Bob Dole weighs in on John McCain

From the Kansas City Star's blog.

It's a wonder this guy didn't win the Presidency in 1996. Oh wait, no it isn't.

I know he's looking at [VP candidates] because...I talked with somebody who's sort of in the loop on that. They haven't got much time...I don't know who's being vetted, but you need to vet them very carefully.

Did it seriously take him 38 words including two ellipses and four contractions to say 1) he doesn't know who is going to be the veep and 2) it's important to vet the candidates? Thanks for enlightening us, Bob.

Does McCain have a message? "They said that about me (that I didn't have a message). If you're winning, you're a hell of a candidate, but if you lose, you're a bum...I think he needs to get the campaign a little more focused.

Not a good sign, for George W. McCain. As you all remember, Bob Dole's campaign didn't work out so well.

And our personal favorite...

This big trip overseas was a wash.. if I'm living out in Russell, Kansas, and a candidate is over in Germany with a couple hundred thousand Germans, and I can't get gas because I've got four bucks in my pocket, I'm not sure I get too excited about someone being all the way to Germany.

First off, Bob Dole hasn't seen Russell, KS in decades, so I'm not sure how he would know anything about what the people there feel. Secondly, John McCain went on a trip abroad a mere weeks before Barack Obama.

If McCain were in Germany, there would be approximately 20 people. If Bush was there, there would be about 500, but 495 of them would be burning American flags.

I don't see how the fact that Barack Obama isn't hated abroad is a liability, in Russell, KS or in North Carolina/Washington D.C. where Bob Dole actually, you know, lives.

Hey, maybe when his wife loses her Senate seat in North Carolina, they'll move back to Kansas. OK, probably not.

Slattery launches web site

Jim Slattery posted this video on his official blog yesterday, hitting on the same theme we've hit on a couple of times (here and here). Pat Roberts is scared of his record and he's scared of a legitimate candidate like Jim Slattery.

The Slattery camp also launched a new Web site, 40 Years is Long Enough, detailing Pat Roberts many failings as a United States Senator.

Check out the video, the blog and the Web site and let's get Pat Roberts out of office.

The Kansas Republican Assembly is right

Stop the presses folks, the nutjobs over at the Kansas Republican Assembly -- a shell organization which, in effect, runs the KS GOP -- have actually made a good point, though I don't think it was intentional.

In an effort to slander the "Red Star" (some people refer to it as the Kansas City Star, a Pulitzer prize winning newspaper) these radicals have said something intelligent.

A very wise politician once told me, “You’ll know when your opponent thinks you might win when they start attacking you by name.”

They were referring to an admittedly curious development in which Dave Helling over at PrimeBuzz has been specifically referencing The Kansas Meadowlark, the grandaddy of all crazy republican blogs in Kansas. Imagine if the folks at TKR were just a little bit more unstable, but actually did research. Ya, that's Meadowlark.

So, with this quote in mind, do you believe the Republicans when they say Slattery doesn't have a chance?







Neither do I. The worst part? This isn't even all of them. There have been two more TV ads and a radio ad attacking Jim Slattery. Please use our ActBlue widget at the right of your screen to help Jim Slattery fight back. Pat Roberts has millions and this onslaught is not going to stop anytime soon.

4th District numbers: Tiahrt surprisingly low, Betts surprisingly high

The numbers out of the 4th District were quite surprising. Though he still has a very substantial warchest, Todd Tiahrt brought in a lackluster $170,236.82 since April 1. He didn't spend much though, dishing out only $55,850.16 and leaving his campaign with a healthy $1,256,651.59 warchest with which to slander Donald Betts.

Betts on the other hand, after posting a disappointing 2nd quarter, brought in a respectable (but still lower than we'd like to see) $81,413.20. After spending $41,209.72 (more than Garth McGinn raised in all of 2006), Betts was left with $62,814.89.

NOTE: Tiahrt's numbers are "pre-primary" and thus run through July 16. Betts' numbers are 3rd quarter and only run through June 30.

Betts has a tall task ahead of him, but his numbers are up substantially from the 1st quarter and with a strong third quarter and the expected Democratic surge, Betts is not out of this race. We encourage you to utilize the ActBlue widget on this page and help make sure that happens.

Jordan posts dismal numbers

You hear that? That's the sound of Nick Jordan's campaign crashing to the ground.

Most people never though the man who makes 2000 Al Gore look like Mr. Charisma would actually mount a serious campaign against Moore. That is, no one except the KS GOP. But even Christian Morgan's head-in-the-ground optimism about his party can't deny Jordan got his ass whooped this quarter.

Here are the numbers.

Dennis Moore: $336,051.31 raised, $86,324.93 spent, $1,140,136.64 cash on hand.
Nick Jordan: $137,724.00 raised, $171,433.20 spent, $615,996.12 cash on hand.

Yes, you're reading that right, Moore raised 3x as much, Jordan spent twice as much, but Moore still has a 2-to-1 advantage in cash on hand.

Moore and his supporters should take nothing for granted, but if I were Nick Jordan, I'd be concerned.

Lynn Jenkins' personality problem

First and foremost, we want to apologize for our absence the last 13 days. We know you all have been jonesing for some LBK, and we apologize for leaving your fix unfulfilled. No excuses, we'll be better, we promise.

Now, to the business at hand.

If you watched 2nd District Congressional debate the other night, I think you'll agree that Lynn Jenkins scored some pretty solid points on the issues, but as time passes from the debate, the consensus seems to be that she came off as condescending, rude and even annoying.

It's not just that annoying voice of hers. Anyone who has followed this race already knows about that, but her body language, including touching Jim's shoulder as she talked about him like he was a wayward child.

Then, about half way through, she called him BABE! She was telling him it was his (read: Congress') fault she was forced to raise taxes 12 times in the Kansas Legislature.

We were at your mercy, babe.

What the hell?

Jenkins campaign manager Patrick Leopold said that Jenkins says it all the time and meant no harm by it. Honestly, that wouldn't surprise me, but in the world of politics, perception is more important than reality. Jenkins won the debate on the substance, but her shrill, condescending tone and body language may have created a likability issue for her.

Jim Ryun on the other hand, came off as the wounded little boy being picked on by the meanie Lynn Jenkins. Anyone who knows the tactics Jim Ryun has exercised in the past knows that he is anything but, but that doesn't matter.

This isn't the first time she has done this either. At a recent campaign event, she inferred that a trained monkey could do Jim Ryun's job in Congress as well as he did. Not that we disagree, but seriously, that's hard core.



If you'd like to weigh in on Babegate, click here.

Tip of the hat to BoydaBloc.

Roberts: When I said I was going to play nice, I didn't REALLY mean it

Pat Roberts has gone negative yet again. Curiously, his most recent ad isn't on his web site. Embarrassed of your new spot, Pat?

Maybe its because you remember that you said something back in August 2007, when you spoke with Rep. Dennis Moore at an event at Johnson County Community College. What was it that you said? Can't remember for sure Sen. Memory Pills?



Oh no worries, here's a video to remind you.

There is a difference between campaigning for the office, and campaigning against somebody else and I have always tried to campaign for the office…I will campaign for the office and I will not campaign against anybody.

We totally agree Pat, we totally agree.

A Republican and a lie, two peas in a pod

Homer Simpson once said, "It takes two to lie. One to lie and one to listen."

In this case, we refuse to take part in the Kansas Republican Party's latest mistruth.

In a Harris News story this morning, the Boyda camp rightly called the GOP's claims that Boyda voted for "the largest tax increase in history" "malarkey." (See Boyda Bloc's explanation).

The fact of the matter is, Boyda supports several aspects of the Bush tax cuts -- the ones targeted at the middle class, where they should be. The problem is most of the actual revenue is lost from the tax cuts on the uber-wealthy, which a Boyda spokesman even said she would support if the Republicans could find a responsible way to fund them (they can't, don't worry!)

So what smoking gun did the poster who goes by the name "Kansas Republican Party" (didn't Christian Morgan blast so-called "anonymous" blog posters awhile back? Just asking.)

An alleged quote from Boyda's MySpace page two years ago, a page that the GOP knows full-well was not run by the campaign or anyone associated with it.

If ever you needed proof that the KS GOP was run by adolescents, this is it.

"But, but, but...you said on your MySpace page!"

Something else worth noting in the Harris piece. Morgan claims that McCain will be a boon for the victor of the Ryun/Jenkins snoozefest.

Uh, perhaps you didn't see the poll commissioned by Sen. Roberts. McCain is polling under 50% in Kansas. There go those facts again.

Republican implosions

This party will self-destruct in 30 seconds.

It's like watching sports bloopers or car crashes, you know its kind of sick, but you can't help but giggle.

The bombs?

First, we've got Phill Kline going against his word and staying in the Republican primary for Johnson County District Attorney. Forgotten how crazy Phill is? Just watch this video.



Then of course there is the drama of Sen. Tim Heulskamp recruiting primary challengers for several Republican leaders in the Senate.

And my personal favorite, former GOP executive director Ron Freeman's lawsuit against the party.

It seems his contract said he could be fired with 30 days notice. But expert lawyer Kris Kobach says that he COULD be fired with 30 days notice, not that he had to be given such notice. Everyone knows such clauses in employment contracts exist to give employers flexibility.

Anyway, Freeman is seeking 27,000 in lost wages and commissions. Hate to break it to ya Ron, but you can't get blood from a turnip.

Jim Slattery hits the nail on the head

Roberts releases poll

Pat Roberts released a poll, paid for by his campaign, that shows the "overwhelmingly popular" Senator barely has a majority, despite being in congress for decades.

The poll shows Roberts leading presumptive Democratic nominee Jim Slattery 54% to 34%.

As we've said on this blog since day 1, while this race will be difficult for Slattery, anytime you see an incumbent as entrenched as Roberts is hovering around 50% four months out, things could get exciting.

More than that, this poll was conducted June 27 - July 1. Which means Pat Roberts had already been on the air for weeks with three television commercials and a radio ad before any of this was taken into account, and still only 54% of Kansans are willing to add on to his 40+ years in Washington.

The poll also included numbers for the Presidential race. Like the Senate race, it shows a Republican who is winning, but with numbers that should be concerning. The poll has McCain beating Democratic nominee Barack Obama 49% to 36%.

Again, remember, George W Bush got over 60% in 2000 and 2004, so for a Republican presidential nominee to be polling under 50% in Kansas -- in July -- is HUGE.

In the end, both these polls show what most people watching these races already know -- Sen. Obama and former Congressman Slattery are facing tall odds, but they each have the advantage of running against thoroughly flawed incumbents and could be in position to mount challenges no one thought possible in a "red" state like Kansas.

As the Phill turns

Some had thought Phill Kline had learned his lesson. Some thought maybe he has figured out that people are tired of him being so friggin' crazy and that maybe he would play nice this cycle.

Well, the soap opera has officially begun.

First, the good folks at the Pitch blog have a great post about Phill deciding it was time to buy a home in Johnson County (nearly two years after becoming the county's district attorney.



Kline's primary opponent Steve Howe has fired back on the subject, issuing a press release pledging to be a "full-time" DA.

This after word comes from the PrimeBuzz blog that someone has been making negative "push poll" calls to Republicans in Johnson County targeting Howe.

Phone calls were made to thousands of Johnson County homes in the last couple of days that can only be described as a push poll.

It begins by asking whether you have a positive opinion of Johnson County District Attorney Phill Kline. If your opinion was favorable, the automated voice asked whether you were a Republican, pro-life, and a conservative.

If you said you didn’t have a positive feeling about Kline, you were asked whether you knew that Kline’s Republican opponent, Steve Howe, almost let a murderer go and suggested that Howe had little experience as a prosecutor.

Keep in mind, the Kansas City Star's stated purpose is to defame the spotless character of Phill Kline, so all of this is probably fabricated by the pinko-commie-bastards at The Red Star.

The Star post also leads one to an interesting anti-Howe video posted, in an apparent attempt at satire, by someone using the namee "SteveHowe4DA."



The user has one other video about the DA race that is...well...interesting.



I have been telling you all along, cockfighting is going to be the major issue in this race.

Hello??? Is anyone in there? Earth to Lynn Jenkins, do you copy?

Lynn Jenkins is a regular David Blaine, she can disappear before your very eyes.

One minute, she's running for Congress, albeit poorly, and the next minute it's like she wasn't even there.

Wait. What's that? You don't even know who she is?

Don't worry, lots of people don't. Anyway, Lynn is this smiley woman who served a term in the Kansas House and half a term in the Kansas Senate before bouncing up the political ladder to State Treasurer in 2002. Now she's running in the Republican primary against Jim Ryun.

Now that we're all on the same page as to who Lynn Jenkins is, it makes you wonder how the Hell people who aren't fortunate enough to read this blog are supposed to figure it out.

Her opponent in the primary, Jim Ryun, "served" 10 years in the seat before GETTING served by Nancy Boyda in 2006, so people already pretty well know who he is (which may end up being more of a liability than a benefit to Mr. Ryun) but even he has been on TV with for almost two weeks now in the two major media markets in the district.

So what of Lynn Jenkins, who's own campaign admits that name recognition is the biggest hurdle over which they must leap to have any chance in the primary.

Nowhere to be seen, that's where.

It almost makes you wonder if she's decided to punt this campaign and focus on 2010.

Good luck with that.