The midterm elections are on November 2, and as often happens, the party in power is in danger of losing a considerable number of congressional seats. One of the key Senate races is here in Missouri, and I’ll be blunt: I am for candidate Carnahan.
Roy Blunt (b. 1950), currently a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, is seeking to win the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Senator Kit Bond, who has held that position since 1987. Blunt’s main opponent is Robin Carnahan (b. 1961), who is the current Missouri Secretary of State.
Roy Blunt (b. 1950), currently a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, is seeking to win the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Senator Kit Bond, who has held that position since 1987. Blunt’s main opponent is Robin Carnahan (b. 1961), who is the current Missouri Secretary of State.
Both Blunt and Carnahan are Baptists and both are graduates of the same colleges as June and I. Blunt graduated from Southwest Baptist University (SBU) in 1970 and Carnahan from William Jewell College in 1983. Blunt was also the president of SBU from 1993-96, and he gave the commencement address at SBU in May of this year. Last year, Carnahan was one of the Achievement Day honorees at Jewell.
So, by religious affiliation and by college connection there is no reason to vote for one of these senatorial candidates over the other. But their political views are quite different, and I firmly believe that Carnahan’s are distinctly superior.
To give but one example, Carnahan is in favor of the federal health care plan that Congress passed earlier this year. But Blunt voted against it and now advocates repealing the new laws. He supported Proposition C in Missouri (which I wrote about on my August 10 posting).
Earlier this month, Blunt signed the “Tea Party Treaty,” which was drawn up last month by the St. Louis Tea Party. The first “article” of that treaty says, “I believe that the healthcare reform bill (Affordable Care Act) should be immediately repealed as an un-constitutional extension of governmental powers according to Article I of the U.S. Constitution, and thus a burden on the people’s rights as recognized by the 9th Amendment.”
According to FactCheck.org, “Misrepresenting the health care law has been perhaps the single most dominant theme of attack ads by GOP candidates, party groups and independent conservative organizations. A record estimated $4 billion is being spent on both sides in this midterm election, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. And from our observations, a large part of that is being spent to discredit the health care legislation and the Democrats who voted for it.”
It is not good to decide on whom to vote for because of only one issue, and the health care issue is certainly not the only one about which I disagree with Representative Blunt. But it is an important issue, and his lamentable position on it, along with a number of others, is one of the main reasons I am voting for Carnahan.
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As a cynic, I find little favorable about either candidate or their parties. I have not decided whether to vote for the lesser of two evils (in sheep's clothing), or to vote third party.
ReplyDeleteI have always thought that the provision of healthcare for those who cannot afford it somehow fit within the purview of the concept of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". What is decried as "socialist" by tea party detractors seems to emanate from a very antisocial political agenda...
ReplyDeleteDr Seat, I am in agreement with you on this issue. I am very dissappointed with the GOP attacking this health care issue. The tea party movement is also spreading a message of hate in our country, and unfortunately I know of people personally who believe in their rhetoric.
ReplyDeleteAs I write this, Robin Carnahan has been overwhelmingly rejected by the voters of Missouri. A triumphalist Republican House leadership celebrates the opportunity to repeal "Obamacare." On a whole list of critical issues from global warming to evolution, opinions I find tragically flawed are triumphing. So what do we do when potentially tragic policies follow?
ReplyDeleteLiberals have trouble with original sin. Yet clearly, we live in a very flawed world. Those flaws cannot only hurt, they can kill. Our political process is not only warped by special interests, it also is deeply intuitive and experimental. This means disastrous failures are part of the learning curve. The good news in this is that usually we eventually find our way through troubles. The bad news is, history is littered with failed states that found themselves in dead ends with no way out. In between are horrific transitions such as the Civil War.
We do not know what will happen. Probably some of the worst possibilities will not come to pass, as people blink at the last moment. Some things may work out in unexpected solutions. New people in Congress may bring surprise alternatives. Probably, some tragedies will follow, too. The triumphant ideology is simply too flawed to avoid that. The real question is whether the tragedy of the quiet suffering of the poor will be the worst of it, or whether a spectacular disaster paralleling the financial meltdown will follow. That is not to say it will be another financial meltdown, although that is a real possibility. A rather daunting list of possible disasters overhang us. And i suspect a deep intuition of that danger in some ways informed the voting panic we have witnessed.
The prophet Jeremiah went out to buy a field when all around him were deep in gloom. Like him, we must be clear eyed, and looking for opportunities ahead. Perhaps our Camelot is coming to an end. Or perhaps we are just passing through a dark hour. We must learn what we can, and prepare for the best. Yes, the best. The best is the enemy of the good, but when the good is defeated, the best is free.
If anyone near Liberty, MO sees this before 7 PM November 6, go see "An Enemy of the People" by Henrik Ibsen at William Jewell College. Becky and I just returned from opening night, and it is a most timely play well done in a fascinating theatre in the round production.
ReplyDeleteWe use different terminology today, we might say "political correctness" where Ibsen's character says "liberal," but the overall mix of politics, economics, science, and a touch of religion, is amazingly relevant to the muddled current American mix we have been discussing on this blog, even this topic.
So, if you can, I recommend visiting WJC at the theatre in Browning at 7 PM Friday or 2 PM or 7 PM Saturday. Only one weekend, so November 5 and 6 are it. If you ever sat through Hedda Gabler, and thought never Ibsen again, please consider giving Ibsen another chance. If you can't, watch for other WJC productions, they do great work!