This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Feb. 27, 2011 - SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Top Missouri Republicans took aim this weekend at the state's top Democrats -- Gov. Jay Nixon and U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill -- and labor unions as the GOP exuded optimism about its chances, locally and in Washington, of ousting more Democrats after last fall's rout.
"Unless we finish the job in 2012, all will be lost,'' declared veteran Republican activist Ann Wagner, one of several Senate hopefuls appealing to hundreds of GOP faithful gathered in Springfield this weekend for the state party's annual Lincoln Days festivities.
Wagner -- who has yet to declare her candidacy -- lobbed some of the weekend's sharpest red-meat attacks against McCaskill, such as dubbing the senator "Chameleon Claire" in a speech Saturday morning before the state Republican Party's executive committee.
Wagner asserted that McCaskill has been trying to hide from the public her "bluer than blue'' voting record and recast herself as more conservative. "She blew it," Wagner declared.
State Republican Party chairman David Cole joined in with a joke that touched off cheers at the Friday night banquet. Cole took note of U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson's broken arm and quipped, ''There's no truth to the rumor that Claire McCaskill knocked her down in a mad rush to the right."
But Saturday night's keynote speaker, U.S. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., warned that the stakes of Missouri's U.S. Senate contest in 2012 were serious.
"Missouri is going to be right at the center. Right at Ground Zero,'' Thune said. For the GOP to change the nation's direction, he continued, "We need a majority in the U.S. Senate and Missouri will figure prominently..."
Meanwhile, Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder -- the party's likely candidate for governor -- fired off most of the weekend's jabs against Nixon. Besides accusing Nixon of "lack of leadership," Kinder portrayed the governor as "the flying freeloader'' because of the governor's frequent flights around the state since taking office in 2009.
But Saturday, Kinder and other top Republicans focused mostly on Washington. They contended that President Barack Obama's administration has sought to expand improperly its reach in matters like health care and business regulation -- while taking a hands-off approach when it comes to gay marriage and alleged voter fraud.
Kinder drew applause when, at a morning town hall with activists, he declared that Obama must be defeated to get a new U.S. Justice Department that "will enforce voting laws in a color blind and ideologically blind way."
Later, Kinder said in an interview that he was referring, among other things, to the Justice Department's 2010 decision to drop a case against two members of the New Black Panther Party who were accused of brandishing night sticks at voters outside a polling place in Philadelphia. The incident has been cited by conservatives as an example of the Justice Department's refusal to press voting rights cases against minorities, a charge the department has denied.
Other speakers also blasted the White House. Wagner, for example, compared Obama to "an empty teleprompter'' who lacked "moral clarity'' and instead embraced "shades of gray."
Thune warned that Obama could block the Republican efforts to curb spending and reduce business regulations, even if Republicans win back the Senate in 2012. He added, "We have to take on our White House problem by electing a new president."
Speeches target gay marriage, Wisconsin, Right to Work
U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Harrisonville, drew even stronger cheers at Saturday's luncheon when she declared her outrage at the Obama administration's decision against defending in court the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman only.
"This could be the Roe vs. Wade of our generation,'' Hartzler said, referring to the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing most abortions. She contended that without the Defense of Marriage Act, marriage "will not be as we have known it."
Hartzler contended that states like Missouri could be forced to recognize same-sex marriages, although Missourians passed a state constitutional amendment in 2004 barring such unions. She noted that she had been active in the 2004 effort.
The congresswoman and others also zeroed in on another crowd-pleasing topic: the standoff in Wisconsin between its Republican governor and public-employee unions over collective bargaining rights.
Hartzler, a former teacher, accused her protesting counterparts in Wisconsin of resorting to using "children to advance your cause. Get back in the classroom and do your job!"
State Auditor Tom Schweich suggested giving the 14 Democratic senators from Wisconsin, who are hiding out in Illinois to prevent passage of the bill curbing collective bargaining, "a one-way ticket to Libya."
Former state Treasurer Sarah Steelman, one of two announced candidates for the U.S. Senate, praised Wiscon Gov. Scott Walker and declared that reining in unions should be a key objective on the state and national level. She repeated her support for a state effort -- championed by state Senate President Pro Tem Rob Mayer, R-Dexter -- to get a "right to work'' bill passed by the General Assembly.
Such a measure -- rejected by Missouri voters in 1978 -- would bar closed union shops. Steelman said "right to work" would help make the state more competitive with the 22 states that already have it and make the nation more competitive with China. "We must do something different,'' Steelman said.
Such anti-union messages contrasted with rallies held Saturday in St. Louis and Kansas City by labor groups and their allies in support of the protests in Wisconsin and against "right to work."
Repeated Calls for Dramatic Spending Cuts
But the overarching message throughout the Lincoln Day weekend was the rising national debt and the need to cut federal spending dramatically.
U.S. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., led a parade of speakers, including Thune, who said that the federal government needs to pare down sharply -- citing the $2.2 trillion a year collected in revenue and this year's $3.7 trillion in spending.
Hartzler said she was proud of the U.S. House's decision to cut 149 federal programs over the past couple weeks. She singled out votes to end family-planning programs -- especially the money going to Planned Parenthood -- and "a needle-exchange program for drug addicts in New York."
Emerson said in an interview later that she hoped spending could be restored for programs important to rural Missouri -- such as block grants and community health centers -- but emphasized in her town hall remarks that broad budget cuts would require "shared sacrifice."
Republicans maintained that more GOP wins in 2012 could help their quest.
St. Louis lawyer Ed Martin, an announced candidate for the U.S. Senate, contended that "when we replace Claire McCaskill, we'll begin to reclaim America."
