KWCH Debate Features New and Old Misleading Statements from Todd Tiahrt

July 22, 2014 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

KWCH Debate Features New and Old Misleading Statements from Todd Tiahrt

“Tall Tale Todd” recycles debunked Obamacare claims, and misleads on his own record

WICHITA—Today, Rep. Mike Pompeo and Todd Tiahrt faced off for the second time during a 30-minute televised, in-studio debate on KWCH News.  Unfortunately, Mr. Tiahrt couldn’t wait more than a few minutes before launching into the very negative, misleading statements that have so far defined his campaign.

While Rep. Pompeo confidently presented his conservative values and positive, truthful vision for the future of Kansas, Mr. Tiahrt blatantly misled viewers about Obamacare, immigration, and his support for greater federal control of schools.

The claim that Mike Pompeo supports Obamacare has been deemed untruthful by KAKE’s fact checkers and reporters twice, Wichita Liberty, and the Wichita Eagle.  Everyone who has evaluated this claim by Mr. Tiahrt have rejected it and instead has cited Mike’s opposition to this law, including known Obamacare opponents, Gov. Mike Huckabee and Sen. Tom Coburn, MD.  Even Tiahrt admitted that Mike voted against Obamacare 57 times.  Sadly, Mr. Tiahrt thinks Kansans can be misled.

But during this evening’s debate, Mr. Tiahrt has now added two more new misleading statements about his own record. 

First, contrary to his claim, Mr. Tiahrt did support the DREAM Act when he cosponsored it twice both as H.R. 1918 and H.R. 1684, which the Lawrence Journal-World said “later came to be known as the Dream Act.” Mr. Tiahrt claimed that he “never supported the DREAM Act.”  

Second, Mr. Tiahrt claimed he didn’t support a federal takeover of schools because he voted against No Child Left Behind during one of two votes on the legislation. Yet Mr. Tiahrt still supported one version of the bill that, like Common Core, is a one-size-fits-all Washington-centric approach to education.  And not only did he support it: He cosponsored it.

Congressman Pompeo concluded the debate with his conservative message: “I’ve been a conservative warrior—I’ve fought for you to get government out of your life.  If you send me back to office, I will continue to fight for you.”

Mr. Tiahrt served as the representative of the 4^th District of Kansas for 16 years; after a failed run for the U.S. Senate in 2010, he worked as a lobbyist for companies that benefitted from Tiahrt-sponsored earmarks as well as government contracts.  Kansas voters remain confused about the real reason Mr. Tiahrt has decided to wage this battle against Rep. Pompeo.  However, in an article by the Topeka Capital-Journal, Mr. Tiahrt mentions that his campaign’s benefactor, Wink Hartman, is angry with Rep. Pompeo. 

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Mike Pompeo is a longtime job creator in Kansas, having grown companies in the aviation and oil and

gas industries. A graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, Pompeo was elected t

o the United States Congress in his first political campaign in 2010. He and his wife, Susan, live in Wichita.

Mike has already been endorsed by the National Rifle Association, Kansas Farm Bureau, Kansans

for Life, the National Right to Life Committee, Family Research Council Action PAC, Club for Growth PAC, FreedomWorks, Tea Party Nation, the US. Chamber of Commerce, Governor Huckabee, Governor Brownback, Senator Moran, and Senator Roberts. He also has been recognized as a leading conservative voice by Americans for Prosperity, the American Conservative Union, National Taxpayers Union, Citizens Against Government Waste, Heritage Action, Americans for Tax Reform, and Family Research Council.

PompeoForCongress.com