What's this kid going to do, challenge me in 2014?
Since Jerry Moran vacated his House seat in Kansas' 1st Congressional District in 2010 to become junior U.S. Senator in Kansas, Rep. Tim Huelskamp has become quite a replacement in return.
In fact, Huelskamp hasn't just become a replacement for Senator Moran's old House seat, he's become a cartoon.
Here'e Congressman Huelskamp vs. then-Secretary of Treasury Timothy Geithner in 2012 on tax increases and the "Obama Jobs Gap." Needless to say, Huelskamp has been quite on an agenda that is pretty much, well, much-ado-about-nothing.
And Huelskamp is having a tense exchange between Joe Scarborough on Morning Joe over the gun control issue. You know when you're in the GOP and you've lost Scarborough, you better start, you know, zipping your mouth.
Unfortunately, no Democrat was able to be recruited to challenge Congressman Huelskamp for re-election in 2012 and he got re-elected with no contest, basically getting 100% of the votes in a red district.
However, this time around, amazingly, a Democratic candidate is running to challenge Huelskamp in 2014 although naturally, he doesn't have any support from the DCCC or any Democratic grassroots groups that I know of.
His name is Bryan Whitney, a moderate Democrat who happens to be a '13 Graduate of Wichita State University.
http://www.hutchnews.com/...
Wichita State University political science major Bryan Robert Whitney is seeking the Democratic nomination in the 2014 race for the 1st District, against U.S. Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Fowler/Hutchinson.
Whitney, 27, is a graduate of Syracuse High School and listed his grandparents' residence in Kearny County - 1959 Road B, Kendall - on candidacy statement papers received Wednesday by the Federal Election Commission.
One problem is that Whitney doesn't currently live in KS-01 although he is able to run in the district even while he doesn't live there:
http://www.hutchnews.com/...
Wichita is in the 4th Congressional District, and Whitney does not plan to move back to the 1st District until 2015 - after the August primary and November general elections of 2014.
A provision in the U.S. Constitution allows Whitney to run for any Congressional seat in the state, as long as he lives in the state.
However, Whitney does state mention that he won't be able to move to KS-01 as his wife Selia won't be able to move until 2015.
He's also very much against Huelskamp and how he's handling his priorities as Congressman:
http://www.hutchnews.com/...
Whitney criticized Huelskamp for not being a bigger advocate for federal farm subsidies.
He also questioned Huelskamp's priorities and use of time.
Whitney said he didn't particularly care for the Obama Administration's Affordable Care Act, but Huelskamp's attacks on "Obamacare" are "a colossal waste of time," Whitney said.
In addition, Whitney is newly-registered in the Democratic Party and points out he's particularly troubled by Governor Sam Brownback and Secretary of State Kris Kobach's policies in the State of Kansas:
http://www.hutchnews.com/...
What mainly drove him to become a Democrat were two Kansas Republicans: Secretary of State Kris Kobach and Gov. Sam Brownback.
Whitney views Kobach's election policies as infringing on the rights of Hispanic and elderly voters. Whitney blasted Brownback's tax policies and said Brownback is not sufficiently funding education.
Bryan Whitney seems to be really passionate about immigration issues and affected by them on a personal level within his family. Here he appears with his wife Selia to talk about the issue and he reveals, in graphic detail, on what immigrants are having to deal with in Kansas:
And he's also looking to focus on agriculture as an issue:
Although I haven't seen a campaign website for Bryan Whitney as of yet, his Facebook page has lots of posts and they indicate he's got real fire in his belly:
https://www.facebook.com/...
Bryan Whitney
December 18, 2012
Entitlement reform? Does that mean Congress wants to reform their own retirement "entitlement?" If so sign me up, because there is no reason for a congressmen to serve one term and retire on well over the median income of the American people.
https://www.facebook.com/...
Bryan Whitney
November 7, 2012
Republicans nationwide are asking what can be done to reach more voters next time around. You all like point plans so here it goes.
1. Stop alienating hispanic voters. They are leaving the kind of system (particularly in Mexico) democrats are trying to create, this should be a slam dunk for you.
2. Stop talking about tax cuts and start talking conditional tax incentives.
3. Remove any affiliation with some of the idiots in the party. Todd Akin etc.
4. Stop putting up weak Presidential candidates and hoping that a vibrant VP can liven up the ticket only to blame the VP candidate when you lose the election.
5. Start being more transparent with campaign contribution and stop accepting campaign funds from corporate entities.
There its a 5 point plan, plain simple clean cut.
Now in the State of Kansas, it's one of the reddest states in the U.S. but hell, if you reside in KS-01, you really have nothing to lose by supporting his candidacy. I'm not 100% sure he'll satisfy all progressives but at least the following is evident:
1) He's not Tim Huelskamp
2) He gives a damn
3) He is against the agenda of Kris Kobach and Gov. Brownback
And he seems to be very intelligent at the same time. Wouldn't this be a big improvement over Huelskamp for any of you Kossacks that live in KS-01?
So hopefully Bryan Whitney will have a website up and his campaign underway at some point since it's uncertain as of yet if there will be another Democratic candidate emerging in KS-01.
In the meantime, Whitney does have a Facebook page and an ActBlue Donation link for you to contribute if you decide to do so:
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/...
Donate: https://secure.actblue.com/...
Start firing up the base, however difficult it may be in Kansas!