Most of the anti-government arguments made Tuesday against Wichita’s participation in a $1.5 million federal grant for regional sustainable planning had been heard during the Sedgwick County Commission meeting earlier this month. But one person addressing the City Council and mayor crossed a new line. After claiming that during his 55 years in Wichita “our freedoms have been whittled away to where we have practically nothing in the way of freedom and liberty,” state Rep. Benny Boman, R-Wichita, said he had fought forced busing for integration of Wichita schools and cited such busing as an example of federal meddling: “The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the federal government has the right to regulate that which it subsidizes. So there you have it. If you take the money, you get control.” It was shocking to hear such a comment from an elected official in 2012, in a nation and community that have made such progress against racism and segregation.
There is no need to wonder any longer what the fiscally conservative American Legislative Exchange Council is doing crafting model “stand-your-ground” gun laws and voter-ID legislation for states. ALEC’s board of directors issued a statement Tuesday announcing it was ending the ALEC task force that dealt with noneconomic issues and “refocusing our commitment to free-market, limited government and pro-growth principles.” ALEC’s move followed the recent decisions of companies including McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Intuit, Mars, Kraft Foods, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo to drop their support for ALEC. Kansas’ close times to the group surely will continue, though: 23 state legislators attended ALEC’s convention last August in New Orleans, and Wichita-based Koch Industries recently stated its intention to continue its membership in and support of ALEC.
Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., and his wife, Kansas Board of Regents member Robba Moran, have put their Hays house up for sale. But “whatever we decide to do, it will not include moving to Washington, D.C.,” the senator told the Hays Daily News. With the Morans’ kids now grown, the couple are looking to downsize and might move closer to a large airport. If so, how about Wichita? That way, the senator could take advantage of the Southwest Airlines service he helped secure for Wichita Mid-Continent Airport.
Most of the anti-government arguments made Tuesday against Wichita’s participation in a $1.5 million federal grant for regional sustainable planning had been heard during the Sedgwick County Commission meeting earlier this month. But one person addressing the City Council and mayor crossed a new line. After claiming that during his 55 years in Wichita “our freedoms have been whittled away to where we have practically nothing in the way of freedom and liberty,” state Rep. Benny Boman, R-Wichita, said he had fought forced busing for integration of Wichita schools and cited such busing as an example of federal meddling: “The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the federal government has the right to regulate that which it subsidizes. So there you have it. If you take the money, you get control.” It was shocking to hear such a comment from an elected official in 2012, in a nation and community that have made such progress against racism and segregation.
