Thoughts from Kansas

In a meeting with the Topeka Capital-Journal editorial board, former congressman Ryun blamed their coverage for his failed campaign:

Ryun acknowledged that a Capital-Journal article in October about how well he knew Rep. Mark Foley, accused of improper conduct with House pages, was OK. Ryun was quoted as saying he had only recently discovered that Foley lived across the street from him. But the article also reported that the previous May, Ryun took part in the second annual "D Street Block Party," in which Ryun, Foley and three other representatives on the block opened their homes to supporters in exchange for campaign contributions.

Jeffrey Black, Ryun's campaign manager, said the five congressional events weren't jointly planned.

The second story on Oct. 23 quoted Black as confirming that Ryun always had known he lived across the street from Foley. He also confirmed that the five congressmen on the block had coordinated their efforts to organize the fundraisers, although the event was put together by campaign staff members, not Ryun.

On Wednesday, Ryun said the story was reported unfairly.

"You threw my credibility into question with that second story," Ryun said. "(After that) we could see our poll numbers dropping."

Of course, it wasn't the Capital-Journal that cast his credibility into question. It was his lies about how well he knew his neighbors, and how closely he and Mark Foley had coordinated their fundraiser.

Ryun left the door open to a bid for "the U.S. Senate in 2008 when Sen. Sam Brownback [sic] steps down." Senator Roberts has said he'll be running for re-election in 2008, Senator Brownback has said he will vacate his seat in 2010. The Journal seems to have gotten confused. There is no mention of any discussion about a bid to retake his seat in 2 years, but "We're leaving all options on the table," Ryun said.

You can also find Ryun's barely grammatical ramblings about the horrors of an efficiently run Democratic House at the American Chronicle. I will note in passing that his description of the House Rules dating back 200 years is bogus; the way that bills currently move to the floor is a little over a hundred years old, and the precise form is much younger. The new Congress had a lot to do, given how little legislation actually moved through the last one. People voted for action, and that's what we got.