Robin Carnahan

U.S. Senate, MO

The Democrats’ best opportunity to pick up a GOP-held Senate seat in 2010 is in Missouri, where Democratic Secretary of State Robin Carnahan is running to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Kit Bond (R). Democrats united early behind Carnahan, a dynamic leader widely admired for her efforts to protect consumers, cut costs and red tape for businesses, and safeguard the integrity of elections. Meanwhile, the Republican political establishment has lined up behind Cong. Roy Blunt, a hard-nosed conservative who is on track to raise millions from corporate and right-wing special interests. In a state where the balance of power has swung back and forth for decades, voters will have a clear choice between Blunt, a deeply entrenched Washington insider, and Carnahan, a reform-minded rising star.

As Missouri’s secretary of state, Carnahan has taken on high-profile cases of fraud, including spearheading national efforts to recoup investor losses from Wachovia Securities, resulting in nationwide combined settlements of more than $10 billion. She created the Missouri Investor Protection Center and an Investor Bill of Rights to help consumers navigate the financial industry. A champion of small business owners, Carnahan launched a “one-stop shop” online where entrepreneurs can find information and file documents electronically — saving Missouri businesses nearly $10 million over the past few years. Carnahan created Missouri’s Safe at Home address confidentiality program to help protect victims of domestic violence from continued abuse. And, as the state’s top elections official, Carnahan implemented Missouri’s first statewide voter registration system, created the Missouri Voting Rights Center, and launched an interactive election results website.

Carnahan is a fifth-generation Missourian whose family is renowned for public service. Her grandfather was a congressman; her late father, Mel, was governor; her mother, Jean, was Missouri’s first woman U.S. senator; and her brother Russ represents Missouri’s third district in Congress. An attorney with a background in business and international democracy-building, Robin Carnahan carries on this proud tradition — while still managing her family’s 900-acre cattle farm in rural Missouri.

The Political Situation

Missouri is known for hardball politics and nail-bitingly close contests — and it’s a state where “neither party has any room for error,” according to Charlie Cook, publisher of the Cook Political Report. Three of the last four U.S. Senate races were decided by margins of less than 2.3 percent, and the 2008 presidential contest came down to a margin of just 0.1 percent. The 2010 Senate race is expected to be no different.

Like Carnahan, Blunt comes from a political family: his father was a state legislator and his son was governor. His first job in politics was as John Ashcroft’s campaign driver in the 1970s. Elected to Congress in 1996, Blunt joined Texas Republican Tom DeLay’s inner circle and quickly became a leader of the right-wing cabal that controlled the House with an iron fist, backed the Bush agenda in Iraq, and drove the country into fiscal and economic crisis. Like Ashcroft and DeLay, Blunt is a far-right social conservative with a 100 percent anti- choice voting record.

Blunt has used his insider status to great personal and political advantage. In 2002, he tried to slip a provision favorable to tobacco giant Philip Morris into a homeland security bill. At the time, he was dating a lobbyist for Philip Morris’s parent company, whom he later married — an occasion that prompted DeLay to temporarily suspend House regulations so that lobbyists could give the newlyweds gifts without disclosing their value. Blunt has done favors for and accepted money from former lobbyist and convicted felon Jack Abramoff and has raised millions from the financial, insurance, and oil and gas industries during his career. All the while, Blunt has voted against job-creating clean energy initiatives, against raising the minimum wage, and in favor of deregulating the banking industry, which contributed to the near-collapse of the global economy. And, in an astonishing demonstration of shamelessness, Blunt is claiming credit for federal money flowing into Missouri — including funds for homeless shelters resulting from a spending bill he had voted against, and Home- land Security grants he had actively tried to block.

A variety of right-wing luminaries are helping fill Blunt’s coffers, including former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Fred Malek, a Nixon hatchet-man who has found a political second life as a benefactor of Sarah Palin. Donors paid as much as $100,000 to attend a private photo reception with Gingrich at a fundraiser for Blunt and the state Republican Party. As a result, Blunt has slightly outpaced Carnahan in fundraising. But she has other advantages: a tremendously popular statewide official, she won more votes than any candidate in Missouri history in her 2008 re-election. Her farming background and small-town roots have earned the trust of rural voters, whose support proved critical to Democrat Claire McCaskill’s 2006 Senate victory. Public polling has consistently shown a razor-thin margin between these candidates until early 2010, when Blunt gained an edge on Carnahan. She needs immediate support to raise at least $12 million to defeat this quintessential Washington insider and win this seat for Democrats.

The Issues

“I’m running for Senate because I want to bring accountability and change to Washington,” says Carnahan. “For me, public service is about solving problems and creating opportunities for people to improve their lives.”

Carnahan is committed to strengthening public education and making college affordable and accessible to all. “Whether it’s creating alternative energy technologies to lessen our dependence on foreign oil, or medical advancements to develop a cure for cancer, the first steps take place in classrooms,” she says. She supports investing in teacher recruitment and training, and amending and funding the No Child Left Behind Act.

Carnahan favors creating tax credits for child and elder care, and supports existing policies such as the Family and Medical Leave Act. She believes expanding broadband access and strengthening the nation’s telecommunications infrastructure would help working parents telecommute and foster a more flexible and energy-efficient workforce.

“For several years, I served at the Export-Import Bank of the United States, helping American companies expand sales of goods and services abroad,” Carnahan says. “I support trade policies that increase exports while safeguarding human rights, labor, environmental, and safety standards. We must also make sure China and other countries live up to their obligations under existing treaties.”

Noting the fiscal damage wrought by eight years of Republican economic policies, Carnahan thinks the federal budget should invest in job creation and workforce development, health care, preschool through college education, energy independence, and national security. “We need to restore fiscal discipline and address our growing national debt after the fiscally irresponsible policies of the past eight years,” she says. This includes restoring fairness to the tax code, pro- viding tax relief to the middle class, lowering the tax burden on small businesses, and rewarding companies that create jobs in the U.S.

Between the global economic crisis and terrorism, “our country faces threats like never before,” says Carnahan, who believes that retooling the defense budget to deal with modern threats is key — as is making sure active duty troops have proper equipment, improving military housing and education benefits, and providing veterans with the care they have earned. Carnahan supports funding for cyber-intelligence and to support first responders.

Restoring America’s image abroad is a top priority, says Carnahan, who worked with emerging democracies through the National Democratic Institute. “My international experience with NDI gives me a unique perspective on foreign relations and the use of diplomacy,” she says. “I look forward to putting this to use in the Senate.”

Carnahan lauds passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act but notes that more must be done to establish full pay equity. She supports fully enforcing civil rights laws, including Title IX and the Voting Rights Act, and instituting policies to ensure equal opportunity for women and minorities in business, government contracting, and education.

“Our country has been waging a war on crime for decades,” Carnahan says. “It’s time to do a full review to see what has and hasn’t worked.” She supports fully funding the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program to put 50,000 more police officers on the street. “Investing in community programs, jobs, education, and health care will help ensure public safety,” she adds.

As a breast cancer survivor, Carnahan understands the challenges of navigating the health care system. She supports health care reform that increases accessibility and addresses rising costs. “Insurance companies have been making out like bandits, while middle-class families are left holding the bag,” she says. “Washington needs to get reform done right and make sure we have accessible, affordable health care that reduces costs, provides real competition, and gets tough on insurance companies. She favors public and private options, incentives for small businesses to cover employees, portable coverage, and no exclusions for pre-existing conditions.

Developing clean and renewable energy sources, including biomass, wind, and solar, “will create jobs and reduce our dependence on foreign oil,” says Carnahan, who supports efforts to combat global warming and decrease emissions. These include retrofitting homes and businesses to make them more energy efficient, providing incentives for energy-efficient transportation, and expanding recycling programs. “I support conservation efforts to preserve natural parks and areas for recreation, hunting, and fishing,” she adds.

A steadfast defender of reproductive freedom, Carnahan favors expanding access to comprehensive sex education and contraception to reduce unwanted pregnancies. “Reproductive decisions should be made by a woman in consultation with her doctor, her family, and her clergy,” she says.

March 2010