Every Difference of Opinion is Not A Difference in Principle

By Brian L. Baker

The most significant news from Jefferson City this week is unquestionably the announcement of Governor Matt Blunt stating that he will not be seeking a second term. This announcement eclipsed all other happenings at our state capitol and commanded major headlines all across the state. It was an annoucement that shook the halls of the Capitol.

As one could imagine everyone is asking why and few are accepting the Governor’s stated reason that he had achieved what he set out to do and has lost that sense of mission for the office. Regardless of your political views, agreement can be made that a governor must have a sense of mission. The Governor also stated his desires to spend more time with his wife, Melanie, and son, Branch.

Upon reflection, Inaugural Day in January 2005 was damp and cold sparking the then new Governor Blunt to keep his remarks short. Under the watchful gaze of Thomas Jefferson below the majestic columns on the south steps of the state Capitol before a large crowd Governor Blunt declared:

Over the next four years, we will be bold. We will be willing to experiment. We will not fear failure. We will bear setbacks with resolve and press forward with determined innovation. We will attack problems with the deliberation that accompanies this great responsibility and with the energy necessary to build a better Missouri.

Those words ring true.

Since that time, Missouri has made incredible improvements with the creation of thousands of new jobs, better roads, an improved education funding model, increased state revenues, three years of budget surpluses, and claims the sixth lowest cost of living in the entire nation. Despite the cry of the far-left this progress has been made with no new taxes, something the critics said was impossible.

Apparently, Governor Blunt and the General Assembly achieved the impossible.

An issue of great importance to me and to our community saw tremendous advances - Education. It is fact that we have made education our first budget priority. There is no escaping the fact that we have increased public education spending for five straight years. Our public schools will receive $121 million – a 4% increase over last year. Further, in the 2007 school year our fourth and eighth graders posted significant gains on national math tests and Missouri was one of only six states with fourth graders who scored higher on all five sections of the national math exam. Not only did a record 74% of Missouri seniors take the ACT, they beat the national average. Rising to the prospect of more students attending college, we saw an increase from 16,400 need-based scholarships being offered to assisting over 36,000 students from the Access Missouri Scholarship initiative.

You may or may not agree with Governor Blunt, but as you know, I look at facts. We have added 90,000 new jobs since 2005. We have had a budget surplus each year he has served as Governor. Education has seen an increase every year and he never with-held funds. In comparison to other states, Missouri’s success is highlighted even more. Illinois is facing a multi-billion dollar budget deficit (again) and their legislature is fighting over a proposed massive tax increase. California is suffering a $14 billion budget deficit (by comparison our total state budget is $21 billion). In contrast, our state revenues continue to be positive and our government has delivered on promises to fund health care, schools, and roads without raising taxes.

The critics have often attacked the Governor and the General Assembly for the paths they have taken to move the state forward, but leadership and reform require tough decisions and do not come without a difference of opinion. We would do well to remember Thomas Jefferson’s words that, “Every difference of opinion is not a difference in principle.”