No Show in Johnson County??

What was Mr. Tiahrt doing yesterday?

According to his advertised events and the Johnson County GOP Weekly E-mail, Mr, Tiahrt was supposed to have town hall meetings at libraries in Olathe and Shawnee, however he did not show up to these events. While supporters were waiting, Tiahrt’s staff and campaign never let anybody know that he was not going to be there to fulfill his obligation.

Furthermore, staff at the libraries had no idea that the events had been (apparently) cancelled. Librarians at the two locations were left confused and annoyed because they set up for and expected town hall meetings that the Tiahrt contingent apparently believed were unimportant.

Now I don’t know why Tiahrt refused to show up at these events. In all likelihood he had a very good and serious reason for blowing off his supporters; but regardless of why he didn’t show up, he and his staff had an obligation to not only contact the libraries, but also the Johnson Country Republican Party (that was promoting the events) and the supporters that actually showed up to the events.

By not showing up at these events, Todd Tiahrt has again demonstrated that he cannot be trusted. If Kansas voters cannot trust him to show up to events that he planned and promoted, how can he possibly be trusted to effectively represent the interests of this State as a Senator. Little things like this show us what a person or organization is made out of, and right now Mr. Tiahrt is again proving that promises and obligations mean nothing to him.

Trustworthily Yours,

Publius

In Whose Town Hall?

Recently, Mr. Tiahrt staged a controversial event that is being described by some as a town hall meeting, and by others as a campaign rally. Mr. Tiahrt appeared at the event in the City-County Building in Salina (a building that is strictly prohibited from hosting political rallies), and used the event to answer voters questions and to ‘outline the differences between himself and his Senate opponent’.

While Tiahrt (as well as the Saline County Commission Chairman) are claiming that the event was not a political event, I believe that the facts of this event show that it was clearly a political rally. First: the event was announced by Tiahrt for Senate. Second: materials advertising the event were paid for by Kansans for Tiahrt. Third (and most importantly): the event was held in a city outside of Tiahrt’s home district.

I believe that any event held outside a congressman’s district (when that congressman is running for Senate) should be considered a campaign event. Never mind the fact that this event was clearly promoted as a campaign event, or that Tiahrt used his time at the event, the simple fact is that this event would not have happened if Todd Tiahrt was not currently running for the US Senate.

Voters should find this troublesome because the campaign is showing a clear recklessness towards keeping the business of the campaign separate from the official business of Tiahrt’s congressional office. I understand that sometimes these things will be intermixed, but they can’t possibly try to pretend that this event in Salina wasn’t part of Tiahrt’s campaign.

When viewed in a vacuum, this event is a pretty trivial part of understanding Todd Tiahrt; but when viewed alongside his other blunders, this event helps to show that Mr. Tiahrt clearly has a knack for skirting the rules and doing whatever is best for Todd Tiahrt.

Should Kansans expect better?

Town Hallingly Yours,

Publius