Anger can be very motivating, particularly at the ballot box. So will the tea party lose some of its steam now that its members aren’t as angry? According to a new Pew Research Center survey, 28 percent of tea party supporters are angry with the federal government. That’s down from 47 percent last September. Tea party members are no doubt feeling better because many of the candidates they supported won in November. However, the overall public’s view of Congress hasn’t improved. Only 34 percent of the public has a favorable opinion of Congress, which is nearly the same as it was last year.
Especially given nearby Derby’s strong objections, Sedgwick County commissioners were too hasty last summer in voting to close a portion of 71st Street South and turn it over to the owners of Cook Airfield — a view confirmed by District Judge Douglas Roth’s ruling last week declaring the closure void because it had been done under the wrong state law. This may not be the end of the airfield’s efforts to close the road and expand over it. But at least it will allow for more due diligence and stakeholder input about this proposal to hand a public road to private developers.
Congratulations to former Kansas Attorney General Steve Six on his nomination by President Obama to join the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Denver. He was swept out of statewide office by the historic GOP tide in November, but Six’s solid record and resume, including time as a Douglas County district judge and 10th Circuit clerk, make him a fine candidate for a federal appellate bench. Kansas Sens. Jerry Moran and Pat Roberts should not let partisanship prevent them from voting for Six’s confirmation.
During a Senate hearing on trade last week, Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., expressed support for the pending free trade deal with Colombia and mentioned that, unbeknownst to him, his daughter had worked for the United Nations World Food Programme in Colombia and learned firsthand about its challenges. “She got stuck between the paramilitary and the FARC” revolutionaries, he said. “I didn’t know she was there. I wouldn’t have permitted her to go there had I known that. But, such are daughters.”
Anger can be very motivating, particularly at the ballot box. So will the tea party lose some of its steam now that its members aren’t as angry? According to a new Pew Research Center survey, 28 percent of tea party supporters are angry with the federal government. That’s down from 47 percent last September. Tea party members are no doubt feeling better because many of the candidates they supported won in November. However, the overall public’s view of Congress hasn’t improved. Only 34 percent of the public has a favorable opinion of Congress, which is nearly the same as it was last year.
