Sen. Chris Steineger brings new meaning to ‘fight over health-care reform’

Kansas state Sen. Chris Steineger showed up at a committee meeting Monday with a black eye, sources tell The Pitch.

Sources also confirm that on Friday night, Steineger got into an argument about health care at Breit’s Stein and Deli, a bar in Kansas City, Kansas.

Steineger, a Democrat who is considering a run for governor, didn’t return a phone call from The Pitch. Instead, we got a call from a woman who works for a Wichita public relations firm.

Kris Schindler of Start Thinking said she “couldn’t confirm or deny” the story. She said she’d heard there was an argument over health care and someone took a swing at Steineger.

Schindler said Steineger refused to comment or release a statement.

“He doesn’t seem to see that it’s an issue,” Schindler said.

Rumors in and out of the statehouse were that the argument escalated to a “take it outside” fight.

A man answering the phone at Breit’s confirmed that there “was an argument” but said “it’s been definitely getting blown out of proportion.”

Kansas City, Kansas, police say they have no reports filed from an incident at Breit’s.

In any case, Steineger might want to recall the March 2005 e-mail to reporters in which he slammed former state Rep. Rick Rehorn, who was running for mayor for against Joe Reardon:

“Joe is a sober man who spends his free time with his wife and kids. When Rehorn was in the Legislature, he was occasionally tuned in and could be effective, but only about 4-6 hours per days. Unfortunately, he also spent almost every evening from 6PM until late drinking at a pub called The Gregory in downtown Topeka.

He often missed morning meetings in the Legislature. When he had evening strategy sessions for the proponents of casino gambling, he would show up late, then leave early, not helping much. Observers in Wyandotte County know that Rehorn has been a regular at Johnny’s Sports bar and the Twin City Tavern for years. My Grandfather always spoke against men who spent too much time at bars drinking beer, as he came home every night to be with his family, do chores, and get the family ahead.”