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FeedUntil Election Day, GO Magazine will present an outline of several races of particular interest in Springfield and surrounding areas.
It's our regret that this feature will comprise not comprise the entirety of local races. Instead, it's a narrowing-down of the local ballot to highlight a half-dozen races that A.) Everyone will vote on and B.) have a particular impact- or interest-quotient and are therefore worth your (and our) time to break down. If you would like more accounts of area House and county races (and the gaggle of opinions surrounding them), may we suggest Dave Catanese's KY3 Political Blog at ky3.blogspot.com, the News-Leader's op-ed page, or local blogger Jason Wert's Q&A's at lifeofjason.com.
Note: GO is not endorsing here, we feel that is a responsibility reserved for the local paper of record, which is not us. Instead we aim for this to be a succinct analysis of the races; when necessary we will point you to outside sources that can give you more and better information. Even if these posts only serve to remind you to actually get out there and vote on November 4 and elicit a laugh or two (contrary to popular belief it is possible for someone not employed by Comedy Central to have a sense of humor about politics) we'll feel we've done our job.
BONUS/MEA CULPA: For some reason we told you that we would be highlighting the state representative races on Tuesday, though those races obviously don't meet criteria "A" as outlined above (or, some would argue, criteria B). They are, however, important, with a number of newcomers to the political scene looking to take over seats from incumbents, and some seats wide open for the first time in years. The links above all do a good job of breaking down these races—the paper is even doing endorsements. We're sorry we don't have more time to dig into these as we should :(
Without further ado, your second race: U.S. Representative
The Candidates (w/ links to official sites)
Roy Blunt, Republican (incumbent)
Richard Monroe, Democrat
Kevin Craig, Libertarian
Travis Maddox, Constitution
Midge Potts, write-in
Blunt is a multi-term incumbent, a former Missouri governor with strong area ties who has held a position of power (majority, then minority, whip) in the U.S. House. And even with his son's struggles in Jefferson City, Roy has brought enough money back to Springfield and surrounding communities—some would call it pork—to keep his name pretty sparkly 'round these parts. You would expect him to run for Senate one of these years, but for now he'll seek to stay in the House. He's countered by Richard Monroe, who would seem to be a pretty stout candidate. He's a veteran, a Princeton and MU-law grad, an attorney by trade who has served as a federal prosecutor for 20 years. Democrats we've spoken to think Monroe is a good candidate, but don't hold out a ton of hope. Such is life in southwest Missouri politics.
We'd be remiss if we didn't mention the write-in campaign of Midge Potts, the transgender local activist (Midge nee Mitchell is a man living as a woman) who could very well be Springfield's only current resident to be spoofed, at least indirectly, on The Daily Show/Colbert Report. (Midge has been arrested at least once for protesting during Congressional hearings.) Her campaign is grass-roots, as you'd imagine. Track her down on Facebook for semi-frequent updates/CD sales.
The Issues:
C'mon... what are the issues in Washington these days? Who can work across party lines? Who can make sense of a budget? Who can stay relevant in a Washington that, it appears, could change a great deal in the next four years (though probably not as much as we'd all like).
The Odds:
Time for brutal honesty: It's Springfield, and it's Roy. The seat is his (and, dare we say, his son's) until they don't want it any more. Qualified candidates can hold all the Blunt-less debates they like, but that's the reality of this district. The fact that he doesn't even campaign much is a pretty sure sign. And as genuine and appealing as Monroe may seem, it's going to take a big name with big money on the Democratic ticket to make a dent.
Best Context-free Quote (found at thinkexist.com):
Blunt: “Somebody was telling me about the French Army rifle that was being advertised on eBay the other day - the description was, 'Never shot. Dropped once.”
None found for other candidates.
Endorsement Tracker:
Springfield News-Leader: Not endorsing statewide or national candidates
Joplin Globe: Roy Blunt
More GO Election Primers:
Day 1: Missouri Governor
Day 3: (October 30): Propositions and Amendments
Day 4: (October 31): Greene County Sheriff (and other county races)
Day 5: (November 3): President of the United States of America
Again, we strongly urge you to research a lot more before making your final decision. If you feel so inclined, please add to the discussion in the comments.
Posted on Wednesday, October 29, 2008 | Permalink
Reader Comments:
Here is my context free quote:
(from transcript of CNN interview)
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0703/17/cnr.06.html
"Well, I think it was plainly stated on my shirt that I was saying impeach Bush now. I was also saying that Americans should not be afraid to speak their views in that we live in a country where our government is supposed to be of the people and we need to remind our representatives of that.
~ Midge Potts
March 17th, 2007