Koster, Kander boost attendance at Cape Democratic dinner

A pair of big-name guest speakers drew nearly double the expected turnout at the Cape Girardeau County Democrats’ annual dinner Saturday night.

The speakers were Missouri attorney general and Democratic nominee for governor Chris Koster, as well as Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander, who is running to unseat Missouri’s Republican U.S. senator, Roy Blunt.

Koster said one of the problems with the current political climate is lawmakers’ inability and unwillingness to seek compromise to craft policy solutions. As political discussion becomes more polarized, centrism and pragmatism have fallen out of style, he said.

The solution, Koster said, is electing officials who know how to bring people together.

Koster, who calls himself a conservative Democrat, drew a parallel between the popularity of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and that of his opponent in the gubernatorial race, Eric Greitens.

He characterized the voting bloc that nominated Greitens as irresponsible for choosing Greitens over candidates with stronger political qualifications.

“A blow-it-up party has taken control of the Republican Party,” he said, referring to a Greitens campaign ad that shows him shooting a rifle at a barrel, which explodes.

Koster said the all-or-nothing ideology of certain elements within the Republican Party has resulted in officials who are “declaring war on cooperation.”

Koster said his commitment to cutting taxes, his “A” rating from the National Rifle Association and his concern for Missouri agriculture are part of what makes him the type of pragmatic candidate who can foster compromise across party lines.

That’s why the Missouri Farm Bureau recently endorsed him, Koster said, marking the first time the organization has backed a Democrat for statewide office. Several smaller agriculture organizations have followed suit.

“He’s still trying to figure out the difference between a tractor and a combine,” Koster said of Greitens.

“I take him at his word that he knows how to blow Jefferson City up,” he said. “But I see no evidence whatsoever that he knows how to put it back together when he’s done.”

Voters, he said, are mad at their representatives. Some esteem “outsiders” more than politicians. Outsiders, however, won’t solve the problems, Koster said.

“I cannot believe the solution to an inexperienced legislature is a completely inexperienced governor,” he said.

Kander shared a story about his time in the Army to illustrate the consequences of congressional inaction. Shortly after 9/11, during his first tour of duty in Afghanistan, Kander said, he found himself riding not in the armored Humvee he had been promised, but in an unarmored, mid-size SUV.

Those responsible for the inadequate equipment, he said, were members of Congress who had put their allegiance to their party above their work and responsibilities.

Instead of leading negotiations to deal with the Zika virus as he had been tasked, Blunt attended a fundraiser, Kander said.

“He didn’t show up,” Kander said. “The bill tanked. ... If Sen. Blunt is not going to do his job, he should be fired.”

Kander also expressed his commitment to lowering taxes for the middle class.

“The middle class needs a tax cut more than multinational companies need another loophole,” he said.

Like Koster, Kander said he values cooperation over blind adherence to party positions.

“This is a generation more focused on ideas than ideology,” he said. “We need more senators who have voluntarily been through something more difficult than an election campaign.”

tgraef@semissourian.com

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