Former Kansas Sen. Bob Dole was the object of bipartisan admiration last Friday in Washington, D.C., at a fundraiser for the University of Kansas’ Dole Institute of Politics marking the 50th anniversary of the Russell native’s election to Congress. The Kansans speaking in honor of the longtime Senate leader and 1996 GOP presidential nominee included Republican Sen. Pat Roberts and two Democrats, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and former congressman Jim Slattery. In his remarks, the frail-looking 88-year-old guest of honor noted he “didn’t leave politics voluntarily” in 1996 and lamented the shortages of trust, flexibility and bipartisanship in lawmaking today. “You have to be willing to trust one another if you are going to get anything done. . . . I think we can do better, and I believe we will,” Dole said.
Give GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry credit for being bold. Or maybe he is just desperate to win back hard-core conservatives. His new reform plan calls for a 20 percent flat tax, including for corporations, and capping federal spending at 18 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product (it is currently 24 percent). He also wants to allow younger Americans the option of diverting their payroll taxes into private retirement accounts (an idea that President Bush pitched without success). Perry would give taxpayers the option of either paying the flat tax or continuing to pay their current income-tax rate. That avoids the tax increases that would result from Herman Cain’s “9-9-9” plan. But it also means many Americans would need to calculate their taxes two different ways, which doesn’t simplify the system. “Fixing America’s tax, spending and entitlement cultures will not be easy,” Perry said. “But the status quo of byzantine taxes, loose spending and the perpetual delay of entitlement reform is a recipe for disaster.”
Former Kansas Sen. Bob Dole was the object of bipartisan admiration last Friday in Washington, D.C., at a fundraiser for the University of Kansas’ Dole Institute of Politics marking the 50th anniversary of the Russell native’s election to Congress. The Kansans speaking in honor of the longtime Senate leader and 1996 GOP presidential nominee included Republican Sen. Pat Roberts and two Democrats, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and former congressman Jim Slattery. In his remarks, the frail-looking 88-year-old guest of honor noted he “didn’t leave politics voluntarily” in 1996 and lamented the shortages of trust, flexibility and bipartisanship in lawmaking today. “You have to be willing to trust one another if you are going to get anything done. . . . I think we can do better, and I believe we will,” Dole said.
