Glickman
Saying Washington has become too divisive to solve the nation’s problems, former U.S. Rep. Dan Glickman on Thursday endorsed state Rep. Raj Goyle for the seat in Congress that Glickman once held.
“Our politics have become too ideological and too partisan to solve the problems and create the jobs we need,” Glickman said. “And we need somebody in Congress in this district, like Raj, who can deal with these problems in an effective, sensible and bipartisan way.”
A Wichita congressman for 18 years, Glickman said things have changed drastically since 1994, when he lost the 4th District seat to its current occupant, Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard.
Glickman said when he served, Democrats and Republicans often fought bitterly over policy, but generally treated each other with respect and dignity.
“At some point you have to reach consensus to help the people,” he said.
After serving as Agriculture Secretary in the Clinton Administration and later as chief executive officer of the Motion Picture Association of America, Glickman is now a senior fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center. The Washington think tank was started by former Senate majority leaders Bob Dole, R-Kansas, Howard Baker, R-Tennessee, Tom Daschle, D-South Dakota and George Mitchell, D-Maine.
“Two Republicans and two Democrats, four people who were at times very partisan, (but) first and foremost they had the interests of the country at stake,” Glickman said.
Goyle
Goyle said his top priority as a congressman would be fighting to repeal tax breaks and loopholes for corporations that ship jobs overseas.
“Our own government rewards companies for destroying jobs at home. It’s just wrong and it’s got to stop,” he said.
Goyle’s opponent, Republican National Commiteeman Mike Pompeo, wasted no time responding to Glickman’s endorsement.
A college volunteer supporting Pompeo distributed the Pompeo campaign’s press release to reporters at Goyle’s press conference, before Glickman and Goyle spoke.
Pompeo
The statement asserted that in Washington, Goyle would abandon bipartisanship and toe the line laid down by President Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
“Congressman Glickman is a good man, but his visit should remind 4th District voters why they must choose Mike Pompeo and his vision of smaller government, lower taxes and more freedom over the failed policies of President Obama and Speaker Pelosi,” Pompeo communications director Josh Wells said in the statement. “Just as Congressman Glickman supported the big government policies of the Clinton Administration, Raj Goyle has supported Obamacare and bloated government spending throughout his political life.”
“With respect to how he will vote, Representative Goyle will be no different from Congressman Glickman,” Wells added. “He will talk about bipartisanship all day in Kansas, but when he gets to Washington he will support the liberal Democrat leadership.”
Goyle said his performance as a representative from a Republican-majority district shows his ability and commitment to working across the aisle.
“I put Kansas families first when I voted more than 50 times to cut taxes in the Legislature,” Goyle said. “I worked to restore fiscal discipline in the Statehouse, voting to eliminate more than half a billion dollars in wasteful government spending.”
“Some will say that a member of Congress will just vote his or her party line once elected, Goyle added. “Well let me tell you, I’ve never done that in the Kansas Legislature … No one tells me how to vote except the voters, who put me in office.”