At a luncheon meeting on February 25, Wichita aviation leaders — dubbed “Wingmen for Pompeo” — endorsed Mike Pompeo for the Republican Party nomination for the United States House of Representatives from the fourth district of Kansas.
In a recorded video appearance, Spirit Aerosystems Chief Executive Officer Jeff Turner said that Pompeo is the kind of representative we need in these difficult and turbulent times. He said he’s known Pompeo for several years, and found him to be a man of integrity who understands business in general and the aviation business in particular.
Bill Boisture Jr., chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hawker Beechcraft Corporation, said that after meeting Pompeo, he was convinced that he understood business, investment and risk-taking, and had similar ideas to his on the size of government. He added that this election will be directional to our country for several years.
In his remarks, Pompeo said we are in serious times. Washington has too few people who have run businesses, and that played a role in his decision to run for Congress. He said we are short about 10,000 to 13,000 jobs in the Kansas fourth district compared to just a short time ago. Demand for airplanes built here is down to levels not seen in a long time. This has a tremendous impact on the local economy and workers and their families.
Pompeo said that when you’re in a hole, the first thing to do is to stop digging. He mentioned President Obama’s remarks last year making it politically incorrect to fly in business aircraft. His policies have also made credit scarce and business people unwilling to invest, he said. Businesses don’t know what’s coming next from Washington he said, citing the health care summit taking place and the effort to federalize one-sixth of the nation’s economy. The burden of taxation and regulation are harming business, too. “There are 32 agencies that keep our drinking water safe, just at the federal level.” When it comes time to grow again, will new jobs be in America or somewhere else where business can be more competitive?
Pompeo said this his belief is that the federal governments’ role should be “intensely limited,” mentioning national defense as one role. He said that he recognizes that he, as a Member of Congress, can not create jobs. High taxes, he said, make capital go somewhere else, and that takes jobs away with it. He added there’s a place for a strong Federal Aviation Administration to create air traffic infrastructure.
Wichita has an entrepreneurial tradition, Pompeo said, and liberals and progressives in Washington believe they know better than we do about business. Their deal of offering security in exchange for control results in a false security.
Closing his remarks, Pompeo said that “compromise is something you do about the things that don’t matter a whole lot.” The things that matter — jobs, families, schools — are things he will not compromise on.
Jack Pelton, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer for Cessna Aircraft Company, said that our next congressman needs to understand business, capitalism, and the importance of national security, things he said Pompeo understands. He added that the values and integrity of Pompeo and his wife Susan also convinced him to support Pompeo’s candidacy.
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