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Hartzler rally focuses on Republican values

Vicky Hartzler is born and bred Missouri with a blood type of “Show Me.”

That’s why Hartzler has continued to work the campaign trail hard and that led her to the Mexico Elks Lodge on Saturday to speak in front of a modest crowd of supporters to make her pitch.

Hartzler is hoping to throw strikes as she is one of 21 candidates up for the Tuesday primary to see who will ultimately fill retiring senator Roy Blunt’s seat.

The Republican Hartzler is a six-term congresswoman (since 2011) representing District 4 and came to Mexico to share her vision and the ideas that she believes will make her the best candidate out of a thick bunch of believers like herself.

House Rep. Republican Kent Haden, of Mexico, introduced Hartzler and outlined why he endorses the Senate hopeful, noting her penchant for “working” in lieu of seeking out the cameras and a hot take for the networks.

“One thing that is important to me is that whenever you call her office, usually she will respond personally to you about the problem, explains what she knows, where she's at and what she can do,” Haden said. “That doesn’t happen all the time. She also knows that we depend on God and not on government: She is one of great integrity and that is something we need in our politicians.

“Vicky also has common sense. How important is common sense in government? Well, after being there for four years, common sense is not extinct, but it is rarer than you think.”

Haden emphasized Hartzler’s life growing up on the farm which gives her that understanding many Missourians relate to as well as her years working as an educator.

“Of all the people running, Vicky is the only one who has been to Audrain County and has been here numerous times,” Haden said. “Vicky may be the only candidate that knows how to say (Auxvasse) and know that’s how you say it. She can say the towns in our area because she has been here: She’s one of us.

“This community has a big drive for agriculture, she understands that, and you can’t buy that knowledge. For those reasons, I support Vicky Hartzler.”

Hartzler spoke for just under a half-hour and threw plenty of shade at the opposing party (the first five minutes focused mostly on Democrats and their failings perceived or otherwise) as is the modus operandi of most candidates on both sides of the aisle today, but she also emphasized plenty of the “why” a vote for her would be in everyone’s best interests.

• “We got to get our economy going again.” Hartzler said the country needs to stop spending money it doesn’t have and “quit paying people to stay home.” Her focus was to get people back to work and also getting production in America trending upward. Hartzler openly made comments in support of some of former president Donald Trump’s dealings with China and other issues despite losing his endorsement recently. Hartzler said the dependence on Chinese production has to be re-evaluated. “We need to bring back pharmaceuticals, computer chips, rare earth minerals and we need to be producing things here again.”
• “We have to start producing more natural gas again, … let’s start mining here once again.” Hartzler said one of the bigger issues today focuses on energy and the need is to go after finding ways to produce more in America. “We are going to fight for American-made energy again,” she said. 
• “I believe, according to our constitution, there’s only a few things we should be doing in Washington and providing for the common defense is the most important thing.” Hartzler said a bill she had passed helped stymie the federal government’s ability to purchase surveillance equipment from China. That stemmed from Hartzler learning that some such items were operational at Fort Leonard Wood and ultimately five were discovered to be pointing at dubious points of interest and not the more pragmatic areas of the location. “These cameras are at every military base, every government agency. This is ludicrous.” She added that she is the “only” person on the Senior Arms Services committee sanctioned by the Chinese Community Party and “I am proud of that.”
• She also noted discussion points on protecting the borders and education. “We need to be teaching the ABCs and not the CRTs,” Hartzler said. She believes education needs to fall under each state’s individual protocols. Hartzler added that she used to be a former track coach and her campaign Twitter account was suspended after recent tweeting that illustrated her thoughts on another hot-button topic. “I put out an ad saying women sports should be for women, not men pretending to be women. People say, ‘Vicky, you are so courageous,’ and I say, ‘No, I am not, it’s just common sense. We live in such an upside-down world.” She added that more and more people seem scared to speak up and share “the truth.”

Other items

Hartzler took a few minutes following her talk with the audience to speak with the Mexico Ledger regarding some other items and points of expansion.

She said that her strategy hasn’t changed much even though she is in a race among nearly two-dozen hopefuls.

“You just got to get out to meet as many people as possible and you have to listen to them and their ideas and share with them your experience and background,” Hartzler said. “We’re just trying to do that and that’s why we are doing this Heartland Tour and we are really encouraged by the response we are getting.”

Hartzler mentioned multiple times her faith – including her support for the dismantling of Planned Parenthood and the overturning of Roe v. Wade - and how important a role God plays in her life but was asked if politicians should dial it down a bit since the United States governmental infrastructure was, in fact, established to separate church and state.

“I don’t think you separate the two: If you are a person of faith, it impacts your world view of what is right and wrong and what is good,” Hartzler said. “Ultimately, if you have heart for people, you want what’s best for them. I want to make sure, as a policymaker, that I don’t let government stop a church or a person of faith from expressing themselves.”

When it was pointed out that most of today’s politics on the surface show a constant battle between the parties and little to no cooperation, Hartzler was quick to point out that is not always the case.

“I have a lot of bills that are bi-partisan – like the bill to bring back pharmaceuticals, that’s with a Democrat,” Hartzler said. “I’ve got another bill with a Democrat … most of my legislation is bi-partisan and we don’t hear a lot of that on TV.”

Hartzler was asked if she was more politician or just a person choosing to lead.

“I am a person who cares and that drives me to be a public servant and I have never viewed myself as a politician,” she said. “There is a big difference. I try to come here as often as I can. I get around, listen to people about how government is helping or hurting them. If it’s hurting them, I get on the plane and go back to D.C. to try to fix it.

“I’ve been told that there are two different types of horses in Washington – workhorses and show horses. People will say, ‘Vicky, you are a workhorse.’ Being from a farm, which means a lot.”

Haden noted that the state’s attorney general (Eric Schmitt) who is running for the Senate seat and treasurer (Scott Fitzpatrick) – in the hunt for the state auditor - should stay in their current roles since both are doing ideal work and the representative essentially believes if it isn’t broke, why fix it?