Capitol Calling

Armistice

Rod Jetton, a prominent political consultant who was Speaker of the House, told various news agencies today that he would shut down his firm - Rod Jetton & Associates - to focus on defending himself against accusations of felony assault.

The move brings about some questions about the future of Republican electoral politics.

Before and since leaving the Missouri House, Jetton operated a consulting business that counted a number of major politicians as clients. Included on that list were House Speaker-designate Steve Tilley, R-Perryville, Rep. Tim Jones, R-Eureka, Sen. Jason Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau, and Sen. Luann Ridgeway, R-Smithville. Jetton also did consulting work Mitt Romney's presidential campaign.

Along the way, a rivalry of sorts emerged between Jetton and several other Republican political consultants, including Jeff Roe, David Barklage and James Harris. It was becoming somewhat common for rival clients to spar, which was explained a bit in this St. Louis Beacon article I wrote a few months ago.

The rivalry spilled out into the electoral arena. Jetton, for instance, was the consultant for Bob Onder's unsuccessful congressional campaign. Barklage, Harris and Roe teamed up to assist Blaine Luetkemeyer, a Republican who eventually went on to win the general election. The consultant skirmish even became a side story in the 2008 election cycle, to some extent.

So now that Jetton's consulting business is no more, what happens now? It's hard to say.

In Missouri, there are numerous parts of the state where a political party is dominant. For Democrats, that's in the major cities. And for Republicans, it's in the rural areas of the state and some of the suburbs.

Therefore, it's not out of the question that multiple candidates emerge when there's an electoral vacancy. There will be numerous Republican candidates seeking Sen. Delbert Scott's Senate seat, for instance, because winning that primary essentially assures the winner of an eight-year state Senate term. That's the same reason why a number of Democrats are seeking Sen. Joan Bray's seat.

Major candidates are going to spend a lot of money. And since a political consultant isn't going to work for multiple candidates in a single contest, there will probably be a inter-party competition within the GOP.  A similar situation will likely continue within the Democratic Party as well.

And so, it would not be surprising if another Republican political consultant emerges out of Jetton's ashes. For the record, I'm predicting it will be this guy.

KC Star: Jetton charged with felony assault

The Kansas City Star's Buzz Blog reported this afternoon that former House Speaker Rod Jetton, R-Marble Hill, has been charged with felony assault in Scott County.

The post stated that a probable cause statement said that a woman accused Jetton of hitting her on the face and choking her, leaving bruises. The Star went on to say that the probable cause statement noted that the two agreed on a "safe word" "to use as a stop word during intercourse."

Case.net records state that a warrant has been issued for Jetton's arrest, with bond set at $2,500.

Jetton served as the most powerful House Republican from 2005 to 2009. He left electoral politics to become a political consultant.

Read the article here.

UPDATE: Dave Catanese at the KY3 Blog has snippets from the probable cause statement.

Senators back Schweich

A group of Missouri state senators backed Thomas Schweich's bid for state auditor today.

In addition to nabbing the support of Senate President Pro Tem Charlie Shields, R-St. Joseph, Schweich was endorsed by Sens. Brad Lager, R-Savannah, Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia, Delbert Scott, R-Lowry City, and Bill Stouffer, R-Napton.

The new release included a quote from Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder that actually contained very, very, very light profanity.

"He impresses the hell out of people with his qualifications, his commitment to public service and his solid fiscally conservative credentials," said Kinder in his statement. "His campaign is succeeding because he is convincing people he is the right person to protect our hard earned tax dollars."

Schaefer alluded to his upset win over then-Sen. Chuck Graham, D-Columbia, in his statement backing Schweich.

“I know what it’s like to run against an incumbent in an uphill battle and win," said Schaefer. "I believe Tom has the tenacity, experience and drive to do the same in 2010. He is the best candidate for the job and for Missourians.”

Worth noting is both Schaefer and Schweich have been supported in the past by former U.S. Sen. John Danforth, R-Missouri. Danforth headlined a fundraiser last year for Schaefer's Senate campaign. He also has been seen as one of Schweich's key supporters.

In some ways, the GOP primary for auditor has some commonality with the 2006 campaign. A number of state senators endorsed state Sen. John Loudon's auditor bid, while a number of state House members backed state Rep. Jack Jackson, R-Wildwood. Both were defeated by then-Platte County Auditor Sandra Thomas.

But it's also worth noting that House Budget Chairman Allen Icet, R-Wildwood, has been endorsed by Sens. Jim Lembke, R-Lemay, Jason Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau, Luann Ridgeway, R-Smithville, and John Griesheimer, R-Washington. So the Senate-House split is not absolute.

The winner of the GOP primary will face state Auditor Susan Montee, the Democratic incumbent.

CBT: The Gift and the Curse

My latest post for the Columbia Business Times explores the impact of Sen. Kurt Schaefer's ascension to the vice chairmanship of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The post also looks at how Rep. Chris Kelly, D-Columbia, will be involved in the budgetary process since he will no longer serve as the ranking member of the House Budget Committee.

You can read the post here.

Carnahan, Blunt react to Obama's Afghanistan

Two of the contenders for the soon-to-be-vacant U.S. Senate seat in Missouri released statements on President Barack Obama's speech on Afghanistan.

U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Springfield, said Obama's speech tried to "walk a line between the political views of those who are ready to give up on the war in Afghanistan, and the real-world needs of both our troops on the ground and the Afghan people, all of whom need to have confidence that the U.S. is there to get the job done."

"While I’m pleased that he will take steps toward adopting General McChrystal’s troop level recommendations, setting a published timetable while announcing a troop increase will satisfy neither of those groups," Blunt said in a statement.

On Wednesday morning, Secretary of State Robin Carnahan released a statement saying that she supported "the decision by the President and his national security team to increase our troop levels in Afghanistan and I am encouraged that the strategy is receiving bipartisan support."

“We must protect our nation from future attacks by stabilizing Afghanistan and the region so that it is not a safe haven for terrorists and is eventually responsible for its own security," Carnahan said in the statement. "It's vital that there be clear benchmarks, strict oversight and that our troops have the tools they need to succeed and ultimately return home safely." 

 

 

KBIA Commentary: Rosenbaum in Arkansas

This week's KBIA commentary touches on my historic trip... to Arkansas.

More specifically, the piece takes a look at how Democrats in Arkansas and Missouri have moved to the right of their national party. It also looks at whether such a move could spark a backlash.

Take a gander:

Luetkemeyer praises Obama's Afghanistan decision

U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-St. Elizabeth, praised President Barack Obama's decision to send more troops to Afghanistan.

Obama made the announcement official tonight in a national speech from West Point. His plan would send roughly 30,000 troops to the war-torn country for an 18 month period.

Here's the freshman lawmaker's statement:

“After much delay, it is good to see that the president and the administration have finally decided to give our troops critical resources that they need to move forward with our mission in Afghanistan. I look forward to working with my colleagues and military commanders to ensure that our troops have the resources they need to complete their mission and return home safely. We must never waver in our support for our men and women in uniform as they stand on the front lines of freedom and fearlessly fight to protect our nation and families.”

AP: Yates steps aside

Rep. Brian Yates, R-Lee's Summit, is resigning from the Missouri House on Tuesday, according to an article from the Associated Press.

Yates announced that he would leaving the Missouri House earlier in an interview published last week with the Independence Examiner. In that article, the term-limited lawmaker said that he wanted to spend more time with his 18-month-old son.

Yates, who is an attorney by trade, served as the chairman of the Insurance Policy Committee. He also served on the House Judiciary Committee.

Yates decision to leave politics throws of a monkey wrench of sorts at conventional wisdom. Yates was perceived to be the prime challenger to House Speaker Pro Tem Bryan Pratt's run for a Missouri Senate currently held by state Sen. Matt Bartle, R-Lee's Summit.

State Rep. Gary Dusenberg, R-Blue Springs, could also run in the race to succeed Bartle. And Yates noted in the Examiner article that he would endorse "a conservative candidate" for the position this week.

Bartle's seat is overwhelmingly Republican and it widely assumed that the winner of the GOP primary will become the next state senator from the district.

Other state House members who have bailed out early include Steve Brown, Ed Wildberger, T.D. El-Amin and Dennis Wood. Wildberger and Wood took appointments from Gov. Jay Nixon to county positions, while Brown and El-Amin stepped down after pleading guilty to felonies.

NYT: Another Paul shakes up Kentucky U.S. Senate race

Taking a short diversion from Missouri politics for a moment, I read with interest this article from the New York Times about Rand Paul's run for the U.S. Senate in Kentucky.

Rand Paul happens to be Rep. Ron Paul's son. The elder Paul, R-Texas, shook up the 2008 presidential race by raising tens of millions of dollars and enlisting a vocal coalition of supporters.

From the article:

Capitalizing on a hearty distrust of government and an anti-Republican-establishment fervor among conservatives, he has used the Internet to raise more than $1.3 million since he began his campaign in August.

“This primary is really about the future of our party,” said Dr. Paul, 46, who has lived in Kentucky since 1993 and has never run for public office before.

“The Republican platform specifically says we don’t believe in bailing out private business, and yet we did,” Dr. Paul said in a break between cataract operations. “The Republican platform also specifically says we don’t believe in government ownership of private businesses, and yet a lot of Republicans voted for that.”

Dr. Paul has seen a surge in popularity and fund-raising in the last several months, setting the stage for what pundits here say could be one of the most expensive and competitive primary contests in state history.

Ron Paul actually ran unsuccessfully for a U.S. Senate seat in Texas, losing to eventual winner Phil Gramm.

I had the chance to interview Ron Paul several times last year. He talked about his Internet popularity, his positions on foreign affairs and his take on whether the U.S. should go back to the gold standard. You can read one of the interviews here.

CBT: Forsee letter sparks debate

University of Missouri System President Gary Forsee's letter opposing "Cap and Trade" legislation is attracting a lot of attention from both sides of the political spectrum.

Republicans such as U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Springfield, and popular radio host Rush Limbaugh are praising Forsee's opposition to the bill. But supporters of the legislation aimed at cutting carbon emissions aren't so enthusiastic.

You can read more about Forsee's letter and the reaction at the Columbia Business Times Blog.