Chat with Nancy Boyda, 2nd Congressional District Democratic Candidate
October 12, 2006
Nancy Boyda, the Democratic candidate for Kansas' 2nd Congressional District, is challenging incumbent Rep. Jim Ryun. She ran for that office in 2004, lost and is trying again. This time Nancy believes Kansans are ready for a change in Congress.
Nancy has campaigned on issues ranging from small businesses in Kansas, to health care, to immigration. See her Web site.
Nancy answers your questions Oct. 12 at 10:15 a.m.
Moderator: Hi everyone. This is 49 News' inaugural chat. We welcome Nancy Boyda, the democratic candidate for the 2nd Congressional District. The discussion here will carry over to 49 News’ 11 a.m. broadcast. Make sure to tune in to your local ABC affiliate at 11 for Anchor Jessica Lovell’s in-studio interview with Nancy. Let's get started with questions.
Moderator: Vice President Cheney is in Topeka today to stump for Congressman Jim Ryun. Do you think that the visit is an indication that Ryun's campaign needs an extra boost? What do you think of the visit?
Nancy Boyda: Good question! Yes, Ryun is clearly in trouble and they know it. Actually... I was personally hoping for Don Rumsfeld, but I guess you take what you can get! Cheney won't help Ryun. He is seen as BIG part of the problem. People have had to clean up from his messes for years. But Ryun needs Kansas money. It doesn't look good for him that so much of his money comes Washington. Ryun is between a rock and hard place. Cheney's visit will help us.
jamieoberg: What are your thoughts on patrolling the U.S./Mexico border to stop illegal immigrants from coming in?
Nancy Boyda: We MUST get control of immigration. I've said that for 3 years. Working men and women have been affected with their salaries and their jobs and they were adamant about this issue (as I was too) in the last campaign. Yes, we must patrol our borders! We need to use more technology too. But we need to control employment. Employers need a system to know who's here legally and then THEY NEED TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE! Ryun has only started talking about immigration since it became a hot topic last winter. He's been in Congress 10 years and the problem keeps getting worse. I do NOT believe Congress wants to control our borders. This huge corridor in Texas will blow a quarter-mile hole in the border with Mexico. After 10 years, does Ryun not know about this or is just not telling us? I think he's still backing the cheap labor big money folks.
Moderator: Do you believe that appropriations for a fence along the U.S./Mexico border is a wise decision?
Nancy Boyda: I think it has been done to appease the American people... right before the election. If we need some fencing - along with border patrols and along with technology - I'm OK with that. But I think Congress (and Ryun) is laughing at us. It won't matter what we do with a fence if we have millions of containers coming in from Mexico that WILL NOT be inspected.
whistler: What exit strategy would you support to end US invovlement in Iraq?
Nancy Boyda: Yes, we need an exit strategy! We needed one 4 years ago! I have a great deal of hope that this Iraq Study group will manage to get ABOVE politics and propose a "way forward." Apparently, Papa and Mama Bush called James Baker last spring and asked him to provide some adult supervision of this Administration. Lee Hamilton is co-chair. It is a BIPARTISAN group of real statesmen and women.....military, diplomacy, policy. They've been going back and forth for several months. I pray (and I mean that literally) that their recommendations will be ones that I AND the American people can get behind. We MUST find solutions and start to unite and heal our country. This gives me hope.
movieman: Jim Ryun has been hopelessly ineffective as a representative. What will be the first piece of legislation that you will sponsor?
Nancy Boyda: So much to do........... My FIRST will be the reform of Medicare Part D because that's where my expertise lies. You talk about a boondoggle for the pharmaceutical industry! I guess that's what you get when you let them WRITE their own legislation. My top three priorities are 1) breaking the tie between money and elections... we can't get to long-term solutions as long as the lobbyists are running our country. 2 and 3) Congress MUST overhaul our energy policy and our healthcare policy NOW. Waiting is not an option. I will call for BIPARTISAN tasks forces to make recommendations. We need to call a truce on criticizing and get down to work. I'm not sure it will happen unless ENOUGH people stay involved AFTER the election and demand Congress do their job! Nothing will change until WE change Congress!
bwright: What do you feel is the future of small businesses in Kansas? How can you help them compete against the corporate giants?
Nancy Boyda: Wow... great question. The future doesn't look great the way things are going. The big guys get all the benefits and are getting out of paying more and more taxes. That's only served to raise the taxes on the businesses that have been working hard to support Kansas communities. What do we do? 1) renegotiate free trade agreements 2) close the loopholes available only to the big guys (not many Kansas business are able to have corporate headquarters in the Cayman islands to avoid paying taxes!) 3) WE MUST HELP WITH HEALTHCARE COSTS. Healthcare and taxes are killing our independent, regional, and small business. These businesses are the backbone of the KS-2 district economy.
Moderator: We had lots of great questions. Sorry we couldn't get to all of them today. Maybe we can convince her to come back after Nov. 7. We thank Nancy Boyda for participating in this discussion online. For more discussion from Nancy, tune in to 49 News' 11 a.m. broadcast, where Anchor Jessica Lovell will talk to Nancy about her campaign and her stance on the issues that affect everyday Kansans. Thanks again.
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