By Nathan Rothwell
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| Screenshot of Gov. Nixon's ad criticizing Spence |
The “Show-Me State” is no stranger to politicians who are
all but morally bankrupt. Senator
Roy Blunt values the “right” of religious employers to impose their moral
codes on their employees, denying them the right to health care. Todd Akin, the
man vying to join Blunt this year as Missouri’s other senator, has earned
national attention for his views on rape and women’s issues, which appear to stem
from the Medieval Era.
And if this weren’t bad enough, another Missouri politician
joins the “How badly can we embarrass this state?” club – Dave Spence, the Republican
candidate for governor against incumbent Jay Nixon.
State Democrats have been having fun at the expense of
Spence’s campaign, which has at times appeared inept. For example, Spence’s
campaign website
touted his degree in economics from University of Missouri-Columbia;
however, earlier this year it was discovered that Spence in fact did not earn a
degree in economics, but rather home
economics. Spence claimed it was a simple mistake, but a circulated campaign flier also
boasted of Spence’s “economics” degree, also claiming that he attended
Mizzou’s business school. While his website eventually corrected the error, it didn’t
escape Jay Leno’s
ever-watchful eye.
Did Spence and his campaign knowingly lie about his
background, or was this a mere clerical error? Some of his supporters
argue for the latter, but his history of lying makes that argument difficult to
swallow.
