Letters to the Editor (Aug. 4)

Anybody but Kobach

Republican voters will choose a nominee for governor next week. A few things to think about: Without our immigrants, the Kansas economy would collapse, immigrants voting illegally isn’t happening, and Kris Kobach doesn’t know a thing about the ACLU.

The ACLU defends the right to have citizens’ issues handled in a constitutionally legal way. Kobach doesn’t know much about legal, either. He’s 0-fer in the second level of the court system with his laws concerning voting rights and immigration. He is nothing but an egotistical bigot with huge political aspirations, and because of that Kansans don’t really mean much to him. Only his agenda counts.

Kobach’s record before the courts includes contempt of court citations, which he has ignored. We taxpayers fund his bigotry and incompetence. Please vote for anyone else on primary day.

Von Achen for district court judge

Voters often overlook the races directly affecting our citizens. It is important we know all we can about judicial candidates for Sedgwick County so we put the best on the bench and battle against nightmare occurrences in our culture.

Let’s elect a judge with litigation experience, particularly in civil and family matters. Let’s elect a judge who has presided over courtrooms. Let’s serve and protect the unborn, children, wives and elderly. All deserve the protections and freedoms guaranteed them.

Now, more than ever, we need judges with experience, skill and courage to be the cornerstone for protections and actions prescribed by law. This is not the time for an unqualified lobbyist and campaign worker to maybe evolve into a judge someday. Let’s put an all-star in the district court. The judge’s judge is Jon Von Achen. Experience counts.

Dark money and elections

Dark money is an insidious creation of American oligarchs. They use their wealth to buy influence in many ways, but primarily to sway elections. Support of a strong military, adequate infrastructure, and protection of a clean, healthy environment does not appear among their items of advocacy.

Americans for Prosperity is funded by dark money. Through its PAC, the Kansas Chamber of Commerce is another of many vehicles for conveying dark money. They provide lavish support for candidates who will do their bidding.

They count on those candidates to fight against adequate taxation, to vote against properly funding public education, and to refuse the expansion of Medicaid. The latter is the most egregious because of its disregard for the health of Kansans and the adverse effect it has on our economy.

Voters have been receiving large, colorful, slick postcards that carry the endorsement of dark money-funded organizations. They praise their candidates and smear their opponents. It is not a matter of supporting the Republican party, for Republican candidates also come under attack. Their purpose is to support candidates who will do the bidding of dark money donors. Isn’t it time to do what is good for Kansas instead of the oligarchs?

Come together against tariffs

Kansas agricultural organizations, farmers and ranchers have spent decades promoting Kansas products to international markets. The president’s ill-planned tariffs have wiped away the benefits of their efforts and put our Kansas economy in jeopardy just as farm incomes have started to slow down. How many small farmers will be forced into bankruptcy after several years of poor crop conditions and the reduction of overseas sales?

Will Reps. Marshall, Estes and Yoder have the courage to fight for their farming constituents? Will they work together with Sens. Moran and Roberts to show the White House that our country must continue a vibrant agricultural export industry if we are to remain a major food supplier to the world? The citizens of our state are waiting for their response.