by Pa Rock
Missouri Voter
I have been back in the Ozarks for over ten years, long enough to where the local politicians have finally quit knocking at my door. Almost all of them are Republicans, and they have gotten the message that I'm not buying what they're selling.
That's why I was mildly surprised yesterday afternoon during the heat of the day when one showed up at The Roost. I was out in the backyard working on getting my 10,000 steps in for the day by taking sticks and small branches to one of the brush piles, when a nice looking pick-up pulled in the drive and a slim man wearing a cowboy hat got out. He was somewhere between my son's age and my own. A salesman, I assumed, or possibly - since the primary election is next Tuesday - a politician.
"Are you Rocky?" he said.
"I am," I admitted.
"I'm. Denny Roth, Democratic candidate for Congress."
Jackpot! Not only had I scored my first Democratic political visitor in a decade, he was a big fish - a congressional candidate!
"Denny" Roth is Franklin Delano Roth II, and I knew who he was as soon as he said his name. He is in the race to dislodge our current congressman, Jason Smith, a forty-four-year old bachelor who sleeps in his office at the Capitol (a very nice untaxed job perk), spends almost all of his time in Washington whining about President Biden, and, in his spare time - when he's not fleecing lobbyists - serves as the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. I proudly vote against useless Jason Smith every two years, but yesterday marked the very first time that one of his opponents actually stopped by to ask for my vote.
Missouri's 8th Congressional District is huge, going from Jefferson County near St. Louis, down the Mississippi to the boot heel, and westward nearly all the way to Springfield and Branson. The 8th District includes 28 counties with a total population of around 800,000 people. It's a big damned district, yet here was one of only two Democratic candidates running to oust Jason Smith from his comfortable digs in Washington standing in my driveway just five days before the primary election!
Here's the backstory: In early July not long after I got home from my solo drive across western Canada, I was on the internet one evening researching a few political candidates. I was particularly interested in looking at the two who were running to replace useless Jason. Denny Roth had a well-organized homepage that clearly expressed his views on a number of important issues, and his views were a solid fit with my own - to the point that I sent him a campaign donation that very evening. Somewhere in the process I also signaled that I would be happy to display one of his yard signs. As a former independent realtor I know that yard signs are expensive, and I harbored no hope that he would spare one for a rural stretch of county road near West Plains, Missouri - even if it was paved and generated a fair amount of traffic.
"You indicated that you could use a yard sign," the candidate said after we shook hands. "I was in town at a Chamber event and thought while I was close by I would bring one and get acquainted." He pulled a sign from the back of his truck and we walked to the road, selected a spot, and he put it up - a full-service candidate!
We stood in the yard and talked for a few minutes after the sign was up. Our discussion drifted from the political reality of this area being heavily Republican to another political reality - that it has been the Democratic Party which brought about so many of the things that give us comfort and security today - Social Security and Medicare, for example. Roth, who has the endorsement of the United Auto Workers and is a retired farmer and former over-the-road trucker, is a strong supporter of unions.
It was hot, we didn't talk long, and the candidate still had miles to go before his day would end, but Denny Roth took time out of his very busy schedule to stop by and introduce himself to me. And that meant a helluva lot to this old curmudgeon. Thanks for stopping by, Franklin Delano Roth, II.
What a great Democratic name!
(Note: Not many people read this blog, especially since I left Twitter, but if you are one of the ones who do, please share today's posting with anyone you know who lives in Missouri's 8th congressional district. This would be a great time to send Jason Smith home!)
1 comment:
I met Franklin Delano Roth II (Denny) shortly after he announced his candidacy last November. I produced a political podcast, Democracy on the Move, and I arranged to interview him.
I met Denny at his house. In his cowboy hat, he stood in his driveway to greet me. After we introduced ourselves, Sandy, Denny's wife, greeted me as well. Instantly, I felt at home. About 10 minutes into recording the podcast, I realized that Denny is the real thing. He has a broad knowledge of the issues, common-sense ideas on addressing our problems, and a deep sense of integrity. Since then, I've done all I could to help him with his campaign.
In many ways, Denny and Sandy have inspired me to do more than just podcasting, so when an opportunity came up to run for a state representative post, I signed up. At first, I thought Denny might be disappointed because it meant I would spend less time helping him with his campaign; however, the opposite happened. He and Sandy were very supportive and excited about my political pursuit.
Honestly, I cannot say enough good things about Denny. I will do all I can to help him become the next Representative for the 8th District. Washington D.C. doesn't need to drain the swamp; it simply needs to stop adding more alligators. If more folks like Denny were in DC, they would chase out the alligators and put our nation back on track.
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