Jay Nixon kicks off campaign -- three years early

Gary Exelby photo - Liberty Township collector Carol Jarrell, left, asks state attorney general Jay Nixon, right, about rescinding elimination of the township collectors' positions. Nixon replied that if collectors saw necessity to sue the state then they should do so. [Click to enlarge]

No one can reasonably accuse Jay Nixon of dragging his feet.

The state attorney general has already announced his intention to unseat Gov. Matt Blunt -- in 2008 -- and Nixon opened his campaign in the 8th Congressional District on Friday, making a stop Saturday morning at Dexter Barbecue on Business-60.

And given the district and most of its counties went strongly for Republicans in 2004, one might think Nixon would have his work cut out for him..

But Nixon looks at things a bit differently. "This is the place where Democrats have the opportunity to make the greatest gains relative to where they have been," he told the audience in the packed back room of the restaurant.

In addition, he said, one good thing to remember in politics was that one should not pass up an old friend's hand to shake that of a new friend. "We have a lot of old friends here," Nixon said.

"And if we're going to win this, it's going to be because of people who have been with us for a very long time."

The attorney general reminded the audience that not only were there a lot of Democrats in the 25th Senatorial District, but that he had won re-election in 2004 with 60 percent of the vote. Nixon defeated political newcomer Chris Byrd, and as such was one of only two Democrats to beat Republicans in a statewide race.

Nixon told the crowd that Blunt "has the third worst approval rating of any governor of any governor in the country … and if he continues to do what he's doing he can get to number one!" Nixon also cited a poll which he said showed in a head-to-head matchup during the period Oct. 25-Nov. 1, he would beat the governor by a 50.32-39.6 percent margin.

Nixon said among what he termed Blunt's mistakes, cuts to the Medicaid program were the worst. "It is profoundly un-compassionate to do what they have done," he said. "These are not your mother's and father's Republicans."

Nixon said 90,000 people had lost their health care coverage under Medicaid, while another 377,000 had seen reduced benefits.

Republican legislators have noted failure to do anything, however, would have resulted in collapse of the program, more or less along the lines of what happened in Tennessee with the TennCare program. Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen drastically restructured that program to reduce expenditures, with about half those then receiving TennCare losing their benefits, the remainder seeing reduced benefits but children seeing no reduction in program benefits.

Gov. Blunt himself said on Sept. 28 in Poplar Bluff that without some kind of change to Medicaid, the entire $19 billion state budget would have been consumed by Medicaid payments within 10 years.

Nixon criticized specific eliminations from Medicaid coverage, like batteries for wheelchairs, oxygen bottles, hearing aids and other items. House speaker Rod Jetton in an Oct. 29 visit to Dexter had acknowledged that "we could probably put the wheelchair batteries back in."

Nixon also took Blunt to task for his "65 Percent Solution," an proposed Constitutional amendment which would require that 65 percent of all funds raised for a school district had to be spent on items directly related to the hands-on education of students. "In this proposal," Nixon said, "contained in the 65 percent is football uniforms!

"But not contained within that definition is library books. How insane is that?"

In other states, including neighboring Arkansas, efforts to defund, or to academically qualify participation in, extracurricular activities, like football, had met fierce resistance from constituents. In addition, some of the strongest objections to a recently enacted plan in that state to consolidate school districts concerned the loss of separate team sports from schools being consolidated.

Nixon added that school lunches and school breakfasts were likewise not considered part of the 65 percent. He did not indicate how children receiving the free or reduced price lunches received meals during the times when school was not in session even without enactment of this 65 Percent Solution.

"The bottom line is that the school boards association is not with him," Nixon said, "the school boards are not with him, the NEA [National Education Association] is not with him."

The NEA endorsed Blunt's opponent in 2004, Claire McCaskill. Lack of support from that organization should not be considered surprising.

"Plus, the 65 percent solution just looks right in the face of local school boards across the state of Missouri and tells then they don't know what they're doing."

Noting that he "could go on -- I will go on for about three years" about the Blunt Administration, Nixon pointed to his own record as attorney general. "In the 13 years I have been attorney general," he said, "crime has gone down.

"I worked really hard, and I see [former 25th District state Sen.] Jerry Howard was the original guy who helped to get the 'no-call program' through."

Howard had helped organize the visit to Dexter, and introduced Nixon to the gathering.

With all the campaigning, however, Nixon pledged not to quit his day job, so to speak. "I'll do all my political work on the weekends," he said, "And I'll be your attorney general during the week."

Nixon entertained several questions after his presentation. One, from Ron Yersack, concerned Nixon's view of the possibility of raising the minimum wage in Missouri. But Nixon sidestepped the question. "That's a federal issue," he replied.

"But they already voted not to, and the states can do it," Yersack pointed out, "and 17 states have raised the minimum wage on their own, and the price of everything has gone up."

Nixon, who has described himself as a centrist, agreed with Yersack that the minimum wage was too low, but declined to call for enactment of a state minimum wage. "That's for our congressional delegation to do," he said, "but I don't believe it's a state issue."

Dexter school superintendent Ken Jackson observed to Nixon that: "I've heard veteran school superintendents say they have never had to do so much with so little for so many" for the last several years. "Where do you see education going in Missouri over the next 10 years?"

Nixon replied with a criticism of the 65 Percent Solution, to the effect that with fiscal control removed, as he said, from the local district, "why would you pass [a bond issue] if what you have is the governor standing and saying: 'we have waste, fraud and abuse in our schools?'"

On the other hand, for all his criticism of the diminution of local control Nixon said the 65 Percent Solution would entail, the attorney general also said he was "stunningly disappointed" the new foundation formula enacted by the legislature and signed into law by Gov. Blunt did not "earmark" funds -- likewise a removal of local control -- "for improved education, for improved ability for teachers and local administrators to do their jobs."

Carol Jarrell, collector for Liberty township, called upon Nixon to see what he could do to rescind the law eliminating the township collectors' positions in favor of the county collectors. But Nixon reminded her that, as attorney general, he was not allowed to try to undermine already enacted laws. "My job as attorney general is to enforce laws," he said, "whether I voted for 'em or like 'em or agree with 'em or not.

"I don't get to pick and choose between 'em. So if you gotta sue [to block the law], you gotta sue."

gexelby@dailystatesman.com