Monday, April 22, 2013
The former U.S. Representative says the Republican Party needs conservatives in it moving forward.
The official ceremony was over, but still plenty of people who wanted to press the flesh with the man in Congress who helped steer a bill through to a conclusion. People who wanted their picture taken to commemorate the day. For a few minutes, it may have seemed like Todd Akin was back in Congress representing much of West St. Louis County on Friday, after a ceremony dedicating the Ballwin Post Office branch on Manchester Road in honor of Army Specialist Peter Navarro, the Wildwood native who died serving his country in Iraq. At this ceremony, Akin was in the front row of the audience, not on the riser giving remarks. That fell to Ann Wagner, the Ballwin Republican who succeeded Akin when he ran for the U.S. Senate last fall. The general …
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Here are the top political and policy stories from Beyond November, a collaboration of the St. Louis Beacon, Nine Network and St. Louis Public Radio.
Monday, December 17, 2012
Representative-Elect Ann Wagner answered more Patch user questions and talked about the work being done to prepare as she's sworn into office next month
Visitors to 14551 Manchester Rd., Ballwin, MO 63011 will notice the level of activity there is not up to the level it was just a few weeks ago. In fact, the walls in the campaign office of now Congresswoman-Elect Ann Wagner are now barren, save for the maps she carried around during campaign appearances to explain the boundaries of Missouri's new Second Congressional district. But while the campaign apparatus will wind down as soon as this week, Team Wagner is still plenty busy. As soon as the Ballwin Republican's victory over Democrat Glenn Koenen was assured November 6, another campaign began, this time for a leadership position. She was voted by her freshman colleagues to be their voice with GOP house leaders. Next up was getting a …
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
In the final survey of Red Arch and Blue Arch insiders before election day, Democrats said they are disappointed President Obama largely conceded Missouri to Mitt Romney.
In a primary and general election season that has seen more than a fair share of advertisements, Republicans and Democrats polled in an unscientific survey have agreed that Senator Claire McCaskill's ad strategy was better than that of her GOP opponent, U.S. Rep. Todd Akin. That result, obtained through the final pre-election survey of "Red Arch" and "Blue Arch" Democratic and Republican activists in Missouri, may not come as much of a surprise, given the fundraising challenges faced by Akin since August. His comments about rape and pregnancy saw party and third party funding sources dry up until the campaign's waning days, as the GOP largely sought his exit from the race. Still when asked, "Regardless of your partisan preference, which U…
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Regardless of their views on congressman's statement and Romney's response to it, delegates say it's time to move on.
TAMPA, FL — If Missouri's Republican delegates remain angry over the way presidential candidate Mitt Romney responded to the controversial remarks made by U.S. Rep. Todd Akin, they were doing a good job of hiding it Tuesday. Politico.com and other media outlets reported this week that some delegates were upset because Romney has said Akin should drop out of the U.S. Senate race. However, by Tuesday, delegates attending the Republican National Convention here were carefully toeing the line between respecting Romney's decision while still showing support for Akin. On a day that started with the Missourians receiving a visit from House Speaker John Boehner and ended with Romney winning the party's nomination, delegates made it clear they …
Monday, August 13, 2012
Influential Democrats polled Saturday said Paul Ryan's budget plan for Medicare is a recipe for the party to run against Republicans in Missouri.
If Missouri Republicans are galvanized by Mitt Romney's selection of U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan as the GOP's Vice Presidential nominee in the fall, Democrats appear to be licking their chops over the prospects. That appears to be one of the major takeaways from a snap poll conducted by Patch over the weekend after Ryan was introduced as part of the Republican Party's Presidential ticket. Patch asked more than 50 Democrats to weigh in on the choice and received 23 responses. When asked if by adding Ryan to the ticket, Missouri Democrats can win by running against Ryan's existing budget plans and particularly his proposal for Medicare, more than 91 percent agreed in some form. Ryan, as chairman of the House Budget Committee, has backed a budget …
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
A Patch panel of party insiders from the local and state level believes the presumptive Presidential nominee will carry Missouri in November.
If the presidential election were held today, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney would carry the state of Missouri. That's according to a recent survey of GOP party insiders assembled as part of Patch's ongoing "Red Arch" project. Previous Red Arch Survey Coverage: Of those surveyed, 57.1 percent said they strongly agreed with the statement, while 38.1 percent somewhat agreed. One respondent somewhat disagreed (2.4 percent) while another was neutral on the question. The survey reflects the general evolution of Missouri Republicans as it pertains to the likely nominee. Former Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Rick Santorum won Missouri's non-binding primary, and Romney had to work until June to cement a majority of the state's convention …
Friday, June 1, 2012
Plus: A goodbye and a thank you from your purveyor of Potpourri.
This election cycle brought about an unprecedented flow of initiative petitions -- 143 to be exact. Even though an innumerable amount of trees were sacrificed in paperwork, only four items have any chance of making it to the ballot. Earlier in May, Secretary of State Robin Carnahan announced that various groups had turned in signatures for the following ballot initiatives: It’s not known yet whether any of these items will actually be put up for a vote. For one thing, several of the items, including the cigarette tax increase and the payday loan measure, are tied up in litigation. Arch City Chronicle writer Dave Drebes indicated earlier this month that the cases may be heard later in June. The other wrinkle is that the proposals need a …
Friday, May 18, 2012
Country music and laryngitis are two of the methods employed this week.
The last few iterations of this column have noted how several candidates for the U.S. Senate utilized creative means to entice fundraising efforts. For instance, Rep. Todd Akin (R-Wildwood) used his rhetorical scuffle with President Barack Obama over student loans in a fundraising pitch. And Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) has directly attacked third-party organizations that are pre-emptively attacking the incumbent lawmaker as she makes a difficult bid for re-election. McCaskill’s campaign staff continued on a creative path in an email that was sent to supporters earlier this week. They played on the fact that McCaskill had lost her voice right before she was supposed to make a speech at a Democratic gathering in Kansas City. “Between …
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Area state senate and general assembly races are still changing after the filing deadline.
There’s one less Democratic candidate in the race for the 1st Senatorial District, which encompasses a sizable portion of south St. Louis County. Michael Vogt, an Affton resident who served four terms in the Missouri House, withdrew his candidacy earlier this week. Vogt, an attorney, raised only $100 during the past fundraising quarter, a far cry from either Rep. Scott Sifton (D-Affton) or former state Rep. Sue Schoemehl (D-Oakville). Whoever wins the primary between Sifton and Schoemehl will face incumbent state Sen. Jim Lembke (R-Lemay). While the redistricted 1stDistrict is more Democratic, Lembke does have a sizable campaign war chest. That could come in handy, especially since his first bid for the state Senate was one of the more …
Gregg Palermo
9:06 am on Wednesday, April 24, 2013
I would ask that we not use the comment stream to make allegations. Thanks everyone! more ›