The second congressional district in Kansas stretches across the entire state from north to south, and includes western Lawrence, much of the Lawrence area and the cities of Topeka and Manhattan.

In the current race between Republican incumbent Jim Ryun of Lawrence and Democratic challenger Nancy Boyda of Topeka, the two candidates have launched more than a dozen political ads between them.

Some of the 30-second spots are positive, while others attack the opponent.

Studies show that many voters decide whom to support based on political ads. The Lawrence Journal-World will analyze some of these ads before the Nov. 2 general election. The ads themselves and associated material are also online at www.ljworld.com

For the past month, Boyda and Ryun have engaged in a war of words, questioning each other’s commitment to U.S. soldiers and national security. Here is an analysis of the two commercials that started the battle.

Boyda attacking Ryun

This commercial says Ryun stopped federal officials from clamping down on unscrupulous insurance agents and financial services salesmen who were selling suspect products to U.S. soldiers. With American soldiers dying in Iraq and military families making supreme sacrifices, the claim is politically explosive. The ad has a narrator who repeats the allegations, which also are written out and footnoted with the sources of the information.

Claim: “What is Jim Ryun thinking? With insurance companies selling deceptive policies to soldiers headed for Iraq, the Pentagon wanted to take action.” (Source: New York Times July 20).

Fact: In an article and several follow-up stories, the New York Times detailed allegations of predatory agents duping young soldiers, some of whom were headed for Iraq. The Times reports told how some soldiers were sold expensive, low-benefit policies — vastly inferior policies to low-cost ones provided by the government — and that the soldiers mistakenly thought the policies were approved by the military. Pentagon officials had proposed rules to tighten regulations to stop the sales.

Claim: “But after Jim Ryun received thousands of dollars from the insurance industry and other special interests (Source: Federal Election Commission), the Lawrence Journal-World reported that he vigorously worked against Pentagon efforts (Lawrence Journal-World Sept. 15).”

Fact: The Times report said that three lawmakers, including Ryun, were instrumental in preventing the Pentagon from tightening its rules on allowing private insurers on military bases. That report and subsequent reports in the Lawrence Journal-World noted that Ryun had received donations from the insurance industry. The Journal-World reported that Ryun and two other members of the House Armed Services Committee vigorously worked against Pentagon efforts. In his defense against the charge, Ryun says the allegations leveled by Boyda amounted to “character assassination.” Ryun said he supported prohibiting unscrupulous insurance products from being sold, but didn’t want to put bases off limits to all private vendors of insurance and financial services.

He issued a statement that said: “We should empower base commanders to remove bad actors. And we should give state insurance commissioners the power to prosecute any and all individuals who would prey on our military personnel. However, we should not deny our military personnel access to the benefits of a competitive financial services industry by removing all private institutions from our bases.”

Claim: “Jim Ryun even wrote five letters to the secretary of defense supporting insurance companies instead of our soldiers (New York Times July 20). That’s not the Kansas way.”

Video: Boyda ad Video: Ryun ad

Fact: At the request of the Journal-World, Ryun’s office provided the letters to the Pentagon that he signed along with two other congressmen. There were four letters that Ryun signed, not five. Those letters, the substance of which were reported in the Journal-World, said that Ryun and his colleagues opposed the Pentagon’s efforts and showed they worked to stop them. One letter said current regulations gave base commanders broad discretion in excluding persons from bases. Another letter told a Pentagon official that the House Armed Services Committee had adopted an amendment prohibiting the Department of Defense from attempting to bar life insurance companies from selling their products. In the last letter, the congressmen said, “We maintain that any change to the current directive is unnecessary.”

But reports of unscrupulous sales of insurance policies and other financial services to soldiers outraged some in Congress. Hearings on the issue were recently held when Ryun announced that he won approval of a provision that he said would protect soldiers from predatory insurance agents. Boyda’s camp said Ryun had authored the amendment because he had been caught siding with the insurance industry over U.S. soldiers. Ryun said his amendment didn’t represent a change from his previous position.

Ryun attacking Boyda

Perhaps the only allegation more politically charged than not supporting the troops is not supporting efforts to capture Osama bin Laden, who has claimed to be the mastermind of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. That’s what Ryun insinuates against Boyda. Like the Boyda ad, the ad uses a narrator to repeat or paraphrase written allegations that are footnoted with sources. The ad also has footage of anti-war signs and of Boyda getting on a bus to go to an anti-war protest.

Claim: “Nancy Boyda is attacking Congressman Ryun’s support of our troops.” (“… first attack ad …” Kansas Public Radio Sept. 20).

Fact: Kansas Public Radio did report that the Boyda ad was the first attack ad in the race.

Claim: “But she has an odd way of showing her support.” (Led weekly war protests in Johnson County. Kansas City Star April 10, 2003).

“Organizing protests while our troops were defending our freedom … ” (Organized a bus trip to Washington, D.C., to protest the war in Iraq. Kansas City Pitch Feb. 20, 2003). ” … with an organization opposed to the hunt for Osama Bin Laden …” (Beneath a photo of bin Laden is www.internationalanswer.org).

Fact: Boyda participated and helped coordinate anti-war protests in Johnson County and Washington, D.C., according to published reports. She was quoted as a protester in the Kansas City Star and Pitch Weekly. Boyda says she had questions whether Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and whether President Bush had done enough to get as many allied members into the coalition. Once Bush started the invasion, she said, her anti-war protests stopped.

The group referred to in the ad as opposing the hunt for bin Laden is called A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition, which stands for Act Now to Stop War and End Racism. The group opposes violence and has described U.S. involvement in Afghanistan as occupation.

Boyda participated in an anti-war rally organized by the group, but she doesn’t belong to the group and disagrees with its views, her campaign said. Boyda has said she does support U.S. troops and the hunt for bin Laden, and has called on Ryun to stop the ad. He hasn’t.

Claim: ” … and opposing a key national security initiative to protect our families …” (Opposes national defense missile deployment … protecting us from nuclear missile attack, www.clw.org). “Re-elect Jim Ryun for Congress, the only candidate with a record of working to support our troops and keeping families safe.”

Fact: Boyda has been endorsed by the Council for a Livable World, whose Web site, www.clw.org, is referenced in the ad by Ryun. The council’s goal is to warn the public and Congress about nuclear threats and work toward “rational arms control and nuclear disarmament.”

The Washington D.C.-group said, “Boyda and Ryun are diametrically opposed on fundamental arms control issues. Since his election in 1996, Rep. Ryun has supported Council for a Livable World positions on only one vote. He has consistently supported the deployment of Star Wars, the development of new nuclear weapons and all other aspects of the Bush administration’s unilateralist foreign policy.

“On the other hand, Nancy Boyda opposes new nuclear weapons, Star Wars deployment and supports reducing nuclear arsenals. As a fiscal conservative, Boyda will not be afraid to take on Pentagon waste. She helped organize opposition to the invasion of Iraq, which inspired her to run for Congress.”

Jeff English, campaign manager for Boyda, said Boyda supported research for a missile defense shield, but opposed deployment at this time because efforts to deploy a shield system have so far been an expensive failure. He said Boyda would rather see more dollars spent on homeland security. He said the Council for a Livable World’s statement of Boyda’s views on nuclear arms was accurate, but that the group’s statement that she was inspired to run for Congress after helping organize opposition to the invasion of Iraq was incorrect.

“There were a broad array of issues that brought her to the decision to run for Congress,” he said.