Voice For Liberty

Tag: United States Congress

  • Scott Brown, Republican, wins in Massachusetts

    At any moment Martha Coakley will concede that she has been defeated in her effort for the Democrats to hold on to the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy’s seat in the United States Senate, dealing a blow to President Obama’s prestige and the future of Democratic Party efforts to control increasing sectors of the American economy.

    Today the Wall Street Journal released poll results indicating that Americans are already weary of the big-government policies of Obama and his administration:

    For the first time, a majority of Americans — 53% — disapprove of the government’s increased role in the economy since the financial crisis, up from 44% in March. And 48% said Washington was doing too many things better left to businesses and individuals, a plurality seen in polling since September.

    The government’s takeover of General Motors, the biggest economic intervention that happened solely on Mr. Obama’s watch, drew the strongest negative reaction. Nearly two-thirds of Americans surveyed, 65%, disapproved of the government’s taking a majority stake in the troubled auto maker. Independents were highly critical of the move, as were Republicans.

  • Moran to address Wichita Pachyderms

    Today, United States Representative from the first district of Kansas Jerry Moran will address the members and guests of the Wichita Pachyderm Club. Moran is running against Todd Tiahrt for the Republican nomination for the United States Senate from Kansas. Tiahrt spoke at the same event one week earlier.

    All are welcome to attend Pachyderm club meetings. The program costs $10, which includes a delicious buffet lunch including salad, soup, two main dishes, and ice tea and coffee. The meeting starts at noon, although it’s recommended to arrive fifteen minutes early to get your lunch before the program starts.

    The Wichita Petroleum Club is on the ninth floor of the Bank of America Building at 100 N. Broadway (north side of Douglas between Topeka and Broadway) in Wichita, Kansas (click for a map and directions). Park in the garage just across Broadway and use the sky walk to enter the Bank of America building. Bring your parking garage ticket to be stamped and your parking fee will be only $1.00. There is usually some metered and free street parking nearby.

  • Tiahrt to address Wichita Pachyderms

    This Friday, United States Representative from the fourth district of Kansas Todd Tiahrt will address the members and guests of the Wichita Pachyderm Club. Tiahrt is running against Jerry Moran for the Republican nomination for the United States Senate from Kansas. Moran will speak at the same event one week later.

    All are welcome to attend Pachyderm club meetings. The program costs $10, which includes a delicious buffet lunch including salad, soup, two main dishes, and ice tea and coffee. The meeting starts at noon, although it’s recommended to arrive fifteen minutes early to get your lunch before the program starts.

    The Wichita Petroleum Club is on the ninth floor of the Bank of America Building at 100 N. Broadway (north side of Douglas between Topeka and Broadway) in Wichita, Kansas (click for a map and directions). Park in the garage just across Broadway and use the sky walk to enter the Bank of America building. Bring your parking garage ticket to be stamped and your parking fee will be only $1.00. There is usually some metered and free street parking nearby.

  • Former Congressman McEwen endorses Kelsey, talks about economics

    This week former Ohio Representative Bob McEwen appeared in Wichita on behalf of Kansas Senator Dick Kelsey and his campaign for the Republican nomination for the United States House of Representatives from the fourth district of Kansas.

    At a breakfast meeting, McEwen said that his state — Ohio — needs Dick Kelsey in Congress, and we in Kansas would be doing Ohio a favor by electing him.

    McEwen said in Washington, there are those who are good politicians, but not necessarily effective at government. Then there are those not skilled at politicking, but good at providing leadership in government. The fact that Kelsey was chosen by his colleagues to be head of the caucus shows that he is skilled in both politics and leadership.

    McEwen added that the time to have an impact in government is early on, in the primary. People ask in the fall elections: why can’t we do any better than these two candidates? The answer, he said, is to get involved now and take an interest.

    The United States has just four percent of the world’s population, but we produce more books, plays, symphonies, copyrights, and inventions than the rest of the world combined. It’s competition that makes the difference.

    Politics, McEwen said, equals integrity plus economics. Integrity is trust and reliability. It’s composed of morality, which means not doing what’s wrong, and also of character, which is doing what is right.

    On economics, McEwen said that when someone takes away some portion of your money, you have fewer choices, or less freedom. There are only two classes of people who can take money from you. One has a gun, and is a criminal. The other — government — also has a gun, and the impact is the same. America is the richest and most powerful nation in the world because we are the most free. But as more freedom is taken away from us, the nation becomes poorer.

    How does a nation become poorer because government takes its citizens’ money? McEwen explained that when you buy something for yourself, you care about both the price and the quality of the item. But when one or both of these factors — quality and price — are in the hands of someone else, less than optimal results appear.

    When you’re buying something for someone else, you’re concerned about the price — you are the one paying, after all — but the quality may not be quite as important as when buying something for yourself.

    Or when you’re going to consume something but not pay for it yourself: quality is important — you are the consumer, after all — but price is not important. Someone else is paying the bill.

    The really bad situation is when you are neither the consumer nor the payer. In this case there’s not much incentive to be concerned about either quality or price. This, McEwen said, describes government purchases. “When we run [a dollar] through a third-party system called government, we’re in the process of making the nation poorer.” Because we do less of this than any other nation is why we’re the richest nation.

    Much of the health care that’s purchased in the U.S. is purchased on behalf of people who are not paying for it, so it suffers from the problems of third-party purchases. When health care is paid for by those who are consuming it, as is the case with laser eye surgery for vision correction, price goes down and quality goes up. “It only works every time,” McEwen said.

    So why do people get elected to office and make their country poorer, McEwen asked? Some people believe that government can make people wealthy, but he said that’s never happened in history and never will. But they’re still determined to try this course. Others believe that free people create wealth.

    In public policy, one side always wants more government. The other wants to limit government.

    The starting point is “We hold these truths to be self-evident” — which McEwen said “is a gracious way of saying any idiot ought to understand this” — “that all men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator” — right there, he said, is the distinction between us and other countries.

    Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness — these are the ideals of the American Revolution. The French, in their revolution, had the Enlightenment, which didn’t rely upon God, McEwen said. Liberty, equality, and fraternity — the theme of the French Revolution — eliminates God and relies on groups for the source of power and equality. But since government cannot create — it can only take from one and give to another — people object. Therefore, the symbol of the French Revolution was the guillotine.

    The source of rights in America, however, was God, who gave us life and liberty. This explains the drive by liberals to remove God from public life: “They know that if you can separate a nation from God, then there is no protection for life, and for liberty.”

  • Moore decision not to run causes waves

    The news that Kansas third district congressman Dennis Moore has decided not to seek reelection is a week old now, but the ramifications will take a while to shake out. As Martin Hawver put it in a recent Capitol Rail: “We don’t know who, but we’re imagining, somewhere in Johnson County, there is a poor, embarrassed and sullen Republican who isn’t yet on the list of someone’s exploratory committee for the 3rd District congressional seat.”

    I imagine there are both Democrat and Republican candidates who have already declared for statewide office that would like to be able to have a re-do on their decision. In hindsight, of course.

    Michael Barone is a seasoned political analyst. His take on this district from the Washington Examiner is at Are Democrats exiting the sinking ship?

  • Jim Anderson stump speech received enthusiastically

    To an appreciative Saturday evening audience, candidate for the Republican party nomination for United States House of Representatives from the fourth district of Kansas Jim Anderson laid out in detail his political positions and his plans for Congress.

    Anderson spoke as part of a series of events featuring Alan Keyes, who spoke after Anderson.

    Anderson told the audience that he is “working hard to earn your support to become your representative, not a politician.” He said that he is “a man of the people, a Reagan conservative, who possesses the God-given gift of plain old common sense, which is clearly absent in Washington today.”

    Tracing some of the history of the United States, Anderson expressed his concern that our country is moving towards socialism, a system that he said is “intrinsically bad” and immoral. 2010, he said, is our time to change the direction of the country.

    Originally, individuals were empowered, but that has changed. Anderson’s conservative platform includes liberty, freedom, free markets, limited taxation through the Fair Tax, limited government with rights retained at the local level by states and citizens, strong national defense, and family values. These are the same values of the founding fathers, he said, and he supports legislation restoring these.

    A strong economy is needed, Anderson said. This includes a complete overhaul of the tax system, a return to federal spending discipline, balancing the budget, and reducing the size of government. Entitlements need to be brought under control, and eventually privatized.

    Taxes, he said, drive a wedge between those who wish to transact, and therefore reduces economic activity. The cost of complying with our present tax system is huge, too. The progressive income tax system places a large burden on high earners, while 50% don’t pay any income taxes.

    Anderson said that he will fight to lower taxes, and that tax reform is needed now. He supports the Fair Tax, which would replace the income tax with a consumption tax. He would also eliminate the death or inheritance tax, and taxes on capital gains.

    Another tax Anderson said must be defeated is climate change legislation. Man-made global warming is not a foregone conclusion, he said, and the radical left uses global warming to reduce the prosperity of global economic powers. Cap-and-trade would be a huge tax increase that would kill jobs across the country and in our district.

    Anderson said that our national debt is a problem, leaving a burden on future generations. The present national debt is $120,000 per family, with the debt forecast to increase over the next decade. “We should not expect future generations to live under a shadow of debt through socialism,” he said.

    Concerning the federal stimulus efforts, Anderson criticized the high cost of each job saved or created, and the high per-cost of the cash for clunkers program, which has been estimated at as much as $24,000 per car sold, when considering marginal effects.

    Anderson said he would oppose new government spending that isn’t offset by spending cuts elsewhere, and he would eliminate all earmarks.

    The Federal Reserve, Anderson said, has “been running the printing presses at record levels” to enable government overspending, and mask the structural problems in our country. He supports H.R. 1207, which calls for an audit of the Federal Reserve.

    Existing entitlement programs are ticking time bombs, Anderson said, and must be made solvent. For those nearing retirement age, he would keep the existing benefits, but for others, the benefits would be gradually reduced.

    Anderson said that free markets are the “most efficient mechanism,” and can provide the answer to several problem areas. On health care, he said we need to enable consumer choice, enact tort reform, and reject a government-run health care system. The move towards a government-run system is more about “control of every facet of our lives” rather than health. More freedom and markets is the solution to health care, he said.

    On education, Anderson said that we spend more money on education than any other nation, but we continue to fall farther behind. He supports less federal and state control over education, and also the voucher system. Competition will improve performance by giving parents a choice. Good teachers have not received the compensation they deserve, and markets will allow good teachers to earn what they deserve. Standards need to be strengthened, too.

    On energy issues, Anderson said that renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power are not consistent, and we’re going to be relying on hydrocarbons as a source of energy for some time to come. Taxpayers should not continue to subsidize energy sources with no viable economic future. We need to expand our use of coal and nuclear power, and increase our drilling efforts, he said.

    It makes no sense to pay farmers not to grow, so agriculture subsidies should be eliminated, Anderson said. Farmers should be able to farm the way they see best.

    Progressive liberals, Anderson said, have an agenda to fully transform our society. Their attack on capitalism — capitalism being the source of improvement in our living standards, he said — leads them to criticize those who purchase private airplanes at the expense of local communities like Wichita.

    Anderson said he would defend our morality, “which is core to the goodness of our society.” Progressives say that conservatives are not compassionate, but conservatives are the ones who care most about real America as did the founding fathers. Conservatives want to “remove the handcuffs of dependence” in exchange for freedom, liberty, and opportunity.

    Anderson spoke of his admiration for Ronald Reagan, quoting him saying “We the people, not the government, make this country great.”

    Our problems, Anderson said, come from drifting away from the constitution, capitalism, and individualism. Quoting Reagan again, he said that “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.”

    Although the outlook may be bleak, there have been movements such as the tea parties and town hall meetings, by ordinary men and women, that have sent a message to Washington that “enough is enough, and we will not be fooled again.”

    The 2010 elections are possibly the most important Congressional elections, he said, as we may not have another opportunity to take back our country. He said it’s become too hard to tell the Democrats from the Republicans. Too many Republicans have become more interested in reelection and party loyalty than representing their constituents. Being seen as bi-partisan, he said, is more important to them than upholding the conservative principles that were established by the founding fathers. “I am one of you, not one of them,” he said.

    Anderson said he would sign the proposed term limits amendment. He said he would hold regular town hall meetings with his constituents.

    He said would fight to keep government out of our homes, to protect the sanctity of life and the rights of the unborn, and keep marriage between one man and women.

    Analysis

    Anderson’s conservative message based on free markets, limited government, and Christian conservatism played well to the audience of about 200, being interrupted many times by applause. His grassroots-style campaign, staffed by volunteers in red shirts, should appeal to those who desire a candidate from outside the usual political establishment, although he is not the only candidate in the race from outside that realm.

    His criticism of Washington politics and the Republican Party may not earn him the support of the party regulars and establishment, but he seems to have the ability to tap into the frustration expressed by the tea party movement. Republicans in the Kansas fourth district have several conservative candidates to select from. Many have overlapping positions that make it difficult for candidates to distinguish themselves.

  • At Pachyderm, Pompeo pleases the audience

    Mike Pompeo at Wichita Pachyderm Club 2009-11-20Mike Pompeo at Wichita Pachyderm Club

    Yesterday, Kansas fourth district congressional candidate Mike Pompeo addressed members and guests of the Wichita Pachyderm Club. His conservative message was well-received by the overflow audience.

    Aaron Jack, Pompeo’s campaign manager, introduced Pompeo, pointing out that Pompeo has successfully run companies in two of our largest local industries: aviation and oil and gas. Pompeo also served as trustee of the Flint Hills Center for Public Policy (now the Kansas Policy Institute), helping to formulate public policy in Kansas.

    As he has before, Pompeo presented the bottom line as to why he’s running for Congress: “Our federal elected officials have fundamentally lost their way, have become disconnected from our United States Constitution, and frankly don’t understand the challenges we face in the fourth district of Kansas.” He said he has the experiences, work ethic, integrity, and willingness to fight hard for Kansas.

    He said that we’re approaching a point in our history where there’s not much turning back. We may soon have people going to the polls in sufficient numbers who are dependent on the federal government for their well-being. Not enough people are willing to work hard and produce, and once we reach this point, getting our civilization back would be a real challenge.

    Pompeo spoke of a few “simple things” that illustrate his principles.

    We cannot spend more money than we have, he said. It becomes unsustainable. He said this is the primary fight going on in Washington.

    On earmarks, Pompeo said that they are a small piece of the total federal budget, but they are “incredibly important” in a symbolic way. Pompeo pledged never to support legislation that contains earmarks. Using earmarks corrupts the system, he said. When getting re-elected becomes the goal of elected officials, the “battle is over.”

    “My faith is incredibly important to me,” Pompeo said as another simple fact.

    Referring to his experience as commander of a unit that patrolled the East German/Czechoslovakian border, he said he appreciates national security issues. They’ve been “taken off the front page” because of economic issues, but there are still people that want to do us harm. If we send our armed forces into harm’s way, the commitment must be total, he said. “Half steps don’t work.”

    His experience at Thayer Aerospace — the reason he came to Wichita — made him appreciate “what an enormous job-killer our federal government is.” We have a good workforce in America, but we have a terrible tax policy, and we may be getting a bad health care policy. “Capital will go where it gets the best return.” Our federal government needs to get out of the way of business, he said.

    If a politician running for election says he’s going to Washington to create jobs, Pompeo said we should realize that’s not possible. The jobs government creates are bureaucratic jobs that aren’t in the competitive environment that grows America. Instead, Pompeo said that government should protect property and contract rights, and then go away and leave us alone.

    The potential of cap-and-trade legislation will cost many jobs in the Kansas fourth district and across the country. North American oil and gas production will “drop to zero” if this bill will pass. It will also hurt agriculture, causing food prices to rise, he said.

    On health care, Pompeo asked why this issue is at the top of the agenda. We have a health care system that is imperfect and needs work, but we have more important issues such as unemployment to tackle first. He said that it is not likely that a federal takeover of health care will reduce costs.

    Pompeo’s prepared remarks were relatively brief, leaving time for many questions from the Pachyderm Club members and guests.

    In response to a question, Pompeo said that we need to stand behind our commitment to Israel. In Afghanistan, he said that Generals Petraeus and McChrystal have it about right: “let’s get the troops in there.”

    On education, Pompeo said that the federal government’s role should be minimal, to applause from the audience. Teacher tenure and lack of competition are not good for education, he said. There are many good teachers in the public schools, but the system is problematic and dysfunctional.

    On the Federal Reserve system, Pompeo said that it is a “co-conspirator in the current economic challenge,” providing the interest rates and the backdrop for the housing crisis.

    A question asked what Pompeo could do to create real steps for creating jobs, such as providing tax write-offs for consumer purchases. Pompeo said that some of these things sound like “cash for clunkers,” where government tries to pick and subsidize winners. He said he should not do that. Instead, he preferrs a broad tax base with low tax rates, letting competition decide who are the winners.

    On term limits, Pompeo said he would like to see a constitutional amendment for term limits, but he would not make a personal pledge to limit his own service.

    On right-to-life issues, Pompeo said he believes that human life begins at conception. He would fight federal funding of abortion.

    On immigration, Pompeo said that we need to control our borders, and we need to know who is entering and leaving our country. We can’t have an intelligent discussion on immigration until we control our borders, he said.

    On alternative tax systems like the Fair Tax, Pompeo said he supports it, although not being wedded to any one particular system. The real problem, he said, is spending, which must be brought under control.

    On the rule of law and the free enterprise system, Pompeo said that these are core issues. People aren’t investing and taking risk, because presently there is no certainty about the rule of law and property rights. With the price of oil at $80, people should be investing in oil, but with the government causing so much uncertainty in regulation and law, investors are hesitant.

    Analysis

    The Pachyderm audience, largely composed of conservative Republicans, was appreciative of Pompeo and his message. Several times his remarks drew enthusiastic applause. Other candidates for the same position Pompeo is campaigning for have been positively received by this audience, too. This is indicative of the fact that there are a number of good, quality people seeking this Congressional office.

    On term limits, while he appreciates their benefit, Pompeo’s position of not limiting his own service without a national law is reasonable.

    Pompeo’s pledge to not vote for earmarks may be difficult to fulfill in the current Washington climate. Even Ron Paul votes for earmarks.

    Additional coverage of this speech is at State of the State Kansas.

  • GovTrack.us helps citizens watch Congress

    The website GovTrack.us is a great resource for citizens who are interested in the United States Congress. With the rapid expansion of government in the recent past, this is something we should all be concerned with.

    By using GovTrack.us, you can search for bills by their bill number, words in the bill, the bill sponsors, and other ways. Once you’ve found the bill, you can read its text and see its status as it works its way through Congress. What’s really useful is to add a tracker to the bill, so that you can be notified — either on the site itself or through email or RSS feed — when there’s new information about the bill.

    If you’re interested in information about particular members of Congress, you can find them by name, zip code, or by clicking on a map. Once found, GovTrack.us reports some useful information.

    One thing reported is the member’s position across the political spectrum. This is done through a statistical analysis of cosponsorship of bills. Kansas Sen. Brownback is identified through this analysis as a “far-right Republican,” while Sen. Roberts is also a “far-right Republican,” a change from his characterization as a “rank-and-file Republican” when I looked at this website in June.

    This analysis also reports that Roberts is “somewhere between a leader and a follower,” according to sponsorship of bills. Brownback is rated the same.

    The page for each member also reports approval ratings from SurveyUSA and an analysis of missed votes. It also holds a link to the page at the Center for Responsive Politics, which lets you see information about campaign contributions. Information about committee membership and bill sponsorship and cosponsorship round out this page.

    You can also add a member to your tracking page, so you can receive email updates when new information becomes available.

    This website is a useful resource for citizens to keep with with Congress.

  • Pompeo to present to Pachyderms

    This Friday, the Wichita Pachyderm Club presents Kansas fourth district congressional candidate Mike Pompeo. This is another in a series of addresses by the Republican candidates for this position. All candidates have either already spoken to the Pachyderm Club or will be invited.

    All are welcome to attend Pachyderm club meetings. The program costs $10, which includes a delicious buffet lunch including salad, soup, two main dishes, and ice tea and coffee. The meeting starts at noon, although it’s recommended to arrive ten minutes early to get your lunch before the program starts.

    The Wichita Petroleum Club is on the ninth floor of the Bank of America Building at 100 N. Broadway (north side of Douglas between Topeka and Broadway) in Wichita, Kansas (click for a map and directions). Park in the garage just across Broadway and use the sky walk to enter the Bank of America building. Bring your parking garage ticket to be stamped and your parking fee will be only $1.00. There is usually some metered and free street parking nearby.