Jim Talent

James Matthes "Jim" Talent, a Republican, was a  senator for  Missouri from 2003 to 2007. He was defeated in the 2006 congressional elections by Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.).

In June 2007, O'Dwyer's PR Daily reported that, in his new role as co-chair of the PR firm Fleishman-Hillard's government relations (or lobbying) practice, Talent will be "spearheading the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers' bid to torpedo the effort to raise fuel mileage standards to 52 miles per gallon" by 2030. Instead, the automakers are supporting a compromise measure from Senators Carl Levin and Kit Bond. "Talent cannot lobby for the Levin-Bond bill because of Senate rules," explained O'Dwyer's. "He can do media outreach on behalf of the carmakers." 

Background
Talent (born October 18, 1956) is a lifelong resident of the St. Louis area. He began his political career in 1984 when he was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives. He served four terms there, the last two as minority leader.

In 1992, Talent defeated Bert Walker to won the Republican nomination for the state's 2nd Congressional District, based in St. Louis' western suburbs. He went on to defeat Democratic incumbent Joan Kelly Horn in the general election. Talent won narrowly, but never faced another close race in what rapidly became a solidly Republican district. The only serious challenge he faced during this period came in 1996, when Horn sought a rematch. Even though popular Democratic Governor Mel Carnahan was running for reelection, Talent dispatched Horn fairly easily, winning 61% of the vote. He served as chairman of the House Committee on Small Business from 1997 to 2001.

Senate Career
Talent did not seek re-election to Congress in 2000, instead running for governor. He was narrowly defeated by Democratic state treasurer Bob Holden. In that same election, Carnahan, who remained on the ballot for election to a Senate seat even though he had died in a plane crash three weeks before the election, defeated John Ashcroft. Lieutenant Governor Roger Wilson, as promised, appointed Carnahan's widow, Jean, in her husband's place. However, the Seventeenth Amendment requires that such appointments last only until a special election is held. Talent received the Republican nomination, narrowly defeated Jean Carnahan in the midterm election of November 2002, and was sworn in later that month to fill out the balance of Mel Carnahan's term. 

Talent sought re-election in 2006. His Democratic opponent was state auditor Claire McCaskill. Polls conducted in the fall of 2005 suggest that the race was likely to be very close. Talent held a significant initial fundraising advantage, due in part to support from the Bush administration; on Oct 11, 2005, Vice President Dick Cheney held a fundraiser for Talent. McCaskill nullified these advanteages, however, and was helped by nationwide anti-Republican sentiment to a 50%-47% victory over Talent. 

Flag Burning
Talent is a strong supporter of the Flag Desecration Amendment. He has said that flag burning is not speech, but "an act with expressive overtones." He is a co-sponsor in the Senate of a constitutional amendment to override the Supreme Court, making it possible to criminalize flag-burning.

Stem Cell Research
Since joining the Senate in 2002, Talent had supported federal legislation that would ban all stem cell research. This included co-sponsoring a bill (S.658) sponsored by Senator Sam Brownback which would ban all forms of human cloning, including embryonic therapeutic cloning techniques that are seen as crucial to stem cell research. However, on Feb 10, 2006, Talent withdrew his support for the bill, citing the need to balance research and protection against human cloning. This move followed criticism by Talent's likely Democratic opponent in the 2006 election, Claire McCaskill, as well as pressure from Missouri business interests that oppose restrictions on stem cell research. Though this reversal was widely criticized as bring due to politics, Talent told the Associated Press, ""The technology is changing all the time and so I'm always considering whether there is a better way to strike the balance." Talent suggests that moral concerns might be put to rest through a possible future scientific breakthrough- replicating embryonic stem cells without the use of cloned embryos.

There is likely to be a ballot-initiative in Missouri in Nov. 2006 to allow Stem Cell research. Initially, Senator Talent indicated he might support the initiative, but has since declared his opposition. 

Money in politics
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Committees in the 109th Congress (2005-2006)

 * Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
 * Subcommittee on Forestry Conservation and Rural Revitalization
 * Subcommittee on Marketing Inspection and Production Promotion - Chair
 * Senate Special Committee on Aging
 * Senate Committee on Armed Services
 * Subcommittee on Airland
 * Subcommittee on Seapower - Chair
 * Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities
 * Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
 * Subcommittee on Energy
 * Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests

Coalitions and Caucuses

 * Speaker's Health Care Task Force, 1995-1996
 * Deputy Whip/Member, President Bush's Export Council

Boards and other Affiliations

 * Chesterfield Chamber of Commerce
 * West County Chamber of Commerce

Resources

 * Official website
 * Open Secrets - 2006 congressional races database
 * Differences on the issues between Jim Talent and Claire McCaskill at whereIstand.com

Articles

 * Chris Cillizza, "Insider Interview: Scott Howell -- GOP Imagemaker," The Fix/Washington Post, February 2006. Scott Howell was Talent's "media consultant" in 2002.
 * Christina Bellantoni, "Allen hires firm behind 'Hitler' ads," Washington Times, July 7, 2006: "facing re-election bids this fall" George Allen of Virginia and Talent "have chosen" Scott Howell's "firm and expect upbeat ads to dominate their campaigns."
 * Press Release: "St. Louis Elected Officials Question Misleading Talent Campaign. Cite Talent's 'F' Rating From The NAACP And Long Record Of Voting Against African-American Interests," ClaireOnline.com, August 2, 2006.
 * Michael Abramowitz, "GOP Candidates Claim Degrees Of Separation From President," Washington Post, August 5, 2006.
 * Roy Temple, "Senator Talent's Brand of Bipartisanship," Fired Up! Missouri, August 5, 2006.
 * Roy Temple, "Just How Far Will Talent Try To Distance Himself From Bush," Fired Up! Missouri, August 9, 2006.
 * David A. Lieb, "Talent criticizes Bush ag policies," Associated Press (The Kansas City Star), August 11, 2006.
 * David A. Lieb, "Talent refuses to take position on wage bill," Associated Press (News-Leader.com), August 14, 2006.
 * Editorial: "The purpling of Jim Talent," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 15, 2006.
 * Christina Bellantoni, "Candidates woo farmers at state fair in Missouri," Washington Times, August 18, 2006.
 * Michael Abramowitz, "GOP Candidates Claim Degrees Of Separation From President," Washington Post, September 5, 2006.
 * Phil Singer, "Dazed & Confused: Talent's 2nd Flub in 2 Days!!!" Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, September 6, 2006.
 * Garance Burke, "Protestors lobby for minimum wage raise," Associated Press (Missourian), September 8, 2006.
 * Froma Harrop, Opinion: "GOP inaction on illegal immigration gives Democrats an opportunity," Seattle Times, September 12, 2006.
 * "Big Three Put Talent in Driver's Seat," O'Dwyer's PR Daily (sub req'd), June 18, 2007.

Local blogs and discussion sites

 * Chatter
 * Snakes on a Senate, a Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee website.

Contact
DC Office: 493 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510-2504 Phone: 202-224-6154 Fax: 202-228-1518 Web Email Website

District Office- Kansas City: Whittaker Federal Office Building, Suite 40 Plaza Level 400 East 9th Street Kansas City, MO 64106 Phone: 816-421-1639 Fax:

District Office- Springfield: 1721 West Elfindale, Suite 301 Springfield, MO 65807 Phone: 417-831-2735 Fax:

District Office- Cape Girardeau: 339 Broadway, Room 136 Cape Girardeau, MO 63701 Phone: 573-651-0964 Fax:

District Office- Jefferson City: 3 City Place Drive, Suite 1020 St. Louis, MO 63141 Phone: 314-432-5211 Fax:

District Office- Jefferson City: 122 East High Street, 2nd Floor Jefferson City, MO 65101 Phone: 573-636-1070 Fax: