Dear Margaret,

YOU LOST!

Stalking horse candidate? C’mon, you oughtta be able to do better than that for sour grapes! Could you actually be saying that for the sole reason that this Molly Williams was on the ballot that those votes were somehow yours? Preposterous, but all too typical.

Again: you lost. There wouldn’t be any point in a recount other than for you to shoot one last poison arrow at Koster who beat ya fair and square. It’s one thing to keep antagonizing Koster, but you don’t have to antogonize everyone else too. If you hope for a Nixon or Obama appointment ya better keep Claire happy don’t ya think? And she won’t be happy if you drag the entire Democratic Party through a recount you have no chance of winning, keeping everything in limbo and damaging everyone on the ballot in the process.

Give it up Margaret. The race is finished. You’re done.

Well, did Koster have anything to do the decision of Williams to run?

I think we should all congratulate Margaret for coming close to winning. After doing so, we ought to remind Margaret that from the beginning, Jeff Harris spent all his time and money going after Koster. Soon, Margaret joined in the negative assault. Margaret and Harris then engineered those baseless ethics complaints, and at the end of the race, persuaded Koster’s ex-wife to use those baseless ethics complaints in a last minute TV blitz to hurt Koster. If someone could determine the total spent by Harris, Donnelly and Koster’s ex-wife on their negative assaults, I’m sure they spent more than $1,000,000 merely attacking Koster. All this is to say that this was a nasty, expensive race and instead of continuing to criticize Koster, Margaret should look in the mirror and recognize that she too engaged in dirty tricks.
It is amazing to all of us that Molly got as many votes as she did. Perhaps by the end of this nasty, expensive primary, the voters decided they did not like any of the three top candidates. Nevertheless, Jeff Harris took many more votes away from Margaret than Molly did. Why doesn’t Margaret recognize that the ever-whiny Jeff Harris was the real spoiler in this race?
Margaret could also point a finger at the Post, which did not help her or Koster by publishing a poll a couple of weeks before the race which had Harris getting 33% of the vote. Despite Shecky’s contention that the poll was “scientific,” their numbers were completely wrong. (Hopefully the Post will never again use that polling company for anything.)
Koster is much more moderate than Margaret, and therefore has the best chance of beating Gibbons in the general. Margaret could her party by conceding that Koster won, but chances are, she won’t. After all, she does not belong to an organized political party. She’s a Democrat!

Jeff Harris? I think I remember him. Wasn’t Jeff Harris the former minority leader of the House who was too stupid to realize that his pure partisanship would accomplish nothing in a House controlled by Republicans? Wasn’t Jeff Harris the candidate for Attorney General who promised his contributors that his “cutting edge” campaign on the blogosphere guaranteed victory? Wasn’t Jeff Harris the guy who spent most of his time and money on his army of anonymous bloggers and those cute little cartoons making fun of Koster? Harris should always be remembered as the guy who, claiming to be a real Democrat, instigated the nastiest, most expensive primary in the history of this state. I hope Jeff Harris rests in peace, and that we never see him and his child-like antics again. What a punk!

Well, when the results are certified for Koster I will be the first to sign onto Democrats for Mike Gibbons! And I’m not kidding. Koster will never get my vote!

Dear blog community at Political Fix,

I have been doing a lot of soul searching about the attorney general’s primary. I was a strong supporter of Margaret Donnelly. I am a rural retiree in central Missouri. Over the course of several years I became familiar with Margaret’s work as a guardian ad litem because we share an interest in the well being of children that transcends urban or rural (or “country folks,” as I affectionately call myself and my neighbors, a term for which I have been taunted here and accused of phoniness). I will also admit to a long commitment to being supportive of strong women candidates (so shoot me =) I still am a strong supporter of Margaret Donnelly. I put more than 600 miles on my car distributing signs and door hangers for Margaret the weekend before the election. My country friends and I did this joyfully and I told many of you about it at the time. Margaret will keep doing good work, whether it is in elected office or another public role or the private sector.

Perhaps Margaret will seek a recount. Perhaps not. I personally hope she does seek a recount, if only to stymie the inevitable backbiting and second-guessing that will come her way if she does not seek a recount and Koster loses to Gibbons and people begin assigning blame. I do recognize that the time spent waiting for a recount would mean some donors would stay on the sidelines until there is a disposition. That would not help the ultimate Democratic nominee. So be it. With unlimited campaign contributions, either Margaret or Koster would make up ground.

As a Democrat, I have a decision to make if the nominee is not Margaret Donnelly, my favorite candidate. The decision is as follows:

(1) Do I support Chris Koster, even though he has only been a professed Democrat for about a year and now seeks one of our state’s highest offices carrying my party’s nomination?

OR

(2) Do I register a protest vote against Koster by supporting Republican Mike Gibbons?

OR

(3) Do I not vote at all for attorney general, which abdicates my right to complain about the outcome?

OR

(4) Do I throw away my vote on a third-party candidate, if there is such a choice in this race?

OR

(5) Do I focus on helping other Democrats and just make my choice on AG when I walk into my country voting booth and walk out without regrets, having gone with my instincts?

OR

(6) Some combination of (5) and one of the above?

I must tell you that if Margaret does seek a recount but does not prevail, one thing is certain. I will be looking to Chris Koster to make the case why I, as a Democrat, should cast my vote for him in November.

I am not interested in looking back. I do believe Jeff Harris was the spoiler. I also believe the lady from Kansas City, who I know nothing about, drained some indifferent voters from Margaret and the others. Rehashing all of that does not help me in sorting my options as outlined above.

To Mr. Koster: Convince me, please.

Ziggy, are you kidding?

Please tell me you are kidding. That’s too much. You’ve got to be kidding.

WHO CARES ABOUT YOU AND YOUR FICKLE VOTE!!?

alert to all Koster bloggers. you better humble yourselves and do it quick. Arrogance after winning by less than 1 percentage point is not a good strategy. Remember, 65% of all voters rejected you. Nearly 2 out of 3 voters voted for someone else. And if you think what Jeff Harris did was nasty, get ready for what Gibbons will do. Jeff Roe will strip you naked and expose wwwwaaaaaaaayyyyyyy more than Harris ever even considered.

Hey Folks,

I’m not in love with Koster BUT…

Gibbons is one of the most evil people to serve in the MO Senate in years. He used his position as majority leader to infuse little things into bills that will damage different types of Districts (schools cities, counties and fire) for years to come. It was a hidden agenda that you will all be reading about in the next year but after the election. He did this many times over the past 4 years.

Koster may be many things but he is nowhere near as bad as Gibbons. On the other hand I pray for Margaret to with the recount, if she does it!

Tell It, Rich! Tell It!

Some facts. Koster got Molly Williams to run. The man who appears to be the nominee for the highest legal office in the state resorted to trickery and deceit to win. Koster inspires real vitriole from folks who really know him and his history. None of that is good.

But the election booth is another chance to do the right thing. I can proudly vote for every single Democrat on the ticket, from Obama to Nixon to Zweifel and on down the line…..and then vote for Gibbons with no regrets. A lot of people who care about Missouri now and in the future will be doing the same……

I love reading all these female commenters about how they’re going to vote for Gibbons. Yeah right girls! You’re gonna vote for Gibbons who is a thousand times worse than Koster would be on his worst day. You’re just like the idiotic Hillary people saying they won’t vote for Obama. BS ladies! BS! We both know you’re just whining so why don’t we just cut out the whining and everyone can go about their business. K? Love ya!

Mary, at this point, I would have real regrets about voting for Gibbons, while my jury is out about Koster. I am hesitant to knowingly hand Governor Nixon, Lt. Governor Page, Secretary Carnahan, Treasurer Zweifel and Auditor Montee a Republican lawyer to represent them. Sure, Koster says he switched from Republican to Democrat. I appreciate that even as a Republican, Koster supported union legislation and was in the moderate (lonely) wing on stem cell research. My hope would be that Koster can show me - SHOW ME - his commitment to Democrats above self-interest, and that the other statewide Democrats, if they are all elected, will keep him steady if he truly needs monitoring. I remain to be convinced about Koster but I am listening and watching.

growup, your shrill critical appeal to “you women” is less than appealing. If you support either Koster or Gibbons, you should reconsider your approach, as it won’t gain much support from women.

Holly

As you know I supported Jeff and thought he was the best chance to beat Koster. I was wrong.

My problem in voting for Koster is that you are rewarding a candidate for cheating or a minimum someone who refuses to answer basic questions. Did he get Molly Williams in the race? When he runs for Governor or Senator will he also cheat someone else?

At the start of the race I didn’t have such strong anti-Koster feelings but I think now the best thing for our party is for him to be defeated. There is some short term pain with this. Gibbons is bad on most issues. But Koster doesn’t meet the basic standards of trustworthiness for a caniddate of our party.

This isn’t easy but I think it is what we must do.

I also think the Koster supporters on this blog were jerks. Accusing the ex wife of being a phony and not much reasoned dialogue. Refusing to answer basic questions about Koster’s qualifications.

The Donnelly supporters were reasoned and turned out to be right at least to the point whether Donnelly was a more viable candidate than Jeff.

Ahhhh and nice cool Sunday in August and the sweet smell of Democratic unity is once angain in the air! Got to love it

And yes, I’ve posted it before… but you guys just keep fighting. By all meas have a recount… then go to court… spend money like crazy… drive everyone crazy with it. Don’t stop till at least Oct 1st maybe even later.

Prove Will Rodgers right once again.

Jessica,

It seems like you believe that Harris or Donnelly were entitlted to this nomination. Koster won because he ran a better campaign.

Now you are accusing him of cheating? Really? How exactly do you think he cheated? At the end of the day Molly Williams entered the race. That is her right. Nobody forced her in the race. Exactly what kind of accusation are you manufacturing now?

It is just so rediculous that there is some sentiment that these 23,000 votes should have gone to Donnelly. These voters did not know who Donnelly was. These voters wanted to vote for a woman, and they did. The fact that Donnelly did not get her message out is the reason she lost.

Jessica, I hear you and respect your voice. I am still not sure what to do.

I will be watching this fall. For now, I am going to my garden for a while instead of continuing to slave over a hot keyboard. Time to lower my blood pressure on a pretty Sunday instead of raise it! =)

GO DEMOCRATS GO!

Let’s not forget that most of what STL people know about Koster is the product of negative campaign rhetoric from his Democratic party rivals and/or sour grapes rhetoric from the GOP that wants to convict him of treason (let’s face it, he’s one of the smartest up-and-comers the party had when he defected, so they have reason to be sore). I think when you look at his record (ie his own statements in the press and his own actions in public office), you will find that he is far and away a better candidate on issues that people care about than Gibbons. I also think that being the only candidate with prosecutorial experience was a big factor in his ultimate appeal to voters and rightly so. And he still, as far as I know, has that advantage over the other remaining candidate.

The fact that the race is between two Republicans for Attorney General says everything about MISSOURI Democrats. I think personally that Mike Gibbons deserves to win and he will. Maybe this was the desire by certain Democrats anyhow. But, nevertheless, Mike Gibbons deserves to win because of the gullibility of Democrats.

This comment from some Koster-jerk blogger more than proves my point:

”

Ziggy, are you kidding?

Please tell me you are kidding. That’s too much. You’ve got to be kidding.

WHO CARES ABOUT YOU AND YOUR FICKLE VOTE!!?
— can’tbelieveziggy
10:10 am August 10th, 2008″

My vote counts just as much as the next persons’ in this state. And someone with this level of arrogance in himself and his candidacy will never get my vote! And yes, I will vote for Mike Gibbons merely out of protest and not even think twice about it.

Pretty soon Jay Nixon will be wishing he would have endorsed someone in this race and let Chris Koster’s campaign quietly go away.

As a Democrat and someone who supported Jeff Harris but could have proudly supported Donnelly, I have to say that I am having a very difficult time deciding which way to vote in the AG’s race. I’m glad to see I’m not alone in this, and the hostility and arrogance being shown by the Koster-ites here doesn’t make me feel any more inclined to vote for their guy.

I’m wondering if someone can put together a write in campaign. It won’t succeed, but I’d much rather write in for any Democrat as a protest than cast my vote for Gibbons or Koster. Even if I know I’m in essence throwing my vote away, at least it would somehow stand for something and wouldn’t be given to a Republican.

Shecky, you have been a great warrior for your cause and I salute you for your dedication as a Democrat, even when we have disagreed and you questioned my sincerity. However, I am not sure a write-in effort would ultimately be successful against two well-funded AG candidates. I share your concerns. I am asking Koster to SHOW ME. I am not sure he can do it. Back to the garden. Meanwhile, if someone knowledgeable can tell me how a write-in candidacy works and can make a case for success, I would put it into my mix of thinking.

“the hostility and arrogance being shown by the Koster-ites” seems a little hypocritical coming from Shecky.

Shecky is the epitome of the negative, hostile and arrogant.

I would love for the Donnelly and Harris supporters to come over to Koster. That being said, Shecky has consistently been the most negative, attacking voice in the entire debate. Any comments from her/him needs to be taken understanding that he/she is totally committed to attacking Koster. Shecky had a horse in this race and that horse got put down.

Shecky is not even close to being impartial.

Charlie J, you wrote to Jessica: “It seems like you believe that Harris or Donnelly were entitlted to this nomination. Koster won because he ran a better campaign.”

I will reply that A DEMOCRAT is entitled to the Democratic nomination.

I want Mr. Koster to SHOW ME he is a Democrat in deed as well as word.

Unlike some others who come by their views however they come by those views, I am willing to stay open-minded a bit longer. But not forever (which means November).

I humbly suggest those committed to being open minded start with not assuming that every positive thing that is said here and elsewhere about Koster is coming from a Koster-ite. I supported Donnelly with time, talent and treasure and will proudly do it again if there is a recount and if she is proven to be the nominee. Having said that, you do not have to look/listen very hard or very long to the records and to the public statements of Gibbons and Koster, side by side, to figure out that no self-respecting Democrat would choose the former over the latter.

I was with Harris but Maggie is right… well left but the stalkin horse (Molly) & Sinqfeld beat them all. Maggie, I wish you well paying your loan off. Oh, I will never vote for a Republican so I guess I won’t be voting for a Missouri AG candidate this fall.

I forgot. the person who claims Gibbons is evil. He has never taken a dime from Sinquie!…. and he has more integrity and character than Koster. I still won’t vote for him because of the r in the parentheses but I will NOT vote for the imposter!!!

Perhaps the vote for Koster is demonstrating that there are many Republicans and Regan Democrats that are again ready to vote for a Democrat. Maybe this will make a big impact in the polls. “Look, that Koster fella woke up and turned into a Democrat, I guess I should too!”

This is exactly why partisan races for offices which should not be politically driven should stop. The Attorney General should enforce whatever laws are on the books, not just the ones put there by his/her party or the ones that s/he likes. The job shouldn’t be hobbled by worries about political affiliations.

I support Margaret Donnelly and still do, but I will say that Koster ads appealed to me in that they did not discuss positions or politics, but discussed his credentials and how he viewed the job. That is what should matter. Nixon has been political with the office. I can’t imagine Gibbons being anything but political after watching him in action in the legislature. It would be really nice to have an AG who did the job because he wanted it, not because it was a stepping stone in a political chess match in which you have to align with a team even if you don’t really wholly believe as they do, because no one else gets to play.

I’m so glad to live in one of the areas that does not have partisan races for judges for this very reason.

no disrespect or condescension intended, but I wish people would use “stalking horse” correctly; tho it’s come to mean colloquially what Jo uses it to mean, that is a misnomer and comes from misuse; a stalking horse, if one would care to look it up, and I forget it’s original derivation, is someone who gets in a race to test the waters for someone else, not to someone who gets in to take votes away from someone else; perhaps no other term that easily fits, but still; I know this just seems pedantry on my part, but I believe I’m correct. and btw, if it’s ever proved that this is what happened, a crime, I believe, and people should do time!

ps now that I’ve said that the word is not appropriately used, I must admit I know of no more suitable word for that meaning, tho there must be one; if not, maybe that’s why stalking horse assumed this new meaning, to fill the void.

http://www.columbiatribune.com/2008/Aug/20080812Comm002.asp

From Columbia tribune

“If Koster wins the general against Republican Michael Gibbons, he will be well set for higher office later on. ” [CDT]

Exactly. That’s why I would rather vote for Mike Gibbons.