Boyda vs. Jenkins Round Three

After three debates, it's pretty obvious there's not much love lost between our little candidates for Congress. Regardless of the all of the fireworks, Congresswoman Nancy Boyda again showed herself to be the more knowledgeable and the more professional of the two woman running in the Kansas 2nd.

We aren't going to do a point-by-point (we did that over on Twitter- ain't the interwebs fun?), but we do have a couple of highlights we'd like to return to:

• Earmarks: Boyda and Jenkins went round and round again on earmarks, and we all should, again, come away with the same basic points: Lynn Jenkins will make sure KU and K-State don't receive federal monies for research programs, she'll make sure places like Iola don't get help building new water treatment facilities designed to provide clean drinking water to her would-be constituents, and she will make sure our law enforcement officials don't have the new equipment they need to keep us safe. That's the commitment we all got again from Lynn tonight.

• Taxes: Jenkins continued to lie about Nancy Boyda's record in Congress reading taxes. The facts- Boyda hasn't voted to increase taxes on working class Americans even once, while Lynn Jenkins has, in fact, actually vote to raise sales taxes, gasoline taxes, and property taxes. Actually, Lynn's the only person in this race who has ever voted to increase taxes on the middle class. Oh, something else? Those tax increases all came after Jenkins promised she wouldn't raise taxes. So much for that whole pledge thing, huh, Lynn?

• Diligence: Lynn Jenkins promises us that, as a CPA, she's going to go to Washington and "clean things up" and find all kinds of money she can cut from the budget all over the place and use her CPA powers to balance the budget in 18 months...even though she'd be a freshmen member of the minority party who literally everyone will ignore.
  

Anyway, she's going to go to DC and make sweeping reforms and find huge savings for us as taxpayers. Oh...but, Lynn, it took you six years- six years- to discover a formula error in the way our state handles gasoline tax revenues. For six years you mismanaged millions and millions of dollars all because of an error you rightly say you didn't cause- but that you didn't catch either.

So sorry, Lynn, but the Kansas state budget is nothing compared to the federal one, and $15 million is nothing compared to trillions- but, still, if you couldn't find a mistake right under your nose that had been there for six everloving years, how on Earth will you ever find anything buried deep in the federal budget? Even you aren't really that naive.

(Pair that evidence our little CPA is bad at her job with the fact she couldn't even be bothered to attend any of the meetings of the KPERS Board of Trustees for the last quarter- while the state retirement system was losing a $1 billion...she's not just a flawed candidate for Congress, she's a bad State Treasurer).

It's remarkably clear: Lynn Jenkins loses on the issues, she loses on rhetoric, and she even loses when you talk about the job she has right now today! Please, tell me- when you balance the two, how in the world can anyone justify a vote for Lynn Jenkins right now today?

UPDATE: Read more about the debate at the Kansas City Star, the Topeka Capital-Journal and WIBW Channel 13 Topeka. A choice pull from the Cap-J article:

Jenkins said local governments should pay for local projects and responded to Boyda's mention of no Kansas Republicans revealing their earmark requests.

"I'm not running against Todd Tiahrt, or Dennis Moore or Pat Roberts," Jenkins said. "I'm running against Nancy Boyda, and I'm saying you're flat wrong on this issue."

Boyda shot back that Jenkins' "cloak of righteousness" on earmarks would have negative effects locally.

"If you have your way, Kansas will absolutely be the loser in this whole thing," she said.

Yep, Kansas will be out millions of dollars for things like law enforcement equipment, water treatment plants, university research that creates jobs all over the state if Jenkins is our representative in Congress.

Lynn Jenkins is the one who is flat wrong on this issue, and if she got her way, she's hurt Kansas in order to get elected to Congress. That's just wrong.

Final Televised Boyda-Jenkins Debate Tonight

The last Topeka-area televised match up between Congresswoman Nancy Boyda and State Treasurer Lynn Jenkins is scheduled to take place tonight from 6- 7 p.m. live on KSNT Channel 27.

If history is any indicator, tonight's rumble will be awfully exciting, though, certainly, after having her butt handed to her in the last debate we do doubt Jenkins will be quite as cocky in this exchange.

For all you Boyda partisans out there, the campaign is planning a rally at KSNT prior to the beginning of the debate- call the Boyda HQ at 785-234-2251 for details.

Lynn's "Saddest Day"

Someone wrote in early today to ask about what we're referring to when we talk about Lynn Jenkins' "saddest day," so we thought we'd explain this little bit of Jenkins melodrama.

In her televised debate against former Congressman Jim Ryun before her surprise win in the Republican primary, Lynn Jenkins said Congresswoman Nancy Boyda's 10 minutes in a lounge watching an Armed Service Committee hearing on a closed circuit TV was:

"One of the saddest days in my life." -Lynn Jenkins

Now, it's fine if she wants to make a great big political deal out of the above mentioned incident (well, even Jenkins probably thinks it's less fine now that we all know she didn't even bother attending any of the meetings of the KPERS Board of Trustees in the last quarter, but that's probably neither here nor there). But, really, the saddest day in your life, Lynn? Even just one of the saddest days in your life? Doesn't that strike anyone else as a smidgen bit disingenuous? A little over-the-top? A little flippant, particularly when paired with this response from Congresswoman Nancy Boyda:

“You said it was the saddest day of your life,” Boyda countered, citing an earlier quote from Jenkins about the incident. Boyda noted that she visits with families of fallen soldiers, and wounded soldiers in VA hospitals. “I sit at their bed sides… that is a sad day, Lynn.”

In the end, saddest day or not, Lynn's little off hand remark only says one thing to any of us: she doesn't have the temperment for Congress and she's not ready for the duties or responsibilities of the office she's running for if she thinks for one moment 10 minutes in an antechamber could ever be the saddest day in anyone's life.

Ryun, Jenkins Debate Posted Online

For those who missed the Jim Ryun- Lynn Jenkins throwdown (Babe-gate and all), you can either watch it again today in a little more than a half hour on KSNT Channel 27 in Topeka, or you can find the complete debate online on CJOnline.com- just scroll down to the video box, click it over to "Local Video" and witness the craziness yourself!

I got you, babe

One of the most jarring moments of Tuesday night's debate between Jim Ryun and Lynn Jenkins was the one in which Lynn called Jim "babe."

It was just...weird. And markedly non-congressional.

While it was strange (like the rest of Lynn's performance), we aren't sure it really deserved this much ink:

Topeka — In what may be a first in Kansas political history, one candidate publicly called another “babe.”

It happened Tuesday in the televised debate between Lynn Jenkins and Jim Ryun, who are seeking the Republican Party nomination to face U.S. Rep. Nancy Boyda, D-Topeka, in the 2nd Congressional District, which includes west Lawrence.

Jenkins said part of the reason she voted for a tax increase while a legislator was because state lawmakers had to pay for federal mandates from Congress, in which Ryun served at the time.

“We were at your mercy, babe,” she said to Ryun.

A couple of bloggers wrote that if Ryun had said “babe” to Jenkins, he would’ve been labeled a sexist.

Ryun’s campaign manager Kyle Robertson described Jenkins’ use of the term as “childish behavior.”

Pat Leopold, managing Jenkins’ campaign, said Jenkins uses “babe” frequently when talking to her friends, and that it was just an innocent slip.

It was, of course, just an innocent slip...it was still unprofessional, still tacky, and still just...weird.

Jerri Blank from Strangers with Candy weird.

Oh, and hey, lets don't forget the substance of the debate...Ryun was incompetent & Lynn Jenkins has actually raised taxes on every single Kansas family 12 separate times- making her the only candidate in the race on either side to do such a thing.

Winner, Losers from Last Night's GOP Debate

Can we just say we didn't realize it was still the 4th of July? But, my, the fireworks we saw last night!

For the most part, the Lynn Jenkins vs. Jim Ryun Republican primary race has been low-key and without the significant explosions we would have expected. Sure, there have been spats and cat fights, but most of that has happened in small venues and received next to no coverage (save on this little blog). Last night's debate on KSNT Channel 27 in Topeka, however, blow the doors off the barn in terms of shear viciousness and negativity from both sides- with Ryun actually managing to come away as the more respectful of the two (hard to believe, right?).

After the contenders voiced agreement on the need to drill for more Alaskan
oil and the necessity of limiting federal spending, former U.S. Rep. Ryun dug
his spurs into Jenkins for voting a dozen times for tax increases while a member
of the Kansas Legislature. Three votes were to raise gasoline taxes, he
said.

"That's not standing up for Kansans," Ryun said.

Jenkins, the Kansas state treasurer and former member of the Kansas
House and Senate, said the core responsibility for those tax hikes often rested
with federal politicians such as Ryun who foisted billions of dollars of
unfunded mandates on states. It is that kind of leadership, she said, that
should be shunned in Washington.

"God love you Jim, I think you had your chance," Jenkins said.

"I voted the right way," Ryun replied.

"We were at your mercy, babe!" Jenkins said. "I think we did the
responsible thing. We balanced the budget."

It really is hard to do a blow-by-blow for this debate- there were just so many blows. So, instead, we're going to do a winners & losers analysis.

Loser(s)

1a. Lynn Jenkins: For many people, last night was their first
experience seeing Jenkins speak, and, we just have to say, it was jarring.
Her body language was strange, her speaking style was strange, her general
demeanor was strange. Most of the time, she came off as condescending and
down right rude and disrespectful. She got in her hits, and they were good
hits for sure- particularly making sure to point out Ryun accomplished nearly
nothing when he was in Congress- but she misjudged when she accused Ryun of
supporting amnesty because he voted to help Haitian and Cuban refugees normalize
their status (what, Lynn, you want to send them back to Communist Cuba?) and her
strange "casting yes and no votes isn't leadership" song and dance makes
all of us think she might actually believe she's running to be President and not
just a freshmen member of the minority party in the House of
Representatives.

Oh, also- Ryun's broadside on Jenkins tax increases is dooming- however
responsible Jenkins knows she was being, she raised taxes 12 times while in the
state legislature, and Ryun was masterful in speaking directly into the camera
and pointing that out again and again and again.

Probably, though, Lynn's most significant problem, outside of the whole tax
increase thing, was that fact she came across as nothing short of weird,
rude, and condescending.

1b. Jim Ryun: Jenkins hit Ryun exactly, perfectly, where he
needs hit- right on the fact that, when he was in Congress he failed the people
of Kansas. When Ryun said he tried to stave off the mortgage crisis
Jenkins said, "Some results there! We can do better." Ryun's
performance was far superior to Jenkins' without any doubt- he seemed more
poised, far less strange, and just more congressional. He dinged Jenkins
for being clueless, ("You really don't understand...") and he called her out for
spewing her ridiculous "voting isn't leadership" rhetoric.

Regardless, though, Ryun came away damaged.

Oh, one last thing- the moderators made a significant mistake letting Ryun get away with and out-and-out lie when he was talking about BRAC funding. He said, while he always worked to secure monies for Kansas BRAC project, Congresswoman Nancy Bodya actually cut funds after she took office. Look, we know we've said it before, but, please people, this old lie needs to die, because it really is nothing other than a lie. It was Ryun & his cronies that cut the funding, funding that Boyda & the new Democratic Congress managed to put back in- plus more. Please, read (again)

So, finally, our night's winner:

Winner

1. Nancy Boyda: Boyda comes away the winner if for no other reason both of her potential Republican challengers showed last night their significant vulnerabilities & that neither of them will be able to provide the voters with any reason at all to switch horses in midstream. Jenkins was right, Ryun had his shot and blew it, and Ryun was right regarding Jenkins penchant to jacking up taxes. On top of that, Jenkins clownish performance in the debate certainly didn't make her seem to be "congressional material" and while that isn't nearly as important as her total lack of a clue, it can't not come into play. Jenkins was particularly hesitant to come after Boyda directly, and while Ryun had no problem with it, he chose to hit her with a lie- so that shows you something about what we're going to see for the next several months.

All in all, last night was entertaining as all get-out...this writer is just blessing his lucky stars that he isn't a Republican.

Get Ready to Rumble! Ryun & Jenkins Debate Tomorrow!

Just so you all remember, tomorrow night will be the only televised debate between Republican candidates for Congress Lynn Jenkins & Jim Ryun (on NBC-affiliate KSNT Channel 27 in Topeka).

The station is requesting questions from the viewing audience in advance- we encourage all of our loyal readers to dive right in!

Ryun & Jenkins, Boyda Agree to Debate

As reported by KSNT Channel 27 in Topeka, Jim Ryun & Lynn Jenkins have agreed to debate each other live on TV on Tuesday, July 22 from 6- 7 p.m.- only days before the Republican primary election.

KSNT also announced Congresswoman Nancy Boyda has agreed to debate whichever Republican it might be who wins said primary on Sunday, October 26 from 5-6 p.m. [Edit: We've been informed the date for the Boyda vs. Republican Candidate debate isn't firm, but that one will indeed take place before the election live on KSNT].

According to KSNT:

Both debates are sponsored by 27 News, The Topeka Capital-Journal, and AM 580 WIBW Radio and may air nationwide on C-Span.

(Thank you for the tip, tipster).