Previously:

Rep. Vicky Hartzler (r): town halls in Clinton and Warrensburg (August 10, 2011)

Rep. Vicky Hartzler (r): town hall in Warrensburg, part 1 (August 11, 2011)

Rep. Vicky Hartzler (r): town hall in Warrensburg, part 2 (August 12, 2011)

Vicky Hartzler is trying trying to scare you (August 12, 2011)

Rep. Vicky Hartzler (r): town hall in Warrensburg, part 3 (August 13, 2011)

Representative Vicky Hartzler (r) held a series of town halls on Wednesday in the 4th Congressional District. We attended the afternoon town halls in Clinton and Warrensburg. There were dissenting views and push back at both town halls, but the one in Warrensburg was by far the more raucous.

Representative Vicky Hartzler (r) at the Community Center in Warrensburg, Missouri on August 10, 2011.

“…There’s two types of jobs bill. One is the kind that Congress passed last year that borrowed more money from China, almost a trillion dollars worth and put it in a stimulus package where the government tried to force job creation. Supposedly we were gonna have less than eight percent unemployment. That didn’t work. So there’s the government type of job program versus private sector. Private sector is less direct and it takes longer and it involves what we’re doing, it is getting Washington out of the way…”

Memory can be so convenient and short. As if dubya’s administration and their policies weren’t causing the economy to hemorrhage jobs? And the stimulus, while not extensive enough, played no part whatsoever in reversing that? Seriously?:

From the office of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D).

The final portion of the transcript:

…Question: When, when you have these town meetings do you get back to your leadership and tell them that the people are very dissatisfied, they’re fed up, and like that gentleman said, they don’t care if they’re Republicans, Democrats, they want things done. Would you please make that known to your leadership in the House that the people are tired, they’re tired and they’re fed up. They want something done [crosstalk] from their elected officials.

Representative Vicky Hartzler (r): Sure. I will.

Question: [inaudible] answer, just take it to ’em and tell ’em.

Representative Hartzler: Thank you so much. Yes, ma’am…

…Question: I just have a [inaudible] question about China. And I’m not very smart, I just want to know. Uh, I read recently that there is a corporation that was buying spent shell casings from ammunition from the Department of Defense. And now they’re no longer going to be able to do that unless the casings are shredded. But, our, our government will sell the casings, shredded, to China. Therefore people in this corporation buying the spent casings are going to be out of a job. I would like to know if that’s true.

Representative Hartzler: I don’t know, but we will be happy to look into that. That sounds like the wrong thing to me. And that’s terrible if that’s the case. So, this is [….] she works for you and we have several of my staff here. But, she, if you’re a veteran she’s somebody you need to get to know because she, uh, is, has the phone numbers and, uh, used to work for Senator [Kit] Bond [r] as the veterans rep and she knows who to call if you’re not getting your benefits or have a problem or whatever. And she is a wonderful, wonderful blessing to all of us here in the fourth, so she would be a good person, so she’s making note of that. [….] could you make sure and get her name and address and phone number so we can find out and follow up, okay? Thank you. Yes, you’ve been very patient. Thanks for waiting.

Question: Uh, to me the problem seems, uh, the politicians once they get up there in office they try to make a mountain out of a molehill to justify their, their high pay. The problem’s really simple. You want to raise taxes, I’m all for it. Raise the import tax on people like China, India, whatever. The taxes that, the stuff that they import raise it a hundred, two hundred, three hundred percent, I don’t care. But, uh, it’s been estimated that we have twenty million illegals in this country. And for everyone you have it’s costing the American taxpayer anywhere from forty and fifty thousand dollars per year to support them. Instead of calling them undocumented Obama supporters why don’t you call ’em illegal, like they are. It’s an illegal invasion of the country, which illegal invasion is an act of war. Why do they go out of their way to, uh, feed them, to help ’em? When we should be, you know, cracking down.

Representative Hartzler: Yeah, I agree. I couldn’t [crosstalk]…

Question: And, and get all of them out of the country. That would open up how many millions of jobs to someone who would pay taxes?  Right now they’re not paying any. [inaudible] They’re getting a big refund for the earned income tax credit.

Representative Hartzler: Okay.

Question:And it’s not right.

Representative Hartzler: I, uh, just so you know, I cosponsored several pieces of legislation to try to, uh, rein in the problem with the illegal immigration. I think we’re all for legal immigration. You and I, all our relatives, we probably [inaudible][crosstalk]…

Question: That’s fine.

Representative Hartzler: …but we need to fix the illegal immigration. And it’s a huge problem, uh, so we’re [crosstalk] gonna do everything we can.

Question: [inaudible] that he, uh, passed that one bill that gave amnesty to forty million.

Representative Hartzler: No, we can’t do that.

Voice: No. No.

Representative Hartzler: We can’t do that.

Staffer: We’ve got time for about three more questions.

Representative Hartzler: Three more,[crosstalk]okay, here [inaudible].

Voice: Oh, come on.

Voice: Where do you have to be.

Question: [….] here in [crosstalk] Warrensburg and I work for Sprint.

Voice: What’s the rush?

Question: And the reason I’m here today is to express my concerns regarding the proposed takeover, the AT&T [inaudible] takeover with T-mobile. Um, Verizon has approximately ninety, ninety-four thousand subscribers and if this transaction goes through they would control eighty percent of the revenues that are out there for mobile industry. Um, when you compare that to other industries that are out there, uh, the oil business, the top two are only eighteen percent. Uh, airlines are only thirty-six percent. Banking’s twenty-seven percent. Auto is thirty-seven percent. But if this passed it would be eighty percent of our industry which would put approximately two hundred employees out of this district out of work. Um, so when we talk about jobs and we talk about the concerns that we have with the economy, um, I’m just asking you to take into consideration [inaudible] support declining this with the Department of Justice, the FCC, these are the organizations that will make that decision, but you urging them to move away from that takeover would help us.

Representative Hartzler: Okay. We, we’d be happy to look and see wha
t we can do. It is not something that we vote on per se, it’s an agency making that decision. But, um, I’ll be happy to look and see what we can do. Excellent point. Thank you for coming [crosstalk].

Voice: Congresswoman Hartzler, would you repeat what she said? [crosstalk] We couldn’t hear.

Representative Hartzler: Oh, okay, sure. She, uh, works for Sprint and is concerned about, right now, there’s a merger, uh, being talked about between AT&T and ver, [voice: “T-mobile”] T-mobile. And that she’s concerned that what it would do to jobs and stuff. It would disproportionately, uh, put out competition for Verizon and some others. So, anyway, she’s asking me to do, see if there’s something I can do, you know, it’s not something I vote on per se. It’s an age, anyway, see if there’s something we can do to put pressure to encourage them not to do that. So, anyway, yes [….]

Question: So, my concern’s jobs. I haven’t heard, all you talk about’s cutting money out of, of things. You ran on, on promoting jobs. So I haven’t seen anything out of you for jobs. And what do you plan on jobs besides putting numbers up there that, that don’t mean anything to us. You haven’t, there’s no jobs bill. [crosstalk] There’s nothing going at all.

Representative Hartzler: Well, [crosstalk]we passed. I’m sorry, are you? Uh, thank you. He says, you know, he wants to see a, jobs bill. There’s two types of jobs bill. One is the kind that Congress passed last year that borrowed more money from China, almost a trillion dollars worth and put it in a stimulus package where the government tried to force job creation. Supposedly we were gonna have less than eight percent unemployment. That didn’t work. So there’s the government type of job program versus private sector. Private sector is less direct and it takes longer and it involves what we’re doing, it is getting Washington out of the way. And so what we have done is we’re passing bills to push back on regulations, we have passed bills to try and lower the cost of energy, because you talk to small business owners if they’re having to pay more for their energy bill it’s gonna, it can’t hire somebody, pay more for their electric bill. Uh, and we’re, we’re pushing back on, introduced bills for, to lower the tax code. We’re pushing these trade agreements. If we can get these trade agreements passed that would be about two hundred fifty thousand jobs right there. So, it’s an indirect approach because we want the private sector to create jobs not the government. And so it is a jobs program but it’s not a bill per se where it says, uh, we’re gonna spend xyz as United States government to try and create jobs ’cause that just doesn’t work.

Question:Let me, let me, let me, uh, talk through the steps. The stimulus money that came into this state was sucked up by this state and this county. It wasn’t that many jobs stimulated from it. [inaudible] it cost them as much [inaudible][crosstalk]…

Representative Hartzler: [crosstalk] Right, it’s what I’m saying, it didn’t work and now we’re further in debt, almost a trillion dollars in debt further.

Question: [crosstalk][inaudible] No, wait, the, the state themselves and the Congress used some of that money up to pay their bills. That money never made it to those people. I’m, I’m in construction we’re running about [inaudible] percent unemployed. And there’s nothing helping us. There’s nothing going, there’s nothing coming at us. By you stopping, by you going at OSHA, by you going at all these [inaudible], by you going at all of the, uh, uh, regulations on power houses, you talk about clean air, there’s two or three power houses, maybe four, in this state that are clean. That’s [….], the new one, created thousands of jobs. The, the, all the regulations say that they’re gonna clean [inaudible] coal up by twenty-fifteen. They’re getting ready to extend it to twenty-eighteen. That’s not gonna help us get any jobs. I don’t understand, I don’t understand, the coal’s there, it’s gonna have to be either cleaned up or we’re gonna have to go to something else. It needs to be cleaned up. And it can be if Congress and the, and the government would quit fighting and quit taking money or whatever they’re doing from these power, from these electrical companies [….] stuff. Let them come up and pay for these, clean these power houses up.

Representative Hartzler: Well, just anytime you put more regulations they pass that on and it increases your electric bill. [crosstalk] So, you gotta keep that in mind.

Question: Sure, but the regulations are there. [crosstalk] Regulations are there, just don’t extend them.

Representative Hartzler: So, okay, very good. Uh, I try to keep calling on people who didn’t interrupt during my presentation. [laughter] All right, you right there.

Question: Um, I just have one thing to ask you. Let me read this list, then I’m going to ask you the question. And thanks for coming. Um, Democratic presidents have given us the GI Bill of Rights [inaudible], GI Bill of Rights, Social Security, Medicare, um, Pell Grants, voters’ rights, um, Rural Electric Association, you know people didn’t have electricity in the communities on the farm…

Representative Hartzler: Sure.

Question: …um, Pell Grants, right now, National Defense Loan, I went to school because of that, UCM, they’d done all these things, to Democrats. What has the Republican Party done for the average people?

Voice: Yeah. [applause]

Representative Hartzler: [inaudible] economy to help create jobs. [laughter] They’ve kept our nation safe. [voice: “Grew the economy?”][laughter] [inaudible crosstalk] This isn’t a, a forum on Republicans versus Democrats. You can go to a Democratic Party meeting or a Republican Party meeting if you want to talk about that. This is, we’re talking about Americans here, we’re all Americans. I represent everyone, Democrats and Republicans [laughter].  [inaudible crosstalk] I’m honored to do that. And we’re trying to do what’s best for America. I want to try to get more jobs, try to get a healthy economy so we don’t go, uh, bankrupt as a country, uh, because I care about our children and our grandchildren. We don’t want to see what happened in Greece happen here. And so it’s time for us to make some difficult choices, some difficult decisions, but we can do it because we’re Americans. And stay strong. Last question, right here.

Question: Thank you. You called on me twice now.

Representative Hartzler: Yeah, I know. [laugh]

Question: [another individual] Okay, I would like to know why you, you signed the Grover Norquist [voice: “Yes!”] pledge. And weren’t you elected to represent and compromise for all your constituents? And why would you let the U.S. default on its debt when it’s in the Constitution that the debt will be paid?

Representative Hartzler: Yeah, well, you read your questions good from the professor over here.

Question: No, I brought this with me.

Representative Hartzler: Oh, okay, okay. But, anyway, brief, uh, briefly, um, I signed the no taxes pledge because I believe we don’t need any more taxes. [inaudible crosstalk] .

Question: Your beholding to somebody [inaudible], you’re beholding to your constituents.

Representative Hartzler: [inaudible crosstalk] No, I believe in it. I believe and remember, I mean, I didn’t even think about the pledge, it’s in here, it’s not out here then. And I haven’t even talked to him, I mean, you know, that’s ridiculous. [voice: “Why’d you sign it?] That’s ridiculous to assert that. I believe we don’t need any more taxes. That’s why I signed the pledge and that’s why I will not vote for that. ‘Cause it’s what I believe in here and it’s what I heard people, people say. So, um, what was your next question that, in regards to that?

Question: It’s why would you let the U.S. defau
lt on its debt when [crosstalk] it’s in the Constitution?

Representative Hartzler: Oh, okay. Where, [crosstalk] yeah, yeah, we’re not gonna default on our debt.

Question: You almost let us default.[crosstalk]

Representative Hartzler: [inaudible audience crosstalk] No, no, no, there’s a myth to that.

Voice: “That’s right.”

Representative Hartzler: [inaudible] August, the average amount of money that was expected to come in was, uh, was one point seven two billion dollars. The amount of money expected to go out was three point three [inaudible] billion dollars. So there’s a deficit there. But, I’ve talked to a lot of the economic experts before the vote and they shared with me [inaudible][inaudible crosstalk] seventy-four billion dollars coming in. That would be enough to pay, obviously, the, the interest on the debt should be the first payment made, make sure we don’t default, should be enough money for Social Security, enough money for Medicare, enough money for our troops and defense. Then after that you got running out of the money, you’re gonna have to make some tough decisions. But there’s, the, for politicians to go in front of the TV cameras and say, oh, if you don’t do this then our, your not gonna get   Social Security checks, to scare senior citizens I think is abominable. And it happened and it’s wrong [inaudible][applause].

I thought you said she was the last one.

Question: I got one, one comment.

Representative Hartzler: Is it nice?  [laughter]

Question: [inaudible]

Representative Hartzler: Okay. Let’s end on a positive note. [….]

Question: Okay, it’s about the Iraqi currency. Iraqi Dinar. The United States government owns several trillion Iraqi Dinars. They’re waiting to reevaluate. The richest government in the world is gonna be Iraq. Do you agree with that? You now, do you know anything about the Iraqi Dinar?

Representative Hartzler: I do not. Do you guys know anything about the Iraqi Dinari [sic]. I don’t know. [crosstalk] I obviously need to know more, so you can tell me.

Question: [crosstalk] Okay, they’re gonna, they’re gonna , they’re gonna reevaluate their currency any day now. And the U.S. government owns trillions of, of dollars in, in Iraqi Dinar.

Representative Hartzler: Okay.

Question: And, anyway, Obama has, has delayed the, the reevaluation of this currency.

Representative Hartzler: Okay.

Question: Anyway, there, once it reevaluates a lot of the national debt can be eliminated. [inaudible]

Representative Hartzler: Well, I’ll, that’s something new and why I go out is to, you know, learn new things and, uh, we’ll certainly be able to look into that.

But, anyway, thank you for coming. Thank you for your good questions, those of you that listened attentively, thanks. [applause]

“…Oh, okay, okay. But, anyway, brief, uh, briefly, um, I signed the no taxes pledge because I believe we don’t need any more taxes. [inaudible crosstalk]

You’re beholding to somebody [inaudible], you’re beholding to your constituents.

[inaudible crosstalk] No, I believe in it. I believe and remember, I mean, I didn’t even think about the pledge, it’s in here, it’s not out here then. And I haven’t even talked to him, I mean, you know, that’s ridiculous. [voice: “Why’d you sign it?] That’s ridiculous to assert that. I believe we don’t need any more taxes. That’s why I signed the pledge and that’s why I will not vote for that. ‘Cause it’s what I believe in here and it’s what I heard people, people say…”

Distributed in a handout by Representative Hartzler’s staff to those attending the town hall:

One of the charts on the handout distributed by Representative Vicky Hartzler’s (r) staff

at the Warrensburg town hall on August 10, 2011.

As always, it pays to look at the details:

One of the charts on the handout distributed by Representative Vicky Hartzler’s (r) staff

at the Warrensburg town hall on August 10, 2011. Detail, emphasis added.

Gee, revenue went up, spending went down, there was a budget surplus, and a chance to pay down the debt. All because in 1993 Congress voted to raise the top marginal tax rate.

FLASHBACK: In 1993, GOP Warned That Clinton’s Tax Plan Would ‘Kill Jobs,’ ‘Kill The Current Recovery’

By Pat Garofalo on Aug 10, 2010 at 12:10 pm

…Of course, far from bringing the Doomsday of which Republicans were warning, Clinton’s policies ushered in the longest sustained period of economic growth in the nation’s history, with 23 million jobs created. Compared to the administration of George W. Bush, the Clinton-era saw more job growth, more GDP growth, more wage growth, and more business investment. Incomes grew under Clinton but fell under Bush, while poverty did the opposite, falling under Clinton but increasing under Bush….

And people continue to spout and listen to republican economic policy with a straight face?