CD4

Congresswoman-elect Vicky Hartzler has a very serious plan for balancing the federal budget:  It begins with exempting all Social Security, Medicare and Pentagon spending from scrutiny, and then enacting a "complete repeal" of the new health care reform law that will actually increase the federal deficit.  And while she promises to junk the "out-of-control Lady Bird Highway Beautification budget" and examine the conservation program that makes up 0.5% of the $775k in federal subsidies she's collected for her farm in the past 15 years,  she also she wants to "increase the defense budget."  

Obviously, she's put a lot of thought into this. 

Speaking at an event in Laquey on Friday, CD4 candidate Vicky Hartzler tried to build her national defense credentials by talking about her father's service in the Army Reserves.

I have these memories as a little girl of appreciation for the service that he gave, and what it felt like -- just a little bit -- to sacrifice. It was just at the end of the Vietnam War, the beginning of the Korean War.  You know, be could have been called up, but never was.

If you're confused by this claim, it's because the Korean War began in 1950 and ended with an armistice in July 1953, and the United States did not begin withdrawing its troops from Vietnam until 1973.

Here's video of Hartzler's remarks, taken by the Missouri Democratic Party.

In The Hotline's final rankings of the 90 House seats most likely to switch parties tomorrow, Missouri's 4th District race between Ike Skelton and Vicky Hartzler comes in at #50.  No other Missouri races are on the list.

The Star's Yael T. Abouhalkah includes this bit of anonymous Vicky Hartzler bashing in his latest post about John Aschcroft's last-minute endorsement:

As Ashcroft undoubtedly knows, Hartzler doesn’t have the qualifications to be a great spokeswoman for the Republican Party, should she win on Tuesday.

Indeed, as I’ve heard now from not one but two local leading conservatives in the last two weeks, Hartzler doesn’t have much to say when asked about the issues. Instead, she relies on simple-minded talking points - cut taxes, cut waste, stop Obamacare - without knowing what she could actually do to improve America.

But those die-hard conservatives are just telling me what I already know, based on Hartzler’s disastrous appearance before the Editorial Board recently.

Regarding that Editorial Board meeting, Abouhalkah wrote the following:

Listening to Vicky Hartzler campaign for Congress brings new meaning to the words “empty vessel.”

The candidate for Missouri’s 4th Congressional district should have a great shot at knocking off the old, tired-looking Democratic incumbent Ike Skelton in this “Year of the GOP candidate.”

Yet even many Republicans are embarrassed when they hear Hartzler speak.

She says, to be blunt, nothing.

She wants to cut the budget, but has absolutely no clue about what big federal programs she would scale back...

Hartzler was asked a number of other questions about her stands on issues, and almost every answer was a vapid, by-the-book, ultra-conservative answer.

It was excruciating to hear, especially when there are intelligent Republican candidates out there who have actually thought about why they want to run for office, have detailed responses on how they would like to reduce the federal budget and who offer well-constructed reasons for GOP positions.

The Tribune's Hank Waters closes his endorsement of Ike Skelton with the following:  

Despite his long record of good service in Congress, Skelton could lose this race. That would be a shame. Even though many might disagree with his conservative stands on some issues, those who appreciate Ike Skelton’s public work need to support him this year. If you think Skelton is too far to the right, you ain’t seen nothing yet if he loses this race.

Sikeston superstar Neal E. Boyd campaigned with Ike Skelton in the 4th District today, including a stop at the American Legion in Jefferson City today.  Here's what Boyd had to say about Skelton after the event:

And for your listening pleasure, here was Boyd's rendition of "God Bless America."

The Warrensburg Daily Star-Journal has published a glowing endorsement of Ike Skelton, praising Skelton for being "a stellar public servant" and his "devotion to protecting the nation through a strong military [which] stands second to none."  An excerpt:

In the years since he first became the 4th Congressional District's representative, Skelton has not forgotten the voters who employ him.

Skelton's devotion to protecting the nation through a strong military stands second to none...Skelton's tireless efforts for national defense and veterans' services are, alone, more than enough to merit him another two-year term in Washington, but Armed Service Committee Chairman Skelton is not a one-trick pony. His versatility benefits his constituents...

Skelton's opponent, former state Rep. Vicky Hartzler, has tried to portray Skelton as a liberal. But as his endorsements from Farm Bureau, from NRA and from Right to Life supporters demonstrate, Skelton continues to build upon his well-earned reputation as a level-headed, 4th Congressional District conservative.

There is no substitute, absolutely none, for proven leadership, and Skelton has proven himself a leader in Washington. More importantly, he also has proven himself as a stellar public servant at home.

I think Keith Olbermann treats Vicky Hartzler's hypocrisy regarding federal spending with the appropriate amount of disgust here.

Full segment is online here.

Phyllis Schlafly and Vicky Hartzler

The Star's Yael T. Abouhalkah posts the following today:

In the congressional race for Missouri’s 4th District seat, voters ought to say “no” to Vicky Hartzler’s belligerent campaign to knock off longtime incumbent Ike Skelton.

Admittedly, Skelton has grown too comfortable in his job, one reason pundits give Hartzler a chance of winning in this year of the supposed GOP tidal wave.

But that would be a disaster for 4th District residents. Hartzler, of all the local candidates I’ve interviewed this year, has the most vacuous answers on important issues. She offers little more than ultra-conservative sound-bite positions. In particular, her naïve “get Washington out of our lives” attitude looks hypocritical coming from a family that’s received hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal farm aid.

Just released by the Ike Skelton campaign: "[Vicky] Hartzler is evading paying taxes by classifying all of her full-time campaign workers as independent contractors rather than employees, in direct violation of IRS rules. As a result of not having any employees, there is no record in Vicky Hartzler for Congress campaign finance reports of the campaign making payroll tax payments to the United States Treasury or the State of Missouri’s Department of Revenue, and there is no record of the campaign making unemployment tax payments to the State of Missouri’s Division of Employment Security."

We'll update this post as we learn of Hartzler's response...

Full release from the Skelton campaign below the jump.

Think Progress flags a recent appearance by Vicky Hartzler on crazy person Mark Levin's radio show in which she tells listeners that "we just want the government to leave us alone here in Missouri’s 4th!"

The problem?  The Star reported last week that Hartzler has "received $774,325 in federal subsidies" in the past 15 years for her Harrisonville farm. 

I'm shocked -- shocked -- to learn of this enormous disconnect between Hartzler's campaign rhetoric and her actual behavior.

The Star's Steve Kraske asks a good (and obvious) question: If Republicans actually believed the poll numbers they're pushing today showing Ike Skelton and Vicky Hartzler tied at 42%, why isn't Hartzler getting any air cover from the NRCC? 

The poll was commissioned by Jeff Roe and conducted by Wilson Research Strategies. Incidentally, Roy Blunt's campaign publicly accused the same firm of conducting a push poll on behalf of Sarah Steelman last year. 

The Cook Political Report and Rothenberg Political Report tipsheets have updated their house race analyses -- see here and here.  

Missouri's 4th District race is the only contest in the state that makes both lists, and both prognosticators list it as 'lean Democratic."   Missouri's 3rd District makes the Cook Report as a "likely Democratic" seat, but the Rothenberg Report doesn't see it as one of the 97 most competitive races in the country. 

h/t The Fix

The Star's Yael Abouhalkah writes about Vicky Hartzler's visit with the paper's Editorial Board yesterday. 

Listening to Vicky Hartzler campaign for Congress brings new meaning to the words “empty vessel.”

The candidate for Missouri’s 4th Congressional district should have a great shot at knocking off the old, tired-looking Democratic incumbent Ike Skelton in this “Year of the GOP candidate.”

Yet even many Republicans are embarrassed when they hear Hartzler speak.

She says, to be blunt, nothing.

She wants to cut the budget, but has absolutely no clue about what big federal programs she would scale back...

Hartzler was asked a number of other questions about her stands on issues, and almost every answer was a vapid, by-the-book, ultra-conservative answer.

It was excruciating to hear, especially when there are intelligent Republican candidates out there who have actually thought about why they want to run for office, have detailed responses on how they would like to reduce the federal budget and who offer well-constructed reasons for GOP positions.

In this morning's "Morning Defense" roundup from Politico:

The race for Missouri’s conservative 4th district is still tight, with Democrat Ike Skelton, a 17-termer and chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, fighting to keep his job. But Skelton appears to be solidifying his lead over Republican Vicky Hartzler, a former state representative who has been trailing in polls but whose standing has been within the margin of error. DoD Buzz’s Colin Clark reported that Skelton’s internal polls show him with a high-single-digit lead, and KY3/Missouri State University’s poll in August showed Skelton ahead by 12 points; We Ask America’s August poll also showed Skelton ahead, but only by three points. http://bit.ly/9Nngss

The Star's Dave Helling weighs in on the state of the U.S. Senate race this morning:

Roy Blunt leads Robin Carnahan, though it may have narrowed and may get closer...

Here’s how the calculus might change:

Carnahan’s effort to paint Blunt as the “worst of Washington” may be getting some traction; Blunt’s nasty ad on Tom Carnahan’s stimulus grant suggests some nervousness in the GOP camp...

Read his whole piece here, which includes similar quick analyses on the Fourth District race and Proposition A.

h/t The Turner Report