Kinder’s choice, Lloyd Smith, the favorite for new state GOP chairman
Smith
As first mentioned a few days ago on our KY3 counterpart across the state, the maneuvering is underway to replace Missouri Republican Party chairman Doug Russell when the party leaders meet shortly.
(We saw Russell a couple weeks ago at a Mizzou game, and he hinted then that he expected to step down.)
In any case, the chief contender appears to be Lloyd Smith, Republican consultant/adviser extraordinaire, who long has been chief of staff for U.S. Rep. JoAnn Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau.
Among Smith’s earlier forays: state director for the Bush/Cheney campaign in 2004, and Jim Talent’s two campaigns for the U.S. Senate (successful in 2002 and lost in 2006).
By all accounts, including ours, Smith is the choice of Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, who hails from Cape Girardeau and who is among the defacto leaders of the Missouri GOP in the wave of the Nov. 4 shellacking on the statewide level. (Only Kinder won.)
On Nov. 5, sources say that Kinder met with U.S. Sen. Christopher “Kit” Bond, R-Mo. and the other Republican powerhouse in the state. Bond’s fourth term is up in 2010; at the moment, he says he’s running for a fifth.
One source says that Bond told Kinder, “Peter, you’re in control.”
Bond reportedly recommended his longtime protege, now U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway. She hasn’t returned phone calls to us, but she did tell KY3’s Dava Catanese that she:
A) Can’t even publicly entertain such an idea, because she holds a nonpartisan post.
B) Isn’t interested.
Talks over Smith also are said to have involved GOP consultant (and longtime Bond protege) Jason Van Eaton, Kinder ally David Barklage and new Kinder chief of staff Rich AuBuchon (who’s also a key figure in the unrelated controversies and lawsuits over Gov. Matt Blunt’s e-mails and the firing of former Blunt lawyer Scott Eckersley. We mention this because we were knee-deep in e-mails when the Smith-Hanaway rumors first surfaced.)
Lloyd Smith is one of the brightest GOP strategists in the state. He needs to clean house of the Matt Blunt lackeys currently at the helm in the Missouri Republican Party. Blunt’s ineffective legacy needs to be erased from the MO GOP. Smith is the guy to do it.
It is time to purge the party of hacks, drivers license bureau clerks and 24 year old snot-nosed wannabes. Kinder should recruit real world conservatives who have experience in leadership positions. Being willing to wear silly hats and particiapte in the “trained dog acts” on election night shouldn’t be quaiifiers for leadership positions. Clean house, Peter.
Now that Doug Russell is finally stepping down as Missouri Republican Party chairman, perhaps he can start doing his duty in good conscience as a member of the University of Missouri Board of Curators without viewing every university decision as partisan political and acting accordingly. Doug Russell has done great harm as a Curator to the constitutional independence and long-term well-being of what should be Missouri’s finest public research land grant institution. The appointment of Doug Russell and his fellow Matt Blunt appointees John Carnahan and David Wasinger, who have done all they can to undermine the institution and especially UMSL, is among the most shameful of Matt Blunt’s legacies as governor.
Rich Aubuchon needs to refund taxpayers the money we spent on his legal defense in the Eckersly hit job. Pete Kinder needs to demand this. He will have zero credibility if he doesn’t.
As for Lloyd Smith I hope he gets the job. He ruined Jim Talent and Kenny Hulshof’s careers and I’d love to see him do the same to Pete Kinder.
Old out of touch guys who can’t win the big ones. Keep it up MO GOP!
Their is only one item about Mr. Smith being in charge of the Missouri Republicans that may signal a positive trend. Rep. Emerson has a solid history of taking the best interest of SE Missourians above politics. I am not sure what side of any arguments or discussion was on as her chief of staff. He obviously had the good sense to keep any disagreements with her quiet and private. The Republicans have their work cut out for them. They have been able to scare and fool a lot of people for the past fifteen years. That trend is coming to a slow but necessary end.
I am an old-school Democrat. However, I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Lloyd Smith over dinner in St. Louis many years ago when he worked for the late Bill Emerson. Mr. Smith was delightful company in our mixed-politics group. What I liked most was his honesty. He could critique both his own party and the Democrats with equal fervor. Still he never gave an inch in the belief that the Republican way - this was in the Reagan era - was the correct way. He did this with extreme courtesy. He also did not put on a lick of pretense. I felt he had abundant common sense and was immensely likable, even if we might cancel out one another’s votes come November (or perhaps not). That Mr. Smith would break bread with a table that included many Democrats sets him apart from so many of his viciously partisan Republican brethren, who many times will not even say hello.
Is this the best photo you could come up with. It looks like he is ready to burst into flames.