Kevin YoderThere you have it. Both were sitting in the same position at the same time. Yoder voted in favor of increasing income and sales tax, and Lightner voted "No."

Also, on the eve of the 2003 session, Patricia Lightner promoted a bill statewide that would require a 2/3 majority in both the Kansas House and Kansas Senate to increase taxes. There is no evidence that Yoder supported this plan.

Patricia Lightner was a conservative long before the Tea Party made being fiscally conservative "the thing to do." There are so many contrasts between these two, Lightner and Yoder.

One thing I like about Lightner is that she is a person of faith, a Roman Catholic, and proud of it. She went to a Catholic high school, and is not ashamed at all of her faith.
On his website, and also in questionnaires that Yoder has filled out through the years, he leaves the "religion" section blank.

Of course, there is no religious test for public office. You can hold office in the U.S.A. even if you are a non-believer. But a lot of voters want to know what calculus a candidate will use to make decisions if elected, and religious faith is often something voters want to know about. Lightner is an unashamed Christian, and gets lots of endorsements from religious groups.

Patricia Lightner has two children, and is proud of them. Kevin Yoder has no children, but tries to fake TV viewers into thinking he has children. (He uses "stunt" children for his commercials.) Now, there is nothing wrong with a couple not having children, for whatever reason, but there is something wrong with trying to deceive people into thinking you have children, which is what Yoder is doing through moving images.

Another contrast in this race is that Lightner had the guts to challenge a sitting Congressman, Dennis Moore, in both 2006 and 2010. In 2006 she was the conservative alternative in the primary to pro-choice Republican Adam Taff. And in 2009, she threw down the gauntlet and challenged Congressman Dennis Moore again. She has guts.

On the other hand, Kevin Yoder did not have the sense of adventure to challenge sitting Congressman Dennis Moore. Instead, he laid in wait, and when Congressman Moore shocked the political establishment by announcing his retirement this year, Yoder jumped at the opportunity to run. But doesn't Lightner get credit for having the guts to challenge a sitting Congressman, rather than being a ruthless opportunist?

In studying Lightner's voting record, she is very conservative, but she will veer from her ideology if it helps her District. However, in reviewing Yoder's voting record, he has no core ideology I can see except career advancement. On the Kansas Comprehensive Highway Plan vote this year, Yoder voted totally against the interests of Johnson County. And he did the same thing on taxes and spending, telling Johnson County schools: "Drop Dead."

Back in the days that Yoder was a liberal Democrat law student, Lightner set aside her ideology and voted for the Bill Graves Comprehensive Highway Plan in 1999. And she did the same thing in 2002 when the recession caused by 9/11 threatened to damage Johnson County schools. Governor Graves was faced with a huge budget deficit, and Lightner "voted her district." She did the best thing for her state and county. And Yoder, a liberal Democrat at the time, would have voted the same way as Lightner had he been in the legislature in 1999 and 2002.

Stephene MooreBut on the only true head-to-head comparison, that day in March of 2004, Yoder voted to raise your income and sales tax, and Lightner voted "No." Touche.

I don't have a dog in this fight. I'm for Democrat Stephene Moore. And, yes, another, smart, principled woman candidate such as Lightner would give fits to Moore. But Lightner probably won't win the primary. Her opponent Mr. Yoder has conservatives believing he's a conservative, moderates believing he's a moderate, and liberals believing he's a liberal. And he has been all three in the last 8 years.

So it really is hard to tell. It all depends when you knew him.