Chris Koster

Ed Martin's self-described nuisance lawsuit against the Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, Attorney General Chris Koster and State Auditor Susan Montee was dealt a serious setback today. 

Looking at the claims of Martin and the other plaintiffs, Cole County Circuit Court Judge Patricia Joyce dismissed the legal challenges to Carnahan's ballot summary, and declared the language put forward by the Secretary of State's office "promoted an informed understanding of the probable effect of the proposed initiative petition."

Here is Judge Joyce's conclusion:

Plaintiffs do not write summary statements; Defendant Carnahan, in her official capacity as Secretary of State, does.  Plaintiffs' exercise in repeatedly challenging Secretary of State Carnahan's summary statement as compared to language they prefer is a misapplication of the standards by which the sufficiency and fairness of a summary statement is determined. The important and only test is whether the language fairly and impartially summarizes the purposes of the measure, so that the voters will not be deceived or misled. The Secretary of State prepared a summary statement that is fair and sufficient as it promoted an informed understanding of the probable effect of the proposed initiative petition. For this reason, and the analysis already discussed above, Plaintiffs have failed to carry their burden of showing that Secretary of State Carnahan's summary statement is insufficient or unfair. [Judge Patricia Joyce's Order and Judgment can be found here.]

This may shock you, but voters are less likely to support an accurate description of Ed Martin's ballot initiative than a simplistic description crafted by his GOP  pollster.

The Missouri Roundtable for Life and President Ed Martin are currently engaged in a legal battle (proudly described by Martin as a "nuisance" lawsuit) with the Secretary of State, Attorney General and State Auditor to rework the ballot summary language for their proposed constitutional amendment to ban public money for abortions and embryonic stem cell research.  Desperate for some media attention (garnering free media is one of Martin's main goals with the lawsuit), Martin released the organization's poll data (presented in court weeks ago), which was dutifully picked up by the press.  The polling data is presented as evidence that the summary put forward by SOS Robin Carnahan is unfair -- except there's no actual evidence in the polling that the ballot summary is unfair.

• Outrage with AIG is overflowing. Russ Carnahan and others are pushing legislation to recoup bonuses from bailout firms. [Post-Dispatch] [CNN][CQ]

• Treasurer Zweifel struck a deal with bankers to increase the interest rate banks pay for state time deposits. Under the agreement, banks would gradually phase in the payment of competitive interest rates for state deposits. At the same time, the state’s linked deposit program, which loans money through local banks at low interest to small businesses, will grow to serve companies of 100 or fewer employees. [Daily Tribune]