Apropos for #TBT and providing a big picture perspective on the viper pit we call the Kansas City political scene . . . This early morning we wanted to share a retrospective of Mike Sanders back when he had more friends, colleagues and people who might actually return his calls.
Obviously, now that he has been sentenced to 27 months in the federal pen . . . There are fewer people willing to tout their connection to him. Heck, he might not even get another appearance on Ruckus. But I digress . . .
In the top photo we see Mike Sanders flanked by Mayor Sly, former Mayor KCK and Greater KC Chamber dude Joe Reardon and current exec Frank White not so far down the line.
Next up . . .
Mike Sanders is seen here with Jackson County Prosecutor "Mean" Jean Peters Baker. He actually appointed her to start her political career as the 1st lady courthouse legal honcho.
Next up . . .
Current Jackson County legislators Crystal Williams and Tony Miller were willing to give Mike a hug not so long ago . . .
And then . . .
Independence, MO Mayor Eileen Weir pretty much owes her career to Mike. Sure, she had some impressive talents of her own but it was the Missouri honcho who helped mold this gem who now dominates the politics of this town to the East.
A while back . . .
The photo is grainy but there's no mistaking the strong jawline of Senator Claire McCaskill who was very supportive of Mike Sanders right up to the point he had to resign from office and flee the Courthouse like a hobo in the night.
Conservative connections . . .
The GOP can get all high & mighty and old school Democrats might attribute Mike's downfall to the younger generation but in this photo we see Mike taking the stage with former political legend Ike Skelton and Senator Roy Blunt . . . The reality is that partisan slap fighting is for plebs and people who run things really only care about power.
And finally, a vision of Mike back to the future . . .
Check the disgraced politico throwing support to current Mayoral contender Jason Kander back during his Missouri House days.
Again, we're taking this trip down memory lane not only to illustrate so many local connections held by Mike Sanders but also to offer a glimpse at the fleeting loyalties of politicos who were quick to share happier times with the disgraced politico but have now backed away for good now that the future federal felony inmate can not longer do them any good.
You decide . . .
That is cold as ice world. Not really sure if I get your point here. They would be dumb to support him now.
ReplyDelete^^^^^^^^ Pretty sure that's exactly the point. All of these politicians were more than happy to take the guy's help but none of them even served as character witnesses. Mike is getting the cold shoulder nowadays. The people who have him crap were actually more honest than his friends. Think about it.
DeleteIf people abandoned him, he doesn't have anybody to blame but himself.
DeleteTrue, but if he’s a crook, what about them......... they’re lucky they haven’t been caught yet and that’s the only difference between all of them
ReplyDeleteAll these politicos, whether they end up in jail or not, find out that their "popularity" is directly related to all the taxpayers' money they were sitting on when in office and who they'd end up giving it to.
ReplyDeleteSly will find out the same thing when he's done.
Sly who?
On to the next gang sitting on the $1.5 billion at city hall.
While he can no longer do state politics, the federal swamp and Jackson county remain open to him. Five years from now, he'll be back in the game. Let's not forget that this is Kansas City -- the town where a little shit on your shoes is overlooked.
ReplyDeleteMike will gain many more friends in while he is in prison.
ReplyDeleteHe will be getting buttfucked by lots of his new friends in prison.
ReplyDeleteI hope he gets to introduce Lard ass Sly to all his new friends
ReplyDeleteOf all the people mentioned here, Frank White is the who just doesn't make sense. The guy spent his whole life playing a little kid's game or talking about it. He has no qualifications to be a CEO, but Sanders schemed to make Frank the new county exec. Why? Maybe because Sanders didn't want anybody too smart following him and someone who wouldn't look too closely at the crap Sanders was up to. And somebody who really wasn't interested in doing the job because he's too distracted by his own personal finances, including foreclosure notices and being behind on his taxes.
ReplyDeleteClaire McCaskill and Jason Kander " Mike who?"
ReplyDeleteThe only difference between Sanders and a lot of local Dems is that Sanders got caught.
ReplyDeleteAll mikes friends are lucky he didn’t throw their crooked ass’s under the bus too, maybe as a payback they’ll pardon him eventually and let him keep his law license as payback, or did they pay him to keep his mouth shut?
ReplyDeleteIs Sanders and Peter Baker foto when they made plan to not prosecute arson fires until third offense and only if loss of life and Star might notice? Three strikes and your out?
ReplyDeleteThat mayor of independence looks like she needs some good luvin
ReplyDelete"talents of her own"
ReplyDeleteNice one Tony.
Eileen Weir has two impressive talents. Her big tits. She has a very bountiful bosom.
DeleteI have always wanted to see Eileen Weir and Ann Murguia do each other.
DeleteAs I understand it, he misappropriated only campaign funds, not taxpayer dollars, for personal use. So the only people harmed were those who were dumb enough to contribute to his campaigns. Apart from that, he was a fairly effective politician. Better than anybody we've got now anyway.
ReplyDelete7:46 Didn't the county give Sanders a BS $60,000 consulting contract AFTER Frank became county exec with Mikey's backing. That looks like and smells like a pay-off to me.
ReplyDelete8:55 He broke the law. Screw him. He used to strut around the courthouse acting all pious when he was running this scam the whole time, and who knows what else?
ReplyDeleteHow close was he to sly James? Some interesting info out there on the independence hottie mayor. She seems to be on the up and coming as the KC biz journal article shows, but I feel she is limited in her thinking for the city of independence. Because independence has some serious problems that are there for good now. Too many section 8 in independence.
ReplyDeleteShe also did a guest column on the biz journal that cried foul of the royals moving to downtown, which I personally think is better for KC than having it sucking and losing out there. Speaking of the back to back World Series team they have now lost 100 games and are at the bottom of the barrel in their division. The Royals are back to their roots! Being a farm team for the rest of the MLB.
Truman went to Tom's funeral. He said, Fuck 'em !
ReplyDeleteThe Mike Sanders story is just like the story of the Emperor That Wore No Clothes. Everyone knew he was an idiot but they played the game with him and praised him and gave him campaign money and power. That made the little nerd, Mike think he was something other than that weird guy that everyone called Skippy. The power and praise went to his head and he wasn’t a smart politician. He extorted attorneys, companies, and politicians for money to fund his illegal committees. End the end, he picked fights with the wrong people that ended up bringing him down. There were but a handful of people way back a decade or so ago saying “But he doesn’t have any clothes on,” but no one listened and Mike tried real hard to silence them. It didn’t work. The fact is Mike is an idiot and a crook but the people who enabled him all these years are just as complicit in the corruption of the Mike Sanders saga. We should have listened to the naysayers years ago.
ReplyDeleteGreat photos. From whom did you steal them without attribution, Tony?
ReplyDeleteAnd anybody who says "fair use," shove that shit back up your ass.
"You're nobody till somebody loves you".
ReplyDelete11:51, go to hell, crybaby.
8:53--Well played.
ReplyDeleteWhere's his picture taken with Elvis?
What else happened in Vegas? Surely, he didn't know Ms. Stormy.
ReplyDeleteHey 11:51, which sister of Skippy are you?
ReplyDeleteThe skinny one with anorexia or the fat one his Dad used to chain and paddle lock the frig from. Ugly secrets aren't they?
10:03 The saga isn't over. Frank White got into county politics because he needed the money. The last slimmy deal Sleazy Mike Sanders cooked up as county exec was to make Frank White county exec. Then Sanders got the $60K contract to be an "advisor" to White, who has kept many of Mike's old crew around and has, just like Mike, his own power hungry "maneuver" as chief of staff.
ReplyDeleteIndependence, MO Mayor Eileen Weir has some impressive tatas...
ReplyDeleteI feel sorry for Mike and his family, even though we have never been political allies.
ReplyDeleteIronically, one of the problems that Mike has had over the years has been the uncritical support of the Kansas City Star. In all his years in public office they never asked a hard question. They never failed to praise him – even when he was doing things like dismantling the County's nationally-known, award-winning environmental program. They said nothing as the jail (at the end of 2006, clean, safe, functional and providing top rate mental health services) deteriorated for almost a decade – and its staff fell behind in pay and training.
But there is a penalty to be paid by the public when its primary press watchdog simply engages in adulation rather than analysis. Sadly it can also cause an official who gets away with bad policies free of any criticism to lose his way on other things
The Star has completely failed this community. Instead of a watch dog covering local government, The Star's been a lap dog.
DeleteThe Star is doing the same thing again. It might not be singing Frank White's praises the way it did Sanders', but where is the follow-up on Frank's foreclosure problems, financial issues, unpaid taxes, attorney general investigation, stealing from the COMBAT fund, skimming from other funds to keep paying his cronies cut from the budget? How about looking into why Mike Sanders, convicted felon, greased the wheels to make Frank White county exe? Then there's the ongoing crisis at the jail and hundreds of thousands of dollars being spent on outside lawyers. Star ought to be embarrassed.
DeletePhilatio feels sorry for a criminal crooked politician? What the fuck?
DeleteKCMO MAYOR'S RACE UPDATE
ReplyDeleteKANDER is a CORRUPT political clone, unworthy of leading KCMO.
Scott TAYLOR and his wife Cathy Jolly were supporters and beneficiaries of Mike Sanders' corruption. Also unworthy of leading KCMO.
These 2 get eliminated in the primary, if not before. Much more dirt to be exposed on Kander and Taylor.
Phil Cardarella is right on. The KC Star was one of the biggest enablers for Sanders. But he knew how to keep good stories going and he loved being on TV and in the paper. He even hired former reporters and they bought his BS. The Star helped put Mike in the position of thinking he was above the law. Mike thought all the great things they said about him were true. Everyone but the Star knew they weren't. Real reporting would have done much better for Sanders and Jackson County.
ReplyDeleteBubba is going to have fun with him in prison.
ReplyDeleteWho is Bubba?
ReplyDeleteExcellent comment by Phil. If you want to know things really work. The comment @2:29 is the only one worth reading.
ReplyDeleteMike will get a country club sentence, he'll be back out on the street in no time.
ReplyDelete9:10 He has to do 23 months minimum and judge rejected plea to be sent to cushy prison. I am betting he goes on the run before he's supposed to report November 5th.
ReplyDeleteBetter hope they don't toss him in the TB Ward at the prison hospital in Springfield.
ReplyDelete