Vote Vets Founder Will Headline Jackson Days

Vote Vets co-founder and chairman Jon Soltz will be the headline speaker at Springfield's Democratic Jackson Day event later this month, The Notebook has learned.

The Pittsburgh, Pa. native served in Iraq and has become an authoritative, left-leaning voice on veterans and military issues. Soltz also appears frequently on the cable talk show circuit.

Greene County's Jackson Days event is set for April 24th & April 25th at the Clarion Hotel in Springfield. Soltz is a lower-profile headliner than some Democrats had hoped.

Blunt Responds To Nixon's Jackson Day Barbs

The Blunt administration is responding to some of the barbs thrown around by Attorney General Jay Nixon at Saturday's Jackson Days in Springfield.

Blunt communications staffer Rich Chrismer said the claims Nixon made about Matt Blunt not living in the Governor's Mansion are false. Chrismer also took issue with a joke Nixon made about a raccoon living in the residence.

"As a member of Gov. Blunt's staff, I am in a position to know where he lives and for Jay Nixon's information he lives in the Governor's Mansion. I have had the privilege of visiting the Blunt's residence on the second floor.The governor and Mrs. Blunt love living in this historic home and they not only live there, their son William Branch is enrolled at preschool in Jefferson City," Chrismer said.

Chrismer added that the Blunt's love of Springfield prompts them to return there on some weekends, holidays and part of the summer. "Missouri is a big and diverse state and the governor also believes in keeping a busy travel schedule so he can interact with and listen to Missourians where they live," Chrismer added.

"As for the raccoon, Jay Nixon got that wrong, too. It was discovered while the Blunt's were at the Mansion. The governor pardoned it and ordered its release to a state park. We recognize that Jay Nixon is running for office and that politicians say a lot of things to try and get elected, but Missourians need to know that Nixon is not telling the truth about the governor's mansion," Chrismer closed.

Dynamite

MONTANA GOVERNOR ELECTRIFIES JACKSON DAY CROWD
Mixes Raw Humor, Wit, Brutal Honesty and Inspiration in Barnburner speech
"I Feel Sooo Goooood," yelps one woman afterword

Gov. Brian Schweitzer Unplugged:
On The New Greatest Generation . . . "They're walking around with their blackberries, their hats turned a little funny, they're pants so baggy it looks like they're carrying a load . . . but this Y generation is the one that will change the world . . . with your help."
On His Time . . . "We only have 950,000 people in Montana, so if you ask me to speak, I'm coming."
On Election 2008 . . . "We're going to elect John McCain the next president of the United States unless you beat him in Missouri."
And To This Reporter . . . (Jokingly, I think:) "You're a TV reporter? In Montana, we'd find a lasso, hurl it around your feet so fast you'd be hauled right out here dragging through the dirt."



***DEVELOPING . . .

The Most Quotable Moments of Jackson Days '08