Democratic hopefuls attack GOP policies in House bid

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The two Democratic candidates for Missouri's 8th District seat in Congress have many things in common, but their chief similarity is opposition to what they see as the failed economic policies of President George W. Bush and his fellow Republicans.

Dean Henderson and Jerry Cass are both farmers who hail from the western side of the expansive, 28-county congressional district, which includes most of Southeast Missouri. Each man is making his first bid for the office and running a shoe-string campaign devoid of assistance from big-money donors.

The winner of the Aug. 3 Democratic primary will go on to face incumbent U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau, in the Nov. 2 general election.

Emerson, who is seeking a fifth term, is expected to win easily over perennial candidate Richard Kline of Gipsy in the Republican primary. Libertarian Stan Cuff of Poplar Bluff, who has no primary opponent, is also running for the seat.

Cass, 49, is a dairy farmer in Hartville, which is located in Wright County about 40 miles east of Springfield. He said economic concerns prompted him to run for Congress.

"It just seems like farmers have been left out," Cass said. "For the last 20 years, basic agriculture prices haven't kept up with inflation."

Cass also opposes the ongoing war in Iraq.

"I feel like we were lied to by the Bush administration, and I don't feel like we should be over there," Cass said.

Henderson expressed similar disdain for the president.

"The Bush administration I consider a kind of criminal enterprise," Henderson said. "They like to talk big and tough but have these kids fighting their war for them."

Henderson, 39, holds a bachelor's degree from the University of South Dakota, the state where grew up, and a master's degree in environmental studies from the University of Montana. He is a row crop farmer in Peace Valley, which is about 15 miles northeast of Willow Springs in Howell County.

Henderson rails against economic policies that he says have concentrated the nation's wealth in the hands of a relative few and placed an increasing share of the tax burden on the backs of middle-class America.

"Right now we have a system in Washington that is bought and paid for by corporate money," Henderson said.

Henderson says he isn't blind to the reality that should he claim the Democratic nomination he would have a difficult time defeating the well-funded and politically established Emerson.

However, he hopes to build support the old fashioned way, by traveling the district and knocking on doors.

"I kind of think I can defy the odds," Henderson said. "Conventional wisdom says you have to have money to win, but we see that as part of the problem."

mpowers@semissourian.com

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