http://ozarkspub.vo.llnwd.net/o37/KSMU/audio/mp3/congressio_6986.mp3
Missouri’s primary election is August 3rd. One of the seats up for grabs is southwest Missouri’s seat in the US House of Representatives. KSMU invited all Republican and Democratic candidates running for that seat to stop by for an interview. Today, we’ll hear from Republican Michael Wardell of Nixa.
Moore: Where do you come from, and why have you decided to run for Congress?Wardell: Well, where I come from is a very long answer. My mother and father were in the US Navy. I was born on a US Naval base in Japan. When my father retired, we moved back to the United States and traveled around a little with them. I entered the military shortly after my 19th birthday and spent pretty much my entire time overseas, primarily working with the State Department. I worked as an Embassy Marine, as a guard, as a deputy commander and as a commander. I retired in 2001, just a little bit early to a medical issue, and I went to work for a company in Japan. The company did interpreting and translating.
Moore: What are the top two issues you are campaigning on?
Wardell: I would say the two biggest issues—and they’re a quite common theme among Republicans, at least the ones that are running—and they are the absolute and total disregard for the Constitution, and the absolute and total disregard for the understanding of what a budget is. The amount of money that we continue to spend, and spend, and spend some more…we have been spending money since, literally, the 16th Amendment was conceived, and yet we continue to spend more and more money and it’s not solving problems.
I’m a fairly simple man, but I also have a brain on my shoulders. It’s like, Hello, you can’t spend yourself out of a problem, one. And two, the bottom line is if you keep spending and you’re trying to do the same thing and you’re expecting different results, that’s the definition of stupidity. So I think we need to get some fiscal restrain in there and we have to get the government back in its genie bottle. They’re trying to do too much too quickly, and they’re completely out of Constitutional constraints in my opinion.
Moore: Can you give any examples of how you feel Congress has taken too many liberties with the Constitution?
Wardell: Well, I’ll just give you one I was familiar with deep in my past, and that is Foreign Aid. I understand the instrument Foreign Aid can be used for. But it’s turned into something that it was not designed for. The State Department needs to spend money to better our understanding of one anothers’ cultures and business, and to deal diplomatically with other nations. But when we start funding, or worrying about drunk prostitutes in China for example—and that might sound incredulous, but the bottom line is we’ve funded 2.1 million dollars for studying male prostitution in Shanghai. And I don’t think that’s a great example of American taxpayer money. That’s just one example.
Moore: Who are your main donors in your campaign so far? Wardell: We’ll, I’ve self funded. I have a couple of family friends and extended family friends who have donated to my campaign. But there’s no deep pocketed businesses or PACs, and I haven’t asked for it.
Moore: Have you decided to work with any consultants?Wardell: I do have a few people I am working with, primarily Dr. Michael Reiber who is a dear friend of mine. He’s over in Japan right now. And I am working with a consultant on a part-time basis. He does some polling for me.
Moore: There are eight Republicans running. What sets you apart?
Wardell: We’ve been sending experience and money to Washington for years, but yet we still have these huge, huge problems. I don’t think they deal with reality like I do. I’m a disabled vet, I run a small business with my family, I live within my means, and I don’t think a lot of them have the gravitas to understand that.
Note: To listen to interviews with other candidates, click on "Road to the Capitol" on our website, www.ksmu.org.