Lampe, Hensley tout Democrats' chances

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Lieutenant governor's candidate Sara Lampe addresses Vernon County Democrats last Friday night in Sheldon. The term-limited state representative from Springfield is seeking her party's nomination in a field of eight candidates.

By James R. Campbell

Nevada Daily Mail

SHELDON -- Sixty people gathered at the home of Vernon County Democratic Chairman Paul Sprenkle and his wife Phyllis to hear astatewide and regional candidates draw stark differences between the major political parties.

Lieutenant governor's candidate Sara Lampe and congressional hopeful Teresa Hensley were joined at the July 6 barbecue by incumbent Sheriff Ron Peckman, incumbent Public Administrator Tammy Bond, incumbent Assessor Cherie Kay Roberts and southern commissioner's candidates Gary Herstein, Tommy Wait and H.M. Logan Jr.

Lampe, a term-limited state representative from Springfield, said Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder "hasn't done anything for us in eight years and he needs to go.

"The lieutenant governorship is a bully pulpit and Gov. Nixon needs a Democrat by his side," said the former teacher and school principal. "The Republicans like to punish people. They don't care about people. They care about profits."

The ranking minority member of the House Budget Committee said Missouri public school education "is hanging by a thread" because it is one of the few things legislators can cut to balance the budget.

"I was elected because I looked into the TV camera and said, 'You trusted me with your kids for 30 years and you can trust me to represent you in Jefferson City,'" Lampe said.

She said she is the only Democrat among eight seeking the nomination in the Aug. 7 plurality primary who could defeat either Kinder or his main GOP rival, Sen. Brad Lager, R-Savannah.

"Gov. Nixon has told me a Democrat needs four groups to win statewide: labor, women over 50, the progressives in Kansas City and St. Louis and African-Americans," said Lampe.

Uncontested in her primary and looking ahead to meet U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Harrisonville, in the Nov. 6 general election, Hensley contended she has a good chance in the redistricted 4th Congressional District.

The Cass County prosecutor said 24 percent of the district's voters are now in the more progressive Columbia and Boone County while another 16 percent have been added from Democratic Congressman Emanuel Cleaver's old 5th District in the Kansas City area.

"Vicky Hartzler has never been on a ballot in these areas," Hensley said. "Both parties support me in Cass County because there is no Democratic or Republican way to run a prosecutor's office.

"This is a critical year because Congress has not been doing the things they were sent to Washington for. The Republicans ought to be ashamed of the Paul Ryan Budget because it is mean-spirited.

"They absolutely don't want to work with anybody."

Hensley also criticized Republicans for their opposition to Obamacare. "We had the highest court in the land say it is OK and they still want to repeal it," she said.

Hensley said she is particularly concerned with the worsening condition of the middle class, explaining that her father, a longtime member of the Local No. 8 plumbers' union at Raymore, and her brother, an ironworker, are understandably discouraged about their financial prospects.

"Our children don't have that dream and that is unconscionable," she said.

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As this beautiful country keeps producing more drones than workers, Ms Hensley sounds the rallying cry for the progressives, i.e Socialists to follow her down our current path of self destruction.

-- Posted by Ponto on Wed, Jul 11, 2012, at 9:07 AM
sara get real punish people, do not care about people. I hope that when you were a teacher you did not express this kind of hate. The government is to protect us and support basic needs. The government should not be in the hand out business to get votes. Give people a hand not a foot on the head to keep us down.

-- Posted by windshadow on Wed, Jul 11, 2012, at 1:37 PM
"Socialism" is just a buzzword people paint on anything Democrats do to demonize them. Social Security and Medicare are both social programs. We can still be a democratic, capitalist society and still have a few social programs. The real drones are not the unemployed, but people who accept what they're told and are quick to jump when they hear a scary word.

-- Posted by IcedGreenTea on Thu, Jul 12, 2012, at 10:17 AM
Good response, IcedGreenTea. You're absolutely right. Other social programs include free public education through high school and the G.I. Bill, which helped thousands of people pursue a higher education. These programs do not make us socialists. Don't be scared because of sound bites heard on radio or TV. Listen and think for yourself.

-- Posted by misssuzz on Fri, Jul 13, 2012, at 2:17 PM
I love the way the Republicans try to get the middle class to blame all the countries problems on the poor.

-- Posted by resident65 on Fri, Jul 13, 2012, at 2:25 PM
The Supreme Court's decision that corporations are people has fundamentally changed our democracy. We will have now have the best Congress and President money can buy, because that is exactly what is happening. The Koch Brothers and a dozen other one percenters are gathering an estimated 1 BILLION dollars to throw at this campaign cycle. Barring a miracle,we will wake up the day after the election and find that our Congress and Presidency are indebted to these interests who are not going to care one wit about young people, working people, the elderly, infirm, disabled, or those less fortunate. They only care about one thing, profits, and nothing else matters to them. Thomas Jefferson was of the opinion that the American Revolution needed to be ongoing, constantly renewing itself. Jefferson was right. The Virginian and advocate of the common person could see that greed and too much wealth consentrated in too few hands would ultimately destroy the basic tenets upon which the country was founded. Think about it.

-- Posted by Quixote430 on Sat, Jul 14, 2012, at 11:55 PM
Democrats...as the trailer says on 71 North....The Party of Parasites

-- Posted by Big Paulie on Wed, Jul 18, 2012, at 10:25 PM

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