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Sarah Steelman is smart. She is fun and pretty. And Sarah knows politics. She knows what she believes, and she knows the direction her party needs to be heading. Put this beautiful woman in a setting where she is passionately describing her political beliefs, and, well, it’s a much different Sarah Steelman than she revealed during the 2008 gubernatorial Republican primary against party-favorite, Kenny Hulshof. (Hulshof didn't win in the general election, though.) The Sarah of today embodies a smart beauty, along with that same passion for truth and integrity in today’s government she's always championed.
“I believe we need to find new solutions using the principles we believe in,” she quipped recently, while sipping a cup of coffee, looking fresh in a pink top and wedge sandals. Today, Sarah’s passion shines despite the grave situations in a down economy and ineffective political system.
“The Republican party is supposed to represent the belief in limited government, lower taxes and fiscal discipline,” Sarah reminded me, intently. “Have we gotten away from that? Yes. I’m tired of a government that picks the winners and the losers. People need the freedom to dream and to make their own choices in pursuit of those dreams. We are sending the wrong message to our children,” she said.
“The Entrepreneurial spirit of this country lies within the people. We are teaching our children to simply throw money at problems,” she enthused, her eyes blazing. “And if you don’t have it, borrow it from the people who do, and by the way, don’t worry about paying it back either. This is teaching our kids to say ‘yes’ whether or not that is a sound answer. What we are not telling them is that they may have to experience failure to experience success. That is the truth.”
Sarah was elected to the four-year term as the 44th Treasurer of Missouri in 2004. As Missouri Treasurer Sarah managed Missouri’s $19 billion in annual revenues and oversaw the investment of over $3 billion in long- and short-term investments in the state’s portfolio. Sarah, who said she is always ready for new ideas in government, proved this with her development of the nation’s first terror-free investment fund. “The federal government identifies state sponsors of terror. If you’re a U.S. business, you can’t do business with those companies. But there’s a giant loophole; and billions of dollars are invested in foreign companies that do business with those state-sponsors of terror. As Treasurer, I put in policies that prohibited any investments in companies that did any business with state sponsors of terror. Essentially, in example, they were helping the opposition forces in Iraq. So we divested taxpayer money from those companies. We created a terror-free fund. The companies that did business [with state sponsors of terror,] never got into our portfolio. I put in place policies to divest the state employee pension fund. Almost 17-20 other states have since followed this lead. We led the country. And it was a tough battle. Lots of fund managers objected to it. They would argue we’d lose on our rate of return. We didn’t. I proved that,” Sarah said, smiling.
“I think we had a responsibility to protect the taxpayers’ investments. To me it was a more prudent investment.” Sarah said that even with Obama’s change of the terminology on terror, “there’s still terrorism in the world,” and still a need for other states, and companies to follow suit. “Can you imagine if the federal government did that?” she asked. We created our whole policy, we had a broker dealer list, and we kicked companies out if they didn’t fit. A year of so later, UBS came to us, they had implemented a huge screening process in their bank. And I made them come out and prove it to me. This type of divestment does work. And it’s a way to hit terrorists between the eyes; when you cut off their access to cash,” Sarah said.
Sarah, like so many true Conservatives, has been outraged by the steps the government has taken to overcome our nation’s financial woes. And Sarah knows financial principles of government. According to Steelman, Congress has promoted these huge deficits. They have been careless and wasteful.
“Republicans thought it was more important to hold onto power, they would do anything to hold onto power. They had no fiscal discipline. They didn’t shrink government when they had the chance, they grew it. Both parties have done that. When the Republicans were in control and with the Democrats now in control. It seems the only difference is that now, Democrats geto choose how to spend the money.
"What kills me is you had Republicans patting themselves on the back last fall, saying, ‘Hey we saved financial system,’ when they passed the bailout package. Then more banks failed. It didn’t work. Congress threw money at the problem and rewarded bad decision makers. Prior to the bailout package we had Bush’s stimulus packages. The taxpayer got $300 back in a one-time payment. It has been proven repeatedly that one-time transfer payments do not stimulate the economy. And, it was proven again. Only permanent increases in buying power can stimulate the economy.
"Let people keep what they have and let them make decisions about how to spend it. There is just a real disconnect between conservative principles and what has become Republicanism today."
Sarah hopes to be the answer to that disconnect. When asked about a Senate run against Roy Blunt, Representative of Missouri’s 7th district, she nodded, but said, nothing has been announced yet. “We’ve got to get new people in Washington DC,” she added.
Sarah was eager to evoke true Republican values. “Conservatives believe in a smaller government, lower taxes, a strong defense, and the power of a self-determined individual.” Has Sarah felt isolated from her Republican party? At times, yes, she said. But she was quick to add, she’s never felt alone in her causes.
“All I know is it’s important to stand up for what you believe in,” she said, adding “I’ve felt alone out there before, but when you stand up for what you believe, you’ll find, there are people who will be out there, standing up with you.”
SarahSteelman.com offers three words for its visitors to ponder: Freedom, Truth and Justice. Sarah said the new site is formatted so visitors to her site can submit their ideas, problems, solutions, write their thoughts and discuss their principles. “I think Americans need to keep speaking out. Keep the momentum going and the fire burning. The grassroots Republicans need to step up to the plate, voice their concerns about our party. We must remember those three words, “We the people" – and put the people before special interests. The discussion and the movement must come from the bottom up. As a conservative I believe in the free market, and that includes the free market of ideas. The free market of ideas is where you get the best ideas; and that requires discussion.”
And as for being a woman in politics, Sarah doesn’t see it as a setback, rather she is enthused by it. “I don’t think gender matters to voters anymore. They're looking for someone who represents their views and someone they can trust. Someone who will take care of the issues that are important to them. I’ve always thought it was beneficial to the people I represent to be a working mother. It’s hard to balance everything, and that helps me relate to working mothers and working dads. From dropping them off at practices, to ball games, to homework, you’re there for them when they need you. Being a mother is a blessing to me and I hope a benefit to the people I have represented because, I can better understand the situations they’re in.”
Sarah has three sons: Sam, 22, Joe, 20, Michael, 13. And she has been careful to balance her family and her political goals. “It’s important to me to make sure my kids are the most important thing in my life, and that’s hard to do when you have a career in public service. There are a lot of meetings to attend, but I decided early on, if there was a conflict I had to put my kids first. It does put you at a disadvantage against people who can just network all the time, get around the state, be at every event of any significance. But, that was my choice. Family first.”
Sarah is motivated by those around her who exhibit greatness. One such example, the simple greatness she sees shining in the lives of her family members. Sarah’s parents unconditional love for each other motivates her daily. With tears in her eyes, she explained her mother’s long battle with ALS, or Lou Gehrig's Disease. “My father takes care of my mother every day. She’s an extraordinary person, but he cares for her every day with complete love and enthusiasm. Despite her sickness, she is never down, and she’s always concerned for someone else, or concerned about the burden she is for my dad. She shows grace daily, and when I get down, I think of my amazing mother and father. I think of the millions of stories of people, ordinary people, like her and my dad, who do extraordinary things.”
Sarah’s prioritization of family values aligns with what is true to her, and her faith. “I’m blessed to have a beautiful family, and I also want to do what I can in the world to make it a better place. There’s so much to be done in the world to help others. Public service and running for office or through your church, your faith. I do want to make a difference in the world. A positive difference.” Sarah said she learned a lot in her last election for Missouri Governor. She learned to not listen to political consultants as much as she should listen to herself. “I am going to run a different type of campaign next time; one more focused on service. What we need is fewer politicians and more leaders. More leaders focused on service. There are too many politicians who are just worried about the polling results. True leadership is when you truly believe in something and you persuade people to partner with you, and you work together toward what you believe. That is a sign of a good statesman.” Good statesman, embodying the values of conservatism, Sarah Steelman hopes to be again, very soon.
