Sales tax for firefighters, police is good insurance policy

I know of no one who LIKES to buy insurance -- automobile, home, liability, health, life. It's a product you buy that you hope you don't need.

But few can afford to pay for a fire at their home, an automobile accident, catastrophic health care, a robbery or burglary unless they have insurance.

On June 8 vote yes for the quarter-cent sales tax for you, your family, your neighbor, your business and your church and pay the first 25 cents on every $100 you spend to see that Cape Girardeau has the fire protection and police protection it needs when or if you need it.

You can't buy insurance to cover yourself after it is needed. Both fire and police protection demand immediate response with the properly equipped and trained personnel.

Vote absentee now if you're going to be out of town. Let's keep Cape on the grow.

Campaign elicits sense of deja vu (amazing coincidences): Let's set the scene:

A President Bush is in the White House angling for a second four-year term against the tide of a shaky economy.

In Missouri, Republican Kit Bond is running for the U.S. Senate against a little-known woman. A man named Blunt is running for governor.

The ballot has a familiar Democratic name on it: Carnahan. The Republicans are touting a candidate named Steelman who has something of a maverick streak.

The year is ... 1992. But it could be 2004. ...

Once again, a President Bush is in trouble, picking up after a war with Iraq and desperately needing a win in Missouri to gain a second term.

Bond's opponent is not 1992's largely unknown Geri Rothman-Serot. This time, he faces Nancy Farmer, the state treasurer, who many say is more formidable. Still, Bond, who has never won a Senate race with more than 53 percent backing, again ranks as the favorite.

The Blunt running for governor this time is Matt, son of Roy Blunt, the onetime secretary of state and current congressman who narrowly lost the 1992 GOP gubernatorial primary to Bill Webster, who was facing mounting legal problems.

Many Republicans believe that had Roy Blunt won that 1992 primary he would have gone on to win the governorship and block the will of a Democratic Party that, at the time and now again, was itching to raise taxes for public schools.

Following in her father's 1992 footsteps, Robin Carnahan is running for a statewide office: secretary of state. The Steelman on the ballot is state Sen. Sarah Steelman running for treasurer. Her husband, David, narrowly lost to Jay Nixon in the 1992 attorney general's race.

The 1992 election led, in its own winding way, to the remarkable developments of 2000 that saw the death of a governor and the election of a Democrat to a narrowly divided U.S. Senate. It also saw the loser of that 2000 Senate race, John Ashcroft, become the nation's attorney general.

Yes, many of the names are the same, but the most enduring lesson of 1992 is the import of one election.

On the line this year: 12 consecutive years of Democratic rule of the governor's office and the future makeup of the state Supreme Court, now handling an issue -- the timing of a vote on a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage -- that could affect November's elections and even the winner of the presidency.

The outcome of the election will help shape such issues as higher taxes for schools, tort reform, insurance regulation, the handling of Missouri's roads and higher education funding that directly translates to how much students pay for tuition.

The 1992 election was a doozy. This year's is one terrific encore.

Poll update: A survey by Bennett, Petts & Blumenthal shows the Democratic primary race for Missouri governor still close.

The poll had State Auditor Claire McCaskill leading incumbent Gov. Bob Holden 47 percent to 43 percent. The poll, of 600 likely Democratic primary voters, had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points and was taken May 17-21. -- Steve Kraske, The Kansas City Star

The information above reminds you that polls or political maneuverings are sometimes more affected by unanticipated events than long-range political plans and maneuvering.

Democrats Jerry Litton and Mel Carnahan were killed in airplane accidents during the final stages of their campaigns for U.S. Senate. Two lieutenant governors, Roger Wilson and Joe Maxwell, were programmed to become governor but stepped aside for family reasons. John Ashcroft was narrowly defeated for U.S. Senate only to be appointed U.S. attorney general. And Jim Talent was narrowly defeated for governor only to be elected two years later to the U.S. Senate.

My recommendation to all politicians is to do your job, be as informed as possible and then vote or do what you think is right, not what you think may be good politics.

My faith in the judicial system was given a boost when I ended up last week serving on a Cape Girardeau County jury in a civil lawsuit which ended up taking 11-plus hours to reach a verdict.

Judge Bill Syler was excellent in his handling of the case. Local plaintiff attorney Stephen Wilson and the St. Louis defense attorney were well prepared, presented their cases professionally and favorably impressed me.

The jurors (none of whom I knew in advance) generally reached similar conclusions, were fair-minded and made jury duty educational and a pleasant experience.

Gary Rust is chairman of Rust Communications.