Republican Senator Jerry Moran wasn’t on the target list for those hoping to change minds in the US Senate. But Kansas residents continued to put pressure on the Senator, noting his promise of only signing on to something that would be good for Kansans. Today, after the bill was pushed back, Senator Jerry Moran became a profile in almost courage — not quite courageous enough to come out beforehand, but at least willing to come out afterward and say he would be a no.
The Senator’s decision to be a no puts him at odds with the rest of the Kansas contingent, as all Kansas US House members voted yes and Senator Pat Roberts had declared himself to be a yes recently.
Senator Moran had been present at a very active town hall event in Lenexa Kansas, where he had told an audience he would do what was best for Kansas.
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- Moran said his analysis of health care legislation will be driven by his desire to see unnecessary costs eliminated, while providing affordable access to care. Pressed by an attendee on whether he would “buck his own party” if the bill didn’t pass his tests, he responded, “If I reach the conclusion that that’s in the best interest of Americans and Kansans.” That response prompted the longest and loudest applause of the morning.
The question that faces the rest of the Kansas Republican delegation is simple: if Senator Moran came to believe this legislation was not good for Kansas, how do they justify their vote? This will be especially telling for US Representative Kevin Yoder, the incumbent in KS-03, a district that went for Hillary Clinton in 2016, and that Democratic leadership believes to be a target in 2018.
For Kansas activists, who continued to call and make their voices heard, Moran’s no is certainly a sign that their efforts had some impact.