Peter Kinder Gets NRA Endorsement in Lt. Governor's Race, Rubs it in Brad Lager's Face

By Nicholas Phillips Thu., Jul. 19 2012 at 9:11 AM

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PJK: "I got more gun-rights cred than you, Lager!"

Yesterday, incumbent Lt. Governor Peter Kinder issued a press release to gloat about the endorsement he's received from the National Rifle Association in his re-election race. His quote:

"I am honored [that] the NRA and its many Missouri members have renewed their longstanding support for my service in public office and my unflinching defense of Second Amendment rights. Unlike my opponent in the August 7 Primary, I don't make up NRA endorsements. The NRA members appreciate that I'm not just a true conservative, but a truthful conservative."

So wait - his fellow Republican opponent, state Senator Brad Lager, fabricated an NRA endorsement?

In late June, Lager was touting his own gun-rights credentials in a YouTube ad called, "Values." Here's the relevant screenshot:

But within a week, Lager had changed his ad to this:

In other words, he changed his "A+" rating to just an "A." This actually does to matter to certain conservatives (which in turn matters in a Republic primary). According to the website of the Second Amendment Coalition of Missouri, an "A+" grade means that you not only supported the NRA's position on key votes, but you also sponsored their pet legislation.

And Kinder has the right to boast a little. Back in 2003, he helped the lead the charge to override then-Governor Bob Holden's veto of legislation that legalized the right to carry concealed weapons.

The Kinder campaign claims that Lager "was asked by the NRA to take down his TV ad."

Daily RFT called the Lager campaign to inquire about all this last week, but spokesperson Ray Bozarth would only say, "It was just an honest mistake by our media guy. We saw it. We corrected. And that's it."

On one hand, any mistake that makes the boss look better is always convenient, to a degree. On the other hand, why would Lager fib about something that's demonstrably false and thus subject himself to ridicule (which might negate any progress that the inaccurate ad made with the gun-rights crowd in the first place)?

Of course, there's the broader question: Does the position of Lt. Governor even play that big of a role in state politics? Isn't it a part-time job? We'll leave that discussion for another blog post.

Tags:

Brad Lager, Lt. Governor, National Rifle Association, NRA, Peter Kinder, Second Amendment Coalition of Missouri

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auxarcs

You have to hold your nose and vote for somebody, but I can't vote for Lager if he has no idea what the Horny Toad Bar AND GRILL is.

auxarcs

The last time I was at the Horny Toad Bar AND GRILL, it was a popular restaurant at the Lake of the Ozarks with boat parking or car parking. Yes, adult beverages were available, but I had a burger combo and iced tea. I was there with relatives including children. There were no strippers there. The Kinder stripper story was about a joint across the river from St Louis.

jrinvest

A little clarification here. A rating from the NRA, no matter how high it is, is not the same as an endorsement from that organization. A rating is the NRA's evaluation of a legislator's voting record on gun issues.

An endorsement from the NRA means that the NRA is actively recommending to its members that they vote for that candidate, volunteer for his or her campaign, tell their friends, etc.

This becomes especially important in political races where more than one candidate has a high NRA rating, as often happens.

KITTY

I bet the farm Garrison & Co is giddy with glee over the anti-Kinder ad which shows Kinder and Tammy Chapman, a brass stripper pole and a mention that Kinder was in the Horny Toad bar. Or perhaps the RFT actually scripted the ad for Brad Lager. Either way, the ad has the fingerprints of every RFT staffer all over it, except of course the fat stupid Mexican, Gustavo Arellano. (He is afraid the feds would run his prints and find he has been here illegally for years posing as a journalist.) I must say, however, the ad did make me chuckle!