It’s the fight against the flood.

A gaggle of bipartisan politicians are throwing down the gauntlet on the US Army Corps of Engineers who plan to go ahead with a man-made flood on the Missouri River. Dubbed the “spring rise,” the purposed flooding comes at pretty atrocious time considering Missouri is in the midst of a major flood crisis after a fierce storm last week.

Gov. Matt Blunt, Attorney General Jay Nixon and Senator Kit Bond are all feverishly calling for a cancellation of the flooding. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is reporting that Nixon filed a lawsuit Monday to stop the spring rise. Bond has written President George W. Bush and Blunt is appealing directly to Colonel Steven R. Miles with the Army Corps of Engineers.

“When I am getting several updates a day on our response to mother nature’s flood, man-made flooding makes about as much sense as fighting a forest fire with gasoline,” Blunt said in a recent press release.

Blunt also said the flooding has affected “tens of thousands of Missourians,” including five flood-related deaths and damages to property.

Missouri’s rivers have caused major flooding, impacting 70 of Missouri’s 114 counties as well as St. Louis city.

“It is unthinkable that just as we are beginning damage assessments and the recovery process, the federal government has authorized a man-made flood in Missouri,” Blunt said in the release. “The Army Corps of Engineers should stop this reckless action which will only aggravate the flooding that has already hurt many Missouri families.”

The spring rise is a scheduled flooding meant to encourage the spawning of the pallid sturgeon, an endangered fish, by fabricating natural seasonal flooding which will start at midnight tonight, lasting 48 hours and causing a 6 inch rise in flood waters. This is supposed to having every March and May under Fish and Wildlife Service guidelines, but it has routinely faced opposition from state politicians.

They’re China bound!

Gov. Matt Blunt, along with U.S. Senators Kit Bond and Claire McCaskill, are going on a bipartisan trade mission to China this week. The politicians will work on “creating new economic development opportunities between China and Missouri.” They will be heading to the People’s Republic of China with high-level members of government, business and civic leaders from the St. Louis area.

“Missouri businesses have shattered export records every year since I took office in 2005,” Gov. Blunt said in a press release Monday. “This bipartisan trade mission to China, one of our most important trading partners, will help strengthen business relations and help continue Missouri’s outstanding job growth.”

A who’s who of state and St. Louis politics are making the trip including: U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley, former Gov. Bob Holden who serves as the vice chairman of the Midwest U.S.-China Association.

Business leaders making the trek include Richard C. D. Fleming, president and CEO of the St. Louis Regional Chamber & Growth Association (RCGA); David L. Steward, chairman and CEO of World Wide Technology; and executives with Pfizer, Peabody Energy, Unigroup, McEagle Properties, the World Trade Center St. Louis, and Lambert St. Louis International Airport.

Anti-war group St. Louis Instead of War Coalition will have a protest in Clayton Wednesday, marking the anniversary of the Iraq War, which began this week five years ago.

Several hundred war protesters will stand in-between the two-and-a-half blocks from Senator Christopher “Kit” Bond’s office at the corner of Hanley and Bonhomme to the office of a Boeing subcontractor in the 7700 block of Forsyth.

The protest will last from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.

The anti-war group is calling for an end to all funding for the war with the exception of money to withdraw troops from the region. The group also wants the US government to commit funds to the reconstruction of Iraq through international organizations once the withdrawal is complete.

This protest is in conjunction with similar protests that will take place throughout the country Wednesday.

Protesters are singling out Sen. Bond because of his connections with Boeing and other military contractors. The group claims Bond has received half-a-million dollars in campaign contributions from these companies, more than any other senator.

Following Governor Matt Blunt and other party leaders who had also endorsed other candidates, Senator Kit Bond has now thrown his support behind his party’s presumptive Presidential nominee, John McCain.

Senator Kit Bond released this statement Wednesday morning:

“I am pleased to support Senator McCain as our nominee for President. On the critical issue of national security and our safety here at home, Senator McCain is the only one who recognizes the threat of terrorism and who can lead our country in these dangerous times. We stand shoulder to shoulder on supporting the efforts of our troops abroad and ensuring our intellgience capabilities against all threats.”

McCain is not the first frontrunner to gain Senator Bond’s endorsement this political season. Way back in November, when Rudy Giuliani was leading in national Republican polls, Bond gave an equally strong endorsement to the former New York mayor. That didn’t work out.