Kansas fourth district Archives

Aug

WichitaLiberty.TV: Congressman Ron Estes

In this episode of WichitaLiberty.TV: United States Representative Ron Estes, a Republican from Wichita representing the fourth district of Kansas, joins hosts Bob Weeks and Karl Peterjohn to discuss the issues of the day. View below, or click here to view at YouTube. Episode 160, broadcast August 6, 2017. Shownotes Ron Estes House of Representatives office page Ron Estes campaign page In the Washington Examiner: Rep. Ron Estes: Americans want results, not resistance

From Pachyderm: Congressional candidates

Feb

By Bob Weeks

From Pachyderm: Congressional candidates

From the Wichita Pachyderm Club this week: A forum for Republican candidates vying to fill the vacant position of former Congressman Mike Pompeo, who is now Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Ths program was moderated by Kelly Arnold, who is Chairman of the Kansas Republican Party. Candidates appearing were, in order of initial appearance: Wichita City Council member Pete Meitzner Kansas Treasurer Ron Estes Former Congressman Todd Tiahrt Donald Trump adviser Alan Cobb Attorney George Bruce Aerospace engineer and radio host Joseph Ashby This program was recorded February 3, 2017. Republican delegates will meet to select their candidate on…

WichtaLiberty.TV: Congressman Mike Pompeo

Nov

By Bob Weeks

WichtaLiberty.TV: Congressman Mike Pompeo

In this episode of WichitaLiberty.TV: United States Representative Mike Pompeo, a Wichita Republican who represents the Kansas fourth district. Topics include elections, judicial retention, foreign affairs, and immigration. View below, or click here to view at YouTube. Episode 132, broadcast November 6, 2016. Shownotes Mike Pompeo Congressional office. Tom Cotton and Mike Pompeo: What We Learned in Scandinavia About Migrants Kansas's 4th congressional district

Pompeo: Disclose complete Iran nuclear deal

Jul

By Bob Weeks

Pompeo: Disclose complete Iran nuclear deal

U.S. Representative Mike Pompeo, a Republican who represents the Kansas fourth district and Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton recently traveled to Vienna to meet with officials of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). They have revealed the existence of two side deals between Iran and IDEA that are important and relevant to the deal negotiated by Secretary of State John Kerry and promoted by President Barack Obama. According to a Pompeo spokesperson, the existence of these side deals was not a secret, having been mentioned in an IDEA press release from July 14. But the content of the agreements is secret,…

WichitaLiberty.TV: United States Congressman Mike Pompeo

Mar

By Bob Weeks

WichitaLiberty.TV: United States Congressman Mike Pompeo

In this episode of WichitaLiberty.TV: Congressman Mike Pompeo talks about risks to America from overseas, Benghazi, congressional scorecards, the Grant Return for Deficit Reduction Act, and labeling food with genetically engineered ingredients. View below, or click here to view at YouTube. Episode 78, broadcast March 15, 2015.

Mar

By Bob Weeks

Legislation to end Economic Development Administration introduced

U.S. Rep. Mike Pompeo calls for an end to a wasteful federal economic development agency. If you think a proper function of the federal government is spending your tax dollars to build replicas of the Great Pyramids in Indiana or a gift shop in a winery, you're not going to like legislation introduced by U.S. Representative Mike Pompeo, a Republican who represents the Kansas fourth district, including the Wichita metropolitan area. Others, however, will appreciate H.R. 661: EDA Elimination Act of 2015. In the following article from 2012, Pompeo explains the harm of the Economic Development Administration, which he describes…

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…

In Kansas fourth district, fundamental issues of governance arise

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…

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…

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…

Did Rep. Mike Pompeo vote to fund Obamacare?

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…

In Kansas fourth district, national security a dividing issue

Jul

By Bob Weeks

In Kansas fourth district, national security a dividing issue

A letter composed by 14 national security experts clarifies the debate over the role of the National Security Agency, its surveillance programs, and the safety of Americans. This is an issue in the campaign for the Republican Party nomination for United States Congress from the fourth district of Kansas. Challenger Todd Tiahrt has criticized Mike Pompeo for supporting the NSA data-gathering programs, saying that the programs spy on Americans. Pompeo has maintained that the programs are necessary to protect Americans from terrorism and other threats, and that there is sufficient oversight to protect privacy. I think the most important part…

Jul

By Bob Weeks

Congress is better without earmarks

Controversy over the timing and efficacy of an earmark divert attention from the fact that earmarks are bad government. Congress is better without the practice. United States Congressional candidate Todd Tiahrt calls for a return to earmark spending in Congress, pointing to a million-dollar grant he obtained for Wichita to help defray costs of the Wichita Police Department in investigating and capturing serial killer Dennis Rader, or BTK. The Daily Caller has a report, as does the Wichita Eagle. Neither story is supportive of Tiahrt's claim that earmarks were responsible for the capture of the BTK killer. Speaking to the…

Quasi-lobbyist runs as earmarker in Kansas GOP primary

Jul

By Bob Weeks

Quasi-lobbyist runs as earmarker in Kansas GOP primary

Washington Examiner writer Tim Carney notices the curious stance of a Republican candidate in the Kansas fourth district primary: He likes earmarks. Washington Examiner senior political columnist Timothy P. Carney knows how Washington works. Of his 2006 book The Big Ripoff: How Big Business and Big Government Steal Your Money, Paul A. Gigot, who is Editorial Page Editor of the Wall Street Journal wrote "Politicians like to say that government is on the side of the little guy. But with impressive documentation and persuasive examples, Tim Carney shows how government power and regulation are typically used to assist the powerful."…

Jul

By Bob Weeks

Club for Growth PAC Endorses Mike Pompeo For Congress

From Club for Growth, whose motto is "Prosperity and Opportunity through Economic Freedom." Club for Growth PAC Endorses Mike Pompeo For Congress Club for Growth President Chris Chocola: “Mike stands on principle to do what’s right for Kansas and America.” May 29, 2014 Washington, DC -- The Club for Growth PAC announced today that it is endorsing Republican Congressman Mike Pompeo for re-election. Congressman Pompeo represents Kansas’s Fourth Congressional District. Former Congressman Todd Tiahrt has announced that he is challenging Congressman Pompeo in the Republican primary. “Congressman Mike Pompeo is a taxpayer hero with a 90% on the Club for…

Jun

By Bob Weeks

For Tiahrt, earmarks are good government

Appearing today on The Joseph Ashby Show, candidate for United States House of Representatives Todd Tiahrt defended the practice of earmarking federal spending. The ending of earmarks, he said, has shifted responsibility for allocating funds from Congress to the executive. Earmarks do not increase spending, he said. He said that Congress should take away the president's pen, and should do that by allocating funding properly. When pressed by the host, Tiahrt repeated that earmarks do not increase spending. This is the standard argument: Earmarks simply direct the spending of money that is already authorized to be spent. Earmarking does not…

Jun

By Bob Weeks

In Kansas fourth district, charges of alignment with Speaker

Charges made on the campaign trail by Todd Tiahrt that his opponent is "Boehner's boy" aren't supported by Mike Pompeo's voting record. At a recent event in Wichita candidate for the Republican Party nomination for U.S. Congress for the Kansas fourth district Todd Tiahrt spoke about his opponent, incumbent Mike Pompeo. Tiahrt told the audience: "Now, Mr. Pompeo was also tied very closely to John Boehner. In fact he's the only congressman in Washington D.C. that's been appointed to two select committees. No other Member of Congress has been. But Boehner's boy has." This criticism is meant to appeal to…

Jun

By Bob Weeks

A referendum on earmarks

From The Weekly Standard, analysis of the primary contest in Kansas district 4, where Mike Pompeo and Todd Tiahrt are candidates. Post by Voice For Liberty.

May

By Bob Weeks

Voice for Liberty Radio: U.S. Rep. Mike Pompeo on Benghazi, Ukraine, and Boko Haram and the continuing threat of Islamic terrorism

United States Representative Mike Pompeo of Wichita has been appointed to the Select Committee on the Events Surrounding the 2012 Terrorist Attack in Benghazi. I spoke with him today in his Wichita office on this topic and a few others. On the composition of the committee -- seven Republicans and five Democrats -- Pompeo explained that the majority party usually has a majority on committees of this type. A "Select" committee like this has a very narrow charter. The committee will have staff and counsel, and will deliver a report. After that, the committee will disband. Critics of this committee…

May

By Bob Weeks

End the wind production tax credit

U.S. Representative Mike Pompeo, a Republican who represents the Kansas fourth district, and U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander in 2012 contributed the following article on the harm of the wind power production tax credit (PTC). The NorthBridge Group report referenced in the article is available at Negative electricity prices and the production tax credit. While the PTC is a federal issue, the Kansas Legislature could do taxpayers in Kansas and across the country a favor by ending the mandate to produce more of this taxpayer-subsidized power. Puff, the Magic Drag on the Economy Time to let the pernicious production tax credit…