United States Governors

[RosyDaisy]

Alabama Gov. Bentley is going to resign
http://whnt.com/2017/04/10/sources-gov-robert-bentley-to-resign-today/

[RosyDaisy]

Per that same source above, Gov. Bentley also turned himself in to authorities.

[JMarie]

He's in jail!

http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/10/us/alabama-governor-robert-bentley-meeting/index.html

[Cartmann99]

46 minutes ago, RosyDaisy said:

Per that same source above, Gov. Bentley also turned himself in to authorities.

@RosyDaisy, is Bentley still involved with Rebekah Mason? I didn't see anything in the last few stories I've read, but I admit that I haven't been following this story from the very beginning.

Thanks! 

[onekidanddone]

41 minutes ago, JMarie said:

He's in jail!

http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/10/us/alabama-governor-robert-bentley-meeting/index.html

Oh you beat me to it. As was said during Watergate "It's not the crime, it's the cover up".  When will these Republicans ever learn? It has been said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different result. Please, please oh please let this be just one of many in the next few months

ETA: Let me amend the above.  In Agent's case it IS the crime.

ETA (again): Okay Third time is the charm I hope, then I need to go eat dinner. According to the WoPo article, Alabama has had a string of stunningly wonderful Governors.

Bentley will be Alabama's fourth governor to resign while in office. Most recently, former Alabama governor Guy Hunt (R) resigned in 1993 after being convicted of taking $200,000 from his inaugural fund for personal use.

Former Democratic governor Don Siegelman is serving a seven-year prison sentence after being convicted in 2006 — three years after he left office — for corruption related to bribery.

Maryland is not much better.  We have had two (that I know of) go to jail. Agnew and Mandell.

Edited April 10, 2017 by onekidanddone

[RosyDaisy]

[mention=13860]RosyDaisy[/mention], is Bentley still involved with Rebekah Mason? I didn't see anything in the last few stories I've read, but I admit that I haven't been following this story from the very beginning.
Thanks! 

I don't think so. I believe that relationship died when the scandal broke.

[candygirl200413]

Well I'm just so proud that Bentley really promoted how important the sanctuary of marriage is, because in his eyes marriage is really between one man, one woman and one mistress!

 

[Cartmann99]

12 hours ago, candygirl200413 said:

Well I'm just so proud that Bentley really promoted how important the sanctuary of marriage is, because in his eyes marriage is really between one man, one woman and one mistress!

So, since he lost his retirement package as governor, how long until the redemption tour starts? A book? He'll need some practice, but I'm betting he can look contrite enough to make money on the wingnut welfare circuit. If he can convince his wife to remarry him, and then testify to how insanely happy they are, he'll make a boatload of money.

Jim Bakker might even give him some doom buckets for coming on his show! 

[onekidanddone]

1 hour ago, Cartmann99 said:

So, since he lost his retirement package as governor, how long until the redemption tour starts? A book? He'll need some practice, but I'm betting he can look contrite enough to make money on the wingnut welfare circuit. If he can convince his wife to remarry him, and then testify to how insanely happy they are, he'll make a boatload of money.

Jim Bakker might even give him some doom buckets for coming on his show! 

I see him run for Congress. 

[fraurosena]

2 hours ago, onekidanddone said:

I see him run for Congress. 

Hell, why not for president?

[Cartmann99]

35 minutes ago, fraurosena said:

Hell, why not for president?

Good point. Even if you lose, you can increase your speaking fees on the wingnut welfare circuit, or even possibly land a gig as a political commentator on a cable news network.

[RosyDaisy]

It was Republican wingnuts who took Bentley down. His political career is over.

[47of74]

On 4/10/2017 at 5:38 PM, onekidanddone said:

Maryland is not much better.  We have had two (that I know of) go to jail. Agnew and Mandell.

I don't think Iowa has ever had a Governor go to jail but I know Illinois has had several of its recent Governors go to jail.   Otto Kerner, George Ryan, Rod Blagojevich, Dan Walker all spent or are spending time at the big house.

http://abc7chicago.com/archive/8973798/

I remember after Blago got his ass thrown out of office the state of Illinois went around getting rid of all those "Rod L. Blagojevich, Governor" signs that Blago had nailed to everything in Illinois.  Now they don't put the governor's name on signs anymore.

[GreyhoundFan]

"Iowa’s most expansive gun rights bill ever is now law"

Quote

With one stroke of a pen, Gov. Terry Branstad made Iowa one of the friendliest states in America for gun owners.

Branstad, the long-serving Republican governor selected by President Trump to be ambassador to China, signed a bill that many say is the most comprehensive and broadest piece of legislation on gun rights the state has ever seen. House File 517 will, among other things, allow citizens to use deadly force if they believe their lives are threatened; it will also allow them to sue local government officials if they think gun-free zones have violated their Second Amendment rights.

The signing of House File 517 last week marks the end of a decades-long battle for a bill that does more than make incremental changes to the state’s gun laws and will bring Iowa in line with its more gun-friendly neighbors such as Missouri and Wisconsin, said Barry Snell, president of the Iowa Firearms Coalition, an advocacy group affiliated with the National Rifle Association.

...

“Without exaggeration, House File 517 is the most monumental and sweeping piece of gun legislation in Iowa’s history,” Snell told The Washington Post. “Never before have we passed a bill in which Iowa’s Second Amendment rights are legally recognized, claimed and protected quite so profoundly as this bill does.”

Chris Cox, executive director of the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action, applauded Branstad’s decision to sign the bill into law. The governor had called the bill “reasonable legislation” that he “could support.”

“It’s a great day for freedom,” Cox said in a statement, noting that Iowa had “joined the nationwide movement to expand law-abiding citizens’ constitutional right to self-protection.”

In response to the bill’s signing, Amber Gustafson, leader of the Iowa chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, delivered a stern warning.

“Make no mistake, the gun violence prevention movement is strong in Iowa, and we aren’t going away,” she said in a statement.

Gustafson was most critical of the bill’s “Stand Your Ground” provision, which says citizens who are not doing anything illegal can lawfully use “reasonable force, including deadly force” if they believe their lives are being threatened. The bill also frees a person who kills an “aggressor” from civil liability if he or she can justify the use of force.

That provision has raised concerns that the bill would do more to increase gun violence in the state.

...

Another provision that has attracted criticism would essentially prohibit city, county and township officials from creating weapons-free zones by allowing gun-carrying citizens to file lawsuits and claim damages if they think their civil rights have been infringed upon. Critics have raised concerns about how the bill would affect security at places such as city halls and courthouses, many of which are gun-free zones.

Tom Ferguson, executive director of the Iowa County Attorneys Association, said because the bill does not exempt city halls or courthouses, local jurisdictions would face a constant threat of lawsuits and damages.

“The question becomes, ‘Is someone adversely affected if they want to go in there and are not allowed to carry a gun?’ ” Ferguson said.

The Iowa Judicial Branch, which oversees state courts, shares similar concerns. Spokesman Steve Davis said the judicial branch is unsure that the bill “will maintain the status quo on courthouse security.”

The criticisms, however, did little to dissuade the bill’s avid backers.

HF 517 passed the state Senate 33 to 17 and the House, 57 to 36.

State Rep. Matt Windschitl (R), who led the drafting of the bill, said he has tried for years to make Iowa a Stand Your Ground state, like nearly half of the states in the country.

“This bill has been a work in progress for many years,” Windschitl said. “The driver behind this is to restore Iowans’ individual freedoms and liberties.”

Other provisions include allowing children under 14 to use pistols or revolvers as long as they are supervised by an adult age 21 and older, legalizing concealed-carry at state capitol buildings and grounds, prohibiting the government from confiscating firearms during state emergencies, legalizing short-barreled rifles and shotguns, and making records of permit holders confidential. The bill also would prohibit prosecutors from stacking an additional firearm charge if the weapon has nothing to do with the crime.

...

This is the first time in years that Republicans gained control of both the House and the Senate in Iowa, and gun rights advocates found an opportunity to catch up with its gun-friendly neighbors by addressing gun-rights issues in one fell swoop, said Snell of the Iowa Firearms Coalition, which is affiliated with the National Rifle Association.

It’s not uncommon for states to pass gun-law revisions in one bill, according to the NRA, a supporter of the bill. Alabama, Georgia, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Wisconsin have done so in recent years.

“This important legislation will make it easier for law-abiding gun owners to protect and defend themselves, while bringing Iowa’s gun law in line with those of other states,” NRA spokeswoman Jennifer Baker said in a statement. “The reforms of HF 517 are part of a growing movement across all 50 states to strengthen Second Amendment rights and its enactment will be a significant victory for our members and law-abiding gun owners.”

...

The legislation might make Iowa “the leading edge of protecting the civil right” to bear arms, said Randy Barnett, a law professor at Georgetown University.

“When you have a constitutional right, it often requires the legislation to protect that right,” Barnett said. “That’s what Iowa is doing.”

Another reason to not visit Iowa...

[fraurosena]

11 minutes ago, GreyhoundFan said:

"Iowa’s most expansive gun rights bill ever is now law"

Another reason to not visit Iowa...

As always I am just appalled by the apparent adoration of guns 'you Americans' have. 

Is it some kind of phallic symbol that enhances ones masculinity? You're somehow a manlier man if you tote a gun? 

 

(before anyone gets offended, I expressly used quotation marks to indicate the use of a stereotype there )

 

[GreyhoundFan]

7 minutes ago, fraurosena said:

As always I am just appalled by the apparent adoration of guns 'you Americans' have. 

Is it some kind of phallic symbol that enhances ones masculinity? You're somehow a manlier man if you tote a gun? 

 

(before anyone gets offended, I expressly used quotation marks to indicate the use of a stereotype there )

 

Oh, I completely agree. There are many Americans who are ridiculously fond of guns. I'm not one of them. A friend who is a police office used to try to get me to buy a gun, since I live alone. I refused, because there are far too many cases of a gun being wrestled away from an inexperienced owner and used against said owner, especially since the average person would hesitate before shooting.  I know I would hesitate, which would probably be fatal. I purchased a baseball bat, which stays under my bed. I would not hesitate to hit an intruder with the bat.

I remember a commentator saying that when the second amendment was created, we were a mostly rural country and the guns were muskets. The founding fathers didn't know that we'd have semi-automatic and automatic weapons that can fire hundreds of rounds almost in the blink of an eye.

[fraurosena]

Here's a point in case of the idiocy of gun-loving in America, that just happened to be in the news today:

Southwest Co-Pilot Arrested for Trying to Board Plane With Loaded Gun

Quote

A Southwest Airlines co-pilot was taken into custody for trying to board a plane with a loaded handgun at Albany International Airport on Monday.

Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers discovered a .380 caliber handgun loaded with six bullets in the first officer's bag at the New York airport. After a TSA officer spotted the gun using the carry-on x-ray machine, an Albany County Sheriff’s Deputy arrested the man on gun charges, the security agency said in a press release.

The co-pilot's flight to Chicago had to be delayed for four hours, according to the TSA.

"As a reminder, firearms, firearm parts and ammunition—are not permitted in carry-on bags, but can be transported in checked bags if they are unloaded, properly packed and declared to the airline," TSA said in the press release. Those who do bring guns to the security checkpoint could be arrested or hit with a fine up to $12,000.

TSA officers at the same airport also found a loaded handgun in a passenger's bag at the end of March.

Southwest did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

 

[fraurosena]

President Jefferson Davis said: "The principle for which we contended is bound to reassert itself, though it may be at another time and in another form." 

Well, somebody is trying to live up to that prophecy: Candidate for Virginia governor was endorsed by prominent neo-Confederate at 'Old South Ball'

Quote

A prominent member of the neo-Confederate movement endorsed Virginia gubernatorial candidate Corey Stewart during a Civil War-era themed 'Old South Ball' in early April.

Stewart, a trade attorney and chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors, is challenging frontrunner Ed Gillespie in Virginia's Republican primary for governor. Stewart has made defending Virginia's history as a Confederate state during the Civil War a visible issue in his campaign and, on his website, has referred to calls to remove statues of prominent Confederate figures as 'historical vandalism.'

After Stewart concluded a fiery speech defending the Confederate Flag and southern heritage at the event in Danville, Virginia, Richard Hines, the chairman of Save Southern Heritage, joined Stewart and expressed the group's support for his campaign. [...]

What a douche!

[GreyhoundFan]

24 minutes ago, fraurosena said:

President Jefferson Davis said: "The principle for which we contended is bound to reassert itself, though it may be at another time and in another form." 

Well, somebody is trying to live up to that prophecy: Candidate for Virginia governor was endorsed by prominent neo-Confederate at 'Old South Ball'

What a douche!

Corey Stewart makes the tangerine toddler look like Albert Einstein. He was actually Agent Orange's Virginia campaign chief, but was let go after he went completely wack-a-doodle. It's pretty sad when someone is too crazy for Agent Orange, isn't it? All three of the Repubs running for Governor are awful, just different flavors and shades of awful. There are two Dems running, one is steady and a bit dull, the other is a little more of a maverick (and is being endorsed by Bernie Sanders). I'm going to a meeting tomorrow where one of the Dems is speaking I just hope we can keep the governorship in Dem hands.

[47of74]

4 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

"Iowa’s most expansive gun rights bill ever is now law"

Another reason to not visit Iowa...

Yeah, can't blame people for not wanting to visit Iowa as it's rapidly turning into a reich wing fuckhole.  Hell once I'm done with school I'm thinking of moving out of Iowa.

[clueliss]

Bolding below is mine to emphasize the tie to Pence. 

I expect all sorts of financial shenangians from Greitens after the accusations of how much he gets paid from the charity for vets he founded.  
 

Quote

Greitens’ campaign spends more than $500,000, raises only $25,000 in three months

BY JASON HANCOCK

jhancock@kcstar.com

 

JEFFERSON CITY 

Gov. Eric Greitens’ campaign committee spent more than $500,000 and raised only $25,000 during his first three months in office, according to paperwork filed Monday with the Missouri Ethics Commission.

Those campaign fundraising figures don’t include any activity by Greitens’ nonprofit, A New Missouri Inc., which recently began running digital ads in support of the governor.

The biggest chunk of Greitens’ campaign spending — roughly $190,000 — went to C5 Creative Consulting, a Georgia-based political consulting firm run by Nick Ayers.

Ayers was Greitens’ top campaign strategist last year and is a close adviser to Vice President Mike Pence. He also has ties to the dark money donations Greitens relied on during the 2016 campaign.

Greitens’ campaign paid a South Carolina-based advertising firm $173,000 last month. The firm, Something Else Strategies, is run by a team of longtime GOP political consultants.

Trips to the nation’s capital also made up a chunk of Greitens’ campaign spending. In just three months, the governor spent more than $11,000 on hotels and travel to Washington, D.C.

His campaign raised only $25,000 during the first three months of 2017, far less than the $2.6 million he raised the previous shenanigans. That big drop-off can likely be attributed to voter-imposed campaign contribution limits going into effect in December.

But the $25,000 raised by his campaign doesn’t tell the whole story of Greitens’ fundraising activity.

The governor’s nonprofit, which was created in February and is housed in a Jefferson City office building that was recently purchased by one of Missouri’s most prolific campaign donors, does not have to abide by the contribution limits. It also isn’t required to disclose where it is getting its money.

Missouri Auditor Nicole Galloway, a Democrat and the only statewide officeholder on the ballot next year, reported raising $152,000 during the first three months of the year. She spent $22,000 and has $381,000 cash on hand.

Attorney General Josh Hawley, a Republican who is reportedly eyeing a run for U.S. Senate next year, raised only $3,000 and spent $211,000 from January to March. He has slightly more than $1 million cash on hand.

Lt. Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican, raised $28,000 and spent $17,000. He has nearly $37,000 cash on hand.

Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, a Republican, raised $133,000 and spent $81,000. He has $139,000 cash on hand.

Treasurer Eric Schmitt, a Republican, raised $41,000 and spent $29,000. He has $215,000 cash on hand.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article145190689.html#storylink=cpy

 

 

[fraurosena]

10 minutes ago, clueliss said:

Bolding below is mine to emphasize the tie to Pence. 

I expect all sorts of financial shenangians from Greitens after the accusations of how much he gets paid from the charity for vets he founded.  
 

 

Oh goody! Finally, someone is digging up dirt on Lurch.

There is no doubt in my mind that he's up to his eyeballs in all the corruption and collusion going on, hiding behind his false veneer of holier than thou christianity. 

[47of74]

Wonkette serving it up on Alabama ex lover gov;

https://wonkette.com/615994/alabamas-filthy-ex-gov-lover-gal-booted-from-church-because-sinners-make-jesus-cry

Quote

Even though he’s already resigned from office in a plea deal that avoided impeachment and saved him from any serious prison time for misuse of public funds, we’re still learning all sorts of sexxy/awful details about former Alabama Governor Robert Bentley and his paramour and former top aide, Rebekah Mason (one of these days we’re going to go full 1940s tabloid and call Mason Bentley’s “doxy”). Buried in the investigative report prepared for the state legislature’s impeachment committee is the story of Bentley and Mason being shown the door of the First Baptist Church of Tuscaloosa because of all that sinning, and maybe because the couple’s gross sex-chat tape was scaring the children and turning the communion grape juice into cheap wine.

OK, maybe not the last bit, since Bentley and Mason were actually asked to leave the church about a year ago, shortly before the infamous tape of Bentley talking to Mason about how much he wanted to play with her dirtypillows became public. The details of how the governor and his doxy were asked to get out of the Lord’s House turned up in a transcript of a deposition given by Heather Hannah, an aide to the then-first lady, Dianne Bentley; Hannah helped the former Mrs. Bentley confirm her suspicions that the governor was cheating (which wasn’t hard since the governor synched his sexts to Mrs. Bentley’s iPad).

 

[GreyhoundFan]

We are electing a new governor this year in Virginia. There are two Dems and three Repubs running. Frankly, I would be happy with either of the Dems. All three of the Repubs are awful, but Corey Stewart, the Agent Orange wannabe, is the absolute worst. The race between the Dems has been fairly quiet thus far, but is starting to heat up. The WaPo published this article about the Dem side: "‘Dark money’ vs. corporate cash: Democratic rivals clash over funding"

Quote

RICHMOND — One candidate takes money from an international activist group that doesn’t disclose its sources of funding. The other takes money from Virginia’s biggest utility, which is also the top lobbyist in the state.

As Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam and former congressman Tom Perriello battle for the Democratic nomination for governor, their fundraising is emerging as an issue that defines them as much as their slim differences on policy.

Northam has called on Perriello to renounce “dark money,” just days after Perriello disclosed $230,000 in contributions from an international activist group called Avaaz, which Perriello helped found a decade ago.

As a 501c4 charity, Avaaz is not required to disclose its individual donors. According to its website, it has nearly 45 million members in 194 countries worldwide, with the greatest concentration in Brazil at nearly 9.9 million. It lists just under 2.4 million members in the United States.

The organization says it accepts no money from governments or corporations. Avaaz logged $23.4 million in contributions in 2015, according to its tax return, up from $20.1 million the year before.

Perriello co-founded Avaaz with two colleagues that had helped him start an earlier nonprofit called Res Publica, which was aimed at promoting international justice on behalf of the religious left, as Perriello told the National Catholic Reporter in 2004. One of those colleagues, Ricken Patel, a Canadian, is now Avaaz’s executive director.

Avaaz was also formed in collaboration with MoveOn.org, the Democratic online activist group that has received funding from billionaire George Soros — who is also a major Perriello campaign contributor.

Avaaz says on its website that it supports “action on pressing global, regional and national issues, from corruption and poverty to conflict and climate change.” It does this through media campaigns, lobbying efforts and organizing protest events. The organization has also drawn some international criticism for getting involved in conflicts — pushing for a no-fly zone in Libya, for instance, and for intervention in Syria.

The organization says it sets priorities through online membership polls. Among the top causes in 2016 were protecting sea life, supporting the Paris climate agreement and breaking the grip of big agribusiness companies such as Monsanto.

Though the organization spent some $400,000 to oppose President Trump’s election campaign last year, according to OpenSecrets.org, its website doesn’t reflect much participation in elections. The donation to Perriello’s campaign was the first of its kind, Avaaz spokesman Will Davies said.

“This is the first time Avaaz has ever donated to a political campaign in the U.S.,” Davies said.

Because it is not required to disclose individual donors, it’s also hard to tell whether the Avaaz money came from foreign sources, which would violate federal election law.

...

The big seed money from Avaaz was among several large donations included in Perriello’s first campaign finance disclosure, which was filed earlier this week and showed that he outraised Northam in the first three months of the year but has less cash on hand. During that time, Northam was prohibited by state law from fundraising for the 46 days the General Assembly was in session.

Perriello’s biggest donation was $500,000 in kickoff money from Sonjia Smith, a Democratic contributor from his hometown of Charlottesville.

Overall, however, Perriello’s drew far more from out of state sources than Northam — 57 percent for Perriello compared with 11 percent for Northam, according to the nonpartisan Virginia Public Access Project.

Northam has been quick to emphasize the differences in their donor bases. After Smith published an essay in the Roanoke Times titled “I contributed $500,000 to Tom Perriello. Here’s why,” the Northam campaign jabbed back with a piece titled “I contributed $50 to Ralph Northam — here’s why,” highlighting seven of his grass-roots donors.

Perriello’s campaign, which garnered national attention with an endorsement last week from Sen. Bernie Sanders, declined to comment specifically on the Avaaz contributions. Instead, a spokesman highlighted money that Northam has received from the state’s biggest utility — Dominion Power — and from the health insurer Anthem.

“Tom’s largest contributions came from people long familiar with his advocacy work on progressive causes, not from individuals or corporations with business interests before the state like Dominion or Anthem,” Perriello spokesman Ian Sams said. “So when it comes to money influencing politics, we’ll let Virginians decide which of these sources of contributions are more troubling.”

Northam reported $5,000 from Dominion executive Thomas F. Farrell II in the first quarter of this year, and took more than $20,000 from the corporation in 2016, according to VPAP.

This comes at a time when Dominion’s huge influence in Richmond is under scrutiny. More than 60 Democratic candidates in upcoming House of Delegates races have signed a pledge refusing to take money from Dominion, and Perriello has rejected the utility’s money, as well.

Northam’s campaign emphasized that 92 percent of his contributions were $100 or less, and said he isn’t influenced by big money.

“The only influence on Ralph Northam’s vote is what’s in the best interest of Virginians,” campaign spokesman David Turner said.

I am anxious for the June primary so whichever candidate wins the primary can start to unite the Democrats and Independents in the Commonwealth to beat whichever Repub wins their primary.

[clueliss]

Because this is the proper and effective use of one's charity.  You know along with getting a big fat salary from it rather than helping veterans (oh wait, right you ARE a veteran as you reminded voters with every stupid campaign ad last year)

http://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article145941109.html

Quote

Missouri Gov. Greitens’ nonprofit attacks St. Joseph senator, a fellow Republican

BY JASON HANCOCK

jhancock@kcstar.com

 

JEFFERSON CITY 

Gov. Eric Greitens’ nonprofit is running digital ads attacking a fellow Republican who has been highly critical of the governor’s use of dark money.

Sen. Rob Schaaf, a St. Joseph Republican, has been a thorn in the side of Senate leadership and the governor all year. He’s repeatedly helped grind Senate proceedings to a halt, derailing debate as he criticizes a lack of progress on ethics reform and a pending statewide expansion of Medicaid managed care he thinks is unconstitutional.

Greitens, a Republican, has been one of Schaaf’s regular targets. Schaaf has slammed the governor for his reliance on dark money — campaign donations routed through nonprofits to conceal where the money came from — and publicly questioned his ties to Centene, one of three companies that received a lucrative managed care contract last year.

Centene was among several corporations that helped pay for the governor’s inaugural festivities.

A New Missouri Inc., a nonprofit founded in February by some of the governor’s campaign staff, has begun running digital ads urging Missourians to call Schaaf and tell him to “stop siding with liberals.”

As a nonprofit, A New Missouri is not required to disclose its donors and does not have to abide by campaign contribution limits.

“Politician Rob Schaaf is siding with liberals in the Senate against conservatives,” the group alleges in the ad. “He is attempting to shut down all conservative action in the Senate because of personal political games that he is playing along with the liberals.”

The ad never mentions any specific legislation. The number it includes is Schaaf’s cellphone.

Another ad, which is posted on Twitter, accuses Schaaf of “blocking term limits.” Voters imposed term limits on the legislature in 1994. Term limits also apply to the governor and state treasurer. They do not apply to the lieutenant governor, attorney general or auditor.

“I’m saddened that the governor lacks the courage to confront me directly but rather relies on his dark money donors to impugn my stands for liberty and the downtrodden, and against corruption,” Schaaf told The Star Friday morning.

Schaaf has sponsored legislation aimed at forcing dark money organizations to disclose their donors. So far it has not received a hearing.

Austin Chambers, the governor’s senior adviser, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The governor isn’t the only one criticizing Schaaf for his delay tactics in the Senate.

Members of the Missouri House, worrying that a host of legislative priorities will die because the Senate is stuck in gridlock, have begun publicly condemning Schaaf.

On Thursday, the House voted down a bill partially because Schaaf was its Senate sponsor. Rep. Glen Kolkmeyer, an Odessa Republican, made that point clear while debating the bill on the House floor.

“Mr. Speaker, with everything going on in the Senate,” he said, “why are we helping forward anything on the senator from St. Joe’s agenda?”

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article145941109.html#storylink=cpy

2