Annual Lincoln Days attracts record crowd

February 16, 2008 10:56 pm

— By Susan Redden
sredden@joplinglobe.com
An election season with plenty of competition on both sides of the aisle was likely the attraction for a record-high turnout for the Jasper-Newton County Lincoln Days celebration on Saturday.
About 430 people attended the gathering at the Butcher’s Block Banquet Center in Joplin, the most ever for the event, according to Nick Myers, chairman of the Newton County Republican Central Committee.
The large crowd paid tribute to Gov. Matt Blunt, who has decided not to seek a second term. State Sen. Gary Nodler introduced Blunt and praised accomplishments of his administration, including job creation, tort reform, workers’ compensation reform and increased funding for education.
Blunt said there still is work to be done and touted health reforms he said would come through Missouri Healthnet. Blunt was a supporter of the presidential campaign of Mitt Romney. The former Massachusetts governor recently dropped out of the race and endorsed Arizona Sen. John McCain.
“He’s a conservative, and we need a strong commander in chief to win the war on terrorism,” Blunt said of McCain.
Blunt’s decision not to seek a second term as governor has opened a GOP race for that office, and U.S. Rep. Kenny Hulshof, one of the two candidates in the race, was at Saturday night’s event to address the crowd. Hulshof recently gained the endorsement of 60 of the 91 Republican members of the Missouri House of Representatives, according to State Rep. Ron Richard.
Hulshof noted the region’s reputation for Republican activism and called the gathering “a great way to connect with people who’ll get out and work hard for the candidates they support.”
The second gubernatorial candidate, State Treasurer Sarah Steelman, also was to attend but had to cancel because of illness. Her husband, David Steelman, spoke on her behalf.
Those gathered also heard from State Sen. Michael Gibbons, candidate for attorney general, and State Sen. Brad Lager, candidate for state treasurer.
Gibbons, of Kirkwood, is Senate president pro-tem and has been active in legislation aimed at holding down tax increases in the wake of property reassessment. Lager, of Maryville, served two terms in the House where he was chairman of the budget committee.
“I intend to make sure all state funds are spent and invested in the best interest of the taxpayer,” Lager said.
Other speakers included U.S. Sen. Christopher “Kit” Bond and U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt. Both urged GOP partisans to work hard for Republican candidates.
“What you’re hearing from Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama should scare you into a frenzy of activity,” said Bond.
Rep. Blunt criticized Democrats’ actions that blocked passage of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, saying the decision “will rob our intelligence community of the ability to effectively and quickly listen to terrorist communications.”
He blamed Democratic lawmakers in the House for refusing to take up the legislation “and allowing our intelligence gathering to be compromised.”


County candidates
The annual Lincoln Days event also served as the venue for announcements by Jasper and Newton County Republicans who plan to run for county office.

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