Endorsement Round-up: 9th District

Here’s a list of endorsements for the major party candidates in the 9th District Congressional Race:

Judy Baker (D):

• Lt. General (Ret.) Claudia Kennedy
• Veterans of Foreign Wars
• Alliance for Retired Americans
• The Missouri Nurses Association
  
• National Farmers Union
• Columbia Professional Firefighters
• National Organization for Women
• Columbia Daily Tribune
• St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Blaine Luetkemeyer (R):

• National Rifle Association
• Missouri Right to Life
• Missourians United for Life
• Missouri Farm Bureau FARM-PAC
• National Federation of Independent Businesses
• Quincy Herald-Whig
• Hannibal Courier-Post

Baker to Speak at MU Tomorrow

Judy Baker will talk education at MU’s Speakers Circle (map) at 4 p.m. Wednesday. The Democrat will focus on college affordability, campaign spokesman Paul Tencher said in an e-mail.

The event is open to the public.

Check out Baker’s Web site for a little background on her education policies. Republican opponent Blaine Luetkemeyer’s Web site can be found here, but education is not listed under his issues section. I’ll check in with the Luetkemeyer campaign tomorrow to get some reading material for you guys on the subject.

Luetkemeyer Campaign: Democratic Ad ‘Deceitful’

A TV ad paid for by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee was pulled by two stations today, because it cited an article by The Maneater, a student newspaper at MU, that had since been corrected for misrepresenting Republican candidate Blaine Luetkemeyer’s stance on social security.

At issue was a line in the original article claiming that Luetkemeyer supported privatizing social security. The Maneater ran a clarification that stated, “Kyle Robertson, campaign manager for candidate Blaine Luetkemeyer, contacted The Maneater in a letter to say that Luetkemeyer favors allowing individuals to use personal accounts to invest their Social Security benefits, not ‘privatization.'”

The ad has been pulled from the rotation of Columbia stations KMIZ-TV and KRCG-TV, according to Luetkemeyer campaign press releases. It was apparently pulled from YouTube, as well, by the DCCC, and replaced by a similar ad that doesn’t reference The Maneater’s reporting. The DCCC could not be reached for comment.

The new ad depicts a roller coaster ride with newspaper pull-quotes likening the privatization of social security to taking “your retirement on a risky ride.” In today’s release, Paul Sloca, Luetkemeyer’s campaign spokesman, maintained that he does not support privatization of the program, calling the ad “the kind of Washington politics that the people of the Ninth District are tired of.”

Nurses Union Endorses Baker

The Missouri Nurses Association announced their endorsement of Judy Baker for the House of Representatives Monday, according to a Baker campaign press release.

MONA, which represents over 70,000 nurses in the state, is part of the American Nurses Association. The ANA endorsed Democratic Sens. Barack Obama and Joe Biden earlier this month.

In a statement released earlier today, Baker, a Democrat, thanked the organization for its support:

“I am so thankful for the support of Missouri’s dedicated nurses who see the need for fundamental change in our health care system. With their help I will win this election and represent the issues nurses and Missourians care deeply about: quality health care that we all can afford.”

Baker Campaign: Luetkemeyer Ad Illegal

Judy Baker’s campaign lawyers sent out notices today alerting TV stations across the 9th District that a recent Blaine Luetkemeyer ad, shown as late as this morning in Columbia, falls short of Federal Communication Commission requirements for campaign advertising. The Luetkemeyer campaign has since apologized and corrected the error.

At issue is the Communications Act of 1934, which requires, at the end of the broadcast, a four-second display of “clearly identifiable photographic or similar image of the candidate,” and a “clearly written printed statement” that the candidate approved and paid for the message. The ad, which can be viewed here in its original form, had all the required information at the beginning rather than the end.

Paul Sloca, Luetkemeyer spokesman, responded to the Baker campaign’s press release:

“I think it’s pretty sad and it shows the disconnect that Judy Baker and her campaign have with reality. Luetkemeyer is focusing on issues and Judy Baker is focusing on minutia … We found out about it and it was changed immediately.”

Baker Monkeying Around with Health Care?

It was hard not to laugh — objectively, of course — when this 9th District attack ad came to my attention yesterday. Uploaded to YouTube by apparent Blaine Luetkemeyer supporters (it is not an official campaign ad), the video calls into question the work Democratic candidate Judy Baker did for MU’s University Physicians a few years back. University Physicians, a subsidiary of MU Health Care, is a group of nearly 400 multi-specialty physicians who practice medicine at a number of clinics in mid-Missouri and are on faculty at MU’s School of Medicine.

Is there any basis to the criticism? The St. Louis Post-Dispatch dug a little deeper into the issue.

Here’s the facts: Baker became interim director of operations at University Physicians in February 2000, and was promoted to interim executive director the next year. A state audit found that, from July 1999 to January 2002, University Physicians lost $2 million from what were essentially billing and bookkeeping mistakes. MU Health Care lost $10 million on the whole from such lapses.

The video raises two questions. Were the bookkeeping issues Baker’s fault, and, if not, why did she leave?

Blood drive today at MU’s Memorial Union

Together with the American Red Cross, State Rep. Judy Baker will hold a blood drive from 3 to 7 p.m. today at MU’s Memorial Union.

After campaigning in Macon, Baker, D-Columbia, learned blood is in short supply this summer because of the flooding earlier in the season. In June, the Red Cross’s blood supply in flooded areas of the country was off 10 to 20 percent, according to a news release from the organization.

Jacob releases TV spot

Former senator Ken Jacob released the first television ad of his run for the Ninth District congressional seat.

In the ad, Jacob highlights the importance of withdrawing troops from Iraq, increasing jobs in the U.S., “rescuing” Social Security, and giving all Americans access to health care and education.

Jacob is in a four-way race against State Rep. Judy Baker, former Missouri Public Service Commission chairman Steve Gaw and Marion County Presiding Commissioner Lyndon Bode.

SECOND UPDATE: Vet gives support to Baker’s plan; Jacob keeps up criticism

Baker has been at odds with former state senator Ken Jacob about veterans’ health care. (See my article for the Missourian here and a blog post about their clash at the debate in Columbia.)

Now her plan has gained support from Dewey Riehn, a member of the American Legion, Vietnam Veterans of America, and National Legislative Service of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Riehn said that the VFW supports Baker’s plan because it is seeking additional ways of reaching out to rural veterans. In fact, VFW legislative spokesman Dennis Cullinan testified to the House Committee on Veterans Affairs that the organization supports a bill that would create a pilot program similar to Baker’s proposal.

Baker touts the committee’s unanimous passage of the bill as another show of support for plans like hers. The commitee is made up of both Republicans and Democrats, but was introduced by Republican Rep. Jerry Moran of Kansas.

Jacob’s campaign criticizes the bill for being more of a Republican plan than a Democratic one.

“Baker is running in a Democratic Primary, but offers Republican proposals,” Sam Hodge, Jacob’s campaign manager, said in a news release.

UPDATED: Gaw announces endorsements

Former Missouri Public Service Commission Chairman Steve Gaw announced today a list of endorsements he has received.

The Communication Workers of America Locals 6310 and 6320 also endorsed Gaw. Jason Vellmer, vice president and legislative coordinator of both locals, said the two are planning to merge and together represent about 5,000 people. According to the CWA Web site, the organization represents workers in “telecommunications, broadcasting, cable TV, journalism, publishing, electronics and general manufacturing, as well as airline customer service, government service, health care, education and other fields.”

“He was the most labor-friendly candidate running for the primary from the democrat side,” Vellmer said. “He’s willing to support the employee Free Choice Act. He’s willing to support health care reform, and he is basically just friendly to just working class people.”