Missouri DU'ers - Your Opinion About Fmr. Sen. Danforth?

[liberalpragmatist]

I'm going to college in Missouri, and I've been hearing a lot about him. He's coming to speak at my school on Friday. I'm also going canvassing for Kerry over the weekend, and someone from Missouri I was talking to (a Democrat), told me that if I'm trying to convince undecided voters, I should compare Kerry favorably to Danforth. I've done some research on him. The big black spot on him seems to be his conduct during the Clarence Thomas hearings, which even his friends say was bizarre for him because he was generally pretty nonpartisan. Supposedly, he himself later repudiated many of the things he said about Anita Hill.

Aside from that however, he seems to have been very popular among members of both parties - more than one blogger I found in my searches referred to him as "the last Missouri Republican with any class," Kerry said he wishes Bush had selected him not Ashcroft for AG, Clinton gave him an appointment to investigate Waco, he supposedly was involved in the key moderate Republican caucus which is now extinct, and he was a close friend of John Heinz (officiating at his funeral at Theresa's request). The Clarence Thomas thing, however, has me bothered. What's your opinion on him?

[pstokely]

1. what college is this?

?

[liberalpragmatist]

5. WashU

[barbaraann]

2. He's a radical.

I had a great link about him that I posted a few months ago on DU but I can't find it now. I'll look.

[EstimatedProphet]

3. Danforth is the only Republican I ever voted for, ever

For Senate. He was a statesman first.

[MoJoWorkin]

6. Only Rep I ever voted for too--and I will not make that mistake again

Clarence Thomas, and current service to THIS admin is proof he didn't deserve my vote.
NEVER AGAIN

[EstimatedProphet]

7. That was after I left MO

and I was for a while out of contact with the news. So, I hadn't heard that actually until now.
I am disappointed.

[Jazzgirl]

8. Ditto. I voted for him years ago when I was still living in Mo.

He was the ONLY repuke I had any respect for. Thought he was fairly progressive. I was disappointed when he backed Clarence Thomas. I thought he knew better. :-(

[MadHound]

4. Danforth is genteel, old school Republican

Not a fundie fool. That being said, the man is/was totally in the pocket of Ralston Purina and Anheiser Bush. His continuing close ties with George W. and this neo-con cabal is also quite disturbing, it seems as though by working with them he is selling out his fundemental Republican values. He was also recently appointed to be UN ambassador.

Comparing Kerry to Danforth might score you some points with old school 'Pugs, but if you pull that stunt with Democrats, they'll turn you off, for his name is poison amongst Mo Dems, especially since the Clarence Thomas affair. If you pull this stunt with fundie, they'll laugh you off the porch, for they hated Danforth for not being Christian enough.

If I were you, I'd leave the comparisons out, unless you're using Harry Truman. You're only asking for trouble in this sharply divided state otherwise.

[greekspeak]

9. Let me put it this way...

I had relatives that normally would not vote for a Republican if God herself asked them to. And some of them went for Danforth. I do not remember a lot about him except that he was very popular in Missouri.

[Dees]

10. I almost knocked Danforth over in a drug store.

He and myself were both looking at something on a bottom shelf in a drug store and I straightened out and back up. He was still squatting and I nearly knocked him over. He stood up and I realized who it was and I said, "I'm very sorry Senator". He was cordial and went about his business. Danforth owns a large riverfront property in Duke, Missouri which is a wide place in the road. It's his official residence.
He's from the Ralston Purina family in St. Louis. A lay priest in the Episcopalian church. Moderate in political outlook.