It seems the Democrats in Sedgwick County are so desperate to get interest in their events they have to resort to using popular Republicans! (story here)

I guess we can’t blame them, even their own elected folks in the Kansas Senate voted for Kris Kobach’s Voter ID bill – and perhaps they’ve got a great idea, it’s time for a party to celebrate!

With that in mind I’ve started a Happy Birthday Kris Kobach campaign! You can help kick this party off – just go to to the KRA Facebook page (like it while you are there!) and click the Share button under the Happy Birthday post to pass it on to your Facebook friends. Lets see if we can get this birthday party shared nationwide!

(if you don’t see the Kris Kobach photo on the KRA Facebook page, try this link )

Not on Facebook or want other ways to invite friends to join the party? You can share this blog post link or this twitter link.

Pass it on – everyone is welcome to join the party!

HB2130, a measure that would stop unions from automatically deducting political contributions from members, passed on a 75-46 vote, but not without union thugs in the galley attempting to stop the vote from happening. Video of the incident can be seen here.

After union members attempted to stop the vote through blunt intimidation, they were escorted out under Kansas Highway Troopers supervision. So much for improving the public discourse, right?

14 Republicans voted with the unions. You can see everyone’s vote here.

As members entered the chamber, female legislators reported being called derogatory names by union thugs. And the Wichita Eagle is reporting a union boss told everyone to be quiet until HB2130 came up for a vote, and then they could, “…do whatever you want.”

Absolutely disgusting behavior Kansas voters will continue to reject.

Where were you Raj when your party was passing stimulus after stimulus, bailout after bailout of corporations that deserved to go under? Where were you while your party took over one industry after another? Where were you while your President advocated (and continues to advocate) centralization of the US economy, lead by an ineffective government?

After all Mr. Goyle, you are a prominent politician, a former ACLU lawyer who, according to your own campaign finance records, has numerous political contacts in Washington D.C. When your party was heading up the take over one industry after another, what were you doing to stop it? You say you want to represent the people of south-central Kansas, but in reality that is something you can do without a title or an office in D.C., isn’t it? So what have you done besides produce an ad to get yourself elected to stop the bailouts, to stop the madness?

Nothing Mr. Goyle. You’ve done nothing.

You’ve done nothing because you are 100% in lockstep with Speaker Pelosi and President Obama. Your lower than the corporations you skewer in your ads, a politician who will do anything, say anything to get elected.

Take a look at the ad and decide for yourself. Goyle has been described as charismatic and charming by some, but this ad certainly doesn’t show it. Goyle comes across as so wimpy he must feign anger at policies his party continues to support.

Click for Moore's full letter to supporters

In an email to supporters today, Stephene Moore called herself a, “moderate and fiscal conservative.” What exactly that means, of course, is anyone’s guess.

It’s no secret that her husband has been anything but a fiscal conservative after supporting government take overs of every industry you can think of, from the financial sector to automobiles to our health care system. In an article on PrimeBuzz of the Kansas City Star, Stephene stated that she basically agreed with her husband’s votes, noting only that she wanted more oversight (control) of the bank bailout bill, leaving the reader to postulate that she would have supported such a bailout if more oversight had been included. What exactly is “moderate” or “fiscally conservative” about more taxes and more bailouts isn’t explained in her letter.

In this year’s election there are numerous candidates calling themselves “moderate” and “fiscally conservative” when their record reflects something much different. The fact is if voters want the change they thought they were getting in 2008, they must look past the buzz words certain candidates love to throw around. And that includes “conservative” that apparently every Republican candidate liked to call themselves before August, again many times in spite of a very liberal record.

Now, as far as how one can be a “moderate” and “fiscal conservative,” I’m at a loss. It would seem the label machine at Moore’s campaign headquarters seems to be working overtime.

One must look no further for evidence of this than KAKE Channel 10′s website where a condensed version was published under the byline of the Associated Press with no mention of “Analysis,” “Opinion” or otherwise with it.

The fact is in the past decade, “Analysis” has become in vogue with the press to justify using opinion pieces as news. Some claim it to be the brainchild of the mainstream media attempting to further influence the electorate. More likely it is simply the symptom of a press corps seriously strapped for cash partly due to them being completely out of touch on how to report real news relevant to the public.

Whatever the reason, it’s clear they are written in an attempt to publish select facts and influence the public. In this instance, it appears Milburn is attempting to explain away Brownback’s superior proposals on education in Kansas. It’s interesting that in attempting to place blame on the courts rather than the politicians for out of control education spending, Milburn actually validates past arguments by conservatives that unelected judges in Kansas virtually control over half the state’s budget.

While in the actual piece this isn’t necessarily the explicit message, it’s interesting to note this piece from the KAKE Channel 10 revision.

Both Republican Sam Brownback and Democrat Tom Holland say they will focus on preserving what they see as an excellent system of K-12 schools. Where they differ is how they would steer the behemoth system that consumes more than 50 percent of the state budget.

History would suggest that it’s more likely that litigation, not pontification, will decide the course.

In the past two decades, action or the threat of from the Kansas Supreme Court has played a bigger role than activity in the Statehouse.

If these last two sentences are true, then that means that unelected and unaccountable judges control our tax dollars and how they are spent, not elected officials who represent the people. This stronger language by KAKE 10 shows the power of “Analysis” pieces by the press and how they can morph into a story of their own. It just so happens that KAKE happened to take the piece in a direction that highlighted past arguments made by conservatives.

The piece also once again highlights Holland’s curious stance against revising the state’s finance formula due to increased property taxes while simultaneously advocating for increasing a district’s local option budget.

In any case, the public can analyze this, “Analysis” is just another word for “Editorial.”

It’s an interesting strategy that so far seems to be reaping what it is sewing. While Holland has consistently and loudly attacked Republican Sam Brownback from the halls of the state capital, he swung and missed when it came time for his innovative ideas on how to move Kansas forward.

The Topeka Capital Journal highlighted Holland’s non-sense best when it quoted Holland as saying Brownback’s education plan would result in, “significantly higher property taxes and guaranteed litigation.”

Too bad for Tom that Kansas schools have been suing the state for more than a decade and in fact won a verdict for more than $1 billion in additional funding, all under the direction of a Democratic administration. The state is faced with even more litigation this year, again under a Democratic administration. So far it seems to me and many Kansans that if a Democrat like Holland had a better idea, he’s had more than enough time to propose and pass it. Holland must be pretty dense to make such a statement in light of current and previous litigation.

But Holland just couldn’t stop himself and topped off his statement by expressing his support for… you guessed it… higher property taxes.

Holland said if elected governor he would maintain the state’s constitutional obligation to equalize opportunities for children while supporting a move to grant local school boards authority to raise additional property tax for schools through the local option budget process.

Tom, what do you think “local option budget process” means? Uhh, property taxes Tom, it means property taxes. And you just said you’d support raising them.

Tuesday we found out that Holland is just more of the same when it comes to what Kansas Democrats want to happen to our state. More money for the education bureaucracy, at a time when our state can least afford it, higher taxes and more government. That isn’t a detailed plan, it’s a hastily laid sketch for disaster.

While Holland has been screaming at the top of his lung, hoping to stick anything he can to his opponent, Sam Brownback has been touring the state, actually meeting with voters and fulfilling his promise to visit every one of Kansas’ 105 counties. So far Holland has become familiar with Shawnee County, especially the capital grounds, but so far has failed to meet many folks outside of that area.

A new KWCH/Survey USA poll shows that Holland is way behind Republican Sam Brownback. Brownback leads Holland 67% to 25% with a margin of error of only 3.9%.

It’s unfortunate that Holland has decided that campaigning means calling press conference after press conference at the capital and then saying one thing when he supports another. But perhaps Holland knows he doesn’t stand a chance against the Republican wave that’s coming to Kansas this November and this is just his last desperate attempt to spend as much time as he can in the capital.

After the U.S. Senate results were in, Sen. John Cornyn issued a statement critical of the Democratic candidate, Lisa Johnston.

“Democrat nominee Lisa Johnston has clearly demonstrated that she would simply serve as another rubberstamp for President Obama and Harry Reid’s out-of-control economic agenda if she makes it to Washington.”

The “huh” moment came when the Kansas Democratic Party’s official blog came to Johnston’s aid by guarenteeing that she’ll be no rubberstamp. In fact according to them, it’s nothing more than mudslinging because, you know, she’s already told them she won’t be another rubberstamp for Harry Reid and Obama. She’s going to vote against her own party. You know, the party that’s posting her response on it’s own official blog.

“During a July 15, 2010 bipartisan candidate forum in Mound City, KS, Lisa was asked “Will you as a Senator vote according to the wishes of the people you represent even if it meant voting against your party line?” She replied, “Absolutely, without question. One of the things I am committed to is leading with integrity and having an independent mind.”

Independent mind? Right. Which is why the party’s official blog had to write about it. Because the Kansas Democratic Party has clearly demonstrated their willingness to fully support candidates that don’t 100% adhere to an all out liberal mind set.

Psst. Does party leadership’s endorsement of Chris Steineger ringer a bell? The name Mark Gilstrap jog anybody’s memory? The guy who voted against his party and got thanked with a party recruited and funded primary opponent?

Yea right, the KDP is going to support somebody who doesn’t tow the party line. Because they’ve clearly been so tolerant in the past.

Besides, how is she going to respond to a puff question like that?

“Oh yes, I believe 100% in the economic and social policies of our President and Harry Reid, both of which I know nearly 70% of the voting public in Kansas don’t approve of. I think what they’ve done for America is right on. I’d support government run health care that I know not a single sane Kansas voter supports and I’d pretty much go to Washington and jump however high Harry Reid told me I needed to jump.”

Now that would have been a truthful response. Of course it also would have been a suicidal response.

Oh, and by the way, I know the elitists at the KDP probably won’t figure this out anytime soon, but by continually referring to your candidate as, “Dr. Lisa Johnston,” all you’re doing to making her seem as if she’s better than the people she wants to represent. Only elitists like Johnston insist on people recognizing her educational status by calling her “Doctor.” We know power tripping on your students is educationally in vogue Lisa, but you should really get a grip on that before you have a Barbara Boxer moment at a candidate forum. I’m not sure what’s up with Democrats and their love of titles but apparently it’s a universal thing.

Maybe instead of Doctor, Lisa would prefer to be addressed as “Independent Doctor Lisa Johnston.” Or “Independent, committed, not a politician, independent, vote against my party, independent Doctor Lisa Johnston.” She could be like the educational elite who put more letters about how educated they are behind their name than are in their name.

Oh, that’d make an awesome “I approve this message” message.

“My name is Independent, committed, honorable, independent, not really a Democrat, independent, Doctor Pepper, independent, Doctor, Doctor Lisa Johnston, and I have to tell you I approve this message because I’m clearly smarter than you and I’m not quite sure you’d figure that out without me telling you.”

All kidding aside, does anybody really think Johnston (PhD, MD, DO, MSKJLEKKWIUTH, blah…) won’t be just another “Yes” vote for Reid and Obama?

Nah, I didn’t think so.

In fact, the ad is so new the campaign hasn’t even uploaded it to its YouTube channel yet. I’ll add the link here when it is online.

Goyle’s previous ads make no mention of his party affiliation or previous ties to the ACLU or other liberal groups. In expected liberal Kansas style, Goyle attempts to portray himself with the usual buzz words “independent” and “Kansas values.” In a bit of irony, Goyle’s own campaign website header proclaims, “Good ideas don’t come with a party label. All that matters is whether it’s right for Kansas.”

That is, of course, as long as you make it past your primary. When that’s in doubt, then a party label comes in pretty handy.

It looks like his election year make-over was a little too effective. The latest poll in the fourth district had Goyle 3 points behind his Democratic challenger, Robert Tillman. Tillman claims to have spent less than $5,000 on the race while Goyle has collected over $1 million in campaign funds.

As Bob Weeks at Wichita Liberty noted previously, this year Raj Goyle voted more conservatively than Jean Schodorf, who is running for the same seat. What an example of things politicians will do to convince a voter they’re something they’ve never been in the past.

Could Kansas be the next South Carolina? It certainly looks like the Goyle campaign thinks it might.

KRA endorsed Mike Pompeo is the conservative candidate in the fourth district. Unlike Goyle or Schodorf, he’s run an issues oriented, hard hitting campaign that shows why his military and business experience is what’s needed in Washington.

And will an un-elected Democrat Secretary of State give Republican candidates the run around?

State Representative Bill Light

State Representative Bill Light withdrew his candidacy for re-election to the Kansas House May 12. Light was facing a strong conservative challenge in the August primary by Dan Widder of Ulysses.

In a Hutchinson News article, Light claimed that his retirement had nothing to do with his conservative challenger, even claiming that he didn’t know Widder. However, the article notes that Light filed for re-election in January and told the Hutchinson News in November that he liked to file in January before the start of a legislative session, “so that all will know my intentions.”

When contacted, Widder stated that he had attended a legislative coffee a few weeks ago where he questioned Light about the upcoming budget debate. While he didn’t disclose his planned challenge to Light, he said that Light certainly knew who he was.

So apparently something happened during this legislative session that changed Light’s mind about serving another term. That something, I believe, is Light’s realization that voting for a massive tax increase and facing a serious conservative challenger meant his chances at winning another term were little to none.

When asked about Light’s withdraw, Widder reiterated that it changed nothing as far as he is concerned.

“I don’t plan to do anything differently,” Widder stated.

In his bid to be placed on the ballot, Widder and campaign volunteers collected the signatures of more than 175 registered Republicans in his district. Widder stated that he contacted the Kansas Secretary of State’s office prior to beginning to collect signatures and asked what the procedures were for being placed on the ballot via petition. Widder’s campaign then collected the signatures and submitted them to the Sec. of State’s office.

However the Sec. of State rejected the petitions stating that they needed to be signed by the volunteers that collected the signatures, according to Widder. So he directed all volunteers that collected signatures to sign the petition and resubmitted it to the Sec. of State’s office.

Once again, Widder said, the petition was rejected. This time another contact in the Sec. of State’s office said that each page of the petition needed to be signed on the back with the volunteer that collected those signatures. Widder stated that he simply put all the signatures together into one petition and had all volunteers sign together. Further, the Sec. of State’s office claimed that volunteers should have only signed and dated the petition after collecting all of the signatures. Due to time constraints and lack of communication with the Sec. of State’s office, Widder elected to file by fee.

Widder claimed that he made numerous phone calls to the Sec. of State’s office before beginning to collect signatures and at no time did anyone detail to him that volunteers must sign the back of each petition page they collected. Widder said each time he called he seemed to get a different reason why he couldn’t file via petition.

The Sec. of State’s office is currently being held by un-elected Democrat Chris Biggs. Biggs is one of five Democrats holding statewide office that were not elected but rather appointed by either former Gov. Kathleen Sebelius or current Gov. Mark Parkinson. Both Sebelius and Parkinson appointed only Democrats, regardless of the party affiliation of the previous office holder.

And as this Kansas Liberty article notes, Bigg’s appointment also means that the state’s three person canvassing board is now held entirely by unelected Democrats. The board is tasked with verifying the state’s election results.

The 124th House district may be a template for the rest of the state and a significant sign of how the August elections may pan out. Gov. Parkinson and other Democrats claim that they will be rewarded for raising taxes on Kansas families, but Light’s withdraw seems to indicate that liberal Democrats and Republicans know otherwise.

Democrat Dennis Moore also withdrew for re-election this year after voting in favor of national health care and multiple bailouts. The two situations are eerily similar.

Raj Goyle, D-Wichita

Only two House Democrats voted against the massive budget bill in the House yesterday, one that will require the largest tax increase in Kansas history. One was Patrick Maloney of Kingman. He replaced Dennis McKinney, who is one of many Democrats to be appointed to a statewide seat. The other was Raj Goyle of Wichita.

Goyle is a former ACLU attorney and liberal member of the Kansas House. Goyle is running for Congress in the fourth congressional district around Wichita, and just recently was the only House Democrat who voted to end the corporate income tax in Kansas. This vote was very out of character for him, and this weekend’s budget vote was even more strange.

Goyle has a measly 9% rating with APF-Kansas for the 2009 legislative session.

Could it be that Goyle is now voting how he knows the voters in Wichita want him to vote, just so he can get elected to Congress and then later vote however he wants, a la Dennis Moore?

Nahhh, that’d never happen.

The header and message that greeted those who signed up for email updates from the Stephene Moore campaign website yesterday. Click the image to enlarge it.

Webpage displayed when unsubscribed is clicked from the Stephene Moore campaign emails. The constant contact email and information is for the Stephene Moore campaign. Click the image to enlarge it.

After announcing her candidacy and telling the Kansas City Star, “I’m not entitled to the seat,” it seems that Stephene Moore, wife of current Congressman Dennis Moore, doesn’t have a problem with using her husband’s campaign resources to try and keep the seat in the family.

As previously noted, Mrs. Moore had some website problems yesterday morning. Apparently, those problems were resolved later in the day only to be replaced with another, more curious problem: a header with Dennis Moore’s picture and the words Congressman Dennis Moore greeted those who signed up to receive email updates from the Stephene Moore campaign.

Once confirmed, subscribers were greeted with an incredible statement from the Stephene Moore campaign.

Welcome to Stephene Moore for Congress. We are happy to have you as a member of our community. Your email address and interest preferences have been recordedin our database. In the future, you will receive periodic emails specific to your interests.

Privacy is important to us; therefore, we will not sell, rent, or give your name or address to anyone. At any point, you can select the link at the bottom of every email to unsubscribe, or to receive less or more information.

Thanks again for registering. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact us.

Sincerely,

Stephene Moore

I guess that privacy thing only applies to non-family members, huh?

How does a header with Dennis Moore’s picture end up on the confirmation page for Stephene Moore’s campaign updates? This is a Constant Contact website with identifying information linked to the Stephene Moore campaign. As such, there’s only two possibilities as to what is going on.

1. Mrs. Moore has hired some highly incomptent staff that had uploaded an image from her husband’s campaign rather than her’s. In this case Stephene is guilty of nothing more than perhaps being incompetent herself and demonstrating why she shouldn’t be allowed to hold elective office.
2. Stephene has taken control of her husbands Constant Contact account and changed the identifying information but failed to changed the header displayed when someone signed up with the campaign.

In the case of number two, one has to ask if this isn’t borderline illegal. Constant Contact costs money. Is the Dennis campaign making an in-kind contribution to Stephene? If so, will this show up on her next campaign finance report? How does Stephene choosing to use her husband’s contact account square with her statement that she’s her own person and not entitled to the seat just because of who she’s married to?

Or better yet Stephene, after you’ve answered all of those questions, would you produce just ONE voter who actually, truly and wholeheartedly thinks, and has told you, that they think you’re ENTITLED to the seat just because of who you’re married to? If you know somebody like that, what kind of scary people have you been hanging out with?

Click the image to enlarge

Stephene Moore, wife of Democrat Congressman Dennis Moore, finally announced yesterday that she’ll try to keep the seat in the Kennedy, err, I mean, Moore family, this November. She’s already indicated she supports cap and trade, government run health care, and the TARP bailout. In other words, Moore of the same. (Gee, didn’t see that overused line coming at all, huh?)

My question to Mrs. Moore is who’s lying, her or her husband? Let’s remember why Dennis said he was leaving office.

Congressman Dennis Moore said Tuesday that his decision not to run for re-election is all about family and a promise he made to his wife.

Moore said they talked about him leaving office after five terms, but he will finally step down after serving six terms. He also put to rest the rumor that he was not running because of health reasons.

Leaving for family huh? I guess the family (and when I say family I mean Mrs. Moore) got pretty used to her Washington lifestyle and isn’t quite ready to give it up yet.

On a lighter note, it looks like Stephene’s off to a rocky online start.

There are multitudes of lobbyists in Topeka sent on the taxpayer dime. They vary from local governments like cities and counties to many local school districts and now apparently even state departments like KDOT. Contrary to common sense, taxpayer funded lobbying is not illegal.

Certainly heads of various state departments go to the capital and regularly advocate for more money. It has essentially become standard operating procedure to ask for more than you need. It is, however, a giant step in the wrong direction for the head of a department to use state resources to outright advocate for a tax increase to pad the departments pockets.

Using state resources in this way is disturbing. But in addition to that, watch the video below and ask yourself these questions:

• Why does Secretary Miller never use the words “tax increase?”
• If Kansas roads have improved so dramatically since the 1980′s, why is a “revenue increase” needed to “spur economic development across the state?” If more roads equals more economic activity, shouldn’t tax revenues have increased as well? Or does that perhaps lend evidence to the argument that more transportation funding does not equal more economic activity?
• Why does KDOT note that new construction spending is less than in the 1970′s when they say a tax increase is needed for system “preservation?” Doesn’t preservation by definition mean there wouldn’t be new construction?

I certainly for one will not argue against more roads and better infrastructure. Preservation of the system should be a priority. However, the funds to do so must be found within the state’s current revenue stream.

Secretary Miller wants Kansans to believe that they should give more money to the government in the name of more economic activity. If that is the case, why not just go ahead and give the government everything you make and let them spend what they see fit first and then give you the rest? After all, if more money spent by the government is such a good thing, this strategy should quickly result in unprecedented state wealth.

To pass, the amendment needs a two-thirds supermajority of 84 votes in the House. Today’s vote was 76-44. Listed below is how the votes came down according to party and yea or nay. Click the members name to get their contact information and call, fax and email them TODAY.

Republican Yeas: Aurand, Bethell, Bowers, Brookens, Brown A, Brunk, Burgess, Carlson, Colloton, Craft, Crum, DeGraaf, Donohoe, Faber, George, Goico, Gordon, Grange, Hayzlett, Hermanson, Hineman, Holmes C, Holmes M, Horst, Huebert, Jack, Kelley, Kerschen, Kiegerl, King, Kinzer, Kleeb, Knox, Landwehr, Light, Mast, McLeland, Merrick, Morrison, Moxley, Myers, Neufeld, O’Brien, O’Neal, Olson, Otto, Patton, Peck, Pottorff, Powell, Prescott, Proehl, Rhoades, Schroeder, Schwab, Schwartz, Seiwert, Shultz, Siegfreid, Spalding, Suellentrop, Swanson, Tafanelli, Vickrey, Whitham, Wolf B, Wolf K, Worley, Yoder.

Contact (preferably by phone) the Republicans below and ask them why they voted against limited government.

Republican NAYS: Nays: Bollier, Hill, Quigley, Roth, Sloan.

Contact (preferably by phone) the Democrats below and ask them to once again vote yea. They will be under pressure to change their vote.

Democrat YEAS: Lukert, Maloney, Meier, Palmer, Svaty, Wetta, Williams.

Contact (preferably by phone) the Democrats below and ask them why they voted nea and ask them to change their vote.

Democrat NAYS: Ballard, Barnes, Benlon, Brown T, Burroughs, Carlin, Crow, Davis, Dillmore, Feuerborn, Finney, Flaharty, Frownfelter, Furtado, Garcia, Gatewood D, Gatewood S, Goyle, Grant, Henry, Kuether, Lane, Loganbill, Long, Mah, McCray-Miller, Menghini, Neighbor, Pauls, Phelps, Rardin, Ruiz, Slattery, Swenson, Talia, Tietze, Trimmer, Ward, Winn.

These Representatives didn’t vote. Keep in mind that they may have not been able to vote due to illness. Contact (preferably by phone) the Representatives below and ask them to make an effort to vote for the Healthcare Freedom Amendment.

Didn’t Vote: Fund (most likely would have been a yea, is currently hospitalized according to fellow House members), Hawk, Henderson, Johnson, Peterson.

As a quasi government agency, Amtrak has been loosing money for years and only continues to operate because of federal subsidies. While federal money is outside the control of KDOT, a KDOT press release notes the one time infrastructure improvement costs and annual operating cost of the four different plans.

For example, the first plan estimates an annual ridership of 92,500 at an annual cost burden to the state of $3.2 million. This doesn’t include an estimated $114 million in improvements for the line to operate. And the $114 million doesn’t include local improvements like platforms and train stations, which would have to be provided by local Kansas communities. Just taking into account the state’s annual costs, it comes to $34.60 per rider.

A more expensive alternative would bring in an estimated 174,000 annual riders but would cost the state $8 million a year in operating expenses. Excluding $476 million in infrastructure improvements, that’s just under $46 a rider. If one includes the infrastructure costs and extends out annual costs for 30 years, the cost per rider increases to just over $137 a rider.

Why would KDOT push for a service that would require $8 million a year be taken from their budget when they are canceling new construction and repair projects left and right? Rather than subsidize passenger rail service to potentially $46 a rider or more, couldn’t those millions of dollars be better spent maintaining Kansas roads that would benefit everyone rather than the few who find passenger rail service so nostalgic that they advocate government subsidies to keep Amtrak going?

Couple this with a continuing push to renovate the state capital because ‘material is so cheap’ and lawmakers so desperate to tax rather than cut spending that soda pop is now on the radar, and it certainly leaves Kansas taxpayers wondering just what happened to our government’s priorities.

Take the Kansas Democratic and Republican Parties. Kansas Republicans just recently celebrated Kansas Days. It was an opportunity for Kansans of all walks of life to gather together and discuss the future of the state of Kansas and the Republican Party. The Kansas Republican Assembly brought in spectacular guest speakers who’s work brought down the uber-corrupt ACORN organization and significantly reduced their federal funding.

Then take the Kansas Democratic Party. The last weekend in February they’ll hold their annual Washington Days convention. As the name suggests, Kansas Democrats could quite frankly care less about Kansas when Washington is calling. Just ask Kathleen Sebelius.

And who does the KDP choose to bring in as their headline speaker? Someone who roots out corruption wherever it may lay? Maybe a freedom loving open government fighter? After all, weren’t the Washington Democrats supposed to usher in a new era of openness? Oh no! They choose to bring in a California Democrat. Because California is doing so well, I guess Kansas Democrats think we should be more like them. After all, once you’ve celebrated Washington in all it’s corrupt glory, what’s left but to bring in a California liberal?

There’s a lot to be said about a name. And Kansas Democrats show their true colors by celebrating Washington and the power of the feds rather than the spirit and hard work Kansans bring to the table.

Government run healthcare supporters gathered in Wichita Saturday to protest the Healthcare Freedom Amendment (HFA). The Amendment, sponsored by Reps. Brenda Landwehr, Peggy Mast and Sen. Mary Pilcher-Cook, would try to prevent the federal government from imposing fines, or even jail time, to Kansas citizens who choose not to have health insurance. Opponents of the HFA claim that it would opt Kansas out of any “public option” that passes in Washington. However, no where in the two page document are these provisions found.

The Wichita protest was to target Rep. Landwehr for her support of the HFA and was a follow up to a rally in early November in Shawnee targeting Sen. Pilcher-Cook. At that protest, government healthcare supporters were met by a large group of freedom loving patriots.

The spin from the left was that they were all shipped in by Koch Industries, even though they were unable to produce any evidence of this assertion. One would think big buses with a whole bunch of people would be easy to document. Of course, they are unable to do so because it simply doesn’t exist. Any “busing” by Koch or AFP is pure fiction, a grand lie concocted by liberals to convince themselves only the left can produce an uncoordinated, spontaneous grassroots movement.

The Koch lie seems to be in line with previous attacks by the left, where even they admit they were wrong when challenged to provide evidence.

This morning, I received an e-mail from Melissa “Missy” Cohlmia, the Communications Director for Koch Companies Public Sector. In it, Ms. Cohlmia asked:

“Can you point me to the facts behind this statement? The astroturf movement is paid for by David Koch of Wichita-based Koch Industries to the tune of $20 million of his own treasure.”

Admittedly, I failed in my post yesterday to appropriately link that statement. Mostly, however, that failure was because it’s a commonly known fact that Koch Industries is behind Americans for Prosperity, widely reported by the traditional and non-traditional press.

In fact the truth is AFP now has over 700,000 individual donors. Koch donations now account for less than 5% of AFP’s donations.

But as liberals go, they just couldn’t stop themselves and had to go even further.

One way that’s ever so popular with liberals is parading the children around. We must do it for the children, don’t you know! Thus Kansas’ 58,000 uninsured children becomes the call for more government programs. Of course, never mind there’s already a program out there called Kansas Healthwave. To a common sense Kansan that’d be evidence of a government failure, but to a liberal, it’s a call to more government action.

In fact, it seems the lefties have gotten themselves so worked up, they’ve forgotten what exactly happened in Shawnee less than a month ago.

In a weekend update, the left says things never got out of hand.

Despite the tone of our local Fox affiliate, that morning never got ugly. Passions are high on both sides, but never did the event escalate over some shouting matches.

But just a few weeks later, an organizer with the same liberal blog told a very different story to the Wichita Eagle.

“We had a bunch of (tea party supporters) come out and get pretty much in everybody’s faces,” said Sarah Burris, a spokeswoman for Forward Kansas. “They just want to raise a ruckus.”

Could it be liberals change their story based on what they think will get them the most traction in the press?

It also looks as though it’s okay to come from out of town for the rally, just as long as you make the trek for the right side. Just before the Shawnee rally, liberals had this to say:

…none, I repeat none, of the pro-Reform rally members will be bused in from surrounding areas — like American’s for Prosperity and David Koch did in Washington DC yesterday.

But they boasted of all the out of town folks for yesterday’s gathering:

Many of the demonstrators drove to Wichita from cities all over Kansas. Colin Curtis, of Manhattan made the trip because he wanted to ensure his side was represented in the debate

And I guess when flip-flopping on your version of protest etiquette doesn’t yield the results you want, you can always just start calling names.

From Twitter:

• @sarahburris: If you use teabagger in a press release do we think they’ll use it? #fwks
• @sarahburris: @immunis the experts say only if its in a quote just FYI #fwks

From the Wichita Eagle:

“We had a bunch of (tea party supporters) come out and get pretty much in everybody’s faces,” said Sarah Burris, a spokeswoman for Forward Kansas.

Now that’s a term even the Wichita Eagle won’t publish, try as the liberals might.

I’m willing to make a decent bet (tea party supporters) was inserted because the liberal’s spokeswoman decided to use a derogatory term for their opponents rather than show a little class.

Unfortunately, facts don’t get in the way of liberals. Their perception is reality, no matter how skewed it is, no matter how little evidence they have to support their assertions.

It’s the kind of insinuations and lies we should expect from this group in the future.

Kansas Action for Children released a new report yesterday that claims Kansas is continuing to fail its children when it comes to health insurance. This is a hard fact to face in light of a long time state program called Kansas Healthwave that is supposed to provide low and no income families with health insurance for their children.

In fact, the press release by KAC ignores the failure of Kansas Healthwave to enroll children, which is clearly stated in the their report, as seen in the quote above.

In fact, the report highlights the need to increase enrollment and retain children already in the program to decrease those without insurance. These actions both involve minimal effort by the state and certainly do not call for another government program. Further, the KAC report notes what was already known, that Kansas Healthwave has been a failure of a program and one government failure doesn’t justify the need for a new one, as many on the left currently advocate.

From the report:

The best approach to addressing the state’s increased rate of uninsured children is two-fold. We need to focus on outreach efforts to ensure that more Kansas families enroll their children in HealthWave. But, we also need to place an emphasis on retaining eligible children who are already enrolled in HealthWave. Similar to other states, Kansas struggles to retain eligible children in the program, which results in children “churning” in and out of HealthWave.

Any attempt by the left to use this report as a reason for more government action is asinine in light of the current failure of government to get the job done, as highlighted by the report itself. But more importantly, such action would be dishonest and deceitful, in full contradiction of the facts, and clearly only done to advance a narrow, partisan political agenda.

This past Saturday free market conservatives turned out at Shawnee City Hall to advocate for a return of the federal government to its constitutional bounds. They were met by liberal-socialist protesters who want more government involvement. One of the signs at the rally claimed there are 58,000 uninsured children in Kansas, an apparent fact the left wants to use as an argument to justify more government spending.

One has to wonder if liberal-socialists understand what their facts say about government involvement in the healthcare system to date. A September 10 KHI article notes that the number of uninsured children in Kansas has actually risen significantly the previous few years. This would be an apparent call for government action if you believe the government is a solution.

But doesn’t the state of Kansas already have a program in place that is supposed to insure children when their family can’t afford to do so? Of course, it’s called Kansas Healthwave!

According to the Healthwave website, parents can obtain no cost or low cost health insurance for their kids as long as their income is below 200% of the federal poverty level. That’s $3,675 per month for a family of four. With such high income guidelines, why are nearly 1 in 10 Kansas children still uninsured?

Isn’t this convincing evidence of the failure of government? Rather than finding a problem and then demanding government fix it, wouldn’t it be smarter to find out why the problem exists and then try to fix the reasons behind the problem rather than just demanding more government?

Only liberal-socialists would take a government failure and use it as fodder to demand more government.

When Congressman Moore’s office was contacted, they stated that any citizen in Kansas has the right to request to not be filmed. While this is true, it certainly could have been done in a more tasteful manner, without the obvious contempt for those delivering petitions and letters to Rep. Moore’s office.

Further, a congressional staffer works for the public, and if they are uncomfortable with being filmed while working for the public, then maybe they should find a different line of work.

Congressman Moore and Nancy Pelosi’s Democrat majority said if they were elected, they would usher in a new era of open government. Perhaps Congressman Moore should educate his staff that they work for the people, and as part of the new “open” government, we the people have a right to know and see what happens in our office!