Koster Up Close and Personal, and a Lesson Learned

Chris Koster spoke to the CCP yesterday evening, and there was no way I was going to miss it. A rising star Republican speaking to a room full of opinionated progressive democrats months after purporting to switch parties.

Setting aside my partison Harris hat, I have to admit he did a good job. He comes across as hyper-coached - I suspect that if he dropped a word from his canned speech, he would need to go back and start from the beginning. It was, as one would expect from Mr. Koster, a very polished, even slick, presentation.

Naturally, I had a quibbles with it. First off, it was really a speech for a prosecutor's race. He gravely but with obvious relish intoned about the horrible cases he prosecuted - the spouse killers, the child rapists, and, yes, of course, John Robinson, the man who is still alive because Koster got tricked into a bad deal. He even bragged about how he got Robinson to confess to the crimes, and how he was there when they found bodies in steel drums, but he never got around to explaining why Robinson, a confessed, grisly murderer, was spared the death penalty in Missouri.

Chris' tagline was "if experience matters," which I found to be an odd choice for the candidate with the second best experience for the job. Jeff Harris has, literally, five times the experience that Chris does in the AG's office, but Koster knows that the average voter confused the role of the AG with the county prosecutor, so his stories of 12 yeaar-old rape victims and CSI-Harrisonville searches for murder weapons are good enough to fool most people. Even in the comparatively well-informed CCP crowd, I heard the woman behind me lapping it up like titillating honey, while I was rolling my eyes.

I was surprised that the crowd did not follow up with questions when Koster said that he supports "common sense restrictions on Roe v. Wade," as the CCP has a reputation for being more liberal than that.

In short, listening to Koster, I was impressed with his style, but not as much by his substance. He's running as a Democrat while distancing himself from some of the most widely held Democratic beliefs. He's running as a tough prosecutor while handing out a flier packed with murderers who avoided the death penalty under his tenure. Worse yet, he's running for Attorney General on the ground that he could be a good county prosecutor.

But he's good looking and smooth, and could pull it all off if people don't pay enough attention.

After his talk, I chatted a little bit and began walking down a corridor to the elevators. As I was about to escape, I heard Chris shout "Dan!", and motion me back. He guided me into an empty conference room.

It's funny how in the course of a few paces back to a conference room, you can call back to mind every immature statement, every over-stated criticism, and every political cheap-shot you've written about someone. As I walked back down the hall toward Chris "legislative roundheels, incompetent, pretty-boy" Koster "the Imposter", I had a few seconds of sincere regret for being such an ass. I disagree with him on several points, and I am confident that Jeff Harris will be a better Attorney General, but Chris waa walking down that hall on the high road, and I was walking it on the low road.

Fortunately, rather than wanting to kick my ass (I suspect he could take me), Chris just wanted to pass on a few comments to me and assure me that his conversion to the Democrat party is sincere. Indeed, I had to admit that we are a big tent party, and the distinction between a liberal Republican and a conservative Democrat is a fine one.

Let me be crystal clear - Jeff Harris is the best candidate for Missouri Attorney General. Jeff has the substance that Koster lacks - he has the experience with the AG's office and the experience of working as a Democrat supporting Democratic causes. But Koster put on a good show last night, and I hope that I hold to my present intention of treating him and others with a bit more dignity.