At the Old Town Donut Shop in North St. Louis County, Robin Carnahan kicked off her statewide swing of events titled “Stop the bull.” She had plenty to say about Roy Blunt’s habit of wearing plaid shirts and cruising around the state in a rented pickup, presenting himself as a good ole boy, then returning to D.C. to sabotage U.S. jobs and shill for bankers and Big Oil. (More about all that in a later posting.) And she laid out the specifics of how she wants to stop the ingrained Washington practices of ignoring the needs of most of the populace. (That, too, deserves its own posting.) But she started her presentation by letting Norma Linke speak for her. And although Linke is no polished orator, what she said was eloquent.

[Robin] is the kind of leader who gets things done. I (ahem, excuse me) I know Robin is the kind of person who does get things done because she personally helped me and my husband at a very hard time. We had thought we had invested our money into weekly CDs. And instead the brokerage put our money into a complex investment. And when the economy took a downturn, they froze our investment, and we thought we would never get our money back. We didn’t know what to do because we had started a new room addition and didn’t know if the money … or where to find the money to finish the job or where it would come from since we were relying on the CDs. That’s when we contacted the Attorney General’s office and the matter was turned over to the Secretary of State’s office. When Robin took charge, she didn’t give up and she stood up to the brokerages and banks who put people’s money into these complex investments known as auction rate securities and told the people that they were CDs or like the money market where you can get your money out at any time. Because Robin continued going after the big financial institutions to correct their misrepresentations, she got over ten billion for the wronged investors. (Clapping) But that’s not all. Robin has helped small businesses save nearly twelve million. That’s a lot of money. She has done more and spent less. In fact, she has cut her budget over twenty percent. Robin has gotten real results with her get it done, common sense approach, and we need her leadership in the U.S. Senate. (Applause) For too long, Washington has been busy looking out for Wall Street, Big Oil, and corporate special interests–and sticking the middle class with the bills. But I can tell you from personal experience that Robin puts Missouri families first. It’s time the middle class families have someone fighting for them. And I know Robin is just the person we need.

I found Norma Linke’s clear, personal, and, truth be told, somewhat stilted speech charming. And convincing.