The Missouri Senate race is heating up, with the polls showing a very tight contest in the final weeks. It’s at a time like this when the gloves tend to come off and the candidates begin throwing everything at the wall to see what might stick. That seems to be the case with Democratic Secretary of State Jason Kander who is seeking to replace Republican Roy Blunt. This past week they’ve tossed up a new advertising campaign which is certainly hard hitting, but the specifics may leave Mr. Kander a bit embarrassed if anyone takes the time to examine them. Let’s take a look at the ad.

You’ll notice that Kander’s campaign is hitting two points here. The first is that Roy Blunt has some lobbyists in his family. True enough, but keep in mind that this charge is being made by Jason Kander, a man who is married to Diana Kander… a “recovering lobbyist” herself. There’s an old saying about throwing stones in glass houses here, but I’ll leave that one for your examination.

The more interesting part of the ad comes when the speaker points out that Roy Blunt has a home inside the Beltway, declaring that, “He doesn’t even live in Missouri anymore.” Wait a minute… did I just hear that correctly? Kander is hitting Roy Blunt for not living in Missouri? You may recall that we recently took at look at Jason Kander’s colorful history of residency. The man is from Kansas. He was born in Kansas. He was raised and went to school in Kansas. His wife (the aforementioned aspiring lobbyist) is from Kansas. His parents are from Kansas and spent more of their lives there than in Missouri. Jason Kander is a carpetbagger from Kansas and he’s pitching a story claiming that Roy Blunt doesn’t live there?

And let’s entertain this ridiculous, hypocritical charge for a moment. Let’s say Roy Blunt really “doesn’t live in Missouri anymore” as Kander’s ad claims. Jason Kander is the Secretary of State in Missouri. As part of his job he certifies the state election ballots based on the required candidate qualifications for the positions they seek. Does this mean that he’s been certifying Roy Blunt while knowing that he’s not a resident? (That’s a requirement to be a Senator in case you missed that part.) If so, he’s not very good at his job.

By way of contrast, Roy Blunt was born in Niangua, Missouri. He got his masters degree from Missouri State University. He taught history at Southwest Baptist University (also in Missouri). And yes, he has a home in the DC area… because he works there for much of of the year. Are we to assume that Mr. Kander will commute back and forth to Washington each day from his home state?

This is a truly remarkable attack for the challenger to attempt. Who did Jason Kander hire to run his campaign… the Keystone Cops?