In an effort to avoid rash decisions and hasty judgments, I decided to wait a couple of days before weighing in on the latest addition to the Democratic ticket, Thomas Wiggans. By now all of you have surely heard about his storied past, but just in case you haven’t, allow me to present a brief synopsis.
As his website states:
Tom Wiggans was born and raised in Fredonia in Wilson County, Kansas where his father and grandfather operated Wiggans Drugstore. Growing up in a town like Fredonia gave Tom a clear understanding of the importance of hard work, personal sacrifice and community values. […] Following graduation from Fredonia High School, Tom attended the University of Kansas where he received a Bachelor’s Degree in Pharmacy.
However, this is where things just begin to become contentious. Despite his years spent at the University of Kansas and his supposed interest in politics, Thomas never voted in the state of Kansas. It wasn’t until he left for California that his political ties first began to manifest themselves – like most business owners, he began donating to political campaigns.
An in-depth look at these donations shows some telling information, and his donations are not limited to Democrats or Republicans. He maxed out to John McCain, Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani, but in the waning days of the election he did the same for Barack Obama. He’s given over $18,000 to the RNC and RCCC throughout the years, but this past year has donated the Kansas Democratic Party at least $10,000. If anything can be said about him, he’s no ideologue.
Many Democrats will have a problem supporting someone like this, charges of carpetbagger and DINO (Democrat in name only) are likely to run rampant, but I’m unwilling to levy such charges at this time. Some will be drawn to him because of the allure of his ability to tap into his wealthy business associates to raise money, but with the amount he sold his last company for, I’m guessing his pocketbook is large enough that won’t matter. To me, and most progressives out there, there’s something that’ll be much more important – issues.
If Tom comes out tomorrow and announces his support for Health Care Reform, and pledges to fight against Sen. Pilcher-Cook’s ridiculous Healthcare “Freedom” Amendment – I’m willing to give him a listen. If he promises to do whatever it takes to ensure that public schools get the funding they deserve, including the possibility of raising taxes – I might donate to him. Hell, if he says he’s willing to concentrate Kansas’ focus more on renewable energies over coal – I may even volunteer for the man.
This will be the determination by which I’ll judge his loyalties, and I urge you to make it yours as well.
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