They Chanted Tiahrt! Tiahrt! Tiahrt!
This is a guest posting I wrote for On the Kansas Trail, a blog published semi-weekly by Vicki and Jessica Tiahrt.
On Saturday, June 26 the Olathe Republican Party hosted their annual picnic and straw poll. Candidates from Kansas’ Third Congressional District and those running statewide were invited to attend, pass out literature, and set up booths. Each candidate was also given a small allotment of time to speak.
I had worked that morning at the Edgerton, KS parade, so I arrived right after the picnic started – hundreds of people were already there, talking with candidates and their volunteers. The first thing I noticed, however, wasn’t the delicious smell of hamburgers being grilled by State Representative Arlen Siegfreid, but the sheer number of red Tiahrt shirts! With the estimated 800 or so in attendance, over a quarter were wearing the signature Tiahrt red, while nearly a hundred more proudly displayed their Tiahrt stickers.
Throughout the late morning and early afternoon, the buzz built as it neared time for Congressman Tiahrt to address the red shirt-saturated crowd. People were constantly coming up to our booth to speak with the Congressman and to snap a picture with our proudly displayed life-sized cutout of Gov. Sarah Palin, one of Rep. Tiahrt’s most recent endorsements – a list filled with conservative super-stars that builds daily.
When the Congressman was finally able to take the stage a few minutes after 1:30, the crowd erupted in to the loudest screaming, applause, and cheering heard for any candidate – many times over. In fact, Rep. Tiahrt was unable to begin speaking for over a minute as the crowd slowly quieted down enough to hear the microphone.
Todd spoke of our need as a nation to return to stalwart conservative values and of the ever-growing list of leaders and voters who have endorsed him. He discussed how he spent over ten hours on the floor of the House of Representatives fighting endlessly and tirelessly against Pres. Obama’s so-called healthcare reform package (while his opponent recorded videos outside the Capitol).
With the determination he used to fight to destroy the government takeover of healthcare, the dedication he used to never vote for a stimulus package, a bailout, or a tax increase, and the inspiration he gained from working to make a starting position as an underclassman on his high school football team, Todd Tiahrt will do something D.C. hasn’t seen in years. He’ll bring common sense to the madness. It’s not so much how long you’ve been in Washington, but how much Washington is in you.
With thundering interruptions every forty-five seconds, the Congressman was nearly unable to finish his speech during the allotted time. Those in attendance clung to his every word, cheering as loudly as possible. When he finished, they chanted “Tiahrt! Tiahrt! Tiahrt!” and applauded him for two solid minutes before the announcer was forced to re-take the stage.
As if anyone needed reminding of the incredible momentum building behind the Tiahrt campaign, Todd won an astronomical 73.6% of the straw poll vote, besting his opponent by an almost three-to-one margin, proving once again that he is the REAL DEAL for Kansas.
