Gibbons stops by Speaker's Circle

Posted to Politics Watch by Andrea Kszystyniak at 1:08 a.m., Oct. 30, 2008

Republican Attorney General candidate Michael Gibbons made a visit to Speaker's Circle on Tuesday to meet supporters and show off his recreational vehicle, which he is using to make a final dogleg through the state before Election Day.

"It's not as sleek as some big shot campaign might be," Gibbons said about the RV. "But it's not bad."

Despite Gibbons' characterization of his campaign's largesse, the campaign of the two-term state senator from Kirkwood spent $2.1 million from Oct. 1 to Oct. 23, which is almost 20 times more than he had spent over the course of the entire election before the report period.

Since Politics Watch has mainly concerned itself with, well, politics in recent...well, for the entire life of the desk, some research was conducted, and, according to RVTraderOnline.com, a 2008 Winnebago Journey 39 Z goes for just over $200,000 (or best offer) in Missouri. The argument could be made that the campaign could buy a better RV, but Gibbons said they were sleeping in a hotel, anyway.

Other than his choice of conveyance, Gibbons also discussed some highlights from his platform, including his proposal to start a cyber crimes unit, his intent to turn Missouri from the "number one meth state" to the "number 50" and to increase transparency in the attorney general's office.

MU College Republicans Chairman Jonathan Ratliff was also at Speakers' Circle to throw his support behind the candidate and to say a few about words about the competition, Sen. Chris Koster, D-Harrisonville. Ratliff said Koster is "all politics, no prosecutor" which is the inverse of the former prosecutor (and as of last year, former Republican)'s campaign motto "Koster: All Prosecutor, No Politics."

"The Democrats, for this campaign, have been speaking false truths," Ratliff said. "He's just walking the party line."

In visiting MU, Gibbons is taking a road less travelled by his fellow GOP candidates, as no Republican statewide candidates have visited campus during this election season, save for debates.