U.S. Politics

Jay Nixon Vetoes Anti-Sharia Law Bill, Says It Would Hinder Foreign Adoptions In Missouri

Late one evening last month, in one fell swoop at the end of the legislative session, Missouri lawmakers passed three conservative bills that earned the state a bit of national mockery: A bill to block all federal gun control, legislation to restrict a 1992 United Nations green development pledge -- ... More >>

Will Missouri GOP's Gun Owner Privacy Efforts Make State Vulnerable to Terrorism, Fraud?

The debate around the privacy of gun owners has dominated the legislature this session, with Republican lawmakers' persistent outcry regarding record-keeping in the state. The worry is that the Missouri license bureau, under the direction of Democratic Governor Jay Nixon, could be collecting and st ... More >>

$400,000 Ad Blitz Asks Missouri, Jay Nixon to Stop Sending Gun Owner Data to Obama

The allegations that Missouri officials are sending private gun owner information off to the federal government has hit the airwaves this week -- with a $400,000 ad blitz directly targeting Governor Jay Nixon, a Democrat. This radio and television ad campaign, which launched yesterday, comes less ... More >>

Gay Marriage: Governor Jay Nixon Doesn't Want to Talk About it Right Now

With the United States Supreme Court considering gay marriage this week, people across the country are talking about the issue of marriage equality. But not Governor Jay Nixon. Questioned about it at a press conference yesterday -- just two days after Senator Claire McCaskill publicly stated her su ... More >>

[UPDATE] Will Illinois Legalize Gay Marriage During This Week's Lame Duck Session?

Update January 3, 2:15 p.m.: The same-sex marriage bill will not be heard by the state senate until next week, Illinois Senate Democrats said in a statement this afternoon. Several senators whose "yay" votes are considered necessary for the bill to pass are currently away from Springfield due to fam ... More >>

Alderwoman Krewson Will Make Her Case Today for Shining a Light on Dark Money

In Missouri, anybody can donate as much as they want to a political campaign, as long as they disclose who they are with the state Ethics Commission. Well, anybody except 501(c)(4) "social welfare" corporations. These non-profits are not required by any law to reveal where they get their cash, but c ... More >>

With Akin Out, Here Are 5 Wackos to Watch in Missouri Politics

What's Daily RFT gonna do without Todd Akin in the Senate? After breathing a sigh of relief for our state's integrity, we've gotta admit we'll miss the man who has given us so much in mortifying entertainment, from "legitimate rape" to "at the heart of liberalism really is a hatred for God" to the p ... More >>

Republican State House Candidate Called Out for Support of Marijuana Legalization [UPDATE]

Update: We just heard back from Chairman of the Boone County Republican Central Committee C. Bruce Cornett. Meet Mitch Richards. He's the crazy young Republican candidate for the 47th House District in Columbia. He's pro-gun, he's pro-life, he thinks big government should butt out. But he also has ... More >>

Gut Check's Ten Snacks to Pair With Republican Convention Coverage

The 2012 Republican National Convention, or RNC, wraps up its four-day festivities tonight at the Tampa Bay Times Forum in Tampa, Florida with a speech by GOP candidate Mitt Romney. Over the course of the convention, speeches have been made by former governors (and presidential hopefuls) Tim Pawlent ... More >>

Romney Calls on Akin to Drop Senate Bid, Akin Tells Romney to Mind His Own Damn Business

The Washington Post reports that Mitt Romney has joined the overwhelming chorus of Republicans calling on Todd Akin to drop out of the Senate race today. The Romney campaign reportedly released a statement from the presidential candidate: As I said yesterday, Todd Akin's comments were offensive a ... More >>

Straight Shootin': The firepower at the NRA convention is incredible, just like the rhetoric

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 >>

Peter Kinder Second to Anthony Weiner in Embarrassing Tweets of 2011

​Peter Kinder didn't need the Riverfront Times to embarrass him last year by exposing his bizarre relationship with a former stripper and Penthouse centerfold. It turns out Missouri's lieutenant governor is plenty skilled at embarrassing himself -- via Twitter. Last week the NationalJournal named ... 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 >>

Hundreds Flock to Jay Nixon's Downtown Fundraiser

​Daily RFT didn't get an invite* to Governor Jay Nixon's fundraiser yesterday, but apparently hundreds of other people did.A source in attendance tells Daily RFT that an estimated 600 people arrived last night at the Renaissance Grand downtown to support Nixon in his bid for re-election. David Pea ... More >>

Audit Blasts Tour of Missouri, Peter Kinder

Peter Kinder​Lt. Governor Peter Kinder voted to give $2.5 million in taxpayer money to the non-profit company running the Tour of Missouri bicycle race -- even while he served as the company's chairman.And that's a conflict of interest, says the state auditor. In a newly released audit of the Miss ... More >>

Major Political Donor to Peter Kinder Says He'll No Longer Support Candidate

tamko.comDavid Humphreys gave $1.31 million to Missouri Republican candidates and causes in 2010.​A major Republican donor who this year alone contributed $125,000 to Peter Kinder's political campaign says he's pulling his support from the candidate. David Humphreys, owner of the Joplin-based Tamk ... More >>

Governor Nixon Toys With City's Hopes for Local Control in Special Session

Will Governor Nixon throw St. Louis a bone this September?​On Wednesday, Mayor Francis Slay wrote on his blog and the Post-Dispatch reported that a bill to bring local control to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department would be included in the special session now being planned for Septemb ... More >>

Dems to Ask Justice Department For Photo ID Investigation

Marcia Fudge: The Cleveland congresswoman wants the Justice Department to investigate photo ID laws like the one planned for Missouri ballots in 2012​Next year, Missouri voters will be asked to consider an amendment to the state's constitution, requiring voters to bring an unexpired Missouri or fe ... More >>

Rex Sinquefield Donates $82,000 to Peter Kinder's Campaign

Peter Kinder has 82,000-plus reasons to smile today.​Missouri's political puppet master Rex Sinquefield yesterday made two contributions to Lt. Governor Peter Kinder's campaign coffers, totaling $82,191. Kinder is expected to soon announce that he'll run for governor against incumbent Jay Nixon in ... More >>

It's Already 2012 for Claire McCaskill: Attack ads circulating online and on the radio

How Much Does American Crossroads Hate Claire McCaskill?

Watch your back, Claire. They're already out to get you.​You may have heard that Claire McCaskill, Missouri's senior senator, is running for re-election in 2012. She doesn't know who her Republican opponent is yet. (Congressman Todd Akin and former state treasurer and gubernatorial candidate 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 >>

Politico: Peter Kinder Has Little Chance of Defeating Jay Nixon for Governor

Kinder: The interesting choice for governor. ​Republican officials and strategists in Missouri have little faith in Lt. Governor Peter Kinder's ability to unseat Governor Jay Nixon in 2012, according to an article published yesterday on Politico.com.The story, titled "In Missouri, Random Acts of P ... More >>

Governor Jay Nixon Gets Subtly Mocked on This American Life

Image viaMissouri Governor Jay Nixon, kinda laughed at by Ira Glass​Politicians love love love talking about job creation, reported Ira Glass over the weekend on NPR's This American Life. In fact, some pols are so crazy about new jobs, they'll hold a press conference when a government program crea ... More >>

On the Tenth Day the Missouri Legislature Created Prayer

We're guessing that this isn't the kind of prayer Missouri legislators want to guarantee.​Tenth day of May, that is. Yes, yesterday the Missouri Legislature passed another proposed amendment to the Missouri Constitution. If passed by Missouri voters in 2012, the amendment would guarantee the right ... More >>

Guesstimate: One in Four Missouri Legislators Armed and Ludicrous

How Missouri legislators envision themselves when they close their eyes.​Missouri legislators are once again tackling the big issues this week -- debating a bill that would allow more people to pack heat inside the state capitol. Currently, only state senators and representatives are allowed to ca ... More >>

MO Auditor Dings Cops for Missing Asset Forfeiture Reports

​Last month, in a story about the Camp Zoe case called "Shakedown," the RFT's Keegan Hamilton detailed the shocking process by which federal and state law enforcement authorities may legally seize cash, land or other valuables from a citizen -- even in cases in which the citizen has never been cha ... More >>

Wisconsin Walkout: Could It Happen in Missouri?

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon: He's no Scott Walker.​Catching up on the news from Wisconsin -- where Democratic state senators have gone on the lam rather than give Governor Scott Walker the quorum he needs to gut state workers' collective-bargaining rights -- we found ourselves wondering: Could suc ... More >>

More Fallout Over Speaker Tilley's "Race-Baiting" Comment; Right-Wing Media Fuming

Tilley: When this guy is the Tea Party's public enemy No. 1, the whole world has gone insane.​A comment the Missouri House Speaker made this week regarding the fight over local control of the St. Louis police department has infuriated right-wing media -- and oddly -- placed free-market guru Rex Si ... More >>

Missouri Legislators Are Storm Tough -- Unlike Illinois Pansies

State Rep. Cynthia Davis (R-O'Fallon) photographed on her way to work this morning.​Say what you will about Missouri legislators, there's one insult you cannot hurl at our state's elected officials. They're not wussies when it comes to the weather. Yes, while their counterparts in Illinois turn an ... More >>

Is This 1972? Nixon Cancels Trip to Taiwan; Doesn't Want to Offend Chinese

Nixon glad-handing in China, 1972.​Quick! Is this 2010 or 1972? If you guessed the latter, you'd be forgiven today -- especially after reading about how "Nixon" recently canceled a visit to Taiwan after hearing that the trip could offend the Chinese. But wait! It's not Richard Nixon we're talking ... More >>

Missouri Likely To Favor Any Republican Candidate Except Palin in 2012

​A Public Policy Poll released yesterday indicates that all but one of a handful of Republican presidential candidates would win Missouri in 2012. That exception is Sarah Palin.The poll found that former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee would be the strongest candidate for Missouri's 11 electoral v ... More >>

Fair-y Tales: Russell Pearce and other illegal immigrant populists rely on misleading, right-wing reports to scapegoat immigrants and terrify penny-pinched Americans

In Asset Forfeiture Cases Like Camp Zoe, Feds Help Local Police Keep Money From Missouri Schools

Image ViaThe motto and emblem of the DEA's asset forfeiture program.​In their complaint filed earlier this month, federal prosecutors estimate that the 350-acre music venue and campground Camp Zoe is worth $600,000. The authorities say the land should be confiscated using a procedure called civil ... More >>

In Asset Forfeiture Cases Like the One at Camp Zoe, Feds Help Local Police Keep Money From Missouri Schools

Image ViaThe motto and emblem of the DEA's asset forfeiture program.​In their complaint filed earlier this month, federal prosecutors estimate that the 350-acre music venue and campground Camp Zoe is worth $600,000. The authorities say the land should be confiscated using a procedure called civil ... More >>

Top Ten Signs From the Gateway Arch September Tea Party Rally

Click here for a full slideshow from the Gateway to November Tea Party Rally. On Sunday September 12, Tea Party members and their fellow travelers descended on the grounds of the Gateway Arch to protest the federal government. As with most political rallies, homemade signs were abundant and, as wit ... More >>

Dana Loesch Meets Adam Shriver...Love Does Not Blossom

Loesch (left) introduces Shriver to the term "meet and screed."​They met at last -- Tea Party darling Dana Loesch and blogger Adam Shriver. As regular Daily RFT readers know, Shriver runs the St. Louis Activist Hub -- a blog dedicated to fact-checking the spigot of hyperbole flowing from the local ... More >>

Kim Massie Pulls Out of September 12 Tea Party Event

Vocalist Kim Massie, beloved locally for her blues and gospel performances, has pulled out of a planned performance September 12 under the Gateway Arch -- saying she didn't realize that the event was sponsored by the St. Louis Tea Party.In a Facebook post yesterday, Massie made it clear she does not ... More >>

Man Arrested for Firebombing Russ Carnahan's Campaign Office

Source: Carnahan CampaignThe firebombing left some papers charred but created no major damage.​St. Louis police have arrested a 50-year-old white man in connection to the bizarre firebombing early yesterday of Congressman Russ Carnahan's campaign headquarters. The incident occurred around 2:20 a.m ... More >>

Michele Bachmann Calls It In: Campaigned for Roy Blunt Via Skype

Image via​When people say that elected officials phone it in, they really aren't kidding. Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann campaigned for fellow Republican Roy Blunt's Senate campaign here via Skype over the weekend, the St. Louis Beacon reports. Bachmann was hospitalized over the wee ... More >>

Trial Date Set for Last Summer's "Beating" Involving Tea Party, Union Workers

thinkprogress.orgGladney days after the alleged assault.​Months and months worth of allegations and bickering could perhaps end this fall when the infamous case of Kenneth Gladney heads to trial October 26. Gladney, as you'll recall, is the black conservative (and Tea Party sympathizer) who was al ... More >>

It's Official: Obama to Drink Bud Light at Today's Beer Summit

​Earlier this week we speculated on which brew President Barack Obama would enjoy at today's "Beer Summit" called to diffuse the tiff between Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Cambridge police officer James Crowley.Gates is said to be partial to the Jamaican beer Red Stripe. While Crowley prefers microbre ... More >>

President Obama to Throw Out First Pitch at All-Star Game

strictlyfitteds.comWe know who President Obama will be pulling for -- the American League. This just in from Major League Baseball: PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA TO THROW OUT FIRST PITCH AT MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL ALL-STAR GAMEObama to Become the Fourth U.S. President to Throw Out First Pitch at MLB All-Star ... More >>

Elephant Down: Republicans are Leaving Their Party in Droves, Especially in the Midwest

flickr.com/photos/amanda kay riley It is hardly breaking news to note that Republicans here and across the country have been shedding their party like a chrysalis for quite some time now. But what is extraordinary is the sheer volume of the desertion. A new Gallup Poll shows that the precipiti ... More >>

Political Fringe: The Marginal Parties at the Veep Debate

Wash. U. to get an 'Ifill' at VP Debate

Photos: McCain / Palin Rally in O'Fallon

Hot Damn! McCain's Pick of Palin Sets Bill for VP Debate in St. Louis

Mount Buzzmore

Scandals, shootings and tax anger crack Westfall façade, but bags of money, no GOP opponent -- yet -- may keep him on his pedestal