Of the three Republicans vying for the Aug. 4 nomination to represent the 2nd Congressional District, Dennis Taylor stands apart. Unlike Jake LaTurner and incumbent Rep. Steve Watkins, Taylor is not trying to prove he’s a rubber stamp of President Donald Trump.
“To say you have a 95.9% voting record aligned with President Trump’s positions is no badge of honor,” Taylor said, referring to Watkins’ campaign literature.
In recent votes, Watkins has been against stimulus aid for the coronavirus pandemic and combating police brutality and racial discrimination.
Watkins has also adopted Trump’s campaign style, recently calling LaTurner “Jake ‘Lying’ LaTurner.”
Likewise, LaTurner questions Watkins’ authenticity by accusing him of not voting for President Trump in 2016 and whether he’s a bonafide Kansan because he lists his home address as a P.O. Box in Topeka.
IT’S EASY for Taylor to rise above the fray.
A Topeka attorney whose career has been primarily dedicated to public service, Taylor stopped by the Register Thursday afternoon for an interview.
Top of Taylor’s mind these days is how to address record unemployment and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The two, of course, are related, and as such so is his answer.
Taylor is proposing a jobs program that hires people to trace those who have come in contact with the virus.
Not only would that put hundreds of thousands to work, but also help curb the spread of the virus as people learn if they have been exposed to the new coronavirus and the necessary steps to take forward.
Getting the virus under control is the only way to restore confidence in the economy, Taylor said.
“Hope is not a strategy.”
Epidemiologists estimate up to 300,000 contact tracers are needed to identify new cases and mitigate the risks of prolonging the pandemic. Most states have hired a fraction of what health professionals have deemed necessary.
“We have the highest unemployment since the Great Depression. Without a rapid increase in confidence and job creation, our current depression will last for years,” he said.
AS A MODERATE Republican, Taylor takes issue with Trump’s trade policy, saying it’s more of a “trade war” that has worked against Kansas farmers.
