DEMOCRATS MUST SHOW LOYALTY

JACKSON -- Democrats tired of hearing about Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gingrich need to step forward, proclaim their party affiliation and help build the Democratic Party, Marvin Proffer said.

Proffer was guest speaker at the Byrd Township Democratic Club barbecue Saturday at the Jackson High School.

About 70 people attended the meeting to raise money and interest in the county's Democratic Party. Proffer was the Democratic state representative from Jackson for 26 years. For the past eight years, he has worked as a lobbyist, fund-raiser and recruiter for Southeast Missouri State University.

Standing in front of a mural that shows Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, John Kennedy and Bill Clinton, Proffer said, "Everybody wants to talk about Rush and Newt. But tell me what they've done. Open their big mouths? Criticize? Write a book?"

Proffer told the Democrats it is time to start proclaiming their party loyalty and explaining what Democrats are about.

"We are concerned about people," he said.

Everyone wants a balanced budget, Proffer said, adding: "But we need to make sure it's done properly. If you cut welfare or Medicaid or Medicare, what will happen to those people it serves? Those people aren't just going to go away."

Don Dickerson, a Cape Girardeau attorney who served as master of ceremonies at the event, said, "What a difference a year makes. The national party didn't fare very well. We lost control of the Congress."

But, he said, Democrats in Cape Girardeau County are alive and kicking. In fact, the Byrd Township Democratic Club might be the oldest functioning Democratic club in Missouri.

"As we approach this coming election year, it is one of the most important ever," Dickerson said.

He added that fund raising for candidates has already begun.

Proffer said, "You and I have got to stand up. We don't have to apologize for being Democrats."