Billy Long talks politics, business

Springfield auctioneer Billy Long says government needs fresh blood – and businesspeople are fit for the job.

The owner of Billy Long Auctions is running for Roy Blunt’s 7th District Congressional seat, which may be vacated if Blunt replaces retiring U.S. Sen. Kit Bond in 2010. Long, a Republican, was a guest on Jim Bohannon’s nationally syndicated radio show out of Washington, D.C., on Monday night.

Long told listeners:

“Over half the people in Congress today have spent over half their adult life in one political office or another … and you see the trillions of dollars of debt that it’s gotten us into. I think it’s time for businesspeople to step forward and leave the business at home, go to Washington for a while and do the business of the country.”

He says many of those currently in political office have forgotten what it’s like to be an average worker.

“It’s been a long time since some of them have had to roll up their sleeves and go to work,” he said.

Bohannon inquired about the future of Billy Long Auctions if Long is elected.

“I’ve built the business up. Frankly, I could probably walk away totally tomorrow and the company would do as good or better as when I was there,” he joked.

Find out what Long says he would focus on in Congress – and how he would get things done as a junior member of the minority party. Follow this link to listen to the broadcast (Long’s interview starts at the 59-minute mark) or read a transcript of the conversation.