Letters: MO Rep. Vicky Hartzler’s side, Lisa Montgomery and market vs. Hawley
About integrity
The Star Editorial Board has depicted my votes against certification of Electoral College votes from Arizona and Pennsylvania as an effort to reverse the presidential election and silence the voices of millions who voted for President-elect Joe Biden. As I have stated before, this is not accurate.
My objections are based on my belief these states violated their own state election laws, which led to a severe lack of confidence in their election systems. My votes were not about President Donald Trump or Biden. They were based on the need to ensure election integrity moving forward. My full statement on the matter can be found on my House website at hartzler.house.gov.
The Star’s insistence in portraying these certification votes as a binary choice between supporting democracy or stealing an election demonstrates a bizarre misunderstanding of the process. Democrats have objected to state certifications of every presidential election won by a Republican this century, objecting in 2000, 2004 and most recently in 2016. This inconvenient fact tends to be left out in most media reports.
The rioting at the Capitol was horrific, and the president’s behavior was unacceptable. Regardless, the fact that I believe Arizona and Pennsylvania violated their own election laws remains, and if we are to honor the need for election integrity, this fact cannot be ignored.
- U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, Harrisonville, Missouri
The deep pockets
Yes, we Missourians who still have a moral compass are appalled at the recent un-American actions of Sen. Josh Hawley. He must resign, otherwise he will be ineffective in representing the good people of Missouri in the U.S. Senate.
Worse still are the opportunistic power brokers such as Joplin’s David Humphreys and St. Louis’ Rex Sinquefield, who troll for easy prey such as Hawley who have big egos and are readily bought and sold (or souled?) to perform like puppets.
If the wealthy want to dabble in politics, they need to put on their big-boy pants and run for office. Otherwise, they should keep their money, because they are nothing more than pork barrel pimps. They must stop indirectly playing with the lives of the good people of Missouri, because they are doing Missourians and our democracy more harm than good.
- Abbie Grant, Columbia, Missouri
Multiple tragedies
Our Pledge of Allegiance promises liberty and justice for all. We know we often fail here. Just this week, with the execution of Lisa Montgomery, we failed terribly. We failed our justice system. We failed our treatment of the mentally ill, and we failed our Constitution. Read Alisa Roth’s book, “Insane: America’s Criminal Treatment of Mental Illness,” and you may get some insight into why this is so wrong.
Despite a federal judge’s order, hours of uncertainty and a plea for a competency hearing to stop the execution, Montgomery was put to death early Wednesday morning. Her lawyers called it “a stain on our country.”
It is more than that. It is a stain on all of us. We do not do enough for mental illness. There is not enough brain research.
What is the answer for people with severe mental illness who commit crimes? Prison is too often the answer. For Montgomery, the death penalty was the answer. Bobbie Jo Stinnett was not the only victim.
Lisa Montgomery’s story was tragic from beginning to end. The death penalty has added to that tragedy. On the bright side, she is free at last. Her demons are now silenced.
- Rosemary Pappert, Roeland Park
Market at work
Sen. Josh Hawley seems to think freedom of speech is under attack because he lost his lucrative book deal. (Jan. 13, 3A, “On Fox, Hawley says nothing about riot, resignation calls or Trump impeachment”) However, that’s simply the free market at work.
But I’ll tell you what freedom of speech does look like when it’s under attack: That would be rioters beating a police officer with an American flag because they don’t like or accept the outcome of a presidential election.
- Glenn McDonald, Lee’s Summit
This story was originally published January 14, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Letters: MO Rep. Vicky Hartzler’s side, Lisa Montgomery and market vs. Hawley."