Missouri Attorney General (and Democratic Party candidate for Governor) Jay Nixon spoke at the “grand opening” of the Johnson County Democratic headquarters in Warrensburg:

Jay Nixon – Warrensburg – September 6, 2008

…[We] also have soon to be Senator Benjamin. Chris is somebody who I am confident is gonna win that race. And I, I really kind of of want to beat Pearce. He’s, he’s an affable chap. [laughter] But he keeps puttin’ in the papers that he was the one that sponsored the bill to close the no call exemptions for like robocalls and for, for phone companies, insurance companies. Well, he introduced those bills, but he never passed ’em, okay. It would have, it would have been a lot easier when, when folks’ largest legislative victory is something they didn’t pass. [laughter] It shows you why we need to have change in Jefferson City…

…And we have the same problem here that we’ve been having all around the state. And, and believe me, we have been everywhere in the state. We have been to all corners of the state and we’re gonna continue to move all through the state. But we’ve had the same problem right here this morning that we’ve seen time and time again over the last few weeks and few months. We have more people than we have room for, okay. [laughter] We got people spilling out of our rooms, that are workin’. We got, we got our folks knockin’ doors, makin’ calls, doin’ the work it takes to get out there. And folks, as we sit here fifty eight days before the election, we’re ahead. okay, we’re ahead. [voice: “Yeah.”] [applause] It’s not accidental, why we’re ahead. We’re ahead for, for a couple reasons. Number one, we’ve worked hard and we’re organized and we’re gonna finish this…

…But the real reason? People in this state, in a lot of places, are really hurting. You’ve got an economy that is not delivering for the people of the State of Missouri. And I’m running against somebody who’s a major architect of why we’re here. You know, this is the guy that helped all these trade deals get in that have been unfair, all these tax breaks for the, for the super rich, and the, and the companies that ship their jobs off seas. A recent study showed in the last, just in the last few years forty five thousand jobs lost in Missouri relative just to China’s deal. Okay? And here we sit today, over the last year in the State of Missouri, we have lost more jobs than all eight states that touch us combined. [voice: “Wow.”] Okay? But what you really see is people that are, that are hurtin’. It’s not just the jobs. it’s families sittin’ at the kitchen table looking at that checking account balance and seein’ that it’s not yet the thirtieth of the month, but seein’ that, that they’re runnin’ out of money. All across this state, as this economy slows down, my opponent in this, just this last few weeks has said our economy is goin’ great. It’s goin’ good guns. Everything is, is on line to keep us heading in the right direction. Well folks, we don’t need apologists for the problem. We need people that are gonna stand up and help us solve the problems that we’re facing. And in order to do that, we need to change the administration that we got, not only in Washington, D.C., but  also more importantly, in my view, right here what I’m trying to get done, in Jeff City…[applause]…

…We sit here now, as I’m asking for promotion to be CEO of this…state we call our home, knowing that we’ve got real and serious problems to stand up to. We see health care costs screaming high…seven hundred thousand people without health care. A hundred fifty thousand kids, no coverage. We see four dollar a gallon gas. We see unemployment problems. Our state unemployment at a ten year high. Folks, we need somebody that’s willing to take on these problems and deliver for our state. And to lay out a clear way, clear pathway to move forward. My pathway to move this state forward is very very clear and very very simple and it lays in three areas. First of all, I believe in people, in human capital. I want to invest in people. I want to have an education system that delivers. I want to make sure that everybody and every middle class family in this state that wants to move forward and wants to go on to school will have the opportunity to do so debt free. And we can’t just make the newest graduation present for everybody that goes to college being a big bill at the end of that and debt [voices, cheers] . It causes our economy to slow down. [applause]…That’s why I’ve laid out what we call a Missouri promise, clear plan to take our A plus program and turn it into a four year program for middle class families that want to move on, to go four years tuition free, B average, do that community service, we provide that four year pathway to a debt free college. [cheers, applause] It’s an economic issue, too, folks…

…[voice from vehicle driving by: “Yeah, Jay Nixon!”] [laughter] Get that guy registered. [laughter] Got an absentee application? [laughter]…

…But the bottom line is when you have an economy when the, one of the most important thing is folks completin’ their education, gettin’ out and spendin’ money, and buying houses and buying cars, movin’ things forward. That economy is held back because those kids can’t do that now, because they’re paying student loans off, you’re slowin’ that whole economy down. Now, my opponent supported sellin’ away the Higher Education Loan Authority. My opponent, in Congress, has not backed up students, and student loans, and student grants. Voted against Pell grants and all that sort of stuff. We got a real problem. They’re, very different between he and I…

…But all of this ties back to a series of choices we’re gonna make in fifty eight days. About whether we want to move this economy forward, whether we wanna have Washington values runnin’ our capitol in Jeff City, or whether we wanna have Missouri run it. We got a clear and stark choice here, folks. Very clear. Very stark. Okay. You know I’ll invest in people. You know I’ll stand up to the special interests. You know we’ll invest in Missouri. And you know we’ll move this state forward.

My opponent has been on the wrong side of all these issues. He embraced Matt Blunt’s health care cuts. He embraced Matt Blunt selling the Student Higher Education Loan Authority. He said our economy is goin ‘great, and he voted for trade deals and tax breaks to send jobs overseas. On the other side of the coin, my twenty years of public service I’ve stood up for the people each and every time. Now I need you to help stand up for me. [applause]…

…I want to tell you all, you all are a part of a huge army all across this state. A huge army of people that are united for change. That understand that my opponent is part of the problem. And understand that we are united to change and move this state forward again. [applause]…

…The values you learn as a young person go with you your entire life. The things I learned in the town of De Soto, Missouri…bein’ able to leave…and not even have to lock the doors of our house. Somebody said to me, “My golly, Jay, you musta had good neighbors.”  Well no, my neighbors had really good dogs. [laughter] But the point is, that trust, that understanding, that the greatest days of this state are in front of us, that if we invest in human capital, if we invest in the people, if we don’t, if we don’t let them ship our jobs overseas, instead we fight to keep them here. If we embrace science and technology, if we embrace research, if embrace agriculture, if we embrace the people of our state and make it a state where people can get educated and come back home to these small towns and open businesses and move things forward. If we embrace that, then Missouri’s best days are in front of us, not behind us. The greatest opportunity that we have lies not in looking in the
rear view mirror, it lies in looking out the windshield.  But as I said when I started folks, I can’t do it without your help…

…In order to do the things we have talked about today, in order to do the things I have lived my life and my public career doing, in order to carry that to the next level, I need your help and the help of all your friends and neighbors…

…Thank you for your help….I won’t let you down. In twenty two years of public service I’ve never had a difficult time puttin my head on the pillow at night, and goin’ asleep thinking I’ve worked hard for the people. And I’ve never had a single morning where I’ve woken up thinkin’ what I did the day before wasn’t workin’ as hard as I possibly could to make a difference for the people that elected me…

…We are not, my friends, part of the problem, we’re part of the solution. We’re united for change. Thank you very much. [cheers, applause]

Well, after a day’s total of nine hours of driving we just got back from the Harkin Steak Fry. As a surreal experience it certainly exceeded expectations.

When we arrived into town at Highway 92 – heading east toward the balloon field – we encountered one of the slowest moving traffic jams I have ever experienced. It took us 45 minutes to get the three miles from a highway junction to the balloon field.

As we finally approached the vicinity of the balloon field we could hear the distinctive voice of Barack Obama over a public address system at the park shelter south of the balloon field (this was the same location for the Dean rally I attended in 2003). The crowd looked to be twice the size of the rally from four years ago – I estimate their number to be be close to a thousand. And the signs – large “Hope” signs everywhere at the rally site. Apparently the Obama campaign had also arranged to bus a large number of people into the rally and the site of the steak fry. One of our number who left our vehicle in the traffic jam walked to the rally – he later told me that at the rally individuals were given t-shirts and that if one wanted, they could get tickets for admission to the steak fry from the Obama campaign.

On the drive in on Highway 92 there was a huge number of Hillary yard signs planted along the right of way. Other campaigns also had an impressive “visibility”.

Once we got past the rally site we got to the parking area and the parking staff got us efficiently to a spot close to the main entrance.

Near the parking entrance to the balloon field there was a huge Edwards banner hanging from a lift.

I walked up to the press tent past several groups of campaign staffers for different campaigns acting as cheer leading squads. I waited in a short line and told the nice twenty-something staffer that I had blogger credentials. I found my name on a list – he had me initial next to it, then he handed me a red press pass on a chain.

I walked through the gate into the world of the Harkin Steak Fry

The weather was near perfect. Mostly sunny skies with temperatures in the 70s.

[More on the Harkin Steak Fry tomorrow]