This flamethrower was sent to the MOPNS inbox today, courtesy of MRP Communications Director Tina Hervey:

Below is a helpful reminder for everyone of the top eight most common phrases used to describe Jay Nixon.

1. “Opportunistic swashbuckler”: Nixon’s an opportunistic swashbuckler, they say, who goes beyond the authority of his office to grab headlines and the political dividends that come with them. (P-D, July 2, 1995)

2. “Disembowel his grandmother”: “I know several prominent state Democrats who believe their party colleague, Jay Nixon, is evil. They think that the attorney general would disembowel his grandmother for a headline, that he’s a publicity-seeking opportunist who doesn’t mind destroying a reputation in his quest for personal political gain.” (Henry Waters, CDT, July 2, 1995)

3. “Ceaseless glory-hound parade”: Nixon careened across the state in a ceaseless glory-hound parade without precedent in Missouri’s political life. . . . [Nixon] has appeared more interested in seeking headlines than in using his bully pulpit for genuine consciousness-raising about the dangers of organized gambling in Missouri. (KC Star editorial, October 23, 1996)

4. “Opportunism”: . . . opportunity is Jay Nixon’s middle name. (Or maybe it should be Opportunism.) There is no one quicker to jump up with a press release or press conference if it means a chance to claim the spotlight. (Laura Scott, KC Star, July 9, 1998)

5. “Spasms of self-aggrandizement”: Wolff also had the handicap in that contest that he insisted on discussing issues that were relevant and important, impediments that never seemed to impede Nixon’s spasms of self-aggrandizement. (Rich Hood, KC Star, August 16, 1998)

6. “Publicity shark”: In 2000, the SNL endorsed Nixon over Jones but deemed him a “publicity shark.” (SNL editorial, October 26, 2000)

7. “Grandstanding antics”: Nixon has been Missouri’s attorney general since 1993, but it seems so much longer because of his relentless highly public self-promotion campaign. (KC Star editorial, November 5, 2000)

8. “A 10-year old boy kicking a trash can down a cobblestone street just to create a commotion”: Nixon reminds me of a 10-year-old boy kicking a trash can down a cobblestone street just to create a commotion. . . . He can sprint to a microphone faster than Maurice Greene, and if a television camera is within the postal ZIP code, Nixon almost always manages to land directly in front of the camera’s lens. (Hood, KC Star, December 24, 2000)

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