Elvis Costello and local politics

My column over at the KCFreePress this week discusses dirty tricks and local politics, and it works in two of my Elvis Costello quotations - "There's no such thing as an original sin" and "I used to be disgusted and now I try to be amused."

I Was Right About Koster After All - Darn It

I've been intending to do a "mea culpa" posting about my views on Chris Koster. In the primaries, I opposed him vehemently, and questioned his commitment to his new-found Democratic principles. Since then, I've wondered if I was, perhaps, mistaken about his sincerity.

It turns out I my fears were justified.

While others have rightfully complained about his "benign neglect" approach toward Sunshine Laws, I've been hopeful that Chris Koster is doing a good, if imperfect, job.

Unfortunately, Monday morning's paper shows that Koster is an anti-environmental leopard that has no interest in changing his spots. He is using his Attorney General position to actively work toward polluting Missouri's history, coincidentally in alignment with the financial interests of his campaign funders.

Back during the campaign, I wrote about CAFOs and Koster's support of them. CAFOs are Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, more commonly known as factory farms. Koster has chosen to side with the corporate interests rather than the environment, and I wrote about this ugly failure at least twice; it was and remains an important issue of local people not wanting to be subjected to stomach turning stench in the name of corporate profits.

Now Chris Koster is using his office to try to put a factory farm within stench distance of the Arrow Rock State Park.

For a while there, I thought Koster was truly a Democrat, and that my opposition to his candidacy was mistaken. Unfortunately, Koster is choosing corporate interests over local concerns, and profits over the environment. I was right, darn it.

His actions hurt worse because they are the actions of a Democratic office holder.

Looking Down Ballot: Chris Koster for Attorney General

I don't hide my disappointment that Chris Koster won the primary, and I believe that his tactic of recruiting Molly Korth Williams to jump into the race was contemptible. I even toyed with the idea of endorsing Mike Gibbons to register my displeasure.

But, despite it all, Chris Koster is the best candidate for the office. For me, the issue that illustrates why we need Chris Koster is the Missouri Plan, about which I've written frequently. Gibbons wants to make changes to it, and Koster recognizes that it is working effectively, and should not be tampered with. I understand how an uninformed non-lawyer may be duped into thinking that we need to change the Missouri Plan, but not someone who is seeking to lead Missouri's law firm.

There are other reasons to oppose Mike Gibbons, such as his eagerness to shut down the investigation into Matt Blunt's emails, but, really, if he can't even get the Missouri Plan right, the choice is clear.

Vote for Chris Koster for the good of Missouri, even if it kind of makes you feel dirty.