U.S. Senate hopeful Carnahan takes on Blunt during Sedalia visit

Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan received a warm welcome Friday from about 50 Pettis County Democrats at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2591 in Sedalia during a campaign stop in her race for the U.S. Senate.

Carnahan, who faces token opposition in the Aug. 3 primary, used the  fish fry sponsored by the Pettis County Democratic Central Committee to call out her likely Republican opponent, U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt, noting that “he is the number one recipient of lobbyist campaign contributions in all of Congress.”

The two are vying for a chance to fill the seat left open by retiring Republican Sen. Christopher “Kit” Bond.

“I am running against a guy who motivates me every day. To me he represents the worst of what we don’t like in Washington,” Carnahan said.

She singled out Blunt’s support for the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program legislation in 2008 as evidence of a “too cozy” relationship with Wall Street lobbyists. She also blasted Blunt, who serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, for his “more than $1 million in campaign contributions from oil companies.”

“(Blunt) loves to come to Missouri and put on a plaid shirt and drive around in a rented pickup truck and say he is looking out for us ... but every opportunity he has had to stand up and be on our side, guess whose side he has taken?” Carnahan asked.

She contrasted Blunt’s record with her own, stating that she was “calling bull” on Blunt’s record and noted that she had worked  through her office to help recover some $10 billion for investors hurt by the financial crisis.

She said that while TARP money may have been needed to stabilize the economy, she thinks Blunt and others failed to “attach strict controls or hold them accountable enough on how the money was spent.”

She called the use of some TARP money to fund large bonuses for banking executives “outrageous” and expressed frustration that “taxpayers were stuck with a bill to clean up their mess.”

She also criticized Blunt over his use of budget earmarks, challenging him to release details relating to earmarked dollars he has secured while in Washington. Carnahan said she doesn’t agree with earmarks in principle, and, if elected, would push to change the way they are awarded to a system “based on merit and competition.”

Carnahan said she appreciated a stop Thursday in Kansas City by President Barack Obama, but declared she is “an independent thinker,” and “the only agenda I will support in Washington is to represent the interests of the people of Missouri.”

“I told the president when he was here that he shouldn’t be surprised if I call bull on him if I see it,” Carnahan said.

As a breast cancer survivor, Carnahan said she believed some aspects of the health care reform law made sense and said she would not support a push to repeal the landmark legislation, but “it was not a perfect bill.”

“Instead of undoing all the work and scrapping the whole thing, we should focus our efforts on fixing the parts that are broken — especially trying to find ways to control costs,” Carnahan said.

She noted that Missouri races are famously close, and sought support from Pettis County Democrats to help her win.

“We have an incredible opportunity this year,” Carnahan said. “I love this race. I love this fight. And, I am taking it to him (Blunt) every day.”