Letters on Amazon leaving Coffeyville, Reid, Orman, negotiating drug prices, Kobach election absurdity

Coffeyville working to create jobs

The following letter was submitted by state Sen. Jeff King, state Rep. Jim Kelly, Montgomery County Commissioner Larry McManus and Montgomery County Action Council president Chuck Goad, all of Independence, and Coffeyville Mayor Jim Falkner:

Our fears were realized last week with the announced closure of the Amazon facility in Coffeyville (Oct. 2 Eagle). We worked diligently with state, federal and other local officials to keep the operation in Coffeyville by offering Amazon the largest retention package in Kansas history. Everyone from the governor to members of Congress to local leaders made calls and held meetings trying to persuade company executives to remain in Coffeyville. Unfortunately, those efforts were not enough.

Our hearts go out to the more than 600 people who work at Amazon, those employed by other affected local businesses, and their families. They are the focus of our efforts going forward.

We are partnering with a number of local businesses to aid their expansion efforts. We are working to obtain state and federal dollars to recruit new business and grow existing ones. We are reaching out to neighboring counties and working hand in hand with our friends throughout southeast Kansas to create new jobs in the region.

These results will not occur overnight. Growing jobs is hard. Competition is fierce. But, as a city, as a county and as southeast Kansas, we will succeed. We will rebound from these losses and create new jobs. We will continue to provide a great place for people to work, live and raise a family.

Oust Reid

Electing a senator who will represent Kansans in Washington, D.C., is not about the person we elect but about the candidate we can count on the most to stop the Obama agenda. My preference in the August primary was Milton Wolf, who lost to Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan. The complaint I heard the most about Roberts was that he was too old and had been in Washington for too long. Whatever you might think about Roberts personally, the issues are more important than just the man.

The main issue in this Senate election is getting rid of Harry Reid as Senate majority leader. Reid regularly blocks bills that arrive on his desk from the House of Representatives. The Senate needs another six more Republican senators to oust Reid and stop the Obama agenda.

Greg Orman, the independent candidate, refuses to make any commitment about which party he will caucus with. What we do know about Orman is that he has donated to President Obama’s presidential campaign and to Reid’s senatorial campaign. He is really a Democrat in sheep’s clothing.

Orman self-made

I attended the get-acquainted luncheon in Harvey County last week held for Greg Orman, independent candidate for U.S. Senate. Orman is a self-made man, having conquered a disadvantaged youth to become a highly successful, quite wealthy businessman. That success certainly required considerable skills at working with diverse peoples and needs.

Orman proposes bridging the gap between the Republicans and Democrats in Congress. It is a relatively easy thing to “talk that talk.” It is quite another thing to “walk that walk.” Certainly, we need the change.

Here at the state level, Gov. Sam Brownback’s tax cuts have caused funding declines for education, presented us with looming budget shortfalls, and resulted in credit rating cuts from both Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s. At the national level, Congress is at a near standstill, passing minimal legislation, locked in gridlock between the two parties.

Perhaps an independent can do something to reach consensus between the warring factions. I’m ready to give Orman the opportunity to walk that walk.

Negotiate drugs

Having watched the “60 Minutes” report Sunday on the inflated cost of cancer drugs, I think we need to be asking anyone who wants to be our U.S. senator or representative how he would vote on changing the rules to allow Medicare to begin negotiating drug prices with the pharmaceutical companies. The current policy is a national embarrassment and needs to be changed.

Election absurdity

A panel from the Shawnee County District Court ruled that the government may not force a political party to run a candidate for political office (Oct. 2 Eagle). Our secretary of state, Kris Kobach, insisted that this ruling was wrong – that government may force a human being to run for political office. Think about it.

Suppose Kobach had gotten his way. Would he seek an injunction forcing the Democratic Party to field a candidate? If the party refused, would a sheriff with a warrant arrest party chairwoman Joan Wagnon and put her in jail? If no candidate was thereafter proposed, would Kobach seek an injunction against one Democratic Party official after another, placing those who refused to run or name a candidate in jail? Suppose the party named a candidate and that person refused to run. Would that person go to jail? Our county jails could be stuffed with Democrats who refused to run for office.

Absurd, isn’t it? Welcome to Kobachistan.

This story was originally published October 7, 2014 at 7:06 PM with the headline "Letters on Amazon leaving Coffeyville, Reid, Orman, negotiating drug prices, Kobach election absurdity."