U.S. Rep. Nancy Boyda has apparently decided not to be a punching bag.!Faced with vocal criticism of her support for a pro-union bill in Congress, including a radio ad campaign mounted against her, Boyda and her allies blitzed the media on Thursday.The e-mail rolled in from Boyda’s office at 2:34 p.m., CST. It’s not available online, so we’ll only post excerpts here:_Congresswoman Nancy Boyda (Kansas Second District) today urged the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to remove from the airwaves a radio attack ad that grossly distorts the Employee Free Choice Act.__Numerous organizations representing Kansas workers – including the Kansas AFL-CIO, the Kansas State Building and Construction Trades, Kansas United, and the Kansas National Education Association – joined Boyda in calling on the Chamber of Commerce to withdraw its error-ridden ad._The ad campaign has charged that the bill, co-sponsored by Boyda, eliminates a requirement that secret ballots be held in workplace elections to unionize. Boyda said the bill actually allows an election to be skipped – and a union formed – when more than 50 percent of the employees at a business sign onto a unionizing effort.”The Chamber of Commerce ad is designed solely to weaken Nancy Boyda politically,” the Boyda press release said. “The ad has 234 cosponsors in the U.S. House of Representatives, so if the Chamber of Commerce honestly wanted to ‘protect workers,’ it would launch radio ads in 234 Congressional districts.”Shortly after, the supportive press releases began rolling in:¢ Kansas AFL-CIO: “The Employee Free Choice Act levels the playing field to give workers a fair chance to have a union and bargain for better wages and benefits. …. We commend Congresswoman Boyda.”¢ Kansas State Building Trades: “The Employee Free Choice Act is a good, bipartisan bill that will protect employees from harassment and punish heavy-handed corporations for violating labor rules. All Kansas workers appreciate Congresswoman Boyda’s support of this important legislation.”¢ Topeka Federation of Labor: “Kansans value a hard day’s work, and we appreciate working families. That’s why Kansas workers are united behind Congresswoman Nancy Boyda and the Employee Free Choice Act.”So the Republicans and their allies have punched; Boyda and her allies have counter-punched. We’ll watch for further developments, but one thing is for sure: The 2008 campaign has already begun.Other news today:Sen. Pat Roberts (R)!(AP) Proposed lab concerns some near Leavenworth: While Sen. Pat Roberts is encouraging state support to attract a $451 million National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility to Kansas, residents near one of the proposed sites say nobody is giving them any cause to support the project. Dozens of Leavenworth County residents voiced concerns over the biodefense lab Wednesday at a public meeting. A 178-acre plot of rural, private land is among two sites in Kansas under consideration. The other is in Manhattan. “Nobody came around and mentioned that this was under consideration,” said Matt Broaddus, who lives near the Leavenworth site.