And, conservatives, please remember the actions of all 19 Republican senators who ignored Holder’s abominable career as a political fixer and confirmed him. “I found Mr. Holder to be a good listener, which is an important prerequisite for any good leader,” Missouri GOP Sen. Kit Bond explained in support of the nomination. “I believe him when he says that he’s willing to take good ideas from wherever they come.”

In addition to Hatch and Bond, the other 17 Senate Republicans who helped put Holder in place at the Justice Department were: Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., Bob Bennett, R-Utah, Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., Susan Collins, R-Maine, Bob Corker, R-Tenn., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, Judd Gregg, R-N.H., Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., Richard Lugar, R-Ind., John McCain, R-Ariz., Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, Arlen Specter, R-Pa., and George Voinovich, R-Ohio. Read more…

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Really? A voice for limited government?

Sen. Kit Bond: “The Senate Financial Rescue Bill Includes a Host of Taxpayer Protections”

Sen. Kit Bond: “Rescue for Fannie and Freddie Should Protect Taxpayers Before Wall Street Shareholders”

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Hat tip: Jakarta Globe

After 24 years in the US Senate, Republican Kit Bond left the body in 2010 and has turned his eye to international trade. A long-time fan of Indonesia, he led a trade delegation to the country recently from his his home state of Missouri. Along the way, he also provides some insights into the current presidential race back home.

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It looks like the site is still being developed, but there is this:

Kit Bond Strategies LLP (KBS) is an international business development and government affairs firm that will utilize expertise and contacts to advance our clients agenda throughout Asia and in Washington, D.C.

Back in January, the former Senator announced he was joining the St. Louis based law firm Thompson Coburn.Similar Posts:

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Disgusted, The Wall Street Journal editors write today, “The 111th Congress began with an $814 billion stimulus that blew out the federal balance sheet, so we suppose it’s only fitting that the Members want to exit by passing a 1,924-page, $1.2 trillion omnibus spending bill. The worst Congress in modern history is true to its essence to the bitter end.” They add, “Democrats have had 11 months to write a budget for fiscal 2011, which began on October 1. But Majority Leader Harry Reid and Appropriations Chairman Daniel Inouye have dumped this trillion-dollar baby on Senators at the very last minute, when everyone is busy and wants to go home for the holidays. No doubt that was the plan. The continuing resolution to fund the government expires on Saturday, so Mr. Reid wants to squeeze Senators against the deadline.”

So instead of the omnibus monstrosity, packed with spending and earmarks, The Hill reports, “Senate Minority Leader Mike Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) introduced a one-page continuing resolution Thursday that funds the government through Feb. 18.” On the floor, Sen. McConnell held up his one-page bill, and compared it to the Democrats’ 2,000-page colossus. The contrast is stark. (See video of Sen. McConnell comparing the two bills here.)

The Washington Examiner called for just such an alternative in its editorial today, writing, “Senate Republicans and similarly responsible Democrats should reject the omnibus, as well as any other last-minute spending package introduced by the discredited leaders of the 111th Congress. With the tax-cut compromise headed toward final passage, the only appropriate spending measure for the lame-duck Senate to consider is one that funds the government at current levels until the new Congress is sworn in to start cleaning up the mess.”

As Sen. McConnell said, “Americans don’t want massive, trillion dollar bills rushed through Congress on our way out the door — they want us to be careful and responsible with their money. So I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this one-page CR. I don’t think there’s any question it’s the right thing to do.”

Related:

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Rasmussen Reports: Voters Trust GOP More on Seven of 10 Key Issues

MOPNS (12/10): Cleaver Asks for $48 BILLION Earmark for “Mystery Project”….Seriously!

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Hat tip: MOWatchdog

CDT: Bond advice aids budget for stimulus (5/31/09)

“Although the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry was lobbying for the China hub facility in St. Louis, there had been no testimony about it. Jason Van Eaton, who was formerly on Bond’s staff, lobbied for the Kokam project and is executive director of the China Hub Commission….Asked whether he had encouraged the appropriations for the battery plants and the China hub, Bond replied, “We just had a good conversation about it.”

Former Bond Staffer’s Firm Slated to Lobby Senator

TipLine: “Wait a Minute—He Left in June of 2004 for an Election in Nov. of 2004?”

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Interesting strategy. Don’t know if its enough to make for Mr. Dooley’s loss of support from South County Democrats and African Americans.

 Hat tip:dooleycampaign

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Sen. Bond is retiring after this term but he’s still bringing home the pork!

Citizens Against Government Waste today released its preliminary analysis of the Senate version of the fiscal year 2010 Department of Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations Act. In total, there are 588 projects worth $1.7 billion. This represents a 2.2 percent increase in the number of projects and a 46.7 percent increase in dollar amounts from the fiscal year 2009 version, which had 601 projects totaling $906.2 million. Senate THUD Appropriations Subcommittee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-Wash.) has 53 projects worth $185.4 million, and Senate THUD Subcommittee Ranking Member Kit Bond (R-Mo.) took home 21 projects worth $30.5 million. Their combined dollar total accounts for 12.6 percent of the funding in the bill.

Related:

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Hat tip: club4growth

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Former Bond staffer Jason “political pygmy” Van Eaton

“Sen. Bond did not know or approve his former staffer’s actions, so obviously he didn’t make a deal to have someone dismissed that he didn’t want fired in the first place.”-Bond spokesperson

“One of the e-mails, dated Dec. 21, 2005, states that the White House has “heard and will work to satisfy Sen. Bond’s request regarding a replacement for the U.S. Attorney in the W.D. (Western District) of Missouri.”

The real reason Kit Bond is retiring from the Senate is slowly starting to emerge. The first signs of trouble emerged when state director Jason Van Eaton all of sudden left his position with Senator in November of 2007 to work on the Senator’s re-election campaign in 2010 – two plus years out!

Thankfully, (and we can’t believe we’re saying this) the national media is not asleep at the wheel like the Missouri press has been. We do give kudos to K.C. Star reporters Dave Helling and Steve Kraske for at least doing a story yesterday on this continuing scandal:

Documents show Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., was closely involved in the 2006 ouster of U.S. Attorney Todd Graves, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee said Tuesday.Among the documents are e-mails that show for the first time that the Bush White House was fully aware of pressure from Bond’s office to remove Graves and did not oppose replacing him.

The documents could become part of an ongoing criminal investigation into the firings of Graves and eight other U.S. attorneys by the Bush administration.

We are amazed at how now lobbyist and former Bond staffer Jason Van Eaton, continues to escape mention in these stories. You would think that a key figure – directly involved in the firing of a U.S. Attorney – would warrant a few sentences!

Instead, Rove said Bond – a former client and friend – was angry at Rep. Sam Graves because of his political consultant, Jeff Roe.

“(Bond) did not bring up Todd Graves in his conversations with me,” Rove testified, “but he was very clear that he was upset with Congressman Graves’ political guy running an open, aboveboard, in the clear Web site devoted to trashing Sen. Bond.”

It isn’t clear what Web site Rove was referring to, since Roe’s site did not go online until after Todd Graves left office.

But strained relations between Bond’s office and the Graves brothers have been confirmed by other investigators probing Todd Graves’ dismissal. For example, in 2008 the Justice Department’s inspector general and Office of Professional Responsibility concluded the Bond-Graves feud directly led to his removal.

The joint report also found that a former Bond aide, Jack Bartling, wanted to make sure Bond’s alleged role in the Graves matter was kept quiet.

“His (Bartling’s) principal purpose … was for me to make sure that Sen. Bond’s contact with the White House was kept confidential,” Justice Department official Michael Elston told investigators at the time. Read more…

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“Don’t let the doorknob hit you on the way out Kit! Voting for Sotomayor and “Cash for Clunkers?” That sure puts a punctuation mark on his Senate sentence.” -Syndicated talk show host Laura IngrahamSimilar Posts:

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Graphic courtesy of missourirecord.com

Related:

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DEVELOPING: Buchanan County Republican Central Committee Expresses “Discontent” With Sen. Bond Over Sotomayer Vote

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Below is a rough draft of a letter the committee approved last night:

It is with great disappointment that the Buchanan County Republican Central Committee finds the need to submit this letter expressing our discontent with Senator Kit Bond’s decision to vote in favor of the appointment of Justice Sonia Sotomayor to the United States Supreme Court.

The committee fully recognizes and appreciates Justice Sotomayor’s background and service, but feels her past rulings are in conflict with the appropriate role of a justice on the highest court in the land. We are saddened that a fellow Republican entrusted with the responsibility to vote on her qualifications believes otherwise.

The BCRCC has a long history of support of Senator Bond. Many of our members have volunteered tirelessly on his campaigns, many since his days as Governor of this great state. It is with regret that we must condemn his announced yes vote on the appointment of Justice Sotomayor.

In his statement to the press, Senator Bond noted that “elections have consequences”. While fully aware that Republicans lost the Presidential race in 2008, as a committee we understand that the loss does not mean we must abandon our principles as a political party by giving a free pass to those who would tear down the foundations of our great nation.

It is our hope that Senator Bond will vote appropriately by casting a no vote for the appointment of Justice Sotomayor. If his yes vote is an attempt to leave public service with a legacy of bipartisanship by conceding his principles, we would remind him what an empty legacy that would be. We hope that he will finish his long tenure as a public servant by clinging to the foundations that have returned him to office for so many years.

Respectfully

Related:

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