Billy Long Campaign Strategist Lobbied for $100 Million Tax Credit Long Attacks Goodman and Nodler For

Dishonest smear campaign may be the words to best describe Billy Long's desperate attempt to run from a $3 million earmark he sought while on the airport board to build the Billy Long bus terminal to nowhere. Yesterday, Long launched the first negative attack ad of the campaign pointing fingers at Gary Nodler and Jack Goodman for voting for a $100 million tax credit to improvements for the inner city of St. Louis.

It turns out, James Harris, a key strategist to the Long campaign, perhaps Billy Long's main man who sent Curtis Trent packing to other duties and ended the grass roots feel of Long's campaign, lobbied state senators like Nodler and Goodman to pass the tax credit. Now, Long's campaign attacks these very men.

Eli Yokely writes in the Politicmo:

Billy Long’s congressional campaign released an ad, attacking his main opponents, Jack Goodman and Gary Nodler, for their votes for a $100 Million tax credit to revitalize inner-city areas in St. Louis.

“[They're] big spenders who oppose eliminating earmarks,” a female narrator says, to the tune of ominious music. She alleges Nodler and Goodman “voted to spend $100 million of your tax dollars on one St. Louis developer.”

The developer, Paul J. McKee Jr., hired four lobbyists to push the proposal that would have given tax credits to developers hoping to revitalize the area of downtown St. Louis. That list of lobbyists included James Harris.

Long’s campaign has paid Harris’ firm over $37,000 since October, 2009, for campaign consulting. The firm has also has produced Long’s campaign ads.

Senator Nodler disagrees with the ad’s depiction of the tax credit. “He’s referring to a land assemblage program for the City of St. Louis which authorizes tax credits for a redevelopment of a certain area. The assumption is it will return revenue to the state when the zone is revived.” He says there is “no appropriation to any individual developer.”

The City of St. Louis later rejected the proposal, after it was passed by the State Legislature and signed by former Governor Matt Blunt.

This is important. Yes it's easy to say but Billy Long had nothing to do with this. You have to understand who Billy Long will turn to to advise him,God forbid Southwest Missouri actually nominate this political dunce to Congress. Billy Long will turn to people like James Harris and Jeff Roe for advice, even possibly hiring them as staff members to work in his office.



Once again in this, we see Billy Long not really addressing the real issue and standing up against big government spending. Long has rewarded Harris with over $37,000 paid for his consulting duties rather than take a stand against Harris and his big spending ways Long says he opposes. Why didn't Long tell Harris directly to your face you are part of the problem in government and, in his best impression of Donald Trump, "Mr. Harris, you're fired."

I will tell you why. Because like the earmark Billy sought when he served on the airport board, Long isn't who he claims he is on the campaign trail, which is why he attacked Matt Blunt for cutting Medicaid spending, uses Obama bundler Nadia Cavner to fund raise, and receives praise in the Daily Kos.