2008 Americans Moving Escaping Taxes

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Tort reform has cash flowing in
governor race
STL TODAY -09/08/2008


JEFFERSON CITY — In the battle over big money, the race for Missouri governor boils down to this:
Big Business vs. Big Law.
If the old Watergate-era directive — "follow the money" — still holds true, then the code to decipher who wants to
see either Democrat Jay Nixon or Republican Kenny Hulshof occupy the Governor's Mansion can be found in
filings with the Missouri Ethics Commission.
The state earlier this year lifted its caps on campaign donations, so some of those filings show some big
numbers, with donors giving $100,000 or more a pop.
In the first two days under the new rules, Hulshof cleared more than $1 million; Nixon took in about $400,000.
Who gives that kind of money to a politician?
Trial lawyers, to start with.
A look at Nixon's big-money donors starts and ends with Missouri's big-name lawyers, specifically personal injury
attorneys.
There's the Hershewe Firm, a group of lawyers in Joplin, Mo., who specialize in medical malpractice cases and
truck accidents. The firm on its website lists verdict after verdict in the millions of dollars against doctors,
hospitals, trucking companies and construction firms. On Aug. 28, the first day that the law lifting campaign
donation caps went into effect, the Hershewe Firm gave Nixon $75,000.
Then there's Gray, Ritter & Graham, a St. Louis personal injury firm in the middle of a class-action suit against
the maker of Vioxx, pharmaceutical company Merck & Co. That firm gave $100,000 to Nixon on Aug. 29.
Of Nixon's two-day take from big donors, about 60 percent came from trial attorneys.
So who's giving money to Hulshof?
In part, the folks Nixon's donors want to sue.
Following Hulshof's money trail is a bit difficult because even in the era of unlimited donations, he's taking money
from committees that can obscure the source of that money.
Hulshof's biggest supporter to date has been the Republican Governors Association, which piled a whopping
$600,000 in his campaign coffers on the day state law allowed such donations. And where does the RGA get its
money?
According to Federal Elections Commission filings, some of its biggest donors are drug companies and building
firms — the big businesses trying to keep their money from trial lawyers.
Pfizer Inc., Eli Lilli & Co. and Glaxosmithkline each gave more than $300,000 to the RGA in the 2008 election
cycle.
At issue in this battle of high-dollar donations is the term "tort reform." Hulshof's for it. Nixon's against it. At stake:
billions of dollars.
On the campaign trail, Hulshof — a lawyer by trade — regularly uses "trial lawyers" as a dirty word, deriding the
legal profession as basically being a bunch of ambulance chasers.



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He supports changes to Missouri law made in 2005 that were intended to reduce the amount of damage awards
in civil cases. Specifically, the law made it more difficult to move cases before judges in counties who were more
likely to award large settlements. It also put caps on certain types of liability lawsuits, especially the punitive
damages that can run in the tens of millions of dollars.
The law worked, if the intended result was lower settlements.
According to Missouri Lawyers Weekly, for instance, the total amount of damages awarded in the top 10 civil jury
verdicts in 2007 — $66.7 million — is down from the 2006 figure — $80 million.
That's a lot of money.
Depending on your perspective, it's either money for consumers and their attorneys, or it's money for big
businesses and their shareholders.
Attorney Don Downing of Gray, Ritter & Graham chooses the consumer perspective. Downing, a former chief
deputy to Nixon, said his firm "dug deep" to fund its $100,000 donation to Nixon because it believes Nixon will be
the best governor for consumers.
Downing points out that Nixon has built a reputation for going after consumer fraud during his long tenure as
attorney general. On the campaign trail, Nixon makes it clear that he wants to protect the rights of consumers to
seek legal redress through the courts.
"For those who are victimized or hurt by the actions of others, electing Nixon will be good for those people,"
Downing said.
Many of the folks from the business sector are putting their eggs in Hulshof's basket. The state's chamber of
commerce endorsed him. And then there are the big donors since the law changed: Bonne Terre cable magnate
Howard Wood, who gave $100,000; software CEO Jerry Hall of Monett, Mo., who also tossed in $100,000; and
St. Louis investor Bill Holekamp, who put in $50,000.
There's also the Lewis & Clark Regional Leadership Fund, a committee that gave Hulshof $50,000. The people
behind that group are mostly St. Louis-area businessmen who regularly give to Republican causes. There's
retired billionaire Rex Sinquefield, as well as banks, developers, casinos and insurance companies.
The big money in the race is coming because there's even bigger money at stake — millions, perhaps billions, of
dollars.
The next governor will appoint judges who will have an effect on who the courts decide wins when consumers
and big business do battle. And the next governor will either push for more civil liability controls in the courts or
stand in the way of it.
That's why the special interests, be they lawyers or drug companies, are spending so much on the race in
Missouri. They're investing in their future.




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Researchers checking Hulshof's local
legal history
SEMISSOURIAN - Friday, September 5, 2008
A pair of researchers this week has been combing through U.S. Rep. Kenny Hulshof's legal history as an
assistant prosecutor and assistant public defender in Cape Girardeau County.
The researchers work for a vendor hired by the Missouri Democratic Party, Democratic spokesman Jack Cardetti
said in a telephone interview Friday afternoon.
So far they have purchased 487 pages of court documents, Cape Girardeau County Archive director Steven
Pledger told me this morning.
Hulshof, the GOP nominee for governor, was an assistant public defender here from 1983 to 1986. Prosecuting
Attorney Morley Swingle hired him as his first chief deputy, a post Hulshof held from 1987 until taking a posting
with the Missouri Attorney General's office as a litigator sent to help local prosecutors in particularly complex or
particularly sensitive cases.
To complete the research, Pledger said, the two doing the work have had to review the file of every criminal case
from 1983 to 1989 in order to find the ones where Hulshof had a role. Cases are not indexed by attorney, he
said.
"The computer database is just not set up that way," he said.
Payments for the copies, at $1 a page as per local court rule, have been made by one of the researchers, a
woman named Joanna Spruill. She would not reveal who is employing her in the task, only saying that she is
"looking at public records."
Oren Shur, spokesman for the Democratic nominee, Attorney General Jay Nixon, said "they do not work for us"
when asked about the researchers.
Cardetti said that the Democratic Party, like the GOP, uses vendors for the kind of research work being
conducted. Hulshof, who was elected to Congress in 1996, lost a 1994 bid for the U.S. House after his opponent,
Democratic incumbent Harold Volkmer of Hannibal, used a slamming jail door in an ad attacking legal errors in a
Hulshof-handled case that resulted in an accused murderer escaping trial.
"We are researching Congressman Hulshof's record in public files around the state," Cardetti said. "The
congressman doesn't want to talk about his record but we certainly reserve the right to."
Opposition research is standard operating procedure in every political campaign. I wonder if they are checking
whether Hulshof was a box office success when he was a member of the Broadway Players?




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Mo. lawmakers get arrested less than
constituents
Sunday, September 07, 2008
By CHRIS BLANK
Associated Press Writer
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) Missouri's lawmakers seem to have been on a crime rampage lately. Arrests for
drunken driving, fleeing a car accident, bank fraud, using false identification at a casino.
Since January 2007, eight of the state's 197 lawmakers have been arrested and half of those have pleaded
guilty. But an Associated Press analysis of crime data shows lawmakers are getting arrested less often than the
people they represent.
The most recent lawmaker to be accused of violating the law is a St. Louis-area Republican who is scheduled to
be arraigned Monday on felony charges of deviate sexual assault.
Rep. Scott Muschany was indicted by a grand jury in the Capitol's home of Cole County and now faces up to 7
years in prison and a fine of $20,000. Some fellow House Republicans, Gov. Matt Blunt and Lt. Gov. Peter
Kinder have suggested Muschany should resign, even though he is not seeking re-election in November.
Rep. Bob Dixon, one of the House leaders who has called for Muschany to step down, said that the charges are
serious and a grand jury indictment has a lot more weight behind it than a mere allegation.
''The process of justice has to work and that's all well and good, but elected officials are guardians for the public
trust and should be beyond reproach,'' said Dixon, R-Springfield.
The effects of lawmakers' legal extracurricular activities have gone beyond the courtroom, trickling into the
political attacks lobbed between the parties.
The state Republican Party has a tally on its Web site of Democrats charged with crimes. And the Democratic-
leaning blog ''Fired Up! Missouri'' devoted numerous posts to the legal troubles of one former GOP lawmaker.
But those Missourians decrying their elected leaders' brushes with the law should take care about casting quick
judgment. An AP analysis of crime data shows that the members of Missouri's citizen Legislature are arrested
about 60 percent less frequently than the people they are elected to represent.
Using 2006 federal crime data, the most recent available, Missouri's overall arrest rate for non-traffic offenses is
6.47 per 100 residents. And from September 2007 to September 2008, the arrest rate for Missouri lawmakers
calculates to 2.54 per 100 people.
The arrest rates for politicians compared to all state residents cover slightly different periods of time. But since
1995, Missouri's annual arrest rate hasn't varied much from just under 6 arrests per 100 residents to a little over
9 arrests per 100 residents.
The federal crime statistics include arrests for drunken driving for which two lawmakers have been nabbed. But
the federal data don't count other traffic-related arrests, such as one that ensnared a House member from
eastern Missouri earlier this year.
Rep. Brad Robinson, who announced in May that he is not seeking re-election, faces felony charges for leaving
the scene of an accident. Robinson, D-Bonne Terre, is accused of hitting a pedestrian early New Year's Day and
then switching places with his wife in the pickup truck. A high school's surveillance camera captured the
Robinsons switching places in the pickup truck before Tara Robinson told police that she had been driving.




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So if politicians are less likely than their constituents to end up in handcuffs, do less experienced House
members or their stodgier Senate counterparts lay greater claim for criminal proclivities?
Just like everything else when it comes to statistics, it depends how you measure it. Ditto for Democrats and
Republicans.
Six Democrats and two Republicans have been arrested. Of those arrests, two Republicans and one Democrat
pleaded guilty to or currently face felony charges while the rest ended up with misdemeanors. And the only
lawmaker in prison is former Republican Rep. Nathan Cooper, of Cape Girardeau.
Cooper is serving 15-month sentence in a federal prison after pleading guilty to one felony count of visa fraud
and one felony count of making a false statement to the Department of Labor.
When it comes to comparing arrests between the Legislature's two chambers, not surprisingly the more
populous 163-member House has had more members arrested by a six to two margin. But a larger percentage
of the 34-member Senate 6 percent versus 4 percent has gotten in trouble. Then again, only House members
have been charged with felonies.
David Kimball, a political science professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, said arrests for crimes that
would be mundane or ignored if committed by an ordinary person get more attention when a politician is
involved.
''Human beings make horrible decisions from time-to-time, and politicians are human beings, so they make
mistakes too,'' Kimball said.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Capitol reporter Chris Blank covers Missouri government and politics for The Associated
Press.




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‘Next-generation university’ a Forsee target
By ABRAHAM MAHSHIE of the Tribune’s staff
Published Sunday, September 7, 2008

Gary Forsee, University of Missouri System president, sat down with the Tribune during a break at the University
of Missouri Board of Curators meeting on Thursday in Kansas City to reflect on his first six months leading the
four-campus system.
Do you feel like you’ve made some progress in your first six months?
I think there are so many great things we have in this university that allow me to champion the university as I go
about my job as the principle spokesperson.
The planning activity that we‘ve taken on is all about ensuring that we look to the future both in terms of our
capital and infrastructure needs; work for a collaboration across the campuses which would be reflective of what
the General Assembly or others that look at the university would expect us to do, they would expect us to lead in
that.
I work very hard to keep up to speed on all aspects of the job. I continue to spend a lot of time on the campuses
making entry points into the different academic areas. I continue to do a campus visit or two a week.
What has surprised you the most in the past few months?
I think on the positive side there is an incredible desire in our state and with alumni for the university to be
successful. I think it‘s well understood that our mission is unique, and our requirements for support are unique,
and we need to be sure that we make the case for that.
I‘ve historically wanted to be sure that I am the steady hand, that I react appropriately both on the difficult issues
as well as those that need my support.
I think the best thing I could do is to come in and be sure that our image of the university is strong and that I
represent strong leadership and reinforce the leaders on the campuses, so that‘s where I‘ve spent the
preponderance amount of my time.
What do you think the university has the greatest potential to achieve? What would be your No. 1 goal
for your time here?
I think we have to prepare for the next-generation university, and that implies how students want to learn in the
future and how faculty and students want to interact in the future. And that has a lot of cultural and lifestyle and
technology dimensions, action.
My view is that we have to be very thoughtful about expressing our needs, but at the same time, be creative
about how we satisfy those needs, and I‘ve talked about community-university partnerships. I‘ve talked about
private developer-university partnerships. ... We need to look at that more broadly than only thinking about a
state-funding mechanism.
I think we‘re just scratching the surface on the ability of the university to be an economic engine for the state,
and there shouldn‘t be considered any threat of academic freedom that goes along with that. There‘s hundreds
of models across the country where universities are the catalyst for economic growth because they allow the
researcher to take their idea and to see that idea pay off for them, pay off for the university and pay off for job
creation.
How are you adjusting to living in Columbia after living in larger cities?
I grew up in small-town Missouri. I grew up in St. Joe, Moberly, Cape (Girardeau) and Rolla, and we lived in
Hannibal and Springfield, so we‘re as comfortable in small towns as we are in St. Louis.



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What do you like most about Columbia?
Well, the energy the energy of the campus. Columbia is a college town, so the energy of the town. I think the
town - you know, growing up in Moberly, Columbia was always a destination from that vantage point. But
Columbia has grown and changed, but I think kept up with the significance of the university. I think it‘s interesting
to see the economic development that‘s going on, whether it‘s Discovery Ridge or other recognition of the
university‘s role in economic development.
For those people who don’t know you, who just know you are the UM president, how do assure them
that you can relate to them and their values?
Well, I‘m one of them. I‘m doing this because I think the university is an incredible icon for our state. This is not
something that‘s being done in my image or the curators‘ image. We are the stewards of a very historical asset.
At the same time, we are also obligated to be sure that we can be as successful in the future, so all of our
hundreds of different constituents that think about the university, that they understand that we‘re doing it for
them. We‘re doing it for the state. This is a state resource.




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Tour of Missouri kicks off today
KC STAR
It’s race day!
•WHAT: The Tour of Missouri is a seven-day, 623-mile professional cycling race featuring 15 teams and 120
cyclists touring the state.
•WHEN: It starts today at 12:30 p.m. in St. Joseph and ends Sunday in St. Louis.
•VIEWING/ADMISSION: You can watch the race from anywhere along the route free of charge. The best views,
though, may be the finish line of each stage.
•ON THE WEB: Live feeds of the race will be shown at www.tourofmissouri.com.
Stages
•STAGE ONE: St. Joseph to Kansas City (90 miles)
Some Kansas City vantage points: Grand Boulevard through downtown, Main Street from Crown Center to the
Country Club Plaza, along Ward Parkway to Meyer Circle, and Ward Parkway near Pennsylvania Street (finish
line, with an estimated finish time of 4:30 p.m.). Cyclists will also go through downtown Parkville.
Other stages: Clinton to Springfield (125 miles), Branson (18 miles), Lebanon to Rolla (105 miles), St. James to
Jefferson City (100 miles), Hermann to St. Charles (110 miles), St. Louis (75 miles).
Women’s race
A pro race featuring the top women cyclists takes place today on the Country Club Plaza before the men arrive
at the finish line. The start/finish line will be on Ward Parkway near Pennsylvania Street. Starting at 1 p.m., the
women will ride for 55 minutes, plus five laps.




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Plans up in the air for rail bridge
considered as part of Katy Trail
Monday, September 8, 2008
The Associated Press
BOONVILLE, Mo. — The U.S. Coast Guard has scheduled a public meeting for later this month to review plans
to remove a drawbridge that spans the Missouri River.
The meeting, scheduled for Sept. 30 at the Isle of Capri Casino, is expected to draw dozens of people still
hoping to preserve the structure.
The Coast Guard directed bridge owner Union Pacific to remove the bridge. The bridge has not been used for
rail traffic since 1986, and the Coast Guard considers any unused bridge an obstruction, said Roger Wiebusch, a
bridge administrator for the Coast Guard.
Over the years, the Coast Guard has not pressed hard for removal because of the possibility the bridge could be
used for bike and pedestrian traffic. It is currently not accessible, because one end of it was removed and the
other is blocked off.
Last fall, a Missouri appeals court upheld a lower court decision allowing Union Pacific to tear down the bridge.
Attorney General Jay Nixon appealed to the Missouri Supreme Court, which declined in February to hear the
case. Nixon argued that the state could take over the bridge for the Katy Trail. He sued the state Department of
Natural Resources because it agreed to allow Union Pacific to remove the bridge.
A group called the Save the Katy Bridge Coalition has for years tried to make the bridge part of the statewide
trail, which goes from St. Charles, Mo., to Clinton, Mo. Boonville is the only Missouri River crossing of the Katy
Trail, which passes over a highway bridge there.
The rail bridge would be a safer, more pleasant and more scenic crossing, said Paula Shannon, chairwoman of
the coalition. The setting is quiet, save for the sound of birds and of the river below, she said.
"It's a sensational feeling when you are out there," Shannon said. "It's breathtaking, truly."
Shannon said her group had raised about $480,000 to help cover the cost of renovating the bridge deck for foot
and bicycle traffic. The estimated cost of the work has ranged from $1 million to $2 million, she said. Bicyclists,
nature lovers and bridge historians are among people from all over the country to donate to the project, she said.
Shannon said the coalition had not given up trying to save the bridge, despite the losses in court.
Shannon said negotiations continued with the Coast Guard and Union Pacific, which she hopes will donate the
bridge to the city as part of a renovation plan. Union Pacific offered that in the past but now wants to dismantle
the bridge and use its steel spans in a new bridge on the Osage River.
The Coast Guard would not object to keeping the bridge as a trail, but unless that happens, the order to remove
it stands, Wiebusch said. The public hearing is required under federal rules before further steps are taken.




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Maida Coleman running for mayor?
By Jake Wagman
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

The Arch City Chronicle is keeping tabs on the rumor mill: They‘ve got outgoing State Sen. Maida Coleman
mulling a potential bid for the mayor‘s office.
Coleman‘s name has been linked to other offices since she arrived in Jefferson City. Two years ago, her bid for
State Auditor was thwarted by the disclosure that she had previously filed for bankruptcy.
As the Chronicle also mentions, Coleman considered running against Mike McMillan for License Collector.
McMillan, in his second year as License Collector, had been considered the front-runner to challenge Mayor
Francis Slay, but after talking with the mayor at the Democratic Convention in Denver, has said he decided not
to run.
That would appear to leave the door open for Coleman, who has already made clear her disdain for Slay. During
a meeting of the city‘s Democratic Committee last month, Coleman took exception with a contribution the
committee gave to Slay.
―This insults half of the organization,‖ Coleman said at the meeting.
If she decided to run, Coleman could find strong support in a coalition of constituencies — unions, teachers,
allies of former Fire Chief Sherman George — that have been irked by the mayor over his second term.
But it would be far tougher for Coleman to match Slay financially — he has more than $850,000 in the bank
already, and with campaign contribution limits no longer a worry, should have no problem continuing to raise the
green.




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Highway projects may take a funding hit
By Elisa Crouch
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
09/06/2008


U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said Friday that the federal highway trust fund will run out of money
this month, affecting highway and bridge projects nationwide.
Starting Monday, the federal government will delay, and possibly reduce, payments to states for highway and
bridge projects the federal government has agreed to help finance.
In Missouri, $251 million in highway work this year is at stake, said Pete Rahn, head of the Missouri Department
of Transportation.
"It's going to start affecting us immediately," Rahn said. "We are going to be in a fix."
At a news conference in Washington, Peters said the trust fund will have a deficit of $8.3 billion by the end of this
month. The trust fund depends on the federal gasoline tax for revenue. Americans are now driving less and
buying less gas, which means they're paying less gasoline tax.
Peters called on Congress to shore up the fund with $8 billion to prevent payment reductions and delays. Four
times this year, Senate Republicans have blocked legislation to do this. Earlier this summer, the White House
said using money from the general fund was a "gimmick and dangerous precedent," and that President George
W. Bush would be urged to veto the legislation if it reached his desk.
John Horsley, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, said
the funding delays proposed by Peters would worsen the financial crises many states are facing.
"This unprecedented action by the (Federal Highway Administration) is going to have grave repercussions for the
states, for hundreds of thousands of workers in the construction industry, and the driving public," he said.
Rahn said he's trying to determine what impact it will have on future transportation projects, including a new
Mississippi River bridge, that will rely on cash from the U.S. government.
Illinois officials are reviewing how federal payment changes will affect highway projects, according to a statement
from the Illinois Department of Transportation. The funding downturn makes it more critical for the state to pass
the Illinois Works Capital Program, according to the department.
"At this point we do not anticipate an immediate impact to IDOT's operations," the statement said. "And we are
optimistic that Congress and the administration will take the necessary steps to resolve the shortfall before it has
an impact on our programs."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.




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Governor to choose among three for
Supreme Court - or not
By Virginia Young
POST-DISPATCH JEFFERSON CITY BUREAU CHIEF
09/07/2008

JEFFERSON CITY — Zel Fischer, a little-known judge from Tarkio in Missouri's northwestern corner, has all the
right connections to be considered the frontrunner for Gov. Matt Blunt's nod for the Missouri Supreme Court.
Fischer is the lone Republican among the three court nominees. His mother is a GOP county committeewoman.
His supporters include his neighbor, U.S. Rep. Sam Graves of Tarkio, and Graves' brother, former U.S. Attorney
Todd Graves of Kansas City.
But it's not a done deal. Some conservatives want Blunt to dump all three nominees to draw attention to the
workings of the state's judicial selection system, known as the nonpartisan court plan.
Under the plan, a screening commission picks the finalists and the governor must choose from among those
three. The commission is made up of the chief justice, three lawyers elected by the Missouri Bar and three non-
lawyers appointed to staggered, six-year terms by the governor. Blunt has little influence because he has
appointed only one of the seven commissioners.
Critics say personal-injury attorneys control the process and handpick judges, often passing over the most
qualified conservatives and giving the governor a single nominee from his party.
In the latest round, the commission "essentially made the governor's choice for him," said James Harris, a former
Blunt aide and organizer of a group called Better Courts for Missouri. The group, which has tried to get
legislators to revamp the system, wants Blunt to demand a new list of candidates.
Blunt hasn't said what he thinks of the finalists: Fischer; Lisa White Hardwick, a Harvard-educated judge; and
Ronald Holliger, a longtime judge who has taught other judges.
Hardwick and Holliger, who have Democratic backgrounds, both sit on the Court of Appeals in Kansas City.
By law, if the governor doesn't pick one of the nominees by Oct. 20, the screening panel will make the
appointment.
Blunt has said only that his staff is checking the candidates' backgrounds and that he plans an "exhaustive
interview process." For example, Blunt's legal counsel, Lowell Pearson, is reading every opinion they ever wrote.
The governor also has given the candidates 50 questions, covering everything from their grades in college to
whether they've ever committed an act that could be considered a felony. He wants the answers by Sept. 18.
The results will be made public as soon as they are received, the governor's office said.
The debate has put Missouri in the national spotlight. The Wall Street Journal said the process produced "three
undesirable candidates" and over time has "tipped the state courts steadily to the left."
The American Bar Association, by contrast, recently urged establishment of a national system that is similar to
Missouri's: Bipartisan panels would make recommendations to send the president for federal court
appointments.
David Achtenberg, a law professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, said some of the attacks on the
plan were "a way of wounding it nationwide" to slow efforts to replicate it.
Achtenberg said criticism of judicial candidates often missed the mark.




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For example, whereas the Wall Street Journal called Hardwick "left-leaning," Achtenberg said his analysis of split
decisions on the Court of Appeals showed Hardwick had more often lined up with judges appointed by a
Republican governor than with judges named by a Democrat.
Blunt has said he wants to appoint "judges who understand that their role is to say what the law is, not what it
should be."
He was unhappy with his choices last year when he made his first Supreme Court appointment. He chose Judge
Patricia Breckenridge, calling her "the best candidate of the three candidates submitted to me."
This time, the high court has a vacancy because of the resignation of Stephen Limbaugh, who accepted a
federal judgeship. Limbaugh, who was appointed to the state court by then-Gov. John Ashcroft, was considered
one of its most conservative members.
Limbaugh's departure leaves the court with four judges appointed by Democratic governors and two appointed
by Republican governors.
Fischer's supporters say he satisfies Blunt's desire to leave a conservative legacy.
"He's someone I know to be of the same judicial philosophy as the governor," said Todd Graves, who grew up in
the same county as Fischer and has known him since the two faced off at high school football games. Graves
said he would "do whatever I can to help" Fischer win the appointment.
Unlike the other two nominees, Fischer has not authored a long list of court rulings. He had a private law practice
from 1989 to 2006, when he was elected an associate circuit judge in Atchison County.
Some conservatives are leery of Fischer, 45, because he served on the board of the Missouri Association of
Trial Attorneys from 2001 to 2003. That group is the political nemesis of business in the battle over civil lawsuit
caps. Many MATA members represent plaintiffs in personal-injury lawsuits.
Graves, however, said Fischer was not "a strong ideologue" on that issue. Graves attributed Fischer's stint on
the board to the trial attorneys' "Republican outreach" and Fischer's interest in building his law practice.
If Fischer gets the appointment, it won't be the first time he has worked in the red-brick Supreme Court building
across from the Capitol. After law school Fischer worked as a law clerk for Supreme Court Judge Andrew
Jackson Higgins.
In an interview last week, Higgins said: "In a one-sentence testimony, he was a fine law clerk and a gentleman
and a good person."
The other candidates also have strong backers.
Holliger, 62, has been on the bench since 1995, beginning as a circuit judge and moving to the appellate court in
2000. He heads the Missouri Trial Judge Education Committee, which trains new judges.
Jerry Carmody, a lawyer in St. Louis and a former member of the screening commission, said Holliger "has a
depth of experience in the law and applies the law with moderation and diligence. He's involved in judicial
education. He's somebody that the judges look to."
Hardwick, 47, would give Missouri its first-ever female majority on the court. She also would be the only African-
American judge on the court.
Hardwick is "a very brilliant person," said C. Patrick McLarney, a partner at Shook, Hardy & Bacon in Kansas
City, where Hardwick used to work. "She applies the law based on prior cases and whatever statutes are in
existence. She doesn't go outside of that and try to make new laws."
But like other legal observers, McLarney gives Fischer the edge. Hardwick "is on paper, a Democrat, and
(Blunt's) got one Republican on the panel. And the history is, the governor usually appoints someone from his
own party."


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Veto override attempt touchy for curators
By ABRAHAM MAHSHIE of the Tribune’s staff
Published Friday, September 5, 2008

KANSAS CITY - The University of Missouri government relations office painted a grim picture yesterday of
efforts to give the student on the Board of Curators a vote.
For a least a decade, university students have lobbied the Missouri General Assembly to pass a bill that would
give the student curator a right to vote. Currently, the curators represent each of Missouri‘s nine congressional
districts, and one student curator sits on the board as a nonvoting member. The bill would have afforded the
student curator one of the nine votes if Missouri loses one of its congressional seats in the next census.
The effort to pass a measure on a student curator vote reached fruition last session when the state House and
Senate overwhelm-ingly supported a bill sponsored by Sen. Chuck Graham, D-Columbia, despite last-minute
efforts by curators to halt its progress. Gov. Matt Blunt later vetoed the bill.
"Since 1976, there have been only six bills that the governor has been overridden on," Steve Knorr, vice
president for government relations for the UM System, told the curators yesterday. Knorr virtually assured them
that the bill would not get the 23 Senate votes and 109 House votes needed for the override.
Craig Stevenson, board chairman of the Associated Students of the University of Missouri, said his student-
lobbying organization will act as if the veto is a real possibility.
"We‘re approaching it like they will pass it," Stevenson said of Wednesday‘s planned vote in the General
Assembly. Stevenson said ASUM will hold a news conference Tuesday with Graham and Speaker Pro Tem
Brian Pratt, R-Blue Springs, to promote the effort and outline responses to the six reasons why Gov. Blunt said
he vetoed the measure.
Former Curators Chairman Don Walsworth didn‘t mince words about his and the board‘s opposition to the effort
or any face-to-face discussions with ASUM, although UM President Gary Forsee told the Tribune he would
encourage curators to meet with students on the matter. Stevenson said many students feel the curators‘
position on the issue is symptomatic of their distance from real student concerns.
"I am not open at all to that," Walsworth told the Tribune. "I don‘t care to meet with the students on that."
Walsworth said his chief qualm with a voting student curator is that the student curator only serves two years,
whereas regular curators serve six-year terms. Walsworth and other curators say two years isn‘t enough time for
the student to learn how the complex university system operates.
Walsworth instead supports affording the open seat to outstanding alumni living out-of-state or entertaining
another option. To promote discussion about ideas, he said, "I think we would want to be upfront with the
General Assembly."




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UM, others oppose lower drinking age
By Kavita Kumar
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
09/06/2008


An initiative being pushed by college presidents to start a dialogue about lowering the drinking age to 18 has
grabbed nationwide headlines, but it has not been catching on among St. Louis-area universities.
On Friday, University of Missouri system President Gary Forsee said that neither he nor the four campus
chancellors would be signing on to the Amethyst Initiative's controversial statement. That statement has been
signed by presidents of 129 universities, including Duke, Ohio State and Dartmouth.
The initiative says that the drinking age of 21 is not working and has helped contribute to a culture of
"dangerous, clandestine" binge drinking on campuses. It also notes that adults under 21 can vote, sign contracts,
serve on juries and enlist in the military but "are told they are not mature enough to have a beer."
Speaking after the Board of Curators meeting in Kansas City, Forsee said he wondered what other colleges
were thinking when they signed it.
"You can pick your analogy, but it would be like saying in my view, let's build larger SUVs in the hopes people
will stop buying gasoline," he said at a news conference.
Rather, Forsee said the key to addressing drinking issues is education and parenting. He pointed to national
studies that he said indicate that parents have the most influence over whether their children drink alcohol. He
also said that data have shown that the number of alcohol-related traffic fatalities dropped after states adopted
laws making 21 the legal drinking age.
The leaders of Southern Illinois University also recently issued a statement against the initiative.
"While ultimately the legislatures of the various states will decide this debate, our view is that the consequences
of underage drinking are simply too significant to ignore," the SIU statement said.
Dean Hubbard, president of Northwest Missouri State University, said in a statement that student leaders
consulted experts on the topic and concluded that mixing alcohol with young people living in residence halls is
not a good idea.
"Date rape, unwanted pregnancy, vandalism, violence assaults, all those go up," he said. "So I'm with our
students. I think lowering the drinking age to 18 would be a huge mistake."
Hubbard took the issue one step further.
"Instead of lowering it, if anything, we ought to raise it and prohibit students from drinking until they're out of
college," he said.




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Election season begins in earnest
By STEVE KRASKE
The Kansas City Star
The Sarah Palin era has begun.
So has the general election campaign, now that the conventions are behind us.
It‘s starting a bit later than usual, beginning as it does after Labor Day. Just 58 days left till Election Day, folks.
The campaigns now enter the full-engagement phase. A lot is happening all at once: debate prep, trips to
Missouri (sorry, Kansas, you‘re still seen as a deep shade of red), charges and countercharges. Both the Alaska
governor and Barack Obama continue to fascinate.
So what‘s ahead? Let‘s take a closer look.
Will the race remain close?
Count on it. Gallup had it at 47 to 45 percent in favor of Obama on Saturday as the polls began to reflect a
Republican bounce in the wake of the GOP convention.
The race has been locked in place for weeks, experts said.
―What that tells me is a huge portion of the electorate has made up its mind,‖ said Bob Beatty, a political scientist
at Washburn University in Topeka. ―If it‘s close, it‘ll come down to a relatively small group of people.‖
Can one candidate or the other still win by a sizable margin? If one candidate surges, look for it to be Obama.
―McCain still has the short straw,‖ said University of Texas political scientist Bruce Buchanan, ―because of all the
natural advantages the Democrats have right now.‖
Those advantages include unhappiness with President Bush, dissatisfaction with the Iraqi war and a general
sense the country is headed in the wrong direction. (Only 19 percent of voters say the U.S. is traveling in the
right direction.)
―Obama still has the edge and will hold it until some event alters it,‖ Buchanan said.
McCain is handcuffed in his ability to forge a big lead because of the rise of self-identified Democrats. In
Missouri, for instance, about 200,000 more Democrats than Republicans turned out for the Feb. 5 presidential
primary.
With McCain abandoning his emphasis on Obama‘s lack of experience and refocusing his campaign on the need
for change, the race boils down to whose change voters want.
―McCain is doing a fairly good job of distinguishing himself from President Bush, who is a lead weight on him,‖
said Kansas State University political scientist Joe Aistrup. ―At the same time, Obama‘s had some failings. His
campaign took a little bit of a vacation in between winning the nomination and the convention.
―Now we‘ll see whether or not Obama can manage to set sail.‖
A caution: In a close race, national polls aren‘t nearly as revealing as individual battleground states where the
contest truly will be won or lost. One place to go for those findings: realclearpolitics.com/polls.
The Intrade Prediction Market, where members buy and sell futures contracts on the outcome of elections, has
Obama‘s chance of winning at 60 percent, although McCain has surged of late.
Is Palin for real?
We don‘t know yet.



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The ―Palin bounce‖ following her generally well-received speech Wednesday night resulted in McCain cutting
Obama‘s lead to two points, according to Gallup.
But even Republicans wonder if there‘s anything more in Palin‘s background that might prove troublesome. And
Palin still hasn‘t faced a full round of open-ended media interviews that will go a long way toward determining
just how up to speed she is on all the issues a vice president might face.
So far, the McCain camp, probably astutely, has kept the wraps on Palin. That can‘t last much longer.
With the convention speeches over, what’s the next big event?
That‘s an easy one. The debates and specifically the first debate — the one with the most viewership.
Mark your calendars for the evening of Sept. 26, when McCain and Obama face off in Oxford, Miss.
―The average American won‘t sit down and watch all three debates and five hours of speechifying,‖ Beatty said.
―But many will watch that first debate.‖
Buchanan: ―That‘s the first time people really see the two candidates side by side. As a consequence, that can
leave a fairly strong, lasting impression.‖
The first Bush-Al Gore debate in 2000 left the sitting vice president wounded, and he never fully recovered, even
though he fared better in the second and third debates.
Who‘s the better debater this year? An instinctive response might be Obama. McCain‘s camp admits their guy is
better in a town-hall setting, taking questions from voters.
But Obama wasn‘t exactly stellar against Hillary Clinton, Beatty noted. ―Obama tends to hem and haw a little bit
and think things over,‖ he said. ―McCain is blunt and rough.‖
Obama‘s strength is the 45-minute stemwinder in a stadium.
The bar the media set may play a role. ―If Obama is five to seven points ahead, people will say McCain will have
to do well, and that will become the expectation,‖ Beatty said.
The two other presidential debates: Oct. 7 in Nashville, Tenn., and Oct. 15 in Hempstead, N.Y.
The lone vice presidential debate, Oct. 2 in St. Louis, might be more interesting. Palin is both a new political
superstar and something of a question mark to lots of voters.
But even a terrible performance by Palin or Biden may have little impact. Remember Democrat Lloyd Bentsen‘s
crushing dissection of Dan Quayle in 1988? George H.W. Bush still won the race.
What issues will prove decisive?
―It‘s the economy, stupid.‖
That gives an edge to Obama because the president‘s party either takes credit or blame for the economy,
Aistrup said. ―The economy represents an albatross that McCain is going to have to get from around his neck.‖
Then energy. ―McCain seems to have the upper hand there because he seems to be willing to try any and all
solutions,‖ the K-State professor said. ―Obama has a more limited list because of his environmental concerns.‖
He won‘t budge, for example, on drilling in Alaska.
A third issue: the Iraqi war and the war on terror. How these issues cut is unclear. Republicans have a traditional
advantage with voters on national security. But Americans remain upset that the U.S. went to war in Iraq ―and
McCain was part of that whole selling process,‖ Aistrup said.
But McCain also deserves credit for making the right call on the surge.
Where is bellwether Missouri headed?



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As of today, give the state to McCain. He leads 50 to 43 percent, according to an average of several recent polls,
and the Arizona senator has an advantage because Missouri appears to be tilting right.
But Obama is hardly out of it. He‘s set up nearly 40 field offices across the state. He‘s campaigned here several
times since the Feb. 5 primary and says he‘s committed to battling it out.
What does each candidate have to do to put this thing away?
McCain: Develop a positive message emphasizing how he‘ll differ from Bush, Buchanan said. He took a step in
that direction with his acceptance speech, especially with his blunt criticism of his own party losing its way in
recent years.
Obama: Be specific. The more the better. ―He has to continue that and hammer it because repetition is the
secret to campaign communication,‖ Buchanan said. ―If he does that, I think he‘s OK.
Aistrup adds a caution for both: ―No major missteps.‖ The race is too close for a game-changing blunder. That
means no more ―Reverend Wrights‖ for Obama. For McCain, no more flip-flops on major issues.




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Uncovering shortcomings in Hulshof's
health-care plan
A closer look uncovers shortcomings in proposal
Kenny Hulshof‘s health-care plan makes ambitious claims about making health insurance available to 700,000
uninsured Missourians.
But a close look at the plan suggests that such a goal may be overly optimistic. Such a result would reduce the
ranks of the uninsured by 96 percent. Similar proposals in other states have come nowhere near persuading that
many uninsured residents to buy health insurance.
Hulshof spokesman Scott Baker said the plan‘s goal of providing 700,000 Missourians with health insurance was
based on the experience in Massachusetts, which saw the number of uninsured drop by nearly 75 percent after
a law was enacted that required virtually every resident to have health insurance.
But Massachusetts‘ experience actually contradicts Hulshof‘s projections in key ways. A state report this summer
found that 439,000 people had obtained health insurance since Massachusetts‘ program was launched in June
2006. But 56 percent were in programs subsidized by taxpayers, while Hulshof‘s plan assumes fewer than 30
percent would need to be subsidized by taxpayers.
Massachusetts‘ law also includes a mandate that nearly everyone obtain insurance or pay up to $912 a year in
extra taxes. Hulshof‘s plan contains no such mandate. Even with the mandate, 27 percent of Massachusetts‘
uninsured had not obtained insurance.
An analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that much of the reduction in the number of uninsured
residents was the result of the mandate and the threat of extra taxes, not the safety net offered by state
government.
―Without a mandate, I‘d like to see the basis of (Hulshof‘s) claim that so many people would sign up,‖ said Arif
Ahmed, a health policy expert at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. ―I think it‘s safe to say that such a plan
would not do what they claim it would do.‖
Hulshof‘s plan assumes that 500,000 Missourians now without health coverage would buy insurance if the state
merely sets up an insurance marketplace that allows consumers to compare plans. Baker says the move would
reduce the price of policies, which would encourage Missourians to buy.
In the first year that Massachusetts‘ insurance marketplace was available, nearly 18,000 people used it to obtain
insurance, the Kaiser report said. But costs have remained steep. The subsidized plan expects premiums to rise
by 10 percent next year. The unsubsidized plan expects increases somewhat less than 10 percent.
Ahmed said a strong point of Hulshof‘s plan is the limit on the out-of-pocket costs for people with the lowest
incomes. But the plan shows a misunderstanding of many other uninsured residents.
―The plan assumes that there are a great number of people with money who chose not to buy insurance,‖
Ahmed said. ―But that‘s not true. Few people with incomes of, say, $65,000 or more are uninsured by choice.‖
| Kit Wagar, The Star




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Nixon touts health care, education
SEDALIA DEMOCRAT - Courtney Hudson
September 6, 2008 - 5:26PM
With less than two months until election day, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jay Nixon made a stop here
Saturday to tout his plans for health care and education.
Nixon, Missouri‘s attorney general, faces Republican congressman Kenny Hulshof in the Nov. 4 general election.
Nixon shook hands with nearly every one of the more than 50 people gathered for a grassroots fundraiser at the
Best Western Saturday afternoon.
―Investing in the future and investing in people is what I‘m all about,‖ Nixon said.
Nixon campaigned Saturday in three other cities, Warrensburg, Marshall and Independence.
Nixon expressed his concern for the quality of health for Missouri children.
―Every kid in the state of Missouri deserves health care,‖ Nixon said.
Nixon is also promoting college education for all middle-class student — one that will not leave them in debt.
Nixon said that he would like to adapt the A+ school program for all students who meet the requirements, not just
those attending an A+ certified school.
The program provides students with state-paid scholarships for two years if they attend a public community
college or technical college in Missouri. The students must meet certain requirements such as a 2.5 grade point
average.
Nixon said he would like to see the financial help continue after the first two years of college.
―We need to grab this state and get it going in the right direction again,‖ Nixon said.
Marguerite Ellis, 67, of Sedalia, said she heard Nixon speak earlier in his campaign, and his ideas have not
changed.
―I think he did a very good job,‖ Ellis said. ― He said it sincerely, and I think he meant every word of it.‖
Dave Kelley, 72, of Sedalia, said Nixon‘s brief speech was, ―fantastic.‖
―I feel like he is right on track,‖ Kelley said.
During his hour-long stop, Nixon encouraged people to make contributions to benefit not only his campaign but
the people of Missouri.
―We need people that are united to change things,‖ Nixon said.




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Recount Changes Little for Attorney
General Race
By Matthew Schroyer, Washington Missourian Staff Writer
After spending eight hours recounting 14,318 ballots, the Franklin County clerk's office counted nine more votes
into the attorney general's race in the Democratic primary race for Missouri attorney general.
The recount, which took place on Thursday, came after Franklin County Clerk Debbie Door was named in an
Aug. 26 lawsuit filed in Clay County by attorney general candidate Margaret Donnelly. Door was among 25 other
local election authorities sued by the candidate to review uncounted ballots.
Door said the deadline for election authorities to submit recount totals to the secretary of state's office is Sept. 9.
The state will certify final numbers by Sept. 11. Door said she expects many county clerks will have recounts
complete by the Friday, Sept. 5, because a statewide clerk conference is scheduled for Sept. 8-10.
In the race that some have billed as the closest in Missouri history, Donnelly lost to Chris Koster by 780 votes
out of more than 346,000 ballots cast. The difference in the number of votes between the two candidates
amounted to two-tenths of a percent.
In the unofficial results from the Franklin County recount, Koster gained seven votes for a total of 1,727 votes, or
33.83 percent. Donnelly received two more votes, for a total of 1,856 votes, or 36.36 percent.
Jeff Harris had one more vote tallied in the recount, for a total of 1187 votes. The number of votes for Molly
Williams remained the same after the recount.
The results are not official until certified by Secretary of State Robin Carnahan.
Door said the reason for the increase in votes was due to the method stipulated of the lawsuit.
"The lawsuit required that we administer the recount as both machine and manual recount," Door said.
Democratic ballots were reviewed and pulled by election judges if they felt the vote had not been recorded by
machine.
In at least one case, a voter made a check mark next to a candidate, instead of filling in the circle for the
candidate, which necessitated the vote be counted by hand.
Door added that 12 election judges, six from each party and four county employees conducted the recount. Also
on hand were three representatives from the Donnelly campaign and one representative from the Koster
campaign.
Tuesday, Judge Larry D. Harman of the 7th Judicial Circuit Court in Clay County ruled that all 26 counties be
dropped from Donnelly's lawsuit.
Donnelly originally filed suit seeking a review of provisional and absentee ballots. In Franklin County, there were
no provisional ballots, and one absentee ballot was not counted because it was received after deadline. Given
those circumstances, Door questioned why the county was included in the lawsuit.
"Donnelly had accusations for a number of reasons why the ballots were not counted," Door said. "As far as I
was concerned, Franklin County should not have been included in the lawsuit."
Door said due to the recount, the clerk's office is about a week behind schedule in preparing for the Nov. 5
election, but that she wasn't concerned about making up time.
"We can catch that up pretty quickly once we get the (certified) names from Secretary of State Carnahan," Door
said.
The last statewide recount happened in the August 2006 Republican primary race for auditor, between Jack
Jackson and Sandra Thomas. The hand recount took two days for the county clerk's office to complete and
yielded two more votes for Jackson, while Thomas lost five votes.



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Presidential election gaining youth
interest
Monday, September 8, 2008
By Lindy Bavolek
Southeast Missourian
Adam Gohn and Matt Heisserer have had doors slammed in their faces and insults hurled at them. Ken Griffin
has had people threaten to call the police on him. Lauren Robb has been stiffed on tips as a waitress when she
mentions her political affiliation.
All four Southeast Missouri State University students volunteer with the campaign for Sen. Barack Obama and
have experienced a mixed reception.
"This region isn't particularly Democratic — as we have found out," Griffin said dryly. He knows the Republican
stronghold he is working in. In 2004, 68.9 percent of Cape Girardeau County voters chose George W. Bush.
Yet the students are showing stronger organization and presence on campus than College Democrats adviser
Dr. Rick Althaus has seen in years. Debates are spilling out of class and into dorm rooms and an emanating
energy is replacing previously "disheartened" Democrats, he said.
Across the country, Democratic and Republican youth alike are showing heightened interest. Three times more
Missourians aged 18 to 29 voted in the 2008 presidential primary than in the 2000 primary — 21 percent versus
7 percent, according to the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement.
Time Magazine has even dubbed 2008 the "Year of the Youth Vote" and noted Missouri is being closely
watched. "The Show-Me State has voted for the winner in 25 of the past 26 [presidential] elections," David Von
Drehle wrote in a Jan. 31 article.
Students are attending political meetings, hosting convention watching parties, going door to door to recruit
support, stumping at parades, making phone calls, and helping register voters in droves. Experts say the historic
nature of the candidates and pressing issues are triggering the support.
"Whoever is elected is going to directly affect us. We're going to be the working class," 20-year-old Robb said.
Raised a Republican, she decided to switch affiliations when she reached high school and began studying the
issues. November will be her first chance to vote in a presidential election.
Reaching young voters
An August survey by the Pew Research Center showed that nationally 58 percent of voters aged 18 to 29
support Obama and 34 percent support John McCain. Results were much closer for total voters — 46 to 43
percent, with Obama in the lead. Candidates are courting youth using social networking websites such as
Facebook and MySpace.
Many young voters are concerned about the environment, a shaky economy and the war in Iraq, said Gohn, a
25-year-old philosophy major. The war in particular strikes home with young people, Althaus said.
"A lot of people our age realize our generation is going to have to be the ones to stand up to make a change,"
Heisserer said.
Lucas Presson, president of the College Republicans at Southeast, said high gas prices and the need for more
oil are top issues. At the university's welcome back picnic, the organization gave away $250 in gas cash cards
with the message that the next president should push for more drilling.




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"Everyone says this is the election of a lifetime and it really is," said Tina Hervey, a spokeswoman for the
Missouri Republican Party, via phone from the Republican National Convention. Hervey pointed to the
Republicans' lack of an incumbent and the Democrats' candidate being the first black man to run for the highest
office as adding to the historic quality and importance of the race.
Presson is quick to point out that Democratic youth aren't the only ones excited about their candidate. "There
could be a misconception that all the young people are only for Obama. There are a lot of young folks out there
that see the need of sending McCain to Washington," Presson said.
Local support
The choice of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as the vice president candidate has added to the excitement, he
said, and is helping attract female voters.
Despite a heavy Republican presence in the area, College Republican adviser Dr. Dean Monahan said
Republicans can't "take anything for granted." A "Victory" office has been established at 400 Broadway and is
the base for campaigning in Cape Girardeau. Democrats have established an Obama office at 821 Broadway.
The number of local volunteers for either party is uncertain. Presson said the College Republicans had 280
students last year that participated in varying degrees, while Monahan said there are about 100 College
Republicans on the group's e-mail list and that 22 people attended the group's last meeting. Althaus said the
College Democrats have about 100 members.
The College Republicans have worked to raise their profile the last two years and were named the state Chapter
of the Year Award last year.
Southeast's College Democrats know they are outnumbered, but are celebrating every success. One of their
goals is to dispel misconceptions about Obama, which workers said is achieved most effectively through
personal communication. Griffin recently explained Obama's ethnicity and religious beliefs to a voter. "She was
swearing up and down he was Muslim," Griffin said.
The next two months are crucial in convincing those who are on the fence, he said.
"It's going to be a great battle for Independents, a great battle for turnout, and a great battle for ideas," Hervey
said.




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Biden will stop in Columbia, Mehlville on
Tuesday
By Jo Mannies
The Missouri campaign of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama has finally confirmed that his
running mate, Sen. Joe Biden, will make two stops in Missouri on Tuesday.
The first is a morning town hall in Columbia; the second is an afternoon ―community gathering‖ at Mehlville High
School.
As the campaign‘s release notes, ―The visit will mark Biden‘s first trip to the ‗Show-Me‘ state as the Democratic
Vice Presidential nominee.‖
At both stops, the topic will be the nation‘s economic problems. Both events are free and open to the public, but
tickets are required at the Columbia event.
Doors open at noon for the event in Mehlville High School‘s gymnasium, 3200 Lemay Ferry Rd. The event is set
to begin at 2 p.m.
(No bags or banners are allowed.)
The Columbia town-hall– entitled ―The Change We Need‖– begins at 9:30 a.m., with doors opening at 7:30 a.m.It
will be at Columbia‘s Activity and Recreation Center (ARC), 1701 West Ash Street.
Tickets are available at the following ticket distribution locations and times:
Columbia Campaign for Change HQ, 22 S 9th Street; Monday, 9am-5pm
Jefferson City Campaign for Change, 301 Ash Street, Monday, 9am-5pm
Calloway County Democrats Office, 11 E 5th Street, Fulton, Monday, 9am-4:30pm




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McCain, Palin to rally KC-area supporters
Columbia Daily Tribune Published Sunday, September 7, 2008

Republican presidential nominee John McCain and vice presidential aspirant Sarah Palin will be traveling today
to Missouri, with scheduled stops today in Kansas City and tomorrow in Lee‘s Summit.
No campaign events are scheduled today, but McCain, an Arizona senator, and Palin, the governor of Alaska,
will attend a rally tomorrow at the Pavilion at John Knox Village in Lee‘s Summit, said Wendy Riemann, a
campaign spokeswoman. Doors open at 8:30 a.m., and a pre-program event is set to start at about 10:30 a.m.
Tickets are not required at the rally, as the event will be on a first-come, first-served basis, Riemann said.
The GOP ticket will not be coming to Columbia, Riemann told the Tribune, although it had been rumored he
would make a stop tomorrow afternoon in Columbia.




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Missouri farmers having a good year for yields, a
discouraging year for rising production costs
Sunday, September 7, 2008
By Brian Blackwell
Southeast Missourian
While Fruitland farmer Roger Schwab believes this may be one of his best production years on record, he is
concerned about the economic climate in which he grows corn and wheat on his 1,600-acre farm.
In 2003, Schwab paid $120 a ton for potash fertilizer. This year it's about $950 a ton.
"This will be a rough year," Schwab said. "While I've been blessed with an excellent crop, I'm discouraged when
I begin figuring up my costs."
Schwab and other farmers in the state have been dealing with the rising costs of production, resulting in a
shrinking profit.
That's despite an increase in the prices crops fetch. On Sept. 1, 2005, wheat was $3.49, corn $2.22 and
soybeans $6.07. On Friday, the price of a bushel of wheat was trading on the Chicago Board of Trade for $8.19,
corn was $5.62 and soybeans was $12.52. The farmer does not receive the full amount, as shipping and
fertilizer costs are deducted.
"Though farmers in the state for the most part have had an above-average year productionwise, the costs of
seed, insurance and fertilizer have created a poor economic picture for them," said Bill Ellis, professor of
agriculture at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau. "I suspect we'll have a similar situation
next year because I don't see costs going down anytime soon."
Ellis said those with large farms such as Schwab will have the best chance of survival compared to farmers with
fewer acres. He said the rising input costs — grain, fertilizers, insurance, seed and equipment — may endanger
the survival of those with the smallest amount of land.
"Down the road a time will come when the price of grain goes back down significantly but the cost of input won't,"
he said. "That's the year when people with excellent land will survive while the people farming on marginal land
will have a tough time."
U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson said she can sympathize with Southeast Missouri's farmers. From Sept. 2 to 5,
Emerson heard about their concerns and innovations by visiting their agricultural operations during her annual
farm tour.
Stops on her tour included a variety of farms, a winery, a greenhouse and the Missouri University of Science and
Technology in Rolla, Mo., for a briefing on biofuels production. Emerson said her position on the Appropriations
Subcommittee on Agriculture in the U.S. House of Representatives allows her to keep abreast with the latest
technology that keeps the region competitive in farming.
She cited a Sept. 2 tour stop at the Delta Research Center's Lee Farm in Portageville, Mo. There, agriculturalists
reported about ongoing efforts to use sweet sorghum for ethanol production and technological efforts to expand
production in the world's impoverished countries.
One research effort at the center is using a pivot system to irrigate rice. The system requires less water, energy
and labor than traditional rice agriculture.
"The farms and ranches in Southeast Missouri are not your run-of-the-mill agricultural operations," Emerson
said. "We have innovations at work here that are literally leading the world, and at the same time Missouri is




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bringing brand-new crops and products to the market. The producers, the businesses and the families which are
hard at work in our agricultural economy deserve fair policies both in Congress and throughout the globe."
Emerson is a supporter of the $290 billion farm bill that earlier this year was approved by Congress over a veto
by President Bush.
The legislation, which is passed about every five years, doesn't directly address rising costs of production. It
does provide $40 billion in government subsidies for farmers and $30 billion for farmers to protect
environmentally sensitive farmland. Direct payments are given based on land acreage.
The bill also includes a $600 million provision that allows farmers to receive disaster payments for crop or
livestock losses suffered because of severe weather. Disaster payments must be based on price averages for
2008 crops. It also gives tax credits to increased production of cellulosic biofuels, which are made from wood,
grass or inedible parts of plants. The credit is set at $1.01 per gallon.
"The farm bill provides a safety net for farmers who need economic assistance in time of disaster," Emerson
said. "Among the other advances are the impact it could have on advancing alternative fuels in this region."
Melvin Brees, a market/policy extension associate with the University of Missouri-Columbia, said the legislation
will continue to benefit farmers as with other previous farm bills.
"From a crop-producer standpoint, the bill helps those who have suffered losses by receiving disaster
payments," Brees said. "That's needed in a time when our farmers have experienced loss with the drought and
excessive rainfall in certain areas of the state."
While the weather and economy are difficult to predict, Ellis said, farmers must do their best to plan for the
future.
"We really have no idea of the costs farmers will face this time next year," Ellis said. "Throughout history, farming
depended on the weather. That's just a way of life for the industry.
"All we can do is roll the dice and plan," he said. "We'll do all we can and hope for the best in the end."




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‘Village’ petitioners file a day late
But rural landowners still want to incorporate.
By SARA SEMELKA of the Tribune’s staff
Published Saturday, September 6, 2008
The Boone County Commission this week dismissed the only petition filed in the county under the controversial
and now-repealed "Village Law," which had sought a place on the November ballot for the proposed
incorporation of the Village of Yahweh in north Boone County.
Commissioners and the county‘s attorney said they consider the issue closed, but the petitioners, who filed their
request in January, think otherwise.
"This is not a closed matter," said Valerie Pride, who with her husband, Farrel Pride, petitioned to form the
village. Valerie Pride said she thinks the county commission and other county officials from the beginning have
been set against the petition.
"Every reason they have given is not a reason to dismiss it," she said.
An addendum was filed with the petition in March to show a unifying boundary, and another addendum was filed
in August to show that the proposed village has five registered voters to form a board of trustees, which had
been in dispute.
The commission this week, on the advice county counselor C.J. Dykhouse, dismissed the petition because the
Prides filed it with the county clerk‘s office on Aug. 27, one day after the 10th Tuesday before the election, which
was the cutoff date for the county to place an item on the November ballot, Dykhouse said.
"Whenever someone wants to put something on that ballot, I ask, ‗Where is the legal authority?‘ " Boone County
Clerk Wendy Noren said. "I have to have the law."
Valerie Pride acknowledged she and her husband missed the deadline for the Nov. 4 election but said she fully
expected the matter would be approved for the next available election.
Dykhouse said the petitioners asked for their proposal to "be submitted to the voters at the next election." The
petitioners missed the deadline for the next election, Dykhouse said, and placing it on the ballot for another
election is not part of the petition.
"I consider the issue closed," Boone County Southern District Commissioner Karen Miller said yesterday.
The law made it easier for landowners to incorporate their properties as villages. It was repealed Aug. 28, and
there are now tougher requirements for those who wish to form villages.
Farrel Pride previously told the Tribune he felt the county was "dragging its feet" on the matter, and Valerie Pride
this week said she felt like the commission was trying to delay the matter until after the village law was repealed.
"It‘s not going to work," she said. "Ours was filed under that law."
Valerie Pride said that because the petition was filed when the law was still good, the commissioners are obliged
to treat it as valid even after the repeal.
"They are not working as public servants," she said. "It‘s possible we may have to bring litigation."
Dykhouse said he did not agree with Pride‘s interpretation.
Noren said the matter should probably be litigated, as any action now could be seen as legally questionable
because the law has been repealed.
"Anything the village did could be questioned because it would have been formed after the legal deadline," she
said.




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Missouri Tigers Day declared in Illinois
Associated Press - September 6, 2008 10:24 PM ET

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - Governor Rod Blagojevich has settled his wager with Missouri Governor Matt Blunt,
proclaiming "University of Missouri Tigers Day" in Illinois.
The governors made the friendly bet before last weekend's Missouri-Illinois football game.
On Saturday, Blagojevich issued a proclamation declaring September 6th "University of Missouri Tigers Day" in
Illinois. The Tigers defeated the Illini 52-42 in St. Louis on August 30th.
Blagojevich also posed for a photograph with the declaration. The governor vowed revenge.
Meanwhile, Blunt said he couldn't think of a better way for Missouri to start its season. If the Illini had won, Blunt
would have had to issue a similar declaration.




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EDITORIALS … & Letters to the Editor
Campaign money
Suddenly, big donations
By HENRY J. WATERS III, Publisher, Columbia Daily Tribune
Published Sunday, September 7, 2008

The minute Missouri‘s new law went into effect repealing election campaign contributions, big donations flowed
into the coffers of the candidates for governor, not a pretty sight in many eyes.
Repeal advocates say big donors find ways around former limits anyway and the new law requires more
disclosure. However, it does seem clear the limits had a quelling effect, and, as candidate Kenny Hulshof said
during the debate, it would be better to have both limits and more disclosure.
His opponent, Jay Nixon, opposed repeal all along.
It‘s not clear which candidate is helped or hurt by the new law. Initially, the largest gusher came into Hulshof‘s
campaign, but fat cats lurk everywhere, ready to help campaigns in both parties.
The basic question is: So what? Why should public policy forbid big donors from expressing their political
preferences with money? The Supreme Court has said the ability to spend money in behalf of candidates is akin
to free speech, refusing to allow spending limitations. Courts do allow limitations on donations.
The philosophy behind limits is simply to reduce the extraordinary influence particular donors might have. Our
political system is healthier if candidates are beholden to large groups of citizens, none of whom is able to push
to the front of the line merely by writing a check.
It‘s true that under former limits big donors could split money among many supposedly separate lobbying
groups, but even so, their effect was somewhat diluted.
It‘s a tricky business. We like free-for-all elections, but we worry freedom is mushed out of shape when a few can
exercise such extraordinary clout. Regardless of the gubernatorial outcome, the next legislature should take
another look at campaign financing.




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Debates valuable for voters
Public will witness how gubernatorial hopefuls react without the aid of their spokespeople.
That Jay Nixon and Kenny Hulshof have agreed to debate four times during the governor's race is healthy news.
Too much of the rhetoric already generated in this race has come, not from the candidates themselves, but from
their spokespeople.
We understand that these paid wordsmiths are valuable in this day and age of almost continuous questions from
reporters, bloggers and interest groups. Still, with a professional buffer between the candidates and the
questions, readers and viewers -- potential voters -- do not get the real essence of a candidate.
A spokesman or woman can blast away with salvo after salvo without as much concern about the words coming
back to bite. If a spokesperson misspeaks or exaggerates, a candidate can deftly recant, without a lasting
tarnish.
But quotes from, as they say, the horse's mouth, are another story. Think Hillary and the infamous "sniper fire" in
Bosnia.
The campaign wordsmiths were also very active during the gubernatorial primary, as Sarah Steelman
challenged Hulshof for the Republican nomination.
It seemed like nary a day passed -- sometimes not even an hour, with news now moving at Internet speed --
without some repartee between Scott Baker in Hulshof's corner and Spence Jackson speaking for Steelman.
Only one real televised debate between the candidates took place, and it was telling, and helped voters.
This time around Baker remains in the ring, versus Oren Shur for Nixon.
Here's an example of some of the latest sparring over -- no kidding -- the plan to debate.
"It seems pretty clear that they're trying to limit the number (of debates) and they're trying to bury them," Baker
said. "It's ridiculous ..."
Firing back, Shur said, "This is the schedule the Hulshof campaign agreed to privately, and now they're saying
something different publicly.
"This is silly."
We agree.
Bring on the candidates.
SPRINGFIELD NEWS-LEADER




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Each Missourian’s voting power will be
diluted
By Charles F. Huddleston/A view from a Camden County Republican
Lake Sun Leader
Sat Sep 06, 2008, 01:24 AM CDT
THE QUESTION: What will happen if Missouri loses a congressional seat after the 2010 census? First of
all, this is speculation. We don‘t know this will occur. Several factors will effect the events leading up to the
necessity to make decisions concerning redistricting.
Population changes will determine which states will gain or lose a congressional seat.
But the make up of the Missouri legislature will make a difference in how redistricting will take place within the
state, if necessary.
Should the population change in 2010 and should Missouri lose one congressional seat, the immediate effect will
be the dilution of each Missourian‘s voting power.
At the present, each congressional district has a population of 621, 690 (official manual, state of Missouri 2007-
08). If the state loses a congressional seat, and the redistricting is apportioned by population, each district will
have a population of 699,401.
James Endersby, a University of Missouri associate professor of political science, says he had heard discussion
about St. Louis possibly losing its district because the city‘s population was moving west and Kansas City has
been more successful at revitalizing its inner city.
He declined to offer an opinion on who might be forced to leave office by the loss of one congressional district.
Should this happen, perhaps people living in the city of St Louis would gain the advantage of having a real
choice in their congressional elections instead of the continuation of the Bill Clay dynasty that has lasted more
than 30 years.
The real changes that should take place should not only be in St. Louis (District 10), but also in District 4, a ―safe
district‖ for Ike Skelton, who has lived in Washington, D.C. for the last 30 years.
The founders of our country did not anticipate that a truly conscientious representative of the district would want
to become a professional representative.
They felt that a person should do one term of office and then return to private life. In fact, there was considerable
argument over whether the term of office for a representative should be only one year. (Source: ―Every Second
Year‖ by Joseph McDade, former representative from Pennsylvania‘s 10th District).
It is possible that a congressman or senator could represent all of the people of a district or state with distinction,
diligence and impartiality for many, many years. But it is a conceit to think that only one person in a population of
almost 700,000 is the only one qualified resident who can continuously represent his fellows with their best
interests at heart. This is a greater travesty than losing a congressional seat.




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If we did, it would be the Republican’s fault
By Eric Reeve/A view from a Camden County Democrat
Lake Sun Leader
Sat Sep 06, 2008, 01:21 AM CDT
THE QUESTION: What will happen if Missouri loses a congressional seat after the 2010 census? If Missouri
were to lose a congressional seat after the 2010 census, it would be the culmination of the mismanagement of
the state by the Republican majority over the last eight years.
Under the careful supervision/direction of a Republican Governor, Republican run House/Senate the results
have been catastrophic for our state, for our citizens and for our children‘s futures. Under the tutelage of the
inept right, our state has the distinction of being ranked No. 17 in the nation for infant mortalities.
One out of eight Missourians are walking around with absolutely no health insurance whatsoever.
Our state‘s education system just failed the national MAP tests with a miserable score of only 25 percent.
The 33rd District (to which Camden County belongs along with six other counties) is ranked among the twelfth
poorest districts in the country.
With underachieving Republican lawmakers at the helm, Missouri has lost thousands of jobs and replaced full-
time work with part-time Wal-Mart jobs offering no benefits.
What do our Republican lawmakers do to relieve any of these problems? Nothing, absolutely nothing.
Our state Senate decided that kicking another 176,000 mostly single mothers and their children off of their
medical benefits in 2008 was best for his constituents.
Our state representatives helped kick those unfortunate folks off of their medical benefits.
Do these two work on improving our education system‘s nightmarish underachieving? No, they decide that
laws protecting doctors from being sued for too much money by their injured patients is more important.
 The Democrats say Missouri can improve its education system. We say there is no good reason our health care
system isn‘t the best in the nation.
Democrats understand that drawing new good paying jobs with benefits to Missouri is crucial to the future of the
state.
We believe Missourians shouldn‘t be forced to choose between paying for food or paying for their life sustaining
medications.
Missouri‘s Democrats know that Missouri can and must do better than what has been done for its citizens over
the last eight years.
When people are considering making Missouri their home, these blatant problems must weigh on their minds.
Missouri folks deciding to stay in Missouri may love their homes but cannot continue to live where there are so
many problems not being addressed.
So Missouri loses new citizens and families who have lived here for generations are forced to move away.
The state may very well lose a representative and that means less federal money for our schools, our hospitals,
our roads, our bridges, our elderly, our disabled and every community in the state.
Before you cast your vote this year please consider voting Democratic, we‘ve seen what damage the
Republicans can do to our state if left unchecked.




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Clear thinking on drinking
ST. JOSEPH NEWS-PRESS -Saturday, September 6, 2008
A debate on lowering the drinking age appears to be coming, whether it makes any sense or not.
More than 100 university and college presidents — only a handful from large campuses and hardly any from the
Midwest — have signed on to an initiative that maintains the age 21 restriction for drinking alcohol is not working.
They question how adults under age 21 can vote, sign contracts, serve on juries and enlist in the military, but not
legally drink. They bemoan the development of ―a culture of dangerous, clandestine binge drinking.‖ They worry
that widespread use of fake IDs results in students making ―ethical compromises that erode respect for the law.‖
It‘s amazing how wrong the rest of us could be about something so important.
For nearly a generation, we have felt it simply was good parenting, good educational leadership and good law for
society to set a reasonable standard for drinking. On second thought … maybe we weren‘t wrong after all.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 25,000 lives have been saved since the
advent of the minimum legal drinking age. Although alcohol use among young people remains widespread,
usage has declined since the minimum age went into effect. Multiple studies suggest that limiting alcohol at the
targeted ages of 18 to 21 has had the effect of making it much less available to those under 18.
On Friday, University of Missouri System President Gary Forsee said he and the chancellors of the four system
campuses have decided not to support a push to lower the drinking age. Forsee wonders what the proponents
were thinking: ―It would be like saying, in my view, let‘s build larger SUVs in the hopes people will stop buying
gasoline.‖
He goes on to say the university system will follow the existing law and continue with its advanced efforts to
provide alcohol education to both students and parents.
That seems a much more commonsense response than to argue that binge drinking is endangering students, so
let‘s make alcohol more readily available and hope that helps.




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Voices: DNR director’s response
JOPLIN GLOBE

I planned to respond to The Joplin Globe‘s editorial ―Arrow Rock safe ... for now,‖ (Globe, Aug. 23), and then saw
Dave Woods‘ Aug. 29 piece indicated last week‘s decision on concentrated animal feeding operations divided your
readers.

At the heart of the matter is a permit the Missouri Department of Natural Resources issued for construction of a CAFO
approximately two miles from Arrow Rock. This permit expired on Aug. 30 without the CAFO ever being built.

The department‘s statutory authority only allows us to ensure permit applications comply with Missouri Clean Water
Law and that the operation will protect water quality. We do not have jurisdiction to address questions of zoning,
location, property values, tourism or other items not related to water quality. If the permit application meets all
regulatory requirements and demonstrates that the operation will protect water quality, the department is obligated by
law to issue the permit.

We oversee both Missouri State Parks and CAFO emitting. The statutory authorities to administer these
responsibilities are completely separate. We do not have legal authority to put restrictions on private property,
including property belonging to state park neighbors.

The department is currently considering how to move forward on the court decision. These issues are important to the
people of Southwest Missouri because they affect the environment and the local economy. Protecting both is our
challenge.

I will continue working with citizens to find reasonable solutions to these issues and hope your readers will help with
positive suggestions.

Doyle Childers
Director
Department of Natural Resources




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The Conservative Commitment to Open
Government
Posted By Gov. Matt Blunt On September 4, 2008 @ 6:51 pm In Budget and Spending | 3 Comments

ST. PAUL — The Heritage Foundation has long believed that a more informed populace will lead to greater
government accountability and less wasteful spending. That is why we were so eager to partner with the [2]
Sunlight Foundation on their [3] Exposing Earmarks project. In that same spirit, we are very proud to feature a
guest post today from Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt:
I established the [4] Missouri Accountability Portal to equip taxpayers with new power to hold the government
accountable for what it spends. In the year since the spotlight came on, our site has received more than 10
million hits as more people are using this powerful new tool for open government.
The taxpayer has no greater friend than Grover Norquist, who has shined the light on elected officials and
candidates who want to raise taxes as well as progressive efforts like ours to provide taxpayers with greater
information on how government spends their tax dollars. We know why politicians want to raise taxes: so they
can spend more money. If people cannot see what the government is doing, we have government in secret. The
bottom line is that public scrutiny is a vital firewall against wasteful and uncontrolled spending.
Missouri is a low tax state, but Missourians still pay more than $3,500 per capita in state and local taxes
annually, according to the [5] Tax Foundation. There were some who wanted me to raise taxes when I became
governor to address an inherited $1.1 billion deficit. We did not raise taxes. We cut taxes — three times. Each
time, public awareness of the link between taxes and spending has been very important in securing legislative
majorities.
Every citizen has a right to know where and how their money is being spent. Citizens are supposed to hold us
accountable. This principle is a bedrock of democratic self-government. At 25,000 site hits per day and total hits
now nearly twice our state population, it is clear that people are eager for more and better knowledge about the
state‘s checkbook.
The [6] Missouri Accountability Portal is a free, online tool that provides ready access data about how elected
officials and agencies spend hard-earned tax dollars. The Internet site is located at [7]
http://mapyourtaxes.mo.gov
My administration built the MAP with existing resources, without new spending. We update information at the
close of each business day. Users can search the MAP by budget category, vendor or contract. They can also
view the salaries of all state employees as well as see who is benefiting from the state‘s tax credits.
Missouri is among the few states in good financial shape. We have a surplus, lower taxes and spending growth
that has been brought under control for the first time since the 1990s. We have increased aid to education at all
levels, which was being raided by liberals to fund out-of-control costs in social welfare programs.
There have been no job-killing tax increases, nor any other kind of tax increase — if there are other kinds.
We can control spending. All this means is that the government has more than enough money already, and
needs to do a better job with what it takes right now. We can cut taxes, save money and modernize government.
We have proven it, in fidelity to our motto, as the Show-Me State.
Opening the books to inspection by any citizen with an Internet connection is a vital step toward the goal that
Grover Norquist and I share with millions of Americans — government that is open, efficient and pro-taxpayer.




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Missourinet
Bob Dole encourages McCain to spend a lot of time in Missouri
Sunday, September 7, 2008, 6:17 PM
By Steve Walsh
Republican presidential candidate John McCain (R-AZ) is in Missouri on Monday for his first visit to the Show-Me
State since formally becoming the party's nominee a the just-concluded GOP National Convention.
One of the people watching the race closely is former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-KS), who
represented the Republican Party in the 2006 race for the White House. Dole knows Missouri is an important
state that Republicans must win in November if they are to capture the presidency. He believes Senator McCain
and running mate Sarah Palin have to spend a good deal of time here. And he says they must talk up ticket's
position on the abortion issue.
Dole praises Palin because of her accomplishments as Mayor and Governor, saying it is degrading to suggest
being a woman is one of her only qualities that she would bring to the job.

Missouri RECs help Louisiana RECs
Sunday, September 7, 2008, 10:01 PM
By Bob Priddy
About 140 linemen from Missouri's Rural Electric Cooperatives are in Louisiana for hurricane relief. They don't
know how long they'll be there, but it might be long enough to experience more than the cleanup after a
hurricane.
The linemen are from 32 of Missouri's 47 electric co-ops. Some will be recycled back this week. Eventually,
Missouri's REC's might have committed 200 employees to Louisiana. Executive Director Barry Hart of the
Missouri Association of Electric Cooperatives says Louisiana officials think those workers could be in Louisiana
for 60 days, hooking people back up to power. Hart's not so sure. He recalls the big ice storm in January, 2004
that stretched from Joplin to St. Louis. He says the longest length of time the 160-thousand REC customers
were without power was about 12 days.
So, he thinks the time could be less than sixty days----except that Hurricane Ike is headed toward the Gulf Coast
and by midweek the Missouri linemen who've been reattaching lines might learn first-hand what can cause all
that damage.

Combining politics and family
Sunday, September 7, 2008, 10:01 PM
By Aurora Meyer
Some political commentators have suggested that Sarah Palin will have trouble balancing vice presidential
duties with raising a family. During state treasurer Sarah Steelman's 10 year political career she said she was
able to find a balance, but it did come with consequences. She choose to put her family first, commute daily from
Jefferson City to her home in Rolla and attend family functions over political galas.
"Sometimes you do have to suffer some of the consequences the political consequences of not being able to be
to be a part of that good ole boy network and frankly that's what it is, but being a good mom was more important
to me," Steelman said.
It's hard no matter what you do as a working mother, she said. It's hard to balance work and family and it's
particularly difficult for women politicians.




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"I do think that women are treated differently on the campaign trial," Steelman said. "I think Sarah Palin has been
asked questions that no man would have ever been asked and I don't think that's fair but you know what she's
tough and women are tough and when you're in politics you've got to be tough."

Pollster predicts this is the Democrats' year
Sunday, September 7, 2008, 10:00 PM
By Brent Martin
A pollster who works often with Missouri Democrats says this is an offensive, not a defensive, election year for
Democrats.
Pollster Peter Hart has conducted the NBC/Wall Street Journal poll for the past 20 years.
"Let me tell you that 2008 is as good a year as it gets for the Democratic Party," Hart tells Missouri Democrats.
Hart predicts Democrats could pick up 20 seats in the United States House and as many as five in the Senate as
well as win back the White House. Hart says there is a dynamic of change among voters.
"The American public is as unhappy and disappointed as any time I have been polling over the last 35 years,"
says Hart.
The big difference in the presidential race could be enthusiasm. Hart says polling shows 46% of Barack Obama's
supporters are excited by his candidacy. He says polls have shown that only 12% of Republican John McCain's
supporters are enthusiastic about his campaign. The enthusiasm level might have changed with McCain's pick of
Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, who has energized the Republican base. The next 60 days will tell.

Biden campaigning in Columbia and St. Louis on Tuesday
Sunday, September 7, 2008, 7:44 PM
By Steve Walsh
Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden (D-DE) campaigns in Missouri on Tuesday, making stops in
Columbia and St. Louis.
The Columbia event, scheduled for 9:30 Tuesday morning, is a town hall with the Delaware Senator. Tickets for
the event are required, and are free, but they are limited. They are available at campaign offices in Columbia,
Fulton, and Jefferson City.
Biden is also making a campaign appearance in St. Louis that day. According to an Obama campaign press
release - "meet with area voters to discuss America's economic challenges and how the Obama-Biden
administration will bring the change we need to Washington, D.C." Doors open at noon at the Mehlville High
Schiool Gymnasium for what is billed as a community gathering with Joe Biden.
Tickets are free, but limited. For information contact the Campaign for Change St. Louis office at 314-984-9525.

McCain campaign: "Phones ... ringing off the hook" for Lee's Summit
rally
Sunday, September 7, 2008, 9:16 AM
By Steve Walsh
Republican presidential nominee John McCain (R-AZ) and his vice presidential running mate Sarah Palin (R-AK)
visit the Kansas City area on Monday for a rally in Lee's Summit. And McCain campaign officials are expecting a
huge turnout.
What was initially penciled in as what the Missourinet was told would be a private McCain visit to Columbia was
changed, over the weekend, to what Republicans are calling a "Road to Victory Rally," with that rally scheduled
for Monday morning at 10:30 in Lee's Summit. No tickets are required for the event.
A statement from Wendy Riemann with the McCain campaign says, "Phones in our victory offices have been
ringing off the hook from people looking for more information about Monday's Road to Victory Rally in Lee's
Summit. The McCain/Palin ticket is committed to winning Missouri and we are looking forward to a great event."


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USA TODAY MISSOURI NEWS
Monday, September 8
Kansas City - A medical report filed by the doctor of a pregnant woman who miscarried after she was arrested
during a traffic stop said her medical condition was so severe that the fetus could not be saved. Sofia Salva sued
police for wrongful death, but Sherri Jackson said Salva already had a severe infection in her uterus when she
was stopped.




               On the Web :      www.senate.mo.gov/sencom – Telephone : (573) 751-3824