A Wall Street Journal editorial Wednesday mocked a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers, including Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., for backing the extension of the production tax credit for wind energy – referring to the lawmakers as the “wind pork caucus.” Gov. Sam Brownback also supports extending the tax credit, arguing correctly that it is crucial to Kansas’ ability to continue to harness and export wind energy. The editorial contended that a bill by Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Wichita, to kill all energy subsidies would “do more to create jobs than attempting to pick energy winners and losers.”
The retirement announcement of Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, had Kansas City Star columnist Dave Helling feeling nostalgia for former Kansas Sen. Nancy Kassebaum (in photo), who was the first woman senator ever elected independent of her spouse and served 18 years before retiring in 1996. He called her “the most uncalculating officeholder I’ve ever known — she told you exactly what she thought, regardless of the political implications.” Helling also noted: “In 2012, you’re either an occupier or a tea partier, with no place in the middle to make a stand.”
The long and colorful political career of Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, may have ended with Tuesday’s upset in a member-versus-member Democratic primary stemming from redistricting. But the former “boy mayor” of Cleveland and presidential wannabe won’t be soon forgotten. A Washington Post blog rounded up the highlights, including the times that he filed articles of impeachment against Vice President Dick Cheney, reported seeing a UFO and sued the House cafeteria over an olive pit.
A Wall Street Journal editorial Wednesday mocked a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers, including Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., for backing the extension of the production tax credit for wind energy – referring to the lawmakers as the “wind pork caucus.” Gov. Sam Brownback also supports extending the tax credit, arguing correctly that it is crucial to Kansas’ ability to continue to harness and export wind energy. The editorial contended that a bill by Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Wichita, to kill all energy subsidies would “do more to create jobs than attempting to pick energy winners and losers.”
