Washington is going in the wrong direction, and needs to be diverted to the right path. In essence, that’s what State Sen. Tim Huelskamp, R-Fowler, told an audience of 50 or more Thursday night at the meeting of the Central Kansas 9.12 Coalition. Huelskamp, 41, is the Republican nominee for Congress from Kansas’ Big First District. He seeks to replace Congressman Jerry Moran, who is the GOP nominee for the U.S. Senate in the Nov. 2 election.
Cap and trade, or "cap and tax" as proposed, the health-care act of last spring and overspending in general by the federal government are big concerns of people in western Kansas, he said. "People say they want changes in those arenas," he added.
He said questions from the audience would determine much of what he said here Thursday night. He had been in Barton County all day, attending the Chamber of Commerce Coffee in Great Bend in the morning, visiting all day with countians, and enjoying supper at Beaver. "Just visiting with people in Great Bend and the county." He was heading home to Fowler after the nighttime meeting here.
"I don’t want to lose touch with the people of western Kansas. ... We will fight for our way of life out here."
He and his wife, Angela, have four adopted children, two boys and two girls. He’s been a state senator since 1996.
Asked what the main differences were between himself and Alan Jilka, the Democratic candidate to replace Moran in the House, he said Jilka favors cap and trade, and "Obamacare."
"We need secure borders and balanced budgets," Huelskamp said.
He’s "honored to be the Republican nominee, after a spirited campaign," he said. All the GOP candidates whom he defeated in the Aug. 3 primary are now supporting him against Jilka. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Speaker of the House, and President Obama, and their big-government plans and ideas must be fought, he believes.
Washington is out of control, and out of touch with the people — and this is a big problem, Huelskamp said. "They want to take over our health-care system." There are more than 3,000 regulations in the health-care bill passed in the spring, he said someone told him, after hearing Kathleen Sebelius, former governor of Kansas and now secretary of Health and Human Services, say as much.
And they are still writing the regulations, he said. It’s a $2.5 trillion bill, he said.
Elections have consequences. We (the people) are still in charge, the candidate said. People are getting involved in politics now who never have done so before.
"We are responsible. Congress spoke in the spring; America will speak in November," Huelskamp said.
