Suppose you asked a question of a declared candidate for the U.S. Senate seat in Missouri in 2012 and didn’t expect a response? We did, we didn’t, but we got one anyway.

We were surprised because we’ve been so, you know, rude in the recent past.

It’s in our nature.

This Twitter post from former State Treasurer (r) Sarah Steelman was the start of the conversation:

Unlike @MarkReardonKMOX, I’m not paid to be glib. Mom of 3 w/ MA in Economics is focused on real issues facing MO. Jobs, deficit spending…     7:27 AM Dec 8th  via web  

I responded via Twitter:

@sarah_steelman “…focused on real issues facing MO. Jobs, deficit spending…” | So, what’s your position on the pending tax deal?     about 17 hours ago  via web  in reply to sarah_steelman

And Sarah Steelman (r) replied:

@MBersin Should have paid for unemployment benefits with spending cuts. Must get serious about deficits     about 13 hours ago  via Twitter for iPhone  in reply to MBersin

Well, was this response because we asked a particularly erudite question which could help illuminate the discussion for the remainder of the Twitterverse? Who knows? We ain’t askin’ (other than rhetorically) because it could be a waste of our opportunity for a follow up:

@sarah_steelman Why that part? The most stimulative? What about the rest? What about a deficit offset for tax cuts? http://bit.ly/i5gPPC less than 5 seconds ago via web in reply to sarah_steelman

[Edited after posting to enable adding the URL for this post to the Twitter response. Don’t hurt

your brain too much, think of it as one of those Star Trek time loop story paradoxes.]

From the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities:

HIGH-INCOME TAX CUTS SHOULD EXPIRE ON SCHEDULE [pdf]

Extending Tax Cuts for One or Two Years or Exempting “Small Business” Income Would Be Ill-Advised

By Chuck Marr and Gillian Brunet

….If Congress extends the tax cuts for married filers with incomes above $250,000 and single filers with incomes above $200,000 – the top 2 percent of U.S. households – then deficits and debt will be $826 billion higher over the next ten years than if it lets them largely expire, as President Obama has proposed. 6 Extending the high-income tax cuts would increase deficits by even larger amounts in subsequent decades. Thus, if Congress extends these tax cuts, the nation’s fiscal trajectory will be even worse, and the risks to future economic growth consequently will increase….

[emphasis added]

We’ll hand it to Sarah Steelman (r), she did respond to the original question. Make of that what you will – hubris, campaign recklessness, supreme confidence.

Now, if we could only get others to return our phone calls.