Tiahrt to his constituents= “Let the kids smoke”

Once again we see that Todd Tiahrt sells his votes to the highest bidder. This time he sold out to big tobacco companies over the health of our children. After all, how many of our children can afford to give huge donations to Tiahrt’s campaign. Tobacco has plenty of money and money to Tiahrt is far more important than the health of his constituent’s children’s health.


From The Wichita Eagle:
KELLY W. JOHNSTON: IS TIAHRT LOOKING OUT FOR CHILDREN OR BIG TOBACCO?
BY KELLY W. JOHNSTON
I was not surprised to learn last week that President Bush again vetoed the latest bill reauthorizing the State Children's Health Insurance Program, nor that Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, has voted at least three times against new SCHIP funding bills. What I was surprised to learn is the extent of Big Tobacco's support for Tiahrt.
An examination of Tiahrt's campaign finance reports reveals that he received at least $43,000 from Big Tobacco interests over the past five elections through 2006. In the most recent election cycle alone, he received $9,000 from RJ Reynolds and Altria Group (the parent company of Philip Morris).
In a commentary in The Eagle ("SCHIP is political tug-of-war," Sept. 26 Reader Views), Tiahrt attacked the SCHIP bill because the new 61-cent tax on each pack of cigarettes to fund the bill would "increase the burden on lower-income Americans." The truth more likely is that Tiahrt's anti-SCHIP votes have been motivated by his loyalty to Big Tobacco and the predictable decrease in demand for cigarettes (and lower Big Tobacco profits) that such a tax increase would cause.