The Source

Lack of Leadership

Why hasn’t Attorney General Jay Nixon weighed in on the US Supreme Court decision on using the death penalty for child rapists?   

On Wednesday Governor Matt Blunt and two leading Attorney General candidates spoke up about their dissatisfaction about the ruling, which denies the right to apply the death penalty in cases of child rape.  Both Michael Gibbons and Chris Koster took the path of leaders and went on the record with their opposition.   

But, so far, no word from our state’s top lawyer.  The citizens of Missouri deserve to know if their Attorney General, and a man who wants to be Governor, will support a prosecutor’s right to seek the death penalty for one of the sickest crimes imaginable.   

Nixon is not known for his leadership, of course.  The Source reported on his delay in signing a letter with ten other states attorneys general regarding California's gay marriage decision.  Word came yesterday through some sunshine-obtained correspondence that Nixon was waiting until more states signed on.  “It will matter to us how many states are on the letter,” emailed a Nixon underling.   

Talk about passing the buck!  Harry Truman would be ashamed.   

McCaskill Hurts Obama in Missouri

A New Survey USA presidential poll is out for Missouri and the news is not good for Barack Obama and worse for Claire McCaskill.   The poll compares voter’s preference for Obama versus John McCain in a heads up battle.  It goes on to compare the presidential candidates with a list of potential running mates.

In the heads up poll, McCain is beating Obama by seven points, 50%-43%.  That has to be devastating news to the Obama camp who must have though their recent post-clinch bounce would extend into Missouri. 

McCain won almost every age group and was even tied with Obama for the young voters Obama is supposed to dominate.  McCain also loses half as many Republicans (8%) as Obama loses Democrats (16%).  McCain even is ahead in the Kansas City area, and only losing in the St; Louis area by 7%.  He dominates in the southwest with 70% support.   

Survey USA goes on to compare several possible vice presidential picks.  With some odd selections (they use New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg as a VP for both sides) the bottom line is that any McCain VP pick continues to keep him ahead.   

The biggest news for Missouri political watchers is that Survey USA tests Claire McCaskill as a Vice Presidential running mate for Obama.  McCaskill’s name has floated around the last few weeks as a possibility because she could supposedly help deliver Missouri.   

But in the Survey USA poll McCaskill actually hurts Obama in Missouri.  In the head to head Obama loses by only seven points.  With the VP picks of Bloomberg for McCain and Jim Webb for Obama the margin stays at seven.  But if it is McCain/Bloomberg and Obama/McCaskill the margin jumps to nine. 

The poll tests several similar McCaskill scenarios.  In no case does McCaskill's inclusion on the ticket help Obama win. 

Cordish Kay Contribution Watch, Day 6

Still no word from the Kay for Congress campaign regarding our call for them to return all contributions from the racially biased Cordish Company. We are starting to think perhaps that isn’t a good enough reason for Kay Barnes to return the money, given that she already is a proven discriminator. What is one more case of bias to a mayor who already cost the city millions with her blatant disregard for equal protection laws?

So maybe the Barnes campaign will take notice, instead, of the negative economic impact The Power & Light district is having on local businesses. Recently another local hotspot has been forced to close. Tanner’s Bar and Grill likely lost business to the taxpayer funded downtown entertainment district just like The Mango Room and Fred P. Otts. The bottom line: Out of state companies are profiting while local businesses suffer.

Did Kay Barnes see this coming? How could she not?  The real question is did Kay care?

Once again, The Source calls on Kay Barnes and her campaign committee to return the $8000 she received in contributions from Cordish executives. The money is not only tainted by their racist rules but now by the loss of solid Kansas City businesses. Kay can’t continue to spend Cordish’s ill gotten profits without reprove.

The Source will be watching.

(As a side note, the Cordish controversy has generated an interesting list of new nicknames for the downtown entertainment district. Pick your favorite in the comments section, or suggest a new one. )

• Power & White District (Hendricks, KC Star)
• Power & Flight District (MyFoxKC)
• Coward & White District (RDM Random Remarks via Tony’s KC)

Photo-Op Jay

Floods are devastating Missouri communities along the Mississippi River. Jay Nixon has decided that would be a perfect opportunity to play politics.

Last week Nixon pulled the ultimate political photo-op by showing up to help fill sandbags. Well, according to the St. Louis Post Dispatch it was “Not a lot of time and not a lot of sandbags.” Isn’t that Nixon’s MO? Nixon, like his ticket mate in November, Barack Obama, is “all stuffed with fluff.” It seems to take a natural disaster to move him to act on issues critical to Missourians.

Ironically, The Source has heard talk around political circles that Nixon is “sandbagging” in his campaign. The word is that he is intentionally keeping a low profile, hiding from voters, because his internal polling suggests his negatives grow when he is well known. Nixon’s strategy, it seems, is to stay out of the spotlight for as long as possible.

Unless, of course, it is to take political advantage of another tragedy.

Cordish Kay Contribution Watch, Day 1.

Yesterday, executives for Cordish were brought before city council to explain their dress code policy.  Several on council, led by Terry Riley, are rightly concerned that the policy is racist, and targeted at a specific group of African-American youth.   

Rather than listen to the wishes of the city council, the Cordish executives brazenly prepared remarks on a whole different topic, not even caring about the council’s concerns.  This arrogant attitude should be expected, we are afraid.  Cordish has come into this city thinking they could set the rules, based on their interactions with our former mayor and her staff.   

There is another history here as well.  Cordish has had this same policy in other cities, and has had the same problem with local community groups and city councils.  Cordish has, and has had, similar dress codes in Cincinnati, Louisville, Baltimore and Houston.  A simple web search shows they are dealing with the same issues there they have here.   

Blogs and news media across Kansas City are lighting up about this issue.  Cordish’s dress code is the kind of divisive policy that unites people.  Their flippant attitude only makes it worse.   

The sad fact is that Kay Barnes is profiting from Cordish.  There was plenty of evidence before Kay brought Cordish to town that they used racist policies elsewhere, but Barnes obviously ignored it.   

The Source calls on Kay Barnes to return the $8000 she received from Cordish executives in campaign contributions.  That money is tainted with Cordish’s arrogant attitude and racist policies.  The Kay for Congress campaign should issue an immediate press release condemning Cordish’s policy and actions before the council and promise to return all contributions immediately.   

The Source will be watching.    

Agent of Change?

Barack Obama likes to think of himself as an agent of change.  Why then does he behave like just a typical politician? Here is the more realistic view of Obama’s campaign thus far, using his own campaign slogan and theme:   

YES WE CAN … CHANGE our minds about accepting only public financing of our general election campaign

YES WE CAN … CHANGE our minds about whether we support our long-time pastor and his racist diatribes

YES WE CAN … CHANGE our minds about union endorsements and union money

YES WE CAN … CHANGE our minds about the Cuba embargo

YES WE CAN … CHANGE our minds about NAFTA

YES WE CAN … CHANGE our minds about decriminalization of marijuana

YES WE CAN … CHANGE our image by hiring consultants and coaches   

The Source thinks it will be interesting to see Obama scamper back to the center after running left to capture the base of the Democratic party.  He can flip left, where he is most comfortable, and lose the Clinton supporters and the election…or he can flop right, and risk being labeled like John Kerry and lose the election.  Either way, his recent bounce won’t last long.   

Willy Nilly Silly ole Obama

Richard Danzig, former Clinton Navy Secretary and current Barack Obama foreign affairs advisor, had the following to say at a recent conference on terrorism:   

“Winnie the Pooh seems to me to be a fundamental text on national security.”   

Danzig, who is sure be to be considered as National Security Advisor should Obama win, went on to insinuate that the “willy nilly silly ole bear” has a philosophy suggesting that if a policy hurts, we should stop and rethink it.  In other words, “cut and run” if it doesn’t go perfectly.   

Danzig also suggested a parallel between Al Qaeda and a terrorist Japanese organization that released nerve gas on Tokyo subways.  Never mind that the Japanese terrorists were secular and Islamic terrorists rely on religious dogma…Danzig would treat them all the same.   

Danzig wasn’t done.  He goes on to compare terrorists to Luke Skywalker ("super heros") and then to violent football fans.  In referring to the latter he quotes an author he like saying, “violence lets the adrenaline flow; it’s like sex, you live in the moment.”  What’s next?  Handing out condoms to Hamas? 

The Source thinks the comparisons shouldn’t stop there.  We think that Danzig, and anyone who listens to his advice, are definitely “all stuffed with fluff.”      

(A big tip of the hat to Monica Crowley)   

AP vs. Bloggers

Another fight between the mainstream media and bloggers erupted last week when the AP threatened to sue bloggers (in particular The Drudge Retort) for quoting from AP stories and linking to them.  AP’s contention is that bloggers are going past the limits of “fair use”.   

While The Source understands the Associated Press’ desire to protect their copyrighted material, we have to question their heavy handed approach to doing so.  Bloggers may not be journalists the way the AP (and others) would like them to be, but bloggers are fast becoming a critical part of the fourth estate, filling in the gaps where the mainstream media has not, or will not, cover stories.  Bloggers are also fast becoming a watchdog over the press, something the press has never had to deal with in the past.  Perhaps that is what concerns the AP the most.   

Arguably the biggest difference between the blogs and the mainstream media today is the diversity of format.  Regardless of the content, all newspapers look the same and have the same basic purpose.  All television news shows and networks have the same basic format and purpose.  But blogs are creative.  Some are news breaking.  Some are opinion and editorial driven.  Some are portals, compiling news from other sources.  Some are analytical.  Some are just humorous looks at world events.  Each of those goes beyond what the AP and its mainstream brethren offer.   

The Source hopes that the AP backs off their initial bravado, and it seems they are now inclined to do so.  The mainstream media will need to learn to work with bloggers, not fight them, if they want to continue to be relevant to all audiences.   

Missouri Democratic Talent Not Good Enough?

With both presidential primary seasons now complete it is time to look forward to the general election in November. Interestingly, Missouri’s status as a Super Tuesday state may have also enhanced our perception as a bellwether state, with both eventual nominees squeaking out small victories here last February 5th.

Oddly, Barack Obama started off his Missouri campaign with a very questionable choice. Obama tapped Buffy Wicks to run his operation in Missouri. Wicks’ connection to Missouri seems to be non-existent. She worked on Obama’s campaigns in Texas and California. In both those states Obama actually lost the popular vote (though he received more delegates than Clinton in Texas.)

Wicks also worked as Political Director for “Wake-Up Wal-Mart.” One writer says the executives at Wal-Mart referred to her as "Buffy the Wal-Mart Slayer.” The Source is guessing she won’t be a guest of David Glass in the owner’s suite for a Royals game. Wicks was also a registered lobbyist for the United Food And Commercial Workers International Union. It will be interesting to see how the Democratic establishment in Missouri responds to an outsider, an activist and a lobbyist being put in charge of the state.

So, why not hire one of the many Democratic campaign operatives in Missouri? Was the Obama campaign not impressed with the local talent? Why didn’t Obama’s main Missouri squeeze, Claire McCaskill, promote someone on her bench that knows the state better than Wicks? Since Missouri Democrats are declaring easy wins for Jay Nixon and Robin Carnahan, couldn’t they spare some local staffer?

The Source thinks it either says a lot about Missouri’s Democratic talent, or a lot about Obama’s view of his chances here, that he brought in an outsider. Only time will tell which is truer.

Health Care for All?

Those who really understand our healthcare system instantly realize that it is too complex to be reduced to sound bites. It is easy for certain candidates to take cheap shots at their opponent based on the one bill or another, but often the nuances of the bills are the key, and often those keys are not what is publicized.

It is easier is to explain to the voters the over-riding principles of healthcare. For instance, there should be no disagreement that:

Every sick person should be treated

Access to care should be abundant and equal

Physical aspects of care costs money

Research for care costs money

Research for new drugs and new techniques costs money

Someone needs to pay for those costs

Prevention helps lower costs

What then becomes debatable is how the system should work to pay for those costs. Proponents of government-run universal healthcare believe that system will cover more people, allowing everyone to be treated. What is not clear is whether such a system can cover the real costs associated with healthcare. What is clear, from many examples in countries that use national healthcare, is that access to care is not abundant or equal under such a system.

A recent article about treatment of tumors under national healthcare, prompted in part by Ted Kennedy’s recent diagnosis, points out the flaws. The Source urges you to read this article and be part of the dialogue.