Dear Editor,
I am not at all surprised that Congressman Tim Huelskamp chose to endorse Mitch Holmes for Senator in the 33rd District. Because of his 14 years of service in the Kansas Senate he no doubt has thorough knowledge of Senator Teichman’s voting record. During the past three years, I have spent many hours researching the voting records of Kansas politicians to inform myself and pass that information on to anyone who is interested.
My research includes Sam Brownback, Jerry Moran, Pat Roberts, Tim Huelskamp, Ruth Teichman, Bill Wolf, and most recently, Mitch Holmes. By far the most liberal of these is Ruth Teichman. When her supporters write to this forum, I am always struck by the broad generalizations about why we should vote for her, but they provide little or no specifics about her positions or her voting record.
One supporter did state that Senator Teichman votes with Republicans 92% of the time. Even if you accept that number it is little proof of conservatism when you are voting with the very liberal leadership in the Kansas Senate. When you are voting with fellow RINO’s you are voting against Sam Brownback, Mitch Holmes, John Edmonds, and Bill Wolf. One must also consider that there are dozens, possibly more than 100 bills voted on each year and more than 92% are non-controversial and pass by overwhelming majorities. It’s when you look at the legislation that is extremely important to Republicans, (Abortion, Taxes/Regulation, Immigration etc.) that you see the real Ruth Teichman. In that arena she can’t even garner 50%.
With every letter written to the Tribune I have included voting information. Here are a few more for Senator Teichman. All of these were offered as amendments to existing laws and they are identified by the name of the Legislator who offered the amendment. All of these deal with illegal immigration:
Huelskamp Amendment 1 – Establishes timetables and deadlines for employers to begin using the E-verify system for new hires. Teichman voted NAY.
Huelskamp Amendment 2 – Would place restrictions on the eligibility of illegal immigrants for Public Benefits. Teichman voted NAY.
Journey Amendment 1 – Would establish penalties for agencies engaged in obstructing immigration enforcement. Teichman voted NAY.
Journey Amendment 2 – Would repeal in-state tuition rates for illegal immigrants. Teichman voted NAY.
Bartlett Amendment – Establishes penalties for companies that knowingly employ illegal immigrants. Teichman voted NAY.
Regardless of your position on these issues, you now know where Senator Teichman stands. Campaign rhetoric is cheap. Voting records speak the truth.
Jim Stevens
Great Bend