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Senate Candidate Throws Children Under The Bus

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STL American:

Amazing how forthright you can really be when you’re out of the game. Former Congressman Bill Clay gives a history lesson on the Missouri Democrat[ic]Party:

Clay said he was shocked to see Russ Carnahan challenge his son, given the role Clay Sr. and other black leaders had in the electoral success of Carnahan’s father, Mel Carnahan, in his primary campaign for U.S. Senate against Vince Schoemehl. But black Democrats fighting white Democrats over electoral turf is nothing new.

“The 1st Congressional District was the result of a coalition of Republicans and black Democrats. The Democratic Party opposed us. It took the Republicans in the state House and Senate and about nine white Democrats from southeast Missouri to override the majority Democrat leadership and establish the 1^st Congressional District…..This is typical of Democrats down through history,” Clay said, with every U.S. Census occasioning another battle with white Democrats to preserve the 1^st Congressional District.”

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Video: Lacy Clay: #1 Progressive in Congress

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Hat tip: wtadmorningmeeting

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Just curious. How is this an attack on Mr. Brunner’s children when no one knew until now that his children ran the charity in question?

MidwestDemocracy.com:

Republican Senate hopeful John Brunner has the backing of mainstream farming interests like the Missouri Soybean Association and John Deere & Co. But four years ago, Brunner’s charitable foundation donated $10,000 to a group whose views on several big agricultural issues are at odds with some of the leading groups in the industry.

The Brunner Foundation, run by the former St. Louis home health care products executive and his wife, gave the money to the Humane Farming Association, a California-based farm animal safety group, according to federal tax records….I set up the Brunner Foundation to encourage my children to become active in charity. I made it clear that each of them could give to the charity of their choice and that it would remain, solely, each child’s individual decision. In 2007, one of my children chose as a beneficiary the Humane Farming Association. I am extremely proud of my children, but, as with most families, I do not always agree with their choices or decisions.” Read more…

AP:

Missouri Rep. Jason Smith said the farm animal group has sought to overhaul the pork industry and criticized “industrial farming,” and that the charitable donation creates concerns that Brunner has used his “personal wealth to attack our rural way of life.” Smith, R-Salem, added that the Humane Farming Society seems “more radical” than the Humane Society of the United States, which has garnered particular ire from some Missourians after that organization pursued changes to state regulations for the dog breeding industry.

Brunner dismissed the criticism, noting that one of his children made the contribution in 2007, and said families should remain free from political attacks. Read more…

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Liberals fond of regulating and restricting political speech have come out of the woodwork to attack Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell for his speech last week warning of their threats to First Amendment. From Fred Wertheimer, to former DCCC chair Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Daily Kos, Robert Reich, Ed Schultz and Norm Ornstein (who recently wrote a book accusing Republicans and tea partiers of being what’s really wrong with Washington). Most of the criticism has been about their desire for disclosure, completely ignoring Leader McConnell’s point that “if disclosure is forced upon some but not all, it’s not an act of good government, it’s a political weapon.” He explained that liberals’ preferred policies amount to “an effort by the government itself to expose its critics to harassment and intimidation, either by government authorities or through third-party allies.”

Yet reports this week have shown liberals to be quite hypocritical when it comes to their bleats for disclosure. Writing for the Heritage Foundation’s blog, Lachlan Markay observes, “President Obama invoked executive privilege to prevent further congressional oversight of the Justice Department’s Fast and Furious operation on the same day it bemoaned the supposed lack of transparency among some conservative non-profits. Jim Messina, Obama’s 2012 campaign manager, touted efforts on the campaign’s website to get Crossroads GPS, a conservative super PAC, to disclose its donors. But while Messina was hyping political transparency, Obama himself was ensuring the opacity of one of his Justice Department’s most controversial programs. On Wednesday morning, the president opted to stonewall the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s efforts to obtain documents related to Operation Fast and Furious, which facilitated the transportation of thousands of firearms across the southern border, where they were handed off to Mexican drug cartels with the foreknowledge of some top DOJ officials.”

Meanwhile, the Washington Free Beacon reports, “Liberal protesters funded by secretive, big money non-profits marched to the headquarters of a conservative super PAC on Wednesday to protest the influence of secretive big money in politics. Starting from a downtown Hilton in Washington, D.C., protesters marched more than a mile in sweltering heat before arriving at the headquarters of American Crossroads and Crossroads GPS, the political group cofounded by Republican strategist Karl Rove. The event was sponsored by such liberal groups as the Campaign for America’s Future, Rebuild the Dream, People for the American Way, Public Campaign, The Other 98%, Health Care for America Now, Alliance for Justice, Public Citizen, and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).”

The Free Beacon points out, “Many of the groups sponsoring the rally engage in the same tactics they claim to deplore. . . . For example, the Campaign for America’s Future, which describes itself as ‘the strategy center for the progressive movement,’ does not disclose its donors. It could not be reached for comment. Billy Wimsatt, the partnerships director and co-founder of Rebuild the Dream, was unsure if his organization released its donors. When asked if he knew who funded the group, he said, ‘That’s not my job.’ Rebuild the Dream was co-founded by former Obama green jobs czar and 9/11 Truther Van Jones, with help from the liberal activist group MoveOn. The organization was not available for comment to disclose its donors. Jones’ other organization, Color of Change, does not reveal its sources of funding.”

In a very good piece discussing Leader McConnell’s speech for PJ Media, Heritage Foundation expert Hans von Spakovsky summarizes, “As a former commissioner on the Federal Election Commission, I have to say ‘amen’ to Sen. McConnell’s remarks.  The unprecedented attacks on political speech by ‘reform’ groups and mainstream media outlets have been unrelenting in the last three decades.  The so-called ‘reform’ laws passed by Congress with the approbation of the Washington Post and the New York Times to regulate the financing of federal campaigns have been complex, confusing pieces of legislation intended to protect incumbents and chill political speech.  Everyone who believes in the First Amendment and the fundamental rights protected by the Bill of Rights should unite to fight these deceptively-labeled ‘reform’ efforts. The First Amendment does not need to be reformed, just abided by.”

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He refused to prosecute Black Panthers who were intimidating voters at the polls in 2008. He’s stonewalling the “Fast and Furious” investigation.  And now he’s having the Administration investigate itself regarding national security leaks. Why is this guy still in office?

And, conservatives, please remember the actions of all 19 Republican senators who ignored Holder’s abominable career as a political fixer and confirmed him. “I found Mr. Holder to be a good listener, which is an important prerequisite for any good leader,” Missouri GOP Sen. Kit Bond explained in support of the nomination. “I believe him when he says that he’s willing to take good ideas from wherever they come.”

In addition to Hatch and Bond, the other 17 Senate Republicans who helped put Holder in place at the Justice Department were: Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., Bob Bennett, R-Utah, Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., Susan Collins, R-Maine, Bob Corker, R-Tenn., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, Judd Gregg, R-N.H., Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., Richard Lugar, R-Ind., John McCain, R-Ariz., Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, Arlen Specter, R-Pa., and George Voinovich, R-Ohio. Read more…

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Earlier this year, a group of Senate Republicans, including Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and Ranking Member of the Finance Committee Orrin Hatch, sent a letter to the IRS expressing concerns over that agency’s treatment of tea party groups applying for tax-exempt status.

At the time, Politico wrote, “Don’t pick on the tea party, a dozen Republican senators told the IRS on Wednesday. In a letter to IRS Commissioner Douglas Schulman . . . GOP senators said they’re concerned the agency may be targeting conservative-leaning groups in its recent inquiry into whether certain political organizations should qualify as nonprofits.

“‘We have received reports and reviewed information from nonprofit civic organizations in Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, and Texas concerning recent IRS inquiries perceived to be excessive,” the letter states. “It is critical that the public have confidence that federal tax compliance efforts are pursued in a fair, even-handed, and transparent manner—without regard to politics of any kind. To that end, we write today to seek your assurance that this recent string of inquiries has a sound basis in law and is consistent with the IRS’s treatment of tax-exempt organizations across the spectrum,’ the letter continues.”

Not satisfied with the initial response from the IRS, Leader McConnell, Sen. Hatch, and Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY), Jon Kyl (R-AZ), John Thune (R-SD), Mike Enzi (R-WY), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), John Cornyn (R-TX), Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), Bob Corker (R-TN), and Pat Roberts (R-KS) sent a new latter to the IRS commissioner questioning the agency’s commitment to protecting the privacy of the groups it’s been asking for information from. “Congress has made privacy the rule, and not the exception,” wrote the senators. “A list of donors who have given money to specific charitable organizations is something that carries great value to certain interested parties, as trading of personal information about private citizens has become common practice. Unfortunately, the public release of private donor information exposes citizens to possible harassment and intimidation by those who oppose the goals of the charitable organization.”

In his major address at AEI on the protections of the First Amendment and growing threats to it by left-wing groups and the Obama administration, Leader McConnell specifically addressed this issue:

“News reports suggest that top White House officials have long participated in a weekly conference call with a left-wing organization in Washington whose stated purpose is to track conservative media voices, seize on potentially offensive content, and then use it to mount corporate intimidation campaigns aimed at driving these voices clear out of the public square.

“Earlier this year, dozens of Tea Party-affiliated groups across the country learned what it was like to draw the attention of the speech police when they received a lengthy questionnaire from the IRS demanding attendance lists, meeting transcripts, and donor information. One of the group’s leaders described the situation this way: “[groups like ours] either drown … in unnecessary paper work … or you survive, and give them everything they want, only to be hung.”

“The head of one national advocacy group has released documents which show that his group’s confidential IRS information found its way into the hands of a staunch critic on the Left who also happens to be a co-chairman of President Obama’s re-election committee. The only way this information could have been made public is if someone leaked it from inside the IRS.

“And just last week we learned of an IRS decision revoking the tax-exempt status of small political nonprofit groups that undoubtedly foreshadows an effort to do the same to bigger groups on the Right that the Obama Administration regards as a threat to its campaign.

“Those who have the resources and the will to fight these things should be commended. Those who don’t should be able to count on our support. But let’s be very clear: no individual or group in this country should have to face harassment or intimidation, or incur crippling expenses, defending themselves against their own government, simply because that government doesn’t like the message they’re advocating.”

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The Brunner campaign must be feeling really confident right now. A risky strategy in our opinion to attack both of your rivals in the same commercial. Don’t you run the risk of galvanizing both campaign’s and their supporters to team up and come after you?

Roll Call:

Businessman John Brunner, running in a tight GOP Senate primary in Missouri, launched an attack ad on his Republican opponents today. The ad knocks the voting records of Rep. Todd Akin and former state Treasurer Sarah Steelman, who also served in the Missouri Senate.

“While John Brunner was creating jobs and manufacturing products, Todd Akin and Sarah Steelman were manufacturing debt,” a female narrator says. Read more…
Related:

The Hill: State senators in Missouri demand Brunner pull ‘smear ad’

Post Dispatch: Brunner, Steelman trade barbs — after debate

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The AP writes today, “Just one week old, June already is proving a cruel month for President Barack Obama and the Democrats — and it could get a lot worse. The political blows from Tuesday’s bitter loss in Wisconsin’s gubernatorial recall and from last week’s abysmal unemployment numbers could multiply before the month is out.

“The Supreme Court will pass judgment shortly on the president’s signature legislative achievement — the 2010 law overhauling the nation’s health care system . . . . If Chief Justice John Roberts and the court strike down all or part of the health care law, it could demoralize Democrats who invested more than a year — and quite a few political careers — to secure its passage.”

The Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza agrees, writing, “It’s been a very rough last six days for President Obama. In that time, he has had to weather a disastrously bad May jobs report, Bill Clinton veering off message on the economy, a wider-than-expected loss in the Wisconsin recall election and a $16 million fundraising gap with Republicans in May. One of those developments is a blip on the radar. Two is a bump in the road. Three is a cause for concern. Four sets off mild panic.”

A new CBS News/New York Times poll shows more bad news for the president on health care, finding once again that “[m]ore than two-thirds of Americans hope the Supreme Court will overturn some or all of the 2010 health care law . . . .” The NYT reports, “Forty-one percent of those surveyed said the court should strike down the entire law, and another 27 percent said the justices should overturn only the individual mandate, which requires most Americans to obtain health insurance or pay a penalty. . . . More than 70 percent of independent voters said they wanted to see some or all of the law struck down, with a majority saying they hoped to see the whole law overturned.”

More tough news for the Obama administration comes from another prominent Democrat saying that all current tax rates should be extended, which is in opposition to the president’s position to allow taxes to go up on January 1. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-ND) told Politico “that it ‘might make some sense’ to extend all the taxes in the short term.” “‘[O]n a short-term basis, … I think something like that is going to have to be done,’ he said of a temporary tax cut extension.” This follows President Clinton saying, “I don’t have any problem with extending all of it now” on CNBC. And yesterday, when asked about the tax cuts on MSNBC, former Obama economic advisor Larry Summers said “[W]e’ve got to make sure that we don’t take gasoline out of the tank at the end of this year. That’s gotta be the top priority.”

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The head scratching and crying in their beers continues  – even from a so called “objective journalist.”

NPR:

SIEGEL: But the money, the preponderance of Republican or pro-Republican money in that race – which some people put at 3-to-1, some people put it at about 6-to-1 – much greater than the Republicans might conceivably enjoy in November, isn’t it?

ROE: It is. It’s interesting, though, when Republicans win they chalk it up to money. When Obama beat McCain, he had 800 million, McCain had 200 million. And it was because of hope and change. So it’s a message, its what it’s about. And there was a funding advantage for the Republicans. We felt like this was bending the arc of union influence in the state legislatures.

SIEGEL: What you make of what happened in Ohio, where there was not a recall vote, no recall up for Governor Kasich, the Republican, but there was a referendum on public employee collective bargaining rights and the unions won, Kasich lost in that referendum.

ROE: I think it was a bit of an overreach. They had the fire and police involved there. And when you deal with public sector unions, there’s still great support for fire and police unions across the political spectrum. So I think it was a bit of an overreach there. I think Walker’s plan is pretty mainstream. You can’t have out of control benefits that the taxpayers can’t shoulder.

SIEGEL: Well, he may be mainstream but even so, 46 percent of the voters in Wisconsin voted to recall him, which is not a normal thing. I mean, it’s not a sign of it being widely supported.

ROE: And he became the first governor in our nation’s history to ever survive a recall. So, sure, controversial – Wisconsin is the birthplace of organized labor and they had twice as many signatures as they needed. And they essentially ran the same race that they ran before against him, with the exact same result. read more…

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Gloating Call Into Dana Loesch Show (With Bonus Content)

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