Jerry Moran never missed an opportunity to make a villain of government spending as he campaigned for the U.S. Senate seat that Sam Brownback put up for grabs. Last year's Republican primary was essentially a contest between Moran and fellow U.S. Rep. Todd Tiahrt to spit the word "Washington" with the most contempt.
Now that he's on the varsity squad in D.C., Moran is changing his tune. An op-ed that he released on Thursday is essentially a list of government programs that he'd like to keep and expand.
Moran titled his piece "Preserving the Kansas way of life," which is a frontiersmanly way to say, "Let's get ours!"
The op-ed describes the government programs Moran has supported without, of course, identifying them as government programs. He mentions the farm bills he's written that promote "the viability of crop insurance." He talks about the VA clinics he's opened and the highways he's improved. But he's careful not to use the word "spending" because, well, that would go against pretty much everything he said in 2010.
During the campaign, Moran touted the fact that he was quick to call for a repeal of the health-care overhaul. At the same time, Moran doesn't believe health care should be left to the sometimes cruel hand of the marketplace.
In rural Kansas communities, access to quality health care is essential to the prosperity and survival of the towns we call home. As co-chairman of the House Rural Health Care Coalition, I led the fight to save rural hospitals, sponsored legislation to bring more physicians to underserved areas, and worked to restore Medicare funding for small hospitals. As co-founder of the Congressional Community Pharmacy Coalition, I worked to make sure that Kansans have access to a pharmacist within their own communities.Wow, that sounds like a lot of government intervention right there.
Moran closes his message by stating his commitment to freedom and opportunity, which he and other Kansans pursue without acknowledging the safety net that the federal government provides.
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