With all those campaign stops, she should have plenty of time to explain why she has missed 1 out of every 4 votes over the last 12 months. For crying out loud, 1 OUT OF EVERY 4, that is rediculous. The House is only in session for like 5 minths a year. So Donnelly has a part time job and still she can only find time to show up 1 out of every 4 days - not all that impressive.

Missing 25% of your job usually gets you fired, right? If we vote for her for AG is she going to take off 1 out of every 4 days? (I guess that is better then Jeff Harris who missed 1 out of every 3 days).

I am voting for Koster. He has the most experience and he shows up for work.

Mark Koster I thought you would have been barnstroming the state with your brother. If you would have showed up in Cape Girardeau then they would have four people instead of three. http://www.semissourian.com/article/20080801/NEWS01/594748273/-1/news01
So, Mark, you think it is more important to take a bunch of meaningless votes then it is to vote for the health care cuts, photo id, banning the teaching of sex ed in the schools, and the foundation formula that cost the Columbia school district millions of dollars. The world would be a better place if Koster had missed those votes. Jeff Harris didn’t miss them. He voted against every one of those. I would think that is more important then a bunch of proceedural votes.
Harris was no slouch this session either. He sponsored twice as many bills as Koster and almost as many bills as the other candidates combined. He sponsored bills on a number of topics including subprime mortgages, CAFOS’s, sexual predators, the sunshine law, youth smoking, protecting disabled persons, unwanted e-mails, the no call list, utilitiy rates, shaken babies and campaign finance. I think Chris Koster should have paid attention to that last bill. You know the one on campaign finance.
Mark who do you think is behind now. Koster for months told people he would never go negative. Ran his mouth to everyone. So he decides to revert back to his old form on the one year anniversary of phony switch. I wait with baited breath for your scintillating point by point rebuttal of comments.

The Koster campaign is now running negative ads attacking Jeff Harris for missing votes. I think if you study it you will find Jeff had the most comprehensive legislative agenda of any of the candidates in the race. He had bills on the sunshine law, CAFO’s, subprime mortagages, shaken babies, sexual predators among many others.

Koster going negative is a sign that Jeff is either ahead or close to Koster.

Please, please, please Donnelly supporters do not let Donnelly be a spoiler. We desperately need your help. Go ahead and publicly support her but go into the booth on Tuesday and vote for Jeff. The future of our party may depend on it.

I hate to say this but do she steal this idea from Jeff. He did the really good web ads first. Then she did the not quite as good ones next.

I appreciate Jessica’s pleas for support. However, it is Jeff Harris who is the spoiler. As the only women in the race, Margaret Donnelly has a great advantage. This point was agreed upon today on KMOX radio by both the Democratic and Republican co-hosts as they interviewed political reporters. Margaret is in the race to win and she will win. Missouri voters have been favoring women candidates - look to Claire McCaskill’s primary defeat of a sitting male governor as just one example. Margaret is a wonderful lady with a strong record of service. Her legal practice focused on family law and she was honored as a guardian ad litem - the person selected by judges to look out for the interests of children in such cases. That is a worthy qualification - which attorney general candidate would you rather have looking out for the interests of our future leaders, our most valuable resource - our kids! No, Margaret is not a spoiler. Her support is growing and she is going to win on Tuesday. When she wins, she will reach out as a unifier for Democrats - a role I cannot see either Jeff Harris or Chris Koster even attempting after their macho swaggering to sling more mud than the other. GO MARGARET!

I just noted Jessica now suggests Margaret Donnelly “stole” the idea of a bus tour from Jeff Harris. Get real. Bus tours are a time-honored practice of candidates from both parties. I was proud to be part of the 1996 statewide bus tour by our victorious Democratic unity ticket - and they proudly “stole” the idea of a bus tour from someone else. Bill Clinton famously started his 1996 renomination bus tour in Cape Girardeau right after the Chicago convention. Matt Blunt toured Missouri by bus, for crying out loud. Jessica may be too young to know about campaign traditions like bus tours. I will let her in on another tradition - when two men and a woman are in a three-way contest statewide, the woman has a great chance of prevailing. In this primary, the best-known women is also the best candidate. GO MARGARET!

The office of attorney general requires, first and foremost, an attorney. Chris Koster is that attorney. For all the negative and mindless attacks against Mr. Koster, none of them challenge the essence of the case Mr. Koster has made for himself in this campaign: he is the best attorney, with the most experience as an attorney, that is running for the office of attorney general. The others in this race loudly proclaim their party loyalty but, in a race to be the State’s top attorney, it is experience and legal abilities that matter most. While Mr. Koster has made his case on this basis, the others have not. None of the candidates, other than Mr. Koster, have said anything about their legal expertise. What cases have they taken to trial? When have they stood before a judge or jury? What experience do they have in appearing before the Supreme Court? In sum, how will they defend and enforce the statutes and laws of the State of Missouri? Mr. Koster can answer these questions and has done so by pointing to an impressive record of public service as an attorney. What we’ve heard from the other candidates is nothing but political posturing and personal attacks that have little to do with being attorney general. In short, Mr. Koster fits the job description. The others do not.

Buddy, you must not be paying attention. If you watch a Donnelly commercial or a Harris commercial, they talk about their own legal experience. Same on the stump. Donnelly has practiced law for over 20 years fighting on behalf of abused children and spouses, longer than Koster’s legal experience.

Sorry folks. Two candidates are airing negative ads. Two campaigns are flailing desperately. Meanwhile, one candidate is talking about why he is the best candidate and is launching a positive and creative tour to promote his campaign.

Look at the atmospherics, and it’s plain to see. Jeff Harris has the momentum and Jeff Harris is going to win. Give ‘em hell, Jeff!

Koster is far from the best attorney in this race. And Molly, I’m glad to see that the Donnelly camp is now stooping to sex baiting in an attempt to lure voters. Yes, Donnelly is the only real candidate that’s a women, but that doesn’t automatically make her the best choice. Voting for someone simply because they are a women is a horrible reason to vote for a candidate. I have a great deal of respect for Donnelly, but Harris is the best choice for AG.

So to be clear over the past year

Jeff Harris has skipped more then 33% of the votes in the Mo. House, Why??

and

Margaret Donnelly has missed more then 25% of the votes in the Mo. House, Why??

Again, why vote for a person that does not show up for work??? Why did they miss so many votes?? In a job that only is in session fro 5 months a year, why did these 2 miss over 400 votes? Why?

Why in Gods name, would somebody vote for a person that had a job which was only for half the year and then that person skipped a third of the time they were supposed to be working.

Chris Koster has real experience AND shows up for work. Harris and Donnelly like to sleep in.

I am voting for Chris Koster.

When Senator Chuck Graham went to his hometown boy Jeffrie Harris and told him he had rounded up the votes to elect Jeffrie as House Democratic Leader, Jeffrie whimpered that he wasn’t sure he could go for it because he was expected to be home at night. I saw Graham soon after and he was amazed and furious but got across to Jeffrie that you don’t screw your friends who have gone out on a limb and made commitments to get you elected as a chamber leader with the influence it is supposed to bring to your hometown, even if your candidacy is a weak compromise. Politics is a full time job. Happily, that is why us lobbyists have full time jobs. Jeffrie eventually learned to play ball. Koster is a better player.

Jeff is leading in the polls. Donnelly is refusing to release her poll. You know what that means.

You can say that Jeff is the spoiler but you know he has every newspaper endorsement outside of St. Louis.

Donnelly has two personal endorsements outside of Kansas City and St. Louis. Tough to win when that is all you have. When was the last person a democrat not named Farmer from St. Louis won a statewide. Twenty years ago.

We have to stop Koster. Where is the evidence that Donnelly has any kind of momentum going. Jeff has been trouncing Donnelly in fundraising also.

Donnelly is great but she is the spoiler.

quoting from a prior post: “When was the last person a democrat not named Farmer from St. Louis won a statewide. Twenty years ago.”

How soon these good Democrats forget Claire McCaskill. She has a lovely home in St. Louis County. She also has lived in KC, Columbia, Jefferson City, Lebanon and Houston. But she settled in St. Louis County and that has been her official residence for several years. Claire has helped build the network of committed Democratic, progressive and moderate women that is going to elect Margaret Donnelly as AG.

You could say that Claire McCaskill was St. Louis. She has a home there, and she lives there now. But Claire was also from Columbia. From Houston. And from Kansas City. Claire transcended being “from” any one place, which is helped her compete statewide.

Margaret Donnelly is only from St. Louis. The minute she opens her mouth and speaks, you can hear it. And unfortunately for her, that’s where all of her support is too. Even more unfortunate for her, both Koster and Harris are going to get sizable votes in the metro area. She simply cannot win.

The PD poll had it right, and Harris has ALL the momentum right now. Koster is canceling events. Donnelly is still barely dipping her toe in the water outside of I-270. Anyone who knows Democratic activists outside of St. Louis knows Harris has huge support. No one disrespects Donnelly (they mostly laugh at Koster), but they love Jeff Harris.

“I am voting for Koster. He has the most experience and he shows up for work.”

This is downright laughable. How exactly is ducking debates showing up for work? Koster’s going negative because he knows he’s going to lose.

Shecky wrote: “Anyone who knows Democratic activists outside of St. Louis knows Harris has huge support. No one disrespects Donnelly (they mostly laugh at Koster), but they love Jeff Harris.”

I AM a Democratic activist outside of St. Louis. I know and love Democratic activists from courthouse to courthouse. We have shared car rides and hotel rooms at conventions and even babysitting on the weekend before campaigns. And we love and are helping Margaret Donnelly and we are statewide.

You fling around terms like “sex baiting.” You focus on a candidate’s vocal inflections. Tell it to Hillary Clinton’s 16 million supporters, including dedicated women who are proud of her for breaking new ground. Or do you really want to alienate women voters with this nervous preoccupation with the superficial, such as Margaret’s voice, which is not at all unpleasant? You should hear that voice as she gently soothes a confused and frightened child while serving as guardian ad litem in a family case. It is a voice of comfort and reassurance and experience.

All right, I will address your preoccupation with superficiality and bring some much needed perspective.

It is a fact Margaret is a woman. It is a fact she was practicing law when Harris and Koster were on the school playground practicing their macho postures.

It’s a fact Margaret has the inflections of a metropolitan area that delivers the most Democratic primary votes, and why not - she has been working to protect families from a St. Louis base for decades. It is a fact that I sound more “country” than Margaret and I have been introducing her to other country folks and they don’t need a translator to understand that she stands strong on issues they care about.

It is a fact in political culture that a great candidate who happens to be female will tend to accrue support when the rest of the competitive field is male. All of your nervous defensive comments will not diminish this cultural tendency.

You say Democratic activists mostly laugh at Koster. I am not laughing. With all of that money, he is to be taken seriously, even if I do not think he is the best candidate and even if I personally question his newfound commitment to our party or to any party.

So Democratic activists are spreading the word that Margaret is the one to support on Tuesday. GO MARGARET GO!

Holly, yet again, you are trying to portray Koster and Harris as crazed “macho men” who shouldn’t be elected. No one from either the Harris or Koster camp have tried to bring the sex issue into this race. You are the one who has done that. And I could be wrong, but I think shecky brought up voice inflection to point out Donnelly’s St. Louis connections, not the fact she is a women. Calm down a little. No one is attacking Donnelly because she is a women. Instead, you seem to be attacking Harris and Koster because they are men.

Donnelly has a great background. She has done great work and I have a great deal of respect. However, she isn’t the best candidate the Democrats can field in this election. Jeff Harris is the best candidate. He has the broadest base of support. He has experience in a variety of legal fields. He not only has experience in the legislature, but he has experience leading in the legislature. He also has an extensive plan and vision for the office.

Oh, and the problem with St. Louis politicians getting elected statewide is a real political phenomena. I love St. Louis, I’m not trying to attack it, but its true. Claire doesn’t count. While she might currently live there, very few people around the state actually identify her as from St. Louis. Other than that, who has won recently? For some reason there is a stigma around St. Louis candidates. I don’t now what it is, but it is there. We can see it in this race. Where is Donnelly’s support? Predominately in St. Louis. Harris has support from all across the state, and according to the Post-Dispatch, he even has more in St. Louis than Donnelly.

Holly, I didn’t use the term “sex baiting,” someone else did. I don’t have any issue with any candidate’s gender. I proudly voted for Hillary in the primary because I felt she was the better candidate. I like Obama too, and I’m happy we have a candidate of his caliber as our nominee. All that said, I do think it’s just as wrong for someone to vote for a candidate because of their gender, whether it’s voting for a woman because she’s a woman or voting against a woman because she’s a woman. The motivations may be different, but either way it’s sexist. The best candidate gets my vote, and there’s nothing superficial about my support for Jeff Harris.

It’s nice that you’re involved with Margaret’s campaign, but it’s also obvious that you’re probably standing a little to close to have any real perspective here. Do you think it’s accidental that Margaret isn’t campaigning anywhere outstate on this tour but Columbia and Springfield? She’s not even going to Jefferson County. Meanwhile, Harris is going to places like Chillicothe and Moberly and Cape and Poplar Bluff. Cities and towns where the Democratic nominee will need to compete.

Harris could drive to these places blindfolded because he’s put in years working with Democrats in these areas, helping local candidates win elections, going to events, helping them raise money, etc. Donnelly would probably have a hard time finding Chillicothe even with a map. You see, Jeff Harris doesn’t need people to introduce him to Democrats in outstate. They already know him, and they know him well.

Also FYI, Donnelly’s experience isn’t nearly as deep as you apparently believe it is. She and Harris have roughly the same number of years in law. I believe she has only a couple more years practicing than he does. Plus, much of his experience trumps hers. He handled major cases in the Attorney General’s office, as well as the kind of complex litigation in private practice that is very much like what the A.G.’s office does on a regular bases. I honestly respect Margaret. I wish she were running for some other office so I could vote for her. Unfortunately, she’s running against Jeff Harris, a stronger candidate who is better prepared to lead the A.G.’s office and who has plain and simple out-worked her.

You can choose to dispute that if you want, but their final tours pretty well tell you all you need to know. Who wants it more? Who has the energy to lead the office? Who is going to work harder at the job? Harris is going to more than 20 places, while Donnelly is going to 4. Enough said.

Energy??? Have you met or talked to Margaret Donnelly? I have been working on her campaign for over a year, and have worked on her State Rep campaigns, too. She spends almost every waking minute travelling, attending events, and getting out, meeting the people she wants to help and protect as Missouri’s next Attorney General. To imply that she does not have the energy to do the job well, or that she’s somehow “lazy” about getting around Missouri, means that you just don’t know Donnelly.

Ask her how many nights a week, on average, in the last year, she has spent in St. Louis and you will see how much energy she is putting into this race.

And we’ll see it pay off when the results are in on Tuesday…

Carly, it’s great that you’re working for Margaret. Thanks for being upfront about that fact. I most certainly didn’t say Donnelly’s being lazy, but just compare their tours. Harris is working the state hard, just as he has been all along. Meanwhile, Donnelly’s just getting her toes wet in outstate.

My point also, and you didn’t dispute this because you can’t, is that Harris has been working hard in all of Missouri for years. He is a known commodity among Democratic activists and those who will help carry him to victory on Tuesday.

My guess is that you don’t know Jeff Harris, if you can’t see why he is going to win this race.

Is anyone sick and tired of the Koster campaign doing nothing except raising money? I know I am…how is he going to get votes if all he does is cancel public speaking opportunities? TV does not work if loyal democrats don’t know you.

Is anyone sick and tired of the Donnelly campaign ignoring everyone outside of urban areas? In fact is anyone sick and tired that Donnelly only focuses on winning the woman vote? I mean come on, look at the posts on this blog. You have Koster supporters talking about his prosecutorial experience when that has little to do with the AG’s office. Then you have Donnelly supporters cherry picking certain supporters. I was not amazed to find that her direct mail went to only women.

I am also amazed by Harris supporters talking about consumer advocacy (the largest role of the AG) and STATEWIDE appeal among KC, StL, rural, men, and women. That kind of broad focus is what Missouri needs in an AG. I don’t want someone who just focuses on StL because they believe it is better politically. If you really want to support your candidate wake up, smell the coffee, and look at the big picture here.

I also want my AG to be someone who shows initiative. Donnelly has only shown that she can copy off of what others are doing. If she is AG, Jeff Harris won’t be there to give her ideas for the office. I am really starting to become concerned. Her negative ad on Koster uses a quote that Jeff has been using all over the state in his campaign. Suddenly, after Harris announces he is doing a statewide tour, Donnelly is doing a tour. I think the Donnelly campaign needs to start getting a little more creative. Is she going to start using republican messaging too if she has to run against Gibbons. If that happens Gibbons will for sure win.

My message to all Democrats: Vote for the most innovative, strong, experience, and big picture candidate there is…And if you put it that way, Jeff Harris is the only choice.

SNT, go to Donnelly’s issues page: http://donnelly08.com/issues

She’s got a more comprehensive vision for the office. And Harris did not invent bus tours of the state - just last winter, John Edwards did a non-stop tour of Iowa. Other have done the same thing in Missouri.

My fellow “country” Democratic activists and I had a fine Saturday and we are going to have a fine Sunday and Monday door knocking and calling our friends personally for Margaret Donnelly in northern, western and central Missouri. KY3’s political reporter caught up with Margaret doing some one-to-one campaigning alongside the terrific Springfield Representative Sara Lampe. It says so much that one of the progressive Democratic voices in a conservative bastion like Springfield is working for Margaret and helping her zero in on primary voters who will turn out on Tuesday.

http://ky3.blogspot.com/2008/08/just-look-at-my-experience.html

Sara says it so well, Margaret is an inspiration and a great role model. Isn’t that what we want our kids to have, someone they can look up to as our attorney general? The real litmus test for parents is, which of these candidates would you want looking out for your family’s interest on your behalf? As a much honored guardian ad litem Margaret has been there to represents the interests of kids and the disabled in our bewildering courts of law. GO MARGARET GO!