The Source

Nixon Settles

While journalists and bloggers statewide worry about whether an employee in the Treasurer's office filed his vacation paperwork correctly, they all but ignore the news that Democratic Attorney General Jay Nixon quietly settled an important discrimination lawsuit filed against his office.

When the Attorney General’s office absorbed lawyers from the Department of Social Services, Jay Nixon hired all but one of the existing lawyers. That lawyer, a quadriplegic, sued first in state court, then in federal court under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

While the Attorney General’s office will say there is “no admission of wrongdoing” in the settlement, it is hard to imagine why they would settle such a critical lawsuit unless they had done something wrong. The AG’s office, of all places, should not want to set a precedent of being easy to “sue and settle.

This is yet one more example of mismanagement, or worse, in the Attorney General’s office under Jay Nixon. While the press focus may be on the Republican primary right now, eventually the press, and the voters, will have to know Nixon’s record.

Taxpayer Paid Advertisements

Have you seen the monster new billboards at the Sprint Center? Located on the southwest corner, near the loading docks, two recently installed and operational billboards are disturbing what was once a great view. The Sprint Center says the billboards will be used to promote events and to “plug” its corporate sponsors.

The Source could write about how this billboard seems to violate Kansas City’s new anti-billboard ordinance, but another blog* has covered that well. Our purpose is to ask why a billboard, paid for by tax dollars along with the rest of the Sprint Center, is being used to promote private enterprise.

AEG has continually hidden behind the mask of private enterprise, despite the fact that tax money funded the arena. They steadfastly refuse to release information about the operations of the arena, specifically where it relates to their “founding partners” or suite holders.

The Source thinks it is even more important, now that those founding partners are being advertised outside the arena using tax dollars, that all contract information be released by AEG. We deserve to know if these “partners” are receiving sweetheart deals on tickets, suites and advertising both inside and outside the arena.

*Yes, a tip of the hat to Tony’s Kansas City whose comments encouraged us to finally write about something we had been pondering for weeks

Democrats in Congress

Despite having a majority for well over a year, Democrats keep blaming Republicans for all the nation’s ills. Perhaps that is because their own incompetence and narrow focus is not allowing them to get anything done. They certainly aren’t going to admit that.

A case in point is the recently passed farm bill. Forget for a moment whether you support the bill or not, there are certainly arguments on either side. Despite reasonable objections, the farm bill passed and was sent to the president who vetoed it, and the veto was over-ridden. This is our government in action, right?

Not so fast. It turns out that, somewhere along the way, dozens of pages went missing from the bill. It was sent to the White House that way. Democrats run Congress. They run the House and the Senate and all the apparatus thereof. There is no choice but for them to take the blame for such a laughable error.

Now, both chambers will have to re-pass the full bill, send it once more to the president, and wait for his certain veto so they can vote to over-ride again. Think of the taxpayer dollars wasted in the process, just because Democrat leadership didn’t even bother to have an intern read the bill.

This fall you will hear Republicans blamed for gas prices, healthcare costs, illegal immigration woes and other failures of government. It is worth asking, why haven’t Democrats done anything to fix these problems yet? Is it incompetence or an inability to lead?

Survey USA Poll Flawed

A new Survey USA poll is out for Missouri’s sixth congressional district contest. The poll results show bad news for Kay Barnes, with incumbent Sam Graves amassing a convincing ten point lead.

However, The Source’s exclusive analysis shows that the poll is flawed. Survey USA’s sampling includes a geographic breakdown which is not representative of the district. When weighted correctly, the news is even worse for the Barnes campaign.

The inherent flaw is in Survey USA’s regional breakdown. They took samples which reflect that 64% of the votes will come from the Kansas City area, 11% from the St. Joseph area and 24% from the northwest region of the district. But, in looking at results from the last presidential election year, 2004, The Source has determined that that sampling over-represents the Kansas City market by ten points. In 2004 only 54% of the votes in the district came from Clay, Platte and the sliver of Jackson County that is in the district. 12% came from St. Joseph and 33% from the northwest. Using those more accurate regional numbers to replace the flawed number in the Survey USA poll, The Source has determined that Representative Graves’ lead would actually be thirteen points, 50% - 37%.

In either scenario the news has to have the Barnes campaign shaking their heads. Barnes has been trying to convince rural voters that she is a farm girl at heart. That effort does not seem to be paying off as Barnes is losing the rural meat of the district by more than 2-1. Barnes strategy may be backfiring even more as she was not able to even build a lead, beyond a statistical tie, in the Kansas City portion of the district which should be her strength.

Graves’ lead holds up across all age groups. Graves also receives significant support from Democrats, with 19% crossing over to vote for the incumbent. As expected, religious and values voters lean heavily to Graves. While liberals lean heavily to Barnes, they make up just a small piece of the district.

The survey was taken May 16th to May 18th, after the first television ads hit the airwaves in St. Joseph and after radio ads hit the rural areas of the district. The survey results would seem to show that, despite widespread Democratic opinion, Graves’ ads were the more effective of the two.

Deceiving Viewers

Last night, Fox 4 News ran a story on the recent competing ads for the sixth district congressional race in Missouri. Reporter Linda Wagar relied solely on the opinion of Angelo Trozzolo to attack the ad from Graves for Congress.

What Fox 4 News and Wagar neglected to tell their viewers is that Kay Barnes’ spokesman, Steve Glorioso, has a direct relationship with Trozzolo Communications. In addition, Trozzolo Communications benefited from several Kansas City contracts while Barnes was mayor.

Fox 4 News owes their viewers an apology for using such a biased source, and for not divulging that source’s connections to one side of the issue.

France, Glorioso and Platt

A recent article in the Times-Tribune points out just how well Kay Barnes and her campaign staff really know northwest Missouri. The article quotes Barnes as saying that Steve Glorioso told her that “the northwest Missouri countryside resembled that of France – the rolling hills, the forever views, the greenness of spring and the outside-the-rest of the world-ness of it all.” France? Really? They must be thinking of California wine country.

Speaking of Steve Glorioso, The Source finds it interesting that he is referred to as Barnes’ “driver and campaign worker” in the Times-Tribune article. Just in this campaign alone, Glorioso has been referred to as Barnes’ “aide,” “consultant,” “spokesman,” “hitman,” “advisor,” and “manager.” It’s a wonder she needs any other staffers! Makes you wonder…what does Corey Platt do?

The Sins of Kay Barnes

In an editorial a week ago, KMBZ-TV President and General Manager Wayne Godsey warned Kansas City residents they were about to pay for the “sins of their fathers.” Godsey’s message was about the impending need for billions of new dollars to fix a rapidly worsening and almost criminally neglected sewer system.

Godsey spoke of “the city’s precious resources (that) went, instead, to downtown development and other legacy building projects.” With his mention of “legacy building projects” Godsey makes it clear it was former Mayor Kay Barnes who “ignored” the impending problems and should be held accountable.

Barnes spent eight years dismissing what should be the core work of a city government, and her citizen satisfaction numbers reflect it. Barnes was more concerned about her relationships with David Cordish, Tim Leiweke, Herb Kohn and Gary Forsee than she was about her relationships with the citizens of Kansas City.

Now Kansas Citians will, as Godsey says, “pay for” the sins of Kay Barnes. Likely, they will pay directly through a user fee, without the usual help from non-Kansas City residents through a sales tax. They also shouldn’t count on any help from Sprint, Cordish, or AEG.

Democrats Passing Again?

The Source finds it interesting that Missouri Democrats are silent on yesterday’s news from California.   The Source calls on the leading Democratic statewide and congressional candidates to comment publicly on yesterday’s California Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage. 

We would specifically ask Robin Carnahan, Jay Nixon, Kay Barnes, Judy Baker, Steve Gaw, Jeff Harris, Margaret Donnelly and Chris Koster to publicly answer the following questions:   

Do you agree with the California Supreme Court decision?   

Do you disagree with Judge Carol Corrigan’s assessment that the court broke a covenant with the people?   

Do you think the Missouri vote protecting traditional marriage should be overturned?      

Judicial Hero

Most news accounts of yesterday’s judicial decision on gay marriage in California have and will concentrate on the four activist judges who voted to overturn the will of California voters. The Source would prefer to give coverage to the three who stood tall, especially Supreme Court Judge Carol Corrigan.

The Source does not hold Judge Corrigan up as a hero because she opposes gay marriage; in fact she personally leans toward supporting it. But Judge Corrigan led the way judicially by putting her own personal beliefs aside, as a good judge should, and voting with the people.

Corrigan wrote, "If there is to be a new understanding of the meaning of marriage in California, it should develop among the people of our state and finds its expression at the ballot box." Her opinion stated that she found no constitutional reason to overturn the will of the voters in this case. She said the court broke their “covenant” with the people of California. “It is no answer to say that judges can break the covenant so long as they are enlightened or well-meaning.”

Unfortunately, in real life heroes do not always win. Judge Corrigan’s courageous opinion was a dissenting opinion and holds legal weight only as a beacon for future justices to use to find their way back to the way our judicial system was meant to work.

Stall

The Democratic Party is learning and perfecting a new tactic:  Stall.   

An example is Secretary of State Robin Carnahan’s ability to kill a citizen requested ballot initiative by simply taking it to court one more time.  Similarly, the party of Truman has decided to keep “passing the buck” on vote after vote.   

A quick lesson, for those unfamiliar with the real history of that phrase and the companion “the buck stops here”.  Nowadays passing “the buck” is most likely used to refer to as passing the blame, but that isn’t how it started. Originally, “the buck” referred to the responsibility to act, or make a decision.  The “buck” was actually the dealer token in poker.  He who held “the buck” had the responsibility to initiate action.  He who “passed the buck” passed on the responsibility to act or decide, not on the blame if the decision went wrong.   

Fast forward to today’s Democratic Party.  Rather than take responsibility and vote (or let the people vote) the Democrats hide behind procedural rules and tricks, courts and the appeals system and obscure law.  Even in the majority in Washington D.C. Democrats have done very little and blocked Republican efforts to move legislation forward.   

The Source can’t imagine that Truman would be pleased.   

Which is it, Dick?

Is George W. Bush the worst president ever or the best marketing tool ever? The Source doesn’t see how both could be true, but Dick Gephardt seems to think so.

At the recent state Democratic Convention, Gephardt catered to the partisan crowd by saying “George Bush is, by far, the worst person that has ever been president of the United States.” (Video)  Gephardt brags about calling Bush a “miserable failure” earlier in the presidential campaign.

Why then does Gephardt use an image of himself and George W. Bush to promote his business? At least one picture of Gephardt and Bush is prominently displayed on the front page of the Gephardt Group website. Why would a prominent Democratic politician and fledgling lobbyist and consultant want to have his potential clients see him standing with “the worst…president?”

Interestingly, Gephardt doesn’t highlight any pictures at all with himself and Jimmy Carter. Maybe actions do speak louder than words.

Were You Invited?

Carnahan’s Conflicts of Interest Go Unquestioned

Russ Carnahan’s wife, Debra Carnahan, serves on the Board of Directors for Planned Parenthood. Yet as far as we can tell Russ does not abstain on votes potentially effecting Planned Parenthood grants and contracts. In fact, according to Project Vote Smart, “Representative Carnahan supported the interests of Planned Parenthood 100 percent in 2006.” In their finance report from last year, Planned Parenthood shows over $300 million dollars in such federal funds as revenue. That is about 30% of their budget. Who is asking Rep. Carnahan about this conflict of interest?

Russ Carnahan’s brother, Thomas Carnahan, runs a wind farm energy company. Yet as far as we can tell, Russ does not abstain from any energy bills (Such as HR6 in 2007) which will potentially affect tax credits or other government programs for such businesses.

Who is asking Rep. Carnahan about this conflict of interest? The answer, of course, is that no one is asking these questions. The more salient question may be, “why not?”

FiredUp! Magic

With a little slight of hand and a lot of innuendo, FiredUp! Missouri asks its readers to believe the Republican candidates for Governor are all but criminals. Never mind that neither Kenny Hulshof nor Sarah Steelman is implicated in any wrong doing. Roy Temple and his henchman don’t care much for the facts.

Even the basis for the petty poke by FiredUp! is bogus. Let’s follow the trail. Jay Nixon is running for Governor. He thought he was running against Matt Blunt. Nixon uses his state office to launch a partisan investigation against Blunt. Blunt, for other reasons, decides not to run. Nixon’s investigation then makes charges against Blunt, but since he isn’t running that isn’t good enough for Nixon. Nixon calls Roy Temple who tries to tie the bogus Blunt charges to Nixon’s real opponents on his blog. The whole thing is a magic trick worthy of David Copperfield.

The Source is, of course, not surprised that FiredUp! won’t look in their own dirty laundry. On their side, it is the candidate himself who is rife with ethical problems. Not only does he have email problems of his own, he was caught misusing state resources for his campaign. No wonder FiredUp! is trying to distract voters from the truth.

But, those of you who have ever been to a magic show already know, the real trick is getting the audience to not see what is really happening. Consider this trick busted, Roy.

Barnes Owes Kansas City Answers

A story appears in this week’s edition of the Kansas City Business Journal about Cordish, Kay Barnes, and the supposed promise to keep Cordish’s “festival district” exclusive.  The headline says that Barnes “disagree(s)” with Cordish, but, oddly, Barnes is never actually quoted in the article.

Instead, Barnes sends someone else to speak for her.  Unable to stand up to the company that is funding her congressional run to the tune of $8000, Barnes hides behind a spokesman.  While her spokesman swears he is speaking for Barnes, wouldn’t it be better to hear from the former mayor herself?  Isn’t it time for Barnes to sit down with a reputable reporter and answer these questions, without dodging.

Why did she negotiate such soft contracts with Cordish?

Why did the city give so much financially to get so little? 

Was Cordish promised exclusivity in any sense for open container laws?

Why the Cordish contract did allow them to set their own opening date?

Why does the Cordish contract allow them to set parking rates?

Why has she accepted campaign contributions from Cordish, given her personal role in negotiating with them?

Kay Barnes has a history of ducking hard questions.  It is about time the local media held her feet to the fire.  The Cordish contracts are as good a place as any to start.

Gas Tax Holiday

First proposed by Republican Presidential candidate John McCain, the concept of a gas tax holiday for the summer months is gaining steam nationally and in Missouri. Even McCain’s potential Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, is endorsing the idea as a way to combat rising gas prices.

Here in Missouri the House easily passed gas tax holiday legislation yesterday. The House version sets up a rebate program where consumers can apply with the state for reimbursement on all taxes paid from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The bill now goes to the Senate for approval.

With gas prices continuing to rise, and the first major summer holiday around the corner, the Missouri and national gas tax holidays are reasonable efforts to keep prices in line for consumers. While liberals prefer to target oil companies, the government itself has been guilty of raising the price of gasoline by adding taxes at both the state and local level.

A brief respite from that tax stream will hurt government only a little, while the effect will help consumers and the economy. If consumers decide not to travel, too many industries, including many whose profits are also taxed, will lose business. If consumers know they will be eligible for a refund on their travel expenses, they are much more likely to vacation in Missouri’s tourist spots.