Boyda wraps up 2007 for Kansas editorial boards

Congresswoman Nancy Boyda sat down with the editorial boards of the Topeka Capital-Journal and the Lawrence Journal-World over the last couple of days, with both papers releasing stories today.

From the Lawrence Journal-World on illegal immigration:

U.S. Rep. Nancy Boyda, D-Kan., says Congress needs to find a way to help employers identify illegal immigrants through a “practical employer verification program.”

“Then you can move forward and talk about what else we’re going to do to make policies that are going to work for the long term, but without a way to enforce it, you can’t really have a meaningful policy,” she said.

During an interview Monday with the Journal-World, the first-term congresswoman from Topeka touted her co-sponsorship of the SAVE — Secure America with Verification and Enforcement — Act, which also includes provisions for border security.

Illegal immigration has been a major federal and state issue for several years. Boyda also has been an outspoken critic of the Bush administration’s Mexican trucking pilot program, which gives Mexican drivers greater access to U.S. highways.

From the Topeka Capital-Journal on Iraq:

Boyda also addressed the war in Iraq, commending Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. forces.

"What he brings to it is some wisdom about what it takes to operate within Iraq," she said. "If they're too aggressive, they hurt the situation. If they're not aggressive enough, they're not moving anything forward. The line is extremely thin."

She said she talked with the Marine general in charge of Anbar province who said the United States might see troop withdrawals.

"I said, 'Are you telling me all the troops are going to be out of Anbar province?' and he said, 'Yes, ma'am, I think they are.' "

She wants to get the good news out there without doing anything "that looks like mission accomplished," she said referring to the "mission accomplished" banner that hung over Bush's 2003 statement that major combat missions in Iraq were over.

Unfortunately, the Cap-J decided to make the story's lead about Boyda's husband's chances of becoming the new Kansas Attorney General. It'd be nice if the paper would keep it's eyes on the ball- tell us about the quality job Congresswoman Boyda is doing, rather than random speculation about something totally un-related to her job representing us.

(Photo from the Topeka Capital-Journal)