The Stone County Republican Club hosted an intimate gathering of Southern Missouri Republican leaders this evening in Branson West. Before the meeting began; Charlie opened presents including an Elmo doll which made a close second place to my camera as his toy of choice. Is it possible that we have a photojournalist on our hands? The charismatic young man had the attention of local leaders before dinner and a briefing to party leadership of the national agenda and importance of the upcoming election. He reminded participants that the upcoming election is likely to be decided by SouthWest Missouri voters.
Roy spoke to four points on the national agenda ..
1. National Security
2. Economic Opportunity
3. Energy Independence
4. Immigration
(A few highlights)
On National Security, Roy defended recent legislation stating the importance of being able to intercept phone calls to known terrorists without going through red tape. He also stated his one criticism of the Reagan administration was it's handling of Lebanon stressing the importance of maintaining a strong front to avoid future problems. Blunt explained we could've avoided problems by fighting back mentioning the first bombing attempt on the World Trade Center and the USS Cole. Regarding Iraq Blunt stated, "This is not a war on terror, this is a war on a Jihadist element of Islam who want to kill us"
On the Economy Blunt spoke about lowering taxes and the economic boost we're experiencing. "This is the highest rate of growth we've had in a long time with unemployment at an all time high. No one at the Washington Post - the New York Times - the St. Louis Dispatch - the Kansas City Star knows how we can do it".
On Energy Roy Blunt spoke of turning a problem into a solution and independence on foreign energy sources.” It’s one thing to buy something from someone you don't like and another to have to".
On Immigration Blunt descended from the president's solution saying the highest flux on incoming aliens occurred when Amnesty was being discussed. "In the past, Blunt explained, we've had a catch and release policy on illegal immigration. Individuals were asked to reappear on court date and no one did - now they're being deported".
On the democrats, "They've done a good job not telling people what they're for and if I were them I wouldn't either."
