With news that Kit Bond will not seek re-election to the Senate, we need a candidate. I think I could get behind Sarah Steelman for the Senate. Friends of mine describe her as the Sarah Palin of Missouri — and they mean it as a sincere, conservative compliment.
Kimberley Strassel wrote about her during her gubernatorial run.
Her sin is in fact to belong to that new mold of Republican – Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Sens. Tom Coburn and Jim DeMint – who know it’s no longer enough to simply hawk lower taxes. In 10 years as a state legislator and treasurer, her target has been the slothful political favor factory that’s led Republicans away from small-government principles and outraged conservative voters.
And, oh, the howls of misery. Ms. Steelman’s Republican colleagues were livid with her attempt to strip them of comfy pensions, annoyed with her “sunshine law” requiring them to be more open in their dealings, furious at her attacks on their ethanol boondoggles, appalled that she criticized GOP state Speaker Rod Jetton for moonlighting as a paid political consultant. The final straw was her temerity to make her primary race about her opponent’s Washington earmarking record.
Sounds good to me.
Well...
tsquare Thursday, January 8th at 12:43PM EST (link)I could maybe get behind her… sure.
I question though if she can win statewide. Robin Carnahan is sure to be the Democrat she’ll be running against, and she has won state wide.
(If the MO Dems were smart they would run RUSS Carnahan, and ‘give up’ the 3rd district after the 2010 redistricting… they aren’t.)
A better more might be Roy Blunt running for the Senate and Steelman running for his seat in the house.
The duel problem here is while these folks need to start running today… and we don’t know what things will be like come 2010. think of the difference in the world between 2000 and 2002 or 2004 and 2006.
Steelman has won statewide.
MORepublican Thursday, January 8th at 1:41PM EST (link)She was elected State Treasurer in 2004, and did a pretty good job, IMO.
The question would be if she could overcome Robin Carnahan in rural Missouri by going into urban areas. The Carnahan name is pretty popular in some rural areas.
“Free Government Requires Active Citizens”
We are at the point where we must think metro
bs Thursday, January 8th at 1:54PM EST (link)The rural areas can no longer overcome the leftist tilt in the metro areas. McCain won by an eyelash. The metro Dem sprawl is spreading from St. Louis, and the Columbia area got more blue this time around. Now one could argue that 2008 was just an Obama coattail year, but I am not so sure about that. I believe the candidate has to be someone who is widely recognized in the KC, STL AND Springfield areas (Columbia is probably a hopeless morass of University of MO leftists)
Decorum is fo’ suckas
Then perhaps Kinder?
MORepublican Thursday, January 8th at 2:04PM EST (link)He has at least reached out to St. Louis leaders who have praised him. He has statewide name recognition, plus being Lt. Gov., he can keep his name in front of people. Plus, Kinder supported Fred! Thompson early on, so that should be a plus for some RedStaters.
Columbia is not a hopeless morass - I live there and work at Mizzou. It is left leaning, but other parts of Boone County, especially north of Columbia, offset the city to a certain extent.
“Free Government Requires Active Citizens”
Kinder's an interesting idea
bs Thursday, January 8th at 2:14PM EST (link)I saw someone on the P-D web site bring up his name, and frankly, I hadn’t really thought about it. The Fred connection is certainly appealing…
I went to Mizzou, so I’m familiar with the area. The outside-Columbia offset didn’t seem to take this past election, but like I said before, the Obama coattails probably didn’t hurt there. Furthermore, it appears that more colleges are encouraging their students to vote on campus rather than absentee back home (my kid ran into that in Kirksville). I suspect they are more able to sway them if they vote in town.
There will be a lot of discussions over the next couple of months on who is best capable of winning.
Decorum is fo’ suckas
hmm.. fascinating
Paul Seale Thursday, January 8th at 2:17PM EST (link)Best thing about it is that we dont lose our only state wide office.
I do have a lot of respect for Kinder.
He may not have a lot of flash and do-whop, but at least he is a steady hand and consistent.
In my part of Missouri...
Josh Painter Thursday, January 8th at 12:44PM EST (link)…the conservative south, Sarah Steelman is highly regarded. She is an economics prof at Missouri State U. here in Springfield.
- JP
“An armed society is a polite society” - Robert A. Heinlein, “Beyond This Horizon” (1942)
Which is also...
tsquare Thursday, January 8th at 12:46PM EST (link)…in Blunts District… thus my point.
Springfield = she’d be almost a lock
Statewide? I’m ‘concerned’
You're at an advantage
bs Thursday, January 8th at 12:49PM EST (link)Your part of the state is already red. Up here, we’re split between the deep blue of St. Louis city and the inner ring of suburbs, and the pink/red of the outer suburbs. Even the south has turned blue in 2008. So there are different considerations - how do you overcome the blue KC and STL metro areas? Is someone like Steelman, who has limited metro area reco, able to beat someone with a statewide recognized name like Carnahan (and a Carnahan is likely to be the Dem opponent).
I think Steelman would be a fine candidate, but I question whether she can win. I personally would prefer someone like Talent. Yes, he lost against Claire, but it was very, very close, just like Steelman’s race against Hulshof. 2010 is likely to be a far different political environment from 2006.
Decorum is fo’ suckas
Uh, she just got the gig.
Paul Seale Thursday, January 8th at 1:22PM EST (link)Be truthful. She just got the gig a few weeks ago as economics professor.
As to the highly regarded stuff - to a point for sure, but a lot of that has to do with much of the local media attention and shape of this years campaign.
I would point out that she was buddy, buddy with a local (extreme left) political reporter. That should say volumes.
If Steelman wants this SW Missourian’s vote she is going to need to prove to me that she is more than a political opportunist with a bone to pick with the Matt Blunt party apperatus.
Since my background is in journalism...
Josh Painter Thursday, January 8th at 5:37PM EST (link)I also have some friends who are very left-of-center political reporters. What does that say about me? I’ll tell you. It says that I don’t judge my friends by a political yardstick. We respect one other enough not to argue politics, because knowing one another as well as we do, we know that we won’t make converts out of our friends. We are able to relate to each other on other planes. Some of us ride motorcycles together. Some of us share interests in music, astronomy, golden retrievers, burmese cats, science fiction, playing cards - whatever. And when one of us needs a friend, the others are there to do what we can. I’m a fierce conservative, and politics plays an important role in my life, but I don’t allow it to dominate me. Nor do I allow politics to dictate who my friends and acquaintences will or will not be. If you can’t separate politics from other aspects of your life, then you’re a fanatic.
Also, even though Steelman just recently hired on at MO State U, she also taught at Lincoln University in Jeff City,
- JP
“An armed society is a polite society” - Robert A. Heinlein, “Beyond This Horizon” (1942)
Hell NO!
Paul Seale Thursday, January 8th at 1:18PM EST (link)What she pulled this year may cost the state years to recover from.
Her little stunt proved to me that her ego has no boundries.
Hulshoff was an honorable man and could have been an excellent candidate.
While his campaign manager carries a large portion of the burden as to why and how he failed misserably; Steelman’s repeated desire to break Reagan’s 11th commandment in some times malicious manner to close a twenty point poll gap spoke volumes to me.
Instead of focusing on how either one of them might govern or policy issues we got hung up on interparty bickering.
As a result, we now face a similar situation here in Missouri to what we did in 1992 when Democrats controlled everything but the auditor position.
What happened this year was an embarassment and cost us not just the governor’s office.
Does this sound like someone who I could get behind? Sorry, not a chance at this point.
Steelman might dream of being another Palin, but from this person’s perspective, she is far from it. Political opportunist? For sure.
Steelman=Not a conservative
Younce Thursday, January 8th at 2:24PM EST (link)Not only did Steelman run a damaging campaign to the entire Missouri Republican Party, she is not a real conservative.
While in the State Senate, she fought tort reform. It just so happens her husband is a personal injury lawyer and would be personally affected by this legislation.
She also supports the unions. She has been endorsed by the unions almost every time she has run, including the Carpenter’s Union this last election.
She has done a great job of making herself look like a conservative when she is truly not.
You know, Younce...
Josh Painter Thursday, January 8th at 5:54PM EST (link)Caiming that someone is not a conservative based on one or two issues is total manure. Steelman was conservative where it counts. She’s pro-life, pro-gun, anti-earmarks and pro-transparency in gov’t. She supported ethics reform, opposed giving the whole store away to the ethanol lobby, stood for property rights, opposed illegal immigration and supported building a new refinery in M.issouri. She’s for lower taxess, fewer gov’t. regulations, and less gov’t. spending.
Newsflash: that’s a conservative.
- JP
“An armed society is a polite society” - Robert A. Heinlein, “Beyond This Horizon” (1942)
That's a great idea Paul
Brian Simpson Thursday, January 8th at 4:23PM EST (link)Attack Steelman from your revisionist sense of history.
Steelman did not cost Hulshof the Gov seat. He and his campaign cost him the Gov seat. No one outside of Republican insiders and those who lived in his district had a clue who he was. He has about as much personality as a piece of dry white toast.
Go ahead and back your candidate, but try to pick a better criticism of Steelman.
[Oh, and if you want to pick someone to blame for this outside of Hulshof, look to the person currently occupying the Gov mansion. His timing was what put the party in disarray.]
The Minority Report | Twitter | Facebook | Digg | Politics4All | Missouri Matters | Rebuild the Party
Important principles may and must be inflexible. ~ Abraham Lincoln
5
bs Thursday, January 8th at 4:26PM EST (link)Blunt did the GOP no favors. I don’t care to see either him or his father in the Senate race. Let ‘em sit on the sidelines for a while.
Decorum is fo’ suckas
yes and no.
Paul Seale Thursday, January 8th at 5:13PM EST (link)The first couple of years things went well. In fact the reason why we are not in as big as economic peril as what we could be was because of those first few years.
Then something happened, dont ask me what, and everything just went down hill.
So the truthful answer is yes and no.
As to the “let em sit on the sidelines for a while” comment - it shows me that you know very little about Roy outside of what you might read on firedupmissouri or the post dispatch.
While I disagree with some of the things he has done in his personal life a few years go - policy wise the man is very wise and does something that a few others dont know how to do.
Listen.
Baloney
Paul Seale Thursday, January 8th at 5:09PM EST (link)There is nothing revisionist about what I said. Period.
In fact, in you completely missed my point.
When the primary started she was down about twenty points and decided to attack Hulshoff, (and seemed to take pleasure in it) many of which were not even relevant to the race and how either one of them might govern.
She even went as far as to buddy up to David Catanese of the local TV station and used a quote from his political blog.
For those who dont know, the guy is a complete political hack who pretends to write hard news and is known for his love of Claire McCaskill and other Democrats. Yet Steelman found time to coddle with the guy at every turn.
In case you missed it, I labeled her as a political opportunist and she is and in my mind continues to be.
Lets be clear, she did the job well and was considered by a moderate. Steelman was a good person and could have helped secure the State Treasurers office.
Instead her ego trip cost the party (and the state of Missouri because of the positioning of Democrats now in state wide offices executing their liberal whims) quite a bit.
I do grant you that the Hulshof campaign was a mess to say the least, but they spent most of their time trying to recover from the mess which Steelman made while trying to close the gap in the polls.
Yeah, that comment still proves that you didn't get it
Brian Simpson Thursday, January 8th at 11:47PM EST (link)But who am I to disabuse you of your beliefs.
Like I said before, advocate for your candidate, but don’t expect too many people to fault anyone but Hulshof for losing this race.
The Minority Report | Twitter | Facebook | Digg | Politics4All | Missouri Matters | Rebuild the Party
Important principles may and must be inflexible. ~ Abraham Lincoln
No.
itrytobenice Thursday, January 8th at 11:44PM EST (link)Hulshoff lost because he was a typical inside the beltway pol when the public wanted change. No one is impressed with Congress or the morons who inhabit its halls. That near single digit approval rating is well earned and Hulshoff was right there driving that bus into the ditch with the others.
The problem with America is stupidity. I’m not saying there should be capital punishment for stupidity, but why don’t we just take the safety labels off of everything and let the problem solve itself?
I love Steelman, wrote an I Love Steelman diary months ago
Alberta Thursday, January 8th at 1:32PM EST (link)I believe the one and only comment on the dairy is a video from the Glen Beck show where she did an interview. Im not sure if its still up but its a good interview.
I will admit I dont know a lot about her save what I have seen on GB.
Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.
Abraham Lincoln
Heh. Looks like Steelman likes your idea, Erick
bs Thursday, January 8th at 2:17PM EST (link)See here
Decorum is fo’ suckas
Sarah Steelman is a VERY BAD CHOICE
blkeelin Thursday, January 8th at 7:48PM EST (link)Your recommendation for Sarah Steelman is a VERY BAD choice to replace Senator Bond. Sarah Steelman ran a very negative primary against Congressman Hulshof and cost us the Governor’s seat.
Sarah’s husband is also a trial lawyer and she against any sensible tort reform, meaning any possible restrictions on lawsuit abuse would be impossible.
The other reason why she is a bad choice is she is a horrible public speaker and against someone like Robin Carnahan she will come across as uninformed.
The best choices are LT. Gov Peter Kinder, Congressman Sam Graves, or State Senator Charlie Shields.
Disagree.
itrytobenice Thursday, January 8th at 11:41PM EST (link)I liked her better than Hulshoff. When he spoke in Carthage, he misrepresented his record when he was defending himself against the earmark charge. He seemed to know that those of us in SWMO would not approve, so he just tried to make it sound as if he had been unfairly criticized for earmarking when he had only recommended one highway improvement. That was not the truth and it did not impress me much.
Both Steelman and Kinder spoke at Neosho, and Steelman was a much more impressive speaker. Kinder seems like a nice enough guy, but he could put a two year old to sleep.
A friend of mine is our local treasurer and she seemed to know Steelman when we were together last fall. I think I’ll call her and get her take on this issue.
The problem with America is stupidity. I’m not saying there should be capital punishment for stupidity, but why don’t we just take the safety labels off of everything and let the problem solve itself?
The 60 seats inches closer
dld1717 Thursday, January 8th at 10:08PM EST (link)What a devastating day to read this. MO seems to be electing more Dems statewide and the Dems only need 1 seat for 60 seats.
This of the destruction that will happen to this country if this happens? When was last time any party has held 60 seats in senate?
Watch out I am willing to bet someone Grassley retires next.
John Conryn had better be hands on in recruiting candidates; he already has KS and now MO to deal with
This is how I know everything is right in the world
Brian Simpson Thursday, January 8th at 11:49PM EST (link)dld is screaming doom and gloom.
The Minority Report | Twitter | Facebook | Digg | Politics4All | Missouri Matters | Rebuild the Party
Important principles may and must be inflexible. ~ Abraham Lincoln