Inspired by the tweeting sensation Vicki Tiahrt, I've created an accompanying twitter account to supplement this site. You can access it at:
https://twitter.com/TiahrtsTroubles
I plan to update it daily to highlight the antics of Mr. Tiahrt. With his campaign solidifying itself as the challenger campaign of desperation, I'm sure there will be no lack of material to discuss.
Yours in Tweeting,
Publius
Showing posts with label Vicki Tiahrt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vicki Tiahrt. Show all posts
Friday, February 5, 2010
Monday, February 1, 2010
Home is Where?
At the Kansas Republican convention last week, Mr. Tiahrt spoke out against apparent criticisms against his family by declaring, “I just think going after the families is out of bounds.” While I certainly agree that unwarranted criticisms against families are something that should be kept out of this dirty political process, I disagree with Mr. Tiahrt’s complaints as he was responding to criticisms that were decidedly NOT about his family.
Tiahrt was responding to his opponent’s (US Representative Jerry Moran) claims that Mr. Tiahrt moved his family out of Kansas to Washington. Mr. Moran’s main criticism of Mr. Tiahrt is that Tiahrt moved his family out of Kansas (while Moran continues to live in Kansas) and is therefore out of touch with Kansas voters. Setting aside Moran’s assumption that Tiahrt must be out of touch with Kansas voters because he no longer lives there, I want to look at the response from Mr. Tiahrt.
Instead of actually responding to the legitimate concern (that Mr. Tiahrt is more of a Washington insider than he is a Kansan), Mr, Tiahrt attempted to de-legitimize these comments by making false claims about how his family had been criticized. Not only was his family never criticized, but this response seems to be intentionally withholding important information from the voters that Mr. Tiahrt is asking to elect him to the Senate.
Mr. Moran’s criticism was not addressed towards the Tiahrt family because it addressed actions that Mr. Tiahrt himself took. Would the Tiahrt’s live in Northern Virginia now if Todd was not a US Representative? NO. Do we even know if Mr. Tiahrt's children wanted to move to Virginia before their father was elected? We have no idea. I don’t personally know the opinion’s of Mr. Tiahrt’s family (except, of course, what I can glean from his wife’s Twitter account), but I fail to understand how it is a criticism of them that they moved to Northern Virginia because of their father.
The larger problem with Mr. Tiahrt’s comments, however, is the snide way in which he attempts to brush off a legitimate criticism (that he is out of touch with Kansans) by making an illegitimate one (that the original comment was insulting of his family). I think we need Mr. Tiahrt to explain to Kansans how he is fully able to understand the needs and concerns of Kansas voters, if he doesn’t even consider the state his primary residence.
Deep down, the core of this issue is that Mr. Tiahrt has become more of a Washington insider than he is a representative Kansan. He doesn’t honestly answer a criticism when asked, but he dodges by making an even worse criticism of his opponent in the process. This is not the type of behavior that Kansans should expect from somebody that is claiming to represent them (even if he is no longer one of them), it is the type of behavior we should expect from somebody that is deeply entrenched in the Washington establishment—somebody that is accused of ethics violations, attends White House Christmas parties, and writes earmarks like it is his job.
I think Mr. Tiahrt needs to answer this criticism about why he no longer lives in Kansas, and how he can properly represent Kansans while he lives in Virginia; and I think he needs to answer this criticism without making further baseless remarks.
Critically yours,
Publius
Tiahrt was responding to his opponent’s (US Representative Jerry Moran) claims that Mr. Tiahrt moved his family out of Kansas to Washington. Mr. Moran’s main criticism of Mr. Tiahrt is that Tiahrt moved his family out of Kansas (while Moran continues to live in Kansas) and is therefore out of touch with Kansas voters. Setting aside Moran’s assumption that Tiahrt must be out of touch with Kansas voters because he no longer lives there, I want to look at the response from Mr. Tiahrt.
Instead of actually responding to the legitimate concern (that Mr. Tiahrt is more of a Washington insider than he is a Kansan), Mr, Tiahrt attempted to de-legitimize these comments by making false claims about how his family had been criticized. Not only was his family never criticized, but this response seems to be intentionally withholding important information from the voters that Mr. Tiahrt is asking to elect him to the Senate.
Mr. Moran’s criticism was not addressed towards the Tiahrt family because it addressed actions that Mr. Tiahrt himself took. Would the Tiahrt’s live in Northern Virginia now if Todd was not a US Representative? NO. Do we even know if Mr. Tiahrt's children wanted to move to Virginia before their father was elected? We have no idea. I don’t personally know the opinion’s of Mr. Tiahrt’s family (except, of course, what I can glean from his wife’s Twitter account), but I fail to understand how it is a criticism of them that they moved to Northern Virginia because of their father.
The larger problem with Mr. Tiahrt’s comments, however, is the snide way in which he attempts to brush off a legitimate criticism (that he is out of touch with Kansans) by making an illegitimate one (that the original comment was insulting of his family). I think we need Mr. Tiahrt to explain to Kansans how he is fully able to understand the needs and concerns of Kansas voters, if he doesn’t even consider the state his primary residence.
Deep down, the core of this issue is that Mr. Tiahrt has become more of a Washington insider than he is a representative Kansan. He doesn’t honestly answer a criticism when asked, but he dodges by making an even worse criticism of his opponent in the process. This is not the type of behavior that Kansans should expect from somebody that is claiming to represent them (even if he is no longer one of them), it is the type of behavior we should expect from somebody that is deeply entrenched in the Washington establishment—somebody that is accused of ethics violations, attends White House Christmas parties, and writes earmarks like it is his job.
I think Mr. Tiahrt needs to answer this criticism about why he no longer lives in Kansas, and how he can properly represent Kansans while he lives in Virginia; and I think he needs to answer this criticism without making further baseless remarks.
Critically yours,
Publius
Monday, December 14, 2009
Through the Years They All Will Be Together
Unlike most members of the blogosphere, I prefer not to write extensively about rumors and speculation. Not only can this type of journalism (and make no mistake, blogging is the future of journalism) be unsavory and libelous, but I believe that it leads people to diminish the relevance and stature of my work. With that said; I keep hearing the same rumor from a variety of sources in Washington and Kansas, and I feel that it is time to address its importance and significance.
Todd and Vicki Tiahrt recently attended a White House Christmas Party.
The rumor actually makes sense to me. President Obama seems like a cool guy, so I’m sure it would be fun to sing Christmas carols, drink Egg Nog, and discuss Tiger Woods’s marital problems with him. If I had the opportunity to go to a White House Christmas party, I’d even offer to bring the nutmeg. The problem is that I’m just a regular American who is not trying to run for United States Senate.
Todd Tiahrt IS running for Senate, and when you are an elected official representing a constituency (and seeking to represent a larger constituency) these parties have a significance greater than Winter Lager and Frank Sinatra songs. The Tiahrts' wining and dining with liberal elites in the White House seriously undermines his ability to properly represent the best interests of regular Kansans like you and me.
Furthermore, this ‘Candy Cane Summit’ as I like to call it brings to question the honesty and effectiveness of Mr. Tiahrt’s criticisms of Obama as the “most liberal President ever.” If Obama’s the most liberal president ever, then why would a Congressmen and Senatorial candidate who describes himself as a “true conservative” want to share cocoa and Christmas cookies with him?
I believe that the Candy Cane Summit gives more credence to my belief that Todd and Vicki Tiahrt are more interested in participating in the DC lifestyle than they are in representing the opinions of true conservatives across Kansas, as well as the rest of the heartland.
If the Tiahrts want to stand under the mistletoe with the Obamas, that’s fine with me. I just don’t want them to do it while representing the state of Kansas, or pretending that they are true conservative Republicans which they are not.
Dreaming of a White Christmas,
Publius
Todd and Vicki Tiahrt recently attended a White House Christmas Party.
The rumor actually makes sense to me. President Obama seems like a cool guy, so I’m sure it would be fun to sing Christmas carols, drink Egg Nog, and discuss Tiger Woods’s marital problems with him. If I had the opportunity to go to a White House Christmas party, I’d even offer to bring the nutmeg. The problem is that I’m just a regular American who is not trying to run for United States Senate.
Todd Tiahrt IS running for Senate, and when you are an elected official representing a constituency (and seeking to represent a larger constituency) these parties have a significance greater than Winter Lager and Frank Sinatra songs. The Tiahrts' wining and dining with liberal elites in the White House seriously undermines his ability to properly represent the best interests of regular Kansans like you and me.
Furthermore, this ‘Candy Cane Summit’ as I like to call it brings to question the honesty and effectiveness of Mr. Tiahrt’s criticisms of Obama as the “most liberal President ever.” If Obama’s the most liberal president ever, then why would a Congressmen and Senatorial candidate who describes himself as a “true conservative” want to share cocoa and Christmas cookies with him?
I believe that the Candy Cane Summit gives more credence to my belief that Todd and Vicki Tiahrt are more interested in participating in the DC lifestyle than they are in representing the opinions of true conservatives across Kansas, as well as the rest of the heartland.
If the Tiahrts want to stand under the mistletoe with the Obamas, that’s fine with me. I just don’t want them to do it while representing the state of Kansas, or pretending that they are true conservative Republicans which they are not.
Dreaming of a White Christmas,
Publius
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Tweetahrt’s Trouble
Politics is a pretty dirty business, and as a personal rule I usually like to keep the spouses, children, and other family members out of my critical attacks. It’s difficult enough when these people have to see their husbands, wives, parents, and children take heat for trying to serve their country in a way they see best, but to attack spouses and children is classless.
But I’m going to make an exception today.
Mr. Tiahrt’s wife, Vicki, has recently been put on the national stage by The Hill for a virtual rampage of Republican bad-mouthing on her Twitter account. Calling her a “loose cannon,” The Hill compiles many of Mrs. Tiahrt’s Twitter posts including attacks on U.S. Senators McCain, Coburn, Thune, and DeMint; U.S. Congressional candidate and current Kansas State Senator Tim Huelskamp; and the largest interest group for fiscal restraint, The Club for Growth.
The list is practically a who’s who of people that haven’t endorsed Tiahrt for his Senate bid, so let’s break down Mrs. Tiahrt’s attacks one-by-one (using more than the paltry 140 character limit).
1. It’s hard to imagine a scenario that’s beneficial for the Tiahrts to attack sitting Republican US. Senators. Assuming their plan is to win this senate race, wouldn’t attacking future colleagues not only breed hostility, but also decrease Mr. Tiahrt’s clout and effectiveness should he win? These tweets show an utter lack of statesmanship from the Tiahrts, and would make the meetings of the Senate Spouses club very awkward for Mrs. Tiahrt (seeing how much she loves the D.C. lifestyle).
2. Assuming Mr. Tiahrt wins the primary (which is not at all a given, seeing as he is currently behind in the polls) these criticisms would highly reduce the chance that he gets the fundraising support of these GOP heavyweights for the general election (as well as any future campaigns for any office).
3. It’s highly amusing that she would attack State Senator Tim Huelskamp for being endorsed by a highly regarded conservative PAC considering that Huelskamp is seen by many Kansans as the most conservative candidate in the 1st District race. Are the Tiahrt’s trying to align themselves with the conservative wing of Congress, or are they trying to attack that wing?
4. Why would she bemoan the Club for Growth? Attacking the conservative PAC makes little sense for a candidate that is trying to position himself as the most conservative option. I assume she just wanted to take away legitimacy from the organization that recently rated her husband as a measly 29% against earmarks. If the Tiahrt’s really think they have a conservative argument against the Club for Growth, maybe they should make that argument using a medium where you don’t have to use numbers such as 2 and 4 in place of actual English words.
While I do hate to criticize spouses, Mrs. Tiahrt is continuing to throw herself into the conversation, meaning stories like these will most likely continue in the future.
Twittingly yours,
Publius
But I’m going to make an exception today.
Mr. Tiahrt’s wife, Vicki, has recently been put on the national stage by The Hill for a virtual rampage of Republican bad-mouthing on her Twitter account. Calling her a “loose cannon,” The Hill compiles many of Mrs. Tiahrt’s Twitter posts including attacks on U.S. Senators McCain, Coburn, Thune, and DeMint; U.S. Congressional candidate and current Kansas State Senator Tim Huelskamp; and the largest interest group for fiscal restraint, The Club for Growth.
The list is practically a who’s who of people that haven’t endorsed Tiahrt for his Senate bid, so let’s break down Mrs. Tiahrt’s attacks one-by-one (using more than the paltry 140 character limit).
1. It’s hard to imagine a scenario that’s beneficial for the Tiahrts to attack sitting Republican US. Senators. Assuming their plan is to win this senate race, wouldn’t attacking future colleagues not only breed hostility, but also decrease Mr. Tiahrt’s clout and effectiveness should he win? These tweets show an utter lack of statesmanship from the Tiahrts, and would make the meetings of the Senate Spouses club very awkward for Mrs. Tiahrt (seeing how much she loves the D.C. lifestyle).
2. Assuming Mr. Tiahrt wins the primary (which is not at all a given, seeing as he is currently behind in the polls) these criticisms would highly reduce the chance that he gets the fundraising support of these GOP heavyweights for the general election (as well as any future campaigns for any office).
3. It’s highly amusing that she would attack State Senator Tim Huelskamp for being endorsed by a highly regarded conservative PAC considering that Huelskamp is seen by many Kansans as the most conservative candidate in the 1st District race. Are the Tiahrt’s trying to align themselves with the conservative wing of Congress, or are they trying to attack that wing?
4. Why would she bemoan the Club for Growth? Attacking the conservative PAC makes little sense for a candidate that is trying to position himself as the most conservative option. I assume she just wanted to take away legitimacy from the organization that recently rated her husband as a measly 29% against earmarks. If the Tiahrt’s really think they have a conservative argument against the Club for Growth, maybe they should make that argument using a medium where you don’t have to use numbers such as 2 and 4 in place of actual English words.
While I do hate to criticize spouses, Mrs. Tiahrt is continuing to throw herself into the conversation, meaning stories like these will most likely continue in the future.
Twittingly yours,
Publius
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