Is this really what Hutchinson voted for?

Kyler Sweely and his friends sure seem to have a skewed sense of humor, a weird obsession with my social media handle, and a lack of respect for service to Kansas

I was in a meeting this morning minding my own business when my phone started buzzing like crazy. When I looked to see what what going on, my text messages had a video clip from the House floor, along with notes from friends.

If you don’t want to read my full response to this, you can watch this - which includes the original clip.

The Kansas Reflector called me for comment, and you can read that story here. In the exchange, the representatives use the term “Gunner, sabot, That Guy from Hutch in the Open, fire for effect.”

I don’t know military jargon, but here’s what Google says that means:

"Gunner sabot fire for effect" means that a gunner is being instructed to fire a sabot round (a type of armor-piercing ammunition) at a target with the intention of delivering a high volume of fire to achieve a significant impact, essentially aiming to saturate the target area with projectiles to inflict maximum damage; it's a military term typically used in artillery or tank operations where the goal is to overwhelm the enemy position with firepower.

That feels like an overt threat, in plain language, directed towards me.

But House leadership, I’m certain will play it off like it’s all just a joke. A big misunderstanding. That everyone is just making too big a deal of things. Dumb frat boys will be dumb frat boys, after all. Even the House Speaker’s staff said Kyler and his boys are all just kids who can’t handle their business very well. It reminds me of the term DARVO - which is a useful tool to recognize abuser behavior.

It’s not surprising to me that Kyler Sweely or Patrick Penn would find this sort of banter funny or appropriate. Sweely, after all, seems to find his fun through some rather unusual ways, and he is a little confused about where he lives - telling the state elections board it’s Hutchinson, but the Wichita Police Department it’s Newton.

(In recent months, I’ve had conversations with a number of people who know A LOT about some of these people and their behavior. I’ll just say that there are a lot of questions people of Hutchinson and Kansas should be asking about the history of their newly elected Representative and his friends. There are some things they weren’t forthcoming about).

Go here to learn more about that story.

As for Patrick Penn, he has a history of his own that is worth reading. No one will talk publicly about other concerns they’ve witnessed, but every person in the Capitol knows exactly what I mean here.

But since these two have pulled me out of what was otherwise a peaceful morning of non-political nonsense, let’s drop a couple more truth nuggets into the mix here.

Back when the campaign started - and House Leadership dumped Sweely in Hutchinson at a home he seldom visited to knock off a much better local candidate in the Republican Primary - I wrote a bit about it.

The post, published June 4, included this segment….

“But the establishment Republicans, it seems, weren’t very satisfied with this candidate. When they couldn’t find a candidate who actually lives in Hutchinson, they imported one with no connection to our community…

The Republican's desperately want to hold onto their supermajority. If they lose it, things like Medicaid Expansion and Marijuana legalization might actually happen. The political winds are shifting in some urban areas, so desperate times call for desperate measures - hence the non-resident candidates.

This interest in the 102nd District seems to have very little to do with Hutchinson or me as a candidate and legislator. It appears to be rooted in a broader political game where every seat is a piece on a political board game.”

Afterwards, I got this message from House Speaker Dan Hawkins..

Also, I recently pulled Sweely’s statement of substantial interest. It’s a form candidates and legislators have to fill out to show how they make their money. One of the big questions during the campaign was how someone without a job could afford to bounce around all over the state, run for office, hang out in Wichita, and manage a “residence” in Hutchinson.

I wondered that too. Then I had even more questions when I saw that he has absolutely zero income information listed on his statement. The entire time I was in the legislature, I had to hustle in the offseason to make the finances work. And all of that information is available So I think Hutchinson should have some grave concerns about who is financing their new representative. Because when asked about where his money comes from, he doesn’t seem to be very forthcoming about that, either.

More than anything, the entire episode is a slight to the people of Kansas. What happened on the House floor today is the sort of behavior we see from bullies and small men who take their insecurities and fears out on others. They won the election, I lost. That’s how life rolls sometimes. I can accept it, but it seems these people are letting their insecurities show by putting my name in their mouths. It reeks of the sort of people who have little value of their own - but gain in only in their efforts to diminish others. I’d say the policy people like this promote validates that, too.

I want more for Kansas than two immature, irresponsible people who find humor in flirting with violence. Kansas deserves more than people who explain away and cover up their errant behavior. Kansas deserves better internet trolls cosplaying as public servants - wasting the public’s time, energy, and money when we have so many real issues that need to be addressed by serious, thoughtful leaders.