This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Feb. 22, 2010 - U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt, Missouri's best-known Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, told local supporters Sunday to expect his Democratic opposition to "do all they can to make this about little things" and not the major issues -- federal deficits, energy policy and health care -- that he says puts the GOP on the same side with many voters.
As a result, Blunt said he had yet to decide whether to participate in this Thursday' bipartisan health-care summit called by President Barack Obama.
Blunt said he "doesn't want to be part of a stage production," used by Democrats bent on pursuing their own health-care agenda. The congressman added that he first planned to talk to Republican congressional leaders.
Blunt's comments were made at the Urban Studio Cafe, 2815 North 14th St., as part of his "Jobs for Missouri's Future Tour," which began last Friday and involves stops in 19 communities around the state.
The Urban Studio Cafe is a nonprofit cafe that uses its profits to pay for art programs for neighborhood youths and for community-building programs.
His audience included about two dozen local supporters, Republican activists and some African-American civic leaders who came to hear Blunt outline his views as he campaigns for the Senate seat to be vacated by the retirement of Republican incumbent Christopher "Kit" Bond, who is not running for re-election this fall.
Candidate filing begins Tuesday in Jefferson City. State Sen. Chuck Purgason, R-Caulfield, also has declared his candidacy and is portraying himself as more conservative than Blunt. The only announced Democrat is Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, to whom Blunt indirectly referred several times during Sunday's stop.
Blunt said his visit to the Urban Studio Cafe, and its predominantly black and Democratic neighborhood, exemplifies his commitment -- if elected to the U.S. Senate -- to represent "all the voters," regardless of race, urban or rural.
As the nation figures out how to bolster the economy, he said, "we can't leave cities behind."
However, Blunt emphasized that he was not changing his long-held positions on any issues. In response to a question, Blunt did not commit to backing all the urban programs -- such as Urban Enterprise Zones -- that Bond supported. Blunt said he first wanted to determine which ones work.
On education, for example, he said the federal role -- and spending -- should be limited. Education should be primarily a state and local issue, he said.
On Social Security, Blunt said he supported providing the benefits promised people who were currently retired, but "we've got to figure out a way to restructure this system so it works for" younger people.
Regarding energy, Blunt said he supported the development of all forms -- wind, solar, nuclear and fossil fuels. He is opposed to the Democratic-led "cap and trade" bill, which passed the House last spring, because Blunt said it would result in higher energy costs in coal-reliant states like Missouri.
Regarding health care, Blunt said he thought the Democrats' "biggest moment of self-delusion" came during Obama's State of the Union address, when the president said the problem was that the public didn't understand the changes that Democrats are advocating.
Blunt contended that the public does understand what the Democrats propose and is rejecting their approach.
Blunt offered three scenarios for what he thinks will happen next, as the Democrats restart the health-care debate:
1) The Democrats "pass a bill that doesn't mean anything" and claim success.
2) Democrats putsh through health-care changes that won't go into effect for five years, which will given Republicans time to bolster their numbers and repeal the changes before they go into effect.
3) Democrats keep advocating some sort of public option to energize their supporters for the next election.
In any case, Blunt said he didn't think Democrats "can win that fight" despite their majorities in the House and Senate.
He added that Republicans, during their recent control of the Congress, were able to get their proposals passed without the larger majorities that Democrats now enjoy. "There's never been 60, 59, 58 or 57 Republicans in the Senate," Blunt said.
His implication was that Democrats have failed to use their majorities to govern and now have lost support of the public.
"This is not a complicated election," Blunt said.
UPDATE:
The Missouri Democratic Party continued on Monday its attacks on Blunt, which generally adhere to the Democratic message that Blunt -- a 14-year member of the U.S. House -- is a Washington insider. (Blunt has countered that he grew up poor, and that his successful political career reflects his success in understanding the needs of average Missourians.)
"While Blunt was catering to the needs of lobbyists and special interests and turning a $128 billion into a $1.2 trillion dollar deficit, unemployment in Missouri shot up to nearly 10 percent," said state Democratic Party spokesman Ryan Hobart in a statement. "One thing is clear, Congressman Roy Blunt has a dismal record when it comes to the economy and jobs. ...For nearly a decade, Congressman Blunt was a key member of a Republican leadership team that ushered in the economic downturn by running up massive debts, letting Wall Street run wild, and lavishing tax breaks on millionaires and multinational corporations. The fact of the matter is that Missouri families can't afford any more of Blunt's job killing policies..."
