Tag: missouri

“My name is RUSS CARNAHAN, Congressman!”

“I own a House seat and a YACHT!”

*

“…which I don’t pay taxes on!”

As Americans prepare to file and pay their taxes, it’s come to light that Rep. Russ Carnahan may be skimping on his. The Congressman avoids paying personal property taxes on his 42-foot yacht by docking it in Alton, Illinois instead of his hometown.

“Illinois does not have a statewide property tax. Property is taxed on the local level only, and includes only real property such as land, buildings or permanent facilities.” (St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association; Taxes and Incentives)

(H/T: Gateway Pundit) “Because taxes are for people who aren’t named Carnahan! Like, Ed Martin. Is he a Carnahan? I don’t think so! I don’t think so.”

Moe Lane

Continue reading “My name is RUSS CARNAHAN, Congressman!”

#rsrh State Dem Rep opposed by… husband.

I got nothing, sorry.

Democratic lawmaker has a challenger — her husband

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — An eastern Missouri lawmaker is facing an election challenge from her husband whom she accuses of physical violence. He denies the abuse allegations and says he is running to help the state’s workers.

Democratic Rep. Linda Fischer, of Bonne Terre, is seeking a second term in the Missouri House, and her husband, John Fischer, filed as a Republican for the same seat. They are the only candidates for House District 107, which covers St. Francois County.

More accurately, this is one divorce-in-waiting that I have no desire to get involved in.

Russ Carnahan (D, MO-03) tries to pander to gun-friendly voters.

I mean, look at this picture.

(Via 24thState, via Instapundit)

…yes, I know. You are right now quietly resolving to never get within 100 feet of Russ Carnahan when he’s carrying a firearm. Me, I’m still wondering why – assuming that this wasn’t a faked photo-op – that the law enforcement people standing next to him still have jobs. Heck, if that’s not really a functioning pistol it’s still subverting patient years of public education on gun safety. And for the sake of Russ Carnahan, no less.

No wonder Cook upgraded this race to competitive recently. And it a D+7 district, too.

Moe Lane

PS: Anybody who doesn’t understand What’s Wrong With That Photo is going to be somebody who thinks that guns are Evil Magic Talismans (thank you, S.M. Stirling) anyway: so there’s no point in explaining it to them. 24thState is more accommodating than I, though.

PPS: One hopes that Ed Martin‘s campaign is paying attention.

Crossposted to Moe Lane.

Quote of the Day, Kit Bond edition.

How do we feel about calling Gibbs ‘The Mouth of Obama’ from now on? Does it give him too much style? – because he’s a bit of a nebbish, honestly.

To properly appreciate this one, imagine that Senator Kit Bond (R, MO) said this in a tone that is normally associated with the comparison of the relative volume of a particular individual to the upper range of the speaker’s more memorable individual bowel movements, to the detriment of the former:

“I don’t debate Press Secretaries.”

Story here and here: bs at RedState otherwise covered it nicely here.  Mind you, Gibbs wouldn’t be such an arrogant so-and-so if the White House press pool was doing its job properly.  In this, in fact, we see the comedy of the Obama administration in miniature: they’re so accustomed to not being challenged that they don’t quite know how to handle it when they are.

And no: they’re not handling it well.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

Doing well by being a Congressman’s brother?

It’s amazing what they don’t mention in the news these days:

Wind Capital Group, led by President Tom Carnahan, said Monday it has closed on financing for Missouri’s largest wind energy development.

The lenders, led by Nord/LB, Bayern LB, Rabobank, Santander and Union Bank, are providing $240 million in debt facilities to support the construction and operation of the proposed Lost Creek Wind Project in DeKalb County, Mo. The debt facilities consist of a construction loan, term loan and letter of credit.

The project also is seeking $90 million in aid through the federal stimulus package.

Like, for example, that ‘seeking’ in this context effectively means ‘calling up your brother the Congressman’ (as Dana Loesch helpfully points out). Or that this project needs both stimulus money and a cap-and-trade bill to pass in order to survive (as 24thstate.com helpfully points out).

I’d ask why Russ Carnahan felt comfortable voting for legislation that would directly benefit his brother, except that I already know that Democratic legacy politicians typically don’t believe that they have to obey the rules that they expect the rest of us to follow.  Given the incredible amounts of deference that the rest of their party gives them, they may unfortunately have a bit of a point.

Moe Lane

PS: Ed Martin’s running in that district.

Crossposted to RedState.

Scenes from the Democratic Party’s War on Tax-Paying: Missouri

Free tip for Missouri Democrats: when you’re trying to find a replacement for the third state legislator from your party who’s been caught up in a federal corruption case… find one who already pays her taxes.

ST. LOUIS — A day before she clinched the nomination to fill a vacancy in the Missouri House of Representatives on Saturday, St. Louis Democrat Hope Whitehead paid a visit to City Hall.

Not to mobilize supporters, but to pay hundreds of dollars in outstanding taxes.

Her trip downtown was more than just civic duty. Under state law, candidates with overdue tax bills are ineligible for the ballot.

(H/T: @TheAnchoress) Why does Missouri have to have this be an actual law? This should be elementary common sense for prospective legislators.  Brush your teeth.  Wear your underwear inside your pants. Pay your taxes.  These should not be difficult concepts to grasp.

Apparently not.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

Dorwin Award*: Robin Carnahan.

Watch with some amusement as Missouri Secretary of State (and Senate hopeful) Robin Carnahan (D) refuses to answer two simple questions:

  • Does she support the House’s health care rationing bill?

and

  • What is her opinion on the Stupak amendment?

(See also: The Conservatives.com)

While Carnahan’s response to the first question might be at least considered a standard attempt at mealy-mouthing, and thus not overly outrageous; I cannot imagine how any progressive watching that could be pleased at her ‘answer’ to the second question.  Every credible side in the health care dispute concedes that the Stupak amendment is relevant to the discussion, and people are keeping track of who has what opinion of it.  Robin Carnahan’s going to have to choose a side.

Moe Lane

PS: What exactly did the Carnahan family do in Missouri to justify their quasi-hereditary political status in that state?  Save St. Louis from a rampaging Mississippi River monster?

*See here and here for the reference.

Crossposted to RedState.

Robin Carnahan’s (D, MO-SEN Cand) Bad Day (As in, possible ethics violations).

Russ Carnahan is having one, too.  Not that he matters all that much.

The fact that Roy Blunt had raised 200K more than Robin Carnahan in the Senate race was already known – but 24thstate is now reporting that Ed Martin has also raised 40K more than Russ Carnahan for the MO-03 race. Which is interesting, as Martin only declared around the end of July. Guess when they say “Show-Me” in Missouri, they mean it.

But that’s not even the most interesting thing coming from 24thstate.com.  The most interesting thing right now is his evidence that someone in Robin Carnahan’s office is violating Sunshine/election/ethics laws by funneling documents to attack blogs…

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

Quick looks at 2010: AR-01, MO-SEN, & NM-02.

Some points of interest, for various campaigns:

Continue reading Quick looks at 2010: AR-01, MO-SEN, & NM-02.

Keep watching the skies! …Err, local Missouri news.

(H/T: @cayankee): The title is “FBI launches inquiries into alleged public corruption in Missouri” – which is an odd definition of the word ‘alleged,’ given that three Democrats (two of them state officials) have already pled guilty to federal obstruction charges.  The FBI press release is quite fun, actually, given that it’s full of the sort of details you only get when somebody’s fully-cooperating-with-the-authorities, or when somebody’s phone’s been tapped.  Or both.  As Top of the Ticket noted, this could be an interesting autumn.

Along that line of thought… it’s certainly been a year for Democratic corruption at the state level, yes?  Blagojevich over in Illinois, half of the Bergen County Democratic Party in New Jersey, now what promises to be an extensive and loving look at Democratic state party shenanigans in Missouri… if this keeps up, people might start thinking that there’s, oh, a Culture of Corruption or something going on here.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.