When I heard who the Republicans were turning to for a second-string Lieutenant Governor candidate, Brad Lager’s name triggered a vague negative connotation. When a Republican friend posted an Facebook status praising Lager for being a “good family man” and an “outstanding fiscal conservative”, I dug through the archives of the blog and unearthed my first contact with the guy - a little over 5 years ago, on a not-fast-enough-for-a-VIP stretch of highway. Not exactly a big scandal, and I’d be shocked if there aren’t Dems who have done that and worse, but it struck an impression that his subsequent 5 years of participation in Jefferson City Republican politics haven’t erased.