Have You Met Kevin Yoder (R-KS)-- He's Supposedly Hot, Drunk And... Hypocritical

On February 21 the University Daily Kansan published a q&a by Clayton Ashley with newly famous alum, Congressman Kevin Yoder. Yoder made the jump from state Rep to U.S. Congressman less than a week before his 35th birthday. He wasn't newly famous on the campus where he had served as student body president (Class on 1999) and later as Student Bar Association President at the K.U. Law School. And he's already been elected one of the "hottest freshmen" in Congress and gotten pulled over for drunken driving... at 80 miles an hour.

He represents the 3rd CD, the only district in Kansas Obama won (with 51%) in 2008. In 2006, the Blue Dog incumbent Dennis Moore drew 149,480 votes (64%) there, winning all 3 counties-- Douglas (77%), Johnson (60%) and Wyandotte (80%). Two years later, Moore drew 202,541 votes (56%), again winning each of the 3 counties. Meanwhile, though, Moore's conservative Blue Dog record wasn't conservative enough for Republicans, of course, but had turned off many Democrats and left-leaning independents. He felt the pressure and ducked out of the race, leaving it for his wife Stephene to hold the seat for the Democrats and face Yoder. She was swamped as disillusioned Democrats just stayed home. She only drew 90,193 votes (39%) and lost giant Johnson County with only 32% of the vote, sealing her fate (and Yoder's).

Since his election Yoder has been one of the most pathetic rubber stamps for Boehner and Cantor, voting an astounding-- especially considering the make-up of the district-- 98% of the time with the GOP leadership. even when he wants to do the right thing, and vote in the interests of his constituents, he's too frightened to. He voted, along with most of his party, to drastically cut student aid on the college level, gutting the Pell Grant program and eliminating all funding for SEOG and LEAP. Like every other Republican he opposed a Democratic motion to recommit specifically aimed at restoring Pell Grants and other financial aid to college students. If the GOP bill is enacted, provisions would be effective this July 1, resulting in a $4,705 Pell Grant maximum for the 2011-12 academic year, and no SEOG or LEAP funding for the coming academic year. So it was with great interest I read Ashley's questions-- and Yoder's responses-- just 2 days before the vote:

Ashley: What did you talk about in your meeting with the Chancellor?

Yoder: We talked about grants, Pell grants for students and access to education. Making sure that the federal government continues to support students who can’t afford to go to school. I was on grants and students loans when I was here so it’s an issue that's near and dear to me. I really believe we need to ensure that everyone has access to higher education who has the ambition and interest. It’s kinda heart-breaking to think of someone who has the requisite skills, who’s ambitious, who wants to receive an advanced degree but because of the cost is put out of the system. I really believe the role of the federal government is to create opportunity and eliminate barriers for individuals to succeed. At that point, I think the system we’ve built in this country, which is unique in terms of many other countries in the world, is one in which you rise and fall based upon your own merit. But if you’re not allowed to rise and fall based upon your own merit because of government rules and regulations, or too high of taxes or the inability to get an education, then it’s hard to really argue that we have a free market, free enterprise system because you can’t realize your dreams, even if you had the merit and the ideas you can’t do it. So I want to make sure that there is a forum and an avenue for every American out there who wants to realize the American dream. We also talked about research funding and the cancer institute, the cancer designation. That’s something that is really important to me. I want KU to get that NCI designation and making sure we’re doing everything we can to assist there is critical.

Kansan: Speaking of Pell Grants, what do you think of proposals to cut funding from the Pell Grants program?

Yoder: We’re in a real challenge, where we don’t have any money to invest. We don’t have money to invest in any of these programs. When we put money into grants, we’re actually just borrowing it from other countries and ultimately the people we’re giving it to are going to have to pay it back because it’s that generation’s responsibility. I think it’s a priority, but as we work to resolve the fact that we’re borrowing 40 cents out of every dollar we spend and we have to make reductions, I don’t know that we can have sacred cows in that conversation where we say, well, let’s cut it, but let’s not cut it from NPR, or let’s not cut it from public television, let’s not cut it from Pell Grants, let's not cut it from seniors, let’s not cut it from the military. You know, I think everything has to be on the table. I’m hesitant, even for things I love, to say, well, this one can’t be touched ever because to have a serious conversation about balancing the budget, everybody has to engage. That means every recipient of tax dollars. So I think what we need to do right now is reduce spending as much as possible, to take the pressure off of raising taxes and do everything we can to help small business owners create and grow jobs, and in turn, they will pay more taxes back into the federal government which allows us to reinvest in education. Unfortunately, we just don’t have money to invest in anything right now. Although I don’t want see Pell Grants be the target of reductions, it’s hard to justify taking anything off the table when we are in such dire straits.

Hypocrisy? Well, it's an old story... climbing the ladder offered by tax payers and then kicking the people behind you in the teeth and pulling up the ladder. It's part of the Republican ethos. If you know any other Republicans besides Yoder who went to school on taxpayer dollars, please let me know. We have some plans for these folks.