Last night, I referred to Tim Davis as "foppish," and I will stand by that assessment, but that must have had something to do with the quality of the questions. Davis not only came across as the most prepared Democrat to take the position currently held by Roy Blunt, but he even drew that greatest of compliments from two people who talked to me after the forum.
"If that Davis wasn't a Democrat, I would vote for him," both said in almost exactly the same words.
Davis is a lawyer, an economist, and holds views that fit in comfortably in southwest Missouri. He was the only candidate among the 10 who came out strongly in favor of keeping the Department of Education. He told the audience of his time doing mission work in China and India where poor children are not guaranteed an education. "The government must be involved in education," he said, but if that turned off any of those wanting total local control, he took a stand in favor of improving education through whatever means necessary, including vouchers and charter schools.
Davis fielded the economic questions with ease, advocating the elimination of federal subsidies for companies and balancing the federal budget.
While Davis was in his element, it was not the night for his opponent, Scott Eckersley, who seemed out of sorts the entire evening. Eckersley was able to make the point that he had taken a principled stand for the public's right to know, which led to his dismissal by the Matt Blunt administration, a court fight, and the $100,000 settlement that is largely financing his race, but on the issues it was Davis, who had the upper hand.
Eckersley didn't help himself by mentioning again that his beliefs did not necessarily coincide with the Democratic Party, but by running on the ticket, he was giving himself a better chance to survive until November.
In the August primary, a lot of Democrats will be voting on the Republican ticket to give themselves a say in county races. It has become a southwest Missouri tradition. The only Democrats who will vote Aug. 3 are the true blue ones (so to speak) and Eckersley's independent streak might have been better off if saved until November. If he doesn't watch it, he will be sitting in the sidelines in November watching Tim Davis battle the winner of the Republican Primary.
(Photo: Tim Davis talks with KOAM's Lisa Olliges and Joplin Globe reporter Alexandra Nicholas after the Seventh District Candidate Forum tonight)
5 comments:
Do you really think "true blue" Democrats have already forgotten how Eckersley single-handedly brought down Matt Blunt?
Tim Davis 'fasteneights' me. He is an economic scholar with the ability to illustrate his points with examples that I understand.
I don't know about Congress, but he sure makes more sense than Christina Romer, the top-ranking economic advisor to President Obama. A Republican Congress needs his economic guidance to stop the spending.
Were we watching the same debate? I don't hate Davis or anything, and I'm sure he's pretty bright, but he's so awkward it's painful, and last night was no exception. I think he might be a good adviser, but not a congressman. I don't know about which Dems are going to vote for whom, but they'll get slaughtered with Davis, whereas they might have a chance with Eckersley come November.
Respectfully, the claim that Tim Davis was the only candidate of the ten who opposed abolishing the Department of Education is false. Because of the forum format, not all the candidates were asked questions regarding the abolishment Department of Education.
For example, Scott Eckersley is adamantly opposed to doing away with the Department of Education. While Eckersley does not support unfunded mandates, he realizes the foolishness of disposing of the Department of Education. For example, without federal funding, schools would not be able to provide programs for special needs children which are funded completely by the Department of Education. Furthermore, higher education would be all but inaccessible without federal grants and student loans. Almost nobody would be able to afford a college education.
Scott was asked a similar question at the Missouri Extension Debate, and responded that there are many stakeholders in the education of our children and young adults. One of those stakeholders, said Eckersley, is the federal government.
I think voters will also remember that Eckersley stood up for them in Jefferson City when their access to public records was threatened. It is this type of ‘honest to goodness real representation’ that Eckersley will take to Washington D.C.
As far as I can tell, I never said anything about Davis being the only candidate of the 10 who wanted to abolish the Department of Education. Of the two Democrats, however, he was the only one. Eckersley does not want the Department of Education dismantled.
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