KC Buzz Blog

I guess the Lord must be in New York City

    Local conservative talk show host Jerry Agar is apparently headed to New York City.. leaving KMBZ short one right-winger.

   In New York, Jerry can pick on the New York Times.

UPDATE:  See comment below:  Jerry will still do his show here, then do a New York show.

MUSICAL UPDATE:  Regular readers may have noticed that I like to headline my posts with references to popular song.  In this case, it's Harry Nilsson.

Posted by Dave Helling

Ike's history lesson

    Like an irate teacher, Rep. Ike Skelton rapped Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's knuckles today for missing the lessons of World War II.

    Rumsfeld told the American Legion convention Tuesday that the unchecked rise of Nazism in the 1930s came amid "cynicism and moral confusion" in the west.

    But when he said, "It is apparent that many have still not learned history's lesson," a clear shot at critics of the administration's handling of Iraq and the war on terror, Skelton and other Democrats fired back.

  "It is a dangerous business to accuse those who disagree with you of moral and intellectual confusion," Skelton said. "Debate in our democracy is based upon respect, not vilification. The lesson he should have chosen to draw from World War II is the lesson of the successful allied occupation of Germany after the war. That lesson might have served to prevent the misadventure of Iraq's occupation today."

Posted by David Goldstein   

Wednesday's open thread

  What's up?

Rail splitter

  Rep. Emanuel Cleaver says his office tried to contact Clay Chastain a couple of weeks ago to talk about Chastain's light rail plan on the November ballot.

   Cleaver's message:  that the feds are willing to provide some planning money for light rail, but Chastain's repeated petition drives gum up the works.

   Of course, Cleaver and Chastain clashed early and often in the 1990s... when both lived here full time.

    In the meantime, Cleaver says, local politicians still think light rail could work -- even though they hope Chastain's plan goes down in flames.

Posted by Dave Helling

Morning buzz

• McClatchy's Steve Thomma reports that Just 10 weeks before the midterm elections, the White House has irked its base again. This time it's social conservatives, who are disappointed that President Bush endorsed a decision to allow over-the-counter sales of the Plan B morning-after contraceptive pill to adults. Making matters much worse, the White House all but blew off those conservatives who called to ask about the decision.
• Just when it looked as if the Texas race to fill Tom DeLay’s vacant House seat could not get any weirder, it did. Already, there is a general election on Nov. 7 featuring a Republican Congressional candidate who must run as a write-in because Democrats successfully sued to keep DeLay in the spotlight on the ballot. That election will select a House member for the next two years. Then on Tuesday, GOP Gov. Rick Perry called a special election for the same day, for the same seat. That election will fill DeLay’s unexpired term until January. The two concurrent elections may or may not offer the same field of candidates; the filing deadline is Friday, and more candidates could emerge. But the Republican write-in candidate in the general election, Dr. Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, said she would run in the special election. That means she will be on the ballot in the special election, but not in the general.
• Fascism "seems to be the new buzz word" for GOPers, the AP reports.
• In Iowa, former Democratic Virginia Gov. Mark Warner said Democrats "must stop conceding entire regions of the country." AP does the story.
• At RealClearPolitics.com, Jack Kelly disables the "Plame and 'Bush lied' meme."

Posted by Keith Chrostowski

Talent rings the bell at Board of Trade

   Jim Talent was tempted.

   Ring the opening bell just a little bit early. Break the regulation. Trigger an inquiry.

   "That would give you guys a story," he told reporters.

   But Talent, the incumbent U.S. senator seeking re-election in November, restrained himself. He waited for the electronic clock to hit 9:30:00 this morning, then rang the opening bell at the Kansas City Board of Trade. That set off the customary buying and selling frenzy among wheat traders.

   The Republican was setting off on a three-day ag tour of Missouri. The Board of Trade was his first stop on day one.

   He also addressed a couple of issues.

   On the anniversary of Katrina, Talent said he's attempted to use that catastrophe to create a sense of urgency about the possibility of an earthquake along the New Madrid fault in southeast Missouri.

   "That would be a Katrina-like disaster, probably even worse," particularly for eastern Missouri, Talent said.

     On the burgeoning Missouri ethanol industry, he talked about the irony for corn growers. Traditionally, this country had too much corn. Now with new demands for ethanol, corn growers may struggle to meet the new demand.

   "I'm confident they can meet the challenge," Talent said.

   On Iraq, he said he was confident that troop withdrawals can begin once the country stabilizes.

Posted by Steve Kraske

Barnett takes aim at Sebelius' latest spot

   Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' latest ad features one of the most dramatic depictions of a legislative free-for-all ever seen on the TV screen.

   You can see it here.

   The claim sure to make Republicans crazy: "Governor Kathleen Sebelius broke through years of legislative gridlock to pass a plan that strengthens our schools," an announcer intones.

   Her Republican rival, Jim Barnett, was quick to call this evening to offer an opposing viewpoint.

   "It's very disingenuous for the governor to claim credit for solving school finance when it's been three years since she last introduced a school finance plan.

   "That plan called for a massive tax increase and would have tanked an already fragile economy in the state of Kansas."

   So who solved the school-finance crunch?

   Lawmakers under orders from the state Supreme Court, Barnett said.

   "The governor sat on the sidelines."

   And Sebelius' plan, Barnett added, would have fallen far short of what the state Supremes were demanding anyway.

   Stay tuned. This issue isn't going anywhere.

Posted by Steve Kraske

McCaskill: Stop "hot fuel" scam

   U.S. Senate candidate Claire McCaskill today called for the installation of temperature-sensing "smart" pumps at gas stations to halt the sale of so-called hot fuel.

   The Star on Sunday disclosed the practice of selling hot fuel. Because fuel expands when it's hot outside, consumers don't always get as much gasoline as they think they're buying.

   The cost to consumers: $2.3 billion a year, the newspaper said.

   Special temperature-sensing pumps can be installed to stop the practice. And that's what McCaskill proposes.

   "If it's not one thing with these guys, it's another," McCaskill said in a statement. "Big oil is out to get your bottom dollar, and Congress bends over backwards to protect them all the while."

Posted by Steve Kraske   

Claire's hubby talks about his finances

   The Post-Dispatch offered up an interesting take the other day on the finances of Joseph Shepard, husband of U.S. Senate candidate Claire McCaskill.

   Go here to read it.

   A companion piece profiled Brenda Talent, wife of the senator. You can read it here.

Posted by Steve Kraske

Barnett nabs GOP leaders past, present and future

   The message from the Jim Barnett campaign for Kansas governor today was unmistakable:

   He has the backing of all wings of his Republican Party.

   Barnett announced endorsements from conservative and moderate leaders and from governors past and, probably, future.

   Among the names: former Gov. Bill Graves, U.S. Sens. Sam Brownback and Pat Roberts, former U.S. Sen. Bob Dole and the state's three current GOP members of Congress: Jerry Moran, Jim Ryun and Todd Tiahrt.

   Also endorsing Barnett was former Gov. Bill Avery.

   Said Graves, "I am happy to give Jim Barnett my full support."

Posted by Steve Kraske