Nixon continued to follow his schedule until Thursday when he canceled a scheduled appearance at the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia to go to Ferguson.
Nixon's Joplin visit, which did not receive media coverage, included a tour of the new Joplin High School/Franklin Technical Center and a visit to new Joplin R-8 teachers who are going through training at the old Memorial Middle School.
The criticism of Nixon's schedule and its possible impact on his political future were featured in an article in today's Washington Post, which notes that Nixon, being easily elected to a second term as governor as a Democrat in a Republican state, was being looked on by some political experts as a strong possibility to be selected as a vice presidential candidate and if Hillary Clinton decides not to run, perhaps a candidate for president:
How Nixon handles the next few days could determine whether his prospects of being a vice presidential contender -- or even a presidential hopeful -- will recover, or evaporate.
Nixon spent Thursday in Ferguson. But, say political observers, that's not nearly enough.
“Do more than just visit,” encouraged Michael Steele, a former lieutenant governor of Maryland and ex-chairman of the Republican National Committee. “You cannot just go there and take a walkabout amid the destruction and the tension and then go back to the state capital and say, ‘Well, I’ve done that.’”
Nixon appeared to share that assessment, laying out a range of new moves Thursday. He announced in the afternoon that he had directed the state highway patrol to take over security efforts in Ferguson, substituting for the embattled police force there. He vowed all would see a “different tone” from law enforcement, which has clashed with protesters since Sunday.
But in the eyes of many, it was too late.
3 comments:
interesting, Joplin has a better practice facility than most schools have for game field.
Riots in Ferguson are calming down after Governor Nixon appointed a peacemaker highway patrol officer to take charge. It is good to see this officer marching with the protesters, listening and understanding their legitimate outrage.
Perhaps Governor Nixon could show us a peacemaker in Joplin who would listen and understand the outrage of the citizens/taxpayers/teachers who feel they have been mistreated by R8 administrators.
Body language of the governor in photo with CJ indicates he is not thrilled with whatever Huff is pointing out.
Anonymous @8:53 AM: nope, that's just want everyone claimed based on a relatively calm daytime, despite the usual violence.
Last night the State Troopers, presumably this "peacemaker" who's said to be in charge, ordered the local police to stand down, and at least 7 places were looted including the store Brown robbed just before his encounter with the police, and the media filming this were threatened with Molotov Cocktails and the like.
Hugs don't work on thugs.
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