Kansas lawmakers in D.C. would rather work the refs than answer tough questions back home

Kansas politicians serving in Washington, D.C., want to broadcast their message to Kansans without answering difficult questions from journalists. (Getty Images)

Over the past month, both of Kansas’ U.S. senators and one of its representatives have been eager for Kansas Reflector to relay their thoughts to you, our readers.

What they haven’t been willing to do is answer real, in-depth questions.

In the aftermath of the Senate and House passing President Donald Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill” into law, Republicans across the country want to persuade voters that they have delivered. Unfortunately for them, the bill polls terribly and constituents have been eager to confront their elected officials.

You can’t have that, not when control of both chambers will be up for a vote next year. Instead, these politicians have been trying to funnel propaganda directly to you, our audience, without pesky journalists asking a bunch of questions.

Sorry guys, but that’s not the way we do things around here.

This first came up with Sen. Jerry Moran. I’ve written a couple of columns about him this year, and others have also addressed him in this space. Back in 2022, he sat down with Kansas Reflector senior reporter Tim Carpenter for our podcast. Moran can hold himself perfectly well in an interview with a professional journalist. He’s been doing this for a long time.

So when his office reached out last month expressing unhappiness about a column, I thought it was a fantastic opportunity to request an interview with the senator. He did it before, right?

His staff didn’t see it that way.

Communications director Angela Lingg both emailed and tried to talk to me on the phone. I told her that we would be perfectly willing to correct any factual errors if the office wanted to point them out. That goes for any piece published by Kansas Reflector. The op-ed, which dealt with the effects of Medicaid cuts on state mental health services was indeed corrected with extra information. I was happy to do so.

However, if I don’t have a previous relationship with a public relations staffer, I’m not going to have an informal phone conversation with them about an article they don’t like. Let me tell you sometime about being harassed by a Hillary Clinton staffer one morning as the Concord Monitor worked on a story about her foreign policy.

It’s a waste of time and doesn’t do anyone any good.

As I told Lingg, I would be delighted to talk further about Moran’s vote and his role in the process — during an on-the-record conversation with Moran. If he didn’t want to talk to me, he could talk to anyone else on the Kansas Reflector staff.

She then asked if we would post an op-ed from Moran. I explained that as a matter of policy (which you can read here and which has been in place since I started four years ago), we don’t run pieces from elected officials or candidates for office. Again, I offered an on-the-record interview.

I haven’t heard back.

For two other Kansas lawmakers in Washington, D.C., our interactions were brief but similarly telling.

U.S. Rep. Tracey Mann’s staff sent along an unsolicited op-ed praising border security provisions in the law. I gave Mann’s communications director, Taylor Bradley Stanley, the same response that I gave Lingg. We can’t run the piece but would love to speak directly with the congressman. Again, no response.

Sen. Roger Marshall actually showed his face to local reporters as part of an photo op. He took a 10-minute air ambulance helicopter ride and answered a handful of questions. He didn’t sit down for the kind of in-depth, penetrating interview that one might expect from a serious legislator after passing a mammoth piece of legislation.

Let’s talk turkey.

We want to hear from your elected representatives. We want to know what they think and why they make the choices they do.

I would be especially interested in knowing why Moran — who has voiced his support for rural hospitals repeatedly — and Marshall — who has made his background as a physician core to his political identity — chose to vote for a spending package that will leave Kansans poorer and less healthy.

I would like to know why Mann (who represents Lawrence thanks to some opportunistic redistricting) voted for a bill that so clearly contradicts the electoral preferences of this 95,000-person strong city. In case you didn’t know, Douglas County as a whole went 67%-30% for Kamala Harris over Trump last year.

Now, if you’re not accustomed to the concept of an adversarial press, you might think these questions impolite. You might think they’re uncouth or hostile.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Such questions are meant to put elected officials on the record. We want to hear what they have to say, directly from their own mouths in a context that they don’t control. We welcome these kinds of exchanges. We want our readers to hear what their representatives say.

Other elected officials have been willing to do so. U.S. Rep. Derek Schmidt sat down with Carpenter back in December. Miracle of miracles, he survived the experience no worse for wear. Likewise, U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids frequently makes public appearances in Kansas and answers questions from journalists.

So what makes Moran, Marshall and Mann different?

I think all men are perfectly brave, accomplished and intelligent. I think all three could hold their own perfectly well during an interview or press conference. They are professional politicians. It’s what they do.

No, I think this reticence comes from the fact that these men can read polls. The reconciliation bill-turned-law remains unpopular and Trump himself has turned off massive numbers of Americans. What might be good for any one of these men to do politically — break with the White House or its priorities publicly — also puts them at risk of provoking the president and creating headaches they don’t need.

The simplest fix? Work the refs. Try to control the narrative. Don’t subject yourself to questions that would force you to take an unpopular stand. Don’t acknowledge the real trade-off behind the reconciliation bill and the grievous harms it will inflict on Kansans.

Honest dialogue would force these politicians to admit they have both compromised and been compromised.

Feel free to reach out and prove me wrong.

UPDATE, 6:30 p.m.: The column above asked for responses, and I got my wish. Taylor Bradley Stanley from Mann’s office made contact to share that she had been on her honeymoon when I emailed her last week. I didn’t receive her out-of-office response, but I’m happy to set the record straight. She also pointed to Mann’s comments in Reflector stories from January  and June. We appreciated hearing from Stanley and encourage others — ahem — to follow her lead.

Clay Wirestone is Kansas Reflector opinion editor. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.