Letter to The Post:

I looked for a way to comment on today’s Salina Journal poll regarding the Tea Party at the legislative forum in Salina on Saturday but could not find a way to do so.

It is really interesting that the gentleman is offended that someone would have the audacity to hand out the actual voting record of an elected official at a public forum. I would think this would be a win-win for everyone. For those that support the votes cast by Sen. Brungardt and Rep. Roth it should make a great wall post in their office or home. For those who routinely vote on party lines thinking they have selected someone that shares their values it might serve as a wake up and incentive to do their homework before casting the next vote just because the person has an R or D next to their name.

Although I have a preference for those I vote for; the good citizens of Salina are still free to cast a vote to re-elect one or both of the officials we concentrated on this past weekend. Hopefully, their next vote will be an informed vote. They now have many of the actual votes cast by both.  I wish over the years I had paid closer attention to those I voted for and someone had taken the time and expended the effort to properly inform me.

One thing I do realize is that those elected to represent us in Topeka do not simply affect your own home town but affect each of us when they cannot control their spending habits and intrude on our individual liberties.  Over the past couple years; they have borrowed hundreds of millions of dollars from the reserve accounts of many state departments. If those departments can do without that money why was it not returned to the taxpayer instead of perpetuating their over spending to close the budget deficit? We probably all know the answer to that; they haven’t the courage to face cutting the budget and never will as long as they have access to our income or property through taxes. They will continue to borrow from Paul to pay Peter but only for limited time. The crunch others are already feeling is on its way to Kansas and like it or not those excess funds will dry up shortly.

Individual liberty is always worth defending and for those who think they have won a marvelous victory by stepping on the rights of business owners instead of insisting on personal responsibility as a guide to the business you patronize I think you will rue the day. While I applaud the Cancer Society for its work to limit smoking and educate the public I cannot support an award to a Representative who led the effort to infringe our Constitutional rights. Private business along with the investment and risk that come with their business decisions are just that, private, and protected. I have never known the government to show up at a bankruptcy hearing offering to cover half or any portion of the loose.  Because we are free it is up to each of us to exercise some personal responsibility and decide if we will patronize an establishment to help it flourish and when we do not, it goes bust. Last year the Senate debated the idea of taxing sugar content of your preferred drink. They stopped short this time but they have short memories and when faced with the difficult task of cutting a budget or trampling your rights, you can be sure, they will visit that subject or another and your liberty will be next on the block.

Sincerely,
Larry Halloran