Chris Koster

It doesn't sound like anyone really wants to run for Attorney General against Chris Koster, so a first term GOP state rep. from California, Mo., may have to take one for the team. 

This begs the question: Is the Missouri Republican Party's bench of up and coming political leaders really this thin?

Well, this is disappointing.

Back when Chris Koster called himself a Republican, Republicans like Kit Bond were trying to expand access to affordable health care with a health insurance mandate. But some things change with time, it seems.

The good news is that Koster's selfless, timely and decisive move will please everyone, will have a real impact on the way Supreme Court considers the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act and won't give GOPers a fresh set of reasons to trot out tired talking points.

Attorney General Chris Koster has a great new public service announcement for the Ask, Listen, Learn campaign. Check it out: 

Brian Hook of the Franklin Center's Missouri Watchdog website captured and posted videos of all the big speeches as this weekend's Democrat Days event in Hannibal.   Sen. Claire McCaskill, Gov. Jay Nixon, Rep. Russ Carnahan, Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, Treasurer Clint Zweifel and Attorney General Chris Koster all spoke at the Saturday brunch or banquet. 

Video of all their remarks may be found here.

In a motion filed Friday, Attorney General Chris Koster challenged Lt. Governor Peter Kinder's right to file his Mullarkey Lawsuit "in his statutory capacity as Lieutenant Governor charged with being the advocate for Missouri’s elderly."  Koster's motion only applies to Kinder's right to speak on behalf of the state in his complaint, and doesn't pertain to the constitutional challenges brought by the other plaintiffs or Kinder as an individual citizen.

In the Complaint, Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder purports to bring suit in his official capacity, but the substantive portions of the Complaint do not appear to be consistent with this assertion. Because the Complaint is ambiguous and because the case could potentially implicate the interests of the state, the Attorney General has an interest in the litigation, and the Court should grant him leave to intervene under Rule 24 for this limited purpose.

If Koster's motion is successful, it could have interesting implications for Kidner's continued use of state resources for self-promotion and fundraising purposes. 

The Attorney General's motion and supporting memorandum may be found below the break. 

A new report released today by Attorney General Chris Koster shows that "black motorists were 70 percent more likely than white drivers to be stopped by police last year -- and twice as likely as Hispanic drivers."

"These findings continue a disturbing trend for African-American drivers in Missouri," reads the report's executive summary.

Read the full report here.

UPDATE: Jason Rosenbaum of Missouri Lawyers Weekly has posted an excerpt from Koster's press conference.

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]