Challenger calls Ryun out for postcard

I lost respect for Ryun when, a few years ago, I learned that he believed in an 'arranged marriage' for his daughter. He's not gained much in my approval since. Now this courtesy of the Parsons Sun:

Wednesday's editorial

Ryun's mailing

Congressman Jim Ryun made a gross error in judgment when he used $38,000 in taxpayer money to send a mailer out to constituents. As an incumbent with a very aggressive Democratic opponent, Ryun certainly should be campaigning to keep his seat, but it's distressing that the mailing was sent out through the congressional franking process, not with campaign funds.

Ryun may be allowed to use tax money to inform constituents about his actions in Washington but this mailer doesn't begin to pass the sniff test of integrity.

First of all it says nothing. There is not one line on it saying that Ryun supported, voted for or initiated action to help keep oil and gas prices within reason. Instead it uses phrases like "the House passed" and "Congress has done." What people really want to know is what Jim Ryun personally did, and that is the intent of the franking privilege.

So what is franking? In a nutshell it is the ability for congressional delegates to keep their constituents informed about what they're doing in Washington. First established by Congress in 1775, at a time when the only way to communicate was via mail, it was important that elected "citizen representatives" be able to communicate with constituents at the government's expense during the early days of this new nation.

Franking has gone in and out of favor since that time, with periodic modifications to the process, but what it clearly was not intended to do was to provide a campaign platform for an incumbent - that's why there is a 90-day pre-election limit on mass mailings.

If Ryun really wanted to brag about what he was doing to control gas prices, why didn't he do this last spring when people where screaming? Instead, he waited until the last minute, then sent out a shiny red, white and blue post card that looks, smells and reads like campaign material. In fact, the headline couldn't sound more like a campaign slogan: "Congressman Jim Ryun, Lower Gas Prices & Energy Independence for America and Your Family."

Knowing that oil and gas ranks in the top 10 industries feeding his campaign war chest should make it particularly difficult for voters to swallow this abusive spending. Maybe the mailer meets the letter of the law, but it certainly doesn't meet the intent of the law.

- Ann Charles

Ryun got an earful about his misuse of franking privileges from a friend of ours. She was one of half dozen or so Dems who showed up to talk to Ryun at the event. In fact, only Dems showed up to the event and Ryun ended up leaving after only 20 minutes.

More power to Ann Charles for taking this issue to the public. FYI, I hear from several in the Boyda campaign that she has a lot more support from SE Kansas this time around than she did when she ran in 2004.

Jim Ryun is culpable of much worse (I'll hold for later), but since when does voting for tax incentives and Congressional corporate giveaways to the bulbously large oil magnates help "oil and gas prices (stay) within reason"?

Two ways I can figure.

1) Let "Big Oil" pig out in the public coffers for the past year, while (gas goes from $1.80 (pre-Katrina) to $3.00 (post-Katrina), and maybe, just maybe they will let the price dip to $2.30 rght before the elections! Just so the keepers of the Pigs keeping the Trough will be re-elected.

2) Give "Big Oil" a backstreet handshake agreement to drill in the Gulf of Mexico, then start a war which causes crude prices to triple in four years, then let them drill the Gulf where they already know oil exists.

When it is sold, it goes for $75 to $150 a barrel when it goes in your car! Hell, if Ryun and Co. would just triple the Congressional giveaways, the oil companies would make money giving gasoline away!

Did Ryun do this?

Nooooo! (He needed help from the rest of the GOP.)

from KSN out of Joplin...he blames the Liberals for the high prices of gas, because the Liberals blocked key energy legislation. I about fell out of my chair when he said that...

to blame gas prices on liberals.

They blame opposition of Bush's energy policy, and environmentalists.