Race for the 44th Ends Peacefully
One of the underlying themes of the Kander/Coffman campaign has been the issue of dirty campaigning. Who would do it, when, and how much? Like the wired boats floating in Gotham City harbor in The Dark Knight, each campaign has sat there, feeling vulnerable, wondering if the other will be quicker to act.
No movie spoiler here.
In this case, at least, it appears that neither boat triggered the other's bomb. Neither Amy Coffman nor Jason Kander launched the kind of attacks that we all feared. Bravo to them both.
That is not to say that there aren't quibbles that may fuel post-election conversations. Jason Kander's mailer contrasting his and Amy's positions on lobbyists was a strong piece, and left no doubts in anybody's minds about which candidate was closer to lobbyists. From the other side, Amy Coffman's treasurer falsely claimed that Jeff Roe (to carry the prior metaphor one step further, Jeff Roe is the Joker) had endorsed Jason Kander, and Tony's KC repeated the exaggeration.
In the grand scheme of things, though, this has been a pretty darned good race. Any of the three candidates would be a fine representative for the 44th District, and each of them kept their dignity throughout the campaign. Whatever the vote totals are at the end of the day, I hope each of them is glad to have participated in the process.
Now that the primaries are over, let's run the table in November!
Labels: 44th District, Amy Coffman, Jason Kander, Mary Spence, Missouri
posted by Dan at 8/05/2008 06:32:00 AM
21 Comments:
Once the votes are tallied can I please just say "In your Face!" to the Coffman supporters? I started as an undecided and after the anti-military rants from the Coffman camp I'm a big Kander supporter.
And no this isn't Diana. Go back to lobbying Amy.
Tsk tsk tsk.
Can't we all be nice, at least while people are voting?
Coffman has snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. Cuts like a Razor.
Kander by 7.
Coffman by 2.
Nothing peaceful about the way the Kanders conduct themselves. Geesh!
True enough - they are not peaceful in the sense of passively sitting around. Jason went out and won this race fair and square, and Diana (along with their BRILLIANT campaign manager, Margaret) did a super job of running a clean campaign.
It's great to see what young dems are capable of. Makes me proud to be on our side of the aisle.
Congrats to them both. They are both great people. But this news definitely means that Coffman finally put the law down on her boneheaded campaign team. Talk about a bunch of morons. If she loses she can easily pin it on them for their poor decisions and again back on her for not controlling them.
Candidates and campaigns with class win humbly and gracefully.
Calling the election before the polls close, and gloating simply underscores the tenor of the Kander campaign and its suporters.
Chic Trib -
You're showing your bias - both sides have engaged in the bogus predictions, made all the more humorous because of their anonymity. Nobody really involved in either campaign would want to call this. I believe Jason will win, and I like to think it will be by a healthy margin, but, like you, I am tired of the people who are jumping onto blogs with "Coffman by 2" or other nonsense.
Both Amy and Jason have been far better people than their more aggressive and anonymous supporters. Thank goodness.
Dan,
Shouldn't you be heading over to the Kander watch party?
Classy, anonymous.
Amy was a good candidate, but she had the misfortune of running against a great one.
We'll be fortunate to have Jason representing us.
Dan, it is very wise to be humble.
Thanks, but I have the Bullard and Harris results to help me out.
the best candidate and campiagn won. Amy and Mary should be proud of their campaigns. Unless you have done it, it is hard to understand the sacrifice and toll a campaign has. Anyone willing to enter their name and run should be congratulated.
Sad day to see someone like Jason Kander win this race. It is hard to campaign and win. I have to say that JK & DK are two of the most arrogant people I have ever met. Some people don't get that impression and think they are just nice folks. That is merely the side they want you to see like all politicians. Good luck to Jason getting to work in JCity with other reps that didn't want him to win and didn't support him. Waldo is a speedbump in this guys way to Washington.
Kander -
Expect a call from a very apologetic and defeated Dale Youngs.
That's very much in character for a Kander supporter - absolutely without class in victory.
Why would Dale Youngs apologize? And why would you even think about calling him out by name to rub his face in his recent defeat, you scumbag?
You're a scumbag, because you intentionally try and publicly humiliate decent, well meaning people because you feel some sort of small-minded victory.
You're a BIG MAN because you've called out Dale, right?
WRONG.
You're a small minded, schoolyard bully. Actually, you're worse than that.
Kander didn't win a position of power, scumbag, he won a potential opportunity. Remember that.
He won a freshman state rep seat, which earns him a miserably low pay, crampt offices that are notoriously miserable, and he is the low man on the totem pole.
Get that?
So why would you even contemplate the concept that Dale Youngs has to kiss Jason Kander's ring? Why would you even imply that?
What delusion are you under?
People are watching closely, scumbag, and they understand when they see things like this - a vengeful campaign who has won and who also feels they were wronged. A potential freshman state rep who naively feels emboldened and powerful, when in reality they have no power, other than the power that accrues to their ability to make friends and forge compromises. And treat other people with respect.
Treating Dale and everybody else with respect would be a good start for you.
I mean, really, when people read your demands for Dale to issue a public apology, what do you think mature, responsible, successful individuals think?
You're a small mind in a big pond, anon at 8:20.
Anonymous 9:09 -
Except for your classless painting with a broad brush, I agreed with much of what you wrote.
Dale's a class guy, and owes no apologies.
It might be coincidental but the % of votes for each candidate in the race for 44th Rep nearly mirrored the amount of money each candidate raised. Not exactly but fairly closely. Kander had a HUGE amount of family money in his coffers... at least with the name "Kander", so maybe there was more family money than could be easily attributed based on unattributable names. Jason worked hard but definitely had that fortunate circumstance of the family bank roll to back him up. Heck his family NEARLY donated about 2/3 the money as Amy Coffman raised all together. No wonder he didn't need "lobbyist" donations!!!!
I hate to be a cynic but I love seeing the private school - Bishop Miege - guy campaigning against vouchers and for the strength of public schools. But I can understand why his perspective is skewed since he never went to public or state school.
Based on all the paper I received from Jason in the mail he is surely not the "green" candidate.
Damn I hate politics.
DEMOCRATIC UNITY RALLY!! TOMORROW THURSDAY AUGUST 7TH, 9:30AM INDEPENDENCE SQUARE!! COME SUPPORT MISSOURI'S NEXT GOVERNOR!!!
Kander is the perfect demonstration of money wanting power for nothing but money and power. F**k this guy. He cared about getting elected to further his own personal means. This is your Rep now 44th. Good luck.
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