First-term Rep. Nancy Boyda, D-Topeka — widely considered one of the most vulnerable Democrats in Congress — looks to be much stronger and more popular than previously thought, judging by surprising new poll results.
The survey by Anzalone Liszt Research found Boyda with a comfortable lead over her two current Republican challengers, leading ex-Rep. Jim Ryun by 17 points, 54 to 37 percent, and up 30 points over state Treasurer Lynn Jenkins, 57 to 27 percent. Moreover, 68 percent of respondents thought she was doing a good or excellent job.
If these numbers are accurate, then Boyda could be a shoo-in for re-election.
Democrats are trying to label Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., as a lapdog for the Bush administration, especially on the war in Iraq and intelligence issues. But Roberts’ latest campaign commercial highlights one disagreement he had with President Bush — though the ad doesn’t point this out or explain the context. The ad spotlights how Roberts “voted to cover 34,000 more Kansas kids.†That vote was part of a bipartisan effort to expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, which Bush vetoed. To his credit, Roberts was a vocal supporter of the expansion and critic of the myths and misinformation that the Bush administration and some Republican opponents, including Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, spread about the expansion.
Congress has agreed on a surveillance bill that would shield from lawsuits the telecommunications companies that helped the government wiretap phone and computer lines, Associated Press reported. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said the bill “balances the needs of our intelligence community with Americans’ civil liberties and provides critical new oversight and accountability requirements.” But a New York Times editorial today said that the bill doesn’t appear to be balanced or a compromise. “President Bush and his allies are once again trying to scare Congress into expanding the president’s powers to spy on Americans without a court order,” the editorial argued.
Wichita attorney Bradley Schlozman may be in deep trouble — and with good reason, if the allegations are true. The Justice Department is considering launching a grand jury investigation into whether Schlozman, a former U.S. attorney based in Kansas City, Mo., intentionally misled Congress when he gave conflicting statements about his role in filing a voter fraud lawsuit in Missouri, Associated Press reported. Scholzman also boasted about hiring conservative loyalists over better-qualified lawyers when he was acting assistant attorney for the Justice Department’s civil rights division.
Who knew that the perks of power in Washington, D.C., included sweet deals on mortgages? The past few days have turned a welcome light on such VIP treatment by Countrywide Financial Corp. for figures including Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D.; Jim Johnson (Barack Obama’s former running mate vetter); Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn.; and former Cabinet members Alphonso Jackson (under Bush) and Donna Shalala (Clinton). Conrad, for one, said he didn’t know he was getting a discount and gave $10,500 to charity when his deal became known. But a watchdog group is right to urge the Senate ethics panel to investigate whether such loans cross the line, especially when the lender has business before Congress.
A fascinating Huffington Post item on some of John McCain’s past statements on gun rights includes this from 2004, on Rep. Todd Tiahrt’s now-famous amendment to prohibit the public release of trace data on guns used in crimes: “This information is not top secret data that jeopardizes our national security, or hinders law enforcement,†McCain said. “We cannot have a government that operates in secret and refuses to release information that shows where criminals have obtained a gun. . . . This language is an embarrassment to law-abiding gun owners and is a slap in the face to law enforcement.â€
The U.S. House voted 251-166 Wednesday to send proposed articles of impeachment against President Bush to the House Judiciary Committee, but don’t expect any action on it. The impeachment resolution was proposed by Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio. He says Bush should be impeached for reasons that include manufacturing a false case for war in Iraq, botching the nation’s response to Hurricane Katrina and undermining efforts to address global warming, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported.
A few years ago, Senate Democrats were in an uproar over the Republicans’ slow pace of confirming President Clinton’s nominees. Now, the story is the same, with the roles reversed as the Democrats allegedly try to run out the clock on the Bush administration. Last week, Senate Republicans stepped up their threats to use parliamentary tactics to force confirmation votes on 15 of President Bush’s nominees for federal appeals court seats. “This is going to really slow this place down, if not grind it to a halt,†said Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan. Why must the ruling party in the Senate always play games over judicial confirmations? Doesn’t justice merit some bipartisanship?
As expected, the U.S. Senate didn’t have enough votes to block a GOP filibuster of a climate change bill, the Washington Post reported. Not that it mattered much; President Bush had vowed to veto the bill. That means any climate change action will have to wait until the next administration. Both John McCain and Barack Obama supported the Senate bill, which would have created a cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gases as part of provisions to cut emissions linked to global warming nearly 70 percent by 2050.
Cal Thomas argues that Democrats committed fraud in telling voters in 2006 that they would end the war in Iraq. He points to a video of Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Pa., in which he says Democrats “sort of stretched the facts” about their intention to end the war and bring troops home. Democrats have made several votes related to ending the war, which haven’t made it through the Senate or President Bush. But Thomas argues that if that Democratic lawmakers really meant what they told voters, they could have withheld funding for the war. Of course, Thomas is disingenuous in defending voters, as he supports the war and would be furious if Democratic lawmakers withheld funding. But what do you think? Were Democratic candidates dishonest? Should they withhold funding?
Right-wing radio hosts have tried to turn Sen. Ted Kennedy into a caricature. But columnist David Broder writes that Kennedy, who left the hospital today after being diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor, “has probably touched more people, in more cherished ways, than any other public figure. And his illness threatens to alter, for the worse, the prospects of every other politician — starting with Barack Obama and John McCain.”
Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, and Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Wash., sent a letter Monday to the assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition requesting an independent cost assessment of the tanker proposals from Boeing and from Northrop Grumman/European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. “The United States Congress and the American people have a right to know the true cost of each proposal,†the letter said.
But J.D. Crowe, editorial cartoonist for the Press-Register in Mobile, Ala. (where the Northrop tanker would be assembled), has a different take on the congressmen’s advocacy.
There are easier ways to make a living than being in Congress — and to make a much better living. But Kansas’ lawmakers are getting by or better, according to the Sunlight Foundation. Its new study finds Sen. Sam Brownback, with a $13.3 million net worth in 2006, leading his fellow Kansans, followed by Rep. Nancy Boyda ($2.2 million), Sen. Pat Roberts ($1.7 million), Rep. Dennis Moore ($827,000), Rep. Jerry Moran ($510,000) and the 4th District’s own Rep. Todd Tiahrt ($121,000). The average net worth among their fellow Americans in 2006 was $93,000.
Overall, Kansas’ delegation members fell well within the extremes of wealth or lack of it cited by the study — from California Rep. Jane Harmon’s $409 million to Florida Rep. Alcee Hastings’ $4.7 million debt.
Hillary Clinton’s big win in West Virginia wasn’t the most significant election news Tuesday. Rather, it was Travis Childers (in photo) winning a special election for a U.S. House race in Mississippi. The Democrat’s victory in this very conservative, formerly safe GOP district could spell problems for Republicans in November. House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, certainly thinks so.
“The results in MS-01 should serve as a wake-up call to Republican candidates nationwide,†he said in a statement. “As I’ve said before, this is a change election, and if we want Americans to vote for us we have to convince them that we can fix Washington. Our presidential nominee, Sen. McCain, is an agent of change; candidates who hope to succeed must show that they’re willing and able to join McCain in a leading movement for reform.â€
The list of members of Congress in ethical messes gets longer, yet nothing seems to happen to these guys. The latest addition is Rep. Vito Fossella (in photo), R-N.Y., whose drunken driving arrest led to revelations last week that he fathered a daughter, now 3, outside his marriage. So far, he plans to stay in Congress. And why not? Congress is where you’ll still find Sen. David Vitter, R-La., who learned last week that his link to the late “D.C. Madam†won’t even be investigated by the so-called Senate Ethics Committee; Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, despite pleading guilty related to a Minneapolis airport restroom sex sting (though he’s retiring after this term); and Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., despite being indicted in a bribery investigation (he’s even been re-elected since).
The Washington Post described how Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, came to lead what appeared to be a House GOP effort to “reconsider†a resolution “celebrating the role of mothers in the United States and supporting the goals and ideals of Mother’s Day.â€
After the resolution passed 412-0 Wednesday, Tiahrt rose and said: “Mr. Speaker, I move to reconsider the vote.†In a vote on whether to table Tiahrt’s motion to reconsider, Tiahrt was among 178 Republicans to vote “no†— appearing to some to be opposing the motherhood resolution. According to Sam Sackett, Tiahrt’s communications director, the procedural move was part of House Republicans’ efforts to draw attention to Democratic House leaders’ refusal to handle a massive supplemental military funding bill via the committee process. “Mr. Tiahrt is not against mothers, Mother’s Day or Father’s Day, and the official vote shows that he supported the resolution,†Sackett told The Eagle editorial board.
But the way the gambit looked, the Post noted, “Republicans are now confronted with a John Kerry-esque predicament: They actually voted for motherhood before they voted against it.â€
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich saw more than a loss for his team in last weekend’s special congressional election in Louisiana, where a district went Democratic for the first time in 33 years: “Either congressional Republicans are going to chart a bold course of real change or they are going to suffer decisive losses this November,” he wrote for Human Events. Gingrich sees John McCain’s strength in opinion polls as “a sign of the gap between the McCain brand of independence and the GOP brand.” His prescription for House Republicans: Repeal the gas tax for the summer, cutting domestic discretionary spending accordingly. Redirect the oil being put into the national petroleum reserve onto the open market. Introduce a “more energy at lower cost with less environmental damage and greater national security bill” as a replacement for the Warner-Lieberman “tax and trade” bill. Establish an earmark moratorium for one year and pledge to uphold the presidential veto of bills with earmarks through the end of 2009. Overhaul the census and cut its budget radically. Implement a space-based, GPS-style air traffic control system. Declare English the official language of government. Protect the workers’ right to a secret ballot. Remind Americans that judges matter.
“At the top of the list of no-brainers in Washington, D.C., should be the proposal by Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., to expand education benefits for the men and women who have served in the armed forces since Sept. 11, 2001,” columnist Bob Herbert argued in today’s Opinion pages. “It’s awfully hard to make the case that these young people who have sacrificed so much don’t deserve a shot at a better future once their wartime service has ended.”
While Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton support the bill, President Bush and John McCain do not. The Bush administration argues that the benefits are too generous, would be difficult to administer and would adversely affect retention.
“This is bogus,” Herbert wrote. “The estimated $2.5 billion to $4 billion annual cost of the Webb proposal is dwarfed by the hundreds of billions being spent on the wars we’re asking service members to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan. What’s important to keep in mind is that the money that goes to bolstering the education of returning veterans is an investment, in both the lives of the veterans themselves and the future of the nation.”
McCain has come out with his own bill, which would offer fewer benefits. Herbert wasn’t impressed: “Politicians tend to talk very, very big about supporting our men and women in uniform. But time and again we find that talk to be very, very cheap.”
Criticizing the “breathtaking incompetence” of GOP leaders and saying “Let’s light a candle for change in Kansas,” Democrat Jim Slattery officially launched his campaign today against Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan. Slattery, who served Kansas’ 2nd Congressional District from 1983 to 1994, must first win the Democratic nomination over Lee Jones of Overland Park in the August primary. To win in the general election, Slattery would need to overcome Roberts’ popularity and flush campaign fund, as well as Slattery’s 14-year absence from the state to work as a D.C. lobbyist. But Slattery is a credible challenger and could make this the state’s first competitive Senate race in a dozen years.
The subheading that Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, chose for his “tanker blog” says it all: “the outrage.” The congressman is using the blog, on his congressional Web site, to pass along news and views about the Air Force’s decision to let Northrop Grumman and European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. build its new refueling tankers. Tiahrt’s Monday post linked to a letter he wrote to Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne calling the evidence of EADS’ corruption “overwhelming” and demanding more answers.
The state has a big stake in the long-delayed farm bill, so it needed to be ably represented on the huge 60-member conference committee assigned to reconcile the farm bill passed by the Senate in December with the one passed by the House last July. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., was named to the panel in February. Rep. Jerry Moran, R-Hays, got the nod Thursday. Both have said they want to protect direct payments to farmers and the crop insurance program. The unenviable process will involve avoiding a presidential veto threat.
“In another era, a memo declassified just the other day would have been accounted a ‘smoking gun,’ and the nation would have been abuzz with speculation about whose heads would roll and how far. Nowadays? Ho-hum,†columnist Tom Teepen wrote about the Bush torture memo.
The 2003 memo by John Yoo, then a deputy in the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, claimed that contrary laws could not bar the president from authorizing the abuse of detainees. Another memo by Yoo the previous year narrowed the definition of torture to acts that caused major organ failure or equivalent injury. The torture memo helped “drag the nation into international disrepute as a torturing power answerable neither to international law, treaty commitments nor even its own laws and Constitution,†Teepen wrote. Yet will anyone be held accountable?
The contract for Air Force refueling tankers isn’t the only one that needs scrutiny. Congress needs to get to the bottom of why costs have nearly doubled for the new Marine One helicopters. The fleet of 28 new supersophisticated helicopters has increased in price from $6.1 billion when the contract was signed in 2005 to $11.2 billion today, the Washington Post reported. That comes to $400 million per helicopter, which is more than the most recent Air Force One airplane cost, adjusted for inflation. Lockheed Martin, which is heading up the team that is building the helicopters, has blamed some of the cost overruns on the Navy adding more requirements, but the Navy says it hasn’t changed the contract.
John McCain, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton agree on at least one thing: Congress needs to curb its appetite for earmark appropriations for home district projects. But getting Congress to agree won’t be easy, regardless of who becomes president. The Senate last week voted overwhelmingly against a one-year ban on earmarks. Kansas Republican Sens. Sam Brownback and Pat Roberts were part of the majority opposing the ban. McCain was not happy. “This may be the last bastion in America where they don’t get it,†he said, “that Americans are sick and tired of the way we do business here in Washington.â€
According to the latest rankings of the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, the median net worth of members of Congress for 2006 was $1.7 million for U.S. senators and $675,000 for House members. Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., was the only Kansan to crack the top 25 in either chamber, coming in as the 17th richest senator with a minimum net worth of just over $10 million. The richest member of either chamber was said to be Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., whose wealth was estimated at $409 million in 2006. And House members saw their net worth rise an average 84 percent from 2004 to 2006. Can a Congress whose members have $3.6 billion between them really write laws for a nation in an economic slowdown?
First-term Rep. Nancy Boyda, D-Topeka — widely considered one of the most vulnerable Democrats in Congress — looks to be much stronger and more popular than previously thought, judging by surprising new poll results.
