Meeting Margaret Donnelly & Sticking with Jeff Harris

Margaret Donnelly is running for Missouri Attorney General, and I had the opportunity to meet her yesterday evening. I went with an open mind, because my admiration for Jeff Harris pales in comparison to my desire to keep the Attorney General's Office in Democratic hands. If she proved to be a better candidate than Jeff Harris, I was prepared to get enthusiastic about her.

Suffice it to say, I'm more on board with Jeff Harris than I ever was.

Does anyone remember Geri Rothman-Serot, the St. Louisan who emerged from a 14-sided Democratic primary in 1992 only to lose a Senate race to Kit Bond? Margaret Donnelly is her political reincarnation.

One thing is perfectly clear - Margaret Donnelly is a St. Louisan. When asked how she plans to win the primary, she pointed out that it is a three way race right now, and that St. Louis provides 40% of the primary vote. She managed not to taunt us insignificant backwater hicks with "do the math, rednecks!", but she did say that "her geography" was one of the reasons she is confident she will win the primary. She also relied on quotations from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and held herself out as the "only player in the St. Louis region" on Medicaid issues.

Like Rothman-Serot, Donnelly has a severe case of 270 myopia. It's a disease that afflicts many St. Louisans, who wind up thinking that St. Charles is the West, Affton is the South, and Normandy is the dangerous North. These people can thrive in their narrow world, but they fail miserably when the rest of the state gets to vote on them.

When asked how she intends to appeal to outstate voters, Donnelly had no real answer. She claimed that her legislative record regarding Medicaid would somehow help her win voters, but was unable to articulate why she thought that would be a major issue for the Attorney General's race, against a candidate who will undoubtedly be smart enough to voice support for health care.

Worse, though, was her attempt to claim that she has adequate experience. She was a family lawyer who handled some juvenile cases. The Attorney General, of course, does not handle divorces. She also showed confusion about the Missouri Plan, pointing to a couple recent rulings by a judge not subject to the Missouri Plan as evidence that the attacks on it are already having a chilling effect. (If you're scratching your head and muttering, "huh?", join the crowd.) (Update: An anonymous commenter correctly points out that her discussion of Judge Callahan makes more sense in the context of the broader attack on the independent judiciary. To be fair, that is probably what she meant, though my question was about the Missouri Plan.)

Margaret Donnelly seems like a fantastically dedicated and fine Democrat. She is not, however, a particularly good candidate for Attorney General. She has no relevant experience, and she does not project the toughness and solidity Missourians want to see in their chief law enforcement officer. She seems to think that Clayton is mid-Missouri.

I've now met all the candidates for the Democratic nomination for Attorney General. They are all good people, but only one has the experience, the outstate appeal, and the Democratic credentials to become our next Attorney General. Jeff Harris is that candidate.