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State GOP and her mom mark Robin Carnahan's birthday

Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan didn't mention it yesterday during her Senate primary victory speech, but the Missouri Republican Party -- and her mother -- made note of it today.

Today is Robin Carnahan's 49th birthday. It's also the 49th birthday of the nation's 44th and current president, fellow Democrat Barack Obama.

The Missouri GOP and former Sen. Jean Carnahan, D-Mo. -- who both make note of the U.S. Senate race -- obviously have different takes on Robin Carnahan's shared big day.

The state Republican Party said in its release, in part:

"Robin Carnahan and Barack Obama have a lot in common — their support for the federal health care takeover, the failed stimulus bill, the job-killing cap-and-tax legislation, among many other things, so it’s fitting that they also share a birthday. This week, Missourians went to the polls and gave Rubberstamp Robin and President Obama a gift of their own — voting 71% to reject the Obama-Carnahan health care scheme," said Lloyd Smith, Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party. "The bond between Rubberstamp Robin and Obama is so strong that she has continued to stand with him, even as his job approval plummets and Missourians overwhelmingly reject their brand of extreme liberalism"

"Carnahan and Obama have much more in common than just the date of their birth—they also share a liberal worldview and a desire to force their reckless agenda on Missourians at any cost. In fact, over the past 18 months, Robin Carnahan has announced her rubberstamp support for every major component of the reckless Obama agenda...."

But then the state Republican Party posteda pointed birthday video that inexplicably features the voice of legendary Marilyn Monroe singing "Happy Birthday" to then-President John F. Kennedy at a televised account of his birthday celebration in 1962.

The GOP softened its attack by sending a decorated cake over to Carnahan's Clayton headquarters.

Happy birthday from the MO GOP

The Missouri Republican Party sent a cake to wish Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan a happy birthday.

Now, here is her mother's more supportive well-wishes -- with a jab at the GOP -- in an email missive sent out earlier today:

"I'll let you in on a little secret: today is my daughter Robin's 49th birthday," Jean Carnahan wrote. "Yesterday she received a birthday present that's hard to top - a decisive victory in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. ...

Jean Carnahan then goes on to add, "Now Robin also received a birthday present from an unlikely source - the Missouri Republican Party. Don't get me wrong, they aren't sending Robin good wishes. But when the Missouri GOP officially chose Congressman Roy Blunt as their nominee for the U.S. Senate yesterday, they sent Robin a gift that will keep giving all the way through Election Day.

"I'm sure you're aware of Congressman Blunt's reputation for being the ultimate Washington insider--a loyal advocate for big oil, big banks, and big corporations. And his role as bagman for disgraced former Majority Leader Tom DeLay helped him become the #1 recipient of lobbyists' money in the entire Congress!..."

Her mother's email also features a baby picture of Robin with brothers Randy (who died in the plane crash with her father on Oct. 16, 2000) and Russ (now the 3rd District congressman).

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon.

Jo Mannies has been covering Missouri politics and government for almost four decades, much of that time as a reporter and columnist at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. She was the first woman to cover St. Louis City Hall, was the newspaper’s second woman sportswriter in its history, and spent four years in the Post-Dispatch Washington Bureau. She joined the St. Louis Beacon in 2009. She has won several local, regional and national awards, and has covered every president since Jimmy Carter. She scared fellow first-graders in the late 1950s when she showed them how close Alaska was to Russia and met Richard M. Nixon when she was in high school. She graduated from Valparaiso University in northwest Indiana, and was the daughter of a high school basketball coach. She is married and has two grown children, both lawyers. She’s a history and movie buff, cultivates a massive flower garden, and bakes banana bread regularly for her colleagues.