For my 3rd year in a row, I got to attend Clay County's Lincoln Days. It was a packed house, full of people proud to be Republicans. As I mentioned in my
Silver Linings posts after Election Day, Republicans did very well in Clay County. It wasn't our fault that the rest of the nation didn't follow suit ;-).
KCMO 710's,
Chris Stigall Mc'd the event again, for the 2nd year in a row. He always sets such a great, optimistic and fun tone to the night. There were numerous speakers, not the least of whom was
Lt. Governor Peter Kinder who kicked off the evening. He along with several others mentioned and gave tribute to the
tea parties that took place on April 15th.
State Rep. Bob Nance did a comedy bit and asked if anyone had any questions. Jason Klindt had one and did a play on the now infamous
NYTimes reporter's question to Obama asking him what surprised, troubled, humbled and enchanted him about the office.
State Rep. Doug Ervin had to follow that act with his
Philosophy of the Republican Party speech. He had been asked to give it again, because it was so good last year. I cannot tell you how many times I have directed people to this speech when they've wanted to leave the party because of the likes of John McCain or some other problem. I asked him to send me the text again because he made a few subtle changes. Here are the few things that he added to the text from last year:
--That government does not create jobs, people do.
--That government does not create prosperity, people do.
Our current economic circumstances are being used by those in Washington to change the nature of the relationship that each one of us has with government. The Europeanization of America is well underway under the new administration.
As Reagan reminds us:
The difference between the path toward greater freedom or bigger government is the difference between success and failure; between opportunity and coercion; between faith in a glorious future and fear of mediocrity and despair; between respecting people as adults, each with a spark of greatness, and treating them as helpless children to be forever dependent; between a drab, materialistic world where Big Brother rules by promises to special interest groups, and a world of adventure where everyday people set their sights on impossible dreams, distant stars, and the Kingdom of God. We have the true message of hope for America.
The passive advocacy of our philosophy due to inaction is an active endorsement of our opponent’s philosophy.
We must always remember. We must always be proud. We must always be prepared, so we may always be free.
State Rep. Jerry Nolte talked about how he had the privilege of being able to speak at the Jefferson City Tea Party. He also talked about how crucial it was to vote for
Bonnie Sue Cooper in the
Special Election for Western County Commissioner on May 19th.
State Rep. Tim Flook talked about personal responsibility and stepping outside yourself and doing what is right. He referenced what he learned from reading some books by St. Thomas More and by seeing the Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher.
State Senator LuAnn Ridgeway gave a great history lesson on how Clay county was completely run by Democrats not too long ago. When she first got elected as a State Rep. in 1992 the Dems said it was a flook and pretty soon, the Republicans actually recruited a Flook to run. During this last election, Missouri actually picked up Republican seats and so Jay Nixon has a major hammer on him in the general assembly.
She also talked about how her and Sam Graves were specifically targeted by the Democrat party and they not only won, but by big margins during the Obama tsunami.
U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt spoke and talked about how he and Sam Graves voted against the budget this past week along with all the Republicans and 17 Democrats. He talked about hate crimes and how alls it does is create different levels of victims and the first targets are always those in the pulpits. He brought up a column by Charles Krauthammer where he had said forget about Obama being from the U.S. or Kenya or Indonesia, he must be from Sweden because of the socialistic policies he wants to implement.
Blunt said that no government program has ever replaced a family. He mentioned a Lincoln quote from an 1860 speech:
Government should only do for people, what people can't do for themselves.
I had never heard Roy Blunt speak before and I have to say I was impressed, which is a good thing since he is going to be running for
Kit Bond's Senate seat.
Sam Graves was the keynote speaker. He thanked his staff and Clay county for whipping Kay Barnes. She and the Democrat party spent $4 million and only got 37% of the vote. He reiterated that Clay County got it right on election day in voting for Republicans. He also talked about how Obama was whining about the deficit he inherited and yet he has now tripled it in his first 100 days.
Finally, Jeff Roe came up to the microphone and mentioned that the night had been teleprompter free :-). He presented Chris Stigall with the Clay County Republican of the Year Award. It was a neat moment, as you could tell that Stigall got a little choked up. So, all in all, a great night!
Previously:2008 Clay County Republican Lincoln Days2007 Lincoln Days
