VIDEO: Ribbon Cutting Event Turns Political

National angst that has been sweeping the nation as members of congress return home for public events boiled over into Salina on Friday morning.

What was supposed to be a simple ribbon cutting event at First District United States Congressman Dr. Roger Marshall’s office in Downtown Salina instead turned into a sometimes angry town-hall type event. A group of concerned citizens showed up at the event, some carrying signs.  The congressman accommodated them, and prior to the ribbon cutting he hosted a question and answer session with them that lasted about a half hour.

Questions ranged from topics including agriculture, the environment, and health care. It became spirited at times when the topics of the Affordable Care Act and immigration came up. The congressman was asked if he was going to support the border wall, and “the racist agenda of the Trump Administration and start deporting Kansas people.”

 

 

Afterwards, Marshall told KSAL News that given the current political climate in the country, it did not surprise him that a crowd showed up at the event. He said that he was glad it was peaceful, and that those who showed up were simply exercising their first amendment rights. “That’s what we are supposed to do, listen to people,” he concluded.

Marshall said that he senses a lot of excitement right now in Washington DC, saying that some locals there are comparing it to the excitement that surrounded the Ronald Reagan and John F. Kennedy administrations.

 

 

Marshall said that he is planning multiple town hall events in the near future.