Voice For Liberty

Tag: Sam Brownback

  • Kansas and Wichita quick takes: Monday October 11, 2010

    Moran at Wichita Pachyderm: This Friday’s speaker at the Wichita Pachyderm Club is current United States Representative and Republican Party Senate nominee Jerry Moran. As a large audience is expected, please arrive by 11:45 to get your buffet lunch in time for the noon start (the larger meeting room will be used). Cost is $10, which includes lunch.

    Wichita, get control of incentives: Rhonda Holman’s lead editorial in yesterday’s Wichita Eagle urged caution and restraint in Wichita’s use of tax incentives — a welcome message not expected from the Eagle. One conservative wrote to me: “I am stunned to find myself to be largely in agreement with today’s editorial by Rhonda Holman. Wow.” The editorial was critical of past city policy and practice, with Holman referring to special taxing districts as “tax tricks.” On the need for public investment in downtown, she wrote “the city must ensure its use of special taxing districts is strategic, fair, farsighted and defensible.” Whether our present political and bureaucratic leadership can accomplish this is, in my opinion, unlikely.

    Rasmussen key polls from last week: California Senate moves from “leans Democrat” to “toss-up” … Most Americans feel Nobel prizes are political … Harry Reid’s son trails in race for Nevada governor … Cyber bullying seen equally dangerous as physical bullying.

    Kansas initiative and referendum: The Wichita Eagle takes a look at initiative and referendum. A focus of the article is Secretary of State candidates Chris Biggs and Kris Kobach, which is a little misplaced, as they don’t have a say in whether Kansas has I&R, although they would administer the process and Kobach has made it a campaign issue. Key takeaways: “States with initiatives spend and tax less than states without them.” Politicians of both stripes hate I&R, with Kansas Senate President Steve Morris — a big-spending, big-taxing, liberal Republican — hating the idea, according to the article. Same for Speaker of the Kansas House of Representatives Mike O’Neil, a conservative. Not reported in the article is one of the first things the people may do in states that have I&R: impose term limits on their elected officials, an idea most of the political class hates.

    China Emerges as a Scapegoat in Campaign Ads: The New York Times reports: “With many Americans seized by anxiety about the country’s economic decline, candidates from both political parties have suddenly found a new villain to run against: China. … Democrats and Republicans are blaming one another for allowing the export of jobs to its economic rival.” Kansas fourth district Congressional hopeful Democrat Raj Goyle is mentioned as one of 29 candidates using China as a foil in campaign ads, just in case you thought Goyle’s attacks were novel. But the issue is murky, as the Times notes: “Never mind that there is hardly any consensus as to what exactly constitutes outsourcing and how many of the new overseas jobs would have stayed in American hands.”

    Regulation — Baptists and Bootleggers: “Here is the essence of the theory: durable social regulation evolves when it is demanded by both of two distinctly different groups. ‘Baptists’ point to the moral high ground and give vital and vocal endorsement of laudable public benefits promised by a desired regulation. Baptists flourish when their moral message forms a visible foundation for political action. ‘Bootleggers’ are much less visible but no less vital. Bootleggers, who expect to profit from the very regulatory restrictions desired by Baptists, grease the political machinery with some of their expected proceeds. They are simply in it for the money. The theory’s name draws on colorful tales of states’ efforts to regulate alcoholic beverages by banning Sunday sales at legal outlets. Baptists fervently endorsed such actions on moral grounds. Bootleggers tolerated the actions gleefully because their effect was to limit competition.” From Bruce Yandle, Bootleggers and Baptists in Retrospect. A podcast on the topic is Bruce Yandle on Bootleggers and Baptists.

    Obama fails education: From Three Reasons Obama’s Education Vision Fails at Reason: “While he brags constantly about his Race to the Top initiative, in which states competed for $4 billion to fund innovative programs, he’s spent more than $80 billion in no-strings-attached stimulus funds to maintain the educational status quo.” Obama also killed a school choice program in Washington, and has snuggled up to the teachers unions with a stimulus bill to preserve and add union teacher jobs “despite the fact that there are already more teachers per student than ever.” The status quo describes outgoing Kansas Governor Mark Parkinson and his education “vision.” Not that presumptive incoming governor Sam Brownback is a radical on school reform, however. His education plans are quite tepid and not likely to produce the results Kansas schoolchildren need.

    Wichita Eagle Opinion Line: “If Kansans want lower taxes and less government, why are there so many homeowners’ associations here?” I guess the distinction between government and voluntary action escapes this person.

  • Political site FiveThirtyEight looks at polls, statistics

    The political website FiveThirtyEight provides an innovative look at political forecasting and also supplies useful information about candidates and political districts.

    The site FiveThirtyEight.com was active during the 2008 campaign season. Now it is a feature of the New York Times and can be accessed at fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com. The name comes from from the number of electors in the United States electoral college.

    FiveThirtyEight uses a variety of methods to arrive at its results, including polls, where polls are weighted by several factors including recency, sample size, and the polling firm’s track record. Some polls are considered so unreliable that they are not included. The weighted polls results are adjusted by several factors, including a trendline adjustment and likely voter adjustment.

    The data is further adjusted by factors such as the state’s Partisan Voting Index, individual monetary contributions received, and “a variable representing stature, based on the highest elected office that the candidate has held.”

    There are additional steps in the analysis. Finally, the FiveThirtyEight procedures uses simulation, where various factors are considered randomly over a large number of trials.

    When FiveThirtyEight reports its results, it also calculates the probability that a candidate will win the election. It might forecast, for example, that a candidate will finish with 55 percent of the vote, with the probability of winning at 85 percent. Winning, of course, means that the candidate gets at least one more vote than the closest opponent — no margin of victory is implied in the probability.

    The site is also a useful repository of information such as voting record in selected issues, campaign finance, district demographics, and previous election results.

    The FiveThirtyEight site doesn’t say this, but we can easily surmise that the lead that some candidates currently enjoy is the result of not only the policy positions of the candidate and the political landscape of the district, but importantly the product of the campaign the candidates have waged so far. Candidates with leads need to realize this and keep up their efforts.

    FiveThirtyEight forecasts for Kansas

    In Kansas, here are the results FiveThirtyEight forecasts:

    For United States Senate: Democrat Lisa Johnston 31.2 percent; Republican Jerry Moran 66.2 percent. The probability of a Moran win is 100 percent. This forecast has held steady over time.

    For Kansas Governor: Republican Sam Brownback 60.5 percent; Democrat Tom Holland 37.6 percent. Probability of a Brownback victory is 99.9 percent. The vote difference has been narrowing very slightly, but the probability of a Brownback win is still overwhelming.

    For U.S. Congress, District 1: Republican Tim Huelskamp 72.7 percent; Democrat Alan Jilka 24.5 percent. Probability of a Huelskamp win is 100 percent.

    For U.S. Congress, District 2: Democrat Cheryl Hudspeth 35.6 percent; Incumbent Republican Lynn Jenkins 62.8 percent. Probability of a Jenkins win is 100 percent.

    For U.S. Congress, District 3: Democrat Stephene Moore 42.5 percent; Republican Kevin Yoder 55.0 percent. Probability of a Yoder victory is 92.7 percent. This is the only Kansas Congressional district that is remotely competitive, described as “leaning Republican.” Yoder’s margin has been increasing very slightly.

    For U.S. Congress, District 4: Democrat Raj Goyle 36.5 percent; Republican Mike Pompeo 61.0 percent. Probability of a Pompeo victory is 99.9 percent. Pompeo’s lead over Goyle has been growing since the September 17th version of the model for this contest. These results don’t include the SurveyUSA poll of just a few days ago, which showed Pompeo’s lead over Goyle widening.

  • School choice solution to Kansas school funding

    In its search to find a solution to the problem of funding its government schools, Kansas is overlooking a sure solution: widespread school choice.

    While proponents of public school spending argue that school choice programs drain away dollars from needy, underfunded public schools, this is not the case.

    In 2007 The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice released the study School Choice by the Numbers: The Fiscal Effect of School Choice Programs, 1990-2006. According to the executive summary: “Every existing school choice program is at least fiscally neutral, and most produce a substantial savings.”

    How can this be? The public school spending lobby, which in Kansas is primarily the Kansas National Education Association (KNEA, the teachers union) and the Kansas Association of School Boards (KASB), would have us believe that educational freedom would kill public education. They say that school choice program drain scarce resources from the public school system.

    But when researchers looked at the actual effects, they found this: “In nearly every school choice program, the dollar value of the voucher or scholarship is less than or equal to the state’s formula spending per student. This means states are spending the same amount or less on students in school choice programs than they would have spent on the same students if they had attended public schools, producing a fiscal savings.”

    So at the state level, school choice programs save money. They don’t cost money to implement; they save money.

    At the local level, schools districts have more money, on a per-student basis, when school choice programs are used: “When a student uses school choice, the local public school district no longer needs to pay the instructional costs associated with that student, but it does not lose all of its per-student revenue, because some revenue does not vary with enrollment levels. Thus, school choice produces a positive fiscal impact for school districts as well as for state budgets.”

    According to news reports, no Kansas legislators are proposing school choice programs — not even an expansion of charter schools — as a solution to school finance. Sam Brownback, Republican candidate for governor, does not include school choice in his program to reform Kansas education. Democratic candidate Tom Holland proposes more spending on the current failing system.

    Only Libertarian Party candidate Andrew Gray proposes school choice, through the Kansas Education Liberty Act.

  • Next Democrat Strategy: The October Surprise?

    A guest Op-Ed by Sue C.

    So far this election cycle Democrat strategies used against Republicans have included demonization, fear mongering, racism accusations, and voting record fabrications. None of which seem to be working well (here), proving that most people distrust not only politicians but also the liberal media. Regardless, we need to be prepared for the next level of attack: The Democrat October Surprise.

    I predict that this tactic will be widely used this fall. Expect it to be delivered within days of the election. Timing will be crucial. Democrats will want to ensure that the “surprise” inflicts the most possible damage to their opponent. Truly, Democrats must play this card, because their “accomplishments” since 2008 are so offensive to most Americans they don’t dare run on them.

    Not only are the Liberals running away from their records, they are even hiding from their party’s leaders. (See Fewer Democrats Turning To Obama For Campaign Help, Almost all Democratic Senate candidates would welcome Obama , and Barack Obama Tacitly Acknowledges He is Now a Pariah and the Democrats Are Screwed in 2010). Some even choosing to be “out of town” when fundraisers for them are held.

    The Washington Examiner recently stated that the Democrat party is “triaging” races. This includes pulling money away from the races they are behind in, and putting up “fire walls” on the salvageable candidates. Here in Kansas, we have seen the Democratic Governors Association pull away funding for Democrat Gubernatorial candidate Tom Holland, who lags in the polls behind Sen. Sam Brownback, the Republican candidate.

    Just what could these October surprises against Republican candidates include? It is any one’s guess. Staffers are most likely working overtime to uncover anything they can use to destroy their opponents. They will strike close to election day, when time constraints make it difficult to mount a defense.

    To lessen the impact of this mud-slinging, one pundit suggests we “hold a contest to see who comes up with the most creative suggestion for what the Dems might do.” An interesting concept, although it sounds a bit flippant for something so grave.

    History has shown the October Surprise to be a serious threat. Its potential for inflicting damage to a Republican candidate must not be ignored. Accomplices in the liberal media will assist in the destruction with biased news coverage.

    We must remember that being forewarned allows us to be forearmed. “Be prepared” may be a good motto to adopt. November is coming, but we have to get through October first!

  • Americans believe teachers should be paid based on merit

    A Gallup poll finds that Americans overwhelmingly believe that teacher salary should be paid “on the basis of the quality of his/her work.” 72 percent of public school parents believe this.

    A related question asked “How closely should a teacher’s salary he tied to his/her students’ academic achievement?” 75 percent of public school parents answered either “very” or “somewhat closely tied.”

    Then, 78 percent of parents answered “yes” to this question: “Do you have trust and confidence in the men and women who are teaching children in the public schools?”

    Taken together, the responses to these question indicated that Americans like the people who teach their children, but may have a problem with public school administration and unions. After all, it’s administrators and unions that are responsible for the way teachers are paid. The unions vigorously resist any attempt at starting merit pay programs.

    President Barack Obama has said that merit pay is important, but doesn’t seem to push it very hard. In Kansas, Republican candidate for governor Sam Brownback has proposed a master teacher program, which is a very weak form of merit pay.

    Democratic candidate Tom Holland doesn’t mention teacher merit pay on his website. It would be surprising if he supported any ideas that the education establishment in Kansas opposes.

    Libertarian Andrew Gray promotes the Kansas Education Liberty Act. This does not specifically mention teacher merit pay, but it proposes an expansion of school choice in Kansas. This means more charter and private schools, where teachers are usually paid based on merit.

    Merit pay is important. Why? Research is conclusive in showing that teacher effects are the most important factor in student achievement that is under the control of schools. The best teachers need to be rewarded, and the worst ushered out of the field or into improvement programs.

    The education establishment in Kansas, however, does not believe in this. Their prescription is more of the same: more spending, more buildings, and basing pay on measures that have been shown to have little or no significance to quality teaching: longevity and education credentials gained.

    As the Gallup poll shows, Americans like their teachers but believe they should be paid based on merit, just like almost all other workers. It’s the education establishment that stands in the way of meaningful reform. In Kansas the two most prominent faces of the education establishment and maintaining the failing status quo are the Kansas National Education Association (KNEA, the teachers union) and the Kansas Association of School Boards (KASB).

  • Brownback paves plan for Kansas education reform

    Last week near Emporia Sam Brownback, surrounded by Kansas educators and legislators, laid out the start of his plan for improving Kansas education if he is elected governor.

    His opponents in the race for Kansas Governor are Reform Party candidate Ken Cannon, Libertarian Andrew Gray, and Democrat Tom Holland. Mark Parkinson, the incumbent, decided not to run.

    In his remarks, Brownback said that education is “primary function of the state.” While Kansas has excellent schools, he said that more innovation is needed.

    In the area of teachers, Brownback wants more mentoring opportunities available to young teachers. He supports a master teacher plan that offers higher salaries to teachers who “provide models of excellence within their schools.” He also called for alternative teacher certification programs that allow those who did not follow the traditional teacher education and certification path to become teachers.

    On funding, Brownback said that Kansas school funding formula needs revision. He called for an end to school finance litigation, saying that school finance is the responsibility of the legislature, local school boards, and voters, but not the courts. A focus of a new funding formula will be on getting dollars into the classroom, he added.

    One of the five key benchmarks in Brownback’s administration will be fourth grade reading achievement. He cited National Assessment of Educational Progress scores that indicate 28 percent of fourth-graders fail to achieve a “basic” score. “If you can’t read, your world starts closing in around you. But if you can read your world starts opening up,” he said. Fourth grade is a key time to measure reading, he added.

    He also called for a refocused emphasis on career and technical education, citing a wind turbine program at Cloud County Community College. With innovative programs like this, he said it is unacceptable that any child would drop out of school.

    Brownback said that it is crucial that we find ways to support our higher education system. He said he would highlight and support the work of community and technical colleges, stabilize funding for public universities, support the national cancer institute designation at KU, building the national bio and agri-defense facility at KSU, the Kansas Polymer Research Center at Pittsburg State University, and the National Center for Aviation Research at Wichita State University.

    In response to a question, Brownback said he is not looking to redefine the state’s responsibility for funding education as mandated by the Kansas Constitution. He said he wants to get more money into the classroom. The disputes we’ve had should not be resolved by the courts, he added. The percentage has not been as high as he thinks it could be.

    He added that if local taxpayers vote to spend more on local schools, he would support that and allow them to do that. Currently the local option budget formula places a limit on how much local districts can add to what the state allocates.

    Continuing, Brownback said the problem with school funding is the Kansas formula. The money is not getting in the classroom, as there are too many “nooks and crannies” in the formula. He would focus on renovating the formula, he added.

    Another question mentioned two reforms that some states are using and the Obama administration supports — charter schools and teacher merit pay — and noted that these reforms are absent from the plan presented today. Brownback replied that the master teacher program is a form of increased pay for highly qualified and gifted teachers. On charter schools, Brownback said that additional proposals may be rolled out, and that he didn’t want to lay out everything in one day.

    The complete press release announcing the plan may be read at the Brownback campaign website.

    Commentary

    If we wonder why conservatives are not fully gung-ho for Sam Brownback, the education plan provides a few reasons why. The two missing reforms asked about (the questioner was me) — charter schools and teacher merit pay — are popular with conservatives, but vigorously opposed by the existing Kansas education establishment, especially the teachers union.

    The master teacher pay plan proposed by Brownback is a long away from merit pay. Under a master teacher plan, it seems like a relatively small number of teachers would be rewarded. Merit pay usually means that all teachers are paid according to their effectiveness, as is the case with most workers, especially professionals.

    I didn’t get a chance to ask another question about another reform battle that is being waged: teacher tenure reform. But it seems like the relatively meek reforms proposed by Brownback indicate a candidate who would not be willing to take on the teachers unions over the issue of tenure.

    Brownback’s reliance on the NAEP scores as a measure of student achievement is refreshing, as the Kansas school establishment would like to ignore this test. The NAEP is a more rigorous test than the Kansas-administered tests. According to figures at the Kansas State Department of Education, in 2009 87.2 percent of Kansas fourth graders were reading at a level the department considers “at or above standard.” This number has been increasing at the same time the NAEP score are mostly flat. Brownback didn’t talk about this discrepancy, but if he is willing to advocate for an honest measurement of Kansas schoolchildren, that would be a big step.

    Brownback’s advocacy for allowing local school districts to vote for more school spending is sure to be vigorously opposed unless the money is “equalized.” In the Kansas House this year, there was a proposal to let counties charge an additional sales tax to be given to the school districts in the county. A Johnson County — a large, wealthy county — legislator proposed the measure, which was vigorously opposed by counties without Johnson county’s wealth. If some of the money raised by a Johnson county sales tax was shipped to poorer counties through the equalization formula, the opposition would disappear, almost certainly.

    An interesting commentary on the coverage of Brownback and Holland and their education proposals is at the Kansas Republican Assembly blog: Analyze this: Opinion masquerading as news.

    More about Brownbacks plan from the Kansas Education: Public Policy in Kansas and Beyond blog is at Sen. Brownback offers weak tea of reforms.

  • Holland/Kultala ticket endorsed by Kansas Governor Parkinson

    At an event this afternoon in Wichita, bipartisanship and reaching across the aisle — plus some Sam Brownback bashing — was the theme as outgoing Kansas Governor Mark Parkinson endorsed the team of Kansas Senator Tom Holland of Baldwin City and fellow Senator Kelly Kultala of Kansas City for the Democratic Party nomination for Kansas governor.

    Parkinson, who became governor last year when Kathleen Sebelius took a position in the Obama cabinet, declined to seek election to his current office. The Holland/Kultala ticket will not face opposition on the August 3rd primary election ballot. The likely Republican nominees are Sam Brownback and Kansas Senator Jeff Colyer as lieutenant governor.

    In his remarks, Parkinson said that Kansas has made “remarkable progress” in the last eight years in working through a recession, creating jobs, and “bringing people of all parties together.” He said that Holland would continue that work.

    He told the audience that Holland is a successful businessman, experience that he said Holland’s likely opponent did not have. He said that Holland has a record of working with people of all parties, and that Holland has worked for Kansans in the legislature.

    He praised Holland’s and Kultala’s role as leaders in passing the budget this year.

    Parkinson said the election will be an “uphill climb,” but that a Holland/Kultala victory is possible.

    Holland said that the next governor will need to work with the coalition of moderate Republicans and Democrats, who he said have been leading the legislature for the last few years. He said that only he and Kultala — the “moderate and pragmatic leadership” — can continue with this tradition.

    He blasted Brownback as a “career Washington politician” who deregulated the banks and “put the Kansas economy in a tailspin.” He said Brownback opposed the budget this year, and he opposed paying for the transportation plan.

    He said that Brownback “sits on the extreme fringe of his party” and has no interest in working with moderate Republicans or Democrats.

    In a question after the event, Parkinson expressed confidence that the increase in the sales tax that took effect today will roll back in three years as scheduled, despite the failure of a sales tax increased passed in 2002 to live up to its rollback schedule.

    Parkinson also said he did not know of Larry J. Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, who was recently critical of Parkinson’s decision not to seek election to his current office, saying he “left his party high and dry.” In his analysis Sabato described the Kansas Democratic party as “imploding.”

    Analysis

    Holland makes the argument that he and Kultala are “pragmatic and moderate.” Evidence from the candidate’s voting records is different, however. In the Kansas Economic Freedom Index for this year, Holland earned a score of zero, the only senator to do so. Kultala earned a score of seven percent, earning her a tie for 36th place among the 40 senators. She voted in favor of economic freedom only once.

    In a score card just released by the Kansas Chapter of Americans for Prosperity, Holland again earned a score of zero percent. Kultala matched that “perfect” score.

    It might seem that someone interested in bipartisanship and reaching across the aisle might vote that way just once in a while.

    As to the governor’s portrayal of Holland and Kultala as leaders reaching across the aisle, background discussions with several Republican members of the Kansas Senate could produce no recollection of any significant issue where Holland or Kultala played a leadership role. Both have served in the Senate for just two years and are in the minority party.

    The portrayal of Brownback as “fringe” must be examined. Brownback’s record in the U.S. Senate, according to National Journal vote ratings for 2009, places him near the middle of Senate Republicans in terms of voting for conservative positions.

  • Brownback, Colyer announce in Wichita

    On Tuesday, United States Senator Sam Brownback formally filed to become a candidate for the Republican party nomination to be governor of Kansas. He also introduced his running mate.

    On Friday, it was speculated that Kansas Senator Jeff Colyer was Brownback’s selection to run on the ticket for lieutenant governor. Suspense was largely eliminated when a reader of Hawver’s Capital Report noted that the location scheduled in Hays for a campaign stop was Colyer’s high school.

    On Tuesday morning in Overland Park, it was made official: Colyer is the nominee for lieutenant governor.

    In a late Tuesday afternoon campaign stop in Wichita, Wichita City Council Member Sue Schlapp introduced Brownback to the audience. Schlapp is one of four leaders of Brownback’s statewide committee and state co-chair of the campaign.

    Schlapp said that Brownback coming back to Kansas is “good news.” She said that Brownback is business-friendly, saying that she agreed with him that “you can’t tax yourself into prosperity.” She told the audience that “Sam listens” and follows through, getting things done.

    She noted that Brownback is fulfilling his pledge to serve no more than two terms as United States Senator.

    In his remarks, Brownback said that Kansas is home. For the last 15 years, he said he’s commuted to Washington as he represented Kansas in both the United States House and the Senate, but “Kansas has always been home, and it’s still home.”

    Brownback said that in his time in public service, the most effective campaign and governing document he’s seen was the “Contract With America.” This was a set of proposals that were laid out in a campaign, and then used to govern, he said. Brownback said the he will soon present a “Roadmap for Kansas.” This, he said, will be a series of detailed policy proposals which will be used in the campaign and then used to govern from.

    The thee challenges that he wants to focus on are growing the economy, improving education, and protecting families.

    On the economy, Brownback said that the state has lost tens of thousands of public sector jobs, personal income has dropped, but government bureaucracy and taxes went up. “Government is too big, and taxes are too high,” he added. While some have said that government needs to do more with less, Brownback said that government needs to focus on core functions and do those better at less cost. Controlling state spending, pro-growth tax policies, and sensible regulation will be goals of his administration. Success will be measured by private sector jobs and personal income.

    Brownback said that education is a core function of government. The school finance formula, he said is “confusing, illogical, unfair, not flexible, doesn’t support innovation, fails to prioritize classroom learning, and discourages excellence.” The formula should not force consolidation. He said that his administration would see that education dollars go to the classroom instead of administration or the courtroom, a reference to school funding lawsuits.

    On family issues, Brownback said that “strong families make a strong state.” Tax, budget, and welfare policies would be evaluated on how they affect families, and they should do no harm to families.

    In his remarks, Colyer said he is a fifth-generation Kansan. He grew up in Hays, and learned there that “we’re here to serve other people.”

    As a White House fellow for President Reagan, he said he learned that the key to solving difficult problems is that when “individuals in America work and prosper, America works and prospers.”

    His experience volunteering as a physician in Africa, Iraq, and Afghanistan taught him that “ordinary people can do extraordinary things in the most horrific of times.” He added that in Kansas, our best days are ahead of us, but these days are not just around the corner. Even though Kansas just passed its biggest tax increase, the budget is under water and getting worse, he said. Problems have been “papered over,” and will explode in the near future.

    He told the audience that the Kansas state pension plan (KPERS) ranked next-to-last in solvency, after California and New York.

    The Kansas economy has not been growing as it should due to years of high taxes and unnecessary regulation, he said.

    In questioning after the event, Brownback said he considered candidates from the Wichita area for his running mate. He said that he and Colyer have known each other for 20 years and work well together.

    If elected, Colyer said he would be required to resign from the Kansas Senate. I asked since the lieutenant governor has so few prescribed duties, what would Colyer do with his time, should he be elected? He said that Brownback said he should be prepared to work “double time.” He said he would keep his medical practice. Brownback said he expected much from Colyer, and that he would be working full time on problems in the state.

    I asked whether a Brownback administration would repeal the increase in the statewide sales tax due to take effect on July 1. Brownback said that he wants to look at fundamental tax policy and develop a pro-growth tax policy.

    In response to my question as to what he would do to increase school choice, particularly charter schools in Kansas, Brownback said that the school funding formula be the centerpiece of education reform in Kansas. Within that, the state could review the charter school law.

    Neither candidate would express a preference in the United States Senate Republican primary.

    Analysis

    Many conservatives look forward to Brownback as Kansas governor, as they feel Kansas has not had a conservative governor for many years, even through there have been Republicans in the governor’s office. While delivering a conservative message at this event, Brownback’s record in the U.S. Senate, according to National Journal vote ratings for 2009, places him near the middle of Senate Republicans in terms of voting for conservative positions.

    Generally, Colyer is described as conservative. He has, however, cast some votes that some conservatives might not agree with. In particular, he voted for the statewide smoking ban during the 2009 session. That bill carried over to this year and was passed in the House and signed into law by Governor Parkinson.

    In the Kansas Economic Freedom Index, Colyer cast four votes that were not in favor of economic freedom, earning a score of 69% and ranking 13th in the Senate. The votes not in favor of economic freedom were voting for an expansion of the historic preservation tax credit program, voting for a primary seat belt law and texting ban, voting for regulation of sexually oriented businesses, and voting against an amendment that would have required the state to sell assets to raise revenue. The last measure was promoted by conservatives as a way the state could raise enough revenue to avoid having to raise taxes.

    In the Republican primary, the Brownback/Colyer ticket will square off against a ticket headed by Joan Heffington, a Derby businesswoman who has many political views that might be considered out of the mainstream.

    If Brownback and Colyer prevail in the primary, they will likely face Kansas Senator Tom Holland and his unnamed running mate. Holland has not yet filed but has been campaigning, and no other Democrats are expected to file by the June 10 deadline.

    Other coverage: Brownback ticket gains surgeon as lieutenant, Brownback announces, picks Colyer, Brownback Names Colyer as Lt. Governor in Race for Governor, Holland Responds, Brownback picks Jeff Colyer as running mate in governor’s race, and Brownback chooses physician as running mate.

  • Wichita Tea Party, from AFP

    Here’s a message from Americans For Prosperity’s Kansas state director Derrick Sontag about the Wichita Tea Party this Friday.

    It started with people like you, logging on and signing our petition at NoStimulus.com, and now we have a full-blown grassroots movement on our hands.

    One such activist, Nancy Armstrong, supported Hillary Clinton in the 2008 primary and even went on the road, campaigning for the former New York Senator. But while on the campaign trail, Nancy learned more than she anticipated about the Obama campaign. Now she’s joining the fight against the massive deficit spending bill by organizing the Wichita Tea Party, part of the nationwide grassroots movement that’s spreading like wildfire from coast to coast.

    Join Nancy at a rally this Friday outside Senator Sam Brownback’s Wichita office:

    Wichita Tea Party
    11:30 a.m., Friday, Feb. 27
    Senator Sam Brownback’s Office ( Farm Credit Bank Building, 245 N. Waco, Wichita)

    Let’s help support this cause tomorrow — bring your homemade signs and show your appreciation to Sen. Brownback for opposing this federal bailout bill, and your frustration for this bloated spending bill.

    This stimulus package is not only detrimental to our national economy, but it has immediate implications right here in Kansas. Our state faces a $1 billion budget shortfall, and we need budget reform — now. This federal bailout bill for the states will be too much of a temptation for our legislators, who may see this as a way to avoid making those tough budget decisions that come with real and meaningful budget reform.