Readers share thoughts on Sen. Pat Roberts, Gov. Sam Brownback and judges

Roberts, Brownback

The Kansas City Star is predominantly left-leaning, advocating liberal and self-proclaimed independent candidates.

An objective voting record evaluation of Sen. Pat Roberts reveals a consistent conservative and an ardent supporter for Kansans.

I see an aggressive media failing to provide objective comparisons.

The critical takeaway from the gubernatorial debate is that Democrat Paul Davis will increase spending and taxes. That’s your income tax, property tax and sales tax going up.

When is enough enough? We have two sincere conservative candidates attempting to improve the Kansas economy with innovative initiatives requiring time to mature.

People who support Sen. Roberts and Gov. Sam Brownback support economic freedom, job growth, small businesses, border security and legal immigration, limited regulation with reasonable protections, common-sense approaches to solving problems, a willingness to look for innovative solutions, workfare, support for those in need and local control of schools.

Both candidates have clearly stated their positions, unlike their opponents. The federal government is deeply in debt because of unwarranted and unwise spending.

It’s time for a conservative spending approach to protect Social Security, Medicare, economic stimulation and the republic.

Mike Looney

Overland Park

Orman’s arrogance

Dear Greg Orman: A moment of your time, please. I can find no information indicating that you have done anything but make money for yourself.

It has always been my belief that a person should spend time in public office before trying to move up to higher office. You don’t seem to have served on citizen advisory committees, a school board, city or county commissions, planning and zoning boards or in the state government.

Yet you expect me to vote to send you to Washington, D.C., to represent the people of this state.

How arrogant can you get? I have no knowledge of any qualifications you have to represent the people of Kansas. You are an embarrassment to this state.

Jim Grogan

Former Franklin County

Republican Chairman

Ottawa, Kan.

Retention elections

Campaign ads to remove two Kansas Supreme Court justices in an upcoming retention election have grave implications for Kansas. That’s because merit-retention elections ask voters to decide whether to retain justices based on integrity and performance, not politics.

If elections for a state’s highest court are politicized, our protections under the Constitution are at risk. The Constitution guarantees every American due process and a fair trial. We fear that these protections may be threatened when judges standing for retention election come under campaign pressure.

Justices protect everyone’s rights, including those who may be reviled or unpopular. While the executive and legislative branches of government answer to the will of the people, the judicial branch makes decisions based on the law and rights guaranteed in state and federal constitutions.

A politicized election in Florida two years ago targeted Florida Supreme Court justices for removal in a retention election though campaign ads. Now two Kansas Supreme Court justices are being targeted for removal in a campaign based on a single decision in a gut-wrenching, high-profile criminal case.

We urge Kansans to learn all they can about the justices by reading evaluations of the justices by attorneys and judges at www.kansasjudgereview.org. In America’s courtrooms, there is no place for politics.

Janis McMillen

League of Women

Voters of Kansas

Overland Park

Grades for liberty

An excellent place to view Congressional voting records is scorecard.organizeliberty.org. The group Liberty For All scores Congress’ votes on civil liberties, non-intervention, personal freedom, government spending and monetary policy.

Liberty For All also gives a description of each bill and how each member of Congress voted. Here in 4th District, U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler scored only 34 percent.

She has earned this score by her continual voting on corporate welfare, crony spending to the military-industrial complex and tax subsidies to the rich. Hartzler is also voting away our freedoms by transferring control to federal agencies such as the National Security Agencyand through the National Defense Authorization Act and indefinite detention.

There is so much damage that has been done to our liberty and constitutional rights. Even Democratic Congressman Emanuel Cleaver of Kansas City has a higher score for liberty than Hartzler with 42 percent.

It would behoove people to visit this website and hold up our representatives to the light of liberty for yourself.

Sharon Neff

Garden City, Mo.

No on Brownback

Gov. Sam Brownback recently criticized Democratic challenger Paul Davis for Davis’ positive environmental record and Sierra Club endorsement. But what about Brownback?

The governor lessened funding for water conservation and cut annual Kansas Water Plan funding over the last three years, contrary to state statute. Brownback withdrew support for our renewable energy law credited for spurring economic development across the state.

He also gutted the state’s energy-conservation program, which was lowering electricity bills for hundreds of Kansas families. Brownback endorses one of the most expensive forms of new electrical generation via the coal-fired power plant construction in western Kansas.

The governor’s appointees recently downgraded protection for rare Kansas wildlife species based purely on politics, not science. Brownback has been totally silent on climate change while 32 states have created state action plans.

Brownback continues to push for water-intensive, pollution-heavy, animal feedlots in western Kansas, putting more strain on our depleting Ogallala Aquifer. His administration also lobbied to remove county authority over such operations.

The Kansas Sierra Club advocates for better environmental stewardship. We’ve endorsed dozens of statehouse candidates, both Republican and Democrat, who have demonstrated environmental excellence, but Gov. Brownback is clearly not one of them.

Zack Pistora

Legislative Director

Kansas Sierra Club

Linwood, Kan.

Kansas candidates

Would anyone vote for a U.S. presidential candidate who lived in France? So how could anyone vote for a Kansas senator who lives in Virginia?

Please support and vote for your “local” candidates.

Quentin Brewer

Bonner Springs

Offensive TV ads

If I were voting in Kansas, my ballot would be marked in favor of the candidates with the least offensive TV commercials. That would rule out Republican Sen. Pat Roberts and Republican Gov. Sam Brownback, who seem to depend upon distortions of their opponents’ records and the president’s name as their sole strategies for being returned to the Senate and the governor’s mansion.

Dorothy Stoeger

Platte Woods

Celebrate safely

To every stupid, idiotic, ignorant, Kansas City Royals fan who decided to go outside and fire guns when the Royals won a recent postseason game, thanks for putting bullet holes in my 3-year-old granddaughter’s bedroom.

Thank God she was in a downstairs bedroom.

When the Royals win, do everyone a favor. Shoot at your own house.

To the responsible majority of Royals fans, congratulations.

Benny Goolsby

Grain Valley

This story was originally published October 31, 2014 at 10:00 AM with the headline "Readers share thoughts on Sen. Pat Roberts, Gov. Sam Brownback and judges."