Good riddance!

something smells very fishy–could it be all those missing E-mails smelling

I for one am glad he’s not running again and it probably is because of his lack of leadership and the missing emails.

What a great choice for a Vice President..!

If the soon-to-be Governor achieved all that he set out to do, then he has very low standards. He came, he saw, he failed miserably.

JAY NIXON IN 2008! I’m not going to miss Blunt and his cronies. Nixon is a fabulous leader who will lead Missouri to greatness.

I think its odd he is not running for 2nd term. Could it be missing emails, inability to lead, or the state of health care in Missouri. Good riddance for the state of Missouri.

Vice President? HAHAHA!!!

I couldn’t believe the news. He’s been running up to this point (in order to keep an eye on the competition, I subscribed to his campaign, so I’ve seen the e-mails out of his camp).

Could it be that he KNOWS Nixon is going to hand him his head and he’s not man enough to face the shame?

Nah…he’s done plenty to be ashamed of in the last 3 years!

Good riddance. If ever there was an example of bad leadership his name is Matt Blunt.

I wonder what sneaky and underhanded plans the Republicans have up their sleeves.
Will

THANK YOU….. next time please read the little box on the poll card and dont just vote stright for a party….READ and check up on these people….if this is all he had to offer…gee I wonder what he had to lose?

I am sure the real reason will surface. Could it be the emails or something else?
Adios Amigo!!!!!

Some intelligent remarks here. Good stuff! Sounds like that Hillary and Barack TV show that was on last night.

Peter Kinder to run? Is that all the Republicans have? Jay, you’re the right one for this job!

Hard to belief that someone so arrogant and aloof would drop out of a race for such a major office. There’s got to be a scandal brewing. Good riddance for sure. What a sad day in Missouri when suc h a smug and cruel man was put into high office. He epitomizes why many of us so distrust a certain brand of religion when mixed with politics. And I say this as a practicing Catholic.

So, how long before Jim Talent throws his hat into the ring?

Oh thank goodness. Blunt has been a joke of a governor. He claimed to “balance the budget” by kicking poor people off Medicaid. Nixon would have stomped him anyway, he didn’t want to have to give a concession speech.

And the whole “accomplished all my goals in my first term, so there was no need for a second” thing is straight out of the Simpsons episode where George HW Bush moves into town and writes his memoirs. What a joke. Good riddance.

I know liberals will not agree with me. But I think he’s one of the best governors around. I would trade our governor (Rod) in a ball park minute for him. No, if you want everything handed to you on a silver platter, then, Blunt isn’t for you. But if you wanted to have somebody that run the state good, then he is.

Good riddance, if I were a drinker I’d go out and get drunk. I guess his idea of accomplishing everything he wanted included passing the weakest eminent domain legislation in the country. Hopefully the next governor will believe in property rights. I guess Governor Blunt can collect the IOU’s he is owed now from the dishonest developers that paid him off, I mean persuaded him to pass the worthless eminent domain legislation. Libertarian at Heart

The only reason I can think of that he is NOT running for reelection—is that there must be a scandal brewing. Besides the fact that he has a low approval rating, but that never stopped and egomaniac before….

Adultery….. Embezzlement….who knows? But, it’s gotta be something serious.

Thank God! Now, if we can just get the rest of the ignorant yahoos out of office who have run the state/country into the ground.

Thank the Heavens. We’re getting rid of the worst Governor as well as the worst President in history at the same time.

I suspect it is one of the following:

1) He or a close member of his family is very ill (I hope I’m wrong, I wouldn’t wish that on my worse enemy)

2) The s*#t is about to hit the fan concerning a big scandel.

3) The Republicans have some “bigger and better” plans for him.

Whatever the reason(s), I’m very curious and very, very nervous.

Dang, what is this, the website for the Marxist press?

Having a government spend less of your and my money, and operate in a surplus is a good thing.

This is the GREATEST local news since Justin Rigali left. I just hope that Blunt is not replaced by someone more menacing like Rigali was with Ray Burke! GO BLUNT GO! No more Blunt Trauma! AWESOME NEWS!

If his agenda was to hurt the Missourians that needed help the most, then Mission Accomplished. Don’t let the door hit you in the a** on the way out.

To Joe #18 - “that run the state good”?
That runs the state well! And Illinois’ education is better than Missouri’s!

Look for Kit Bond to resign, The gov Blunt will appoint his daddy to fill Kit’s senate seat, then The Gov will run for his daddy’s vacant seat.

God has blessed us this day. The birds will sing louder. My dog has an extra spring in his step. Spring is almost here. Thousands of MO-ans will suffer less. This young bordeaux has instantly aged 15 years.

“The morning sun has vanquished the horrible night” — Castlevania II

I personally know people that his cuts to healthcare affected. I see the pain he caused while speaking his version of Christianity. I hope this is a predecessor of rats deserting a sinking, stolen, Republican party on a nation wide scale.

Glad to see Little W go! Along with the 20 something US Reps retiring or not seeking re-election.

I am a conservative who was going to have a hard time voting for him because of the stem-cell sell-out. However, the big reason I won’t vote for him is I have had it up to here with American political royalty. Who do these people think they are? Was Matt Blunt the most qualified person in this state to be Governor at age 34? Give me a break. I for one will NEVER vote for anyone named Blunt, Carnahan, Clay, Kennedy, Bush or Clinton again. Tell these people to get a J-O-B. If he appoints his daddy to replace Kit and then appoints himself to fill daddy’s unexpired term in Congress I will contribute money to his opponent in the next election. We had a revolution about royalty 232 years ago. Its time we stop thinking people deserve political office because of their family connections. I do think Peter Kinder would make a great governor.

I see that # 26 didn’t have anything important to say, why did you even waste your time. I don’t claim to be the best grammar person but I at least had something to say.

What happens to his campaign war chest? Does it go to the state Republican party?

Like others, I wonder if it has anything to do with the missing e-mails. Or does it have something to do with Roy’s 2nd wife, a tobacco lobbyist? Or Andrew Blunt, another lobbyist who has worked for almost all of Altria subsidiaries?

I can’t imagine someone his age not running for re-election. If he’s been so successful as governor, why bail on the citizens of Missouri now? I don’t buy his reasons for a second.

This Blunt-Head is up to no-good. I was wondering what that funny smell in the air was?

Good By Mr. Blunt and don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.

Just remember, you will have to answer to God for all those people you took away medical care from and lets not forget the retarded people you put on the streets.

He was not an effective Governor, and his withdrawal from the race was a gift to the Missouri GOP, not to his gubernatorial race opponent.

His nomination as the GOP candidate for Vice President would be a gift to both the National Democratic Committee and the legacy of Dan Quayle.

HE SAW THE WRITING ON THE WALL HE WAS NOT GOING TO WIN SECOND TERM GOOD BYE MATT YOU WON’T BE MISSED

I think maybe he might not be running due to so many people like most of the ones on this board. But that doesn’t make him a bad governor just because most are liberals on here and probably didn’t vote for him to start with. I think probably most of his support come from out state, not in the big cities.

The other shoe will drop on this. There is more here than meets the eye. It’s not bad poll numbers (these guys have unlimited confidence in themselves), and it’s not the e-mail thing (a minor political inconvenience, at worst). You can be sure, this man had no plans other than to hold bigger and bigger offices for decades to come. There is very likely something we don’t know about, yet. Something big enough to end a political career. Stay tuned.

This has a certain odor to it. When Clinton was in trouble Senator Bond made it a point to denounce him at the same time he had a past involving multiple females friends and trysts at the governor’s mansion. Senator Bond’s divorce file in Mexico Mo remains sealed to this date.

I’m guessing, and its just that that, the rumors of Mini-Blunts unhappy marriage are about to result in a divorce and my gaydar tells me that perhaps Mini-Blunt doesn’t want to leave his freind’s behind.

The youbg man came into office totally immature and unequpiped to resist Republican business and anti-welfare interests, and was led down the wrong paths.

Good riddance to bad rubbish. Maybe Missouri will wake up and smell the coffee and elect a governor that will not screw them over like Blunt has for soon to be four years when his term expires. Who knows, maybe he is not running cause he knows his dad is going to resign at the end of his term and try and run for his Congressional seat from southwest Missouri!!!!!

Could not be happier to see him go. Why wait until January…..go ahead and leave.

So when is the indictment coming down? Or will Daddy Blunt be indicted in the Abramoff scandal? Somethings up. Politicians don’t decide no to run for another term because they accomplished everything already.

A potential vice-presidential candidate? Surely not. In that capacity, why does Blunt remind me of Dan Quayle?

There is a god! Don’t let the door hit you in the behind on the way out!

I definitely smell a rat. As others have noted here, there’s no way the very young Mr. Blunt is merely declaring ”Mission Accomplished”. I, too, await the revelation of The Reason or The Plan. I certainly hope it has something to do with those ”missing” e-mails (tjust one of the illegal/unethical pages he took from the Cheney/Bush/Rove playbook (another being his non-disclosure of his corporate friends and travel benefactors). This story cries out for truth and clarification.

Where is Blunt headed? The same place the OA executives are headed….”where the worm dieth not…” (quoted directly from the Bible). That place is otherwise known as HELL. Hopefully the maggots repent,.

A state rep (R) on KMOX tonight said he thought Bond might resign and Baby Blunt would appoint Daddy senator, then try to get Daddy’s House seat. I’d prefer an earthquake before that.

The next few months should be interesting. The scramble to follow will be entertaining at the very least among the wanna be candidates. On top of that, there appears to be no reason for Blunt’s announcement. Personally I don’t see how anyone can pat themselves on the back with a job well done like he has and then announce that he will not be running again, especially in January during an election year. I’m guessing a rotten odor will permeate from Jefferson City rather soon regarding Gov. Blunt. Yes, the next few months will be interesting indeed.

I’m a Republican and could not stand this guy - he is DIRTY! I think that he is leaving office because his brother is a large shareholder in a ethynol plant. The state is holding back 18 million dollars in funding/loans because of his brothers conection to the state government (2 other crooked senators/relatives are also involved). His brother and the other scam artists in Jefferson City must sell their shares in the plant or the rest of the investors must come up with millions. He is a crook - so is his brother and all of his Jefferson City buddies that helped get him elected. This is a big time payback and I hope that Nixon drills him.

Good riddance, hope the door hits you in the ass when you leave!
I wonder how many years in jail he’ll get or will daddy blunt get him a cushy DC job.
The reboobs must be up to something fishy.

Ususally an announcement like this is one step ahead of the Federales. Indictment for e-mails destroyed? Something regarding finances? I mean, what else is he going to do for a living???

Maybe he is afraid that some day he may be forced to do the right thing and reinstate Medicaid and all those poor people he cut from the program.

SO LONG, GOOD “VERY” MUCH BYE!…As a person who received assistance thru the state, in the past and believed the “State” would take care of things. I am a mother of now GROWN children who were “supposed” to be provided for, from the “State” child support system (did I hear a few Heys there, I know what this woman is talking about). I have fought for years to receive child support, however, having received nothing more than excuses & a few payments here and there. I have even been blessed with my husband going so far as to contact Matt Blunts office directly concerning this matter, only to receive… “We will call you back”. That was oh approximatly 3 months ago??? Calling your local DSS office gave us; “We have turned that over to the Prosecuting Turners Office, you will need to call (deal) with them directly, here is their number… (Glimer of hope, someone paid attention). Before I continue I would like let you know a little abut my sons…One whom attends Boston Conservatory for Arts. I have never sugar coated my childrens life and may not be the role model mom, but I am, never the less, a mom. This son could use this “so called” child support to help in his endevors (dream) to aid in his gifted talents. After several months, of excuses and non returned calls from the “all mighty” prosecuting attorneys office, most of that being… “We are new, (things are ascue in this office) we will give the message to so and so and “THEY” will return your call as soon as they can (figure out what they are supposed to be doing and what form they need to send you)… oh WAIT! You live where??? We’ll we need to figure out what form that will require.” My youngest son is now going to be 22 and is very shortly to be turned away from Boston Conservatory due to funding. His older brother, by 1 year and 3 days exact, is serving in the Army protecting our freedom to do what I am doing now. It is my hope that someone in my HOME state is paying attention and cares as much as I do about this broken system in dire need of repair. Thank you for listening. Tammy “TT”

Good Riddance! But why???? His reasoning is about as far-fetched as it comes. Hmmm. Yes, methinks missing emails, ruined healthcare, a completely failed school system in the biggest city in the state . . . . oh yeah, nice work on those goals, Gov’nor! He has been a miserably ineffective leader, and I, for one, am thrilled we won’t have to deal with any further Blunt Trauma.

The only thing that will change Blunt is if he and his incompetent, evil and corrupt executive team end up doing hard time. Blunt’s brother should be jailed too. What a disgusting bunch of creeps.

Matt Blunt will not run again. Thank God!

Can we finally have a governor now who understands that contraception does not cause abortions?

Thank God!!! A a State employee, we know 1st hand of his failings. There’s something really questionable about his announcement. Believe me, there’s an ulterior motive. Also, Pete Kinder and the rest are just as bad or worse. They ALL have a so-called “religious” agenda. They believe in a theocracy, NOT a Democracy. Jay Nixon is fair, compassionate and a strong leader. GO JAY in 2008!!!

ROFL! Listen to all the liberal rhetoric being spewed all over this topic. Every Democratic operative in the state must be logging on tonight! Blunt did fix the budget, he did increase spending on education, he did get the state to take over the sorry-ass St Louis school district (I LOVE how #55 somehow blames him for the decades of mismanagement in St Louis’ Public schools - you, sir, on an idiot), he reached a compromise on the Mississippi River Bridge with Illinois which will soon start the design phase, he backed MoDOT on the closure of the piece of junk called 64-40 (which was THE leader in out-of-date design still in use for an interstate according to the ASCE), the University system is thriving like never before, the state mental health system is FINALLY getting repair and construction programs for its aging infrastructure like at Fulton State Hospital, etc etc etc

No governor is perfect, but to say that Blunt has done nothing is so ludicrous that it defies logic.
Take away all the posts by people who “receive assistance from the state” or who fancy email conspiracies and this blog would be as empty as a KTVI interview with Albert Pujols.

Paul #57, if a contraceptive causes a fertilized egg to bypass the uterus and not let it implant, that is an abortion. SLU has a medical school, go take some classes.

Blunt and the Legislature are leaving a sinking ship much worse off than when he arrived. it will take a lot of work to repair the damage they have done to Missouri’s poor and disabled. Missouri is near the bottom on nearly any ranking among the states on many issues. This is a disgrace.

Good riddance! Maybe this gives hope to the families of the clients at the Bellefontaine Habilitation Center. He had no business threatening to close that facility rather than taking the responsibility to fix the problems. The answer isn’t paying private facilities for the care (or lack thereof). The answer is hiring decent, caring people and paying them a decent wage. Hopefully the new governor will see the logic and sense of it.

Un-freaking-believeable what kind of an ego do you have to have to say you accomplished everything you set out to do. 200,000 out of any kind of insurance. a school funding system in chaos and a sunshine law disgrace at your heels. I just love executive powers. The gov has something up his sleeve (political appointments, a move up the ladder or the e-mail scandal) ahh, yes my little chick-a-dee lets not forget his little brother and what hes got going. I guess time will tell, what will the GOP do without the golden boy. I guess Jay might be getting and/or making a jillion phone calls and e-mails about now. I wonder who will run,Im thinking Sarah Steelman is going to make the hard run on this one but than again we still have the good ole boy network still running Jeff City.

Matt Blunt is a miserable failure as governor. Hopefully he will ride off quietly into the sunset. Allow me to predict that Ken Hulshof will challenge Jay Nixon this coming November.

Governor Blunt has done a fabulous job! He had goals when he took office and now that those have be fulfilled he has decided its best for him to move on! Way to not stay past your prime! LT GOV kinder will be a magnificent candidate for the republicans! Unlike his opponent, he knows his job is to serve the voters of Missouri and not his personal agenda! Best of luck Mr. Kinder!

Oh the scandals we are about to find out! KSDK already reported he had started running ads and has millions in his campaign fund. So something is up. I think all the scandals are catching up with him and now he is running for the hills.

Good riddance and hopefully he’ll be THROWN OUT of office or forced out once all the dirt starts coming out in the next few days.

Please support No Child Left Behind now.
He has set out everything he had to accomplish? Low goals make a poor leader apparently.

hmmm…could it be that Blunt and Senator Larry Craig might have more in common than just being Republicans??

hmmmm…the Gov and his wife at his side looked like Larry Craig and his wife when he got caught…

#52 JW said :

I mean, what else is he going to do for a living???

The Post Dispatches “shocked!” rhetoric aside, nobody was surprised by this announcement, and political insiders have been saying for over a year that Blunt wasn’t going to run for re-election.

Reliable polling and focus groups have been telling him for a long time now that he’s wildly unpopular and that he has virtually zero chance of winning against Jay Nixon in the fall.

What else is he going to do for a living you ask?

Try making MILLIONS as a K-Street lobbyist on the coat-tails of his politically connected family of Washington insiders.

Then… in a few years - when he’d aged enough to not look like a 12 year old and some of the scandals have cooled off - and those wonderful Missourians with their wonderfully short memories have forgotten what an ineffectual and shallow “leader” he was - he can be born again from the ashes as PRESIDENTIAL material.

That’s what.

Those of you saying “something is up, here” are exactly right.

The time just isn’t right for a big move right now, and a humuliating (and it WOULD have been a humiliating) landslide defeat in the fall would be a mark that might hurt his Presidential aspirations later.

This is all very calculated.

Good riddance to bad rubbish.

Too bad we can’t run him out of the Republican Party. We’d be more respected if we could. He gives us all a bad name.

Peee-eeew.

Good riddance, Blunt! Now the great state of Missouri will be much better off without the idiot with such fitting last name. It always looked to me that he smoked one blunt too many if you consider all the things he has said and done. I am curious about the real reason behind this, however …

Blunt did the best job he could considering what he inherited from those before him. Both Carnahan and Holden expanded Medicaid program way beyond what it should have been,. Holden was the Missouri version of Jimmy Carter, but at least Carter was likeable. Plus Blunt inherited the screwed up transportation and massive spending from Carnahan and Holden.

#59’s post was right on the money. Is it just me but whenever liberals post anything on a message board it’s usually saying the same talking points over and over. Beyond rhetoric and flame-throwing leftwingers usually lack any substance in stuff. Afterall who has time to be on a computer at 4- 5 p.m. at night anyway-ever heard of a job?

Blunt did care about the TAXPAYERS of Missouri and those who WORK and PAY the bills for the state. WORK is a four-letter word for many posters on this site evidentally.

We’re still stuck with Bush for the next year, but this makes me feel at least a little better. Bye bye Blunt, and don’t let the door….. etc.

Thank you Governor Blunt. When he took over, the state was deeply in debt and a mess. He had the guts to set a reasonable budget and put the state back on a good financial footing. This is what a leader who represents ALL the people of the state should do. The bleeding hearts liberals will always want more free stuff - it’s how they buy votes and attempt to keep power over the powerless. This country is being ruined by this sense of entitlement too many feel. (If you don’t believe me, re-read all the posts on this board - amazing!) I’m afraid it’s going to take four years of a Hillary or Obama to remind everyone that the Democratic Party brand of socialism just does not work. Why we have to periodically be reminded of this lesson is beyond me.

Nice simplistic view of the world, Kevin. Whether you’re aware of it or not, you know middle-class, working people who have relied on Medicaid for health care coverage at some point in their lives. And how about the longtime residents of Bellefontaine who were about to be displaced across the state to private group homes? Were those severely mentally retarded folks in that situation simply because they were lazy liberals who relied on the government instead of working?

Good riddance to Blunt. He is a cruel, arrogant man whose dubious accomplishments were carried out on the backs of our state’s most vulnerable citizens. I’ve voted Republican more often than not, but greedy and self-serving men like him do not represent my views. Hopefully Missouri can emerge from its national image as a backwards, Bible-thumping state lead by a handful of superstitious good-old boys. Don’t forget that this is the governor who dissed his two economic centers (Kasnas City and ST. Louis) by saying that Democrats were to be found only in places where no one wanted to live. What sort of fool would say such about the only two places that separate his state from sinking to the depths of Arkansas or Mississippi?

All of the children in Missouri who depend on Medicaid are glad he’s done “accomplishing” things for them.

*

Some 37,000 Missouri parents with low-paying jobs have lost eligibility for state-subsidized health insurance. Few of these jobs are likely to provide employer-subsidized care, so most of those parents will have to purchase insurance on their own, probably at a cost of thousands of dollars per year. Many of the parents will simply choose to forego insurance, exposing themselves to the risk of large medical bills and perhaps bankruptcy should they become ill.

* Some 88,000 Missouri families with children attending state colleges and universities are paying hundreds or thousands of dollars more each year in tuition. Tuition increases have ranged from $150 to $630 at two-year colleges and from $888 to $1,743 at four-year colleges.

* Working parents with incomes slightly above the poverty line are no longer eligible for child care subsidies. For a family with income between $21,000 and $24,000, those lost subsidies were worth more than $3,000 per year.

* Cuts in state payments to grandparents providing foster care and to legal immigrants are costing several thousand families $1,500 to $3,500 per year.

* Property owners and renters in roughly one-fifth of the state are paying more in school property taxes, as school districts seek to offset substantial losses of state aid. Although tax rate increases vary, many homeowners are facing tax hikes of $100 or more. Since the state is unlikely to reverse its cuts in education funding soon, these property tax increases may spread even wider.

* Local governments are increasing fees to keep their budgets in balance in the face of lost state aid.

* The draining of budget reserves and the increased use of debt by state and local governments will place added burdens on future taxpayers.

Yes…I, too, am curious about the timing of baby Blunt’s announcement. However, let’s handle one thing at a time. Thousands upon thousands of Missourians all around this great state are celebrating today. We will face tomorrows scandal–tomorrow. It’s time to party.

BTW…..I wouldn’t be surprised at all to find out that Bush and baby Blunt are close relatives. After all, there are so many parallels between their administrations. Can you believe it—I mean, getting rid of the 2 both in the same year?!! The sun is shining once again. The cold dark night is already beginning to recede.

I guess it’s a pretty sad day for you liberals who expect everyone else to pay for your stuff.

I’m a registered Republican and also a management consultant.

Lots of negatives about Blunt’s decision:
- Made his decision without consulting his party that he leads
- If he accomplished all his goals in term one, set higher goals in term two and address them
- No mention of his “customers,” the citizens of Missouri
- No mention of why this decision is best for his “customers,” the citizens of Missouri
- His performance is determined by what his “customers” say and do and it looked like he was going to be voted out of office
- All these negatives evidence he has a flawed decision-making process which is a huge problem for any leader

I don’t follow state politics, so I cannot comment on his record, but exclusively looking at this decision, I cannot find any positives in how he handled it.

I am so sick of seeing these wives who have to sit there with that dumbed down adoring look on their faces as these guys step down during a scandal! She always reminded me of the cartoon character Cathy and watching her bat those eyes at him during his speech made me want to hurl. Does everyone remember the white fur coat and hat she wore during his inauguration? Those two just never seemed to fit in to any political office .
Too coincidental that as soon as this email mess started to come out, he would run for the hills. They looked like they were planted in that office to stay prior to this.

In politics as well as in the business world, when someone says “they are leaving to spend more time with their family” ti’s the same as saying they have been shown the door. I look forward to hearing the rest of the story.

maybe the the universities will start getting funding again now that he’s gone.

Tom Delay also wanted to spend more time with his family.

A more vilified public servant i would have to go back to a grander scale,Richard Nixon.Not only did he increase homelessness 10 fold he let the grandparents of missouri die undignified deaths,people who fought the ww2,the women who built machines for our freedom where left to lie in their own extrement,is this a man of God?. Or just one of the evil minions of below.?This smug little twit will re-surface again.and he needs to be beaten back with all of your strengh.For the sake of your children.Your country and for what it USED to stand for.

The State of Missouri’s long nightmare of the last 4 years is finally coming to an end. Gov. Blunt has hurt more citizens in the State of Missouri than any Governor in the states history. Let us only hope that whoever is the next Governor rectifies the hurt and harm imposed on so many by Governor Blunt. I recommend that Governor Blunt be forced to work at Bellefontaine Habilitation Center at the rate of pay that an entry employee makes. He will rapidly see that there are very caring employees that work at the Center. Yeah, they will even help him assimilate himself into the workforce. He will quickly learn to do more with less. He will see first hand how the employee’s hands are tied by the burdensome regulations from both the State and Federal inspectors. Add to all this, he will see how it is to live not knowing from month to month if he will have a job. He will have to work under conditions where the state constantly under funds the facility, and then wants to proclaim how the Center is a danger to the lives of the Clients that they serve. Let him walk around with the stigma of being branded an abuser, a neglector. Let him try to explain to others when they ask where you work and he says Bellefontaine Habilitation Center, let him deal with the looks, the stares, the stigma he has inflicted on very caring employees. No Mr. Governor, you won’t be missed one iota. I only hope that Bellefontaine Habilitation Center can regain its once proud reputation as the leader in the state when it came to the care for the mentally handicapped. You have unfairly painted the Center as a house of horrors. Thankfully, the citizens in the surrounding area know better. Thankfully the Center has a very active Parents Association who has actively fought you every inch of the way. Bellefontaine Habilitation Center was there before you became Governor, and it will be there when you are shown the door. The Center’s long nightmare is over.

#73: I’m a liberal and not a selfish spoiled brat republican or the retarded hoosiers who also vote Repub over Jesus and guns. I’m voting this morning because I’ve been working my 100K job and have not had enough time to post earlier.

If you people actually believe that the state of Missouri is now perfect and this whacko has “accomplished everything he set out to do” then this country is dumber than I thought (and it’s pretty dumb to start with: see election of Bush, George W). Blunt is a dimwitted upper echelon type with no idea of how regular people live, just like most other Republicans. His Medicaid approach was a disaster, and he was plagued by an e-mail scandal. He’s quitting because he has zero, zilch, nothing in terms of his chances to get re-elected.

Good riddance Blunt. Don’t let the door hit you on your silver encrusted back side. If you’re taking handouts as a homeless person later in your “career,” i’m not giving any to you. I’m “fiscally responsible” after all.

Is Matt Blunt headed to jail?

What did he spend $100,000 in legal fees over the last quarter on?

What is really on those tapes Scott Eckersley has?

Will Chris Koster switch parties again?

Will Jim Talent give up his lucrative career as a special interest lobbyist to run?

Will Right Wing Rex pour millions into a campaign of his own?

Will Col. Jack dust off his poll?

Will Catherine Hanaway give up the chance to give sweetheart deals to GOP legislators in a jam to run for office.

Will Rude Rod try to revive his career.

Will Sarah un-announce for Treasurer.

Will Kenny come home?

Chip, anyone?

Will Roy come home and try to follow in his son’s footsteps?

Andy?

What a bunch of losers! I have never seen so many people standing there with their hand out looking to take money from other taxpayers to pay for your stuff!

This is the exact reason they need to teach economics in school. In order to pay for all these hand-out programs you have to take money from other areas. Many of us who do not want to live off of someone else have a tough enough time paying for our stuff and then you want us to pay for yours.

So, do you prefer communism or socialism? Obviously this is exactly where we are headed.

Personally, I don’t blame Blunt for leaving. After hearing all the whining by voters like you I think I would take a hike too. I am not a Blunt fan but for other reasons that yours. Your federal, state, county, and city governments have become way too big. Then, we have you losers with your hand out stealing from each part of the government. Remember, the government gets the money from someone one way or another. This is exactly why the government school system is a complete failure.

My hope is for a Governor and President with real balls that will look so many of you in the eye and tell you to dig deep and pay for your own stuff and stop asking everyone else to pay. It’s time to pay for your own health care. Perhaps you can take those cell phones back or take those big screens back. Whatever the case, it is your responsibility.

Grow up!

I was so excited to hear the news. It absolutely made my day. Good riddance, Matt!

Maybe Blunt should have cut the internet access at the state hospitals. Then we wouldn’t be subjected to all of the nuts posting on this blog.

I have never seen so many people advocating government generousity with tax money.

Can someone please tell me when it became government’s responsibility to provide for everyone?

Good Job Blunt!!!!! If you can piss off all the idiots and lowlifes in St. Louis, you have done a fabulous job in my book.

What a relief!!!!! Could we really take another term of this kind of nonsense???? This man and his Republican cronies in Jefferson City have almost destroyed every good thing working people in this state had going for them. Just like the Bush Regime they have managed to set everyone back at least 50 YEARS!!!! Our children and grandchildren are screwed. Lord forbid that he’s going to be appointed to anything else that he could destroy like John Ashcroft did to our civil liberties. Lets just hope people wake up and stop voting for puppets of the corporations and oil companies.

GOOD RIDDANCE! Blunt accomplished his objectives alright! Running the state of Mo right to the ground with NO REGARDS to others. Now he is caught up in MORE scandal. Must be some kind of misconduct, unbecoming of a Governor. He certainly isn’t one to give good speeches, but I think this one he gives TODAY will be the BEST speech that he has ever given! The only thing that I supported this guy on is my right to smoke a cigarette

Good riddance. Maybe now we can get some anti-smoking laws passed in this state.

As a Republican, I had planned on voting for Nixon anyway. He’s done more with the AG’s office than the Governor has done with his. Good riddance..

Since he’s a co-chair on the Romney Campaign, I bet he’s hoping romney will win the presidency and that he will get a spot in the cabinet.

Wow. Lots of emotion here. I’m curious what the response in KC is today. I’m pleased he is not going to run again.

Dear Superdave,
It’s not a matter of having your hand out when you get hurt doing a job for your employer who is still making a profit, even after he’s deducted all of the costs of doing business. Unfortunately labor is a little “c” in the algebra equation that business uses to justify their profits. Some SOCIAL responsibility should be taught in economics and business courses instead of just how to boost the bottom line. Yes, the whole “society should flourish” as the Greek root of the word economics means. Read some Aristotle Dave!!!! Matt Blunt and his daddy are just puppets for corporate America, just like King George and his daddy!!!!!

It’s no great secret Gov Blunt has national aspirations. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he runs for Senate. Jay Nixon is enormously popular and even though Blunt has been a good governor, it would have been a tough campaign.

There is a GOD!

Not so fast …..sometimes snakes grow there heads back and there alot more scary.

He’s got millions from his political contributions that he can keep. I’d quit too.

Bob J, it sure sounds good to you but you obviously don’t have a clue about the bottom line. First off, how many poor people give you a job? What is wrong with profit? What does business have to do with any of this? One way or another we as taxpayers pay the bill, for those of us that pay taxes and don’t live off the government. There are so many people I know who supposedly can’t afford health care. However, they can afford a 2nd and 3rd vehicle, a boat. how about that new HD TV, or we can talk about eating out all the time. At what point is health care their own responsibility? There are so many free loaders on our Medicaid system that it’s not even funny. I can’t afford it because of all you people with handouts. I grew up on welfare with loser parents and loser family who think it’s someone else’s job to pay for their stuff. Sorry, I don’t buy your comments. Just tell me one thing, why is it business’s job to pay for anything you want or need? All they will do is add to the price of their product. That is real economics, not this phony baloney guilt type social responsibility that you are referring to. i have noticed the huge majority of comments about the redistributing of tax money to pay for health for mostly deadbeats. If you have a kid take care of your own.

I also noticed you said nothing about the Clinton regime or the Carnahan regime. What about those families of politicians? Oh, I guess they are ok? Let’s not kid anybody here. I am not a fan of these families of politicians on either side of the aisle. However, voters continue to vote these clowns in office. Also, what good person would want to subject themselves to this kind of punishment? I certainly care about people but i want to see them get off their fat butts and do something and keep their hands out of my wallet.

I suspect that the decision was a pragmatic one based on poll numbers and the general mood in the country (and state) for change. He’s young and presumably still interested in a political career. A loss would be a major setback. Better to sit this one out than to lose. He’ll be back.

That fact that this came so suddenly means one of three things. He was finally implicated in the Jack Abrahamoff scandal (he and his dad benefitted anlong with Tom Delay) or someone finally spoke up about the state of Missouri implementing e-mail archiving in 2003 (which they did).

Or most likely that he will run for his father’s seat (he had no chance of re-election anyway) when he retires. The morons in Springfield would be the only ones dumb enough to elect him for anything again leaving Bond’s seat out of his reach in this state.

There is no doubt this man is a criminal, I just wish he would have gone to jail instead of stepping aside.

Personally I think Roy Blunt is involved in this matter and their could be a back door deal going on. Even those in his own party seem perplexed.
I think Jay Nixon will make an excellant governor. He has worked his way up and paid his dues.

Naval Academy graduate, active duty Navy officer, state assemblyman, secretary of state, and oh, and by the way - he was Governor of Missouri all by age 37.

Yup, now I see why so many despise him.

Roy’s boy has brought this state to #1 in the country and there is obviously no further need for his leadership. HHHAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!! According to some inside info, a major financial scandal that will soon come to light will bring him down further, if that’s possible.

Not a fan of the guy, but I’d like to know his reasons. Possible ones;

1. His Bush-ian act of allowing emails to be erased. Maybe when the emails are found some very dirty laundry will be aired
2. He can’t afford it. It’s time to cash in with the giveaways he provided to his biggest contributores and cronies he granted no bid state contracts to. More $$ in the private sector.
3. He no longer can stomach being a Republican.
4. Maybe he might be coming out of the closet.
5. Some other soon to be discovered malfeasance which will land someone in jail.
6. Will eventually run for some federal office. Might challenge our Claire in a couple of years.

Good riddance! See ya! Don’t bother to write! Can I help you pack?

Blunt finally makes a decision that reflects my values.

Good riddance to bad rubbish! Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out. The republicans are all running and hiding now that our economy and country is crumbling to pieces. They destroyed our state and country and now they all want to run and hide.

I can’t wait to find out what Blunt did and to whom. You know something smelly is up.

Maybe his kid needs some of that insurance that he cut in 2005. Wouldn’t that be ironic.

With Blunt not running again WILL the Dems put out a positive, substantiive agenda for Missouri-and in particular will Jay Nixon put one out soon. Didn’t think so!!! Is it mebut don’t most of the leftists posting on here repeat the same thing over and over. It’s like a one-note wonder and same song and dance. Other than rhetoric and talking points leftists and Dems bring nothing to the table. Again why should I vote FOR Jay Nixon?

Cut a budget deficit from 1.1 billion under Holden to a 300million surplus, increased spending on health and education, created thousands of new job and didn’t have to increase taxes to do it not a bad record in three years. Sounds like some of you want to go back to higher taxes and more government spending.

Tammy T. Walker (# 54)

As someone that pays for his kids (through the state) when will they, the state, support MY KIDS FOR ME!?!

The state does not nor should they support your kids

YOU SHOULD, along with their Father(s)

Did you pick deadbeats to sleep with? How is that anyone’s fault but yours?

Mike
Most of the Dem probably don’t remember Holden? You know the joker that was Governor when the Dems who had majorities in the legislature for over 50 yrs went to minority status. I think Blunt hatred has to do with the fact that the Dems feel having power like htey did in Jeff City so long is a birthright and a sense of entitlement.

Wow…

That the Post is hosting a Democratic Party meeting is not surprising, per se, but still

BTW: classless Nixon showed more class in his statement yesterday than all the Democratic posters here showed… combined. You guys can learn from your leader…

So the GOP will likely have a contested primary… good, it will make us stronger. Plus, the MSM and Democratic attacks won’t be able to start till then. Nixon has been running against Blunt for at least two years… now he’s not. His only strategy was to attack Blunt. Now what?

Plus… all Nixon’s negatives are still there… net advantage to the GOP.

Then, what are the problems faced by the state? Taxes? Not really. Budget? Balanced… Medicaid re-worked for the 21st century and doing well. Education? Not for much of the state…

Just what votes in which places is Nixon going to be able to get away from the GOP in 2008? Will this help Nixon down state? In Springfield? We Nixon pick up anymore votes in the City of STL and Jackson Co. than he would have already gotten? Just where does this help him?

Money…

Well Blunt’s committee will likely give… he can do that, and will, especially if he doesn’t plan on running for anything else at the moment. Kinder can raise as much as he needs… Rush will come in to help him with that. Emerson, Hulshof, and all the rest can do the same…

And how will the national elections help/hurt Nixon? “Everyone” is claiming that this is a “Democratic year” except that Hillary and Obama are ripping each other apart… no matter who wins, somebody is going to be upset. What if the voters in the City come away thinking that their guy got ‘ripped off’ by Hillary? If just a few stay home because of it… Nixon suffers.

Interesting times…

#119 you are absolutely correct there with your analyisis. Hell in your one post you offered more substance than all the liberals who have posted on here period. The GOP needs to follow the campaign style of Bobby Jindall-current governor of Louisana. Jindall ran an apologetic conservative campaign and won in a Democrat-leaning state at local and state levels. I’m still waiting and wondering what positive and substnative issues Nixon and the Dems will being to the table this year

We can sit here all day listen to the liberals blame to conservatives and vise verse. I’m a former lifetime liberal (now independent) who have grown sick and tired of democrats creating programs “in the name of the poor” with no oversight and no accountability no matter how badly a program is needed, with no oversight or accountability its money wasted. As well the conservatives jump on the band wagon when they take office and still the money back from the poor and give it to lobbyist, big corporation, or whoever helped them get were they are today. So were does that leave us “the true tax payers”? Sitting here gripping, whining and complaining. Enough already, welfare as it is today needs to be reformed. There are third generation social program recipients these people are born into the system. They become adults and qualify for more tax funded programs, they go on to SSI without ever holding a tax paying job for more than a few months. Those social programs are plagued with able bodied individuals who can like me get out a make a decent living, IF they want to. But hey the system is set up that way….to keep an entire body of folk oppressed therefore they will not have to compete for our jobs, vote, own homes or anything we the working folk enjoy.

So you see those social programs have their places in our society. When are we going to wake up and stop the madness? It doesn’t matter what party you belong to because they both are corrupt don’t care about you the tax payer.

WOW!! It Sure is fun reading all of these comments! Especially the ones from all you crybaby parasites living on the public dole. Quit your whining, go out and work for a living like the rest of us. Blunt did what I would expect a good governor to do, he took a bunch of leeches off the handout list. Of course that will be short lived. Soon you will be applying for more government handouts and putting the state budget back in the red. That won’t bother you ’cause you don’t pay any taxes anyway. You are entitled to get whatever freebies you can get; free education, free health care, free this, free that. After all, we who have worked and saved all our lives for a better life owe that to you because you are “less fortunate”. I wish Matt Blunt well and hope he has a good life.

It’s tough to see a good leader go, which is something the Democrats have never had happen because they lack ANY sort of leadership. If Jay Nixon is all the Democrats can offer, they’re in bad shape. Nixon couldn’t lead is way out of a room with one door.

#122 is right on the money with his post. Where is the Democrats agenda for 2008? I think we need to hire Inspector Gadget to find it.

Springfield paper has article insinuating that BOND will be stepping down because of health issues.
We may have gotten what we wished for!

I respect Governor Blunt’s determination to make the tough decisions needed to put Missouri in a MUCH better position than it was 3 yrs ago. I have to respect his decision not to seek re-election though.
I am hopefully more good candidates will step up to the plate now.

#122 Joe, you’re right on the money bud. The liberals think they’re “entitled” to free this, free that, etc. They believe the government owes them, which is goofy to begin with, but then again, they’re “Dumocrats” that simply don’t work and pay taxes. Governor Blunt lead by example and accomplished great things for Missouri, we’ll miss him.

#127 has a great post and I’ll say that for the most part on this board other than rhetoric and Democrat talking points the liberals show they don’t bring any substance to the table. Also the ‘registered Republicans for Nixon are plants and seminar message posters too. We don’t register by party here to vote, plus its a comment tactic for Democrat supportets to use the plant tactics on message boards

The GOP is seriously concerned about whether Blunt could make it happen for them in Missouri with the presidential election at stake.

BUT since that never stopped a Republican candidate from blindly going for it, I think there’s some sort of scandal news coming down the pike…

this wasn’t one of your options, shame on you …. “Good move”

I think this is good riddance, he took Medic Aid from thousands of poor people!

Don’t get too happy everyone, bad pennies always turn up again.

Ahem, Greg (he of the pithy #127 comment) - which liberals are you referring to who don’t work or pay taxes? Is that really how you see the world, strictly black and white? Conservative = honest, hardworking citizens, Liberal = dishonest, unemployed leeches?

I love people who feel smug enough to label the world that way and then denigrate those of us who believe differently, who believe that, as a society, we must look out for each other. We must especially look out for those who cannot look out for themselves. Something Mr. Blunt failed, rather dramatically, to do for his constituents, I’d have to say.

Time will tell, of course. But I’d lay real money on a large scandal brewing. Mr. Blunt is likely heading for the hills in the hope of escaping the long arm of the law. Hopefully his daddy and all the big-money cronies of the Blunt family will not be able to break that arm before it reaches our governor and serves him the justice he so richly deserves.

Good! Now go cash-in and avoid prosecution for….something.

#131 Harold, what exactly is “Medic Aid” - an entitlement for poor people, right? It appears as though you could have benefited from Governor Blunt’s increased spending on education.

Matt Blunt was the last office seeker to BEAT Claire McCaskill. After seeing what she and the Democrat (DO NOTHING) Party have accomplished in the last few months it appears the master strategy is for Matt Blunt to run for U.S. Senate. That is, after he has built up his famiy’s coffers and spent time with his wife and child. If the remainder of McCaskill’s term is as productive as her first few months it should be easy to beat her. In fact, I prophesize that the Republican Party will take over the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives this coming January after multiple (20) DO NOTHING Democrats are swepf from office. I am fed up with the Democrat (DO NOTHINGS) drawing a paycheck for doing nothing. What a worthless bunch they are.

Look for Katherine Hannaway to become our next Governor. People are fed up with Nixon, (is he related to Richard M.?) who

MC #133 - Pithy comment? Wow, you really do sound like an unhappy little liberal worm. The best thing for you would be to read Bill O’Reilly’s book, “Culture Warrior”. You sound terribly jealous of a man that’s made money and is happy with his life. This sort of response is typical of you liberals - you’re never happy unless you’re complaining about something and ALWAYS looking for a scandal in something. What a pathetic existence.

A great leader that’ll be surely missed. Helped get the states fiscal mismanagement of medicaid squared away. Those who’re complaining about any missing emails… I’ll worry more about that when I see the list of Hillary’s insiders that helped her scope out the federal health care plan she sought as a “First Lady” that has never been disclosed.

Plan of Attack:
1) raise fear that Jay Nixon will take over as governor and use that fear to raise a chunk of money for re-election…say maybe about $9 million.
2) See the polls are heading south and that “spotless” record of service might be marred. Assess that it would better to run for the covetted federal elected seat without the “loss” on your record.
3) Keep the $9 million as a headstart on your future election campaign (or at the very least dangle it to other candidates as bait to include you in the future decisions)
4) Delete all emails where you have discussed the legalities and strategies from your computers so that know one will know it was all planned.
5) Announce “your decision” in a format totally controlled by yourself and not open to questions.
6) Spin the hell out of the mess you are leaving.
7) Wait for Dad to call and tell you what office you get to hold next.

Thank you Blunt Supporter! He did fine in office! You know Blunt wasn’t the best governor ever, but he is a heck of alot better than Claire McCaskill would have been because she’s just a sneaky snake! And i would be happy for Jay Nixon to probably be our next govenor until about 5 years ago when he did a few things that were really sneaky! At least you could trust Blunt unlike what we’ve got from McCaskill and now Nixon coming up! But it’s the same issue with the presidential race! I don’t think theres a single candidate that i can place my full 100% trust in! I usually vote republican but i was going to vote democrat this time, but the two front runners wouldn’t get my vote if they threatened to kill me! i could vote for Edwards but he doesn’t get any attention because he’s shadowed by the first black president and the first woman president and he’s just a normal guy! by the republican’s i have no idea! McCain is nuts and Romney seems like he’s a sneaky guy and huckabee supports a war with Iran! Thompson was ok but he’s gone now! So wutever! Whoever wins, it’s going to suck because the country isn’t ready for a black president or a woman president! Obama won’t last a year in office because someone from the south will shoot him! and Hillary might have the same happen! But we’ll see! Lets all move to Canada! haha j/k So sorry but that’s my issue! But it’s ashame to see Blunt not come back! but anymore……

I’m confused aren’t republicans bi-en-large christian #137 I think you need church.

When a prominent republican leader abruptly resigns is it unfair to assume he might be having some sexual identity issues?

you heard me Trent Lott!

It is very strange that this announcement comes following the news of the missing e-mails. I feel certain he has reason to try to avoid more digging into just what they were about. He, like most recent republicans, has done a sorry job in his elected position. I do not trust him, or ANY republicans anymore.

Governor,

Sorry to see you go! I have only been in this state for 10 years. The first were with Mel Carny and the next tool.

Thank God, Missouri got to see a real leader in action!

To all my Liberal friends. - Get a life! Or better yet, an education in Politics. Look at your own doorstep. Carny and company put this state in economic ruin - Typical liberals

Earlier I told all you Democrats to follow the lead of your leader Nixon.

Having just seen the press conference where he basically declared victory, I stand corrected.

Mr. Nixon:

In spite of being AG of this state, you clearly do not understand the law. We the people get to vote before you get to be governor. you know, run for office we vote?

Also to my Democratic friends here: if Blunt was such ‘road kill’ on Nixon’s run to the Governor’s office why all the celebrating now that’s he’s gone? Saying one thing doing something else… same old Democrats.

WHAT HAPPENS TO GOVERNOR BLUNT’S UNUSED CAMPAIGN FUNDS NOW THAT HE HAS DECIDED NOT TO RUN FOR RE-ELECTION?

#147 it was in the news article in the post.
“He said he won’t convert his campaign funds to personal use. It is illegal to convert campaign contributions for personal use. Right now, Blunt has about $4 million in his campaign warchest, although some of those funds will be returned under a recent campaign finance ruling.”

good riddance. We’ll see him next when he’s found guilty on the e-mail destruction crime he commited

reading these post is very entertaining. people using the word “liberals” & “marxist” like it would be something to be ashamed of. i think it is time for these people to read the writing on the wall, it is not the sorry leaders you all put into office. not the reshaping of our own language (see: Mission Accomplished) but it is the simple fact that your selfish policies do not work and throughout the last 20 years have not worked.

http://selfishpolicies.com/index.html

Reminds me of the moves by two Illinois politicians, Jim Thompson and Paul Simon. Thompson took the top of off the boiling teakettle in Springfield, Illinois by stepping down after ??? terms in office. He could have easily been re-elected-which in the case of Blunt remains to be seen or never known. Secretary of State Jim Edgar became Governor and Lt. Governor George Ryan took over the Illinois launching pad position of Secretary of State.

The day after the 1994 general election, which swept the Republican Party into power in Washington for the first time in several generations, Simon announced his intention not to seek reelection to the U.S. Senate. A decision which led to today-Barack Obama occupying the seat of the junior U.S. Senator of Illinois.

Raymond Burke in 2008!!!

I agree, he’ll be a great choice for veep!

I still have a lot to read but I just had to give up for a while and write something. Most of the post are about Blunt and e-mails. Is that your biggest complaint, if so, come to IL where the governor is much worse, matter of fact, he won’t even live in the capitol, he has to go back and forth to Chicago every day at our expense. He owes more for lawyer’s services then Blunt does. Your state is in good financial shape, ours will be in bankruptcy when Rod leaves. One thing I haven’t seen on here yet and I might not have gotten to it yet. Blunt and the republicans did get a law passed so you can carry a gun and protect you and your family. I realize a lot of you liberals don’t like that but it’s the law, never the less. MO, along with 47 other states has this law. But IL and WI doesn’t and I don’t expect they ever will. I will still trade our governor any day for yours.

My mother works for special school district and they call him “baby Blunt” because he has been such a terrible education advocate for the state. Lets hope he has enough free time when he’s gone to find all those e-mails.

I think he did the best thing. He did not do much for Missouri.

Governor Blunt was a much better than “One-term Bob” Holden. Jo Ann Emerson, Kenny Hulsholf, and Sam Graves sounds like electable candidates to me. Kinder, Jetton, and Hathaway are too much of the Jefferson City establishment to be elected.

Joe #154

are all your comments satire??
if so… you are hilarious
if not… you are hilarious

and about the conceal-and-carry law… i will give you a personal experience from someone that lives in Missouri. My former-roommate purchased his first firearm right after that law was passed, excited he was able to legally carry his 1st firearm… like many other things in his life he became addicted…. like the one time he got a kitten and then had to get 9 more kittens. Same thing with the guns, but the difference between kittens and guns, kittens don’t accidently “go off” if you play with them when your drunk.

the best account of the situation is the blog written by my former-downstairs neighbor.
this is just 1 personal experience with the conceal-and-carry law. . . enjoy
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=52831097&blogID=107946845

p.s. former-roommate guy, Republican.

Vice President is the next move for our young Republican. Governor Blunt and Governor Romney vacationed together so naturally Matt Blunt will be Mitt Romney’s first choice should he win the Republican nomination. Just look at their first names, only one letter off!

For those that say good riddance at the exit of our esteemed Governor, you should check out Illinois: a smoking ban, a crazy Democratic Governor that tried to steal the casinos, and the home state of B. Hussein Obama! What else could a nutjob liberal ask for?

I am glad that Governor Blunt is happy with his performance as Governor, because I thought he was a pretty lack luster one. (Worse than him, in my opinion, was Bob Holden!) Then, who is interested in the job on the Republican side……(Speaker of the House) Rod Jetton? OMG! Give me a break!

GOOD BYE, WISH YOU WHERE NEVER IN THIS STATE. (PERIOD)

I didn’t particularly care for Blunt. But I can’t STAND Jay Nixon. And I’m from his home town. A lot of people around here think he’s a real joke.

I’ve served in state governments through several governors. They are all political animals. They hire cronies and give favors. I haven’t seen much different between parties. Matt is from a very political family. He does like to tout his own horn.

Matt has held three public offices so far. He has not run for reelection in any of them.

This was very sudden. My guess is something bigger is coming up. It has been talked about many times nationally about his relationship with Mitt Romney. Who knows.

As far as scandals - wishful thinking. I’m not saying there aren’t any but there is no credible information that any exist. The email issue is nothing. No state agency has been keeping all their email. Jack Abramoff? He’s tied to lots of Dems also. A lot of people should go down iwth that man. The ethanol company his family is tied to has been denied large subsidies because of his office. Would someone not run for governor for that? Must be a large subsidy.

Every department took deep cuts. Given the financial situation, there weren’t many other choices. Medicaid is the largest chunk of the state budget. You can’t avoid it. Medicaid has been increasing it’s eligibility for years. It finally caught up with us. If you want to talk about governors running this state into the ground, talk about Carnahan and Holden. They knew the horizon was coming but kept spending for short-term political gains. Michigan and California are good examples of how liberals (yes Arnold is a republican liberal) deal with budget shortfalls. These two states are now in worse financial crisis because they thought they could tax their way out of trouble and make meaningless cuts.

Bellefontaine has always been a sad situation. It’s been neglected by several governors. The truth is, the state of Missouri wants to get out of the institution business for the mentally retarded — right or wrong. To lay those problems on Blunt isn’t fair. He’s the first governor to approve supplemental funding for that facility in decades.

Yes, the Medicaid cuts were painful. Some of those people had disabilities that prevented them from providing for themselves. Still, the majority were in that situation because of choices they made in their life. You can argue with that or scoff at me but it is the truth. Most people just don’t want to hear that. More peoples lives have been ruined in this country by misguided liberal compassion than any evil republican budget cut. However, the state was spared further pain because those cuts were made. MO Health Net is getting large amounts of new funding because the state towed the line on the budget. The university system has received record increases because the budget was held in check.

I guess it all depends on how you define compassion: How many people are dependent on the government versus how many people don’t need the government.

I’m glad you (Matt Blunt) are gone you and that dog friend of yours Ed Martin. You two are the worst thing in this state since lead poison.

I’ve served in state governments through several governors. They are all political animals. They hire cronies and give favors. I haven’t seen much different between parties. Matt is from a very political family.

Matt has held three public offices so far. He has not run for reelection in any of them.

This was very sudden. My guess is something bigger is coming up. It has been talked about many times nationally about his relationship with Mitt Romney. Who knows.

As far as scandals - wishful thinking. I’m not saying there aren’t any but there is no credible information that any exist. The email issue is nothing. No state agency has been keeping all their email. Jack Abramoff? He’s tied to lots of Dems also. The ethanol company his family is tied to has been denied large subsidies because of his office. Would someone not run for governor for that? Must be a large subsidy.

Every department took deep cuts. Given the financial situation, there weren’t many other choices. Medicaid is the largest chunk of the state budget. You can’t avoid it. Medicaid has been increasing it’s eligibility for years. It finally caught up with us. If you want to talk about governors running this state into the ground, talk about Carnahan and Holden. They knew the horizon was coming but kept spending for short-term political gains. Michigan and California are good examples of how liberals (yes Arnold is a republican liberal) deal with budget shortfalls. These two states are now in worse financial crisis because they thought they could tax their way out of trouble and make meaningless cuts.

Bellefontaine has always been a sad situation. It’s been neglected by several governors. The truth is, the state of Missouri wants to get out of the institution business for the mentally retarded — right or wrong. To lay those problems on Blunt isn’t fair. He’s the first governor to approve supplemental funding for that facility in decades.

Yes, the Medicaid cuts were painful. Some of those citizens were disabled and didn’t have a lot of options. If the Blunt administration was guillty of anything it was not getting more input on budget cuts. Still, a lot were in that situation because of choices they made in their life. Is it our responsibiltity to reward that behavior? A lot more damage has been done to people’s lives by misguided liberal compassion than evil Republican budget cuts.

It all depends on how you define compassion: How many people are dependent on the government versus how many people don’t need the government.

If it smells fishy, it probably is!

Where are the missing emails?

I find it so interesting that now we have people interested in emails. How bizarre is that? Of course they have no clue what it’s about or what their predecessors did. Hey, it’s Matt blunt, a Republican, and that’s enough. It doesnt matter the the two previous governors raised your taxes and put us in deficit spending. Hey, that’s ok, it’s a democrat. Matt Blunt took a deficit and made it a surplus. Is that good, of course not, he’s a Republican. Are you starting to get it?

Most who post on here are losers who want to get into your wallet. They don’t pay taxes, or very little, and they want your money. Someone please tell me what gives you the right to my money or anyone else’s?

Why was he a bad governor? Was it because he cut programs? Did most of you losers pay extra taxes to pay for those poor people who needed your help? Of course not.

Please, someone tell me why Matt was so bad? I am not defending him, I just want to know why he was so bad. Now if you bring up the Medicaid cuts then please tell me how we are supposed to pay for everyone who is too dam lazy to pay for their own, especially when they can afford it. I think it’s time for many of you leeches to buck up. I grew up with many of you and I can tell you right now that most of you are total losers and that most of you are too damn lazy to take care of yourself. So, why is it my job to pay for you?

I’m originally from Springfield, Missouri, and the Springfield News-Leader (which had been generally supportive of Gov. Blunt as a native son from nearby Strafford) began changing their tune over the past year. When a political figure’s “hometown” newspaper starts to turn on them, it turns heads - especially when Springfield and southwest Missouri are solidly Republican and have been for years. The editorial chief for the News-Leader, Tony Messenger, helped uncover the current e-mail scandal as a result of filing a Sunshine Law request last year with the Governor’s office. Repeated refusals to comply with the Sunshine request, and repeated requests by Messenger after such refusals, helped bring this to light.

I also lived in Jeff City for a few years, and some of my Republican friends there referred to Blunt as “OTB” (One Term Blunt) back in 2005 - very early in his term. Of course, “OTB” initially referred to “One Term Bob (Holden)”. These same people - state workers who despised Holden due to his freeze on raises for state workers - apparently didn’t think Blunt was any better. And they voted for him!

Blunt did face a potentially tough reelection fight, but he also knew that his primary opponent is the sitting attorney general. Jay Nixon can be a real bulldog (if sufficiently provoked) and a tight, rancorous campaign with Blunt would provoke Nixon and certainly encourage him to dig even deeper into the whole e-mail issue. Blunt probably feels that such exposure will only do more harm than good where his record and his reputation are concerned. I can’t say that I blame him. What comes around goes around (and around, and around . . . )

Few people who occupy high public office are angels - Blunt and Nixon included. Many of them cut deal(s) with lobbyists, campaign contributors, special interests, etc. at our expense to “get things done” or to have the financial horsepower to run and win a campaign. As voters, we sometimes feel it’s better to vote for the devil we know (or think we know) and hope we don’t have to regret our decision later. My Jeff City friends clearly regretted their decision - and if many others in the state felt the same way, Blunt’s battle was all uphill.

You people ranting and raving about “liberals” really frighten me. No wonder we live in such divisive times. Do you really see the world in such simplistic terms? Are you so indoctrinated by Rush Limbaugh that you have turn into a boogie-man anyone who disagrees with you? My beliefs tend to be of a conservative nature, but I am confident that I am a more complex individual than dumbed-down terms like “liberal” and “conservative” can describe. As are most people I know- we agree on some things, disagree on others. Anyone who can find an identity in a misused political descriptor is shallow and has little to offer the debate. Voicing support for Matt Blunt is legitimate political discourse. Using labels to describe someone who differs with you on ideological issues is childish and counter-productive. Please shut up, as we really don’t need idiots like you supporting our causes.

maybe he and his wife have finally decided to become 100% cyborg and beam back up to the mother ship…they both seem to be stuck in some 1950s parody…and neither of them is “in” on the joke…plastic people…plastic personalities….something definitely missing there.

In short, good riddance to bad rubbish.

Wow-what a bunch of angry, small-minded, hate-filled commentators we have posting about a man who has decided, against all political logic, to put his family ahead of whatever political aspirations he may have, what a cold and calculating man? Not like our shining “white knight” Jay Nixon, savior of all failing and bloated government programs, destined to lead us back to the glory days of big government and budget deficits, WHAT A LEADER! I’m glad that you’re all doing everything you can to get him elected (I know that lots of voters read the COMMENTS Section!), keep up the good work. Do you know how I know that Democrats are going to lose in November? BECAUSE NOBODY WINS AN ELECTION SIMPLY BASED ON HATRED OF ONE PARTICULAR PERSON (Whether its George Bush or Matt Blunt), ask John Kerry and Claire McCaskill!! You all need to find better things to do with your time!

So, I guess the skeletons are finally coming out of the closet. Oopps, looks like Matty maybe the one coming out.
To The Evangelicals,
since we all know that you are superior to everyone else:

Do you like supporting a gay governor? Or possibly a Lt Gov? Looks like you might have!!!

It only took you people in the great state of MO 4 years to realize that Blunt is an idiot and a closet homosexual.

It really makes my stomach hurl to see his “wife” all bug-eyed looking at this man she married with admiration, really there needs to be an OSCAR in her future by putting on the act of a lifetime.

158, you’re right, a nut job doesn’t need to have a gun in their hand, but most of the nut jobs that do have one are breaking the law anyway. Most people that carry one has to take training and hopefully understand the law. I can’t carry one in my own state but I’m legal to carry one in about 30 other states and I’m glad I am. The criminals will never obey the law. I realize that most liberals are afraid of guns and that is your right. But don’t put the rest of us law abiding citizens down if we feel as though we should be able to carry.

Sorry, Old Bureaucrat- I appreciate your reasoned response but I lay more blame at Blunt’s feet than that. If Missouri was in such poor fiscal health, then other options to raise revenue should have been found before making the draconian cuts that he did. Yes, even tax increases, which while unpopular, could have been pushed through by an effective and committed leader. I see the direct impact of Medcaid cuts on people who come to my church’s charitable group seeking assistance. I might not agree with the choices made by some of these folks, and I might question some of their moral actions, but at the end of the day, my Christiantiy- no, my basic humanity- tells me that they deserve basic healthcare. I firmly believe in charity over government intervention, but the reality is that there are some things for which the state simply must take ultimate responsibility. And sometimes we can’t measure things by the ”bottom line”- ethics and morality must outweigh our desire for personal gain.

I might have better accepted Blunt’s cuts had he not behaved in such a callous and arrogant manner, refusing to meet with those impacted by his decisions. Not only was the man cruel in his governing, but he also lacked the character to show accountability for his choices. Yet at the same time he was so self-righteous as to trumpet his faith in the Lord by making a spectacle of giving a Bible to his newborn child.

Although I’ve voted for people in his party many times, and will certainly do so again in November, I am not saddened to see this misguided young man go. I only pray that we as a community do the right thing by repairing the damage that he caused.

If he accomplished all he set out to do, then he had pretty crappy goals. Missouri still comes in far down the list in all kinds of rankings against other states, not that I’d trust Matty & his daddy to fix any of it for us regular folks.

Maybe he feels he’s taken all he can from the poor and defenseless of the state.

I’m sure he and his cronies have something worse up their sleeves for us. I suspect this isn’t the last we’ll see of Matty…

Judy

Joe, I am not a liberal nor am I a conservative. I work hard everyday and my husband works everyday, sometimes seven days a week. Not everyone expects things handed to them on a silver platter, apparently you are one of those individuals who think that people that need support from any state service that Mr. Blunt has maliciously eliminated are free loaders. I am just sorry that he will be there to finish his term. He is arrogant, underhanded, a deeply suppressive person.

I wonder what is going to come out about him….he was the worst govenor that Missouri has had to date…..he did everything that he could to distroy poor people (but they still survived)
He needs to retire from politics (it’s not his thing!!!!!!)

The morons who inhabit Missouri, especially the environs of St Louis, would not know good governance if it spit in their eyes! Virvus Jones, Bill McClellan, and Fredbird is all they deserve!

Never thought I would ever see a worse governor than Holden! But….baby Blunt definitely was worse! Holden was weak…..if only that was baby Blunts only fault! Good riddance

I am very elated to hear that Matt Blunt is not seeking a second term and I will be very elated when his first term is finally over. Mr. Blunt made way too many cuts to the Missouri Medicaid program - which I rely on since I am on disability. Mr. Jay Nixon will be a much better Governor!

A moral society as wealthy as ours ought to provide for the basic well-being of all of its members. Does Christ not state “whatsoever you do to the least of my people, that you do unto me”? I don’t read any qualifier or judgment calls in that maxim. A man such as Mr. Blunt, born into privilege and granted the responsibilities of governing a state, seemed to have no concept of that basic tenet of human and Christian decency, and for that I am grateful that he will not seek a second term.

For those of you who question this, go into a nursing home sometime and see how many residents are recipients of Medicaid. Tell them that they are freeloading and living off of the government. And continue to look them in the eye when they tell you their life stories, about how hard they worked but about how illness or misfortune or simple longevity ate up everything they had. Think about this when YOUR hardworking parents have depleted their assets but still require continued skilled care. Will your resentment of those receiving Medicaid extend to your own parents, or will you conveniently swallow your bitterness and lack of empathy by allowing for the state to pay for the care of your loved ones. Consider this if you ever have a life-altering injury or serious illness that your insurance doesn’t cover. Will your principles against “handouts” allow you to simply accept your fate or will you be in line applying for Medicaid too? What about when your child is determined to have a developmental disability such as autism or mental retardation and requires expensive care that far exceeds your means? Will you deprive that child of state-funded services because you believe that you ought to provide for your own? Think about these things before you make judgments based on stereotypes. And think about these things in November of ‘08 when we have a chance to undo the mistake we made by putting this dishonroable man in state office.

So, what you are saying Joe is that because of a few who do need help that we should blindly steal from other citizens? If I’m not mistaken I believe there is a commandment in there somewhere that says Thou Shall Not Steal. When you take from some people and give to someone else then that is called stealing. Also, there are countless people who give their assets to their kids and then expect the citizens to pay their way through old age. So, give me a break! These days, we are labeling these poor kids disabled for just about everything. We also have countless citizens continuing to spew out children as though they are bowel movements without the thought of paying for them. I don’t think God has great respect for those that sit on their butts and expect other people to pay. I am self-employed, and I cannot afford health insurance and all then all the niceties of life. Much of that reason is because of those free-loading citizens. Governor Blunt had to do something about the Medicaid system. Instead of putting all the blame on him why don’t you disperse that blame on the free-loaders to who because of their actions are causing others, who may need real help, to lose that very help that is needed. Let me say this. I grew up with many of these people and I can tell you first-hand they are well aware of what i am saying but because of people like you who make excuses treat the system so disrespectfully. So, spread that “dishonor” where it really belongs and stop giving politicians so much power in your life.

I didn’t realize that there was SO many “whining” liberals in the state of Missouri. But then again, baby Blunt along with Bush have created a whole new batch in the past 4 years. Imagine it–baby Blunt and Bush, both turned out to pasture in the same year. A double blessing!!!

182, I assume you are talking about Blunt so I don’t understand your last sentence about undoing in November what you did when you voted Blunt into office. He already stated that he wasn’t running again so what more can you do to him. I also don’t understand your quoting the Bible but then you are talking pretty harsh against another human being. Maybe you should have it one way or the other.

Robb, no one is turning Bush out to pasture. It’s called term limits. He can’t run again. Now if you and your whiny cohorts would have voted hime out, then you can say you have put him out to pasture.

What will all you sorry folks whine about if Nixon or Obama/Hillary miraculously get elected? You will have everything you need then courtesy of others so you should be some happy folks.

Amazed-In-This-Moment , any disappearance of whining by those opposed to Republican governance from the past 7 years will be MORE than replaced by all the pissing, whining, carping, moaning self-righteous spewing complaints by the right-wing white men of our nation; the latter is far far down the list of those reasons I oppose a new Clinton presidency, but it is certainly a consideration on my part. I just don’t think I could stand all the little Limboughs crying
for the next 4 years.

Matt Blunt’s sudden announcemnt reminds me of the adage, ‘What goes on in the dark will soon come to light’. Ahem.

#185….call it what you will–it doesn’t matter one iota to me. What DOES matter is that both baby Blunt, Bush and the Bushites will be replaced in less than a year…Woo Hoo!! They can’t harm our state or nation any longer!!

187, you might be right but not because of my vote. But if you are right and like give aways with much higher taxes, so be it, I will have to live with it but we conservatives can be the ones complaining because of paying all the taxes for all the free loaders.

#188, I don’t like higher taxes and give aways but you rightwingers fail to see what is and has happened in America the past 7 years. The failed policies of Bush, namely Iraq and the economy, coupled with all the scandals and extreme partisanship headed by Bush, Cheney, Rove, etc., after Bush initially campaigning on the platform of being a uniter, has conditioned a definite majority of the voting age to vote for people we would not have ever considered 10 years ago.

Bush has no one to blame but himself. I honestly feel that he is not a bad guy but has allowed the likes of Cheney, Rove, etc., to run and ruin the country. So….many Americans are willing to vote for extreme change because of the last 7 years. I voted for Bush the first time….but not the 2nd. Have not decided who to vote for this time but will not be ANY of the present republicans with McCain being the only possible exception.

Don’t think any of present republicans can beat either Clinton or Obama unless there is a viable 3rd party candidate

The worst thing I can say about ole Gov Blunt is his ingratitude…I sent him a nearly new brown Cart Hart jump suit just before deer season for him to run in on his daily runs south of springfield and he did not even thank me…Shame on you GoviBabe….You could have been soooo warm runnin out there with Bambie and the gun freaks with their AK47’s….LOL

Good riddance…now all we need to do is push all the career politician, such as Kit Bond out and the state might actually get something done. So long little boy Blunt!

This stuff about the missing E-Mails is just a bunch of B.S., stirred up by the Democrats. How many of us keep all of our E-Mails, which are mostly junk mail anyway. If we kept al of that stuff our computers would moan and groan whenever we turned them on and we would never get anything done.

We all know that this E-Mail stuff is just a bunch of malicious B.S., stirred up by the devious Democrats. If we did not delete the E-Mail on our own computers, which is 90% junk mail anyway, they would moan and groan everytime we turned them on and we would never get anything done.
If they wanted to delete embarrassing E-Mail, they could have done it selectively.

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