TheChat: Did Missouri Democrats give away too much with Chris Koster?

Good morning.

▪ “We kind of sold our soul a little bit with Chris Koster.” — Missouri state Rep. Michael Butler, a St. Louis Democrat, referring to Democratic backing of Chris Koster for governor this year.

Koster, a conservative Democrat, was a tough pill to swallow for liberal Democrats who didn’t like some of his positions, including Koster’s stands on gun rights. Butler said the party’s support for Koster had some downsides.

▪ “If he wants to leave this state in a better spot than the way he found it, he needs to make restrictions before he leaves office.” — Missouri state Rep. Scott Fitzpatrick, a Shell Knob Republican, saying that Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, should cut the state budget by $200 million or more before he leaves office rather than leaving that job to incoming Gov. Eric Greitens, a Republican.

The cuts are necessary because of lower-than-anticipated tax revenue growth. But why would Nixon want to end his administration in a cutting mode? Here’s betting he’ll leave the job to his successor.

▪ “It’s OK to be candid.” — White House spokesman Eric Schultz on a contentious Harvard forum that pit Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump aides against each other.

This is an interesting response from a White House well-known for its carefully scripted responses to many issues.

▪ “A severe staffing issue.” — a top Kansas Department for Children and Families official in September explaining in an email the cause of a backlog of child abuse and neglect reports.

Last week, the department said no such backlog existed in September, though an official acknowledged the department struggled to keep up with the volume of calls that month. Straight talk appears elusive here.