March 9th, 2010 On Wednesday, President Barack Obama will travel to St. Louis in an attempt to resurrect his takeover of our health care system, revive his sagging political fortunes, and fill Claire McCaskill’s campaign war chest. But several questions linger about Robin Carnahan’s role in the event.
Press reports indicate that the money raised at the Obama fundraisers will benefit Claire McCaskill’s 2012 campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee—but it is unclear if this money will benefit Robin Carnahan.
Has the White House written off the Carnahan campaign or have they found a way to secretly funnel these donations to her?
“Barack Obama should be campaigning his heart out for Robin Carnahan—after all, Carnahan has pledged to rubberstamp his agenda of a government takeover of healthcare, job-killing cap-and-tax, and the failed stimulus bill, and much more. But maybe Obama sees the writing on the wall and realizes that Carnahan is way too liberal for Missouri,” said Lloyd Smith, Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party. “It appears that the White House has written off the Carnahan campaign. We are not aware of another example of the President ignoring a U.S. Senate candidate on the ballot in less than 8 months and instead raising money for someone who is not up for reelection until 2012.”
When Carnahan appeared with Obama in St. Louis in April to celebrate his first 100 days in office, he described her as “somebody I think may turn out to be pretty good in Washington.” That’s because Carnahan, if elected, would be one of Obama’s staunchest allies in the U.S. Senate.
Already, Carnahan has announced (but refused to explain) her support for much of the national Democrats’ agenda on health care, energy, the ‘stimulus,’ the economy, and terrorist detention. Missourians know this, and they are overwhelmingly rejecting the Obama-Carnahan agenda. The latest poll of the U.S. Senate race shows Carnahan down by 7 points with nearly 60 percent of Missourians disapproving of the job President Obama is doing.
March 6th, 2010 Robin Carnahan announced on Friday evening (via video rather than in person) that liberal firebrand Jim Hightower would deliver the keynote speech at Democrat Days in Hannibal.
The Hannibal Courier-Post reported that Carnahan arranged his last-minute appearance: [Democrat Days organizer John] Yancey credits Robin Carnahan, Missouri’s secretary of state, with helping land Hightower. “I think Robin Carnahan had an inside track to his organization and put the state committee next to him. I believe that’s how the accommodation was made,” he said.
It is ironic that Carnahan would request Hightower’s appearance and agree to introduce him considering his history of criticisms that seem to be aimed directly at Carnahan’s candidacy for U.S. Senate.
Hightower blasted beneficiaries of political dynasties, even coining the famous phrase “he was born on third base and thought he hit a triple.” On Saturday evening, Hightower will be introduced by Robin Carnahan whose grandfather, father, mother, and brother have all held statewide or federal offices.
The Washington Post, December 16, 2000: “It was Texas Democrat Jim Hightower who coined the classic line about George H.: ‘He was born on third base and thought he hit a triple.’ The quote was oft repeated during this year’s campaign: As much as he might have tried, it was impossible for George Walker Bush to run on his own merits… Without the connections, critics say, he would never have been given a second glance for political office.”
Earlier this week, Hightower criticized Barack Obama and the Democrats for being “incapable of taking firm stands;” yet he has come to Missouri at the behest of Robin Carnahan, who has gone more than one year without holding a single campaign press conference and who has refused to debate or discuss the most important issues of the day.
Perhaps Hightower is holding his nose while campaigning in Missouri. Maybe he believes that Carnahan, like John Kerry who he campaigned for in 2004, is a “sack of cement” who will have to be replaced in the next election. “There are those who say that John Kerry is not liberal enough. I don’t care if John Kerry is a sack of cement, we’re going to carry him to victory… First, we get rid of Bush, and then, if necessary, we get rid of Kerry.” (P-D, June 4, 2004)
“Jim Hightower is a far-left firebrand. It’s no surprise that these are the kinds of people who Robin Carnahan has in her rolodex,” said Lloyd Smith, Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party. “What is surprising is that Carnahan would stand on the stage with someone who has a history of criticism that directly undermines her candidacy. Hightower abhors political dynasties and criticized national Democrats for not having a backbone, but he has come to Missouri at the request of Robin Carnahan, who is the product of a political dynasty and who has refused to take or explain her positions on the most important issues of our time.”
March 6th, 2010 JEFFERSON CITY— After days of speculation over whether 2010 Democrat Days had a keynote speaker, Robin Carnahan finally announced that liberal firebrand and ACORN apologist Jim Hightower would we featured at the Saturday evening banquet.
Despite revelations of coordinated efforts to commit voter fraud across the country and undercover videotapes showing ACORN worker turning a blind eye to illegal behavior like underage prostitution, Hightower has vociferously defended the group, claiming that ACORN is just a “grassroots group” and their efforts amount to “civic education.” (Hightower column “ACORN’s Real Crime: Empowering Poor” January 27, 2010)
Carnahan’s extensive relationship with ACORN has been documented on the website www.acorncarnahan.com. The highlights:
More than 1,400 pages of emails between Carnahan’s office and representatives of ACORN. These emails tell the real story about what ACORN calls a ‘great team effort,’ detailing meetings in her office, events, research requests, and more.
High-level Carnahan aides—Mindy Mazur and Paula Hodges—have been shuffled between Carnahan’s official office, her campaign, and America Votes, a liberal organization with deep ties to ACORN.
In 2006, Carnahan ordered the St. Louis Board of Elections to approve more than 5,000 questionable registrations submitted by ACORN.
In 2009, Carnahan issued a report on the 2008 elections, yet she failed to mention ACORN’s organized effort to commit voter fraud across the state by submitting thousands of fraudulent voter registrations to county election boards in Missouri.
ACORN even claimed that Carnahan had been “helpful” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 24, 2008) in its lawsuit against the state of Missouri—a lawsuit that ended after the state agreed to pay ACORN $450,000.
Carnahan downplayed her relationship with ACORN, instead claiming that the group was no different than the Chamber of Commerce.
“Despite more than a dozen convictions in Missouri, the submission of tens of thousands of questionable or false voter registration forms, and shocking videos that show the group promoting criminal activities, Robin Carnahan has passed up every opportunity to distance herself from ACORN. It is appropriate that Carnahan would introduce fellow ACORN apologist Jim Hightower to speak to the liberal activists gathered in Hannibal,” said Lloyd Smith, Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party. “Like Hightower, Carnahan has buried her head in the sand and pretended that ACORN is nothing more than a ‘grassroots group’ that provides ‘civic education.’”
March 5th, 2010 JEFFERSON CITY—After a year of broken promises and failed policies at the state and federal levels, Missouri Democrats are meeting in Hannibal for a somber election year gathering. U.S. Senate candidate Robin Carnahan, who is down in the polls and facing a primary challenge, will be among those in attendance.
Since last year’s Democrat Days in Hannibal, nothing much has changed: Robin Carnahan continues to avoid the media and remains silent about the most pressing issues facing our nation. But she could tell Missourians a lot about her values by simply assigning a letter grade to the job performance of Washington Democrats.
Asked to grade her job performance, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi recently gave herself an ‘A.’ In December, President Obama claimed he deserved a ‘B+,’ despite his plummeting approval ratings in Missouri and across the nation.
“An overwhelming majority of Missourians would certainly disagree that Nancy Pelosi deserves and ‘A’ and Barack Obama earned a ‘B+’ for attempting to force a radical agenda on the American people,” said Lloyd Smith, Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party. “Robin Carnahan agrees with their liberal agenda and wants to go to Washington to rubber stamp it, so Missourians deserve to know what letter grade Carnahan would give to Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid. Rating Washington Democrats’ job performance would not take a lengthy explanation; instead, Robin Carnahan can sum up her thoughts in just one letter.”
For more than a year, Robin Carnahan has refused to explain her support for the Obama-Pelosi-Reid agenda, including their attempts to takeover our health care system, their job-killing cap-and-tax proposal, their failed stimulus, and their treating of terrorists like common criminals.
March 2nd, 2010 Democrats dismiss frivolous complaint filed to benefit Carnahan’s campaign
JEFFERSON CITY—Down in the polls, behind in fundraising, burdened by an unpopular president, and facing a primary challenge, Robin Carnahan’s campaign today was issued its latest setback when the Democrat-led Congressional franking commission soundly rejected a Democrat complaint about her opponent’s official mailer.
Late last year, the Nancy Pelosi-led bipartisan Commission on Congressional Mailing Standards approved a mailer sent to the residents of the 7th District outlining Roy Blunt’s opposition to job-destroying cap-and-trade legislation. Missouri Democrats attempted to distract from Blunt’s position, which a majority of Missourians agree with, by filing a complaint over the mailer with the same commission that approved it.
“Robin Carnahan’s campaign keeps getting more and more desperate. Now, even her fellow Democrats have delivered her a decisive blow—moving quickly to dismiss a complaint against her opponent,” said Lloyd Smith, Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party. “Missourians deserve to know the truth about Roy Blunt’s opposition to cap-and-tax legislation, but Democrats are trying to distract from their job-killing policies with frivolous complaints that are thrown out almost immediately.”
Roy Blunt and the rest of the Missouri Republican delegation oppose the devastating energy tax. Robin Carnahan told The Associated Press she supports cap and tax, and she recently traveled to Seattle for a fundraiser with pro-cap-and-tax environmental extremists who are pouring money into Missouri to benefit her campaign.
February 18th, 2010 Top Carnahan aides shuffled between official office, campaign, & ACORN-linked organizations
JEFFERSON CITY—The Missouri Republican Party today launched a new web video highlighting the revolving door that exists between Robin Carnahan’s office and the ACORN-linked organizations that are bankrolling a massive television ad campaign to benefit her campaign for U.S. Senate.
The Missouri GOP’s video, available at www.acorncarnahan.com, draws attention to the high-level Carnahan aides—Mindy Mazur and Paula Hodges—who have been shuffled between Carnahan’s official office, her campaign, and America Votes, a liberal organization with deep ties to ACORN.
The latest revelations, first reported by 24thstate.com, and the 1,400 pages of email communications between Carnahan’s office and ACORN exposed by the Missouri GOP last year fly in the face of Carnahan’s bizarre claim that she “[doesn’t] have any ties to ACORN.”
Last year, the Missouri Republican Party released email communications between Carnahan’s office and ACORN exposing her friendly relationship with the embattled liberal organization. The documents, also available at www.acorncarnahan.com, detail meetings in her office, events, research requests, and more.
Mazur, who served as Carnahan’s Chief of Staff from 2005-2008, was a major player in many of the inappropriate email communications with ACORN. In April 2008, Mazur left her position as Carnahan’s top aide to work as the Missouri State Director for America Votes. Mazur remained with America Votes until March 2009, when she was named Campaign Manager for Carnahan’s US Senate campaign.
Now, another former top aide to Carnahan, Paula Hodges, is America Votes’ Missouri Political Director.
“Robin Carnahan has said that she has no ties to ACORN, but this outlandish claim is contradicted by the fact that her top staff members have been shuffled between her official office, her campaign, and the special interest groups bankrolling the ads running on her behalf” said Lloyd Smith, Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party. “These revelations come only a few months after more than 1,400 pages of emails between Carnahan’s office and ACORN shed a light on just how cozy her relationship with the embattled liberal organization really is. It is, as ACORN called it, a ‘team effort.’ Despite Carnahan’s attempts to re-write history, the evidence is as incriminating as it is clear: Robin Carnahan and these radical Washington special interest groups are still too close for comfort.”
America Votes was created to coordinate the efforts of liberal advocacy groups—many of the same groups that are now spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on Robin Carnahan’s behalf. Both VoteVets and the League of Conservation Voters, which combined have spent more than $1.3 million on attack ads in Missouri, are members of the America Votes coalition. In addition, America Votes has maintained close ties with ACORN:
- Until October 2008, America Votes-Missouri listed ACORN as part of its Missouri State Coalition. The reference has since been scrubbed from the website. (Copy of cached version of the website is available upon request)
- In 2008, America Votes’ Board included two members of ACORN: Maude Hurd, President of ACORN, and Zach Polett, National Political Director of ACORN. (America Votes IRS Form 8871)
- House Committee on Oversight and Government reform calls America Votes an “ACORN affiliate.” ACORN maintains a list of 59,995 campaign contributors to President Barack Obama’s election efforts The Obama campaign made a substantial contribution to Citizens Services Inc. (“CSI”), a nonprofit corporation. However, in notes dated April 6, 2006 about ACORN affiliate America Votes, the document stated: We prefer that political money go to us in the form of a vendor, which would be CSI, our for-profit business, which doesn’t have to report the cash because it’s a business, like the phone company. (Report, July 23, 2009)
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February 8th, 2010 MOGOP Chairman: ‘Shocking and offensive… Carnahan must immediately condemn this ad.’
JEFFERSON CITY— The latest special interest attack ad launched by allies of Robin Carnahan targeting Roy Blunt uses footage from the bombing of the USS Cole to smear his record of opposition to cap-and-tax. VoteVets.org, a Move-On.org style liberal Washington special interest group, is spending $600,000 to air the attack ad to benefit Robin Carnahan’s campaign for U.S. Senate.
The ad, which can be viewed here, superimposes an image of Congressman Roy Blunt over footage of the aftermath of the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole, an attack which killed seventeen American servicemen and women.
David Cole, Chairman of the Missouri Republican Party, criticized Robin Carnahan and her allies for using the footage and called on Carnahan to denounce the ad.
“It is shocking and offensive that this group would use footage of a heinous attack that killed 17 Americans to smear Roy Blunt’s record and link opposition to cap-and-trade legislation to support for terrorism,” said Cole. “Missourians are tired of the kind of disgusting attack politics that Robin Carnahan and her allies are engaging in. Carnahan should immediately condemn this ad and demand its removal from television.”
February 5th, 2010 Washington special interests spend more than $1.3 million in television ads; Carnahan remains silent
JEFFERSON CITY— Another radical Washington group is pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into Missouri. This time, VoteVets.org, a liberal, Washington-based special interest group has begun running outrageous attack ads against Roy Blunt for his opposition to cap-and-trade legislation—legislation that would kill jobs and cause electricity prices to “necessarily skyrocket,” according to President Obama.
The ad implies that those who oppose this destructive legislation are aiding in the spread of terrorism.
Robin Carnahan, whose campaign is benefiting from these attack ads, must immediately explain whether she believes that opponents of cap-and-trade legislation are complicit in funding terrorism. If not, she should disavow this ad and demand that it be pulled from TV.
“Robin Carnahan supports cap-and-trade even though the Wall Street Journal called it ‘the biggest tax increase in American history.’ But does she agree with the VoteVets ad that Missourians who oppose cap-and-trade are responsible for funding terrorism?” said Lloyd Smith, Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party. “Robin Carnahan has remained silent while Washington special interests pour more than a million dollars into Missouri to benefit her campaign, but these outrageous accusations have no place in Missouri political discourse. Carnahan must immediately condemn this misleading and disgraceful attack ad.”
The ad fails to state whether or not it’s authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee, as is required by federal law. That is, the disclaimer doesn’t indicate whether or not Robin Carnahan coordinated this ad. Such coordination would constitute a massive, excessive, and prohibited contribution to her campaign for which she would need to pay. Until Carnahan comes clean and the appropriate steps have been taken to comply with federal law, this ad should not run on any television stations in Missouri.
Between VoteVets, which claims that it is spending more than $600,000 on tv ads in Missouri, and the League of Conservation Voters, which spent more than $750,000 on attack ads in 2009, Robin Carnahan has benefited from more than $1.3 million in liberal Washington special interest ads on her behalf.
February 2nd, 2010
JEFFERSON CITY—United States Senator Blanch Lincoln recently ripped the League of Conservation Voters for being a “Washington-based” “liberal” “extremist” “special interest group.”
But while Lincoln is willing to stand up to these environmental extremists, her fundraising partner, Robin Carnahan, is relying on them to pay for false and negative ads aimed at helping her lackluster U.S. Senate campaign. Over the past year, Carnahan has remained silent and allowed the LCV to do her dirty work for her—spending more than $750,000 on behalf of her campaign.
“Even Democrats believe that the League of Conservative Voters is an ‘extremist’ group. But Robin Carnahan, who is struggling to raise her own money, has remained silent while this Washington-based special interest poured more than $750,000 into Missouri to benefit her campaign for Senate,” said Lloyd Smith, Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party. “Robin Carnahan and her fundraising partner, Blanche Lincoln, have stood together in support of the Obama-Pelosi agenda, which includes a government takeover of our health care system and a failed stimulus bill. Will Carnahan join Blanche Lincoln in finally exposing the League of Conservation Voters for what they really are?”
Carnahan and Lincoln opened a joint fundraising committee to raise money after Carnahan’s first partner, the embattled Senator Chris Dodd, announced he was retiring.
The League of Conservation Voters has spent more than three-quarters of a million dollars airing attack ads across the state of Missouri in what is clearly an effort to help Carnahan’s campaign for Senate. The LCV bizarrely claims that their ads are not an effort to hurt Roy Blunt’s candidacy, but even the Springfield News-Leader has questioned that claim: “The group said they were not targeting [Blunt] as a U.S. Senate campaign, but as a sitting member of Congress. But that doesn’t explain why the television ads ran in nearly every television market in Missouri and not just the 7th District markets of Springfield and Joplin.”
February 1st, 2010 Lloyd Smith, Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party, issued the following statement regarding Robin Carnahan’s statement on the federal budget:
“After more than a year of wholehearted support for the Obama-Pelosi agenda, Robin Carnahan has issued an empty, disingenuous statement in which she claims to take issue with unidentified parts of the federal budget. But the truth is: the big-government programs supported by Robin Carnahan are precisely the reason we are in the mess in the first place.
“The federal deficit reached unprecedented levels under Barack Obama because of Carnahan-backed debacles like the failed stimulus package that wasted at least $787 billion in taxpayer money. And by supporting the Democrats’ attempts to take over our health care system, Carnahan proved that her fiscal irresponsibility would continue.
“Now, Carnahan thinks that she can make up for twelve months of blind support for reckless policies by issuing one statement. Missourians are not fooled that easily. Robin Carnahan cannot disguise the fact that she wants to go to Washington to rubberstamp the fiscal indiscretions of the Washington Democrats’ agenda.”
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