Peter Kinder Loses Temper, Compares Dr. Sam Page to Hitler and Goebbels

I wrote yesterday about how well-qualified Sam Page is for the position of Lieutenant Governor. I didn't focus much on Kinder, the incumbent, other than to point out even he that doesn't realize the scope of the job, because I wanted to stay positive on one of the best and nicest candidates I have met in my years of political involvement.

In the video below, Peter Kinder shows his anger about getting caught rewarding a $40,000 campaign donor with a $1,000,000 tax credit, and compares Dr. Sam Page to Hitler and Goebbels - it's at about 2:15.

Peter Kinder, please get control of yourself.

Looking Down Ballot: Dr. Sam Page for Lieutenant Governor

When I met Dr. Sam Page, I asked with genuine puzzlement why he would want to be the Lieutenant Governor. Underlying my puzzlement was my impression that Lieutenant Governor is kind of a half-hearted ambition, kind of like a kid dreaming of being the MVP of Minor League Baseball or wanting to be Alfred instead of Batman.

Sam Page wants to be the Lieutenant Governor, and Missourians should give him the job. It turns out that under Missouri's Constitution, the Lieutenant Governor is more than just a "Vice Governor", and Sam Page is uniquely qualified to carry out the duties of the job. Here, from Sam Page's web site, is a description of the task he is seeking:

The Lieutenant Governor assumes the powers and duties of the Governor when the Governor is absent from the state or is unable to serve. This is common knowledge, but the other roles of the office are little known:

* The Lieutenant Governor is the only statewide elected official that is part of both the Executive and Legislative branches. Under the Constitution, the Lieutenant Governor is President of the Missouri Senate and presides over the Senate, subject to the procedural rules of the Senate.
* The Constitution also gives the Lieutenant Governor the right to debate and vote on issues when the Senate sits as a Committee of the Whole.
* The Lieutenant Governor is to stand ready to cast a vote in the case of a tie.
* In addition, by law, the Lieutenant Governor serves on Twelve Boards and Commissions and of these, half have much to gain by the presence of a physician. Sam can and will make a serious contribution.

Commissions and Boards

* THE GOVERNOR'S COUNCIL ON PHYSICAL FITNESS AND HEALTH
The Council promotes physical fitness and health throughout the state by implementing programs, fostering communication and cooperation and developing statewide support.
* THE MISSOURI SENIOR RX PROGRAM (CHAIR)
The Program assists seniors in handling high costs of prescription drugs.
* THE PERSONAL INDEPENDENCE COMMISSION (CO-CHAIR)
The Commission examines existing programs and services, provides community based treatment, facilitates communication and collaboration between state agencies, Health and Community based services, and consumer directed care.
* THE STATEWIDE SAFETY STEERING COMMITTEE
* SPECIAL HEALTH, PSYCHOLOGICAL, AND SOCIAL NEEDS OF MINORITY OLDER INDIVIDUALS COMMISSION
The Commission studies certain needs of the state's minority older individuals and makes recommendations.
* THE BOARD OF FUND COMMISSIONERS
The Board issues, redeems, and cancels state general obligation bonds and performs other administrative activities related to state general obligation debt as assigned by law.
* THE BOARD OF PUBLIC BUILDINGS
The Board has general supervision and charge of state facilities at the seat of government. The Board also has the authority to issue revenue bonds for the construction of state office buildings and certain other facilities.
* THE MISSOURI DEVELOPMENT FINANCE BOARD
The Board assists infrastructure and economic development projects in Missouri by providing the critical component of the total financing for projects that have a high probability of success but are not feasible without the Board's assistance.
* THE MISSOURI HOUSING DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION
The Commission works to provide quality, safe, affordable housing for low and moderate-income citizens of Missouri.
* THE MISSOURI RURAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL
The council adopts and revises a comprehensive state rural investment guide consisting of policy statements, objectives, standards, and program criteria to guide state agencies in establishing and implementing programs relating to rural development.
* THE MISSOURI TOURISM COMMISSION
The Missouri Tourism Commission promotes the growth of Missouri's travel industry.
* THE SECOND STATE CAPITOL COMMISSION
The Commission evaluates and recommends courses of action on the restoration and preservation of the Capitol.
* THE VETERANS BENEFITS AWARENESS TASK FORCE (CHAIR)
The Task Force helps Missouri veterans access and receive their earned benefits.
* THE MISSOURI COMMUNITY SERVICE COMMISSION
The Commission nurtures volunteerism by encouraging an atmosphere that enables citizen service to prosper.
* ADVISOR TO DEPARTMENT OF ELEMENTARY/SECONDARY EDUCATION ON EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND THE PARENTS-AS-TEACHERS PROGRAM

Sadly, our current Lieutenant Governor does not even realize the scope of his duties. Buried in a long article about the race in the Kansas City Star is this horrifying indication of the incumbent's lack of concern for his duties: "On early-childhood issues, Kinder said he did not consider them part of the lieutenant governor’s portfolio of tasks." Sadly, the incumbent Lieutenant Governor has the same uninformed view of his job as I had, before I met Dr. Sam Page.

Dr. Sam Page not only knows what the job of Lieutenant Governor entails, he is eager to take it on and do it well. Missouri is lucky to have a man of his caliber running for the job, and we should take the opportunity to replace an uninformed, underqualified Republican with an impressive, serious Democrat.

Vote for Sam Page for Lieutenant Governor.

Can Kinder/Page Poll Become Meaningful?

Sam Page is, as I've written several times before, a new kind of candidate for Missouri Lieutenant Governor. Unbeknownst to most of us, the Lieutenant Governor position has real duties, and many of those duties would be better served with an experienced physician fulfilling them. Who would you rather have working on affordable prescriptions for seniors - a do-nothing political hack or a bright, sincere young doctor with a passion for public service? It's kind of like having Dr. Carter from ER running against Mayor Quimby from The Simpsons. The choice is clear.

Missouri appears ready to choose Dr. Page. A recent poll shows that Sam Page, in a race against an incumbent Republican, has jumped out to a slim lead, despite being heavily outspent by an entrenched Republican with better name recognition.

The key to understanding the poll, though, is not in focusing on Sam Page's surprising 38/37 lead. The key is in paying attention to the 23% who are undecided. That is where the race will be decided, and money will be absolutely critical in helping those people make the right decision. If you want to invest in a statewide campaign where your dollars will make the biggest difference in chasing a scandal-racked Rove Republican from office, PLEASE visit this page and make as large a donation as you can afford.

It would be a shame if this encouraging poll turned out to be a false positive . . .

Kinder has Multiple Scandals - Turns to Karl Rove to Help

Missouri has a bunch of great contests this year, and the Lieutenant Governor's race is one where we stand a strong chance of replacing a Republican incumbent with a great Democrat.

Peter Kinder, the incumbent, got caught up in a sex scandal when his Chief of Staff was arrested for having pornographic conversations with a cop he thought was a thirteen year-old girl. The police report is nauseating. Kinder drew himself into the fray by declaring, 3 hours after the arrest, that an investigation had determined state computers weren't used, and the criminal conversations took place during "comp time".

Bad enough? Yes, but there's more . . .

It turns out that people at the Chief of Staff level do not receive comp time, and computer experts are pointing out that forensic investigations of computers cannot be conducted in three hours. What we're seeing here is a little CYA.

Wait, there's more . . .

The person in charge of the office that supposedly did the computer investigation has now been hired by Peter Kinder as Chief of Staff to replace the pervy predecessor! Not only that, but that new guy is already under investigation for helping the one-term sitting governor violate Missouri's sunshine law by deleting public record emails.

Yes, there's more . . .

The Governor who has been hiding the emails has now left the country. That means that Kinder has the ability to release the emails and quell the scandal. Sam Page, the Democrat running against him, has called upon him to do just that, but Kinder has refused.

Instead, he's bringing in Karl Rove today, to speak at a $2700/plate fundraiser, and, presumably, offer some off-stage advice in how to juggle multiple scandals.

And, just in case you were wondering if that was all, there's (at least) one more scandal related to this sordid story. Kinder's campaign fundraising got rocked this past week by the explosion of a money-laundering scandal.

If you want to help Missourians replace their corrupt Republican Lieutenant Governor with a solid, ethical candidate who happens to be one of the nicest and best-qualified candidates I've met this election cycle, give his website a click and maybe even put some money in his kitty to offset Karl Rove's visit today.

Gone Mild Endorsements for August 2008

Two weeks from today, the primary season of 2008 will be completed. The Star will start issuing its endorsements this week, so I thought I would beat them to the punch with my own. I'd hate for anyone to think that the Star's analysis influences me . . .

I'm tempted to put in a cautionary note on the difference between endorsements and predictions. Sometimes, the better candidate doesn't really stand much of a chance, but, in this cycle, I'm feeling pretty confident that each of my favorite candidates will win his or her respective race, so these are both predictions and endorsements.

In order of the ballot:

FOR GOVERNOR
Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon - By no means is Jay Nixon my favorite Democrat, but he's the best candidate in the governor's race by a long shot. He has the ability to win the general, and the experience to be successful in the Governor's Mansion.

FOR LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR
Sam Page - Sam Page may be one of the nicest people I've met in politics, and his sincere desire to serve the public as our Lieutenant Governor is exceeded only by his qualifications. He should win the primary easily, and then the real race begins. Look for Sam Page to oust Peter "Crooked Cash" Kinder from the office of Lieutenant Governor.

FOR SECRETARY OF STATE
Robin Carnahan - She's served us well, and will win the general in November, too.

FOR STATE TREASURER
Clint Zweifel - This is going to be an interesting race. I like Andria Simckes a lot, but Clint has the edge in qualifications and savvyness. Either would be great in the office, but Clint has had a sharper campaign team.

FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL
Jeff Harris - No surprise here for regular readers. Jeff has experience, integrity, and a willingness to outwork his opponents. As a result, he has better poll numbers without selling his soul through unethical campaign finance shenanigans. Jeff is just plain solid - a great guy with a good sense of humor and an outstanding sense of himself. If you want to see Missouri's Attorney General's office function as one of the best and most ethical AG offices in the entire nation, then vote for Jeff Harris.

FOR U.S.REPRESENTATIVE
5th District: Emanuel Cleaver, II - He's had a couple surprisingly bad votes (favoring the credit card companies over his constituents was particularly egregious), but Emanuel Cleaver is one of our best, most dedicated public servants. I hope he serves a long time.

FOR STATE REPRESENTATIVE
40th District: John Patrick Burnett - This is not my district, but I cannot understand why Rizzo would try to unseat John Burnett. John is smart, hardworking and effective. He deserves to retain his seat.

44th District: Jason Kander - This comes as no surprise - I've admired Jason as a person of integrity and serious purpose since I met him before he went to Afghanistan. When I started this campaign, I thought he was a great candidate running against two good candidates. I haven't changed my feeling one iota - Jason's integrity and class have proven to be exactly as I thought they would be. Less importantly, but still persuasive, is the fact that he is precisely the kind of straight-shooting, dependable, competent, hard-working, thoughtful leader who will stand out in the legislature. He doesn't waffle, he doesn't flinch, he doesn't whine. He will get things done in Jefferson City, and he will be a spark for the entire Democratic team in our Capital.

FOR PROSECUTING ATTORNEY
Jim Kanatzar - Jim is a fine prosecutor, and will continue to serve us effectively.

FOR SHERIFF
John Bullard, Jr. - John Bullard is simply the kind of guy you want in the Sheriff's office. Law enforcement is what he thinks about when he wakes up, and he stays on point all day long. He has great plans to increase cooperation among the local departments, and he has the credibility to pull it off. He will also make the Sheriff's office more accessible and visible.

DEMOCRATIC COUNTY COMMITTEEMEN
8th Ward, Stephen Bough - Stephen Bough is fair-minded, has solid values, and is the hardest working politico in Kansas City. We disagree often enough that I know my endorsement isn't solely due to lockstep agreement - he's just a great volunteer, and belongs on the County committee.

DEMOCRATIC COUNTY COMMITTEEWOMEN
8th Ward, Mary Frances Weir - Mary is a solid Democrat with a solid grounding in social justice. In 2006, she received the prestigious Tiera Farrow Community Award from the UMKC Association of Women Law Students for her work on behalf of victims of domestic violence.

More Republican Fundraising Shenanigans - Kinder Cheats on Money Coming In and Going Out

As regular readers know, Chris Koster has run into a whole lot of trouble for his shockingly underworld system of fundraising/money-laundering through third-party committees. Leading Democrats, like Jason Kander, have condemned these kind of tactics.

Peter Kinder, Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor, on the other hand, has managed to build upon those tactics. Not only is he funneling excessive contributions through third party committees he controls, he is actually paying his staff through those same committees! He's even paying his rent through the committee he controls!

To read the whole story, visit Fired Up! Missouri.

Vote for Sam Page for Lieutenant Governor.

Sam Page Poised to Win

One of my most pleasant political moments of the past year was the opportunity to sit down and chat with Dr. Sam Page, the leading Democratic nominee for Missouri Lieutenant Governor. Dr. Page is bright, compassionate, genuine and freakishly well-qualified for the Lieutenant Governor position.

The lieutenant governor spot is usually a place to park a political hack while he waits for his turn to run for something else. That's how the Republican party is using it now, and thus we have Peter Kinder taking up space in that office.

The power of incumbency ought to have given Kinder a massive lead, but Dr. Sam Page's dedication to the position and hard work have now drawn him even with Kinder in cash on hand, and the momentum has shifted strongly in Dr. Page's advantage. Kinder actually lost money in the past quarter, and Dr. Page is now even with him in cash on hand.

More shockingly, Kinder made a terrible mistake in hiring Richard AuBuchon - a central figure in the Blunt email scandal - to be his Chief of Staff. Kinder's prior Chief of Staff was forced to resign after he got caught furnishing pornography to a minor. In a nutshell, Kinder has gone from a guy who got caught in an internet scandal to one who has created one. Great work.

The indefatigable Stephen Bough over at Blog CCP has more on this tale of a quiet, hard-working, well-qualified Democrat kicking the daylights out of a Republican who should have had an easy time retaining his office, if he weren't Peter Kinder.

Kinder Video

Fortunately, Dr. Sam Page is running strong for Lieutenant Governor. He's smart, responsible, compassionate and freakishly well-qualified for the position.

Look who the Republicans are running:

Online Poll for Page

I know, I know, that online polls are worth the paper they're not even written on, but please consider taking a moment to go here and cast your vote for Dr. Sam Page at the St. Louis Business Journal.

Dr. Page represents a new breed of Lieutenant Governor for Missouri. Rather than using the position simply as a parking place for some dependable partisan twit who isn't qualified for one of the more visible statewide positions (for example, our current LG), the Dems are running someone who really cares about the issues that the LG handles, and who is also freakishly well-qualified for the position. If you care about good, effective government in Missouri, no race presents a more obvious choice than Dr. Sam Page's campaign for Lieutenant Governor.

While I normally don't participate in online polls, I appreciate the St. Louis Business Journal for giving me an opportunity to vote more than once for Dr. Sam Page.

A New Kind of Lieutenant Governor - Dr. Sam Page

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to sit down and chat one on one with Dr. Sam Page, the Democrat seeking the nomination to become the state's next Lieutenant Governor. We spent about an hour at the cafeteria at Truman Medical Center, a location he suggested when we found out that You Say Tomato is closed on Mondays. It turned out to be the perfect venue for Sam Page - the more you chat with Sam Page, the more you realize that he cares deeply for those in need, and is willing to do what needs doing.

The first thing I asked him was why in the world he wants to be Lieutenant Governor. Not exactly the sexiest of positions, the LG has traditionally been a parking place for some dependable partisan twit who isn't qualified for one of the more visible statewide positions. Sadly, our current LG fits into that mold.

Sam Page wants the position because he is freakishly well-qualified for it, and it fits into his approach toward public service - solid, substantive, and not flashy. It so happens that one of the important aspects of the LG office is to sit on 12 state commissions, 6 of which would benefit greatly by having an experienced physician on them. Similarly, Sam's 6 years of accomplishment as a legislator make him qualified to serve in the unique position of LG, the only office to formally bridge the Executive and Legislative branches.

As a candidate, Sam is also very attractive. He grew up in Van Buren, Missouri, spent much of his life in Kansas City (including medical school), and now lives in St. Louis County. He has substantial roots in both urban areas and outstate.

There are more exciting races to talk about right now, for positions that capture the imagination more than the LG office does. But, if you care about good, effective government in Missouri, no race presents a more obvious choice than Dr. Sam Page's campaign for Lieutenant Governor. Definitely plan on voting for him, and, even better, consider making a donation here.

Bad Sam, Good Sam, and Kids Hurt by Fear and Dogma

As written here back in July, SCHIP represents an instance where the Bush administration is going out of its way to harm children because of its dogmatic need to prevent government from offering solutions to people.

Now that he is actually wielding his pen as a sword to cut off access to health care for children, the right wing has been forced to try to reframe the debate into terms that are somehow less heartless. Sam Graves attempts to explain his blind support of all things Bush in this morning's paper, with a truly despicable attempt to blame his support of harming children on his (bogus) fear that some of the children helped might be "illegal immigrants". Mr. Graves, when your hysteria about brown people reaches the point that you cannot stomach the thought of their sick children getting necessary medical care, you've gone around the bend.

It takes a sick mind to deny millions of children health care because you don't want the brown ones to get it.

A less disturbing but more humorous argument being trotted out has the benefit of actually being Bush's true motivation. The REAL reason we can't allow SCHIP to work is that it works. If we help the children with a state-sponsored health care, people will see that "socialized medicine" is actually a sensible and workable approach.

Let's go back to Graves:

according to the Congressional Budget Office, the expansion of this government-run health-care initiative would likely mean that 2 million kids who already have private insurance would opt for their states’ government-run health-care program. In Missouri, that would involve a waiting period. That isn’t fixing a problem, it’s increasing government.

WHAT?!?! For years we've been told that single-payer health care is the worst thing in the world, but here's Sam Graves telling us that if we allow people who live in the shangri-la of medical insurance to cross over into the pit of despair that is government-sponsored health care, they will actually make that choice? It would appear that the medical establishment and their Republican hired hands have been lying to us all these years. Shocking!

(Hint to right-wing commenters about to poke a hole in my argument by pointing out that the state-sponsored health care is cheaper - here's a friendly caution to be careful with that argument - it could be a rhetorical trap . . .)

In the face of Sam Graves' embarrassingly weak defense of denying kids health care, it's good to know that Missourians have Sam Page, a genuine doctor with a thorough understanding of the health care system. Not surprisingly, he disagrees with Sam Graves, and sent me a press release that calls him on his heartlessness:

"It is shameful that our state's leaders are willing to sit silently while politicians in Washington deny access to health insurance for Missouri children," said Representative Sam Page.

Sam Page, physician and a Democratic candidate for Lt. Governor, is urging Missouri's U.S. Representatives who voted against the SCHIP expansion to change their votes in order to override the president's veto, but warns the state should not be reliant on national policy.

In Missouri, our citizens and especially our children are already losing healthcare coverage at a rate three times the national average. The SCHIP expansion that received strong bi-partisan support in congress would bring nearly $1 billion in new healthcare funding to Missouri.

"We cannot continue to allow our children to suffer from illnesses that could be prevented if families had affordable access to doctors," said Page. "In the Missouri House I fought against the Medicaid cuts in 2005 and I have worked on Healthcare Committees to restore those cuts. As your Lt. Governor, I would not sit silently while politicians destroyed a child's opportunity to lead a healthy life."

Sam Page supports allowing children the opportunity to lead a healthy life. Sam Graves does not. No amount of spin, no amount of brown people fear-mongering can explain away the contrast.

We're All On the Same Page at last

This page has hosted plenty of internecine conflict among Dems lately, so, when the inimitable Rhonda Burnett sent me this invitation, I was happy to pimp out my blog in support of Sam Page for Lieutenant Governor.

See, we can all get along, can't we?