Politics

Mayor Blasts NRA Leadership at Start of St. Louis Convention

As thousands of gun-loving Americans (and the politicians who crave their votes, including GOP-presidential candidates Mit Romney, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum) descend on St. Louis today for the start of the NRA Annual Convention, one city mayor isn't having any of it. Conveniently that mayor is ... More >>

St. Charles GOP Caucus Goes Big for Ron Paul

Well, that was comparatively easy. On the day Rick Santorum suspended his presidential campaign, the St. Charles County Republicans picked Ron Paul as their man at the party's do-over shot at a caucus. There were no arrests, no embarrassment and no cries of unfair tactics.But Paul's victory last nig ... More >>

St. Louis Firefighters' Pension Argument Fails Bullshit Detector

​Earlier this week Chris Molitor, president of the firefighters' union Local 73, wrote a guest commentary in the Post-Dispatch criticizing Mayor Francis Slay's push to reform the firefighters' pension. The pension, btw, now accounts for a third of the fire department's total budget, has more than ... More >>

John Ashcroft Endorses Mitt Romney

We know you're all on the edge of your seats on this Super Tuesday morning waiting to see who former Missouri Governor and U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft decides to support in the Republican primaries. If you believed that Ashcroft, an evangelical Christian who reportedly doesn't drink, dance ... More >>

Lehman Walker: U. City City Manager Apparently Violates Contract, Keeps His Job

​Lehman Walker, the City Manager for University City, was officially censured by the International City/County Management Association on Wednesday, February 29, and also barred from future membership in the organization. The censure part of that would seem to put him in violation of his employment ... More >>

The Ten Biggest Presidential Endorsements by Musicians in the 2012 Campaign

Megadeth rocker Dave Mustaine raised a few collective eyebrows this week when he endorsed former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum's bourgeoning presidential bid. The former Pennsylvania senator has been gaining steam as of late after prevailing in a trio of February contests, including Missouri's non-bindin ... More >>

Daily RFT Reader on U.S. Constitution: Don't Forget the States!

http://www.mofreedom.org​Our post yesterday questioning whether the U.S. Constitution is perhaps too old for its own good -- based on a new Wash U. study showing that foreign countries no longer emulate it the way they once did in the past -- prompted a call from attorney Dave Roland of the Fr ... More >>

Is the U.S. Constitution Too Old for its Own Good?

Question: What do the following provisions have in common? Women's rights; Right to work; Right to education; Presumption of innocence; Right to unionize or strike. Answer: None of them is mentioned in the U.S. Constitution. Could it be the case that the original legal document of our country is g ... More >>

State Supreme Court to Decide Whether Missouri's Redistricting Map Is Unconstitutional

​Redistricting is the straw that stirs the bitter, burning, 195-proof partisan cocktail we chug down while squeezing our noses every campaign season before waking up the morning after the election massaging our temples, cursing the gods, wondering why we keep putting ourselves through this madness ... More >>

Ethics Reform Law Undone by Missouri Supreme Court

Missouri State Supreme Court strikes down 2010 ethics reform​Our state's highest court has just struck down the ethics reform law enacted by the Missouri legislature in 2010. That law, now considered unconstitutional, would have: allowed the state ethics commission to launch its own investigations ... More >>

What People Are Saying About Santorum's Missouri Win

​Last night Rick Santorum swept the primaries in Missouri, Minnesota, and Colorado. As expected, his most decisive victory was in Missouri, where he took all 114 county for a 55 percent runaway, more than doubling Mitt Romney's 25 percent. In many ways, it's a hollow success. It didn't count towa ... More >>

Missouri Polls Shows Gingrich Leading, Brunner Rising, and Randles Edging Spence

​ With the presidential primary campaign circus coming to Missouri both next week (for the election that doesn't count) and next month (for the official caucus), we're likely to soon see a serious spike in the number of polls about us. Which means it's is a good time for some Horse Race talk. Publ ... More >>

Missouri's 2012 Primary Election Would Be Very Telling If It Weren't Officially Meaningless

​A couple of weeks ago, Huffington Post blogger Will Bower wrote, "This February 7th, 2012, I'll be paying closer attention to Missouri's primary results and asking myself 'What if Missourians had been able to go first this time 'round?'" Bower, an outspoken crusader for election reform, proposed ... More >>

Steelman For Payroll Tax Cut, Akin Against Payroll Tax Cut, Brunner... Against?

​A few days ago, the Springfield News-Leader published a Q&A with the three candidates in Missouri's GOP Senate primary race. It's still early in the race and Sarah Steelman, Rep. Todd Akin and John Brunner have all positioned themselves as rock solid conservative candidates. As such, it's a ... More >>

Dana Loesch Departs St. Louis Tea Party

Dana Loesch riles up the crowd during one of the Tea Party's first rallies in February 2009 under the Gateway Arch.​The co-founder of the St. Louis Tea Party has officially left the organization.  In a tweet this morning Dana Loesch writes: "Yes, I am finished with the St. Louis Tea Party. N ... More >>

$64 Million Parks Bond Bill Passes Board of Aldermen

With funding now locked in, Forest Park should see steady improvements over the next couple of decades.​The Board of Aldermen passed today two bills that would lock in current funding and send an additional $64 million in city bonds to St. Louis parks. By passing the bill before the end of the ye ... More >>

The Unconventional Campaign of Mike Carter, Lieutenant Governor Candidate

​In 2008, Mike Carter ran in the Democratic primary for Missouri lieutenant governor and voted in the Republican primary for president. He likes the idea of government being run as a business but doesn't like the idea of privatizing certain government duties. He thinks there are "serious problems" ... More >>

Proof Downtown Partnership Bitched to City Hall About Occupy St. Louis

Kiener Plaza was a tent city before Partnership for Downtown St. Louis bent the mayor's ear.​A couple weeks ago Occupy St. Louis accused Mayor Francis Slay of kowtowing to corporate interests when he informed demonstrators (via his blog) that he would soon demand that they end their encampment at ... More >>

Peter Kinder Will Not Be Running for Governor

Peter Kinder's had a rough year.​Today Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder announced that he will not run for governor. Instead he will seek a third term at his current seat. On one hand this is mildly surprising considering that he's been considered the GOP front-runner to challenge Governor Jay Ni ... More >>

What's Worse than a Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Who Frequented Strip Clubs? How About One Who Supports TARP?

Image viaRepublican leaders hope personal care packaging mogul Dave Spence can be a more attractive gubernatorial candidate than Lt. Governor Peter Kinder.​Big news yesterday on the Missouri gubernatorial election front. Dave Spence, a businessman from St. Louis, has jumped into the race. Spence ... More >>

Does Missouri Allow Convicted Felons to Possess Guns?

​In a 4,650-word, front-page treatise in yesterday's New York Times, author Michael Luo lays bare a significant trend: each year, thousands of felons across the country have their gun rights reinstated following prison sentences, despite a federal law that strips away the right to bear arms fo ... More >>

Steve Tilley Drops Out of Race for Lieutenant Governor

Tilley, the 2012 lieutenant governor frontrunner dropped out of the race yesterday.​It's been a rough few weeks for Missouri Speaker of the House Steve Tilley. In mid-October he disclosed that he and his wife of eighteen years, Kellie, were divorcing. Then in early November, with the proceedings ... More >>

Report: AB-InBev Outraged Over World Series Bet Excluding Budweiser

Cardinals and Budweiser: Nothing to make light of.​St. Louis gossipmeister Jerry Berger writes this week that Anheuser-Busch InBev "is pissed" with a friendly wager that Mayor Francis Slay made with Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck over the World Series. The bet would have Slay winning some Texas stea ... More >>

Mayor Slay's Mother Passes Away; Mayor Lost Father Seven Months Earlier

Condolences to St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay with the passing of his mother, Anna May Slay. Mrs. Slay (nee Sobocinski) died this morning following a long illness. Her death was not unexpected, and the mayor and other family members were with her at her passing. Funeral arrangements have yet to be mad ... More >>

Lawsuit Filed Against Latest "Fair Tax" Proposals

Lawuit: Ballot language provides bad road map for voters.​Missourians for Fair Taxation last week filed a lawsuit attempting to change the ballot language for two recent proposals that will ask voters to eliminate state income tax in favor of higher sales taxes in Missouri.The group -- composed of ... More >>

City Wants Hopeville Gone By December 1

The mayor's office says it wants to save Hopeville residents from the elements.​St. Louis officials today announced that they're pushing ahead with plans hinted at earlier this year to dismantle the homeless camps north of downtown St. Louis. In January the city issued regulations for those living ... More >>

President Obama's Jobs Plan -- Voices from Barrister's

Albert Samaha"Stimulus has become a bad word," says Lasky (left).​Last Monday in his jobs speech, President Barack Obama made a serious effort to wrest control of the Narrative away from the Republicans.For months Democrats have complained about how they kept ending up negotiating on Republicans' ... More >>

Bill Randles: Unknown Polls Almost as Well as Peter Kinder Against Governor Nixon

The whole "pantless party" thing is not helping Peter Kinder with McCain voters, Public Policy Polling finds.​Governor Jay Nixon would basically stomp the crap out of his likely Republican challenger, Lt. Governor Peter Kinder, if the 2012 gubernatorial election had been held this week.In fact, ac ... More >>

Jack Danforth for Governor Facebook Page Illustrates Waning Support for Peter Kinder

243 Facebook users have found their Kinder alternative: former U.S. Sentor John "Jack" Danforth​The search for the Peter Kinder Alternative has unofficially begun. Last Thursday, a "Draft Jack- Danforth for Governor 2012" Facebook page popped up. John "Jack" Danforth, of course, is the moderate ... More >>

GOP consultant David Barklage owes the Feds big bucks

Top Missouri GOP Consultant Hasn't Paid His Taxes

courtesy of Fired Up! MissouriDavid Barklage (right) with Missouri Lt. Governor Peter Kinder​As the main political consultant to Missouri Lt. Governor Peter Kinder -- and a key strategist for the Missouri Republican Party -- David Barklage preaches the gospel of financial responsibility and ac ... More >>

Tiny Towns, Expensive Elections, St. Louis County Report Shows

​There are exactly 1,653 registered voters in the tiny municipality of Bel Ridge, Missouri. And so when the village decided to hold a special election in February 2010 to increase property taxes, the proposition was bound to be expensive on a per-vote basis. The St. Louis County Board of Election ... More >>

Francis Slay Asserts Alpha Dog Status at City Hall; Lewis Reed Refuses to Play Bitch

Slay strikes first; Reed counters.​A dog fight has broken out in City Hall, and it could last another 21 months. Today, Mayor Francis Slay's office struck first when it released an email blaming Board of Aldermen President Lewis Reed for Stray Rescue's decision this week to stop serving as the cit ... More >>

Norway Massacre Has Dana Loesch Claiming Right is Left

Right or Left? Depends on which way the hot air blows.​St. Louis Tea Party co-founder and political pundit Dana Loesch thinks hard-line conservatives such as herself are being smeared by media accounts referring to Norway's Anders Behring Breivik as a "right-wing extremist." As you surely know, Br ... More >>

City Hall Insult of the Week: You Tweet Like a Teenage Girl

Alderman French Calls Mayor's Speed Bump Veto "Petty Politics"

"His veto has more to do with politics than it does with public safety," says French.​St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay vetoed yesterday the bill that would add speed bumps to O'Fallon Park -- and 21st Ward Alderman Antonio French is not happy. "It's ridiculous," he says. "The people of north St. ... More >>

Lawsuit Filed Against Missouri's "Religious Freedom" Amendment

Don't drink the Kool-Aid, warn plaintiffs.​In November 2012, Missouri voters will be asked to approve an amendment to the state constitution, titled Religious Freedom in Public Places. According to the sponsor of the resolution, Republican Mike McGhee of the western Missouri town of Odessa, the am ... More >>

Mayor Slay Has Del Taco Building's Back

​Tomorrow the Housing and Urban Development Aldermanic Committee will consider a bill that would deem the Del Taco at South Grand and Forest Park a "blighted area," consequently opening the door for its demolition. The proposal has drawn much scorn from the public. So yesterday, Mayor Francis ... More >>

Group Cleared for Petition Drive to Strengthen Will of Missouri Voters

protectvoters.com​At first they considered calling it the "Voter Protection Act." Then it was to be called "Will of the People Act." And now, finally, the "Your Vote Counts Act." But in every one of the eight filings Your Vote Counts has made in recent weeks with the Missouri Secretary of State's ... More >>

28 Percent of Missouri Legislators Don't Have College Degrees

Meanwhile, in Jefferson City...​Aha! Finally, everything coming out of Jefferson City makes sense!Missouri legislators are less educated than their counterparts in other states, according to an analysis out today in the Chronicle of Higher Education. Just 69 percent of Missouri representatives and ... More >>

Ask a Mexican: Is Mexico a Tea Party paradise?

Missouri to Drug Test Welfare Recipients

Give us your tired, your hungry, your poor; we'll drug test them!!​The third time proved to be the charm.After floating bills the previous two years (Exhibit A, Exhibit B) that would allow officials to drug test federal welfare recipients in Missouri, lawmakers in Jefferson City finally got enough ... More >>

Peter Kinder's Car Stolen, Torched

Not the actual car stolen from Missouri's lieutenant governor​It seems like one disgruntled Missourian has reeeeally taken offense to Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder's recent use of taxpayer's money. Either that, or the politician simply drives the type of car that's attractive to thieves. Both scenario ... More >>

Missouri Democratic Party Calls on Peter Kinder to Reimburse Tax Payers for Lavish Hotel Stays

Peter Kinder appearing in a 2010 interview about his lawsuit to stop "Obamacare."​If you didn't see yesterday's article on Missouri Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder, stop what your doing and give it a read. Post-Dispatch reporter Jake Wagman provides a text-book example on how to nail a double-tal ... More >>

Congressmen Russ Carnahan, Lacy Clay Respond to Proposed Redistricting

The two Democratic congressmen representing the St. Louis region released a joint statement yesterday criticizing a redistricting map proposed this week by Republican legislators in Jefferson City. The new map would effectively eliminate Congressman Russ Carnahan's 3rd Congressional District, which ... More >>

Effort Underway to Shrink Missouri House From 163 Reps to 103

Missouri voters would be asked to trim the fat. ​If you work in the private sector in Missouri, chances are pretty good that your business experienced some downsizing (a.k.a. layoffs) over the last few years. That's not the case, though, for those public sector employees who happen to work on the ... More >>

Scott Ogilvie: St. Louis Independent Hopes to Pull Off an Upset in 24th Ward

ward24stl.comCan independent Scott Ogilvie defeat the Democratic political machine?​Daily RFT caught up yesterday with Scott Ogilvie, the independent candidate running for alderman in the 24th Ward -- the southwest sliver of St. Louis that includes the Dogtown, Franz Park, Ellendale and Clifton H ... More >>

Are You Going to Vote Today?

​This message is for you residents of the even wards, especially wards 6, 16, 20 and 24. According to the experts, you're too lazy to vote in today's aldermanic primaries. Geez, we just voted last November, and now we've gotta go to the ballot box again? But voting today does matter. Why? ... More >>

Former Post-Dispatch Editor Was Nat'l Enquirer Source for John Edwards Affair

We now know who's behind John Edwards' implosion.​For all of you scandal-mongers who followed John Edwards' affair and complete-and-utter fall from grace with baited breath, boy, have we got a doozy for you.It turns out the unnamed source close to Edwards' paramour Rielle Hunter who tipped off the ... More >>

The Circus Comes to University City Council

Price and Ricci trying to keep it civil.​For ten minutes last night, members of the University City Council argued about whether one of its members physically lifted his buttocks off his seat during a debate two weeks ago. To members of the council, this seemed like quite an important fact t ... More >>