Kinder: Cooper should return campaign money

In an interview with the Cape Girardeau Southeast Missourian, Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder said disgraced Rep. Nathan Cooper, R-Cape Girardeau, needs to return his campaign money to his contributors:

Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, a Cape Girardeau Republican, said Cooper made a wrong choice by trying to hold on to the money. "I would think he would have to at least offer to those contributors the return of their money and let them make the calls," Kinder said.

As first revealed in the Aug. 9 Turner Report, Cooper took the money from his campaign committee and gave it to another committee he controls, the Friends of the 158th Committee.

The Southeast Missourian's Rudi Keller continues to shine with his reporting on the Cooper affair. The article in today's newspaper offers a balanced portrayal of the situation with some insight into Cooper.
The article does seem to be trying to make a point that Cooper really wasn't much of a power in the state Republican Party, a point that the state's top Republicans are trying hard to make. Considering Cooper's connection to the fee office scandal, that point doesn't seem too plausible.