From Insight on the World, 1997 (shortly after his first election):

Insight: Has your lack of political experience been a problem?

Jim Ryun: No. In the campaign that was a strength. Part of our campaign was to go door-to-door talking to people instead of spending time in forums, television or radio. And the comment we heard most often was, “You’re not a typical politician. You answer our questions. We like that.”

From the Atchison Daily Globe:

I have repeatedly contacted U.S. Rep. Jim Ryun?s office to express my opinion and ask that he consider a point as my representative. I kept on because I think a representative should represent the people of his or her district. Whether it was a concern for education, children?s services, senior health services or the appropriate place for the arts in education, there would always be an e-mail response trying to justify why he voted with President George Bush?s agenda.

I have noted the voting records of other representatives: Some in Kansas vote to represent the people in their district! I would like to have one that is, at the very least, able to justify a vote by something other than party line.

That is why I am voting for Nancy Boyda to replace Jim Ryun in the House of Representatives. From her experience, Nancy Boyda knows how to deal with medical agencies. It is time for a change, a positive one from a person whose only claim to competency is that he ran a mile well!

Martha Claflin

Atchison

Vote Boyda for a better future for our children

U.S. Rep. Jim Ryan has burdened our children and grandchildren with a $7 trillion debt.

He has sold our trust to Tom Delay and the lobbyists on K Street.

We need intelligence, integrity and independence to address the problems of debt, medical care, energy and education.

Nancy Boyda has all these attributes. Your vote for her is a vote for a better future for you and your children and grandchildren.

Marjorie C. Bishop

Atchison

From the Manhattan (KS) Mercury, 10 years later:

In the fall of 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, I sent a letter to my elected representatives with some suggestions for reallocating funding to aid badly-needed Army Corps of Engineers’ projects in the affected areas of the Gulf Coast. The funds under discussion had already been appropriated, so the suggestions were merely for reallocation.

The response I received from Rep. Ryun’s office was a form letter telling me that he was always interested in cutting taxes and thanking me for my input. Since my letter had nothing to do with cutting taxes, it seemed to me that someone in his office had just failed to read it. So I sent it again, along with a hand-written comment on the bottom of his form letter, asking him to please read it and respond appropriately.

The next response was identical to the first. There was nothing about my concerns, but some gibberish about tax-cutting and thanks for my input. So I repeated my response as well, again sending back a comment on the bottom of the form letter, pointing out how it seemed that nobody in the office could read and respond appropriately. I asked again for a coherent and relevant response from my elected representative.

The next response was identical to the first and the second. In other words, three separate attempts to communicate with Jim Ryun’s office were extremely unproductive. At this point, concluding that my input really wasn’t important to the congressman, I ceased trying to communicate.

The lesson from this one-sided attempt at communication seems to be that Rep. Ryun is not capable of processing ideas from his lowly constituents and may not be capable of even reading a simple letter and dictating a focused response. The voters in this district deserve a representative who listens to all of the people and not just to the corrupt leaders of a corrupt Congress.

After 10 years of this sort of “representation,” it is certainly time for a change. Nancy Boyda is getting my vote in this election. Please trust her with yours as well.

David A. Rintoul

How times change.