Former senator Danforth criticizes politicians, media and big government at local appearance

Former U.S. senator Jack Danforth took on overpromising politicians, news media that hype anger rather than educate and the expanding role of the federal government during a visit Thursday to Cape Girardeau County.

Danforth, a Republican who was in the Senate from 1977 to 1995 and ambassador to the United Nations from 2004 to 2005, made two stops as part of a four-day swing through the 8th Congressional District. Danforth is perhaps known best for an independent streak that at times put him at odds with more conservative Republicans.

Speaking at the Cape West Rotary Club luncheon at the Elks Lodge in Cape Girardeau, Danforth said politicians for too long have told constituents that problems could be solved or government services expanded without the need to raise taxes. That has put the U.S. on an unsustainable path, he said.

During the 2008 campaign, Danforth said, then-candidate Barack Obama told voters the country could spend money on expanded health care, spend more on education and "and more for this and that and the other good news was they didn't have to pay for it, that 95 percent of people would get a tax cut. The message is something for nothing, and it is not unique to Obama. Lots of politicians do it, and the reason politicians say that, is that it works."

The result, he said, is that the nation faces by 2023 a budget that will use all available revenue to pay interest on the national debt, Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. "There will be nothing left for anything else," he said.

To finance other duties of the federal government, including defense, homeland security and the national parks, for example, will require continued deficit spending, Danforth said. "The danger of all of this is in the very near future the U.S. will be dependent on borrowing from the People's Republic of China for national defense."

Danforth said that his travels, with his Yale-bound grandson John Stillman, have been on behalf of a candidate but that the Rotary Club was a nonpolitical arena, "and my sensitivity forbids me from telling you who she is."

But the travels are a reminder of the fun he's had on past campaigns, he said. "Anybody who has any doubt about Americans and the strength of America and the future of America, I have a bit of advice -- drive around the 8th District."

At the Rotary meeting, Danforth was asked for his opinion of how the news media is handling its job. In response, Danforth said that too much of what is presented "isn't news. The way to hype ratings is to be as bombastic as possible, to be as hard-edged as possible, and when I listen to a lot of those programs I don't agree with any of it. It has been part of the polarization of the country. The possibility of thoughtful reflection and education on issues is very small now."

In his second stop, at the Jackson Chamber of Commerce, Danforth was praised by longtime friend and supporter John Lichtenegger, a Jackson lawyer, as "one of the incredible men of our time," who noted that his 1968 slogan as a candidate for attorney general was "I dare you."

In his remarks, Danforth said he's sought to stay out of politics as much as possible since leaving office. "I do not exactly think anyone is waiting with bated breath for some old coot from yesteryear to give his message."

This year's election, because of the way government has stepped into managing the economy, is the chance to send a message, he said. Most voters don't agree with government interference in the auto industry or the appointment of a "car czar," he said.

Danforth said that while the debate over the role of the federal government is heated today, it is as old as the republic itself. The Obama administration, he said, has made "a big move toward concentration of power in the presidency."

The November vote will be a referendum on whether that will continue, Danforth said.

"It really is a choice for our country," he said. "It is as clear a choice as I have ever seen."

rkeller@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent addresses:

639 Elk Lane, Cape Girardeau, MO

125 E. Main St., Jackson, MO

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