Posted on 06/25/2010 1:11:43 PM PDT by Kansas58
Former Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin has thrown her support behind Todd Tiahrt in the GOP Senate primary in Kansas.
In announcing her endorsement, Palin called the eight-term congressman from Goddard a "protector of our Constitution, a pro-family, pro-Second Amendment commonsense conservative who has never voted for a tax increase."
Tiahrt is battling U.S. Rep Jerry Moran, Hays, in the Aug. 3 primary.
"We can count on Todd to take on the liberal spending agenda of the Obama administration," Palin said.
Read more: http://www.kansas.com/2010/06/25/1377182/palin-backs-tiahrt-in-gop-primary.html#ixzz0rtgmQSRY
(Excerpt) Read more at kansas.com ...
I don't think this means what it looks like it means...??
I messed that up, sorry.
This is a brave and principled move on Sarah Palin’s part and I hope that Todd Tiahrt wins. Unfortunately, Tiahrt has been saddled by an ethics investigaion which hasn’t really accused him of anything.
There is one fly in the ointment. While Tiahrt has tbe better voting record as a whole, Jerry Moran is better on border security. I could easily accept a Moran victory.
What do you think it means?
Why is it a principled move? It's not like she's supporting a conservative over a moderate. Or jumping on a RINO's bandwagon as has been her habit of late. She's taking a divisive role and backing a conservative candidate against an even more conservative candidate. This is a no win situation for her. If Moran wins then Palin has backed the loser. If Tiahrt wins then the lesser candidate becomes senator. Personally I think that she's overplayed her hand and Moran is going to win regardless of her endorsement.
I haven’t expressed a strong preference for either candidate, and her endorsement doesn’t change it that much. If Tiahrt is worse on border security, I don’t find that to make him a better candidate. My sole irritation with Moran is that he should’ve run 8 years ago and stopped Gilligan-Sebelius from being Governor, as he was apparently the one candidate that could unite the Conservative and liberal RINO wings of the KS GOP. KS might’ve been better off for it, and he would then be running for the Senate after the completion of those two terms, for which we could’ve judged his performance in Topeka as to his being deserving (or not) for being sent back to DC.
I think your badly overstating his state-wide influence back then. He was in his third term and not well known outside of the 1st District. Tiahrt had been in office a term longer and was better known. Besides, Shallenburger had won statewide office 4 years before with 62% of the vote and seemed to be a good candidate for governor. Who knew he'd run such a lousy campaign?
Moran is the better candidate, he will make the better nominee, and will make a great Senator for Kansas. Palin's opinions in the matter notwithstanding.
I remember reading that exact same thing (that Moran could best unite the party) Correct or not some political analyst thought that,.
Wasn’t Shallenburger loathed by some RINO types for being too socially conservative?
Not overstated at all. Moran was the main candidate sought to run to unite the wings and was hardly an unknown. Given that he represented the largest district in the state and was previously the State Senate Majority Leader, he was quite well known. The liberal RINO wing became predictably enraged at the Conservative Shallenburger’s nomination and voted for the hard-left Democrat, so they’re the only ones to blame for his loss.
I don't think the party would need unification regardless of who wins. Both are conservative candidates.
Wasnt Shallenburger loathed by some RINO types for being too socially conservative?
We have a split Republican party in Kansas between fiscal conservatives and social conservatives. It can cause problems come election time. But at the end of the day Sebelius ran a good campaign and Shallenburger didn't.
Completely overstated. You really don't understand this state at all, do you?
The liberal RINO wing became predictably enraged at the Conservative Shallenburgers nomination and voted for the hard-left Democrat, so theyre the only ones to blame for his loss.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Shallenburger had won the treasurer post with 63% of the vote four years before. He was a good, though not great candidate for governor. Sebelius won because she ran good campaign and Shallenburger did not. And she attracted a lot of Graves' supporters. Moran probably wouldn't have done much better, may not have done as well.
Look, if you're going to resume acting like an ass, we can conclude this convo. A simple "I disagree with your assessment" could've sufficed. Just because you don't recall the situation in 2002 doesn't mean I don't.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Shallenburger had won the treasurer post with 63% of the vote four years before."
So what ? It was largely a disastrous year for the Dems, Gov. Graves won in a landslide carrying every county, and in an open downballot race against Rita Cline (who turned out to be a crook), it wasn't a big honkin' deal. The RINO wing made it plain they didn't want a Conservative like Shallenburger as the Gubernatorial standard-bearer, preferring a liberal Democrat. If there's any evidence of that, look at Johnson County. In '98, they went for Graves by an 81-16% margin (hell, he even carried Wyandotte, 54-43% !). But in '02, Shallenburger carried it by a margin of 52-46%, clearly a huge number of your "Moderates" (sic) of the two other leading primary candidates decided to vote left in the general. Most of the urban counties went to Gilligan-Sebelius (including Sedgwick, where Bob Knight's supporters gave her a narrow margin of 50-49%, and Reno, where Dave Kerr's people also gave her a similarly narrow margin 49.3-48.7%. Both had voted 66-29% and 75-20% in 1998. Need more evidence ? Take a look at Pat Roberts's performance in '02 and the gargantuan drop-off in the votes he got vs. Shallenburger.
So if Tiahrt loses then the Palin endorsement means nothing. Going to be a good battle to see who will win the right to take Brownback’s seat.
May 7, 2010 WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Jerry Moran was honored this week by The American Conservative Union (ACU) and awarded the ACU Ratings Award for his record in 2009 of standing up for conservative ideals and his commitment to Americas core principles.
This award is a reflection of Congressman Jerry Morans consistent support of conservative principles on a wide range of issues of concern to grass roots conservatives in 2009, said David Keene, Chairman of the American Conservative Union. At a challenging time when the fundamental principles on which the American system of government are being challenged, Congressman Jerry Moran stands with those who are trying to preserve those principles.
I believe in personal freedom, limited government and individual responsibility. The government should create the conditions for businesses and citizens to prosper, said Moran. Unfortunately, Congress is spending and borrowing money at an alarming rate that undermines our economic recovery today and threatens the prosperity of our children and grandchildren who will pay these debts. I am one of only 17 of the 435 Members of House of Representatives to vote against every stimulus and bailout plan. I came to Washington to fight for Kansas families and businesses and will continue to oppose reckless spending that threatens our countrys future.
The American Conservative Union listed Jerry Moran as “conservative” for his 2009 voting record. His lifetime voting record was rated above 90 percent at 92%.
Moran has received the ACU Ratings Award multiple times for his longstanding commitment to conservative ideals.
Interesting last name. At first I thought it was a typo. Perhaps his ancestors were the victims of some Ellis Island bureaucrat with a sense of humor? (sadly, it happened frequently to immigrants from Eastern Europe).
Remember, Sharon Angle was running 3rd in a 3-way Race for the GOP nomination in the Nevada Senate Race and ended up winning after Sarah endorsed her.
Thank you!
We need to think positive!!!
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