The Kansas Democratic Party has launched a new web ad against KS)# Republican Congressional Candidate Kevin Yoder called “Yoder Oder”. “Republican Kevin Yoder is nothing more than a career politician who is willing to say or do anything to win his next election,” said Kenny Johnston, Executive Director of the Kansas Democratic Party. “Kevin Yoder has a history of making claims that just don’t pass the sniff test, and his latest television commercial is just the more of the same politics as usual voters have come to expect from Yoder.”

Here is the ad for you to check out:

US Senator and GOP gubernatorial front-runner Sam Brownback has a brand new idea for the state of Kansas in the event that he is elected: an Office of the Repealer.  Read that full story at the Lawrence Journal-World, and note how even in the headline of the story, it is pointed out that he can’t think of any specifics.

You see, there is lots of waste in the government, which needs to be dealt with.  Senator Brownback is sure of this, but has no clue what that waste actually is (being out of Kansas politics for over a decade will do that).  Thus, there must be a whole new government position to find and do away with waste.  Yes, there would be a new government program to repeal hypothetical government programs.

Brownback is quoted as telling supporters that his new Bureau of Crushing Irony is necessary because Kansas must “look more like Texas and a lot less like California.”

That quote, and the entire idea of an Office of Repealer, are as shallow as anything one would expect as Brownback stumps for Stepping Stone to the White H… er… governor of Kansas, but they also bring to light a few of the ideas that the Republican Party has used for years to terrify voters.

First up, the haunting specter of government programs.  Turn on your TV and check out any of the ads Todd Tiarht and Jerry Moran are running to attack each other (fittingly, to replace Sam Brownback in the Senate).  How long will it take before one accuses the other of wanting more government?  Especially with the rise of the libertarian-tinged Tea Party movement, it is trendy for Republican candidates to swear up and down that they despise the very existence of government, all the while tip-toeing around the fact that they wouldn’t have careers without it.  Brownback can’t actually name anything he’d like his new office to do away with, but is banking on the very idea of something dedicated solely to getting rid of government services resonating with the more paranoid wings of the Kansas Republican Party.

Second, that delightful quip about looking more like Texas and less like California.  In the lore of Republican rhetoric, “California” is code for “liberals”, “giant government”, and all the other scary things that midwesterners are supposed to revile.  “Texas” evokes images of hope, in the form of small government, big trucks, George W. Bush, and all the other things that scream out “Go America!”

Mention to Sam Brownback that California has a Republican governor, or is the home state of Ronald Reagan, or passed a major piece of anti-gay policy via public referendum, and the most likely reaction is for him to shout “Look over there!” and duck behind a piece of furniture.

All snarkiness aside, when can Brownback, or any Republican candidate for that matter, forget about scare tactics and start campaigning on something positive?  When will they stop reminding us that government is scary, and start looking for ways to make it work in a more productive manner?  And when will the Kansas GOP stop evoking California, Texas, and the like, and start trying to find an identity for Kansas, beyond aspiring to be Texas-lite?

Don't Drink, Drive and Hide.

Below is a press release sent out to local media earlier today by the Whipple for Kansas campaign:

Candidate Brandon Whipple is outraged by the actions of State Representative Phil Hermanson, hiding an arrest, DUI charges and injuring two Kansans. According to a Wichita Eagle article, Hermanson (R-96) was arrested last November for driving under the influence after a wreck that put Kansas residents Kathy Spencer, then 46, and Mary Sheppard, then 77, in the hospital. Spencer has yet to fully recover.

Whipple’s thoughts and prayers go out to Kathy and Mary. “Phil Hermanson chose to put our community at risk and hid his arrest for more than six months,” said Whipple. “There is no excuse for his actions and our community deserves better representation.”
After hiding his arrest from the voters for more than six months, Hermanson’s moral character is in doubt. The Whipple campaign is calling for Hermanson’s resignation.

I, for one, support Brandon Whipple’s call to oust Hermanson. He withheld his DUI arrest from the public for more than six months. He injured two women, one of which has yet to fully recover.

A person of his “moral character” should not be a state representative. If he was under the influence at 11:50 in the morning, how do we know he keeps a clear mind when casting votes that affect the lives of every citizen in our community?

If you have not read the Eagle article about Phil Hermanson’s DUI arrest, I encourage you to do so.

Representative Phil Hermanson arrested for DUI. Hid arrest for six months.

The Wichita Eagle this morning broke the story of State Representative Phil Hermanson was arrested last November for driving under the influence after a mid-day wreck that put Kansas residents Kathy Spencer, then 46, and Mary Sheppard, then 77, in the hospital. Spencer has yet to fully recover. The story comes more than six months after the accident.

The wreck occurred at 11:50 in the morning on November 6, 2009 in a construction zone. Witnesses told the Eagle that despite the cold, Hermanson was wearing only a pair of shorts, a T-shirt and socks. Multiple witnesses report that Hermanson was speeding in the construction zone and did not apply the breaks before he plowed in to the women’s car. Hermanson failed a field sobriety test and refused a blood-alcohol content test.

Comments posted on the Eagle’s website say that Hermanson used his position as state representative to have his trial delayed multiple time.

If true, when added to the fact that Hermanson hid his arrest for such a long time, the people of southwest Wichita should demand an apology from Hermanson and that action be taken by the leadership in Topeka.

Hermanson is a first-term conservative Republican who represents southwest Wichita.

(Updated to include link to Eagle article)

I got home about an hour ago and immediately checked my mail like any college student waiting for his next set of Netflix movies that he will used to procrastinate during finals week, and what do I find instead?

That’s right.  Instead of my much awaited Netflix movies I find this hideous four page piece of mail with Conservative talking points vomited all over every page.

Now I normally would have just thrown this crap away if it wasn’t for Countdown with Keith Olberman last night, where he named Congresswoman Marry Fallin the worst person in the world for sending out a mailer talking all about reducing the debt and stopping spending with a nice little note in the corner stating the mailer was paid for by taxpayer money.

So I quickly glance at the mailer and see that Kansas’ very own Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins is guilty of the same.  That’s right tea party folks, your beloved Lynn Jenkins is wasting taxpayer money sending mailers around the state, and to me none the less a very proud and vocal Democrat.

In the same mailer, actually the same page, that she says “Congress needs to end the tidal wave of spending and DEBT.”  she publicly admits to contributing to that wasteful spending by sending us mail that the taxpayer paid for. Don’t believe me? See for yourself.

Shocking isn’t it?  Does it hurt?

A Congresswoman who has been very vocal about cutting back government spending and reducing the debt, and been all over her Democrat counterparts for their “fiscal irresponsibility”, one who has been part of the tea party and demanded we stop wasting money.

Is in fact fiscal irresponsible herself, even worse she is a hypocrite and a liar. I always knew Congresswoman Jenkins didn’t represent me, but now it’s obvious that she has turned her back on all of Kansas.

Lynn Jenkins isn’t in Congress to represent you, she is there to spend your money to tell you that Congress is spending too much of your money.

I can, however, agree with one thing Rep. Jenkins said in this mailer.  Across the top of the inside it says “Stop the spending”, its even underlined, so I agree Congresswoman Jenkins stop your spending.  Stop spending mine and every other taxpayers money to tell me that we as a nation are spending too much money and being wasteful.

Stop being a hypocrite, stop being a liar, stop pointing fingers, and own up to your fiscal irresponsibility.

For over a century, some in American politics have attempted to keep certain groups of people from voting. Traditionally, going back to ancient Rome, the only people who could vote were those who owned property and the people who owned the property were men. But over the years, the United States passed laws and constitutional amendments to expand voting rights to other groups of people. In spite of Jim Crow laws and other similar means of disenfranchisement, we are generally quite proud of our efforts in suffrage, though the reality is we have a very long way to go.

Last week, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed into law a new measure to “crack down” on undocumented workers. It requires, among other things, for immigrants to carry their papers on them at all time that prove they are in the country legally. As these papers are important legal papers, it is dangerous to carry them around all the time. Kansas Secretary of State candidate Kris Kobach says this will apply only to immigrants and not US citizens as it is a federal crime to say one is a citizen when they are not. This is a curious statement. People who push for employer use of the E-Verify system say undocumented workers routinely fake identification. What stops police from not believing a Latino from saying he is a US citizen and taking him into custody anyway? This is already happening in Phoenix.

But there is more to this law than the stated purpose of preventing undocumented residents from committing crimes such as murder and drug trafficking, even though immigrants are significantly less likely to commit crimes, regardless of their immigrant status, than native-born Americans. Perhaps Kobach himself says it best an amnesty bill combined with the recently-passed health insurance reform will add 10.8 million voters to the rolls, all of whom are presumably Democrats and want “free” health care. These arguments almost always devolve into an “Us v. Them” argument: citizens deserve things before non-citizens. Why all this pitch about citizens and undocumented immigrants, often ignoring the immigrants who went through the expensive and incredibly arduous process of immigrating to the US?

Because it’s never about what it’s “about”.

10.8 million Latino voters scares Kobach and Tea Party-goers, a largely white male group. Disenfranchisement is something hard-right Republicans and Kobach do very, very well. And it’s something Governor Brewer also knows how to do very well: when she was the Arizona Secretary of State, she purged over 100,000 voters, largely Hispanic, from the voting rolls. And even though she purged all these voters, she prosecuted no one for registering illegally under federal law. A federal investigation lasting 2 years focusing on the Southwest found not one single prosecutable case of voter fraud. Greg Plast covers the case in Arizona much better than I can. Conservative columnist Cal Thomas stated, “Democrats want more illegal immigrants in the country because they are a potential source of votes they hope will contribute to a permanent Democratic majority.”

But this should be of grave and immediate concern to Kansans. Kobach is convinced this law is fair, constitutional, and necessary. Of course he would: he helped write it. He said, “this law threads the needle perfectly.” The one that requires people who “look” undocumented to present papers proving otherwise? How does one “look” undocumented? And while Kobach says the law specifically forbids racial profiling, will law enforcement officers really be looking for white undocumented residents (or do they come through the Canadian border)?

Along with Arizona’s requirements that people registering to vote prove they are citizens when registering, this measure further pushes Latino residents and citizens – including the ones who cannot be deported for any reason – to the edges and out of community life. And pushing Latino citizens out of community life means (in the eyes of the Tea Party, at least) more conservative Republican wins.

Remember, Kobach wants to help introduce similar measures in Kansas. He runs around saying ACORN is committing massive voter fraud in Kansas, fraud that no one other than Kobach and his “sources” can find, including people investigating the claims. Kobach wants to disenfranchise voters right here in Kansas. This isn’t a problem for some other state that a court will handle: this is our future.

As Americans, we generally take a positive view of our electoral system. It seems as if all citizens can vote and vote easily, conveniently. While this is true for most citizens, it is not true for all of us. Our system intentionally and accidentally leaves many people out. Participation is discouraged, and even when one does vote, our votes seem not to matter. We ought to be doing everything we can to encourage more US citizens to vote and to have more options when voting. We should not follow the paranoid path of Kris Kobach and limit voting only to those who will vote the way we want them to.

The House Committee on Education and Labor released a list of 48 mines labeled by federal mine safety officials in August 2009 for “increased scrutiny.”  According to the site none of these mines have resolved these issues but have not been targeted “due to unresolved appeals filed by mine operators. The list includes the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia where 29 miners lost their lives in an explosion on April 5.”

The Bourbon County mine Garland Mine is on that list.  No word from Rep. Lynn Jenkins on whether or not we should check on if this mine is safe for people working in it.  I mean, its in her district but I’m sure she hasn’t visited or checked it out at all.  Probably not a big deal.

According to Committee Chairman George Miller:

“In the name of deep public interest, today I am releasing information important to the immediate health and safety of our nation’s miners. We owe it to the families of these fallen miners, all mining communities across the country, and the American people to ensure that all relevant information regarding potentially dangerous conditions at mines be made public, especially as investigations into the explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine continue. Mine operators who game the system to avoid tough scrutiny by federal safety officials must be held accountable,” said Miller.

The release continues:

Under current law, the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration issues a letter to frequent violators warning them that they may be sanctioned under a so-called ‘pattern of violation’. Once a mine is notified that they may be under a pattern of violation, the mine must take immediate actions to reduce future violations – approved by federal mine safety officials – or face drastic sanctions including mine closure for any future significant and substantial violation.

Again, probably not a big deal, we probably don’t need to worry too much about these places being safe, I’m sure they’re safe enough.  What’s the worst that could happen, right?

Additionally:

“In February, the committee held a hearing on how these flood of mine owner appeals of violations were undermining efforts to protect miners by delaying tougher sanctions. According to the Department of Labor,  once a mine is notified that they may be subject to a pattern of violation sanctions, mines reduced future citations of serious problems by 72 percent.

“In addition, MSHA also announced yesterday that a computer error prevented the Upper Big Branch mine from being notified that it could be subject to a potential pattern of violation. As the result of this disclosure, Miller and U.S. Reps. Nick Rahall (D-WV) and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) asked the Labor Department Inspector General to investigate.”

This week President Obama signed the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act. This common-sense reform that will generate an estimated $80 billion in savings by bypassing for-profit lenders in the loan process and will instead provide loans directly to students. This reform makes government more efficient and invests the savings in the education of young Americans without raising taxes or adding to the deficit, this is the largest investment in higher education in history that will put the country on track to have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020.

However the Kansas Republican delegation continues to put the interests of Wall Street, banks, and lenders ahead of the interest of Kansas students and their families. This law will not only make college more affordable but it will also save taxpayers billions of dollars.

The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act will eliminate wasteful subsidies to private bankers by switching to a system of direct lending of federal student loans.

It will make historic investments in America’s workforce by making college dramatically more affordable – at no cost to taxpayers. I will invest $36 billion over 10 years to increase the maximum annual Pell Grant scholarship to $5,550 in 2010 and to $5,975 by 2017. It will reduce the deficit by $68 billion over the next 11 years and meets Pay-As-You-Go fiscally responsible principles. By standing against this law Lynn Jenkins, Todd Tiahrt, Jerry Moran and Sam Brownback have once again turned their backs on the Kansans they represent. Once again their talk of Kansas values and fiscal responsibility has proven to be nothing but empty words.

It’s unfortunate they don’t support a law that will make government more efficient and effective, will allow more Kansans to pursue higher education at lower cost, and allow Kansan families to keep more of their money.

Colin Curtis

State President

Kansas Young Democrats

The Wichita Eagle, in today’s WichiTopekington government blog, pointed out an interesting historical Republican profile on the Kansas GOP’s website. It seems the Kansas GOP is proud that the first woman to serve in Congress, Montanan Jeanette Rankin, was a Republican.

The GOP’s “About Us” Section reads, albeit under its last bullet point:

Republican Women

Once again the Republican Party was the vanguard in relation to women. In 1917, Jeannette Rankin, a Montana Republican, became the first woman to serve in the House.

Thanks, though, to the Eagle’s talented Dion Lefler for doing the heavy lifting, discovering the real Jeanette Rankin.  We can’t do it any better than Lefler did…

Although Rankin (1880-1973) was a Republican and the first woman elected to Congress, her positions on issues bear little resemblance to contemporary Republican thinking in Kansas.

In fact, she was one of the most liberal members of Congress, well, ever.

Rankin was a dedicated pacifist who opposed US involvement in World War I and cast the only vote in Congress opposing US entry into World War II.

She also was the founding vice president of the American Civil Liberties Union and her name is attached to the Montana ACLU’s top award.

We’re guessing this little fact isn’t going to stop the Republican candidates in KS-04 from pointing out, as they have been prone to do in the past, KS-04 Democrat Raj Goyle’s past associations with the Maryland ACLU.  But, before those Republican candidates do start their Raj Goyle-ACLU bashing, they need to talk to the good folks at the Kansas GOP about who they promote as “Us” in the “About Us.”