by Pa Rock
Missouri Voter
"Clowns to the left of me. Jokers to the right.
Here I am, stuck in the middle with you."
(Stealers Wheel, 1972)
Saturday, the 13th of July. It feels like a good day to splash a little ink on the subject of politics - national, state, and local. I will try to keep it brief and to the point, but only where there is a point, of course.
Nationally, it has been over two weeks since President Biden mumbled and stumbled his way through the season's first presidential debate with Foghorn Leghorn ex-reality television personality Donald Trump. Biden's miserable performance in that debate shocked the nation, but, in reality, it was just an eighty-one-year-old man struggling to remember his talking points. He did the best he could while standing up to an ignorant wall of noise.
There has been a lot of pressure on Biden to drop out of the race based not only on that very embarrassing performance on national television, but also on the fear that he could again mentally drift away at some critical point in the campaign or his presidency. We all remember the spate of fade outs that befell Mitch McConnell, an elderly gentleman of the Republican persuasion, several months ago. And Dianne Feinstein, another Senate veteran, was so far gone during her final months that she literally had no idea where she was at. Sooner or later old age comes for us all.
The United States remains so bitterly divided along political lines that new national polls are showing the race is still statistically tied. Nationally it's a squeaker. But national votes mean diddly-squat when it comes to electing a United States President. Those guys are elected by the voters in "swing" states, and Trump's advantage in the swing states has increased since the debate.
But Joe will not be deterred. He is in it to win it, the only person who has beat Trump, the only person who can beat Trump, and yada, yada, yada. Joe will remain in the race until the Lord Almighty tells him otherwise. He and Lady Macbeth will weather this tempest - and in the end he will know that he did the best he could. That is so special!
There is only one Democrat running in Missouri statewide politics with any chance of winning, it is an admittedly slim chance. Lucas Kunce, a Marine combat veteran, is in his second try at taking a US Senate seat. This time he is challenging incumbent Republican Senator Josh Hawley. Hawley should have an easy time getting re-elected in this solidly red state, but he is a showboat (and a fast runner) whose political antics have offended some old-timers in the Republican Party (such as former Missouri US Senator Jack Danforth), and Hawley's support among Republicans is lagging. Still, unless Trump implodes in some comic or cosmic fashion, Hawley will probably defeat Kunce by a few points.
All other statewide races in Missouri are headed into the Republican column in November, but there is one very interesting state race that will play out in the August primary, and that is the one for governor. There are two major candidates. Jay Ashcroft is our current Secretary of State and a member of one of the state's more prominent political families - though he is far from being the political heavyweight that his father, a former US Attorney General, was. Ashcroft is opposed by the state's GOP lieutenant governor, Mike Kehoe. Ashcroft is leading in the polls, and Kehoe is ahead in campaign donations - and money is extremely important to politicians.
But it is at the local level of politics where things are often the most interesting - and fun. Democrats rarely even bother to run for public office in the rural counties of Missouri. I suspect one ran for office in my county two years ago, but she was on the ballot as an "Independent." And she won!
The two hot races in my area this year will be for seats in the state legislature, and they will both be decided in the August primary. Our incumbent state representative, who was a former circuit judge and relatively intelligent compared to the average Missouri state representative, decided not to seek re-election this year, and his seat came open. Three Republicans and one Democrat are vying to fill it, and whoever wins the GOP primary in August will ultimately fill the position. Our incumbent state senator, who was a former area school superintendent, was recently appointed by the governor to be the state's Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education, and she is consequently not running for reelection to the state senate. Her seat is being pursued by two Republicans who are both currently serving in the Missouri House - the House of Representatives, not the Big House!
Yesterday I received three expensive-looking, slick, campaign mailings - one from a GOP candidate for the state representative position, and one each from the two state senate candidates. They are all worth a mention.
The state representative candidate is an older gentleman who has held local office before and who was accused in a prior campaign, one which he lost, of running to enable a state retirement and of being one of the local "good ol' boys." His full-sheet mailing was particularly colorful and entertaining. The back side contains a caricature of Donald Trump dressed as Uncle Sam with the heading: TRUMP NEEDS YOU! HELP PRESIDENT TRUMP ELECT TRUE CONSERVATIVE FIGHTERS HERE IN MISSOURI!
The front side, while not as much fun as the back, is more directed to the local candidate than it is to his God, Trump. It features a large smiling photo of the candidate, his name, the office he is seeking and this, in large letters: NEVER BACK DOWN TO THE JEFF CITY SWAMP! And in small lettering in the upper left-hand corner it also contains the name of the political action committee (PAC) that paid for the advertising along with the PAC's address - in Jefferson City, Missouri! I guess the candidate figures that folks down where he comes from can't read - or think for themselves! His soul, bless it, appears to already belong to the "Jeff City Swamp!"
The advertisements from the two state senate candidates were both large postcard size. One of the candidates emphasized law and order, and had his picture on one side of his card along with three local law enforcement officers. The back side of card had the heading "JOE BIDEN'S AMERICA IS LAWLESS" and had a couple of headlines about crime in Kansas City. We have plenty of crime in rural Missouri that he could be emphasizing, but that might not go over too well with the grinning cops who were pictured with him on the front of the card.
The other state senate candidate is a preacher, and his primary emphasis was on God. One side of his card showed a church steeple topped by a Christian cross along with the words: "PRAY FOR MISSOURI, PRAY FOR AMERICA. The other side had the candidate's picture along with the heading "UNWAVERING CHRISTIAN CONSERVATIVE". He also mentioned that he fights "the Jeff City Swamp."
There was a qualifications list, of sorts, for God's candidate which included (in order): being pastor of his church, a lifelong resident of southern Missouri, a devoted husband and father, a conservative state representative, and a sponsor of the "Border Security Enhancement Act." A special block also stated that he was endorsed by Missouri Right to Life. There was no mention of support for public education, housing for the homeless, food for the hungry, health care for the ill or infirm, or any other service that might reflect actual Christianity.
That's it. That's how politics look this morning from just inside of my living room window.
My head hurts. I guess I'm done.
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