APPROXIMATELY 500 TURN OUT FOR LINCOLN DAY; BOND SAYS JUDGES SHOULD DECIDE ON ETHICS IN CONGRESS

A panel of retired judges should sit in judgment on Congress rather than an in-house ethics committee, U.S. Sen. Christopher Bond, R-Mo., said Saturday.

Speaking to a reporter prior to the Cape Girardeau County Republican Lincoln Day banquet Saturday night at the A.C. Brase Arena Building, Bond called for reform of Congress.

"I think we need to reform the way Congress operates, and one of the obvious things is to establish a panel of retired judges instead of members to run the ethics committee," he said.

Bond was the keynote speaker at Lincoln Day the political gathering that is one of the largest annual GOP events in the state. About 500 people attended Lincoln Day Saturday.

A host of Republican candidates for state office attended the event, including four of the top state officials: Attorney General William Webster, State Treasurer Wendell Bailey, Secretary of State Roy Blunt, and State Auditor Margaret Kelly.

Webster, Bailey and Blunt are all seeking the Republican nomination for governor, which will be decided in the August primary. Kelly is running for lieutenant governor.

U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau, and state Reps. Mary Kasten of Cape Girardeau and David Schwab of Jackson also attended the gathering.

Bond said, "We need to have a strong ethics committee to deal with all of these problems that have come up because most members of Congress don't tolerate these things and we need to have an effective means of screening them out."

The senator said he believes a panel of retired judges could serve as an ethics committee for both houses of Congress. "I think that would be better, but at least we ought to get one for the Senate."

Bond said he hopes to introduce ethics legislation in the Senate. "I think it has got to come," said Bond.

"We also need to cut down significantly on the committee staffs; have a mandatory adjournment date to force Congress to get things done in a timely fashion. We also need budget process reform because our country is going into the hole very, very rapidly unless we can change the way Congress appropriates money and reform the entitlement process," he said.

Bond said entitlement programs such as Medicaid are "growing so fast that the federal government and we as taxpayers are just not going to be able to keep up with it unless we get costs under control."

The three Republican gubernatorial candidates staked out their positions in interviews with reporters Saturday.

Bailey emphasized that he's a pro-choice Republican. He also called for an end to patronage for Revenue Department fee offices in the state.

"We are paying these fee agents $10 million a year in fees and we are getting absolutely nothing back from them except political support for candidates for governor."

Said Bailey, "If it is a valuable appointment then let's put it up for bids like I did the state's banking services. I think we can save millions of dollars and get better service and have better accountability."

Webster said he favors "dramatic changes" in the welfare system and changing the way government administers programs.

"We are for giving the lottery money back to education and earmarking it," he said.

Webster said that "the real question isn't where the other candidates are wrong, but that we stand for we think is what the majority of people of the state want."

He maintained he is the most electable of the three candidates. "Every poll that I have seen in the last two years indicates that I am the most electable Republican."

Blunt maintained that while other candidates have talked about the need for change, he has been leading the call for such change for years.

"I've been the person out there in the front lines of talking about change," he said.

"I think this campaign is going to be won by the person who people become convinced is least likely to be part of politics as usual or business as usual. I think I am that individual."

Blunt said he is committed to term limitations and amending the Missouri Constitution so that a minimum of one-third of general revenue will go to elementary and secondary education.

Blunt said it's unusual for three top state officials in the same party to be vying for the same office. He said all three Republican gubernatorial candidates have high name recognition with the voters.