In my recent commentary for St. Louis’ NPR affiliate, I noted that there are rewards for those who pay attention to state and local politics, and risks for those who don’t.
In an attempt to practice what I preach, I recently subscribed to the RSS feeds of a number of St. Louis and Missouri news sources. One of those is the St. Louis Beacon, an online news project fueled by several former employees of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and funded, in part, by Emily Rauh Pulitzer, who not that long ago sold (for a not-minor fortune) her famed family’s stake in print journalism, including the Post-Dispatch.
Scanning Beacon headlines this morning, I stumbled across this article about the aftershock of a commentary penned by David Steelman, husband of Sarah Steelman. Mrs. Steelman is still trying to decide if she’ll challenge Republican Congressman Roy Blunt in Missouri’s 2010 GOP primary, for the ultimate chance to contend for the U.S. Senate seat that will be vacated by the fast-approaching retirement of Kit Bond.
No doubt, Mr. Steelman’s commentary has gained some traction because of his spouse and the speculation surrounding her. But the attention he has garnered might also have something to do with the content of his column. Case in point:
Elected Republicans, particularly in Congress, have expanded government; ignored the Constitution; bailed out failed big businesses with taxes collected from successful small businesses; and spent, and spent, and spent. The Republican Congressional network of wasteful earmarks, corporate welfare and politically motivated subsidies simply recast the Democratic model of purchasing votes (ethanol anyone?). Now, Republican leaders express surprise that in a fiscal arms race to decide which party can spend the most, the Democrats have won.
Of course, passages like that one may not be roiling the waters of the Missouri GOP as much as Mr. Steelman’s decision to lead off his commentary by quoting Pogo, the most-well known of Walt Kelly‘s characters: “We have met the enemy and he is us.”