It is no point of pride that four Sedgwick County lawmakers are in the top 10 for receiving lobbyist largesse in 2006, including list-topping Rep. Joe McLeland, R-Wichita (pictured). His $2,786 included meals, golf rounds, tickets and small gifts; other attention-getting area legislators were second-place Sen. Carolyn McGinn, R-Sedgwick, and seventh-place Rep. Brenda Landwehr and 10th-place Mario Goico, both Wichita Republicans.
The regular Wichita-area delegation lunches account for some, but certainly not all, of the higher reporting numbers, as do committee assignments and other varying responsibilities. But clearly, some lawmakers simply eat up the free goodies far more than others.
What caught our imagination, though, was this part of an Associated Press report: “Sedgwick County legislators also have a reputation for being sophisticates, at least when it comes to having wine with dinner — which significantly increases the cost of a meal.”
Posted by Rhonda Holman
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49 Comments
Top 10 are all Republicans. No surprise there, they are always willing to get a free handout at taxpayer expense.
So Sedgewick co. repubs are not only lobby hobbies but religious drunkards too? lol.
Sorry couldn’t resist.
It could be that, politicalmom.
Or it COULD be that no one wants to invite Democrats to their social functions. :)
Does it really make sense to invite a Congressman to attend a dinner – and then make him pay for his food?
The ethics of this is pretty simple — you can’t accept anything from anyone while you are an office holder. No lunches, no golf etc …..
We make the mistake of allowing our legislators to set their own standards and rules on ethics and integrity — when we should be setting the standard we expect of them ..
What is more interesting about these Wichita Republicans is that they are so obviously interested and willing to receive FREE MEALS, GOLF TICKETS and other gifts, yet they scorn other legislators who think that ALL children in Kansas under age 6 should have guaranteed health care. It is OK for them to take and take from their positions in government, but Hellfire and damnation to anyone who thinks that children should not have to go to an emergency room to receive medical care.
“‚”Sedgwick County legislators also have a reputation for being sophisticates, at least when it comes to having wine with dinner — which significantly increases the cost of a meal.”"
Could we at least vote legislation that would limit their selection of wine to Mad Dog 20/20 or Ripple?
“Or it COULD be that no one wants to invite Democrats to their social functions.”
Of course they don’t want to invite dems to their functions. Dems will ask the hard questions like “how is that market forces thing working out on health ins?” or “Doesn’t business have some responsiibility for the well being of its employees?”or “Why is industrial welfare ok, but helping the disabled creates a nanny state?”
Another interesting think about old Joe MCfork is that he works against his own home town: case in point his motion to eliminate 5 million for WSU aviaion research facility this last week. I wonder who paid for the lunch where that idea was cooked up?
Total spent on House members: $26,279Amount spent on Rep. House members: $20,995Average per Rep. House member: $253
You rock Joe McFork!
So… joe got TEN PERCENT of the total spent on all house members?
What makes this guy so sought after? Witty dinner conversation?
And dems got basically less than a THIRD of the lobby money spent on republicans?
Follow the money…..
… and joe got TEN TIMES the amount of the average spent per house member?
Again, this guy is special… why?
Looking at it another way perhaps
(a) Democrats are not particularly sociable and don’t get invited to dinner(b) Democrats are being dishonest and not reporting all those dinners and small gifts(c) Democrats are not in high number and there are enough to make a top 10 or even a top 3(d) Democrats looked at the form to report such things and filed it in the “tomorrow” folder and later confer with their attorney about when to say “I don’t recall.”
JM you don’t know much about this subject do you?
Legislators don’t report the money, the lobbyist do.
Stop trying to be an apologist for the greedy and be honest.
We used the “Who would you rather attend a barbecue with” benchmark to elect our president, and look at how that’s worked out!
JM can’t blame this one on the minority party. Legislators like Joe use their position to feather their own nest and enrich themselves. Generaly at the expense of their representation of their constituents. (see above post on WSU). One could argue that Joe is very influential, and therefore he gets a lot of attention.
Why then does he not use that influence to help the university in his own town? He stripped $5 million out of the state budget for WSU! That money would have gone to the avation research center and would have helped WSU. Why did he not use his influence to help, not hurt his constituents?
JM, I can’t wait for you to justify that.
GS -How about they do what our lobbyist does, and actually visit them in the capitol building instead of dinner?
I was trying to be humorous. Evidently, there is a lack of it in this blog. :)
JM post:”I was trying to be humorous. Evidently, there is a lack of it in this blog.”
OR you just got caught with your head up your right wing.
Only $47,000 was spent by lobbyists all year on entertainment for the whole Kansas legislator? Would anyone have guessed it would be that low?
If those figures are correct, that isn’t exactly a big problem.
Worker post:”OR you just got caught with your head up your right wing.”
Or you are yet another Lib looking for an excuse to fight because you jumped to yet another false conclusion.
JMWhich conclusion? The one about you not knowing what you are talking about? The one about you being an apoligist for the greedy? Or the one about have a right wing slant on your posts?
There are often meals and get togethers held in the offices of various foundations, law firms, etc. that do not get reported as individual gifts, that tend to lean to the liberal side of the equation.
Also, Republicans are currently in control, and hence are worth more.
This report should actually be read by conservatives however, because usually it’s the representative with something to sell who gets wined and dined. That usually tends to be “moderate” Republicans who are more “open minded” than their more ideologically rigid brethren on the right.
There are whores on both sides of the aisle, and they are disgusting no matter what their alleged party affiliation is.
There there Worker, maybe some day you will get a sense of humor and stop thinking that the world is out to get you.
For those who would like to get the facts and not the propaganda from those who would like to make excuses:
http://www.accesskansas.org/lobbyist-expenditure/index.html
Of course Dems don’t receive near the same amount of money. They have a public image to uphold that being that they hate corporations, want government run entitlements from cradle to grave, and that THEY want to look out for the downtrodden.
BUT, just don’t look at our personal finances and where we got all of our money.
If they ever pass a law that says that anyone on public assistance other than Social Security, couldn’t vote, the Dems would never win another election. Anybody recall Hillary trying to make sure that felons could vote?
Republicans read a story about 10 Republicans milking the system, and this guy JM finds a way to include a slam on Democrats. This is exactly why ALL of us are sick of watching the GOP being bought. We are tired of the BS, and if you are not part of the solution, JM, you are part of the problem. Stop voting for people just because they have a capital R after their name, no matter what your daddy told you
Trying to change the subject JM? This is not about me, it is about uninformed opinions. Like the one from Gentle Ben who would have you believe that “There are often meals and get togethers held in the offices of various foundations, law firms, etc. that do not get reported as individual gifts, that tend to lean to the liberal side of the equation.”
Where in the world does that come from?
Pure imagination, Ben is just making stuff up to slam the “liberal side of the equation”. I would read with interst his personal experience on the subject.
BTW JM:Still waiting on the conclusion jumping answer:
The conclusion is clear: you still don’t have a clue what you are talking about.
Gene:Blind attack without foundation, blanket generalization without facts.
You have no justification for the original post so you thrash around with aspersions.
Asking to look at the personal finances of the GOP is a rock I don’t think you want to turn over.
Is there any evidence, any at all, that any of these people, repubs, or dems have been anything but honest? If there is a quid pro quo arrangement that has been shown, I’d like to hear about it. Otherwise, it’s another non-story.
Keep waiting Worker, you won’t get an altered version other than what it was, just humor.
I suppose since I’m so anti-Democratic Party I should take back my help campaigning for State Senator Betts (D) getting him elected. Perhaps my vote for him as well.
Perhaps I should take back my vote for Bill Clinton since I’m so anti-Democratic Party; maybe take back the vote for Jimmy Carter as well.
What the article said and what it didn’t say is important. That bologna sandwich luncheon might get reported as a high class affair as some, perhaps as a $10.00 sandwich. Perhaps the Democratic lobbyists who had provided those Kansas City Sirloins reported the dinner as a ground chuck.
I don’t know and personally don’t care. It’s quite amusing how some get their panties all knotted up about nothing.
JM, if you’re so pro-dem, why the hell do you do everything you can to hurt the position most dems take?
You make no sense. If you’re voting for Betts simply because he’s black, no thanks.
I like Betts, but he stands for the things he campaigns for. Unlike you who seems to be seriously misguided in what your beliefs actually are. Are you one who self loathes your own positions?
So worker, you are saying that my post of the Dems was NOT the mantra, they like to spout. Geez where are YOU getting your so called facts. This has been the chantings from the Dems that I have heard since I’ve been on the planet.How many groups would Billary have alienated had he done ANY real anti-terrorism work after WTC in 93, Cole attack, attack on the Khobar Towers, the 2 embassies.
“Uh, Mr. President if you was to REALLY so something about terrorism, it would tarnish your image. It would be best to just wait, cross our fingers and pass on the problem to the next president.”
I know for a fact that the Repubs do not have clean hands. I just wanted to post the fact that simply because this thread was started that the top ten were all Repubs and someone wanted to run with that. I mean lets be fair if you think that the Dems have clean hands…Again, take a look at the financing of Nancy or Hillary.
Thanks Political Mom for describing who you think I am by using your terms: (pro-dem,seriously misguided, self-loathing.)
As far as I know I can support the candidate of my choice without outside influences.
Perhaps I actually think about the candidates before I go to the polls.
Perhaps I don’t wildly pull the lever just because it’s the Republican or Democratic pet choice.
And just perhaps I call nonsense when I see it, whether it be Republican or Democratic party.
Would it surprise you that I like Obama, but wouldn’t vote for him because he lacks experience and I doubt his ability to lead. He hasn’t shown me anything other than being a good speaker.
I support Guiliani because he is a very smart, capable man that has shown he knows how to lead. He’s also a fine speaker in his own right. He also conceptualizes ideas for problem solving in paragraphs and not just talking points. And before some anarchist says that is only being glib it is not. Its the ability of a true leader to show he can formulate a plan and talk about that plan with confidence.
And your remark about only voting because he is Black disenfranchises anyone who wants leadership who can identify with their particular way of thinking.
If I point out hidden agenda items about Political candidates I don’t think that makes me wrong; it makes me observant and one who is not willing to buy into a bill of goods just because the candidate is tied to a particular political party.—–
Good point JM.
I can’t imagine that there is a candidate out there that encompassing EVERYTHING that a person stands for.
I as a Repub don’t like the idea of vouchers since I have no children and feel that the amount of taxes I pay to schools is more than enough to make public schools available to all of the kids.
I personally believe that the Dems will when the White House in 08 and not because the Dems are so wonderful and that I think that hillary, obama or whoever will lead by example. It is because what I see the Repubs having on the horizon is as far as candidates is abominable. The Dems will win the White House because so many of the Repubs have had it with the RINOS and will either NOT vote or will vote their local matters and not the president. This will probably be my choice. I cannot vote for Giuliani, McCain and the like. I’ll just vote my local matters and then cross my fingers, that this country doesn’t sink lower into the abyss.
I liked that cartoon in today’s paper to get more info on the Gilluani positions call giulanni 911. Like Bush he’ll milk it shamelessly.
How can anyone who bitched about Clinton’s BJ have any sort of ability to vote for Guiliani???
That makes perfect hypocritical sense.
Guliani is just a heartless bastard, and Clinton was just a horny bastard.
Gullani is a heartless horny bastard, might have a chance getting the repub. nomination on those credentials.
I was impressed with Giuliani.
Even as people were screaming to their deaths, he didn’t stop grabbing the spotlight.
A body would hit the ground at thirty yards with a hideous “THUNK”, and Mr. Leadership just kept chattering away as long as the cameras were rolling.
Anybody else would have sent some helicopter rescues, some giant hills of boxes and foam rubber. In short, they would have done SOMETHING.
Not Giuliani. He knew good PR when he saw it . . .
Well Giuliani is not the best of the Republican candidates in my mind, but his pertinent experience is certainly superior to the leading Democrat candidates.
Looks like Capn is giving us a heads up on how the left is to go about trashing Rudy. So look for more BS trying to malign his courageous performance on 911.
It is not that the Democrats would not do the same thing. They would. They just don’t get invited. Big money goes to the party in power and in Kansas, that means the GOP. Nobody is going to wine and dine poeple that cannot do favours for them.
The left does not need to trash Rudy. Rudy will never ever get the GOP nomination. Not with the divorces, the sex scandles and the support for gay rights and abortion rights. No way will the Republican base ever go for that!
I am a Democrat and always have been but the Dems are not without fault. They need to grow balls and quit letting the Republicans push them around and treat them like prison bitches. I actually shouted YES!!! when Bill Clinton told that Fox News reporter off. Democrats need to take a que and do likewise.
Amazing: Post on how the Reps in the legislature are up to their elbows in pay to play and the next thing you know the spin weavers have it turned to how Clinton got a bj and Hilary finances her campaign.
Great spin but no wash
While in session, many legislators have little time to meet with lobbyists, so it just makes sense that when they do have time, they are eating. Legislators really don’t get paid enough, so if they’re getting some meals paid for, at least the state isn’t paying for it. In addition, who actually thinks that legislators are influenced by who pays for a meal for them? College students, maybe, but hopefully not legislators. Above all, as long as the lobbyist groups that pay for these dinners are from a wide assortment of interests, it only goes to show that the legislators near the top of the list are considered either a) influential b) effective or c) easy to work with–all of which are characteristics that Sedgwick Countians should be proud of.
If you are concerned about someone being bought with $2,000 or $3,000 we should truly be concerned about the thousands upon thousands of dollars that are poured into different campaign accounts in this state. Where is the outcry about that? You are worried about a little amount but ignore the big issue. How petty can you get?
O&OLiar–
“Looks like Capn is giving us a heads up on how the left is to go about trashing Rudy.”
I don’t know how “the Left” is going to trash Rudy. I know how this leftist is trashing him.
“So look for more BS trying to malign his courageous performance on 911.”
Oh, it was courageous, all right.
He had to talk and talk and talk while avoiding the bodies hurtling just behind him.
He could have gotten snow-blindness with all the camera lights, but THANK GOD, Rudy soldiered on . . .
Chuckle…Why Capn, how untruthful of you! So I nailed you on that one, huh? Well that’s not unusual.
Your post was so ridiculous, I wasn’t sure that you weren’t just kidding. I mean criticizing Rudy for not bringing in “some giant hills of boxes and foam rubber” for the jumpers to land in???? Moronic.
In reading your posts Capn, you don’t appear to be too stupid. Yet you post such clearly ridiculous crap. I can only conclude that the truth has no place in what you write. Ideology before country. Sad.
My point was simply this, Liar.
If I were mayor of NYC after the terrorist strikes and I saw people leaping to their death from towering infernos, I would have done something.
That Giulani chose to grandstand speaks volumes.
You so badly need a hero to worship that you sell out your country to do it. Sad.
Terminal velocity of a human body flying through the air is only 120 miles and hour. After about forty feet, how far they fall makes no difference.
Something could have been done. Or something at least could have been TRIED.
Instead, Giulani mouthed platitudes . . . THUNK!
McCleland is always high on the list because he abuses the system. He routinely pressures lobbyists to take him and a large group of people to dinner. At dinner, he always tries to grab the wine list and order the most expensive bottle. I’ve heard he even orders cigars and tries to get the lobbyist to pay for it.
Most lobbyists avoid him like the plague, but those with interests in his district have no choice but to “pay to play.”
It’s even a running game among Wichita legislators to see who can force lobbyists to spend the most on them. No wonder so many of them are on the list.
Raise their pay and ban the dinners and you will have a cleaner system.