The talk of state Sen. Donald Betts, D-Wichita, challenging Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, next year seems to be more than just talk. Asked Thursday by The Eagle editorial board when he might declare his candidacy for Congress, the one-term state senator and former Kansas House member exclaimed “Wow!” and then said, “Stay tuned.” At the moment, he has another item on his agenda — he’s getting married this week.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Registered?
Commenting on WE Blog now requires you to be a Kansas.com member. Use the links above to register, if you haven't already, or to log in.Contact us
Follow us
Daily Archives
-
Recent Comments
- Jed on Let immigrants run
- Regular on Open thread 11/23
- Regular on Open thread 11/23
- BlueJay on Open thread 11/23
- BlueJay on Open thread 11/23
- Freebird1971 on Open thread 11/23
- Freebird1971 on Open thread 11/23
- BlueJay on Open thread 11/23
- BlueJay on Open thread 11/23
- Freebird1971 on Open thread 11/23
46 Comments
One-term? Um, Eagle editors, please be a little more clear with your facts. Sen. Betts was elected to the Kansas House in 2002, and won the special election for retiring Sen. Rip Gooch’s Senate seat in early 2004. Betts won re-election to his seat in November of 2004, and began his second term in January of 2005.
Has the Eagle already kicked off its “let’s reelect Tankerless Todd” campaign?
The Eagle will probably continue to endorse Tiahrt despite Tiahrt voting against Kansas’ interests. The Eagle endorsed him in the last election because they said he’d be able to get things done, but what has he done that’s been productive?
He voted against the farm bill so he could protect multi-billion dollar corporate tax shelters in Bermuda. He voted for warantless wiretaps. He voted for a bloated budget (despite campaigning for a balanced budget). He continues to run for office despite promising to hold himself to term limits. He sends Kansans to die in an illegal war. He took bribes from Abramoff. He voted for increased pollution. He votes against programs to combat the spread of AIDS. He votes himself fat raises. He votes against stem cell research. He votes against providing civil rights to women in Afghanistan. He voted against the hate crimes bill because he loves to see a Jew get dragged behind a truck. He voted against allowing the citizens of DC to have a voting representative in Congress. And he voted against increases in funding for the VA because he doesn’t mind soldiers dying, but getting medical care is just too much.
And that was all in the past few months.
Well said, Doug & Tom. Tiahrt has long postured himself as a Bushie, and he needs to exit the electoral stage along with his mentor.
I wouldn’t vote for Donald Betts. He will lose big time anyways. Donald Betts is too soft and too narrowly agenda focused.
However, Raj Goyle on the other hand would be a great candidate against Tiahrt and that would be somebody that I would vote for. I believe Raj would stand a chance, but it would be extremely tough fight though.
Yes. Yes, he is and we’ll all going to vote for him. The Kansas Obama.
YOU GOOOOOOOOOOOO BETTS! And darn it all, him getting married! Lucky woman!
Yeah, I know, I’m already married lol. Oh Oh, does this mean I get to create a “Betts Girl” vid?
“The Eagle will probably continue to endorse Tiahrt despite Tiahrt voting against Kansas’ interests”
“Maybe he fed them torn poke and baked beans! if you can not buy a voter’s heart with ideas and a stance. Ply them with food…..” like Romney did in Iowa.
RON PAUL FOR PRESIDENT, LETS TAKE BACK THE COUNTRY AND THE GOP!Say No to war, Amnesty and taxes. Say YES to limited government, Secure broader and
Liberty!
“Maybe he fed them torn poke and baked beans!”
should have read, “maybe he fed them Torn pork and baked beans”
Sorry
Uh, Dog, this thread has nothing to do with the Presidential race. Is Ron Paul going to run for Kansas Congress?
I’m dismayed that you’ve jumped on the Ron Paul bandwagon. You have to start thinking about the America we would live in under Republican Libertarianism…it wouldn’t be pretty. How could you vote for no regulations after what this President showed how much oversight is needed?
pm,
Agreed. The quixotic libertarian theory is attractive–in theory. But after a certain point I just find it impossible to take seriously.
I’ve met Betts a couple of times. He’s genuine and a nice guy to talk to in person.
However, he aligns himself too much with the hardcore Leftists of the Democratic Party too much.
If he will separate himself and take a more moderate stance, he might have a chance.
If he doesn’t, then he will be categorized with the rest of the fruits and nuts of the Left that believe in conspiracy, lies are better than truth and the “blame America first” crowd.
He will then have none of his good qualities to point to the American Public that separate him from his more rabid political allies.
Anyway, go Betts! Let’s send Tanker Todd back to Boeing–er, Spirit Aerospace. Whatever.
Betts in ‘08!
Where does he stand on the issues and how well does he get along with the Wichita unions?
Contrary to the belief or the RWingers on this blog, Sen. Betts is a moderate Democrat. I believe he has the support of the unions here in Wichita.
Sen. Betts hasn’t filed, hasn’t declared, yet the Eagle sets up a smear job with a snarky little blog entry. And look who jumps at the chance to smear Betts and everyone else with his own brand of crap: THE TROLL!
I’m shocked. Shocked, I tell you, shocked!!
Oops, forgot to add my congratulations to Sen. Betts on his upcoming marriage. :)
Tiahrt doesn’t repsond to the citizens of Kansas – only to the big industries – we need someone that represents the people and I feel that Betts is the man for the job. Ask Tiahrt to help you with a problem – find out what happens. He doesn’t stand for anyone but himself. It’s all about prestige and his social life. It’s time to remove him
The Eagle has done nothing but Bash Tiahrt this year on his attendance record and his Tiahrt amendment.
Funny you Libs can’t be FOR a Democrat alternative. You’d rather just bash Tiahrt over and over and over again.
Why don’t you support Betts instead of bash the Eagle and Tiahrt repeatedly?
Because the Dems are the Queens of Negative Politics.
Even now, your Dem Congress can’t get anything done, and all we hear are whiny lil excuses, like blaming the Republicans for the Dem failure to act as the majority.
Why’d you vote for the Dems if they aren’t gonna do anything?
Max,
Support Betts how? He hasn’t filed or declared for Tiahrt’s seat, so there’s no “there” there. This blog entry is an Eagle setup.
Forget Betts. He’s got no substance. I want Goyle to run! He can actually win, plus he’s way more experienced and polished. He would be a much better Congressman.
Max–
Do you even live in Kansas?
‘Cause your name comes up a lot on IOWA blogs.
Iowa = Idiots Out Wandering Around
When it comes to Tiahrt, any change would be an improvement.
Betts, Goyle, some other Dem . . . hell, some other REPUB!
I’m surprised Todd Bush-clone Tiahrt doesn’t get challenged by a moderate from his own party . . .
Agreed Capn – it is time for Tankerless Todd to GO! Anywhere as long as it is far far away.
I just spent some quality time on the Federal Elections Commission website.
No filings by Betts. In fact, no new filings by any Democrats for 4th District at all. The only Republican with an open filing is Tiahrt.
The Eagle is now printing unsubstantiated rumors. Way to go, Eagle.
Tom,
After being SO mean to Todd, it’s only fair that the “liberal” Eagle do something nice for him–like printing this rumor.
Also, is it just me, or is the Right-Wing concern-trolling (”Betts is bad, Goyle, would be, like, so super!”) particularly thick ’round these parts today?
How has the Eagle been mean to Tiahrt? Have they once mentioned that Tiahrt weakened OSHA standards that hurt enforcement of mine safety standards? How about Tiahrt’s long policy of crippling unions. The collapsed mine in Utah is a scab mine while all the mines in Canada are unionized and don’t have accidents anywhere near the rate of American mines. The Eagle rarely reports on Tiahrt’s voting record, I have to go to the Washington Post to found out how he votes.
The Eagle is soft on Tiahrt and shows it’s bias towards him (that’s why they keep on endorsing him).
Doug,
Why are you such a meanie to Tiahrt?
Of course, how silly of me: it must be that you hate America!
Tiahrt gave me a bad tip at Applebees. I never worked at Applebees so that could be part of the reason for the bad tip. :)
Now that it’s not official and everyone can agree that Betts is rumored to be running, watch for the Tiahrt camp to take the court in the not too distant future with some sort of numerical rendering of money set aside from the previous dozen or so campaigns when no one really mounted much of a challenge. Remember? Oh, come on folks, it can be done. I remember, for instance, the ad from a few years ago when jobs were being lost up in the thousands, and the Tiahrt team put ole Todd in shop goggles (sleeves rolled up like Rosie the Riveter) and had him declaiming about 5,000 jobs (no, I don’t recall the exact number). Did Knapp dream that one up? We’ll probably never know, but Knapp has been good over the years at making the opposition look ridiculous. If I were Betts, I’d start thinking about who I’m going to put on Knapp, and I’d pick the boy up at the half court line, every time he takes an inbounds pass. Of course, Tiahrt’s ads have generally been more watered down. “Dreamy” might be a better term for it. You get the soft music, a few words, perhaps some footage of wheat or an airplane flying overhead, and that’s about it. You wonder what campaign contributors are thinking when they watch what happens with their loot. The whole thing has gone on long enough, though, that the various participants must be happy with what they’re getting. Maybe they think those TV ads are 360 tomahawk jams.
Horst–
I’m going to ENJOY having that post pulled.
BTW, Horst–
I always wondered where you guys get those funny KKK dunce hats and white sheets at.
Is there a KKKMart you go to?
Let go of the hate, man . . .
As much as I’d LOVE to see Tiahrt out of a job . . . Betts is not the one to take him out. take a look at Tiahrt’s re-election numbers and it’s clear that the in order to be beat it will take someone with much more name recognition and a LARGE influx of cash. Or, Tiahrt could say something sexually inappropriate to a page (highly unlikely).
AS for all you Goyle supporters. Be careful what you wish for. Goyle is the rising star in the Democratic party (just look at everyone here gushing over him) and has proven he can raise money but if you think he’s not out for self advacement any way he can get it you don’t know him! Tiahrt is still the “lesser of two evils” but it’s close.
When I read what’s written about possible contenders on the Democratic side, I get the impression that people are waiting for some perfect human being to show up and walk away with the crown.
On the one hand, it’s generally agreed that only a talented politician can get the job done. Say what you want about the Tiahrt team and agree or disagree with their policies, they’ve won a bunch of elections fairly handily and they know how the game is played in a Republican leaning town.
On the other hand, though, we’re usually cautioned, shortly after a variant on the above admission has been made, to watch out for politicians who have ambition.
So the candidate has to be talented, has to be able to raise money, has to know how the game is played…but he also has to be a saint, or not ambitious, and most certainly not a climber.
Sorry, but you can’t have both. Talented politicians are ambitious.
Maybe people require a guy who somehow disguises ambition under a facade of a humble exterior.
An aggressive campaign with a credible candidate can win 4th District.
In the 4th District: Sebelius and Morrison both won, Democrats beat two incumbent Republican state reps, and surviving Republican incumbents won by narrower margins than in the past while Democratic incumbents won by wider margins.
The numbers are clear: Someone smart and aggressive and energetic can take Tiahrt out. I don’t know if that’s going to be Betts or Goyle, or perhaps someone that hasn’t been subject to so much speculation.
I like the dark horse angle, so long as the person is smart and aggressive and energetic. Too bad the 4th District can’t come up with a woman whos has the abilities of a Sebelius. The Tiahrt team has never had to contend with something like that.
TR,
I can think of a few women in 4th District who could make a serious run out of it. But I don’t think they’re positioned right for an 08 run. Maybe 2010, who knows?
Tom,
Right. It’s near to being a catch-22: you can’t get started if you’re not in position, but if you’re in position, then your detractors are everywhere spreading propaganda about you.
Me? I’m going to bed.
TRT,
Interesting point. But do keep it to yourself, if you know what I mean.
The abilities of Kathleen Sebelius? You’ve got to be kidding. Why not just go get the happy hooker and be done with it. You haven’t seen the Pitch article on Kathleen’s latest scandals?
I wonder if Tiahrt will debate his opponent this next election or if he’ll run and hide like the intellectual coward that he is. I guess it’s hard to run on your record when you have a bad record like Tiahrt.
“Dump,”
Agree or disagree with Sebelius’ political positions, it doesn’t matter. She’s a very talented Democratic politician who knows how to win in a Republican state.
Read it and weep. The Happy Hooker is at it again.
http://www.pitch.com/2007-08-09/news/her-dirty-secret/full
Against Tiahrt, I would vote for Betts’ shoe!
No, it’s his shoe!
No, it’s a sandal!
We should gather shoes in abundance!
(sorry, having a Monty Python moment)
Senator Betts had a fabulous wedding yesterday. The bride was stunning, the bridesmaids all lovely, and the groom and groomsmen were all happy and handsome.
The wedding was very well attended. Neighbors, family, friends, and political figures were all there. Partisan divides were set aside for the day.
Congratulations, Senator and Mrs. Betts!
Horst,
Senator Betts didn’t win his seat through affirmative action. He ran a smart, energetic campaign against a clueless Republican opponent (brought to you by the Department of Redundancy Department).
He won on his own merits.
You, on the other hand, are a loser, no matter how you slice it.
Cheers.