Candidates take on absent incumbent Huelskamp

March 12--A farmer and educator from Clyde and a lawyer from Ellinwood sat on opposite ends of a table Tuesday night but met in the middle on one point.

Neither of the Republicans is in favor of what incumbent U.S. Rep. Tim Huelskamp, a Republican from Fowler, is doing for Kansas in Washington, D.C.

"We're dealing with somebody who is too conservative. I think he's crazy," said Kent Roth, 61, of Ellinwood.

"I can applaud his efforts, but he's not getting the job done. I can be just as principled as he is and do a better job," said Alan LaPolice, 41, of Clyde.

The candidates for the 1st District U.S. House seat spent much of their time questioning the work of Huelskamp, who was unable to attend the GOP candidate forum staged by the Saline County Republican Party. Moderator Clarke Sanders read a prepared statement from Huelskamp.

The gathering at the Salina Public Library Learning Center was attended by approximately 30 people.

Fiscally conservative

LaPolice and Roth said they are 100 percent fiscally conservative but not so conservative on social issues.

LaPolice said that like the people of Kansas, he is pro life, but he has issues with Washington's intentions.

"We elect congressmen to do the things that the federal government has the authority to do," he said. "I don't think the federal government should decide a woman's right to reproductive choices. State legislatures should be able to make those decisions."

Roth took issue with Huelskamp's staunch opposition last fall to funding the federal government.

"I believe Tim Huelskamp will steer the ship ... onto the rocks. You don't threaten the full faith and credit of the United States of America. If you default on your debts, your interest goes up," he said.

LaPolice said nothing is sacred when it comes to cuts in spending. His plan is to close loopholes and push for fair taxes.

Economic recovery "won't cost anything," LaPolice said, if you implement "targeted, intelligent cuts," that could go so far as lowering taxes.

Don't pay 'em

If Congress can't pass a budget by Oct. 1, Roth said lawmakers shouldn't be paid.

"Take no oath but the oath of office, and take only the Pledge of Allegiance," Roth said.

By the time many in Congress take office, "they're like small change in the back pocket of special interests," he said.

LaPolice said those elected to Congress "are too concerned that their livelihood might be questioned" in a continuous election cycle, and because of that, "no one is getting anything done." He vowed to change campaign finance laws and fight for term limits.

<p>"We want what's best, and that's not what's happening," LaPolice said.

Not tea partiers

J. Neil Jednoralski, of Salina, a professed "tea party conservative," asked if the candidates would re-elect John Boehner as Speaker of the House.

"The tea party has little use for me and I have little use for the tea party," Roth said. He said some in that group are "offspring" of the Posse Comitatus.

LaPolice described Boehner as "ineffectual," and said, "I'd support a better candidate."

Support farm bill

In response to a question from Bruce Wyatt, 4401 W. State, both candidates said they would have voted for the 2014 farm bill.

Roth said Huelskamp wanted food stamps out of the legislation, but they're needed in the farm bill to get the votes of urban Congressmen.

"Only 3 percent of Americans are directly tied to (agriculture)," he said. Huelskamp wanted to eliminate food stamps, cut Social Security and Medicare and voted against the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Manhattan, Roth said. He struck at the incumbent "following the Heritage Foundation philosophy that was founded by the Koch brothers."

Nobody said the farm bill was perfect, LaPolice said, but farmers have got to be "happy enough" with what was presented.

"Farmers and ranchers need certainty. Without crop insurance, they don't have anything to plan on," LaPolice said.

Children are future

He said children are the future of Kansas and America.

"I'll be darned if I'm going to cheat them out of the kind of education that I got," LaPolice said.

Neither candidate had much good to say about the federal Affordable Care Act, sometimes called "Obamacare." LaPolice said he would vote to replace it if there were a viable alternative.

"I'm willing to heavily amend Obamacare," Roth said. "We can't pull the rug out from under millions of people."

Endorsing incumbent

Saying he was speaking as a Saline County commissioner, Randy Duncan endorsed the incumbent. He's also 1st District chairman of the Republican Party.

"I believe that Tim Huelskamp is a man of integrity, a man of his word," Duncan said. "I support Tim Huelskamp and will support his campaign."

-- Reporter Tim Unruh can be reached at 822-1419 or by email at [email protected].

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