Jay Nixon

All week, Sarah Steelman and Kenny "Fred Thompson" Hulshof have been engaged in a pitched battle for the GOP gubernatorial nomination.

What will the winner get for their trouble?

The right to be trounced by Jay Nixon.

A new Survey USA poll has Nixon beating Steelman by 25 points and Hushof by 24.

Moral of the story: Be very careful what you wish for.  Story Continued »

This morning, Jay Nixon called on the General Assembly to prohibit state taxation of federal stimulus package payments.

From the Nixon release: 

As Congress and President Bush finalize the details of an economic stimulus package, Attorney General Jay Nixon today called on the Missouri legislature to be prepared to pass a law exempting Missourians from paying taxes on federal rebate checks.  Without legislative action, it is likely that Missourians would have to pay state income taxes on the rebates.  
 

The first this afternoon to endorse Nixon's proposal--- lame duck Governor Matt Blunt.

So far, Kinder, Steelman, Jetton, etc. have been mute on the conference call issue.  Story Continued »

A Rasmussen Poll conducted December 12 shows Nixon continues to lead over Blunt (47-42). Rassmussen Reports

There was a 4% increase in the disapproval level of Blunt as governor. Missouri Political News

As documented in the post below, Matt Blunt, for selfish political reasons, is steering ice storm price gouging victims toward away from waiting legal help at the Attorney General's Office.

But the State E­m­ergency Management Agency apparently didn't get the memo to throw storm victims under the bus before referring them to the one the devil Jay Nixon.   

No, Blunt's point agency on ice storm management put out a press release referring price gouging victims to (gasp) the Missouri's Fraud Hotline in the Attorney General's Office.  Story Continued »

The latest solace republicans have been giving to each other in their vain attempt to feel better that Blunt is still below 45% in the polls is to tell themselves that Blunt will use the upcoming session to highlight how Nixon is wrong. Is this because Blunt can not highlight anything positive about himself?

Is Blunt also incapable of using the upcoming session to help make Missouri a better place or does Blunt think the purpose of the upcoming session is to be a forum to trash his opponents?

We got this desperate gem from the office of Governor Matt Blunt on Friday:

Gov. Matt Blunt will celebrate Sedalia as the first Capital for a Day. Cities featured as the Capital for a Day will be host to the governor and his cabinet as they listen to Missourians and see first hand the positive impact of the governor’s and his administration’s initiatives in the community. 

 Story Continued »

I guess Matt Blunt and the Missouri Republican Party think Peter Kinder should buy a bus pass, or maybe a bicycle.  

The state GOP's press shop, eager to fire off a gratuitous and ridiculous potshot at Attorney General Jay Nixon for traveling in a state vehicle to political events, has inadvertently lined up the Lieutenant Governor in its own crosshairs. 

The KC Star's Kit Wagar has a piece this morning on the move by Jay Nixon's campaign to return contributions accepted in excess of the legal limit during the period when the caps had been removed.  It's the right thing to do, and the Nixon team should be applauded for respecting the rule of law and the authority of Missouri courts.

The story also features the communications genius of Blunt campaign spokesman John Hancock, who demonstrates just how little sense it takes to become the most sought after GOP public relations flack in Missouri.  Story Continued »

Bill McClellan today had a semi-amusing column about who will be the next presidential candidate from Missouri. It mentions Jay Nixon, Claire McCaskill, and Robin Carnahan on the Dem side.  Matt Blunt, Chris Koster (???), and Catherine Hanaway on the Repub side.

McClellan isn't the only one who has mentioned McCaskill or Carnahan and "president" in the same sentence.  The Huffington Post has an article from Friday about McCaskill which likens her to Missouri's favorite son and only president Harry Truman. 

And, Fired Up! readers will remember that USA Today and the Kansas City Star have both mentioned SOS Robin Carnahan as a rising star with presidential potential.­  Story Continued »

Looks like Missouri Republicans are stealing a trick from Rove's playbook.  Story Continued »

There is no doubt that Matt Blunt believes this philosophy. Look no further than the latest SurveyUSA numbers that once again have his approval ratings in the 30's. I could easily take this time to explain why Blunt has remained so unpopular, but as it has been this way for so long, it would just be a repitition of previous posts anyway. I say we just take this time to toast to the Governor; no reason to try and improve.....

Give a nod to ArchCity Chronicle for being th first to put this out.

For the past few months there has been increasing speculation about Blunt's 2008 plans. Conventional wisdom around has always been that Blunt would run for re-election, and most likely, as he continued to plummet in the polls, he would get a primary from either Steelman or Kinder. However, Republicans in the capitol have recently been saying that Blunt is putting all of his eggs in the Mitt Romney basket and considering abandoning ship in Missouri for the national spotlight.

Now, we have a new development that has caught a lot of steam in the capitol corridors and made the above rumors an even more likely outcome. As reported yesterday two-time statewide loser Jim Talent wants to run for Governor in 2008. This little statement could have easily gone without notice since he has never seen an election he didn't want to run in. Then, today, it gets out that Talent conspicuously attended dinner last night with Blunt's buddy Mitt Romney.

Here's a great one from the KC Star.  Since good old Doyle Childers believes Atty General Nixon is not to be trusted, he's found a new bunch of lawyers to stand up for Missouri in its dealings with Ameren over the Taum Sauk disaster.  Thank heavens we have devoted public servants like Doyle watching out for us all. 

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/15857081.htm