Posted on 02/28/2010 2:43:03 PM PST by BobMcCartyWrites
During an interview Friday night, Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) convinced me he lacks basic understanding of the people who are members of the "Tea Party Movement."
I reached that conclusion after hearing him answer my question about how he would embrace the people who feel somewhat disenfranchised in today's political environment and display their frustration by becoming involved in grassroots conservative activism.
Congressman Blunt responded by first acknowledging the importance of the movement and repeating snippets from the stump speech he had delivered earlier that evening.
"I think we need to take that energy, that intensity -- with many of these folks, this is the first time they've ever been interested enough to be involved. Be sure they get involved."
He went on to make what appeared to be an attempt to connect with tea partiers -- more than 1,500 of whom were 30 minutes away at the St. Louis Tea Party's one-year anniversary rally on the steps of the Arch -- by "tilling" common ground.
"You know, in terms of being on the outside, I'm the first person in my family to graduate from college," he explained, causing me to wonder if he thinks most tea party activists are a bit short when it comes to educational accomplishments.
Next, he described his boyhood home as one that "didn't have running water or insulation or central heat, unless you count the oil stove in the middle of the room."
Does he think tea partiers live in austere mud huts and cook over campfires? I hope that's not the case. Blunt went on to note that he was "the first person in my family to ever be elected to political office" and that he understands "what Missouri families go through as they try to make a future for themselves and their families."
In reality, most Americans -- tea partiers included -- have never had family members elected to public office.
Finally, he added, "I also understand that one of the reasons I've been so fortunate is I was lucky enough to be born in the greatest country in the history of the world.
I hope Congressman Blunt doesn't think tea partiers are uneducated, toothless, blue- and brown-collar rubes who live in homes with dirt floors and only recently heard that World War II is over. If he does think that, he is wrong.
While attending tea parties in St. Charles and St. Louis and anti-socialism rallies. in O'Fallon during the past year, I've encountered mostly college-educated professional types and people knowledgeable about the Constitution with only a sprinkling of "rubes."
In addition to sounding ignorant about tea party folks, Congressman Blunt also seems intent on painting anyone without a political resume as a surefire loser in a general election contest with Democrat Robin "Coakley" Carnahan.
"What we've seen from Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid over the last year shows us just how close we could be to losing the greatness of America, and this Senate campaign is largely about that," he explained. "People have a clear choice on the issues facing the country. We're shooting with real bullets here. This can't be a 'Hey, I think I might want to run for the Senate.' This is about the future of America."
One man I spoke to at the St. Charles Convention Center Saturday afternoon knows all about shooting with "real bullets" but takes issue with Blunt's position that only he has a chance of defeating a strong Democrat challenger. That man is Jim Schmidt, one of seven Republican candidates challenging Blunt -- a man whose background includes more than 25 years in law enforcement as well as work as an electrical engineer with a major utility provider.
"I think there are a lot of questions about our leadership in Congress right now," Schmidt said, "and we want to examine any candidate before we put them in a senatorial position.
A veteran law enforcement officer now serving as a sergeant in the City of St. Peters (Mo.) Police Department, Schmidt filed Feb. 23 and knows many people think his chances of defeating Blunt in the GOP primary are slim.
"(I'm not) delusional," Schmidt explained. "He has the overwhelming support of the inside members of the Republican Party, but there are a whole group of voters who are on the outside of the party who normally vote conservative who may not support him based on his past actions."
"We want to look at past records, and a lot of us have questions about past records," Schmidt explained before pointing to one issue in particular about Blunt.
"I would like to know why he supported TARP in September 2008 as a member of the Republican leadership in the House at the time," said Jim Schmidt, one of more than a half-dozen candidates challenging Blunt in the U.S. Senate race. "Without Republican support, that bill would not have passed."
Anytime you have eight Republicans -- and two third-party candidates -- in a U.S. Senate primary, things are bound to be interesting. Stay tuned!
WIthout making judgment about whether Blunt is with the tea party movement or not, the author’s “evidence” against Blunt is weak.
Enjoy your opinion. I’ll enjoy mine.
You miss the point of "tilling common ground", suggesting it involves claiming common background rather than shared types of experience.
Blunt describes his own experience, so he's hardly making fun of people who have a similar experience, unless you think he's making fun of himself. And he certainly isn't saying that tea party folks are the same as he was.
You missed the word, “attempt.”
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