Kansas Watchdog‘s Paul Soutar is in Massachusetts contributing to coverage of the special election for the United States Senate. Paul filed a report yesterday: Springfield Union Locals Come Out for Coakley.
He’s right in the thick of it, too. American Spectator reports in Coakley Supporters Try to Intimidate.
Video is at Martha Coakley Supporters Wrap Paul Soutar In Sign:
By James Meier of Lawrence.
For all the talk of “Big Tent,” it seems Republican Party officials have disregarded the idea that someday the tent would have to lean to the right rather than the left for the party to once again be successful.
On January 29th, the Republican National Committee will meet for a Hawaii convention, where members will potentially consider three resolutions that seek to put conservative principles back in place as a foundation for both the candidate and the voter.
Based on President Reagan’s belief that someone who agrees with him 80% of the time is his friend, the first resolution, called the “Reagan Resolution,” would require a candidate to agree with eight of ten issues that reflect the Republican Party platform before gaining RNC financial support. Quickly blasted as a litmus test by the opposition, the subsequent firestorm brought forth two more proposals that seek the same end but by different means.
The second resolution, called the “Voter Accountability Resolution,” was introduced that would give the RNC Chairman the power to consider a candidate’s “faithfulness” to conservative principles before doling out RNC cash.
And finally, the third resolution calls for conservative principles to be reinstituted, but fails to mention what will happen if that doesn’t come to pass.
After the failure of the RNC in New York’s 23rd district, the resolution that’s ultimately approved at the convention will send a clear message to Republican voters just how serious the RNC is about confronting the Obama agenda and embracing the Tea Party movement.
If the party learns but one thing from the spontaneous opposition to the Obama agenda, it should be that the nudge and wink, “Hey, we’re with you!” and the do-nothing days of the Bush era are over.
The prevailing political wisdom has always been that the party had to move to the “center” to win an election. But that notion has always depended on conservative voters staying with the party during that move. Those days are over, even if the RNC has yet to recognize it.
Quite frankly, if America is to continue down the path to mediocre socialism, I along with millions of other Americans have decided it would be better to take the Democrat express, all the while kicking and screaming in protest, than take the Republican Greyhound delusional that I’m somehow stopping the erosion of my everyday freedoms.
If Republicans desire to be in power again, they must understand that a candidate adhering to conservative principles is the only way to get there. The Reagan and Voter Accountability Resolutions seek just that.
But in an all too familiar wrinkle, some or all of the above resolutions may not be debated at all. RNC rules require a resolution to have sponsors from ten different states to be brought to the floor. The Reagan and Voter Accountability Resolutions both currently have the minimum ten, meaning one defector could scuttle both before they’re even brought to the floor.
Scared of being viewed as a litmus test, sponsors have been few and far between. It’s an accusation that Kansas Republicans have dealt with before. Faced with elected precinct leaders endorsing Democrats in general elections, the party passed rules that removed those people from office.
That episode has come and gone and the new rules have been used quite sparingly. And contrary to popular wisdom of the press and those opposed to the new rules, Kansas Republicans picked up a US House seat and gained 31 of 40 state Senate seats while the national party reeled from massive losses.
And Kansas isn’t alone.
Even the land of Al Franken and Tim Pawlenty recently recognized that a party standing for nothing doesn’t stand for long. The Minnesota Republican Party recently passed a resolution that aims to do just what the ten RNC sponsors seek as well. Kansas Republicans will consider a similar proposal a day after the RNC takes its vote.
For years party leaders have urged the support of all candidates, no matter how out of line their voting record was with party principles. Confident the center was where elections were won and fearful of being relegated to permanent minority status, it was power over principles at its worst. But as the 2010 elections near, it’s imperative that party leaders realize that supporting candidates that adhere to party principles is the only way to ensure that Republicans are successful in the future.
For Kansas’ part, Republican National Committeewoman Helen Van Etten is one of the ten sponsors. Kansas Republican Chairwoman Amanda Adkins and National Committeeman Mike Pompeo have not publicly stated a position on any of the three resolutions.
I’m confident that Kansas’ Committeewoman will stand strong against the tide. I hope that her nine counterparts will as well, for the good of the party and the nation.
The Great American Forum hosts another event: “Come hear our panelists discuss the failed policies of the first year of the Obama Administration, and common-sense solutions to fixing our country! The topics will be: Homeland Security & Defense (Ben Sauceda), Cap & Trade (Rick Macias), Healthcare (Kenya Cox), and Economics (Brandon Rudkin). There will be a question and answer period.”
Thursday, January 21, 2010 from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm, at Rhatigan Student Center Room 215 at Wichita State University.
There can be no doubt as to the depth of decline of the MSNBC cable television network: it’s deep. Host Ed Schultz didn’t say the following on the television network, he said it on his radio show. But the fact that MSNBC is okay with one of its on-air personalities advocating election fraud tells us all we need to know.
As reported on the Huffington Post:
“If I lived in Massachusetts, I’d try to vote ten times,” Schultz said on his radio show, The Ed Schultz Show.
“Yeah that’s right,” he went on. “I’d cheat to keep these bastards out. I would. Because that’s exactly what they are.”
Dorothy Rabinowitz of the Wall Street Journal editorial board retells the horrifying story of the Amirault family of Massachusetts. Martha Coakley is to blame, and is in no way fit to serve in any public office, much less the United States Senate:
Martha Coakley’s Convictions
The role played by the U.S. Senate candidate in a notorious sex case raises questions about her judgment.
Today, United States Representative from the first district of Kansas Jerry Moran will address the members and guests of the Wichita Pachyderm Club. Moran is running against Todd Tiahrt for the Republican nomination for the United States Senate from Kansas. Tiahrt spoke at the same event one week earlier.
All are welcome to attend Pachyderm club meetings. The program costs $10, which includes a delicious buffet lunch including salad, soup, two main dishes, and ice tea and coffee. The meeting starts at noon, although it’s recommended to arrive fifteen minutes early to get your lunch before the program starts.
The Wichita Petroleum Club is on the ninth floor of the Bank of America Building at 100 N. Broadway (north side of Douglas between Topeka and Broadway) in Wichita, Kansas (click for a map and directions). Park in the garage just across Broadway and use the sky walk to enter the Bank of America building. Bring your parking garage ticket to be stamped and your parking fee will be only $1.00. There is usually some metered and free street parking nearby.
News from alternative media around Kansas for January 11, 2010.
(Kansas Liberty) Not only do our state’s K through 12 schools resist efforts to become more efficient, so does our state’s flagship university: “Two weeks ago University of Kansas Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little complained in a Lawrence Journal World report that it was costing the university more than 1,000 hours of work to analyze how the school could implement recommendations to increase efficiency at the school.”
(Kansas Liberty) “In an unlikely pairing, Sen. John Vratil, R-Leawood, and Sen. Laura Kelly, D-Topeka, are working to promote a constitutional amendment that would require the state to put dollars into a ‘Rainy Day Fund’ in years when the state is prospering financially. Vratil and Kelly are promoting a Senate Concurrent Resolution that would mandate legislators set aside funds up to 7.5 percent of total of the state general fund during years when the state’s total revenue exceeds the previous year’s revenue by 3 percent or more.” Actually, the pairing may not be so unlikely, as Vratil has one of the senate’s most liberal voting records on fiscal issues.
(Kansas Liberty) “National Public Radio caught widespread attention this week after it posted a cartoon on its web page chiding and degrading the tea party movement. The left-wing promoting cartoon titled “Learn to Speak Tea Bag” is viewable on the news station’s opinion page.”
(State of the State Kansas) Coverage of a meeting of citizens with South-central Kansas legislators.
(Kansas Watchdog) Video coverage of a forum in Johnson County. “On Saturday at the Legislator Tax Forum held in Overland Park by Johnson County Republicans, Chris Stigall from the KCMO 710 Morning Show prodded seven legislators to answer this question: ‘Is there any tax you’d vote to raise this year potentially?’”
(Kansas Watchdog) “Citizens from South Central Kansas gave their legislators plenty of ideas and opinions to take to Topeka for the upcoming 2010 Legislative session. State Representatives and Senators from Wichita and the surrounding area listened as 31 citizens expressed their interests and opinions for nearly two hours Tuesday evening in the jury room of the Sedgwick County Courthouse in Wichita.”
(Kansas Watchdog) “In its first meeting of the New Year the USD259 Wichita School Board voted to support the effort by Schools for Fair Funding (SFFF), ‘to reopen the Montoy litigation and/or initiate new litigation against the State of Kansas …’ The vote was unanimous and will cost the district as much as $250,000, $5 per pupil, for fiscal year 2010.”
(Kansas Reporter) “TOPEKA, Kan. – Kansas’ projected budget deficit grew again in December, as state revenue collections fell $23 million short of projections. New figures released Wednesday by the Kansas Legislative Research Department show December tax revenues and other state income totaled about $513 million, or about 4.3 percent less than the $536 million that research analysts projected would be taken in.”
(Kansas Reporter) “TOPEKA, Kan. – Kansas schools representing more than 141,000 students plan next week to formally ask the state Supreme Court to reopen a decade-old lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of educational funding in the state, their attorney said Thursday.”
Friday and Saturday, January 29 and 30 at the Capitol Plaza Hotel in Topeka. Saturday is the most important day, with candidates for offices holding receptions starting at 9:30 am, the four congressional district meetings at 11:00 am, and the Kansas Republican Party State Committee Meeting from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm. There is a gala banquet Saturday evening at a cost of $50, but admission to the other events on Saturday is just $5.
With all the Republican primary elections in Kansas this year, Kansas Days is the place to be to meet candidates and Republicans from across the state. I’m told there will be the formal announcement of candidacy of at least one other Republican for statewide office.
Click on Kansas Day Club for more information.
News from alternative media around Kansas for January 4, 2010.
(Kansas Liberty) “At least 10 attorneys general will investigate Sen. Harry Reid’s decision to provide special advantages for Nebraska in exchange for the vote of Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb. Governors are also stepping forward and urging that action be taken against the Nelson-Reid arrangement. … For now, it does not appear that Kansas Gov. Mark Parkinson, or Kansas Attorney General Steve Six have any plans to challenge the agreement. Both Six and Parkinson are Democrats.” Related: Lawmakers urge Six to investigate constitutionality of federal health care bill.
(Kansas Liberty) “The majority of the 2010 Commission members have taken the stance that legislators must raise taxes to maintain a steady, massive infusion of taxpayer dollars into the state’s schools. However, one 2010 Commission member, Stephen Iliff, took a fundamentally different approach to the K-12 funding dilemma in his minority report, released last week.”
(Kansas Liberty) “The coalition seeks to reopen the Montoy v. State of Kansas court case instead of filing a new lawsuit. Rep. Lance Kinzer, R-Olathe, said it would be ‘exceedingly unusual’ for the courts to reopen the Montoy case because it had been dismissed in 2006.”
(Kansas Reporter) “What may become Kansas’ next big school funding fight may start in mid-to-late January, the lead attorney for a group of Kansas school districts protesting state budget cuts for education told KansasReporter. And when it will end is anybody’s guess, say observers who’ve watched similar disputes in other states.”
(Kansas Watchdog) “The 2010 Commission’s annual report to the 2010 Legislature asks for tax increases to provide more funding for K-12 education which, according to the report, ‘is the most important function of state government.’”
(Kansas Watchdog) “The first Kansas school district to complete an efficiency audit could save another $1 million a year even though it already spends less per pupil on non-instruction functions than similar districts. But the audit isn’t all good news. Derby, USD260, is one of only four of the state’s 293 districts to ask for an audit by the Legislative Division of Post Audit (LPA). State officials refused to require the audits and districts’ ongoing lack of adherence to accounting standards limits the ability to draw meaningful comparisons.”
(State of the state Kansas) “This week are looking at unemployment in Kansas and how new extended unemployment benefits could help over 8000 Kansans this winter. We spoke with Secretary of Labor Jim Garner about jobs and how he sees the future of the Kansas labor market.”
(Kansas Meadowlark) Some of the top stories around Kansas from 2009.