GOP PICNIC: STEELMAN, EMERSON TELL PARTY TO FOCUS ON ISSUES

Eighth District U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson and Missouri attorney general nominee David Steelman admitted Friday that Republicans were facing tough times this year. But they predicted with hard work and a focus on issues the situation would turn around.

Speaking at a picnic for Steelman attended by over 300 area supporters the two urged Republicans to keep talking to their friends and neighbors and tell them the differences between Democratic and Republican candidates in 1992.

"This is a tough election ... a tough year," said Steelman.

"There are a lot of issues at stake in this election," added Emerson, who is seeking his seventh term in Congress.

Emerson said he realized many polls looked bad for Republican candidates but stressed, "Two-and-a-half weeks in politics can be an eternity."

The congressman pointed out that straw polls taken at schools in Sikeston and Jackson showed President George Bush winning. He cited a Weekly Reader survey of over 600,000 school children around the country that gave Bush a strong lead.

Emerson said Republican candidates this year are offering "conservative, common-sense change" while the Democratic version of change amounts to increased taxes and spending.

He said that having a liberal Democratic president to go with a liberal Democratic-controlled Congress would have a devastating impact on the nation's economy.

One dramatic difference between the parties is on the abortion issue, he said. "I am proudly pro-life and make no excuses for it," said Emerson. "But the national Democrats and Bill Clinton support the Freedom of Choice Act that provides abortion on demand, with no restriction, paid for with your money."

Emerson praised Steelman as "a common-sense conservative who can represent our values in Jefferson City." He also praised Steelman for his promise to fight desegregation in St. Louis and Kansas City and bring an end to the "ludicrous spending" that has already cost Missouri taxpayers $1.5 billion.

"He will fight desegregation and bring it to an end," said Emerson.

Steelman praised Emerson for his long service and ability to always keep a focus on the future in dealing with problems facing the 8th District and the nation.

"Nothing else really matters to government except the future," said Steelman.

To insure a strong future for Missouri children in education, Steelman said it is essential to end the desegregation orders. "We have to hand schools back to teachers and parents and get the judges out of our schools."

Another component of his campaign, Steelman said, is a safe future by tackling issues of crime and drug abuse. "We need to make sure there are some consequences to our actions. It is time to get serious about drugs. There is no such thing as recreational drugs; they are either legal or illegal. There is no experimenting with drugs - it is against the law."

Discussing his Democratic opponent, state Sen. Jay Nixon of Jefferson County, Steelman said he was the only member of the Senate to vote against the "abuse and lose" law. The provision, now in effect, provides for youths to lose their driver's licenses for using illegal drugs and alcohol.

Steelman also criticized Nixon for selling out to the Missouri Association of Defense Lawyers as the only member of the Senate who voted against a law that would allow court testimony from children in some cases to be videotaped, rather than force them to testify in open court.

The present attorney general, William Webster, is the GOP candidate for governor this year.

Most of the Republican candidates in Cape County attended the picnic.

Besides speeches by Steelman and Emerson, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Ian Sutherland and several others entertained the crowd by parachuting from an airplane and landing next to the shelter in the Cape County South Park.