Todd Tiahrt

Elections in Kansas: Federal offices
06
Aug
By Bob Weeks

Elections in Kansas: Federal offices

Kansas Republican primary voters made two good decisions this week. Kansas held primary elections this week. The primary election, of course, does not determine who wins the office; it only selects one Democratic and one Republican candidate to move forward to the November general election. But in many cases, the primary is the election, at least the one that really makes a difference. That's because in Kansas, often there may be no Democratic Party candidate. Or if there is a Democrat, that candidate may have little money available to campaign in a district with a large Republican voter registration advantage.…
Read More
03
Aug
By Bob Weeks

In Kansas, hypocritical criticism of voting records

Kansas fourth district voters may want to be aware of voting record of a congressional challenger, and whether his criticism of his opponent for similar behavior is hypocritical. Todd Tiahrt has criticized Congressman Mike Pompeo for missing recent votes. A Tiahrt campaign press release contained: "'Mr. Pompeo’s job is not to raise money or have political events -- his job is to vote.' stated Todd Tiahrt." It's not uncommon for officeholders to be absent during campaign season. Relevant to this is Tiahrt's own voting record four years ago. At that time he was campaigning for the United States Senate while…
Read More
In Kansas fourth district, fundamental issues of governance arise
01
Aug
By Bob Weeks

In Kansas fourth district, fundamental issues of governance arise

The contest in the Kansas fourth district is a choice between principle and political expediency, and between economic freedom and cronyism. While some news articles and political columns have described the contest for Republican Party nomination for United States House of Representatives between Todd Tiahrt and Mike Pompeo as a yawner, as between two candidates with few and only minor distinguishing positions -- there are important differences. The press is starting to notice. In the Wall Street Journal columnist Kimberly Strassel made the case for this contest's importance as a bellwether of Republican sentiment: A big decision comes Tuesday in…
Read More
For Tiahrt, economic freedom is not a good thing, it seems
30
Jul
By Bob Weeks

For Tiahrt, economic freedom is not a good thing, it seems

Kansas congressional candidate Todd Tiahrt has criticized Charles Koch and Americans for Prosperity, leading us to wonder if Tiahrt understands or embraces the principles of economic freedom and free markets. In a recent speech, candidate for United States House of Representatives Todd Tiahrt criticized Americans for Prosperity and Charles Koch, telling an audience "in general, they try to fight programs that they think are not good for Koch Industries." He also said that for Mike Pompeo, Tiahrt's election opponent who is supported by Americans for Prosperity, they "think it’s all about the money." These allegations are contrary to positions and…
Read More
For Rep. Tiahrt, Cash for Clunkers was a good spending program
28
Jul
By Bob Weeks

For Rep. Tiahrt, Cash for Clunkers was a good spending program

When the Obama Administration needed additional funds for the Cash for Clunkers program, Todd Tiahrt was agreeable to funding this wasteful program. As summarized by the Congressional Research Service: "Makes emergency supplemental appropriations of $2 billion for FY2009 and FY2010 to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of the Department of Transportation (DOT) for the Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Program (Cash for Clunkers Program)." This bill passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 316 to 109. Among House Republicans, the vote was 78 to 95 in favor of passage. Todd Tiahrt was one of the…
Read More
22
Jul
By Bob Weeks

Voting attendance an issue in Kansas fourth district campaign

Todd Tiahrt has criticized Congressman Mike Pompeo for missing votes this month. But when Tiahrt was campaigning for the United States Senate while also serving in the House of Representatives, he missed a lot of votes. From July to September 2010, Tiahrt missed 76 of 151 votes. That's missing 50.3 percent, which placed him in the 99th percentile for missing votes during those months. Data is from govtrack.us. Tiahrt has made a point of mentioning a specific vote that Pompeo missed, on July 10 for H.R. 4923: Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2015. During Monday's debate…
Read More
How earmarks pay off for the earmarkers
16
Jul
By Bob Weeks

How earmarks pay off for the earmarkers

The case of a Kansas Congressman benefiting from earmark spending once out of office should make us glad the practice has ended, and we should be wary of those who call for its return. The case of United States House of Representatives Appropriations Committee Member Todd Tiahrt and Neumann Systems is an illustration of the revolving door between government and the private sector. It started with an earmark. An Air Force budgetary document indicates that the earmark spending was at the direction of Congress: "In FY 2006, Congress added $1.2 million for the High Power Fiber Laser Program, and $0.5…
Read More
12
Jul
By Bob Weeks

In Kansas fourth district campaign, PAC contributions are an issue

Candidate Todd Tiahrt criticizes Mike Pompeo for accepting PAC money as campaign contributions, but over his career Tiahrt has accepted PAC dollars in greater proportion than has Pompeo. In a press release and on the campaign trail, candidate for the Republican Party nomination for United States Congress from the fourth district of Kansas Todd Tiahrt has criticized Mike Pompeo for his acceptance of PAC, or political action committee, campaign contributions. An example from a June 19 press release reads "PAC Man Pompeo’s special interest money means special interest legislation." Later in the same release: "So, was Mr. Pompeo representing Kansans…
Read More
Did Rep. Mike Pompeo vote to fund Obamacare?
11
Jul
By Bob Weeks

Did Rep. Mike Pompeo vote to fund Obamacare?

A television ad by Todd Tiahrt claims that Mike Pompeo voted seven times to fund Obamacare. What are the facts about those bills? The seven bills referenced in the Tiahrt ad are appropriations bills that fund numerous departments and agencies of the federal government. Three of the bills were to fund the operations of government for as little as one week. One bill was 475 pages in length. Most passed with broad support of Republicans, including the Kansas delegation. Some reduced funding that had been authorized by the previous Congress. Somewhere deep within these bills there may be funding that…
Read More