Voice For Liberty

Tag: Politics

  • ‘State of the State Kansas’ covers state with video

    Just a few weeks ago Kansas gained a new news-oriented website. State of the State Kansas is different from most news sites, as it focuses on providing long-format video coverage of issues and candidates. Rebecca Zepick founded State of the State Kansas. I visited with her last week and learned about the site and its goals.

    What inspired you to start the State of the State Kansas website?

    Zepick said that while working on John McCain’s presidential campaign, she handled booking campaign spokespeople — and even McCain and his wife — with statewide media in Iowa and other states. She found that television stations didn’t have political reporters. They had just general assignment reporters. So while she prepared her spokespeople for the toughest questions, reporters would ask simple questions like “How do you think John McCain is doing in Iowa?”

    These questions were easy for the campaign to deal with, but didn’t do a lot to provide the public with useful information. There wasn’t much analysis and skepticism.

    Additionally, producers were more interested in booking celebrities rather than discussing issues, but I thought that people were interested in the issues. “There has to be an underlying base of education for the general public, so that when a campaign comes along, you can have an intelligent discussion about policy issues.”

    Sometimes news seems to focus on the “horse race” aspect of campaigns — who’s up or down in the polls, etc.

    That type of coverage is easy to provide, she said. What’s more difficult to provide is educational content, and that is one of the site’s goals.

    Since State of the State Kansas contains primarily video content, what is different about video as compared to print or radio?

    There’s nothing like seeing a candidate face-to-face and watching them, to see if candidates know what they’re talking about and if they’re being evasive. With the video on State of the State Kansas, viewers can see a longer interview, and people can get to better know the motivations behind the candidates.

    What’s involved in processing the video you capture during an interview?

    Zepick said the hardware (Apple Macintosh computers) and software (the simpler version of a video editing program) she uses is inexpensive. The amount of time it takes to edit varies, depending on whether one or two cameras are used, and if slides with questions are edited into the video. But if required, video can be put on the site very quickly.

    From what I’ve seen of your site, it looks like you’ll select an issue, and then have speakers from both sides of the issue.

    Zepick said that in order to remove as much personal bias as possible, she asks simple questions such as “Why do you feel so strongly about this?” Then, let them explain themselves with as little interference from the reporter as possible. For now, Zepick says she’s letting segments run long so that people can become educated and investigate issues for themselves.

    I asked a question about how it seems that often people on different sides of an issue can’t even agree on a basic set of facts. Zepick said that can be a problem. Suppose an interview subject cites a statistic. If she is not an expert in the subject matter, her hope is that other media sources will be able to watch the videos and call out inaccuracies. This is also why it’s important to talk to both sides. Personal stories are different, however, as they are based on experiences, not objective facts.

    What about the declining resources available to traditional news media?

    Television and newspapers have seen a decline in viewers and advertising, she said. This may have lead to a decline in some aspects of news coverage such a longer feature pieces. That, however, has lead to an increase in the ratings for shows like “60 Minutes,” which feature longer and more in-depth reporting.

    Zepick mentioned the term “fractured media,” and that people may be confused as to which are reliable sources for news. But in a democracy, she said, the more voices, the better. It’s more confusing than in the days of the three major networks, but ultimately better for the people.

    From Zepick’s experience working on major political campaigns, I learned that the typical campaign interview we see on television is not a freewheeling affair. Usually ground rules are established, such as the topics to be talked about — and topics not to be covered.

  • Betty Arnold’s Sedgwick County Commission race: running uphill

    Last week Betty Arnold, a member of the board of USD 259, the Wichita public school district, declared her intent to be a candidate for the Sedgwick County Commission. She’ll be running for the spot currently held by Republican Dave Unruh, who has already filed for re-election.

    Arnold, a Democrat, faces an uphill battle, based on registration figures. In this district, my analysis of a recent voter file shows voter registration runs 29% Democratic, 45% Republican, and 26% unaffiliated. (The remainder are Libertarian and Reform party registrants.)

    Considering recent voters — I defined this as those who voted in an election in 2008 — the numbers are worse for Arnold. In this case, 30% are Democratic, 21% are unaffiliated, and the Republican number jumps to 49%.

    It’s hard to figure out what Arnold could do to persuade Republican voters to support her. Her vote for a property tax increase, her recommendation that voters approve an expensive and unneeded bond issue, and her anti-school choice stance are not positions that will appeal to conservatives and those who value freedom and liberty, be they Republican, unaffiliated, or of any other party.

    If the only Republican candidate (incumbent Dave Unruh) consistently took conservative positions, Arnold might have a case to make to moderate Republicans. But Unruh’s vote for a tax increase, his support for the downtown arena tax, and his support of TIF districts and other taxpayer giveaways such as the AirTran subsidy place him firmly in the moderate Republican camp — making it difficult for Arnold to peel off potentially left-leaning Republicans or unaffiliated voters.

    Top off this with the likelihood that next year could be a big year for Republicans locally and nationwide, and Arnold starts off way behind.

    It’s still possible that Unruh may face a challenge in the Republican primary. Efforts have been made to recruit a candidate, and there is one well-known conservative Republican thought to be looking at the race. Last year’s take-down of moderate Republican commissioner Tom Winters in the August primary by Karl Peterjohn will be very difficult to replicate, as Unruh has shown signs that he has been preparing for the campaign.

  • Goyle holds campaign kick-off event in Old Town

    In front of a crowd of enthusiastic supporters at the Pumphouse in Old Town Wichita, Kansas House of Representatives member Raj Goyle held a kick-off event for his campaign for the United States Congress from the fourth district of Kansas.

    In his brief remarks, Goyle said that after receiving his education out-of-state, he — unlike many young people — came back to Kansas. He told how outside Kansas, out state’s perception is not what we know it should be. The perception is that we’re not forward-thinking or dynamic. So he decided to run for the Kansas House of Representatives in 2006, from a district that had never elected a Democrat.

    He mentioned his work and leadership in passing legislation limiting the ability of Fred Phelps and members of his church from disruptively protesting funerals of soldiers.

    He also mentioned his advocacy in passing a bill that allowed Kansas to accept $70 million in federal stimulus money to extend unemployment benefits.

    He mentioned that he has never missed a vote in the Kansas House He said he has never taken a free personal meal from a lobbyist, nor has he accepted a taxpayer-funded trip.

    Goyle said that the American dream is in jeopardy, and is slowly slipping away, and that he will work every day to make sure that dream is “as available to you as it was for me.”

    He told young people that they should not have to choose between a well-paying, high-quality job and leaving Wichita.

    Analysis

    As Goyle has no serious challenger in the primary, and as he is unlikely to draw a challenger with name recognition and the ability to raise money, it’s a bit of a puzzle as to why he’s hitting the campaign trail so soon, some 11 months before the primary. The real action in the fourth district Congressional race in is the crowded Republican primary field.

    Goyle’s talk was short on substantive discussion of issues, which is probably the strategy I’d follow if I had no serious primary opposition and was speaking to an audience of enthusiastic supporters.

    I attended the event with my colleague John Todd, and as far as we could tell, we were the only non-Democrats in attendance. My presence caused a few tweets on Twitter, one remarking “Oh dear lord!” at my presence. Most of the Democrats I talked to were cordial — including the candidate himself — except for one quite disagreeable union activist who assumed I was there to collect dirt on Goyle, assumed I supported President Obama’s heckler, and painted me as a racist simply because I belong to the same party as Lynn Jenkins, she of the “great white hope” remark.

  • American Liberty Tour stop added in Salina

    It’s coming to Kansas City, and now a stop has been added in Salina.

    It’s the American Liberty Tour, which “seeks to bring together and support a new and dynamic breed of citizen activists borne of the desire to preserve personal and economic freedom.” It’s a collaborative effort of some great freedom-loving organizations: American Liberty Alliance, American Majority, Americans for Limited Government and the Sam Adams Alliance.

    The stop in Kansas City next Wednesday has always been in the plan, and now on Tuesday evening, the tour will stop in Salina. The web page for this event is American Liberty Tour Stop: Salina, KS.

  • Americans fail basic test on history and institutions

    If you took a test covering basic questions about American heritage and civics, how do you think you would do? Do you think college freshmen should be able to pass such a test?

    You can take the test to see how well you score. But for college freshmen and seniors, the average result is barely more than half the questions answered correctly.

    This test, created and administered by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, is not difficult. Some questions are so basic that everyone should be able to answer them correctly. Some are more subtle, including the one I missed. But for college freshmen — people who have, for the most part, just graduated from America’s public schools — the inability to answer nearly all these questions correctly is an embarrassing indictment.

    The results of the test show that there’s little difference between liberals and conservatives in their understanding of American civics, with liberals answering 49% of the questions correctly; conservatives 48%.

    By testing students at the end of their college careers, ISI found that college adds very little to students’ knowledge of these matters.

    Perhaps the most amazing finding relates to elected officeholders: “Officeholders typically have less civic knowledge than the general public. On average, they score 44%, five percentage points lower than non-officeholders.”

    You can learn more about this test and its conclusions — and take the test yourself — at American Civic Literacy Program. The test is 33 questions, and you’ll get your score, along with the questions you missed, right away.

  • Pachyderms to host panel on Republican Party’s future

    At this Friday’s meeting of the Wichita Pachyderm Club, the topic is “What does the Republican Party have to look like to be successful in 2010?”

    This meeting will feature a panel of

    • Kelly Arnold: Sedgwick County Republican Party Chair
    • Jason Watkins: State Representative for 105th district
    • Dave Trabert: President of the Flint Hills Center for Public Policy
    • Derrick Sontag: Kansas State Director Americans for Prosperity.

    The moderator will be John Todd, Vice President, Wichita Pachyderm Club.

    Each panelist will be asked to make a 2 to 3 minute introductory comment, followed by group discussion with the audience.

    All are welcome to attend Pachyderm meetings. Lunch is $10, or you may attend the meeting only for $3. The meeting starts at noon, although those wishing to order lunch are encouraged to arrive by 11:45. The location is Whiskey Creek Steakhouse at 233 N. Mosley in Old Town. You can view a map of this location by clicking on Google map of 233 N. Mosley.

  • Dale Swenson, tea party critic, a barrel of laughs

    Today’s Wichita Eagle contains a story (Tea party organizers: We paid for event) covering the dust-up between a member of the Kansas House of Representatives and tea party organizers.

    The state representative — Dale Swenson, a Democrat whose district covers parts of southwest Wichita — said of the tea party event: “We need taxes to support their protests.”

    Today’s Eagle story reports on organizer Lynda Tyler’s expenditures necessary to put on the event. It’s much the same information as in her statement presented in my post Wichita tea party paid its expenses from Sunday.

    In his defense, Swenson told the Eagle “I was just being funny.”

    Actually, joking around might be a believable defense in Swenson’s case. For example, last November he was re-elected to the Kansas House as a Republican. Then, just two months later, he decided he was really a Democrat and switched parties. I wonder if the voters in his district think that was a funny joke.

    When running for the Kansas House for the first time in 1994, Swenson, according to a profile in the Wichita Eagle, was in favor of 12-year term limits for the Legislature and Congress. He must have been joking around then, because as is the case with many politicians who are initially in favor of term limits, he decided that term limits are just a funny joke, too.

  • Astroturfers get benefits

    The headline at Michele McGinty’s blog reads Wow! Lefty astroturfers get benefits! Who could have figured?

    Here’s the video she’s referring to:

  • Wichita tea party paid its expenses

    After Friday’s American Tea Party in Wichita, complaints rolled in. The Wichita Eagle article reporting on the event drew over 200 comments, many complaining about one or another aspect of over 700 people gathering for a peaceful event.

    In particular, the squawking of one member of the Kansas House of Representatives only revealed the ignorance of the speaker in his attempt at finding irony. As reported on the Wichita Eagle’s editorial blog: “‘We need taxes to support their protests.’ — Rep. Dale Swenson, D-Wichita, about how Friday’s anti-tax tea party was held at the county-owned and taxpayer-supported Sedgwick County Park.”

    As reported in the following submission by event organizer Lynda Tyler, the tea party paid quite a sum in order to use the park.

    Those who came to the TEA party had an enjoyable evening. The compliments were 10 to 1 over complaints and frankly those were all valid complaints that could only have been fixed with more resources.

    What gets me are those who like to hide behind their computer and nip at the ankles of those who are actually getting off their buttocks and doing something. Even if that something is waving a flag and socializing with like minded individuals. But there are two reoccurring comments that are really getting to me and I would like to address them.

    One is the criticisms is the “irony” of holding the event at a public park. They claim that the “taxpayers paid for our protest.” Taxpayers paid for our protest about as much as they pay for any other event held out there. We were charged a large event rental of the property of $310. Since we were following the laws and contracts we had to pay for our own $500,000 liability insurance policy to protect the public lands against damage. That policy cost $682. Then instead of depending on tax paid facilities our contract with the county required we supply our own portable restrooms, trash bins and trash pickup of $580. The county sheriff’s department required that we hire two off duty officers for $240. During setup we discovered that there is barely enough power there to run a hair dryer so we had to rent a generator to run the food vendors for another $72. So all in all our “public park” cost us $1,884 to use. Did any of you pay that for your kids’ birthday party or to walk your dog out there?

    Now had we done this the way most liberal protests we have seen over the years, we would have gone downtown (without permits), walked down the middle of the street during rush hour (blocking traffic), assaulted those in opposition (like the police), turned over and set fire to any cars that got in the way (destroyed property), thrown rocks through business windows (destroying property without insurance), and the county (tax payer) would not only have to pay for the clean up but for the police who had to use riot gear to stop the protest and then the expenses of arresting some protesters, pay for their public defender attorney and possibly pay for their room and board while the protester was in jail.

    None of that happened at our TEA Party. All were welcome and nobody got hurt, arrested, or assaulted. There was very little trash to pick up after it was over and the vendors and groups were all very happy. We had people of opposing views there and they were treated with respect and welcomed to participate.