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Former Senator Talent makes it official: he won’t run for old job

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Former Senator Jim Talent says another run for the United States Senate is not for him. His announcement leaves several other party big names free to start beating the drum for their own possibilities. Former state party chairman Ann Wagner, who failed to get the national chairmanship earlier this month, is saying she’s seriously interested. So is northwest Missouri Congressman Sam Graves. The former chief of staff for Governor Matt Blunt, Ed Martin–the loser of a congressional race last fall to Russ Carnahan–is talking about himself. Southeast Missouri Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson has been making calls.

Former Treasurer Sarah Steelman has been running for several months.

Talent says he’d rather keep working on national security issues.

Former Senator Talent says two positions similar (AUDIO)

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Former United States Senator Jim Talent holds two high-profile positions on evaluating our nation’s defense and he tells the Missourinet that while they might look different, they are very much related.

Even as former Senator Jim Talent, a Republican, serves as vice chairman of the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism, he serves on the independent panel evaluating the Defense Department’s review of US military might. Talent says that while Defense works to win in Afghanistan and prepare for possible conflicts with countries such as North Korea, it cannot overlook terrorist cells which don’t respect borders, presenting a different type of foe.

“It is a war, though. I mean, this is not some kind of criminal syndicate. These people are organized to engage in a very high-level conflict with us,” Talent tells the Missourinet. “So that is something the (Defense) Department has to deal with at the same time as it’s dealing with rogue nation-states like North Korea and high-end powers like China.”

In both roles, Talent is pushing preparation prior to outright conflict, which he understands can be a difficult sell.

“This is the way to prevent all these flash points from becoming infernos and we need to do it now, while we have time,” according to Talent.

Talent served on both the House and Senate Armed Services Committee during his time in Congress.

AUDIO: Brent Martin reports [:60 MP3]

Talent says Defense Department must look beyond current conflicts (AUDIO)

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Former Senator Jim Talent has been appointed to an independent panel assessing how well the Department of Defense is planning for the future.

Every four years, the Department of Defense is to look ahead, to try to foresee the military’s needs five, 10, 20 years from now. It’s officially called the Department of Defense’s Quadrennial Defense Review. Congress has charged an independent panel of 20 to assess the department’s planning; to determine if the Pentagon is ready for the military challenges of the future. The Secretary of Defense appoints 12 of the members. Congress appoints eight. Talent is among the eight appointed by Congress.

Talent says he worries that our naval fleet is shrinking to numbers not seen since 1916.

“There’s just no urgency about that fact in the Department of Defense and that is a huge thing,” Talent tells the Missourinet. “None of us have lived in an era when American naval power was not present in every important part of the world and we are headed for that kind of an era.”

America must invest more in its weapons, according to Talent, who notes that the country continues to fly 50-year-old bombers with no plans to replace them.

Talent has met with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who he says is understandably focused on the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Still, Talent says long-term planning is needed, such as in Asia where a strong American presence has kept equilibrium among the Koreas, Russia, China and Japan.

“In the absence of something like that, you end up with what we got in the 1940s, when you had a rising Asian power that had nationalistic ambitions and we don’t want that to happen again,” Talent says. “And it’s just my feeling that the department is not focusing on that at all and it needs to.”

Talent says flexibility is the key. He says the United States must be ready both with methods to fight terrorists and with the power to confront military regimes. Talent says the US must keep a wary eye on China, who he says isn’t a military opponent at this time, but must be persuaded that becoming one would not be in its best interest.

The panel delivers its report next month.

AUDIO: Brent Martin reports [1:20 MP3]

Two prominent Missouri Republicans chair new think tank

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Two prominent Missouri Republicans are leaders behind a new think-tank that they hope will give them a voice outside of the political arena.

It’s called the American Freedom and Enterprise Foundation, a non-profit organization promoting free market solutions to the country’s problems, based in Missouri.

The brainchild of former Missouri Senator Jim Talent, the foundation has lured former US Ambassador to Luxembourg Ann Wagner as honorary co-chair. Wagner says this gives her and Talent a platform to talk policies outside of politics.

“This is going to be a non-partisan foundation that really serves the people,” according to Wagner, “providing them information and ideas and, hopefully, solutions that need to be addressed for the American public and certainly for the people of Missouri.”

Wagner says the foundation will address a wide range of issues.

“Right now, our focus is going to be about the policies coming out of Washington, D. C.,” Wagner says. “We’re going to address those and try and be very specific and solution oriented. We’ll team up with other experts.”

Even as Wagner works with the foundation, she has her feet firmly planted in politics. Wagner, who served as co-chair of the Republican National Committee and chair of the Missouri Republican Party, is serving now as chairman of Congressman Roy Blunt’s US Senate campaign.

AUDIO: Brent Martin reports [:60 MP3]

Commission worries about biological attack

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A special commission sees biological warfare as a real threat to American security and a Missourian who is a leader of that commission worries the country isn’t taking the threat seriously.

Former Senator Jim Talent serves as vice chairman of the bipartisan Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism, charged by Congress to assess the threat of WMDs being used against the United States.

[Read more…]

Former Senator Talent expects individual positions – not party affiliation – to determine presidential race

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Former Senator Jim Talent Many of the political pundits believe this is going to be a bad November for Republicans at the ballot box. But former U.S. Senator Jim Talent says that is not necessarily the case – at least in the presidential contest.

Talent, who won a close contest against incumbent Senator Jean Carnahan in 2002, then lost another tight race to now-Senator Claire McCaskill in 2006, believes that while Democrats have an edge this year, Missourians will look carefully at the individual candidates in the presidential contest.

Talent believes his loss two years ago can be attributed, at least in part, to anti-Bush sentiment and people wanting to send a message to the White House. He says with President Bush leaving, that will probably not be the case this year because it will be difficult to link Bush with Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

Download/Listen: Steve Walsh report (:60 MP3)

Questions Are Raised About Qualifications, But Ag Nominee Gets Committee Approval

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There were a few questions about farm policy, but the past became the present interest in confirmation hearings of State Agriculture Director-designate Katie Smith before a Senate committee. Smith has been nominated by Governor Blunt to be the next Agriculture Director, taking the position held by Fred Ferrell until a complaint of sexual harassment forced Ferrell out.

The committee unanimously recommends that the full Senate confirm here, but not until the top Democrat in the Senate questioned her qualifications and insinuated that Governor Blunt chose Smith, based more on her gender than her qualifications. Senate Minority Leader, Maida Coleman (D-St. Louis), has asked Smith whether the governor appointed her for her qualifications or because he believed nominating a woman would distract from the sexual harassment lawsuit still pending in Cole County Circuit Court. Coleman also has questioned whether Smith meets the requirement that the Agriculture Director actually be a farmer.

Smith has maintained that the governor appointed her on her qualifications. She grew up on the family farm near Platte City and received a degree in Agriculture-Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Much of her experience has been in Washington, where Smith served both Senator Bond and former Senator Talent as well as northwest Missouri Congressman Sam Graves. As the top agricultural advisor to Senator Talent, Smith helped craft the 2002 Farm Bill. Smith says she remains engaged in the family farm, advising her father on how best to manage it and says she helps out whenever she visits there.

Coleman hasn’t been impressed and states simply, "You are not a farmer."

Senate President Pro Tem, Michael Gibbons (R-Kirkwood), acknowledges the tainted reputation of the State Agriculture Department. He tells Smith, "I think it’s pretty clear from this hearing that you are going into this position with a multitude of challenges." Gibbons adds that the proof will be in Smith’s performance.

Download/listen Brent Martin reports (:60 MP3)

Blunt Denies Gender Played a Role in Choice for Ag Director

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Governor Blunt has appointed the first woman State Agriculture Director and denies he sought a woman for the post to offset the fall-out from how the previous Agriculture Director left.

Blunt has announced that Katie Smith of Platte City is his choice to replace Fred Ferrell, the Agriculture Director who resigned in February amid sexual harassment allegations. Democrats harshly criticized Blunt for not acting sooner against Ferrell. Blunt denies he placed a premium on finding a woman for the position to quell the criticism. Blunt says he considered a lot of good men and women for the position and became convinced that Smith is the best person to lead the department at a critical time.

Smith must be confirmed by the Senate before she replaces Ferrell. She promises to value every employee at the Department, stating that she has been fortunate to be in situations in which supervisors empowered employees. Smith says that is an environment she hopes to create at the Agriculture Department.

Smith was raised on a farm in northwest Missouri, near Platte City. She earned an agriculture journalism degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She has worked for both Senator Talent and Senator Bond as well as northwest Missouri Congressman Sam Graves. Talent, Bond and Graves are all Republicans, as is Governor Blunt. Smith served for four years as the chief policy advisor on agriculture issues for Senator Talent.

Smith has also worked for the United States Department of Agriculture and the federal Department of Energy. Smith, 29, recently moved back to Missouri with her husband Christopher and their daughter, Mary Agnes.

Deputy Agriculture Director Matt Boatright has been serving as Acting Agriculture Director. Boatright will return to his role as Deputy Director upon Smith’s confirmation.

Smith’s appointment is subject to confirmation by the Senate.

Download/listen Brent Martin reports (:60 MP3)

Blunt Names First Woman as Agriculture Director

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Katie Smith Governor Blunt today named a former agriculture advisor for Senator Talent as the new director of the Missouri Department of Agriculture. Blunt has named Katie Smith as director to replace Agriculture Director Fred Ferrell who resigned in disgrace after an Agriculture Department employee filed a sexual harassment case against him.

In naming Smith to the role, Blunt has appointed the first woman to serve as State Agriculture Director. The department was created in 1933. Smith was raised on a farm in northwest Missouri, near Platte City. She earned an agriculture journalism degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She has worked for both Senator Talent and Senator Bond as well as northwest Missouri Congressman Sam Graves. All Republicans, as is Governor Blunt. Smith served for four years as the chief policy advisor on agriculture issues for Senator Talent.

Smith has also worked for the United States Department of Agriculture and the federal Department of Energy. Smith, 29, recently moved back to Missouri with her husband Christopher and their daughter, Mary Agnes.

Deputy Agriculture Director Matt Boatright has been serving as Acting Agriculture Director. Boatright will return to his role as Deputy Director upon Smith’s confirmation.

Smith’s appointment is subject to confirmation by the Senate.