The Source

Fun MO GOP Contest

The MO GOP is on the hunt for (another) hypocritical Claire McCaskill commercial, this time from 1998. The reward? A $200 travel voucher.

CONTEST DETAILS:

In 1998, Claire McCaskill ran an ad falsely attacking her opponent for unpaid taxes.  The ad ends with a brutal tagline that will undoubtedly come back to haunt her, “Unpaid taxes and wasted tax dollars. Missouri deserves better.”

We have unearthed the script, but the video has been lost to time.  It exists somewhere, we just don’t know where—and that’s where you come in.

Be the first to provide us with video footage of this 1998 Claire McCaskill attack ad, and you will win a $200 gift card to the airline of your choice! (Note: Unlike Claire McCaskill’s political travel, this gift will not be billed to taxpayers!)

GO TO THE CONTEST

 

Money Flowing to Dooley Supporters

Another Dooley campaign worker just landed another cushy job in St. Louis County.

Katy Jamboretz is now working for the St. Louis County Economic Council, will make $88,000 per year, and is by our count, one of seven Vice Presidents. She joins the ranks of Mike Temporiti, Katy Temporiti, Bill Ray, Rita Days and others - a long list of county appointees and employees who have benefited from Dooley's patronage in deals that have questionable value for the taxpayers.

Nixon Attacking Bloggers

Interesting comments from Jay Nixon yesterday, in which he attacks just about everybody and then blames blogs and internet commentators for being hyperpartisan and divisive.

It really sounds like he has been spending too much time dwelling over internet comments... but we'd also note that Missouri's growing blogosphere has played an important role in exposing a number of Nixon scandals over the last few years.

It's not surprising that Nixon isn't a fan of that kind of scrutiny.

Today's Flashback

 

Most Awkwardly Phrased Mailer Ever

(click to zoom)

We haven't stumbled upon anyone who understands exactly what this mailer is trying to say, since it seems to contain two arguments that are at odds. Read the second and third paragraphs and try to sort it out.

On the one hand we can't decide if by opposite they mean they're looking for a negation or contrapositive; but on the other we're pretty sure we've spent more time trying to make sense of it than they did writing it. (The truth? The opposite, of course... whatever that means.)

The one certainty is that they couldn't have phrased it in less awkward terms. Who is writing these things?

Wrong Time to Brag About Fiscal Credentials

Jerry Berger spotted a new McCaskill fundraising letter with an odd claim in it:

She crows, “I’m focused like a laser on reducing spending, cutting waste and saving taxpayer money.”

Meanwhile, back in reality:

The Cook Political Report on Thursday downgraded Missouri Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill's re-election chances to "toss-up" after a private jet controversy that could undercut her image as a government reformer.

"There is nothing voters hate more than politicians who don't pay their taxes or what voters perceive as their fair share of taxes," Cook Political Report's Jennifer Duffy writes.

"The only thing they hate more than that is when the wealthy don't pay their taxes. It seems unlikely that McCaskill as a wealthy politician is going to be forgiven simply because she discovered the problem and paid the taxes."

McCaskill Developments

Dave Catanese has McCaskill's final plane tab at $320,000.

The Week has a review of forecasts of McCaskill's political future:

Democrats can't afford this kind of "unforced error": McCaskill just handed the GOP a "golden opportunity," says Michael Shear in The New York Times. "Just having a private plane" undermines her "regular gal from Missouri" image, but evading a $287,000 tax bill? That "damage may be hard to repair." With no room for error, Democrats have to hope McCaskill's blunt response saves her seat.
"Democrats can't afford mistakes like McCaskill's plane"

Voters have short memories: "Most Democratic strategists" think McCaskill will survive, thanks to "her political brand, plus time," say Chris Cillizza and Aaron Blake in The Washington Post. The election's still 20 months away. You needn't look very far back for proof that voters "have relatively short attention spans" — Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) was easily reelected in 2010 despite a highly-publicized prostitution scandal in 2007.
"Can Claire McCaskill weather her plane problem?"

Still, this makes McCaskill look like a real hypocrite: "This story hits McCaskill with unusual force," and not just because it clashes with her role as one of America's "folksiest politicians," says David Weigel at Slate. She's also criticized other politicians over unpaid taxes, on video. Sure, minor "scandals like these are often blown out of proportion," but that's because voters easily grasp hypocrisy.
"Claire McCaskill gets her wings clipped"

Roy Temple, Suspiciously Flexible Morals Stand up for McCaskill

It was a little surprising to see Roy Temple gushing about McCaskill on Huffington Post - leading with the line "I haven't always agreed with Senator Claire McCaskill but I have always admired her." Sounds like someone is taking a few liberties with their personal history...

We heard a very different tune a few years back.

From The Kansas City Star (11/7/2004):

"I've been through anger," she remembers Temple saying, biting off his words. "I've been through disgust. At this point, I find you pathetic."

"I'm sorry you feel that way,"  McCaskill responds, trying for calm.

She walks away, shaken. "I'm glad my husband wasn't there. I think he would have popped him."

From The Post Dispatch (7/31/04):

Holden's campaign manager, Roy Temple, said the ad points out McCaskill's record of overpromising.

"I'm not doing this because it's tightening," Temple said. "We're winning. But to let her lie to the voters is not doing anybody a service. She's taking $1.6 million from a guy who runs some of the worst nursing homes in the state."

Temple cited allegations of abuse that included: a 55-year-old resident molesting an 83-year-old resident; a patient who needed supervision dying after eating a peanut butter sandwich; and a resident wandering off and being found, drunk, at a truck stop nine miles away.

From condemnation to permanent, never-ending admiration in just a few years. We don't know what's sillier; Temple's effort to start an online unity movement for Claire, or that he's taking liberties with their personal history to do it. Temple spent countless hours raging against McCaskill on Fired Up and making personal attacks against her. He can't wipe all of that out with one poorly written article on Huffington Post.

Temple's article unintentionally demonstrates a salient feature of the controversy - you can't defend Claire without being disingenuous. The only reason Temple could even try it is his willingness to run roughshod over the facts. A very disappointing showing.

Politico: McCaskill Plane Troubles Continue

From Politico:

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo) failed to pay $287,273 in personal property taxes on a private airplane for the past four years and will immediately repay St. Louis County for back taxes owed.

She’s also planning on selling the plane, which she co-owns with her husband, after POLITICO revealed last week that she had used taxpayer dollars for a political trip around her home state of Missouri. McCaskill had spent $76,000 from her Senate budget on trips on the aircraft over the past four years.

Even More KC Mailers