Is Boyda’s re-election tied to Clinton’s fortunes?

Rep. Nancy Boyda (D) !(The New York Times) Vulnerable Dems see fates tied to Clinton: Nancy Boyda, a Democrat who ran for Congress in this district last year, owed her upset victory partly to the popularity of the Democratic woman at the top of the ticket: Kathleen Sebelius, who won the governor’s seat. Now, with a tough re-election race at hand in 2008, Ms. Boyda faces the prospect that her electoral fate could be tied to another woman: Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. Mrs. Clinton is a long way from winning the Democratic presidential nomination, and over the last few weeks has struggled to hang on to the air of inevitability that she has been cultivating all year. But the possibility that she will be the nominee is already generating concern among some Democrats in Republican-leaning states and Congressional districts, who fear that sharing the ticket with her could subject them to attack as too liberal and out of step with the values of their constituents. (Topeka Capital-Journal, blog by Ric Anderson) Ryun, Boyda fare well as radio hosts: If they could stand to be in the same room for a few hours per day, Jim Ryun and Nancy Boyda might be able to generate a heck of a talk radio show. Big “if” there, since the relationship between the two political foes is notoriously frosty, but each showed some potential while serving as guest hosts of The Jim Cates Show on KMAJ 1440-AM – on separate occasions, of course. … Ryun desperately wants to change the perception of him as a Washington insider who was more beholden to the Republican Party machinery than to his constituency. He said he bucked the party on such issues as immigration and No Child Left Behind during his five terms in Congress. Boyda’s theme centered on a Top 10 list of problems with the federal government, such as, “Washington is an ethical swamp.” She presented herself as a reformer who was more interested in solving problems than carrying her party’s water. The verdict: Decent radio from both candidates, but a regular showdown between the two would be better.(Topeka Capital-Journal) Boyda: NAFTA should change: U.S. Rep. Nancy Boyda will introduce legislation later this week calling for the United States to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement. If five conditions aren’t met by the end of 2008, the bill calls for the United States to pull out of NAFTA. Boyda, D-Kan., said Monday that NAFTA needs to be altered to correct trade deficits, currency distortions and agricultural provisions. The United States needs to “get a NAFTA that works or get the hell out of NAFTA,” she said during “The Jim Cates Show” on KMAJ 1440-AM radio. Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R) !(Arkansas City Traveler) Tiahrt questions lack of defense spending bills: Thursday evening, over 250 people gathered in the Wright Room on the campus of Cowley College to hear 4th District Congressman Todd Tiahrt and state Rep. Kasha Kelley’s views on the issues that will come into play in the 2008 election. Guests were also invited to participate in a straw poll of the Republican candidates. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee was a crowd favorite, winning with 52 percent of the votes. Tiahrt addressed the evening’s guests with topics such as bringing jobs back to America, capping lawsuits and utilizing existing natural resources. He brought up the issues of rising health care costs and how Medicare is a 1960’s system that needs to be brought up to date and made more efficient. And in this Winfield Courier video: (Bloomberg.com) Tiahrt criticizes Democratic plan for increased funding for regulations: Democrats, writing the budget for the first time since Bush took office, are using their power over the purse to thwart Bush’s campaign to loosen federal regulations. Lawmakers have added fine print to must-pass appropriations bills that sets new policy goals and increases funding for regulators such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Consumer Product Safety Commission. “It is critically important when we are facing beef recalls, toy recalls, mine collapses and workplace infringements that Congress provide the necessary resources to the relevant agencies for them to do the jobs they are required to do,” said Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Byrd, 90, a West Virginia Democrat. Business interests — including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Business Roundtable and the National Association of Manufacturers — and their Republican allies in Congress see potentially costly new regulations in the offing. “It’s going to cost us jobs,” said Representative Todd Tiahrt, a Kansas Republican on the House Appropriations Committee. Sen. Pat Roberts (R)!(Lawrence Journal-World) Proposed cut could hurt rehab at nursing homes: On Monday, the Coalition to Protect Senior Care – an organization made up of clinicians and caregiver groups – put on a news conference at Topeka’s Lexington Park Nursing and Post Acute Care Facility. For nursing home advocates, it was a kind of preemptive strike in case senators decide to go through with the $2.7 billion cut. Lisa Cantrell, with the National Association of Health Care Assistants, said the drop in Medicare payments would hamper the steps nursing homes have made toward boosting the care given at these facilities. … One of the reasons the coalition came to Topeka was to put pressure on Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, who sits on the finance committee where the bill is housed. Molly Mueller, Roberts’ press secretary, said a mark-up of the Medicare package should come out of the finance committee by the end of the week. She also noted that Roberts was hoping to halt the potential cuts.Sen. Sam Brownback (R) !(WIBW) Brownback says Iran NIE report did not look at all data: Sen. Sam Brownback says America needs to convince Iran to end its illegal nuclear activities. “Here is what we know for sure about Iran: it has no need for nuclear energy, it is a theocratic regime that prioritizes the destruction of Israel, and Tehran is actively enriching uranium,” said Brownback. The senator issued that statement after U.S. Intelligence issued its own assessment Monday, saying it believes Tehran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003. “Today’s National Intelligence Estimate stated that Iran has halted its nuclear weapons program but still desires nuclear weapons,” Brownback said. “Given the civilian nuclear work that the NIE did not analyze, as well as the bellicose statements from Iran’s senior leaders, the threat of a nuclear armed Iran remains real.” Monday the president’s national security adviser significantly downgraded the chances of military action.