The Source

McCaskill Shrugged

Claire McCaskill’s finances keep getting murkier.

As news came out about McCaskill’s “amendments” to past campaign finance reports (which we wrote about last week), the extent of the changes were not immediately clear. They are now, and they aren’t pretty.

The Missouri Republican Party has filed a complaint seeking an inquiry into late reporting by U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill's campaign.

Earlier this month, the Kirkwood Democrat submitted thousands of pages of amended campaign reports, dating as far back as 2006, when she unseated Republican Jim Talent.

Amending a few reports is one thing, but amending five years worth of reports is a horse of a different color.

But can you really call what she did “amending” the reports? Not exactly…

Rather than submit only the new contributions or expenditures, McCaskill has re-filed entire reports, totaling hundreds of pages, making it difficult to determine what's been changed…

"It's impossible to a compare a 1,600 page report, side-by-side," said Lloyd Smith, executive director of the state GOP. "McCaskill needs to stop playing games."

Smith added that "it may be legal," but it certainly is a "unique" reporting method for a candidate like McCaskill, who's made transparency and accountability touchstones of her political career.

Why re-file so many pages as opposed to simply amending the reports with a few pages, which is what they claimed to have done in the first place? Re-filing entire reports of that length sounds a lot like overkill… unless they have something in particular they’re trying to hide.

Remember, the Missouri Democratic Party called these changes “minor updates” and “tying up loose ends”, not the far-more-accurate “digging her own grave”, which is exactly what Claire McCaskill is doing, week after week.

McCaskill should provide documentation detailing what specifically was changed and updated for the voters to plainly see.

Preferably something shorter than Atlas Shrugged.

- B.H.

Nixon vs. Pigtails: Show-Me a Shoot Out

Over the weekend, Governor Jay Nixon (in his attempt to be seen at every event in the state where cameras are present) attended the annual Show-Me State Games in Columbia.

Not surprisingly, he staged a photo-op with a kid:

Governor Jay Nixon and the First Lady met young athletes playing at the Hearnes Center in Columbia.

The governor even faced off with an 11-year-old in a shoot out and lost.

That’s right, he lost to a pre-teen girl in a shoot out, proving that he misses the mark not just in governing but in pretty much everything.

And it begs the question: If the Governor was bested by one in a sports competition, would an 11-year-old girl run the state better, too?

Considering the small shoes she would have to fill, they would probably fit just fine.

- B.H.

"Mmmm, Foot" with Dave Helling

At the end of last week’s edition of KCPT’s Week In Review, the program wrapped up with a short discussion of Johnson County’s Commissioners decision to refuse “hundreds of thousands of dollars from the federal government” for “minority health prevention programs.”

The discussion was practically begging for a race card to be played, and Dave Helling did not disappoint, commenting:

It may be because this particular grant caused concerns because of the way it was structured or for the people it was aimed at… I think if you look at a picture of all the members of the Johnson County Commission now they happen to be men and they happen to be caucasian men, and maybe their sensitivity to minority health concerns maybe isn’t as high as it needs to be...

The entire episode is available on YouTube. The discussion in question begins at the 24:40 mark, and Helling’s comments begin at 26:00.

Nixon's Lousy Credit

As Governor Jay Nixon wrapped up his dual press conferences in St. Louis and Kansas City yesterday, Republicans were fuming that Nixon was, yet again, taking credit for their initiative after spending months on the sidelines. Basically, his usual leadership style.

The Missouri Republican Party lambasted him for his political maneuvering, zeroing in on a bevy of issues with Nixon’s “patting-myself-on-the-back” state tour. In a press release, they noted:

Nixon’s fly-around comes one day AFTER Republican leaders announced a compromise on a historic job creation package—but it’s par for the course for a governor who has made an art form out of “stand[ing] on the sidelines before emerging at politically opportune moments.”

In fact, the Republican jobs plan compromise that Nixon is now calling for is something he completely opposed not long ago.

So, he’s calling for a special session he “threw cold water on” last week and he’s calling for a jobs compromise he fought against in the first place.

Anything else?

According to a report from Dave Drebes published on MOScout.com on July 13, “Jay Nixon, in a conference call with the House Democratic leadership, detailed his objections to the Aerotropolis legislation, and called for Democrats to stick together against Speaker Steve Tilley...

And, boy, did he push that Aerotroplis project at the pressers. (While refusing to give any more of an estimate than a guess of “in the hundreds of millions of dollars” on the cost. Wide brush…)

He was asked point blank during the Kansas City press conference about the GOP’s accusation of his taking credit for their work and he dodged the question outright, stumbling through a hazy explanation about how the groundwork was laid years in advance by Democrats.

Even if that were true, he is basically taking credit for more work done by others while admitting it in the process. Classy.

Overall, Lloyd Smith summed it up:

“What a difference a week makes. Just eight days ago, Jay Nixon was urging Democrats not to agree to the Republican jobs compromise; today, he’s taking credit for the very same agreement,” said Lloyd Smith, Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party. “Jay Nixon is not a leader; instead he has remained on the sidelines for far too long. It’s no wonder more than 269,000 Missourians can’t find jobs.”

Nixon somehow managed to pat himself on the back about job creation, too. No joke.

With their final salvo, the GOP pointed out in blunt fashion what Nixon leadership is all about:

Jay Nixon’s lack of leadership and last-minute emergence from the sidelines has been a hallmark of his governorship…

And that about says it all, doesn’t it?

- B.H.

Rotten to the Corps

Displaced and distraught with their land destroyed, residents can now file claims against the Army Corps of Engineers for the ongoing flood that they failed to properly prevent.

For months, Holt County residents have leveled concerns and criticism toward the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over their flooded property. Now they can make their complaints official.

On Tuesday, County Clerk Kathy Kunkel released an e-mail detailing how landowners in the county can individually file claims against the Corps for damage.

“We would like to pool the claim forms together from everyone who believes they have damage related to the USACE’s actions this spring and summer along the Missouri River in Holt County,” the e-mail stated. Meant to potentially supplement money that will not be recouped in flood or damage claims filed to insurance agencies, Ms. Kunkel was surprised by the wording on the claim documents.

“The Corps have not admitted to this being a man-made disaster, but they have put up there on their (site) ... a place where their language is saying ‘If you believe that you have damages because of this act, you have the right to file a federal tort claim using this form,’” she said.

Army Corps officials likely won’t admit that the flood was “man-made”, but the disaster clearly stems from epic miscalculations on the part of the Army Corps.

The federal government has a team of professionals in the Army Corps whose sole responsibility is to make these kinds of calculations, and they screwed up estimating what the average American grade-schooler could’ve told them: double the normal snow pack means a lot more water headed downstream come springtime.

What they’ve had to offer in response has been even worse than an “Oops, we’re sorry,” they’ve gone with “We didn’t know it would happen.”

So they’re either responsible by negligence or responsible by stupidity. (Or, knowing the functionality of the federal bureaucracy, both.)

Either way they have damaged these Missourians lives forever, and even a massive lawsuit won’t change that.

- B.H.

Eh, Claire

Seventy two pages were added to Claire McCaskill’s past financial reports to account for a slew of “mistakes”, some of which were linked to that infamous private plane of hers (still for sale if you don’t mind being chastised by the president for owning one) which she failed to pay over a quarter million bucks in taxes on. From Politico:

According to the new filings with the Federal Elections Commission, McCaskill’s campaign committee had failed to account for 143 contributions in the ‘06 cycle, totaling nearly $277,000. The committee also missed about $277,000 in disbursements.

Her team seemed to brush the massive amount of changes off.

“These minor updates are simply a matter of tying up loose ends on the in-kind, political use of the plane,” said Missouri Democratic Party spokeswoman Caitlin Legacki…

Hundreds of thousands of dollars of amendments and hundreds of thousands of unpaid taxes, in the real world, doesn’t get filed under the “minor updates” or “loose ends” categories.

The reaction has been harsh.

"For someone who prides herself on being an auditor, lawyer, and government watchdog, Claire McCaskill sure does seem to make a lot of accounting and tax errors,'' said state Republican Party executive director Lloyd Smith. "First it was her use of taxpayer dollars for political trips; then it was her failure to pay $320,000 in back taxes on her private plane; now it is her failure to disclose thousands of dollars in campaign activities. It begs the question: what else are we going to learn about McCaskill’s plane, her tax problems, and the way she does business?"

"Claire McCaskill promised Missourians they had seen the last of her ethics problems after she cheated on her taxes and improperly billed taxpayers for campaign travel on her private plane, but now she’s changing her story yet again," said National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokesman Chris Bond. "Can Missourians trust a word McCaskill says?"

This Senate race is going to be a heated one, and Claire McCaskill is providing ample ammunition to her opposition.

But it's not her fault. It's not like she's an auditor or anything...

- B.H.

Who Wants to be a Hundred-aire?

Robin Carnahan has reported raising hundreds of thousands of dollars in the second quarter of 2011.

(Wait, read those numbers wrong. Sorry about that. Let’s have another go...)

Robin Carnahan has reported raising hundreds of dollars in the second quarter of 2011.

From the St. Louis Beacon:

Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan may be running for re-election, but she's not yet running a campaign. Her latest campaign report, filed today, showed that the Democrat had raised only $73.51 in cash since April 1.

She collected another $300 in in-kind contributions.

Ouch! That’s less than a kids' lemonade stand could make in a week.

Might Missouri be Carnahan-free after the 2012 elections?

- B.H.

Jay Nixon: Inaction In Action

Fence-sitting is Nixon’s modus operandi (MO if you prefer the pun), and straddling that fence takes up so much of his time he apparently can’t find enough to handle all the legislation that come across his desk as two more important bills failed to gain his signature one way or another, making them law by stagnation.

Healthcare reform and late term abortion are serious topics of concern in America today, especially the former, which is why Missouri made a point of passing laws in regards to them. As The Source reported yesterday, the belief was that after months languishing on his desk the healthcare compact legislation would be vetoed without comment; so no signature is certainly better than Nixon cracking out the veto pen. There was also concern over the fate of the late term abortion bill, which likewise avoided the axe.

However, every time Jay Nixon fails to personally enact (or veto) legislation he undermines the (perceived) image that he actually governs anything:

Groups on both sides of the [abortion] issue were disappointed in the governor’s refusal to take a decisive stance.

They’re not alone. In addition to advocacy groups being frustrated over his inability to take positions, lawmakers have been left fuming over his vetoes of bi-partisan legislation and his complete lack of input during drafting sessions.

So, what has Nixon signed into (or out of) law recently?

He managed to sign bills that drug test welfare recipients, that further push political correctness by striking the legal term “mental retardation” from all Missouri documents, and that optimistically claim to outlaw synthetic marijuana (which may end up costing over $100 million in tax revenue), among other smaller issues.

Likewise, he vetoed a bi-partisan bill to keep Missouri relevant in the presidential primary process and another to require voter ID at the polls, in addition to vetoing the Congressional redistricting map - before being overridden.

But when it comes to major national issues like healthcare and late-term abortions he continues his streak of being all over the place by keeping his opinions (and ink) to himself. As the Missouri Record opines:

Perhaps Nixon is ashamed to be a Democrat. Or maybe he's pretending not to be a Democrat. At times, though, it seems he's pretending not to be governor.

Touché.

- B.H.

Healthcare Compact: Will Nixon Veto?

A Source Tipster stepped up to point out that Gov. Jay Nixon has had legislation sitting on his desk for months regarding Missouri’s authority over its share of federal healthcare dollars, and that he is planning on vetoing the bill tomorrow, apparently without comment.

The bill, also passed in Texas and already law in Oklahoma and Georgia, would allow states to form their own healthcare “compacts” to save money and run more efficiently:

The bill allows [the states] to ask the federal government for permission to take its share of funding and join other states in creating a compact, a healthcare program free of federal requirements.

A more in-depth description:

The health care compact isn't a health policy reform—it's a governance reform. If approved, it would give states the authority to determine how to spend their federal health care dollars, empowering member states to provide health care services (including Medicare and Medicaid) for their own citizens. It places the decision-making authority for health care policies at the state level, where the legislature would be free to tailor and pilot innovative programs that could simultaneously lower costs, while also improving health care.

Although for now it is gestating in the “pipe dream” stage due to the need for congressional approval, this legislation could become a major nationwide contender to properly overhaul the debacle we call healthcare in America.

Apparently this push for healthcare compacts is catching on, because “the legislation has been introduced in over a dozen other states.”

For more, read Eric O’Keefe’s excellent op-ed about why this radical new idea is the best way to overhaul the system.

As for Jay Nixon and Missouri’s participation, we shall see tomorrow.

- B.H.

A Hot, Sloppy Mess

As the debt talks in Washington descend into the eleventh hour, Claire McCaskill has taken the opportunity to chastise Republicans, apparently for their rare determination to take a united stand, in order to appease the MoveOn.org wing of her base.

Sen. Claire McCaskill slammed Republicans on Thursday, claiming their internal divisions were impeding the ongoing debt-ceiling negotiations.

She didn’t pull her punches.

“It looks like a hot, sloppy mess.”

Wait for it…

"I think Mitch McConnell, frankly, has lost his mind.”

Claire should learn two things from this exchange on Morning Joe. First: saying you’re being frank before using a euphemism is counter-intuitive.

Second: the real hot, sloppy mess is the complete economic package Democrats sold the American people on, from the blown-out budgets to massive bailouts to the unemployment numbers going in the opposite direction than they promised and pleaded and assured us they would.

The people who have (frankly) lost their minds are those simple enough to look at a fifteen trillion dollar debt and think to themselves: more debt!

Guess the hope and change was lighter on the hope than the change.

- B.H.