President Bill Clinton Archives

Wilson: Governor Carnahan was one of the most positive political figures in Missouri history (AUDIO)

October 16, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Friday is the 20th anniversary of the deadly plane crash that killed then-Governor Mel Carnahan (D), his son Randy and campaign aide Chris Sifford.

The Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City

Their plane crashed during a storm and fog in the small town of Goldman, in eastern Missouri’s Jefferson County. Lieutenant Governor Roger Wilson (D) became governor for the last three months of Carnahan’s term. The crash made national news for several days.

He says Mel Carnahan was one of the most positive political figures in Missouri history.

“His attention to elementary, secondary and higher education has only been matched by one or two governors,” Wilson says.

Governor Carnahan championed the Outstanding Schools Act, which passed in 1993. Wilson also says agriculture and corrections were two other major priorities for the governor. Governor Carnahan guided the state through the historic flood of 1993, and joined President Bill Clinton at a major flood summit in 1993 in Arnold, south of St. Louis.

Carnahan’s funeral service that week in 2000 drew thousands of people to the State Capitol in Jefferson City, including President Clinton, First Lady Hillary Clinton and Vice President Al Gore. Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-South Dakota, U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Massachusetts, and Governor John Engler, R-Michigan, also traveled to Jefferson City for the service. So did U.S. House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt, D-St. Louis County.

At the time of the crash, the Democratic governor was finishing his second term, and was locked in a heavyweight U.S. Senate race against Republican incumbent John Ashcroft. Wilson is proud of how Missourians handled the tragedy, and he praises Ashcroft as well.

“The rancor that you see now in politics was not evident,” says Wilson. “John Ashcroft suspended his campaign ads.”

Missouri voters elected Carnahan to the Senate posthumously. Governor Wilson appointed Carnahan’s widow, Jean, to the Senate seat. During a Thursday interview with Missourinet, Wilson says she was the only reasonable person to appoint to the position.

“The reason being is that she was politically astute, she was Mel’s partner, she knew every in and out of the large decisions that were being made,” Wilson says.

Wilson says Jean Carnahan didn’t have much time to grieve. When Governor Carnahan was elected posthumously, Wilson wanted to give her as much time as she needed to decide whether to accept the appointment. He says Jean Carnahan said yes to Mel’s legacy, adding that she served the state extremely well. Wilson says he will always be grateful.

Mel Carnahan was born in southern Missouri’s Birch Tree, and served in the Missouri House from 1963-1967. He was elected state treasurer in 1980, serving from 1981-1985.

Carnahan was elected lieutenant governor in 1988, and was elected governor in 1992, beating GOP Attorney General Bill Webster. Carnahan was re-elected governor in 1996, defeating Republican Auditor Margaret Kelly.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full nine-minute interview with former Missouri Governor Roger Wilson, reflecting on the 20th anniversary of Governor Carnahan’s death and on Carnahan’s legacy. The interview was recorded on October 15, 2020:

Missouri officials react to the death of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg

September 18, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died Friday due to complications of pancreatic cancer. She was surrounded by family at her home in Washington, D.C. at the time of her death. Ginsburg was 87 years old.

She was nominated to the court by President Bill Clinton in 1993. The U.S. Senate voted 96-3 in favor of confirming Ginsburg. Missouri U.S. Senators Jack Danforth and Kit Bond, both Republicans, supported her confirmation. Ginsburg was the second woman appointed to the highest court in the land.

The news of her death has Americans from various political backgrounds sharing their thoughts, including in Missouri.

An unimaginable loss, a woman of valor who advanced freedom for every American. A champion for not only #womensrights but for the power of inclusion to strengthen our nation. My deepest condolences to her family. May her memory be a blessing. #RBG #RuthBaderGInsburg https://t.co/PCjHHOJZBj

— Lacy Clay MO1st (@LacyClayMO1) September 18, 2020

What a terrible loss for the nation. Justice Ginsburg was a brilliant mind and dedicated her life to upholding the rule of law and pushing for a more equitable society in America.

May she forever rest in peace. https://t.co/TYkqrQ3bdF

— Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (@repcleaver) September 19, 2020

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a trailblazer and an inspiration to so many Americans. Teresa and I join Missourians in mourning her passing and send our prayers to the family and loved ones of Justice Ginsburg.

— Mike Parson (@mikeparson) September 19, 2020

My thoughts and prayers are with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's family during this difficult time. Her life was devoted to public service and the law. May she rest in peace.

— Rep. Sam Graves (@RepSamGraves) September 19, 2020

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell issued a statement Friday saying his chamber will vote to fill the court vacancy left by Justice Ginsburg. It does not say whether the vote will happen before or after November’s election.

The Senate and the nation mourn the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the conclusion of her extraordinary American life.

My full statement: pic.twitter.com/NOwYLhDxIk

— Leader McConnell (@senatemajldr) September 19, 2020

Standing-room only crowd expected for Thursday’s Albright speech in Fulton

September 19, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

A capacity crowd of at least 1,500 people is expected Thursday afternoon for former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright’s lecture at Westminster College in mid-Missouri’s Fulton.

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright speaks Thursday afternoon in Fulton (undated photo courtesy of Westminster College in Fulton)

Her speech begins at 1:30 p.m, and she’s expected to speak for about an hour.

Dr. Albright served as President Bill Clinton’s (D) Secretary of State from 1997-2001, the first female Secretary of State in American history. She also served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations from 1993-1997.

As the 64th Secretary of State, Dr. Albright advocated for democracy and human rights across the globe.

“This is a tremendous honor to welcome a world leader of Dr. Albright’s stature to Westminster. I have asked that her lecture further articulate her ideas about democracy’s future prospects, and how humanity might once again break down the walls that divide us, and join together, in a spirit of hope, to confront the challenges that lie ahead,” Westminster President Dr. Fletcher Lamkin said, in a written statement.

In 2012, President Barack Obama (D) honored Dr. Albright with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

She is currently the chair of global strategy firm Albright Stonebridge Group. Her latest book, titled “Fascism, a Warning” was published in April and debuted at #1 on the “New York Times” bestseller list.

Dr. Albright’s lecture will be the final part of Westminster’s 12th annual Hancock Symposium, a two-day event that includes lectures, panel discussions and presentations.

The theme of this year’s symposium is “Breakthrough.” It ties-in with the Breakthrough sculpture that’s on the Westminster campus in Fulton. The sculpture is adjacent to Champ Auditorium, where Dr. Albright will be speaking.

The Churchill statue at Fulton’s Westminster College (2017 file photo from Missourinet’s Ashley Byrd)

This is the 30th anniversary of the Berlin Wall’s fall.

Previous Green Lecture speakers at Westminster have included former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill (1946), former President Harry Truman (1954), President Gerald Ford (1977), Vice President Hubert Humphrey (1967), Vice President George H.W. Bush (1986), former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (1996) and former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev (1992).

The 1946 Churchill event was the famous “Iron Curtain” speech. Then-President Harry Truman joined Churchill that day. The 1946 speech drew about 30,000 people to Fulton.

Fulton Police Chief Steve Myers tells Missourinet that his officers will be providing security for Thursday’s event, as they do for all VIPs who visit Westminster.

The Green Foundation Lecture began in 1937, and was established by a gift from Eleanor Green to honor the memory of her husband, St. Louis attorney John Findley Green. He graduated from Westminster in 1884 and served on the Westminster Board of Trustees for 27 years.