Now that the Mizzou Tigers’ great basketball season is over, Governor Nixon is undoubtedly dealing with the prospect of not being able to use his luxury party suite at Mizzou Arena until next year.

What’s that, you say? A luxury suite at Mizzou Arena? Why not sit in the stands and save some money? Unlike many past governors, the current governor would not sit with the normal fans. Instead, he chose to view the games from the comfort of his luxury suite, which he asked lobbyists, special interests, and other well-heeled Missourians to “sponsor” with a contribution of $2,500-$5,000 towards the cost of the suite and in exchange gain access with Nixon.

Despite these facts, the media half heartedly reported on Nixon’s luxury box, and completely ignored the question of potential ethical issues. In contrast, when Governor Blunt wanted to use campaign funds to pay for the costs of flying on the state plane, the media cried foul, alleging it was improper and started asking questions.

Nixon’s actions should raise major red flags for the media, especially when it was revealed by us last year that Nixon was using his official state vehicle for campaigning. What kinds of privileges were sponsors granted? Were they using their money to buy influence and access? Who determined who was invited to the box, the governor or the special interest groups who paid? Who was actually invited to the box? Did Mizzou itself give the governor a sweetened deal by reducing the price of the box? Were state employees involved in the shakedown of supporters and lobbyists? Our sources inform us that Jack Cardetti often called capitol lobbyist to shake them down for contributions. Did he and others do so on state time? These were the same type of questions that were asked of Governor Blunt regarding trips on the state plane, but they are not being asked of Governor Nixon. The public needs to know, but the media will not put aside their obvious bias and question Nixon.

We have to wonder if there will be a replay of this scenario at Faurot Field when football season begins. Will he charge the lobbyists more for access? What does their money actually buy? This sounds too much like a pay-to-play scenario for Missourians to remain quiet about it.

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