Thursday, June 05, 2014

Kansas representative race—Pompeo and Tiahrt are about the same

From
Wichita Peace and Freedom Party Examiner:

The race between Mike Pompeo and Todd Tiahrt for the 4th Congressional District seat is expected to be heated, but not so much over politics as over personalities. Both candidates are conservative Republicans, who will compete for the 4th district congressional seat on the August 5 primary.
The Wichita Eagle
 reported they have been monitoring social media sites and drew the conclusion that the race will be heated. Yet this will not be about issues, since both men have similar stands on most of them. Two major differences are Pompeo’s support of NSA surveillance of American citizens, which Tiahrt said he is concerned about, according to KAKE TV and Tiahrt’s opposition for military strikes in Syria. But there has been no specific criticism of that overall policy. It seems doubtful that his criticism will amount to anything more that the type of and level of aid to pro-west Syrian Rebels (including support for the Free Syrian Army). Pompeo has pushed for a very aggressive military position with action against Syrian President Bashar Hafez al-Assad, including military strikes.
Some of the claims of Tiahrt’s supporters are absurd, such as saying Pompeo is the best friend of the Obamas. Both candidates have ties the Tea Party. Both are very conservative. Tiahrt has relied in the past on support from fundamentalist churches for support.
Whichever candidate wins in August is almost assured of winning the general election in November. The only Democrat running is Perry Schuckman, a former director of Wichita’s Nonprofit Chamber of Commerce. He lacks name recognition and it is unlikely he can raise the kind of money Tiahrt or Pompeo can. Republican voters have also increased in Sedgwick County and even a good campaign has to overcome the majority of hard core Republicans who will not vote for a Democrat. Since the defeat of Dan Glickman, 1995, the Democrats have not been able to win that seat back, despite a spirited campaign by Democrat Raj Goyle.
So for progressives and leftists this campaign is a complete waste. Neither candidate deserves support of the voters. Tiahrt supports our privacy over the NSA and opposes military strikes in Syria, but those positive positions are in contrast to a steady history of anti-abortion, anti-worker and anti-peace votes. Neither candidate has anything else positive to offer. As to the Democrat, Schuckman, no one takes him seriously, including the Democratic Party. The Democrats have steadily declined over the last 20 years and there is no sign of that changing anytime soon. Voting in this race is a complete waste of time.

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