This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Feb. 26, 2011 - Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder all but announced his expected 2012 quest for governor Friday night, as he repeatedly blasted Democratic incumbent Gov. Jay Nixon for "a lack of leadership."
Nixon, asserted Kinder, "has chosen to be a spectator in these critical times."
Kinder, a Republican, touched off applause from his audience of several hundred at the opening night banquet during this weekend's GOP Lincoln Days festivities in Springfield, Mo.
Kinder, the keynote speaker, was introduced by U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., who praised Kinder as "the chief spear catcher'' during the gubernatorial tenure of the senator's son, Republican Matt Blunt, who served from 2005-2009.
Kinder threw lots of verbal spears during his address, as he asserted that Nixon should have challenged some of the new policies coming out of Washington, such as the federal stimulus aid and the federal health care changes.
"On issue after issue, Gov. Nixon has refused to take a stand,'' Kinder said. The lieutenant governor dismissed Nixon's frequent focus on jobs, saying that the governor has been all talk and little action. He cited a recent study that showed Missouri to be one of the states with the weakest job growth.
"He loves the perks of the job,'' Kinder said. He highlighted the criticisms of Nixon's frequent plane flights, most of which have been paid by various state agencies or departments. Nixon's staff says his trips -- close to $400,000 over the past two years -- were charged to the agencies or departments if the governor's travel was to highlight that department's activities or achievements.
Friday's audience cheered when Kinder declared, "We even paid for him to fly around the state announcing a moratorium on travel for everyone else'' in state government.
Kinder has said he won't announce his 2012 plans until later this year. No other major Missouri Republican has declared an interest in taking on Nixon.
Kinder said he planned to spend the next 18 months publicizing alleged government waste under Nixon. Kinder cited, for example, Nixon's support for high-speed rail. Nixon and Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn are strong supporters of a high-speed line from Chicago to St. Louis, with another leg going on to Kansas City.
" 'High speed rail' should be in quotation marks,'' said Kinder, who derided such a project as "an unending drain on the taxpayers of this state."
