Full disclosure: Koster makes preemptive strike
Everybody knows about opposition research: Read everything ever written relating to your opponent – especially everything your opponent has ever said — and look for errors.
Given that campaign reality, would-be AG Chris Koster’s campaign staff is making a preemptive strike, believing that an error in the spring issue of the University of Missouri Law School alumni magazine, Transcript, is likely to be eventually found by his primary opponents, Jeff Harris and Margaret Donnelly.
In a piece about lawyers turned lawmakers, Koster discusses his time as the prosecutor in Cass County, and the investigation and eventual sending-to-jail of John Robinson, the serial killer. His quote:
“I’ve been fortunate to have many memorable experiences during my career, but few compare to leading the successful prosecution of serial killer John Robinson. His crimes were so heinous, the damage so irreparable and the horror so unspeakable that his conviction was immensely important for both the family members and the people of Missouri. When the jury came back with a guilty verdict sentencing him to life in prison, it was a landmark day for both my career and the history of our state.”
Folks following that ordeal know that there was never a jury verdict. Robinson pleaded guilty. The quote would make Koster look rather bad.
But Koster’s campaign says that misquote came from a staffer responded to the questionnaire from the magazine. The staffer no longer works with the campaign.
Spox Danny Kanner, says Koster wouldn’t have botched such a reference because the case was a highlight of his career.
“There was no jury verdict because the case never went to trial. Koster got Robinson to confess to the murders after 40 hours of interrogation, and negotiated a plea deal that resulted in five life sentences without parole,” Kanner wrote in a statement.
Has anyone commented on the MidMoDed blog? See below. Did Harris really quit after only 8 months? 8 months is a blink of an eye..not really like he has much exerience. See post below:
8 months! Only 8 months!! I have written time and time again about the lack of experience Jeff Harris has vs Koster. I never had any idea how little experience Harris really had until now.
Did you know that when Jeff Harris served as an Assistant Attorney General it was ONLY FOR 8 MONTHS. This is all he talks about and he only held the job for 8 months.
For heavens sake, what kind of experience does he think he got in only 8 months. Did he take any vacation days? Did he catch a cold and stay home for a couple of days? Maybe he really only has 7 and a half months of experience as an Asst AG.
I have interns in my office that have 6 months stints. Was Harris really an just an intern? That might make a little more sense.
For crying out loud, who holds a job for 8 months and then brags about how much “experience” they earned. Most people don’t even put a job on their resume if they don’t stick with it for at least a year.
I think Paris Hilton was in jail for longer then Harris worked as an Asst AG.
Why would anyone ever elect a guy to be AG that could not even put forth an honest effort when he took a job as an Assistant AG. Why would anyone elect a guy that had such little interest in the AG’s office that he quit inside of a year of being hired. Harris accuses everyone else of being political opportunist and using this election as a stepping stone to the governor’s mansion. What did he do? Serving ONLY 8 MONTHS!! Was Harris padding his resume?
Harris’ slogan is “Real Democrat, Real Experience”. Real experience, my foot. I bet 99% of the people working currently as an Asst AG have more experience then Harris.
I must admit that when I have blogged in the past about Harris’ lack of experience, I had no idea he held the Asst AG job for such a short amount of time. Talk about exaggerating his experience. I thought when I would say “Koster has 10 times the experience of Harris”, I was using poetic license and that I was exaggerating a bit. Little did I realize that Koster really has 15 times the experience of Harris.
Think about it, Harris started his job. It probably took him 2 or 3 months to get to know everyone, figure out where the bathroom was and get worked into the equation. After that, he worked, at most, for 2 or 3 months before starting to think about quiting. He barely started, and he quit (we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt that he did not get pushed out). For God sake, isn’t it kinda normal to call somebody “the new guy” until they have been there at least a year? Harris was still “the new guy” when he quit And now he wants people to believe that in this short 8 MONTH stint he somehow generated some huge amount of experience….please.
Does Harris have any other experience we should know about now that the whole Asst AG thing is kinda not all that impressive.
Sorry Jeff, experience is not something you can not just say you have. You actually have to work at it. And just a little more advice, it typically takes more then 8 months to gain truly valuable experience (i.e. knowing more then just where the bathroom is)