Republican runs racist ad in Kansas

[mistertrickster]

Backstory: for 16 years, our district in SouthCentral-East Kansas has been represented by a right-wing nut-job Todd Tiahrt (he campaigned in 1994 on term limits, of course.)

His chief of staff was one Matt Schlapp, who was part of the white-collar riot that shut down the recount in Florida in 2000 so that Bush could be installed.

Finally, Tiahrt's ambition overshoots itself when he ran against another rabid C-Street right-winger for Senate, and he was defeated.

So . . . his seat is open. The Democratic candidate is a well-liked two term State Rep, Raj Goyle, who was born in the US and grew up in Kansas.

His parents are MD's who immigrated from India.

His new right-wing nut job opponent is Mike Pompeo, the California carpetbagger who made national headlines by tweeting "A GOOD READ!" a supporter calling Raj a "turban topper" etc.

Now check THIS out from Goyle's campaign.

Once again Mike Pompeo's campaign finds itself needing to apologize for bigoted attacks on opponent Raj Goyle.

An enormous electronic billboard with the words "VOTE AMERICAN VOTE POMPEO" has been flashing its message over Wichita rooftops for at least the last two evenings.

Remember how this summer's "Turban Topper" national scandal rocked the Pompeo campaign? You would have thought Mike and his cronies would have learned their lesson. But instead, they got The Duke involved (yes, that's John Wayne below):



Sign an on-line petition here: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/pompeo/

Donate or assist the Goyle campaign at www.goyleforcongress.com

Thank you for helping to fight right-wing bigots.

[Posteritatis]

1. "True Americans?" Oy. (nt)

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. This is also illegal since the sign doesn't have a disclaimer

Signed.

Please DUers help us out here. Raj is a GREAT candidate.

[hfojvt]

5. Raj is a horrible candidate, imo

but he does have a lot of money.

Check out his leading ad. http://goyleforcongress.com/ Raj wants you to know he voted with Republicans 80% of the time.

He leads with "fiscal conservatism" and "tax cuts"

"Raj has never wavered in his fight to bring efficiency and accountability to Kansas government. He is a proven fiscal conservative who voted to cut government spending and lower taxes on middle class families and small businesses every year he has been in office. Other candidates talk about cutting taxes, but Raj has done it. In just four years, he has voted to cut $500 million in wasteful government spending and voted more than 50 times to relieve Kansans of a total of $900 million in taxes."

In other words, Republicans are right about budget issues. Spending cuts are good, and tax cuts are good.

I cannot find a better example, although I remember hearing or reading some clip that sounded very pro-Republican.

I am just not a huge fan of fiscally-conservative Democrats. I think that message just makes it that much harder to fight against things like the Bush tax cuts.

[proud2BlibKansan]

6. In order to win that district, he has to reach out to republicans

That's a sad fact of life in Kansas. This is the district where Dr Tiller was murdered. Don't forget that either.

DFA endorsed Raj and gave him money. And DFA is as progressive as you can be and still be a Democrat.

I'm not a fan of fiscally-conservative Democrats either. But I proudly voted for Dennis Moore every time he was on my ballot.

Bottom line in this race is Pompeo is a racist and a wingnut. I'll take Raj over that combination.

[hfojvt]

7. I am not happy to hear that about DFA.

So much so that I may cancel my recurring donation to them. Seriously, a candidate who promotes that kind of rhetoric is no friend of progressive interests.

Of course, I know that he has to reach out to Republicans, but you don't do so by making yourself into a Republican. My tactic was to attack the Republican rhetoric of tax cuts, because they end up being tax cuts for big business and for the wealthy. I hoped to reach Republicans by pointing out that we had something in common - neither of us are rich. 99% of us are not in the top 1% and when Republicans say "tax cut" they meand tax cut for the top 1%. Instead of informing the voters about how Republican fiscal policies have been bad for them and bad for the country as a whole, Raj practically becomes part of the Republican noise machine.

Sure Raj is better than Pompeo, but a progressive candidate would be better than Pompeo too. I would be happier if Raj was using his money to spread a progressive message rather than a message of "I usually agree with Republicans". Especially when it comes to tax issues.

[proud2BlibKansan]

9. If you can find a candidate more progressive than Raj

in that district, you'd be lucky.

IMO, our state party let this district slip away. It was ours until the anti-choicers moved in to go after Tiller. I'm frustrated with the KDP over that. But I'm not going to criticize a Democrat trying to take the district back.

[hfojvt]

10. I think the party, and candidates need better messaging

If you run on "me too" or "I am just like Republicans" then what choice are you offering voters? Might as well change the name of the party from KDP to KMRP. It was Raj's flier from Washington Days that convinced me to run, because I did not want a candidate, a Democrat, saying things like that in the 2nd district. As it turns out, Raj, with all his money, is not expected to do any better in the 4th district than I would have, or Cheryl will, in the 2nd district. So his compromising the Democratic message has not done him any good that I can see.

[mistertrickster]

14. You were offering your "democratic message" to democrats in

the democratic primary, and yet they voted for Raj.

But somehow his messaging isn't as good as yours . . .

Hmmm.

[mistertrickster]

12. Do you live in the 4th district of Kansas? Because if you don't, you have zero clue.

We have about two to one registered Republicans. If all the D's and all the I's vote for the same candidate, we barely have more votes than the R's.

Wichita, where I live, is the freaking HOMETOWN of the Koch Brothers. This family started the John Birch Society.

The only prayer a Democrat has is to run as a moderate to pull the few R's that haven't drunk the right-wing kool-aide.

Your insistence on perfection truly is the enemy of the good, and frankly as someone who's been working hard for Raj ever since his first run for State Rep against one of the hardest right-wing wing-nuts imaginable, it rather pisses me off.

[RKP5637]

3. Recommend!!! n/t

[mistertrickster]

4. I also wonder how the John Wayne estate feels about unpaid use of the actor's image. nt

[Scruffy1]

8. A pox on both of their houses

[mistertrickster]

13. Sorry? Both of who? nt

[Ex Lurker]

11. a hundred years ago, Pompeo wouldn't have been considered an American name nt

[mistertrickster]

15. Let's stay on thread here, folks. The issue is that Republicans are bigots.

Not how Democratic the victim of the bigotry is.

Thank you . . .