Jeff Smith

So GOP Lt. Governor Peter Kinder went to Kentucky to visit former Democratic state Sen. Jeff Smith in federal prison.  You can read Kinder's tweets about the trip here.

I don't have anything clever or interesting to say about this.  It's all just very odd.

The Post-Dispatch has a long editorial about ethics reform legislation and recent transgressions by state legislators of both parties.  The whole thing is worth the read, but these final two paragraphs need to be highlighted.

All of these [minor 2010 ethics reform proposals] would be nice, but they clearly don’t address the fundamental problem: Campaign money from special interests drives the public’s business. It employs a bunch of oxpeckers whose interests lie in perpetuating the system, not reforming it.

Unless and until Missouri restores limits on campaign contributions, the abuses will continue. Anything else simply is masquerading as ethics reform and is bogus.

Conference calls are annoying.

What I didn't learn from this article, however, is what was actually said on today's call with progressive activists who care about real healthcare reform.

UPDATE: Jo Mannies at The Beacon has the story: 

Why now? [State Sen. Jeff] Smith said the aim was to show that, in the wake of heavy opposition from Republicans and private insurers, there would be local politicians who will go to bat for a public option. The message to the White House, he said: "We have their back."

The legislators sidestepped the question of whether the timing was tied to concerns by public-option supporters that Obama and his administration are backing off.

But state Rep. Mary Still, D-Columbia, said some legislators -- including herself -- were actively lobbying the federal government because "there is not the political will in this state to fix the health-care system."

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