Citizens “butt in” on a Public Candidates Forum Stopped By
the Chamber of Commerce!!!
By Richard Fry
Thank goodness for the fast action of the local Chamber of Commerce in putting a stop to a bunch of recalcitrant citizens who were bound and determined to engage in an open and honest exchange of information.(See article below) Kudos to Don Weiser, senior vice president of the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce who stepped in and stopped it and then declared “… handing out of literature “won’t happen again….”
(I have taken the opportunity to put the Salina Chamber of Commerce’s contact information along with Mr. Weiser’s just in case you would like to stop by or send them a message of appreciation for keeping these trouble making rebels in line.)
Apparently the ruckus was caused by another one of those “tea party” or “912ers” groups, whatever they call themselves these days, who have the queer notion that they are in charge of this country top to bottom. In this case they felt it was their duty to impose information on their fellow [quiet and humble] citizens about the voting record of two area “Congressmen” [SIC] Senator Brungardt and Rep. Roth.
I am sure part of the problem is that these 9-12ers have read the Declaration of Independence and/ or the Kansas Bill of Rights without seeking the help of a scholar of these documents to help them interpret exactly what they mean. My goodness the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776 and the Kansas Constitution was approved in 1859. There is no way an ordinary citizen could possibly understand the archaic language used over two centuries and one century ago respectively. Just look at the language these documents use, is it any wonder many citizens are confused about who really is in charge:
Kansas Bill of Rights
§ 2. Political power; privileges.All political power is inherent in the people, and all
free governments are founded on their authority, and are instituted for their equal protection and benefit.
Declaration of Independence
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
Just last session (2010) a very good friend and in fact legislative superior of Sen. Brungardt, Senator John Vratil, said in a hearing in response to a statement by Senator Cook, that “we all know that the ultimate power in the people is largely hypothetical…” Senator Vratil was supporting allowing the school districts to sue Kansas (us citizens) with our own money to get more money out of us. There you go the matter is settled we the people are not in charge so just buck up and take it like a humble man and stop being such a cry baby!
Sen. Vratil is a big time attorney with a big time law firm who represents many school districts and is known to always support more and more funding for the schools. Although less educated and less sophisticated people might think that would be a conflict of interest of course it’s not because. I think of him as a Jefferson of his time.
In 2008 Vratil publicly stated that illegal aliens were citizens deserving of an opportunity to a good college education. Of course he was the one who gutted the Taxpayer Protection from Illegal Aliens Act of 2008 and passed, with the help of Sen. Brungardt, what Sen. Vratil described as the bill the “Chamber of Commerce wanted…” Sen. Vratil is the one that almost single handedly pushed through the bill in 2004 which made us citizens pay for the college education for illegal aliens. (He is a very brave man, this law is against federal law but he did not care!) Of course Sen. Brungardt has been one of the most staunch supporters of this redistribution of wealth bill ever since.
What is even worse about this little episode at the candidate’s forum was the “Tea Baggers” didn’t even fight fair and give Legislators Roth and Brungardt the opportunity to defend themselves. As noted in the Salina Journal article “Brungardt and Roth both declined to comment on the group or the literature…” How could these esteemed public servants refute the information these self appointed do- gooders were passing out, it was their voting record and it was true. I know I checked it out.
If we start holding public servants publicly accountable for their votes who will we ever get to run for office. Have these 9-12ers ever thought about that?
And that’s another thing, just because something is billed as a “public” forum doesn’t mean just anyone yahoo can come waltzing in spreading the truth and asking relevant questions. Maybe some of us don’t want to know the truth. To some of us it’s as bad as second hand smoke.
This country was founded on sensitivity and civility not rebel rousing and challenging the powers that be. If something like this catches on then where would we be? It could be chaos!
You know the joke “Can drinking beer make you smarter? Well it made Budweiser.” I think that Don Weiser must have knocked back a few before the candidate’s forum.
Salina and Kansas Chamber of Commerce thank you for looking out for the American way!
Richard D. Fry
November Patriots
CCAG- Supporting State Sovereignty