Andria Simckes would make a fine State Treasurer. So would Clint Zweifel. But it seems to be Zweifel snagging the endorsements. One would expect all the union endorsements, since he's a union man. But he's also been getting the media  the KC Star, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and the Columbia Tribune. Now, with just three days left till the voting starts, Zweifel has picked up the...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

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...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Sarah jo has an excellent diary, "A Hug from Barack", about her encounter with Barack Obama at the bbq in Union, MO on Wednesday. I read it right after reading this letter that a Democratic friend of mine had received online and forwarded to me: Hello everyone, As you know I am not a very political person. I just wanted to pass along that Senator Obama came to Bagram Afghanistan for about an...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

There are a number of campaign radio ads running in the 121st Legislative District market. One such set of ads promoting the generic republican game plan and the anointed republican candidate recently aired, paid for by the "Missouri Club for Growth Committee". The Missouri Ethics Commission has the latest filings for the "Missouri Club for Growth Committee": Detailed Summary of Expenditures...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

As you may know, Barack Obama visited four towns in outstate Missouri yesterday.  I was one of about 25 volunteers at the Union bar-b-que assigned "credentials" (a name tag with "volunteer" on it.)  The Obama campaign staffers are all VERY polite and highly organized.  The young woman organizing the pavilion and agenda for our event recognized my superior talents right away and...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Ted Stevens, indicted for concealing more than $250,000 in gifts from an oil services company, liked to spread his own largesse around, especially to fellow Republicans who sided with him on key projects. Kit Bond is one such recipient of Stevens' cash, with over $20,000 in donations from Stevens' PAC. So will he give it back? My guess is no, but he could surprise me.

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Barack Obama in Springfield: (Hat tip: The Turner Report)

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

John McCain and other Republican "leaders" offer pretend solutions like offshore drilling to our energy problems. MoveOn calls 'em out with this ad: Ouch!

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

The candidates running for the open senate seat in the 31st District - David Pearce (r - advocate of automotive deer hunting), Rex Rector (r) and Chris Benjamin (D) -  filed their 8 day reports. There's some interesting information in those lists of expenditures. We've covered this race in previous posts: 31st Senate District - second quarter campaign finance reports 31st Senate District...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Chris Koster's ex-wife has put up $200,000 for TV ads to inform the public about his sleazy campaign funding practices. The K.C. Star's Prime Buzz has the tale, and I'll let Kit Wagar give the details. The ex-Mrs. lives in Arizona now, but from four states away is still nursing a grudge. And Koster thought he was only running against Donnelly and Harris. I haven't seen the ads, but I'll bet...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

On the occasion of Obama's Wednesday swing through Missouri (Rolla, Springfield, and a bbq in Union where he'll flip burgers for the first 200 people to claim the free tickets), Roy Blunt has words of praise for the presumptive Democratic nominee: "'There's no question Senator Obama is an exciting candidate, with a great delivery.'" Now wait for the "but": BUT Obama "'is not ready to be...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Those who read our diaries know Project Vote as the organization that fights voter suppression and helps election protection efforts. What you may not know is that in addition to being on the frontlines in the fight for voter rights, Project Vote is also the largest voter registration organization in the United States. Since 2003 over one-third of all registration applications submitted through...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Following up on dissonentdissodent's claim that the msm won't cover negative stories about Rodney Hubbard and Hotflash's story about the Hubbard/Roos controvery, I'd like to lay out in a little detail why I find the Post-Dispatch's lack of coverage of this story disturbing.  Basically, I worry that the different standards the Post-Dispatch applies towards coverage of different candidates...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Rodney Hubbard says Jim Roos is a slumlord. That's some loaded language. The Post-Dispatch describes Roos this way: "A seminary school graduate, Roos  founded Sanctuary in the Ordinary, a "housing ministry" that owns rental units throughout the city." This attack on Roos was brought on by the fact that he has been taking down some of Hubbard's campaign signs--and making no bones about it....

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

We've previously written about this Democratic primary race between incumbent Rachel Storch and challenger Michael Roberts. On Tuesday this one is for all the marbles since no republican filed. 64th Legislative District - second quarter campaign finance reports This Really Gets My Goat There is no tomorrow for these candidates. The expenditures are telling. Let's take a look at the eight day...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

At the International Military Tribunal for the Far East ("Tokyo War Crimes Trial") the United States prosecuted individuals as war criminals for waterboarding civilian detainees and military prisoners of war. The ACLU released documents pertaining to torture of detainees obtained from the government today as a result of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. Openeness and transparency in...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

To fully appreciate Bert Atkins' candidacy, first you have to know the backstory: In late April, Democratic Representative Bruce Darrough (HD75 in North St. Louis County) unexpectedly withdrew from the primary race for his district. The other person who had filed in the primary was Representative Juanita Head Walton's brother, Charles. Uh-oh. Head's brother-in-law, Elbert Walton, uses his Unity...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Joe Volpe (D) is challenging incumbent Will Kraus (r) in the 48th Legislative District. We've previously covered this race: Joe Volpe (D) in the 48th Legislative District 48th Legislative District - first quarter campaign finance reports Joe Volpe (D) filed his second quarter 2008 campaign finance report with the Missouri Ethics Commission on July 13th: Detailed Summary of Committee...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Chris Ruggles (D) is challenging incumbent Brian Yates (r) in the 56th Legislative District. We've written about this race before: Chris Ruggles (D) in the 56th Legislative District Chris Ruggles (D) filed his second quarter 2008 campaign finance report with the Missouri Ethics Commission on July 15th: Detailed Summary of Committee Disclosure Report Committe[e]: CITIZENS FOR CHRIS...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

I recently spoke with Dr. Vernon Harlan who is running in the Democratic primary for the House seat in the 71st district. For Harlan, who is running against Roger Wilson (same name, but not the Democratic party poobah), and Donald Calloway (whom I interviewed last March), the primary will be the main event, since whoever wins the primary in this overwhelmingly Democratic district will face no...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]