Nixon tried to fire the soldiers’ general

JEFFERSON CITY—Shortly after the newly appointed members of the Missouri Veterans Commission were sworn in, Jay Nixon attempted to use his new allies to fire a well-respected general who leads the commission.  The Nixon appointee who led the politically-motivated charge against Brigadier General Larry Kay admitted that, if successful, a demotion could have violated federal law.

“Jay Nixon and his allies on the Missouri Veterans Commission should be ashamed of their politically-motivated attempt to fire Brigadier General Larry Kay,” said Lloyd Smith, Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party.  “Kay has served his country honorably, both stateside and in harms way.  He, and all Missouri veterans, deserve better from their governor and his hand-picked commission.”

Kay recently returned from a year of service overseas, where he commanded a multi-national peacekeeping force and the largest deployment of Missouri National Guard soldiers since World War I.

Excerpts from the Post-Dispatch story:

The coup attempt caught state Rep. David Day, R-Dixon, by surprise. Day is chairman of the House Veterans Committee. “I’m dumbfounded,” Day said. “Larry Kay is a great guy. What was attempted, in my opinion, was very inappropriate.” Day said he can’t imagine a new commission member going into their first meeting “and making a motion to get rid of a guy who just got back from war.”
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[Nixon appointee Emmett] Fairfax said that one reason the vote failed was a concern that the commission could be in violation of federal law if it demoted Kay while he was still on active duty.

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Sen. David Pearce, R-Warrensburg, said he hopes the commission doesn’t try to fire Kay again. “It is troubling to have commissioners who were just sworn in getting rid of one director and hiring another one before there’s even been one meeting,” said Pearce, who serves on the veterans affairs committee in the Senate. “The timing couldn’t be worse.”