More bad news for Kit Bond and GOP comity. 

Matt Blunt has announced his split with Bond over the the auto industry rescue plan.

Already under fire in GOP circles as the "King of Earmarks," the announcement leaves Bond further isolated within his own party.­

 

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David Steelman, husband of State Treasurer Sarah Steelman, is weighing in on his wife's letter to federal prosecutors about Kit Bond's conduct.

A lawyer by training, David Steelman doesn't bob, hedge or weave on the significance of Kit Bond's conduct around the firing of US  Attorney Todd Graves and his wife's letter to federal prosecutors about it.

Here's an excerpt from Jo Mannies coverage:

David Steelman says the letter to the Justice Department and the dispute over earmarks are being miscast as "a personality clash" between Bond and the Steelmans. What's really at stake are policy differences and — in the case of the U.S. attorney controversy — "very serious allegations of a crime," Steelman said.

It's illegal, said Steelman, for politicians to pressure U.S. attorneys to take certain actions or risk losing their jobs.

Hard-working members of the press might catch a glimpse of the Senator (and perhaps his "patriotic" reading of the 5th Amendment) at the upcoming Missouri Farm Bureau meeting at Lake of the Ozarks.  Even if Bond dodges their questions, reporters are likely to find dozens of quotable Republicans with strong feelings about crime and earmarks.  And with a little luck, they might witness an elevator shoving match between Bond, a Graves brother and Jeff Roe.­  Story Continued »

Matt Blunt has a new nemesis to issue hourly "truth-watch" press releases against--- his own budget office.

Matt Blunt is sharply disagreeing with Matt Blunt's Budget Office over the depth of his Administration's red-ink.

Matt Blunt's Budget Office agrees with Governor-elect Nxon's team and pegs the the Fiscal Year 2009 shortfall at  $340 million.

Matt Blunt disagrees with Matt Blunt's Budget Office, but can't provide a detailed red-ink projection.  Matt Blunt does, however, agree with Matt Blunt on the issue.

In a related development, the Capital Police have put the Blunt Administration on murder-suicide watch.  Story Continued »

Crazy Eddie Martin, looking for a shiny object to distract reporters from digging any deeper into his misuse and destruction of official government resources as well as his lying to the public, now has a new ballot scheme to impose term limits on Missouri's statewide elected officials (Governor and Treasurer already have them). 

So, Crazy Eddie doesn't trust Missouri voters to choose who represents them in office. This is not a surprising policy position from an extremist who doesn't trust that women can make decisions about their own health and doesn’t trust professional scientists to find lifesaving cures.  Story Continued »

Sarah Steelman has written to federal prosecutors offering evidence against Kit Bond and his motive in the illegal firing of US Attorney Todd Graves.

According to a story by veteran reporter Terry Ganey in the Columbia Tribune and the St. Louis Beacon, Steelman's attorney has written to the Justice Department offering evidence of Kit Bond's vendetta against Graves/Steelman political operative Jeff Roe.  Steelman cites a conversation with Bond as the source of the incriminating evidence.

The Justice Department has formally acknowledged receipt of the Steelman evidence.

When asked about Steelman's charge, Bond essentially took the 5th Amendment:

"I don't go into private conversations that I have with fellow Republicans."

Stay tuned for more on this developing escalating story.  Story Continued »

Happy Thanksgiving!

Interesting op-ed in the Boston Globe today about the need for electoral reform.  Some of it hits a little close to home (Velda City anyone?):

More serious and troubling are wholesale methods of stealing elections...Best of all, for those with electoral larceny in their hearts, is voter suppression. Order too few voting machines for polling places in your opponent's strongholds and create long lines that discourage voters. Delete from voter rolls names that resemble those of convicts. Bloodless, bureaucratic, and effective: Thousands of demographically inconvenient voters are disenfranchised. It's also harder to be prosecuted for this...

I sure hope the St. Louis County Board of Elections and their directors get their plum positions in the McCain administration that they earned for helping deliver the state.  Oh, wait...­ 

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­Those of you who have been following the Fired Up coverage over the past 4 years of the Missouri ties to the Abramoff scandal may be interested in today's news. From Congress Daily:

Former Hill Aide Pleads Guilty To Not Disclosing Gifts

Ethics.
A former congressional staffer has pleaded guilty to not reporting thousands of dollars in illegal gifts from lobbyists, the Associated Press reported. Trevor L. Blackann pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to lying on his 2003 tax returns. He is a former aide to House Minority Whip Blunt and Sen. Christopher (Kit) Bond, R-Mo. Blackann is the most recent person convicted in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. Among the gifts from lobbyists that Blackann failed to report was a free trip to a World Series game in New York. He also failed to report airfare, meals and entertainment at a "gentleman's club" paid for by lobbyists.

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Columbia Tribune reporter and blogger Jason Rosenbaum is off to bigger and better things...

­http://blogs.columbiatribune.com/politics/2008/11/rosenbaum_departs_to_conquer_k.htm­l

Good luck, Jason - we've enjoyed your coverage and creativity on the blog.

From the Department of Up Is Down:

GOPers inside the Beltway and around the country discussed a list of about 20 high-profile or rising-star Republicans being circulated by Duncan opponents who want a bigger name at the RNC.

The list contained such GOP luminaries as former Speaker Newt Gingirch (Ga.), former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt...

Is it possible to be forced from running for a second term as governor due to rampant unpopularity and still be categorized as a "rising star"?     

From a good story by the soon-to-retire Jo Mannies in yesterday's Post-Dispatch:

Herschel and AuBuchon denied repeatedly in their testimonies that they had ever instructed the administration's computers experts to take action that would have guaranteed the destruction of computer backup tapes that contained e-mails being sought by Eckersley's lawyers and various news organizations, including the Post-Dispatch.

Two computer technicians — Chris Wilkerson and Dan Ross, the state's custodian of records — have told state investigators that AuBuchon, Herschel and Martin had directly or indirectly issued such orders.

This matters as much because of the giver of the testimony as it does because of the content. 

Dan Ross and Matt Blunt have a long history together, with Ross following Blunt to the administration from a top perch in the Blunt Secretary of State office.  Ross was one of Blunt's first hires as he transitioned into the Secretary of State's office in 2000-2001, taking the number two spot as Executive Deputy Secretary of State and actually running the shop for a spell while Blunt fulfilled Naval service requirements.

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5 out of 6 statewide offices in Missouri are now held by Democrats! Help them make our state a better place.  Apply to work with them in public service, here:

TRANSITION OFFICES­  Story Continued »