Steve Kraske's Primebuzz column today, through The Kansas City Star, had an important mention in it concerning 6-digit figures of cold, hard cash being exchanged between government representatives running for office:
Few political deals appear as transparent as the one that was consummated right after Christmas.
And the reason it went down right after Christmas was in the hopes that you wouldn’t notice.
On Dec. 30, former governor Matt Blunt formally forgave a $300,000 loan made to Peter Kinder’s 2008 re-election campaign for Missouri lieutenant governor.
That’s a lot of money, and it’s a debt that was hanging over Kinder’s head as he’s gearing up for his 2012 grudge match for governor against Democrat Jay Nixon.
Last year, Kinder made an outsized donation of $220,000 to Tom Schweich’s successful campaign for state auditor. That came after Kinder had worked quietly to persuade Schweich to get out of the GOP primary for U.S. Senate, in which he was lining up against — insert drumroll here — Matt Blunt’s father, Roy.
Roy Blunt managed to clear the primary field and went on to an easy win in November over Democrat Robin Carnahan.
Said a Democratic Party official: “It is now crystal clear that Peter Kinder, Tom Schweich and the Blunt family participated in a backroom deal to clear a U.S. Senate primary.”
Not that there’s anything wrong with backroom deals. But at least now you know about it.
It seems important to ask first, if this money being exchanged between these representatives is legal.Second, it seems important to say that if it is legal, it shouldn't be and finally, if it is legal, it should be changed and as soon as possible.
We need far more strong ethics rules in our government. Jason Kander and his efforts for stronger ethics rules was very welcome in the last session. He and more in Jefferson City need to give us more of these rules yet.
Link to original post: http://primebuzz.kcstar.com/entries/kraske-first-edition-kc-mayoral-power-ratingsand-bluntkinder-deal/
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