Print edition: 
Jim Anderson, a dark-horse candidate for the Republican nomination in the 4th Congressional District, wowed members of Wichita's Pachyderm Club on Friday with a speech advocating staunch conservatism on taxes, the economy, health care and Social Security.
Anderson drew repeated ovations from about 40 members and guests.
The first-time candidate faces two state senators, Dick Kelsey and Jean Schodorf; a Republican national committeeman, Mike Pompeo; and a prominent businessman, Wink Hartman, for the nomination.
Anderson, a small-business owner and retired airline pilot, said he's not concerned by a poll released by the Kelsey campaign Thursday that showed him running last.
"I think polls are a bunch of bunk," he said to applause.
Possibly the biggest applause line came when Anderson hailed protesters at congressional town-hall meetings across the country and participants in the Tea Party movement that has drawn strong support from the Pachyderm ranks.
"Ordinary men and women have been doing something quite extraordinary," he said. "They are sending a signal to Washington that enough is enough and we will not be fooled again."
The Pachyderms have been working their way through the list of candidates at their weekly luncheons.
Many were clearly excited when Anderson endorsed the fair tax, a plan to replace income taxes with a form of national sales tax.
Under that plan, "everybody pays taxes, everybody; nobody is exempt," he said.
Among other planks in Anderson's platform:
* Supporting free-market health care reform —"There are several key steps that will allow us to continue to enjoy the world's best health care, but at a lower cost," he said. "They start with enacting real consumer choice, tort reform and saying 'no' to a government-run health care system."
* Opposing bailouts of troubled industries and government ownership of business —"If General Motors did not have the competence and management skills to run their company, then they should have gone out of business like American Motors and Nash Motors and all the other car companies... There's going to be some job loss there, but the free market will take up the slack."
* Phasing out Social Security —"Today at (age) 49, I would opt out of Social Security and I would take that money I've been sending to the federal government and I would put it in an aggressive growth fund... and let it ride."
* Supporting educational vouchers —"Competition, through a voucher system, is one way to begin improving the level of performance by giving parents a choice on where to send their children and allowing only the good schools to survive."
* Opposing plans to limit carbon emissions —"It is nothing more than socialist engineering by the Obama administration to pick and choose the winners, pick and choose losers in the economy rather than the free market."
It was a speech many in the club had been waiting for.
"I keep hearing you mention the word 'choice,' " club member John Todd said during questions and answers. "Seems to me like you're promoting freedom."
"Indeed," Anderson replied, smiling.
