Kansas Jackass realizes he doesn't know jack, drops it from blog name

I had this blog post all written out and then I just couldn't help myself. So, there's my April Fool's attention getting title.

Now, as the late Paul Harvey would say, here's the rest of the story...

After learning of Sen. Tom Coburn's endorsement of Rep. Jerry Moran, I began to ponder why the race between Rep. Moran and Rep. Todd Tiahrt has thus far been civil and obedient in comparison to the first district primary. I think several differences stand out.

First, the race seems to be more personality based than issue based. Now, that's not to say there aren't differences in votes. Most recently, the two split on taxing AIG bonuses. Another vote that stands out in my mind is SCHIP, which Moran supported and Tiahrt opposed.

But in general, both are well accepted, both have conservative voting records and both will be accepted by the Republican voters when the general election comes around in 2010. A decision on who to vote for, so far, seems to be mainly based on how fiery of a politician you want in Washington.

That hasn't been the case in the big first. Without question the biggest issue so far has been abortion. That, of course, was precipitated by Rob Wasinger's early corralling of national pro-life endorsements (kind of.) But one has to wonder how or even why those folks made an endorsement of one pro-lifer over another nearly two years out from an election and with no input from pro-life forces here in Kansas? What did Rob say to get them so riled up they'd push one candidate over another candidate they've never met, in a state they've probably never visited?

In short, it's the perception by Wasinger that Huelskamp is vile. At his core, I don't believe Rob thinks Huelskamp is "pro-life enough." Just like I don't think Rob believes Huelskamp will be effective. Just like I don't think Rob believes Huelskamp is fiscally conservative.

It's of course all based on Rob's own crazy ideas. The record tells a very different story.

Sen. Huelskamp has been a leader in the pro-life community for over a decade and has never compromised to be popular. Wasinger on the other hand has yet to publicly comment on his position of Sebelius as HHS leader. Huelskamp didn't wait to test the political winds or to find out what is popular, or even check her tax returns. No, Sen. Huelskamp did what was right and stated the truth.

Sen. Huelskamp has been a leader when it comes to open government. And effective too. Thanks to Senator Huelskamp, KanView was established as a first of its kind public information portal.

And finally, Sen. Huelskamp has the highest lifetime voting records of any Senator in the Kansas Senate. That includes over a decade of votes. It's the most impressive credential in regard to taxpayer protections I've ever seen.

And Rob's record? So far it's signing campaign promises he has no intention of keeping.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In other news, another fine new resident of the first district wants to be called Congressman. Tracey Mann bought a house in Salina on Jan. 26 and just recently changed his voter registration to Salina after having voted in Johnson County in the 2008 elections.

So, one up for Rob, he actually voted in Nov. '08 in Hays. Of course, he never voted in the first district or even Kansas before then, but hey, throw the guy a bone, right?

Mann's gotten some coverage but it hasn't been to great so far. Here's a google search.