This week The American spoke to U.S. Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay (D-St. Louis), who represents Missouri’s 1st Congressional District, about the importance of the U.S. Senate race on the Nov. 2 ballot in Missouri.
Robin Carnahan, a Democrat who currently serves as Missouri Secretary of State, faces Roy Blunt, a Republican congressman from Missouri’s 7th Congressional District in Springfield.
St. Louis American: Can you describe the importance of this Senate race to our readers?
U.S. Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay: The U.S. Senate race in Missouri is critical for African Americans and the entire state because so much is at stake. Robin Carnahan is a strong, progressive leader with whom I have a great working relationship. I have worked with her late father when he was governor and her mother when she was senator and now her brother is my colleague in the Congress from the neighboring district. I want to see her go to Washington to help advance the interests of the 1st Congressional District and also help continue to push the Obama agenda forward in the Senate.
American: Why is the Senate important in particular?
Clay: The Senate has pretty arcane rules. Unlike in the House, one senator can shut down the Senate with a filibuster and prevent a piece of legislation passing or stop a nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court or some other high, elevated position by blocking it. We need people in the Senate who have the best interests of this congressional district at heart and are willing to side with the president, or else we will revert back to the days when I first got to Congress under the Bush administration, when Republicans controlled both houses of Congress. While they were in control they passed tax cuts for the rich, engaged and commited American soliders to two wars, and took the economic surplus they inherited and turned it into a record deficit.
American: How can you motivate the voters who aren’t interested because Obama isn’t on the ballot?
Clay: The president is not on the ballot, but his policies are. His agendas are. People need to keep that in mind. We need to give him all the reinforcement he can use and send him some people who will vote with him and for his agenda.
American: What do you say to those who are unimpressed with the Carnahan campaign?
Clay: Regardless of the state of the current campaign, our vital, permanent interests are only protected and advanced by electing leaders who share our core values. Robin Carnahan will stand with me as we continue to fight for jobs, health care, education and housing. I’d like to remind your readers that Robin Carnahan is now the chief election officer for the State of Missouri. It is part of her job to protect the voting rights of all Missourians. She has been a leader against those who wanted to disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of registered voters by requiring them to have a photo ID to vote.
American: Can the black vote make a difference in this race?
Clay: African Americans who vote can decide this election – if we come out in large numbers, if we demonstrate to President Obama, “Okay, we want to follow you all the way through the process; we want to support your agenda and what you are doing to have a positive impact on our community.”
American: Should we be discouraged by the polls?
Clay: In Missouri, statewide races tend to come down to matter of a few percentage points. I think it will be close. The key will be the ground game and how we mobilize and energize her base. Her challenge between now and Nov. 2 is to talk to the people who she knows will vote for her. It’s a matter of energizing people and letting them know she will go out and protect their interests.
American: What do you say to the demoralized black voter who is unemployed and doesn’t see any positive changes?
Clay: I say we are better off today than we were two years ago. Here’s why. The Democratic majority has passed Wall Street reform, bank regulations, health care reform, equal pay for women. We are winding down two wars, we have extended health care coverage to millions of children. Unemployment insurance has been beefed up, as well as education through the Race to the Top. You have to realize what was happening two years ago. When President Obama was sworn in, this economy was bleeding 800,000 jobs a month. That has turned around now, and we are gaining on average 100,000 jobs per month. It’s time to do the work of the American people, which is what we’ve been doing. The Republican tea party just serves as obstructionists. As long as we get peole like Robin Carnahan into Washington, we can stay on track and make a difference in this generation and for future generations.
American: The Carnahan campaign has branded Roy Blunt as “the very worst of Washington.” Is that fair?
Clay: I don’t make it a habit to publicly criticize my colleagues. I am not going to make that a habit here.
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