This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Sept. 14, 2011 - As Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, seeks to steer a delicate political course during the Republican-dominated General Assembly's special session, he also is experiencing several political jabs from the GOP.
Although it's the Republican legislative leaders who are sparring with each other during the special session over economic-development proposals, the Missouri Republican Party is seeking to shift any potential political blame onto the governor.
All this week, the state GOP has sought to direct any fault for negative news about economic development onto Nixon. The attacks come as the governor, until Tuesday, sought to stay in the background while Republican lawmakers hashed out their economic differences during the special session that began Sept. 6.
For example: State Republicans are blaming Nixon for the apparent collapse of a deal that was supposed to create 600 new jobs in Moberly, Mo., as well as the state's latest less-than-encouraging employment news.
Last summer, amid some hoopla, Nixon's administration assembled $17 million in state tax incentives to help entice a Chinese and American-owned company, Mamtek U.S., to build a plant in Moberly, Mo., to manufacture the artificial sweetener Sweet-One. More than 600 new jobs were to be created
The city of Moberly issued $39 million in bonds last summer to cover the plant's construction. Mamtek was to make the bond payments, but the city agreed to guarantee them. Various news outlets, including the Columbia Tribune, report that this month Mamtek missed its first bond payment of a reported $3.2 million -- putting the Moberly on the hook.
The Nixon administration has emphasized that no state tax credits were paid to Mamtek because the promised jobs have yet to materialize. But the episode became part of Tuesday's state Senate debate over the $360 million in proposed tax credits to encourage the Chinese to locate a cargo hub at Lambert St. Louis International Airport.
In any case, the state Republican Party sought to tag the govenor with the Mamtek-Moberly debacle, on Tuesday calling it "the slow-motion implosion of the Jay Nixon-facilitated deal."
Later Tuesday, the state GOP cited the latest monthly jobs report from the Missouri Department of Economic Development, which show a slight uptick in the state's unemployment rate in August, to 8.8 percent. That compares to 8.7 percent in July.
State Republican Party executive director Lloyd Smith sought to fault Nixon for the numbers, which include August's decline of 3,100 in nonfarm jobs. But Nixon has emphasized that Missouri's unemployment rate is better than the nation's -- now 9.1 percent.
Smith accused Nixon of being responsible for "incompetence, job losses, and failed economic policies'' -- similar language, by the way, to what national Republicans are using to attack Gov. Barack Obama.
It should be noted, however, that the attacks against Nixon are coming from the state party, and not from his expected challenger, Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, who was plagued last month with his own problems, stemming from his acquaintance with a former stripper.
Kinder spent part of Tuesday presiding over the state Senate during the economic-development debate. The only news generated by the lieutenant governor was his humorous decision at the lectern to use the French pronunciation for St. Francois County.
State Democratic Party spokeswoman Caitlin Legacki countered Wednesday: "The Republican Party has clearly been preoccupied these past few weeks trying to explain Peter Kinder's unusual personal behavior, because they've missed a few things. The state's perfect AAA credit rating was reaffirmed. The third national organization this year named Missouri a top-10 state to do business, exports and revenues in the state are up, and now there's a bi-partisan effort under way in Jefferson City to pass a major job-creation package. While Peter Kinder has been busy doing whatever it is he does, the responsible leaders in the state are focused like a laser beam on creating jobs."
Nixon, meanwhile, has generally ignored the GOP's attacks. He also may be able to afford to, as the governor continues to display his financial dominance in campaign money-raising.
While Kinder has highlighted the $160,000 he raised overall at an event last week, the governor quietly collected $135,000 in just three large donations in the last two weeks.
The biggest contribution was a $100,000 check last Wednesday from the Clayton personal-injury law firm of Carey & Danis.
The firm has given $70,000 in earlier donations to the governor just since early 2010, making Carey & Danis one of Nixon's top donors -- if not the top --” since he took office in January 2009.
In politics, campaign money is a language all its own.