Jenkins is Correct: Ryun's New Ad Overstates His Recrod on BRAC

Lynn Jenkins spokesman little Joshie Hersh and this blog has agreed on so very little these many months, but his statements, made to AP reporter John Hanna yesterday, are right on the money regarding Jim Ryun's new "not only did it save all the military bases in Kansas from certain closure, but I also single-handedly beat the Russians" campaign ad.

In 2005, Kansas did well compared with other states as the federal government picked military installations to be shut down, even gaining an estimated 3,600 military and civilian jobs as changes were made. Only the Parsons Army Ammunition Plant was targeted for closing.

Jenkins spokesman Josh Hersh said the work of others, including Sens. Sam Brownback and Pat Roberts and 1st District Rep. Jerry Moran, was crucial.

"The whole Kansas delegation had a big part in that process," he said. "No one of them single-handedly saved those bases."

Absolutely right- every member of the Kansas delegation was insturmental to keeping the bases open in Kansas, and it's disingenuious of Ryun to claim he was any more important than any other member.

But Mr. Hersh wasn't done:

Hersh also said the ad raises questions about Ryun's true position on earmarks because in it, the colonel praises Ryun for "setting up the infrastructure" at Forbes Field and Fort Riley and an unidentified supporter adds, "Jim came through for us."

Ryun has said previously that he will not support new funding earmarks in the budget. Jenkins has pledged to support reforms of the budgeting process so that earmarks are limited to projects of national interest.

Hersh said Ryun is being inconsistent.

"That would kind of raise the question of what that is going to mean for the district," Hersh said.

Ah, indeed it does. When Jim Ryun did "deliver" for the military bases in his district when he used to be in Congress, he did it via earmarks. When Congresswoman Nancy Boyda has delivered, she's used earmarks, and, one would assume, Lynn Jenkins would indeed attempt to do the same thing. With Ryun's new found aversion to earmarks, he's going to be up a creek without a paddle.

And, of course, there's that whole disasterous vote Ryun cast to defund $300 million worth of BRAC projects in Kanas right after the 2006 election, too. Thank God Nancy Boyda was able to get the money reinstated, because Ryun obviously didn't care about the people of the district very much after they voted him out of office. All comes together to show a man who probably shouldn't be trusted to actually be in that position again.

Lynn Jenkins, you say? By her own admission, her training as a CPA has prepared her for many things (like straightening out the federal books...such a mess...let's pray we dont' get audited...), but the one thing she doesn't know a damned thing about our armed forces and the needs of our men and women in uniform. Trusting her with protecting our bases would be a lot like trusting Jim Ryun to rein in federal spending...

Oh, by the way- 'member the retired colonel Ryun features so prominently in his ad? As far as we can find, he's never ever served in Kansas and, now, he's a lobbyist in Virginia. We aren't questioning his previous service to our nation, but you would have though Ryun would have found someone from or who had served in, say, Kansas, to back up his story.

Best Way to Lose a Primary....Not Campaign in Your District!

Where will Lynn Jenkins be only 15 days before Republicans will determine whether or not she has a future in elective politics in Kansas?

Campaigning- just like you'd imagine she would be.

Ah, the "stoopid" catch: She'll be rubbing elbows in Wichita at a reception in Old Town.

Um, Lynn? We know you've already raised most of the money for your campaign for the 2nd District seat in Wichita & Kansas City, but you do realize they can't actually vote for you, right?

Time Not Ripe for Ryun; Jenkins Lacks Substance

Happy post- 4th- we certainly hope everyone had a fine time (and that you all still have all of your fingers still intact.

With the Republican primary now only one month away, it's good (for Congresswoman Nancy Boyda) to know people in Kansas are still in basically the same place they have been since both Lynn Jenkins & Jim Ryun announced they were running for Congress: They still don't want Jim Ryun back and they still think Lynn Jenkins is just a little to far down the weight scale to be able to be even at all effective in the United States House of Representatives.

A column from Thursday's Topeka Capital-Journal paints the "oh, not again" to Jim Ryun sentiment, along with the "really, if only Lynn Jenkins knew...anything" vibe, too.

When Jim Ryun lost his congressional seat to Nancy Boyda in 2006, the defeat was a crushing blow. Most politicians deal with devastating voter rejection either by finding another line of work or running for a different office.

Ryun, however, believes voters got it wrong and wants a do-over. His logic on this one is puzzling.

Sing it, sister!

Ryun was defeated in 2006 in a voter backlash that handed Democrats control of Congress. Polls and political wisdom suggest Democrats will do even better this year. Anti-Republican sentiment and a growing sense that America is headed in the wrong direction are sharply higher now than two years ago. As George Bush's approval ratings fall over the edge, Ryun is on record voting with the president 89 percent of the time.

The issues also have shifted since 2006, and not to Ryun's advantage. After a slew of weather-related disasters and media alerts about the melting ice cap, more Americans think maybe there's something to this global warming business. However, Ryun's voting record during five terms was rock bottom on environmental issues.

Additionally, more voters now believe the Iraq war was a mistake, and Ryun, as a strong supporter of Bush's initiative, finds himself on the wrong side of that one, too.

Can we get an "amen"?

To regain his seat, Ryun must persuade voters he is a different candidate than the one they booted two years ago. So far, he hasn't gone there. A campaign ad emphasizes Ryun's career as a track star and his traditional values, credentials that weren't compelling enough last time around.

We'd call Ryun's ploy (I'm a track star! Ignore the fact I was in office for 10 years!) "moronic" but that'd be a smidge to harsh. How about "desperately out-of-touch" or "pathetic"? Better?

Now, on to Ms. Jenkins:

Moreover, in this election cycle Ryun must clear a hurdle before he can have his rematch with Boyda. He has a primary opponent in Lynn Jenkins, a moderate who hopes to trace Joan Finney's steps from the state treasurer's post to higher office.

Honest to God this writer laughted out loud with the comparisson between Jenkins & Joan Finney. Governor Finney was a wonderful, wonderful woman, but her trajectory frpm Treasurer to Governor to one-term failure isn't one we'd imagine Jenkins would like to be compared.

Jenkins purports to offer voters "new leadership" and fiscal accountability in a time of soaring national debt and economic anxiety. Though Jenkins embraces the GOP, she recognizes that Democrats aren't the only scoundrels in Washington, a more realistic approach this year.

Keep the brand while rejecting the brand. Not an easy tight-rope to walk in a party primary.

The pivotal question is whether Jenkins will be willing to take a page from Hillary Clinton's playbook and attack Ryun's vulnerabilities. To defeat Ryun, she will need a pointed message that portrays Ryun's 10 years in Congress as part of the problem.

And on such logic died the "clean campaign" pledge- though we haven't yet see Lynn actually, you know, attack Ryun in any way more than a handfull of voters could digest.

Name recognition carried Ryun, the track star, through three re-election campaigns, despite an undistinguished performance in office. Jenkins must introduce herself to Republican voters in a meaningful way to offer a clear alternative.

On her Web site, Jenkins touts herself as a relative of the man who wrote the lyrics to "Home on the Range." That won't do it. This year, voters are hungry for substance and won't settle for less.

Nope, it sure won't do. And, honestly, the longer Jenkins just sits on her haunches and lets Ryun control the message & the airwaves in the vast majority of the district, the more and more likely it is she's going to get her hat handed to her in exactly one month.

Get ready for the home stretch, folks- here's hopin' for a barn-burner!