GOP Infighting to Spill Over Into 2009 Session

If the 2008 election cycle was characterized by one phenomenon for Missouri Republicans, party disunity would probably lead the list.  Driven by a contentious and damaging gubernatorial primary and the nomination of a GOP Presidential candidate whom almost no prominent Missourians supported in the primaries, Republicans spent as much time in 2008 battling one another as they did fighting the Democratic opponents.  

As we approach the new year, it appears likely that trend will continue.  Bruised egos and hurt feelings stemming from Lieutenant Gov. Peter Kinder's betrayal of ticketmates have reportedly not yet been salved, and may lead to some return disloyalty on the part of Republican legislators. 

Chief among the aggrieved is Sen. Brad Lager, who as Treasurer candidate lost the closest of the 2008 races for statewide office.  Lager was the candidate who likely suffered most from Kinder's decision to throw his pals on the Republican ticket under the bus with a sample ballot distributed across the St. Louis area which pushed Kinder and...the four other statewide Democratic candidates, including Lager's opponent.­

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Lager, of course, ran for Treasurer in the middle of his senate term, so he retains his seat in the upper chamber where Kinder will have to deal with him with some regularity.  One imagines that Jeff Roe, the GOP consultant who is close with Lager, was none too pleased with Kinder's ploy and may well help concoct some ways for Lager to get even.

With an angry Lager and several other members of the GOP legislative leadership who have little use for Kinder, it will be interesting to see how --if at all-- the Republican assembly deals with Kinder in 2009 and beyond.