State Representatives Peggy Mast (R-Emporia) and David Crum (R-Augusta) sent a letter this week to Attorney General Steve Six, requesting that his Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Unit conduct a formal investigation to determine whether SRS violated Medicaid funding rules when it directly awarded $712,000 in extraordinary funding to Community Living Opportunities (CLO) in November, 2008.

Rep. Mast chairs the House Social Service Budget Committee and serves on the House Health and Human Services Committee as well as the Joint Committee on Home and Community-Based Services Committee.

Rep. Crum is Vice-Chairman of the House Health and Human Services Committee and serves on the House Social Service Budget Committee.

Rep. Brenda Landwehr (R-Wichita), who chairs the House Health and Human Services Committee, said she was pleased Reps. Mast and Crum requested the investigation.

“Kansans deserve a determination whether SRS has again violated Medicaid funding rules through its funding decisions.  If the Attorney General’s investigation does find SRS at fault, those responsible for and involved with the additional funding decision should be held accountable for their actions,” Chairman Landwehr said.

Kansas Liberty is also covering this story and has additional background information. AG Six has said he’ll look into it but won’t comment during the investigation.

According to the Kansas left, Sebelius was more interested in her own political ambitions during her time in Kansas than in helping grow the Democratic Party. As Kansas Confidential puts it:

I know, it’s sacrilegious in the KDP to speak ill of Sebelius, but in truth she left us in this mess. Who chose Republican running mates each time she ran for Governor? Who recruited a Republican to run against Kline in 2006 (a great idea until the scandal)? Who pulled the ladder up behind their own assent, so that upon leaving office has left the party seeking a viable candidate for Governor, Senate, and 3 Congressional seats? Yep…it all points back to one person.

This comes as no surprise to Kansas Republicans. Every move made by Sebelius was calculated to further herself and her career. Things like Kansas citizens and even her fellow politicos came in a distant second.

The liberals in Kansas have even more problems in 2010 and beyond not only because of a lack of candidates amongst themselves, but because Republicans are fielding such strong candidates across the state. Even if Kansas Democrats were able to field even a well known candidate, they would find it very difficult to gain votes against better organized and well financed Republican candidates.

And after unprecedented success in 2008, Kansas Republicans are learning that a conservative message is what wins. What the national party needs to realize and follow is what Kansas Republicans already know; that watered down liberalism masquerading as “Republican” doesn’t win elections.

Yes, things certainly do look bad for Kansas Democrats next year.

Now you know how I feel.

I began with the Kansas City Star’s Primebuzz blog, then I moved to the Lawrence Journal-World, The Topeka Capital Journal and others. And it couldn’t have been more plain from the headlines I was reading…man, what a beating Phill Kline took today.

For instance, I began with this headline, “KS court blisters Kline” where I was told, “It’s one of the most blistering opinions delivered in memory, according to The Star’s legal reporter.”

Then I moved to the Journal-World, “Supreme Court blisters Kline, orders return of abortion clinic records.” The first paragraph said it all, “The Kansas Supreme Court on Friday ordered Johnson County District Attorney Phill Kline to turn over copies of patients’ medical records from an abortion clinic he is prosecuting.”

KSN in Wichita, “The Kansas Supreme Court orders Johnson County District Attorney Phill Kline to turn over abortion patients’ medical records.”

As I continued on my ‘mainstream’ media tour, it was more of the same.

Finally, I turned to my emailed headline from Kansas Liberty, “Despite opinion’s scathing language, DA Kline can keep copies of abortion records.”

Based on the scathing language directed toward Johnson County District Attorney Phill Kline in an opinion issued by the Kansas Supreme Court this morning, it might seem easy to conclude that Kline not only suffered a legal defeat, but that he disgraced the offices in which he served during an investigation of Planned Parenthood.

But, cutting through the criticism and innuendo contained in the majority opinion, written by Justice Carol A. Beier, it appears the ruling actually favored Kline on the law.

Beier wrote: “The above analysis leads us to the conclusion that [Planned Parenthood] and the Attorney General are not entitled to the primary relief they seek. We will not force Kline to disgorge ‘each and every copy’ of the patient records Kline and his subordinates have made ‘and any and all other evidence Kline developed and obtained while he was acting as Attorney General that he took with him to Johnson County’.”

Then, I turned to KAKE Channel 10 from Wichita. What I read there made me think two different rulings from rival courts had been passed down today.

“Supreme Court Denies Contempt Proceedings Against Phill Kline”

The Supreme Court denied an abortion clinic’s petition for contempt proceedings against former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline on Friday, but the court granted other relief and sanctioned Kline for his handling of the clinic’s patient records.

What a difference some perspective gives.

It’s amazing what a loaded headline and a writers slant will do to your understanding of the facts. As I read headlines proclaiming that the records must be “returned” to the AG’s office, I found myself thinking that Kline had lost, the records had to be returned, and the case was over.

It was amazing. I continued to think this even as I read, in story after story, that only copies had to be turned over. It wasn’t a return of records, it was a copy and supply of records.

I have to admit, it never fully sunk in until I got to the Kansas Liberty and KAKE 10 stories.

How many people do you think never got around to reading those articles?

Today isn’t a defeat for Phill Kline. Today is a defeat for a free and responsible press and an informed public.

And if Gov. Sebelius jumps ship for greener Washington pastures (which she’s sure to do if given the opportunity, because let’s face it, Kansas is just a stepping stone to her), three of the six seats will be held by unelected Democrats.

What an astounding scenario.

It’s rather mind boggling that half of our statewide offices can be filled with unelected politicos, without even so much as a Senate hearing or vote, and virtually no recourse for voters if they don’t approve of the appointments.

When Paul Morrison was caught in his sex scandal, Democrat Stephen Six was appointed to fill his term, which had three years left. That appointment highlighted a significant problem in Kansas…the unlimited power of the Governor to appoint anyone (qualified or not) to fill a vacant office, whether it’s for one month or four years.

Immediately after Morrison’s resignation, many thought there would be a competitive AG race in the ’08 general election, but because of our current laws, we’ll now have an un-elected partisan serving as our chief law enforcement officer until 2010.

Furthermore, Sebelius was free to pick whomever she wanted, regardless of party, regardless of qualifications, and regardless of political ties to unsavory political figures. Six’s appointment highlighted the need for Senate confirmation hearings.

Unfortunately, if Sebelius is given the opportunity to jump the sinking Kansas budget ship for Washington big spending, Lt. Gov. Parkinson will have the opportunity to appoint anyone he sees fit to the Lt. Governor’s office.

So then what happens if he resigns? That’s not outside the realm of possibility…did anyone see the Morrison melt down coming? A Parkinson appointment would create a situation where just one resignation could allow an unelected, unconfirmed political appointment to run the state, without so much as a glance from our elected Senators, and with no recourse for voters if they don’t approve.

Our forefathers fought against taxation without representation. Why do we now accept this as normal and regard it with nothing more than curious apathy?

It’s time the House and Senate seriously look at how statewide offices are filled when left vacant before a term expires. With virtual year round campaigning in our future (Can you say Jerry Moran and Todd Tiahrt???) there will undoubtedly be more vacancies to fill in the future. It’s time we ensure those vacancies are filled with the people’s choice and not an unelected political appointment.