E-mail controversy inspires game starring Matt Blunt
Missouri Democrats created the game.
Nov. 30, 2007
With the holiday season just around the corner, one might expect to hear plenty about the Nintendo Wii, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, but it might be surprising that the Missouri Democratic Party has launched its own computer game.
The party launched the internet game, called "Matt Blunt: Document Destroyer," on Nov. 20. The objective of the game is to shine a flashlight on Gov. Matt Blunt as he runs among a group of cubicles and deletes government e-mails. The player racks up a total score of e-mails saved, but if Blunt deletes 10, the game is over.
The game was created after controversy surrounding Blunt's office's failure to turn over e-mail records that were requested under Missouri's Sunshine Law.
The e-mails had reportedly been deleted.
According to a previous Maneater report, state records must be kept for 90 days following an audit, but if the audit is not completed, then the document must be kept for three years.
Missouri Democratic Party spokesman Jack Cardetti said the game stemmed from Missourians' frustrations over the lack of transparency in the Blunt administration.
He said he doesn't think the problems will change.
"We realize we're unlikely to get real transparency until after the election next November," Cardetti said. "This provides an outlet to virtually shine a light on the governor's administration."
The Missouri Republican Party has said it is not pleased with the game.
"We think it's ridiculous," Missouri GOP spokesman Paul Sloca said. "Gov. Blunt and Missouri Republicans are dealing with real world concerns of Missourians, and the Democrats are out there playing games."
Cardetti said the issue that inspired the game is a serious one.
"I think this is a serious issue that the governor fired his lawyer for advising him to stop breaking the law," he said.
Sloca said in a news release that the game was a frivolous expenditure of time and donations.
"Missourians want grown-ups running the state, not children, which is why Republicans continue to be so successful and the Democrats continue to play political games instead of offering solutions," he said.
Sloca said he didn't think the game would affect afuture political issues or elections.
"It has no impact and will have no impact," he said.
Cardetti said the game has gotten a good response from the public.
"We've had thousands of Missourians play the game so far," he said. "The response has been overwhelming."
Sloca said he didn't think it would be a major political tactic in the future.
"Because it's so useless and because it's such a waste of resources, you won't see it out of Missouri Republicans," he said. "If the Democrats want to waste their time doing it, that's fine with us. We'll focus on real issues."
Cardetti said the Missouri Democrats are at the forefront of political uses of technology, and games such as "Matt Blunt: Document Destroyer" could join blogs and podcasts as new tools in politics.
"It grabs the attention of younger voters, and they're the voters we need to get to the polls on Election Day," Cardetti said. "It's an interactive experience to try to shine a light on the governor's office."
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