Daily Archives: Jan. 25, 2012

No surprise that delegation disliked Obama address

Jan. 25, 201212:24 p.m.

Kansas’ GOP congressional delegation was unimpressed with President Obama’s State of the Union address. Sen. Pat Roberts complained that it lacked a plan forward. “Tonight we heard a campaign speech,” he said. Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Fowler, sniped that the president “is running from his record but there is nowhere to hide.” Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Wichita, agreed with Obama on one point, sort of. “An America that is ‘built to last’ does not ‘win the future’ with leadership that bloats the government, ratchets up unsustainable spending and worsens our national debt,” Pompeo said. Meanwhile, national Libertarian Party chairman Mark Hinkle was put off by both Obama’s address and the GOP response, likening them to TV infomercials. But “unlike Ginsu knives, hair spray for men, and ripped abs in 30 days,” he said, “the Republican and Democratic infomercials have no redeeming social value.”

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Kansas delegation, President Obama | Comments Off

Don’t split Sedgwick County between congressional districts

Jan. 25, 20126:00 a.m.

State Sen. Susan Wagle, R-Wichita, is correct in objecting to a redistricting plan released this week that would split Sedgwick County between the 1st and 4th congressional districts. Wagle called the plan “ugly.” It sure is. An alternative plan that would move Manhattan from the 2nd District to the 1st District makes more sense and is much simpler. Though Manhattan has objected to that plan, saying it wants to stay in the same district as Lawrence, a Hutchinson News editorial noted that Kansas State University could be a “better fit for the 1st District given the commonality of the land-grant university’s mission with the largely rural nature of the ‘Big First.’”

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Kansas government | Comments Off