The Kansas AFP delegation met this afternoon for a lunch meeting in the Coolidge Room at the Marriott Wardman in the District. My perhaps less-than-completely-accurate estimate puts the number in attendance at above fifty Kansans who made the half nation trek to our country’s capital to stand for a movement that truly defends the principles of smaller government and less spending.
As surprise guests, the national director of Americans for Prosperity, Tim Phillips stopped by share some info on the national organization, and to thank us for our involvement.
David Koch, the Kansas native of Koch Industries fame, who is the Chairman of Americans for Prosperity Foundation and has recently been attacked for this involvement, spoke about his desire to take the flak for the sake of the nation for the salvation of the movement and the nation.
Rep. Todd Tiahrt speaking to Kansas AFP Delegation
Then, we had our third and fourth surprise guests (well, some of use knew ahead of time!), Congressman Todd (R-KS03) and Mrs. Vicki Tiahrt who drove in specifically for the AFP Summit and tomorrow’s Glenn Beck rally at the Lincoln Memorial. They haven’t given up the fight.
Mrs. Vicki Tiahrt speaking to Kansas delegation
To paraphrase Mrs. Tiahrt, “You [AFP] are who will take our nation back.” Vicki spoke for a few minutes on the importance of taking our message of opportunity for all and fiscal conservatism to reach new voters, especially those who may have been turned off in the past by misperceptions of the conservative movement.
It was a very informative and up-lifting lunch, and it was great to see Todd and Vicki again. Better yet, I finally got a photo with them:
According to the Summit’s website, the general registration sold out – something that excites me. With the almost 2,500 attendees at this year’s fourth annual conference, this shows with certainty that Americans are waking up to the theft taking place beneath our noses.
Nick Gillespie, ReasonTV
I’ve been encouraged by the speakers I’ve had the privilege of hearing from already, including Nick Gillespie of ReasonTV and Matthew Elliott of the UK’s TaxPayer’s Alliance. Mr. Elliott offered an inspirational view of how the new Conservative government in the UK is winning over the population and making authentic efforts to right their financial ship.
Matthew Elliott, TaxPayer's Alliance
If this morning was an example of how the rest of the weekend will go, then I’m excited. Let’s get going… let’s Remember November.
Volunteering for the Todd Tiahrt for U.S. Senate campaign this summer has been one of the best experiences I’ve ever had.
We started out last night winning. In fact, we were leading Mr. Moran for around half the evening. All of our numbers looked fantastic. We soundly won the Third and Fourth Congressional Districts – picking up the two most populous counties in Kansas, Sedgwick, the home of Wichita, and Johnson, of the Kansas City area. We even pulled in highly respectable numbers in Moran’s own First District.
That brought the race down to the Second District. In Southeast Kansas, where Michelle Hucke, Jarrod Mendicki, and I worked, we blew our vote target numbers out of the water.
Unfortunately, Shawnee County, the home of Topeka and also part of the Second District, went to Moran, and at that point, we no longer had a path to victory.
I’m not going to offer an explanation as to why we lost by a measly 4%, simply because I don’t think there is one. We ran a truly clean, grassroots-driven, and issues-based campaign. Unlike Moran, we didn’t attack family or send out misleading mailers; we simply pointed out his mistakes with well-documented votes from public record. If there’s any explanation, is that Jerry Moran doesn’t speak the truth and the voters, unfortunately, believed him.
Moran stretched when it came to his own record. It’s no wonder Moran and Tiahrt looked so close on paper – Moran basically ran using Todd’s record.
Heart-breakingly, sometimes corrupt politicians win.
Listening to Congressman Tiahrt’s concession speech last night was one of the toughest and most gut-wrenching things I’ve ever done, but I can tell you this: I’ve never been more proud in my life.
When I listened to Todd, I saw a humble, unassuming, and gracious man – the same one I’ve seen every other time I’ve talked with him. He was disappointed, as all of us were, but he held his head high and spoke while looking us directly in the eyes.
It’s sickening, because the right man did not win last night. The right man – the one with an incredible sense of duty, integrity, and honesty – was standing with his wife and two of his children on a stage at the Airport Hilton in Wichita, KS.
I have never believed in a candidate like I believe in Todd Tiahrt.
We may not have won the primary last night, but I wouldn’t trade this summer for anything in the world. It’s impossible to describe in words how thankful I am for the incredible things I’ve learned and, most importantly, for the amazing people I’ve met. I look on many of them as my new extended family.
It’s hard to let go of an idea – of a campaign – you believe in and have dedicated hundreds of hours to.
We had the right candidate. Todd IS the right man for the job. It just didn’t happen – from the way the numbers looked early-on, the only plausible explanantion is that God has a much better plan for Todd Tiahrt than the U.S. Senate.
As for party unity? I will never vote for the Democrat, but there’s about zero chance of me voting for Jerry Moran. Besides, what’s the difference between him and Lisa Johnston? Not much.
We ran a good race, but sometimes the good guys don’t win, and sometimes we can’t explain it, gut-wrenching as it may be.
Please continue to keep the Tiahrt family, the State of Kansas, and our nation in your prayers. Despite this devestating setback, we will succeed in restoring our nation.
Over the course of this year, I’ve published several articles chronicling my volunteer efforts to help elect Todd Tiahrt as our next U.S Senator from Kansas. As a former civics teacher of mine once told me, “It’s citizen involvement that will turn things around.”
Volunteering is important to me; you’re giving something of yourself freely to help further a cause in which you deeply believe. Some of us are super-dedicated in our volunteerism, while others take it even further, deeply sacrificing with all they have to work for what’s right.
One such example is my good friend, Michelle Hucke.
It was surprising, therefore, to learn a few weeks ago, that Michelle was being targeted by “Moran fans” as a supposedly-paid staff member on the Tiahrt campaign – an accusation based entirely on an article I wrote.
So, because these people are apparently incapable of doing their own fact-finding, I’m going to make things crystal-clear for them.
Michelle Hucke is, in fact, the volunteer Southeast Kansas Coordinator for the Tiahrt campaign – a position that she holds with entirely no financial or other compensation. As a student at Pittsburg State University and a newlywed, she’s, according to her own words, “not able to donate money to the campaign”, so she donates her “time and energy instead.”
Recently, Michelle wrote several letters to the editor. Hopefully, this helps re-assure those newspapers those letters were, in fact, genuine and also helps the public realize they’ve been duped, yet again, by a Moran campaign that digs no deeper than glossy campaign mailers (or their inane cartoon-style ones, either).
My good friend, KSKidConservative, makes some really hard-hitting grassroots campaign videos. This is his latest regarding the U.S. Senate race in Kansas.
Says he:
Todd Tiahrt is running for the United States Senate. Recently, Jerry Moran released an ad called ‘Quotes’ that said Congressman Tiahrt was “slimy” – I have a list of quotes of my own about Todd, from Sarah Palin to Sean Hannity.
On Thursday, July 8, Congressman Todd Tiahrt (R-KS04) completed his tour of Southeast Kansas with multiple stops in Parsons, Oswego, and Pittsburg.
I caught up with the Congressman as he was touring downtown Oswego, KS, my hometown. Michelle Hucke, Tiahrt SEK Coordinator, and I (the lowly Labette County coordinator), along with Brie Bringle and Tom Bringle, Mayor of Oswego, introduced Todd to all of the local merchants and business owners in the community.
Mr. Tiahrt also toured one of the largest and fastest-growing industries in Oswego, the Boss Tank division of Tank Connections.
Later that afternoon, he held a town hall in Oswego – most likely the first event of this nature held in Oswego in at least a few decades. Even in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday, he still had almost 1.5% of the entire population of the city attend – that’s the same attendance, per capita, as the Karl Rove event in Wichita!
Voters in Oswego are very excited about Todd. In fact, as you drive through the community of roughly 2,000 inhabitants, you’ll see Tiahrt yard signs all over the place; there’s even a giant 4×8 sign downtown. As for Todd’s opponent, he’s never heard the term “SEK” and his travel (or lack thereof) to the area shows it.
That evening, the Congressman hosted a “meet and greet” and town hall in Pittsburg, KS with the Southeast Kansas Conservatives group. With only hours notice, people packed into the meeting room the organization had reserved on Broadway in Pittsburg.
The photograph above (I apologize for the poor quality) was taken at the very beginning of the Congressman’s speech and from the front of the crowd. If you could only see how every seat surrounding Todd was filled! In fact, as people continued to come in throughout the evening, they had to sit behind just to have a place to sit. That’s how excited we are in Southeast Kansas about Todd Tiahrt.
You could feel the electricity and excitement in the air as Todd spoke about our need to rid ourselves of unnecessary government involvement. He said, “If the cost of a regulation outweighs its benefit, let’s get rid of it!” He also talked about the urgency with which he fought against Obama’s health care plan, and how we must repeal the atrocity called Obamacare as soon as is humanly possible. Truly, the Congressman was on-fire last night.
One woman raised her hand and talked about how, as “embarrassed” as she was to admit it, she was a registered Democrat. She said that she was ashamed of what her party was doing to the nation, and that she had been planning on re-registering as a Republican. The woman said after hearing Todd speak, and seeing the integrity with which he conducted himself, she was convinced and that she’d be voting for him on August 3. Talk about awesomeness!
The excitement on the ground was palpable. Basically everywhere we went, if you mentioned the name “Tiahrt,” eyes lit up, and people were anxious to speak with Todd. If you have ever had any doubt about the winner of August’s primary, cast it out. Todd Tiahrt will be our next U.S. Senator from Kansas.
LATE BREAKING: Congressman Todd Tiahrt will be making a three city tour of Southeast Kansas tomorrow, July 8 and traveling through Parsons, Oswego, and Pittsburg.
He’ll be hosting events all day, and I’m sure he would love to have you at any event you can attend. Please bring your friends and family, even if they are still undecided. This is a great way to personally speak with Todd and hear from him how he feels on the issues.
If you have one, please wear your red Tiahrt shirt!
I just received this email from a fellow Tea Partier from South Carolina, home of Senator Jim DeMint, who, breaking from the rest of conservatism, has oddly endorsed Todd Tiahrt’s very moderate opponent for Senate.
As a native Kansan, a resident of South Carolina, and an executive board member of the South Carolina District 5 Patriots “tea party,” ( www.scd5patriots.org )I am appalled that my Senator and Tea Party Hero, Jim DeMint, is actively campaigning against his fellow Tea Party Hero, Todd Tiahrt, in the race for the Senate Republican nomination in Kansas.
This week, Sen. DeMint, will travel to Kansas City to tell the voters of Kansas that Jerry Moran is the guy they can trust to put constitutional principles and the interest of his constituents above “politics as usual.”
There are reasons Congressman Moran was not chosen as a Tea Party Hero, such as voting to raise taxes 12 times, and voting for the tourism bailout that Senator DeMint called a “$400 million corporate welfare boondoggle.” (Washington Post op-ed by Jim DeMint)Yet DeMint, my senator and a Shining Star leading conservatives across the nation, will use his Tea Party Hero status to hoodwink the good people of Kansas.
This begs the question “Why?”And, it spits in the face of the millions of grassroots Americans who are seeking honest and principled ambassadors to represent THE PEOPLE in Washington.
What grates even deeper is that Moran is playing up DeMint’s Tea Party Endorsement as being an indirect Tea Party endorsement for him.This is a sleazy, deceitful tactic to usurp off the good name and credibility of the tea party movement.It’s fake, and it’s unscrupulous.
Sen. DeMint is sending mixed signals here, and it reflects poorly on the Tea Party Express organization and what it stands for.
So, Senator DeMint, which side are you on?As your constituent and leader of the SCD5 Patriots, I am holding you accountable.I want a really good explanation, or a retraction of your endorsement of Moran for Senate in Kansas and cancellation of your trip to Kansas.
I love America because, here, one truly can become whatever he or she wishes; with dedication, nothing will stand in their way.
for her belief that her people can always be the best, her drive to make them so – to reach higher heights and deeper depths, and to explore even the surface of the moon.
I love America for her belief in the everlasting power of God’s grace and mercy – and guidance for our land.
for the trust our forefathers placed in his divine wisdom and law.
for her willingness to defend even the weakest and most desolate.
I love America for the honor she bestows on those who fight to defend her hallowed shores.
for the ingenuity and compassion that drive the world.
I love America for the great trust she places in the power of the individual to complete tasks never before thought possible.
for the kindness she shows all of mankind.
for her ability to be both the land of the free and the home of the brave.
