By Debbie Robinson

news@joplinglobe.com

Robin Carnahan, Missouri secretary of state and a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2010, told a group of about 65 people Thursday night that Washington has been taken over by special interests, and that it’s time to take the country back.

Carnahan’s appearance at the hall of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in Joplin was sponsored by the Jasper County Democratic Central Committee.

“We’re here because we need to change the direction of the country,” she said.

Health care, the environment and energy are among the issues that need to be addressed, she said. She offered no specifics as to how to address those issues.

About health care, she said the current system is unsustainable.

“It’s a broken system,” she said. “The government’s budget is being eaten up by that.”

While that is happening, she said, “health insurance (companies) are spending $1 million a day on lobbyists to prevent change.”

With regard to the nation’s reliance on foreign oil, Carnahan called for development of alternative energy sources in the United States.

“We can’t have petro dictators on the other side of the world, who hate us, controlling our oil supply,” she said. “We have to come up with new alternative energy sources, so we can sell it to them.”

Carnahan said change is difficult, “because there’s always a fight between progress and the status quo. It’s always hope or fear.”

She said she decided to run for U.S. Sen. Kit Bond’s seat next year because she sees the country on the cusp of change. Bond, a Republican, is retiring after his term ends next year.

Most observers expect Carnahan to square off next November against Republican U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt.

Carnahan urged volunteers to talk to neighbors about the issues. “Call out the folks who are telling lies,” she said.