The Daily Beast’s Cheat Sheet directs us to this news item in the Washington Post’s political blog The Fix: Anita Dunn, the White House’s point person in the “war” with Fox News, is quitting.
Here’s the Cheat Sheet synopsis:
OutFoxed?
White House Communications…
[...]
Bond with Daily Show host Jon Stewart
WASHINGTON — Jon Stewart is the often-combative, liberal-leaning host of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show.”
Christopher “Kit” Bond is the senior senator and strong conservative from Missouri.
Put them in the ring (OK, the television studio) together and…
[...]Even the deep pockets of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon couldn’t keep the newspaper industry’s woes from squeezing the Unification Church-subsidized Washington Times, the Washington Post reports.
The Post reports that Times president and publisher Thomas P. McDevitt, chief financial officer…
[...]
A Jefferson City SWAT officer prepares to enter the Governor's Office Building
UPDATE 2:00 p.m.:
It’s officially over.
The office building that was the site of an extraordinary law enforcement response has been cleared. Officials said whatever [...]
Nasheed, far right, in India/Photo by The New Indian Express
Who’s that appearing in a photograph across the world in the New Indian Express newspaper?
Missouri State Rep. Jamilah Nasheed, part of a bi-partisan delegation of young political leaders [...]
Lowery
Florissant Mayor Robert Lowery and city council members on Monday faced about 60 city police officers whose pay they may cut by 3 percent by the end of the month.
The blue-uniformed officers sat in the back rows of the council chamber.…
[...]
Callahan
WASHINGTON — Throughout the months of health care debate, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., has told stories of constituents fighting insurance companies.
On Monday, Durbin shared the story of Southern Illinois University baseball coach Dan Callahan.
Speaking on the Senate floor, Durbin implored colleagues…
[...]CORRECTION: This item was originally posted with Frank LoMonte’s last name misspelled. It has been corrected.
Frank LoMonte, the executive director of the Student Press Law Center, has posted an editorial on the center’s blog condemning Timberland High School Winston Rogers…
[...]
On the week of Veteran’s Day, a veteran’s organization is airing an ad in Missouri seeking to convince the state’s U.S. Senate delegation that energy independence is a key component of national security.
According to the…
[...]
Skelton
The region’s Congressional delegation voted mostly on party lines in this weekend’s House vote approving a health care reform package.
The exception: Missouri Democrat Ike Skelton, who was one of 39 members of his party to vote against the plan pushed…
[...]West St. Louis County townships provided more votes last Tuesday in St. Louis County for banning smoking in indoor public places, but the strongest sentiment for the ban came from townships in the central part of the county.
The St. Louis…
[...]JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri’s plan to cut about 100 state parks workers has been scaled back, according to the Springfield News-Leader’s Chad Livengood. After various workers exercised seniority rights and jobs were moved around, only 48 jobs were cut, according…
[...]
Roddy
ST. LOUIS — Alderman Joe Roddy is known around City Hall for a wry sense of humor, using his perch as one of the board’s senior members to take lighthearted cracks at his fellow lawmakers.
But, recently, even Roddy admits that he…
[...]
Editors at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch decided shortly after the assault at Fort Hood Thursday to devote a major part of the front page to that story. We weighed whether to cut back to one or two local [...]
JEFFERSON CITY — The day after Secretary of State Robin Carnahan announced that her office has made past state Blue Books available online, Sen. Kevin Engler, R-Farmington, has issued a news release repeating his past call to do away with the…
[...]
Hoyer
WASHINGTON — House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said this morning that Democrats are closing in on the votes needed for the U.S. House to pass a bill with historic changes in health insurance.
But lacking 218 votes, Hoyer said Democrats were continuing to persuade members in his party nervous about…
[...]
After our Washington bureau chief Bill Lambrecht noted that U.S. Rep. Todd Akin missed a word in the Pledge of Allegiance — “indivisible” — the miscue at the Tea Party rally Thursday continued to draw attention.
The sharp-tongued Wonkette was…
[...]
Matthew Bass
Our crime blog, STL Crime Beat, has a story about a Lincoln County commissioner who was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of drug possession after police say he bought prescription pain killers in the parking lot of a Troy, Mo.,… [...]
Lee
CLAYTON — State Sen. Timothy P. Green, D-north St. Louis County, has asked the Missouri Gaming Commission to investigate a casino executive who interrupted the St. Louis County Council meeting Tuesday to protest a council member’s vote.
At the meeting, Daniel…
[...]The Greater St. Louis Bowling Proprietors Association, which campaigned against the ban on smoking in indoor public places that St. Louis County voters approved on Tuesday, has conceded defeat. It hopes non-smokers will come to their bowling centers when the…
[...]
Rep. Todd Akin greets Capitol protesters today.
WASHINGTON — Chanting “Kill the Bill, Kill the Bill,” thousands of people are rallying this afternoon at the U.S. Capitol, protesting Democrats’ health-care legislation and blaming Washington for a host of perceived ills from [...]
The Community Section of Wednesday’s St. Louis Post-Dispatch carried a short item from the Suburban Journals in which the principal of Timberland High School in Wentzville defended his decision last month to pull stories about tattoos from the student newspaper.…
[...]Fox News was the clear choice of election night viewers, nearly doubling its normal prime-time audience, according to Nielsen ratings.
The Los Angeles Times reports on its Top of the Ticket politics blog:
If you followed the suspense of Tuesday’s elections, odds are…
[...]
Zweifel
If you get an e-mail from the Missouri Treasurer’s Office seeking personal information to collect unclaimed property, watch out — it’s bogus, the treasurer’s office says.
State Treasurer Clint Zweifel issued a warning this week about an e-mail purporting to be from an…
[...]
Election Day 2009
Although their causes came up short on Tuesday, Republican and Libertarian leaders in St. Louis County claimed some progress in defeat.
In Clayton, county GOP Chair Rich Magee liked what he saw — even though Republican Dan O’Sullivan lost…
[...]
Brown
JEFFERSON CITY — In a motion filed in federal court yesterday, former state Rep. Steve Brown of Clayton argues that he should receive a lighter sentence than the 15-to-21 months called for in sentencing guidelines.
Why? Because the Democrat cooperated in the…
[...]JEFFERSON CITY — The state’s tax collections continued their steep decline in October, raising the possibility of more budget cuts.
Budget Director Linda Luebbering reported today that general revenue receipts plummeted 14 percent last month compared to October 2008. The state…
[...]Were Tuesday’s elections a referendum on President Barack Obama?
Before Tuesday, it was easy to find both yes and no answers. Today, it’s still easy to find both.
From an analysis by CNN political editor Mark Preston:
Victories in New Jersey and Virginia…
[...]
UPDATE: 4:50 p.m. : The Cook County judge has issue the restraining order. The law is suspended once again.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The story out of Chicago today — that the state’s 1995 parental notification law on abortion will start…
[...]
Rep. Ike Skelton
WASHINGTON — While the public option has dominated much of the health care debate, language in the House health-care bill about paying for abortion procedures is becoming a hot issue.
Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., and other anti-abortion rights House…
[...]
The governor has called a summit to discuss DWI
JEFFERSON CITY — Gov. Jay Nixon’s DWI summit is underway.
The governor, moved by our investigative series that found widespread failures to punish drunken drivers, has assembled a team of 34 people [...]
Virgina Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell
WASHINGTON — Wednesday mornings after off-year elections always bring over-generalizations.
But the results of Tuesday’s elections — in which the GOP won governors’ races in Virginia and New Jersey and Democrats captured a House seat in New York — appeared to…
[...]
[...]
