Kansas Patriots host rally at State Capitol - Part 1
Article - 7 minute read
Around 70 people gathered at the Kansas State Capitol on Saturday, October 22 for a rally hosted by Kansas Patriots. The rally was preceded by a car parade, consisting of seven cars, at 11 a.m. Most cars boasted American flags. Participants in the car parade honked and waved at passersby as they took a route that went from the State Capitol to the Governor’s Mansion and back.
The rally began at noon with a prayer led by Capitol Chaplain Dave Depue and an introduction by MC Jessica Pereira. Flag Master John More stood on the steps of the Capitol behind the speakers for the entirety of the rally, holding an American flag. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by President of Kansas Patriots Sean McCoy before Republican Candidate for Kansas House District 55 Todd Staerkel sang the National Anthem.
Republican Candidate for Douglas County Commissioner District 1 Dr. Justin Spiehs was the first speaker of the event. He informed the crowd of his history standing up against Critical Race Theory (CRT) at his previous job at Washburn University and how he protested mask mandates at USD 497.
Dr. Spiehs did not talk about who he was, informing the crowd that they can check out his YouTube channel to learn more about him. He, instead, took the time to speak on how we need to “reinvent” the Republican party and not forgetting the events of the past couple years.
“Never forget how we were treated by our friends, and our families, businesses, society, how they told us we were crazy, that we were conspiracy theorists, and that we were wrong,” Dr. Spiehs said. “Well, it’s starting to come out. We were right. We were right about masks. We were right about vaccines. And we need to remind these fools every chance we get that we were right, and they were wrong, and they tried to ruin our lives over it…. Never forget that it was these politicians on both the right and the left that let us down and made it so our families and our friends were able to turn their backs on us. When COVID hit back in March 2020… I was at my house every day looking around for a leader, a politician that would say, ‘No, you ain’t got to do that stuff,’ but they were never there. Never forget. Never let them off the hook for it.”
He finished by telling people to go to city and county commission meetings and school board meetings in person and to stand firm in your beliefs.
Before going to the next speaker, Pereira talked a little about her success running for her local school board and flipping it conservative.
Republican Candidate for House District 53 Bruce Williamson spoke next, immediately taking shots at Governor Laura Kelly, jokingly calling her “Comrade Kelly,” and claiming she was proud to be “the first governor to shut a state down in the country.”
He went on to tell his story of how he tried to keep his business, a barber shop, open during the pandemic. The government went along with it until the day before he was to open when they called him and told him that they changed their mind and would not allow him to stay open.
“I was quite disappointed so I did the only thing I knew I could do—I opened up my shop anyway,” Williamson said. “We all knew what COVID was. We all knew it was a propaganda move to see how far we would bend and break. To see if they could manipulate the system and to oppress us, and I decided I wasn’t going to be a part of it. So, I worked all through COVID.”
He claimed that the Chief of Police told Williamson during a haircut that he had been turned in three times, but the Chief of Police wouldn’t arrest Williamson because he’d “rather protect the people of Topeka and make sure the citizens are safe, and not pester a business owner that’s trying to survive and keep his family going.”
Williamson said he is running because as a barber he talks to hundreds of regular people every week who are barely getting by due to things like inflation and taxes and that one of the first things we can do is fire “Comrade COVID Kelly.”
He finished by contrasting himself, a Christian conservative, to his political opponent Dr. Haskins (D) who Williamson said has a secular, liberal view, wanting to keep the district “dark blue.” He also informed the crowd that Dr. Haskins is proud to be endorsed by Planned Parenthood, Moms Against Guns, and Kansas National Education Association (KNEA) which Williamson said is teaching “CRT” and “hate” to children along with other woke ideologies. Williamson pointed out that these are national organizations and then shared who he was endorsed by—Kansans at the local level—people he knows that come into his barber shop every day to get their hair cut.
“I’m tired of walking the neighborhoods, talking to people, and hearing how oppressed they have been the last couple of years,” Republican Candidate for Kansas House District 55 Todd Staerkel said during his speech. “How fuel prices have hurt their checkbook…. How inflation has hurt their families and how they struggle to provide from day to day. I’m tired of hearing that about my constituents.”
Staerkel also spoke about how he has spoken to the diverse district and how he plans to be a politician that people on the street can walk up to him and say, “Hey, Todd, come here,” and have a conversation. He spoke about stopping the division in his district and promised that he is “ready to learn and ready to work.”
Pereira then spoke on the two constitutional amendments being voted on this election season, encouraging people to vote ‘yes’ on both of them. She also spoke on her grievance about the pandemic and the vaccine.
“We will continue to fight for our rights,” Pereira said. “Our right to make our own medical decisions. To make medical decisions for our children. And to be able to live our lives the way we see fit, following our God. Doing what He says. Passing peace and standing up for what’s right. Protecting our kids. That’s what we’re here for.”
Shawnee County Commissioner for District 1 Bill Riphahn (R) spoke on how much importance is placed on the County Commissioner position as they appoint about 15 different boards including the library board and Airport Authority—things that can affect taxpayers.
“One of the first groups that came to me, they wanted to change the way we do elections,” Riphahn explained. “They said it was going to increase voter participation. The more I looked into it, the more I found out all they were concerned about was increasing participation for Democrats. When I suggested doing some of their changes in areas that were more Republican areas, they just gave me the deer in the headlights look. They didn’t want to do that.”
Riphahn also pointed out that during the pandemic, County Commissioners had a lot of say in how their county would run including whether businesses would close or not, and whether vaccines and masks would be mandatory, which he claimed to fight every step of the way, even when he would stand alone.
