Elephants on Parade: John Loudon

Freesoiler hopes his readers will enjoy the following interview with state Senator John Loudon, Republican primary candidate for state auditor. A similar interview with state Representative Jack Jackson was published last year. Interview invitations also have been extended to state Representative Mark Wright and to Platte County Auditor Sandra Thomas.

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FREESOILER: Last August, you announced your candidacy for state auditor. Considering that this is a contested primary, why should Republicans nominate you as their candidate? If you are nominated, why should Missourians elect you to this office?

SEN. LOUDON: Well, John, it would have been nice to avoid a primary, but now that we have one, I hope the others can maintain the self-discipline to honor Reagan’s Eleventh Commandment Pledge and avoid attacking one another. We have to be able to get behind whoever wins on August 8. If that person has let personal aspiration lead them into nasty, underhanded tactics, it will be hard for others to support them. I am not just talking about the candidates, but also their respective supporters. It is with that focus on November that I took the pledge, publicly, at the State Lincoln Day in Kansas City. For me, this race has never been about John Loudon, it has been about what is best for our Party, because our Party’s ideas are better than the others.

I think I make the best nominee for Republicans for two simple reasons. I believe your readers have the sophistication to get this. Number one, I am the only candidate who can raise money. Number two, my lengthy legislative experience, coupled with my experience running my own business, gives me the best skills when it comes to knowing where to look for waste. Ms. Thomas and the Democrats can argue that only a CPA can do it, but I can hire CPAs. Finding people to hire who really know how government works, from the inside, that is a more limited commodity. But it really comes down to being a seasoned candidate, someone who can raise money and be a winner. All the candidates seem to stand for the right things, but none of the others have the record of raising the money. In January, when the reports showed that all Representative Jackson had banked after two years of campaigning was $130,000, I honestly thought he would drop out. I amassed $255,000 in just over six months. The Associated Press observed that my campaign is the “only one putting up...a fundraising effort.” The Democrats have someone capable of putting millions in. We have to be serious about this. I am the only one who can raise the money it will take to win in August and November. Each of my opponents report that virtually their entire accounts are personal funds. Spending your own money to win in August will leave a candidate way to dependent on the Party in November. Eighty percent of self-funded candidates lose.

As for why Missourians would support me in November, you would want to ask my wife. She is a Ph.D., but she had me figured out after a couple of weeks knowing me. I am a what-you-see-is-what-you-get guy. There are no hidden agendas with me. No aspirations beyond doing the job I was elected to do. You know, John, politicians come in many forms. A politician can fool people for a few years. After a while, however, the system has a way of really showing the heart of a person. Was that guy looking out for us, or is he looking out for himself? Political observers know I have always been consistent. The only real criticism I get is that I have been too consistent, too conservative, whatever that means. I think my values are solidly where Missouri’s values are.

I was designated a Taxpayer Watchdog. The Small Business Committee was a brainchild I proposed to Peter Kinder. He made me the Chairman. In that capacity I authored the workers’ compensation reform bill. The landmark pro-life legislation, the Parental Consent (for abortion) Restoration Act was also my bill. Any politician can vote right, but compare the record of sponsoring and passing key legislation to determine whether the elected official was working for you, the taxpayer, or for something else.

Understand, John, because of my record as a lawmaker, and my ability to raise money, I was prepared to run against Claire; now, she is out of the race. I believe it is critical that we, as Republicans, unite around a candidate who can win in November.

FREESOILER: How do you rate Claire McCaskill’s performance as state auditor? Do you think that she will be a strong candidate against Sen. Talent in 2006?

SEN. LOUDON: I do not want to talk about McCaskill or spend a lot of time measuring her record. I will say that she has made the office way too political. It was her zeal to be governor, I believe, that caused that. I am comfortable with the belief that if I do my current job well, I will be recruited to the next job. As long as there is a need, I will serve. If someone else is doing a good job, or someone who has done a good job wants it, I will gladly return to a more normal life with my family.

FREESOILER: Claire McCaskill has made the state auditor’s office more visible with performance audits, but some Republicans (including Governor Blunt) have questioned whether or not the auditor has this authority. What is your position on this question? Do you plan to continue auditing the performance of state government agencies, instead of simply making sure that their books balance?

SEN. LOUDON: There is no specific statutory authority for performance audits, but they are a good idea, certainly. The next auditor needs to put the entire focus of the office on the taxpayer. That means removing the political motivations that have caused many to look cynically at the way the current auditor is using performance audits. Financial audits are objective. The subjectivity of performance audits is where politics has leaked in. By contracting out, or privatizing performance audits I hope to remove the politics so that people can have an auditor who is truly a watchdog looking out for the taxpayers. The auditor’s office can be smaller, more efficient, and more taxpayer and family focused.

I received the coveted Taxpayer Watchdog designation as a legislator, and I will take that same determination to the Auditor’s office.

FREESOILER: How do you respond to criticism that you are too young or that you lack the experience to hold such an important position in Missouri state government?

SEN. LOUDON: I have a new line for that question. I have four years on the Governor. I would be 39 when I took office. I also have had some extraordinary life experience considering my age. My wife and I will have been together 20 years this October. Our fifth child is due in August. We adopted one. I run my own business and have a nice home. I have managed to do all that while spending twelve years legislating.

Let’s just say that my wife and I do not waste much time sleeping. As I said before, I think running a business and spending twelve years in the legislature has equipped me for this task. I believe that my experience hiring, firing, meeting deadlines, cutting costs, and running an efficient business is critical to take on the responsibility of independently safeguarding Missourians’ hard-earned tax dollars.

FREESOILER: Why did you first decide to run for this office?

SEN. LOUDON: We needed someone who could take on Claire McCaskill. As a senior senator in the middle of my second term, I have a lot of political leverage. I will either be auditor or still be a senator through 2008.

FREESOILER: Why are you a Republican? Do you identify with a particular wing or segment of the Republican Party? (e.g., conservative, moderate, libertarian, etc.)

SEN. LOUDON: I am a life-long Republican. I dabbled in political philosophy during college and concluded that quite simply, our Republican ideas are better. Our Party is based on the individual and the family. The modern Democratic Party is firmly steeped in socialism. They see the Government as the best answer to any problem and we see Government only entering when individuals, the family, and churches cannot efficiently take responsibility. I suppose that makes me a conservative. I do not like labels, I think traditional values capitalist is better terminology.

FREESOILER: Who is your favorite Democrat not named Zell?

SEN. LOUDON: President Reagan…no, wait, he switched. OK, Phil Gramm, he switched too. I always kind of admired Senator Moynihan, he was always entertaining.

FREESOILER: What advice do you have for young people interested in public service?

SEN. LOUDON: Seek first to serve. Do not get wrapped up in being the candidate. I was President of the Capitol Area Young Republicans club, then YR National Committeeman. We helped every Republican who asked. Then one of those men I had helped asked me to run for his seat.

FREESOILER: Senator Loudon, thanks for your time, and best of luck with your race!