Did Chris Koster Recruit Molly Korth Williams?
Over at the Pitch, David Martin connects a few dots and surmises that Molly Korth Williams' last-minute and half-hearted filing for the Missouri Attorney General Democratic primary was engineered by Chris Koster.
Here's the evidence:
- Koster is a very close friend of Judge Joe Dandurand.
- Williams is a very close friend of Judge Joe Dandurand.
- Koster (and, to be fair as always, Jeff Harris, the only candidate with strong experience in the Attorney General's office) may benefit from having another woman in the race to dilute Margaret Donnelly's perceived advantage among gender-based voters.
- Williams is not running a serious race, in that she took off for a vacation immediately after filing, and has not formed a committee to raise funds.
- The recruitment of primary challengers to weaken other candidates has been a hallmark of Cass County (Dandurand and Koster's home base) politics for years. (Actually, Martin didn't make that point, but I will.)
- Williams is a spectacularly weak candidate, with neither money, nor experience, nor even a job in the legal field.
- Koster's campaign doesn't even deny it.
Personally, I think this clipping I took from the Association for Women Lawyers newsletter says all that needs to be said about the relationship of Koster's friend and the new candidate, as well as the tenor of the "Williams for AG campaign":
Labels: attorney general, donnelly, Jeff Harris, koster
posted by Dan at 4/03/2008 06:32:00 AM
27 Comments:
If a Republican can run in the Democratic primary, then why can't he run a woman to help him out? Welcome to KosterWorld.
Seems like one more reason to vote for Jeff Harris. He wouldn't pull crap like this.
OMG - that photo is absolutely perfect.
Isn't the woman next to Williams the one who's suing the City because they didn't make her a judge?
It's kinda funny that a person would i) vote for a candidate only because of their gender and ii) be so uninformed that they vote for the wrong candidate.
I would be critical if a candidate recuited a person with the same name as another candidate but the same gender, please. This is a non issue, or should be. If all Donnelly has going for her campaign is that she is a female and her supporters don't spend enough time to even learn her name, we should be praising the fact that Ms. Wiiliams entered the race.
If a candidate is so outraged that Ms. Williams entered the race he should commit that if he wins but Donnelly's votes plus Williams' votes add up to more then his, he will step aside and hand the race to Donnelly.
The fact is the Easter Bunny can run if he/she wants to. It is the voter's responsibility to learn the name of the candidate he/she wants to vote for.
Jack -
You apparently have no problem with Koster's trickery. Most people find Koster's behavior slimy. You don't. You have lower standards than most people. You are the kind of person who should support Koster.
"Makes Perfect Sense", wow, put down the kool aid. How are you so sure Harris is not behind this? Or, God forbid, she decided to do this on her own.
Harris picked a female to split the gender vote but picked one that is located in Koster's backyard and easily connected to Koster so to hurt Koster. Harris is the only one that benefits with this move.
All that being true, this is still a non issue.
It's an issue to me, and I believe it was Koster. I'm writing a check to Donnelly tonight.
Harris is a good guy, even though I support Donnelly. Koster is a tricky asshole, who's dodging votes and taking money from Sinquefield funneled through loopholes. Can anyone really doubt that it is Koster behind this nonsense? Even Jack says she's easily traceable to Koster the Imposter
Dan -
Harris has the most experience? What in the hell are you talking about?
If by "experience" you mean writing legal memos that even his law firm bosses wouldn't read, then, sure, Harris has experience.
I would prefer an AG who has successfully tried multiple cases. There is only one candidate in the race with real legal experience on his resume:
CHRIS KOSTER
And don't worry, Harris will be fine after he loses. Many firms are still hiring summer associates.
Is Harris even a lawyer? Did he pass the bar exam?
anonymous -
Koster was a county prosecutor - the only time he spent in the AG's office was a little time working for a Republican criminal. Not such good experience when you think about it, is it?
Harris headed a division of the AGs office, and worked for a Democrat. The fact that you don't know he's a lawyer indicates that you're not well-informed.
Cornell graduate and law review. Smarter and more ethical than Chris Koster. And he didn't vote to kick 100,000 elderly, disabled, and children off health care.
While I pretty much disagree with everything Jack has to say on here, I do think he makes a good point on Donnelly's fundamental weakness as a statewide candidate ("If all Donnelly has going for her campaign is that she is a female ...").
At first Donnelly and her supporters suggested she was going to win because she was the only candidate from St. Louis, then they said it was because she was the only woman in the race. Well, honestly none of those are very good reasons to support a candidate.
Now, she has to win the race on her merits as a candidate. Sure it's crap that Koster pulled this stunt, but it's also sorta crap that Democrats might end up with a weaker general election candidate simply because of her gender. No one should vote against Donnelly because she's a woman, but anyone who votes for her (or Williams) because they are women, is equally as wrong-headed.
Harris can write one hell of a legal memo. Can he try a case? Gosh, who knows. He has never been a courtroom before. Do we really want an AG who needs on the job training?
Koster is the only real lawyer in this race.
Dan - I again remind that you that Harris will be fine. Many firms are still looking for summer associates. The pay is pretty good and the firm takes the summer associates on many field trips, e.g., Royals games. Harris will love it.
Why are the Koster people spreading lies about Harris? They know that Harris has tried cases, and has managed a division of the AG's office. He has 5 times as much experience in the AG's as Koster, plus he didn't learn from a criminal republican.
The Koster douchebags are running around spreading lies like Harris isn't an attorney or that Koster has more relevant experience or that Harris hasn't tried a case, even though they know they're lying.
I'm guessing the Koster-ites are spreading lies about Harris because they know they can't win unless they somehow knock him out. I heard a from someone who's pretty well connected that there's a poll showing Harris winning.
Porch Pundit -
Okay. Give the name of one case that Harris has tried. Something tells me that neither you nor the other Harris supporters can. So, name one case.
Harris and his supporters have spent 98% of this campaign attacking Koster. Which makes sense - they can't talk about Harris' experience or accomplishments because he doesn't have any. (For evidence, see every post by Dan. Nothing positive about Harris, just negative, false attacks on Koster.)
Listen, you need to do your boy Harris a favor. Tell him to get his summer associate application in immediately. There are other 1Ls who are also applying. These summer positions won't last forever.
Where has Dan told a single lie about Koster?
Go ahead, click on the "Jeff Harris" label at the end of Dan's post. I just did. He has a few truthful negatives on Koster, but a lot of very positive things about Harris, and even some nice things about Donnelly.
But come on, show us one single solitary lie about Koster spread by Dan.
Mr. Porch Pundit -
I am still waiting for the name of one case that Jeff "The Litigator" Harris has tried. It is telling that you can't name one single case. It says a lot when a "litigator" has never litigated. Around here, those folks are called law clerks.
Which leads me once again to remind you to encourage Harris to apply for a summer associate position. Or, he could intern at a county prosecutor's office. I bet Koster could find him an internship at the Clay County prosecutor's office. Tell Harris to get his resume and list of references in order.
I'm pretty sure Harris headed up the collective bargaining defense for state employees. Pretty sure he won it too. Of course, only a Koster supporter would try to suggest that being Attorney General is the same as being a county prosecutor.
But as long as you're asking questions, then how about these:
How many mass murders did Koster reach plea agreements with?
How many divisions in the Attorney General's office did Koster head up?
How many times did Koster vote to cut Medicaid?
How many times did Koster vote to support Voter ID?
You all do want to talk about all of Koster's experience, right?
A woman named Vicky Thomas sued Chris Koster for something..I think sexual discrimination...when he was fairly new to the prosecutor's office
Anonymous - Anyone with a filing fee can file a lawsuit, and it doesn't mean a thing. I'm as willing as anyone to criticize Koster for his behavior, but stuff like that, without any further information, is simply mudslinging.
Gone Mild,
Your photo of Williams and others says "celebrating lowest scores". What does that mean?? Lowest bar exam scores?
It's celebrating low scores in a golf tournament. In case you were serious!
How about Rebeca Bowman Koster v. Chris Koster, case #2103FC-02782, 21st Circuit, St. Louis, divorce case. Docket entry of 5/7/03 - Rebecca had to pay Chris $650,000. "FINANCIALS OFFERRED TO COURT. LEAVE TO WITHDRAW FINANCIALS GRANTED." Where did they go?
That is a ton to pay in a divorce. Chris was a government employee and took $650,000. Nice move, Chris. Looks like proof of womanizing. Kind like another woman he screwed over - Beth Phillips, case No 1393SC053399, Boone County, 13th Circuit.
I never thought I was so honored on here that someone would steal my name and keep it. Very interesting.
The lack of creativity in the herd is scary sometimes.
I thought you were being unusually rational and complimentary . . .
Wow, I cannot believe people are eating something with completely circumspect evidence up so quickly and blindly...have you read the article by David Martin? He even concedes that the evidence wouldn't hold up in court. You could at least have a rational argument about the election, rather than bringing completely irrelevant issues based on speculative information. What a quality piece of journalism - the Koster is right to ignore this red herring. As far as credentials go, the Democratic party shouldn't make candidates jump through hoops for the sake of gaining. Koster is the real deal.
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