BREAKING NEWS: LBK still exists and Christian Morgan is an idiot

Ok, maybe only one of those things is really "breaking news." Sorry about the absence guys. All of our collaborators sort of informally decided that getting out and knocking on doors and turning out Democratic voters was more effective and more important than staring at this computer screen. However, we had to take a break to make fun of Christian Morgan some more.

First, Professor Obvious posts about John McCain and Pat Roberts leading in the polls. In a state that has only twice sent it's electoral votes to a Democrat, hasn't sent a Democrat to the Senate in like 80 years and where Republicans outnumber Democrats 2:1, congratulations, you're winning and winning big in those two races. Unfortunately for Christian (and his job prospects) those are really the ONLY competitive races where Republicans have reason to brag.
Curious that Christian doesn't brag about Lynn Jenkins' chances in this post. Or Nick Jordan. Maybe it's because while he was surfing the Survey USA website, he saw this poll. Not looking good for Nick Jordan in the "Republican stronghold" of Johnson County.

Then we have today's post, where he brags about Republicans having 30,000 more advanced ballot requests than Democrats (in a state where there are 287,000 more Republicans than Demcorats.)

Yet in the very same Survey USA poll Christian linked to only a day earlier, we find this nuget.

In Kansas, McCain Up 25 Among Those Likely to Vote ... But Up By Just 4 Among
Those Who Have Already Voted:

Among those that have already voted, Obama is beating his overall performance by TWENTY-ONE POINTS. Yet Christian Morgan still wants to claim that the Republicans are winning the battle of advance voting?

Then, he brags that Republicans have registered 32,000 new voters. Interesting that he doesn't mention how many new Democrats have registered.

From the Wichita Eagle.

In 2004, 46 percent of Kansas voters were registered Republican while
independent and Democratic voters each made up 26 percent of registered voters,
Thornburgh said. In 2008, registered Republicans dropped to 44 percent and
independent and Democratic voters each made up 27 percent of registered voters.

Just more proof you can make statistics say whatever you want -- if you leave out half of them.

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.

McCain outraised by Obama in Kansas; Roberts hires Mean Girl to campaign

A couple of interesting notes in a Harris News story from this weekend.

First, we see that Sen. Barack Obama has raised more money in Kansans than has Sen. John McCain.

Obviously, it's early and this isn't necessarily a good method of predicting elections, but it was certainly unexpected and I think goes to show that a) Kansans are excited about the candidacy of Barack Obama and b) John McCain still has some work to do after losing the Kansas caucuses to former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.

Especially intriguing was the response by KS GOP Executive Director Christian Morgan...

"Senator McCain has a pretty big lead in the state of Kansas and he's not going to lose that lead to Barack Obama," Morgan said.

OK. Glad to know the KS GOP still thinks John McCain will win Kansas. Doesn't really address the fundraising numbers, but hey, it'll do.

Speaking of intriguing responses. Responding to Slattery's claim that Sen. Pat Roberts used your tax dollars to come back to Wichita and film a TV commercial, Roberts' camp had an especially venomous response that would make Regina George proud.

"Kansas is winning and Jim Slattery is whining," said Roberts' spokeswoman, Molly Haase.

Classy. Word is Tina Fey has contacted Molly about being cast in the sequel to Mean Girls.

Of course, Sunday's Topeka Capital-Journal shows even the mainstream media now realizes that whatever Kansas may have won from the recent GAO decision, it was in spite of, not as a result of, Pat Roberts, Sam Brownback, John McCain and Todd Tiahrt.

The Law of Supply

The conservative advocacy group Freedom Watch -- which used to focus on national security issues but apparently now has no particular "cause" -- has announced that it will be making robocalls into a few dozen Congressional districts, including the Kansas 2nd (Nancy Boyda). The group said the ads will focus on gas prices and Rep. Boyda's vote against offshore drilling.

This obsession with affecting gas prices by increasing supply infuriates me.

I don't know if y'all remember Econ 101, but there are two sides to that chart that looks like an X. You've got the supply part down. In theory, increasing supply while demand remains constant will decrease the price (though economists believe IF such a theory were to work, it would take nearly a decade to see any noticeable affect).

The problem is, most economists believe any increase in supply will result in a corresponding increase in demand, thereby negating any downward pressure on price and perhaps even causing it to rise some. Not to mention increasing carbon output and ignoring our reliance on carbon-based fuels of which we have a finite supply.

I'm not going to go so far as to imply that its a poorly disguised attempt to increase oil consumption and thus increase the profits of oil companies, but it sort of makes you wonder.

That other line? That's called demand. On this side, the theory is if demand decreases while supply remains constant, prices will decrease.

The answer is conservation. Jimmy Carter hit the nail on the head in his American Malaise speech, though he was chastised for it, the only way to truly ween ourselves off of oil is to enact policies that affect demand, not supply.

We need to be focusing on designing and developing American cars that might actually be feasible to sell 10 years from now. The SUV, the 5,000 lbs car and the 6.5 liter V8 are dying, and it's time for Detroit to realize that.

We need to enact policies that make public transportation in the midwest a real possibility.

We need to start dedicating federal research dollars to developing wind, solar, nuclear, geothermal and any other non-carbon-based form of energy production. (Thanks for twice voting against those taxbreaks to encourage alternative fuel research, Sen. Roberts)

We need to start investing in ethanol that is not made from things that we might want to eat.

We need to stop promoting shortsighted policies that do nothing more than increase the profits of oil companies.

The truth is, no matter what we do, gas prices aren't going to be $2.00 a gallon anymore. The only real solution is taking steps to ween ourselves off of ALL oil, not just foreign oil.

Offensive rhetoric from the KS GOP

Christian Morgan and the KS GOP have reached a new low.

In a recent blog post, Morgan and his cronies parrot a National Review story criticizing Sen. Barack Obama for supporting giving constitutional rights to detainees at Guantanamo Bay (the scoundrel!)

As if it wasn't bad enough that McCain called the decision“one of the worst decisions in the history of this country.” Ya, right up there with Dred Scott and Plessy v. Ferguson. Or Roe v. Wade if you are so inclined.

Worse than that though, Morgan and the National Review call Obama the "September 10 candidate." This is nothing more than cheap, underhanded fear politics and Christian should be ashamed of himself.

People on both sides of the aisle should be able to agree on one thing, the thousands that died on Sept. 11, 2001 did not die so that people could use their deaths to score cheap political points and to do so trivializes the tragedy that was 9/11.

Not only that, but it's insulting and outlandish to insinuate that any candidate, Republican or Democrat, would ever do anything they felt would make an attack like the one of that fateful Tuesday more likely.

Supporters of Obama and McCain can debate the legal merits of extending the writ of habeas corpus to those incarcerated at Guantanamo Bay, but neither side should resort to accusing the other of promoting further terrorist attacks or being on the side of the terrorists.

Whatever your political leanings may be, we think we can all agree that this sort of political hackery is unconscionable. If you agree, call Christian Morgan and tell him the best way to honor those who were killed on 9/11 and those who have died fighting to protect those rights is to refrain from using their deaths to score cheap political points. The number is (785) 228-0353.

The KSGOP: They really are that desperate

In their most recent blog post, the KS GOP chastises the State of Kansas for not allowing the website flightwatch.com to post its flight itineraries for the Governor's plane. Never mind the fact that this decision was probably made without the knowledge or instruction of the Governor's office by her security detail, the assertion that this is somehow "secretive" is ludicrous.

While I don't know the tail number of Air Force One, I have a sneaky suspicion its itineraries aren't loaded into this web site. It's called security. For a party that supports George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, two of the most secretive politicians in American history, such a preposterous accusation is just laughable.

Olathe GOP: Party like its 1899!!

According to the KS GOP blog, the Olathe Republican Party is having a picnic!

Confirmed speakers include keynote speaker Sen. Nick Jordan, the Republican candidate for Congress, Rep. Arlen Siegfried, Rep. Rob Olson, Rep. Lance Kinzer, and Sen. Karin Brownlee. All local officials from the school board through the state house are being asked to attend and will be given an opportunity to speak. Candidates, local organizations, and statewide organizations will have information booths.

Nineteenth century children's games and stagecoach rides will be available free of charge.

The theme of the children's game was picked to match with the spakers' positions on social issues.

Kansas GOP misleads yet again

Now that the Kansas GOP has started their own blog, it's become a lot easier for them to make stuff up (or at least so that people can read their lies).

These days, they're misinforming the public about Barack Obama's stance on gas prices -- specifically the gas tax holiday which economists EVERYWHERE argue is a horrible idea. Apparently the KS GOP isn't casting their lot with economists either.

Think about it, if the supply of oil remains constant, and the price rapidly decreases (nearly 19 cents a gallon if the federal gas tax is temporarily repealed) what do you think will happen?

Naturally, demand for gas, which has been going down lately, will increase. For those of you who haven't taken any economics courses, when supply remains constant and demand increases, price increases as well.

Economists believe that this spike in demand would at the very least negate the 19 cents per gallon saved by the repeal of the tax and maybe even surpass it. Meaning that instead of the 19 cents per gallon (approxmately $8 billion per year) going to build roads and bridges and highways, it would go to the pockets of big oil, who don't need it.

If you don't believe me, check out what Dartmouth and Oxford educated economist Robert Reich has to say in his May 4 blog. Reich served in the Clinton administration and is a personal friend of Bill and Hillary Clinton (who is also advoating for a gas tax holiday), so it's not as if he has an axe to grind.

If the KS GOP truly believed that Obama didn't have a chance to win Kansas, do you think they would waste their time spreading misinformation about him in mid-May? Me neither.

Why bring in the President?

Yesterday, we were the first in the blogosphere with news that President George W. Bush was bringing his low approval ratings back to Kansas for the second time this month, this time to stump for 3rd District GOP hopeful Sen. Nick Jordan.

The GOP has been almost comically unable to wrestle this seat away from Moore in a solidly Republican district. Either they run a right-wing hack (Kris Kobach) or they have a bloody primary that leaves a hapless and broke candidate (Adam Taff and Chuck "Don't call me Maynard" Ahner).

This year, some thought it might be different. Some thought that Nick Jordan, who is still pretty conservative but not perceived to be amongst the likes of Phill Kline and Kris Kobach, might be the one to start pulling those moderate Republican Johnson County voters away from Dennis Moore.

However, the KS GOP has shown a penchant for losing lately, and it looks like they're in no hurry to reverse that trend.

The GOP already brought in Dick Cheney to raise money for Jordan, who faces a 3:1 fundraising disadvantage on top of relatively low name recognition. Now, they're bringing in Bush as well.

Which begs the question; Do they really think the moderate Republican and unaffiliated voters in Johnson County that swing that election time and time again to Dennis Moore are going to be swayed by the likes of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney? If they do, they should pass whatever they're smoking.

Bush carried Johnson County with 62% of the vote in 2004, but that was four long years ago. A recent Survey USA poll shows that Bush's approval rating in Eastern Kansas (the 3rd District probably makes up over 50% of the population of "Eastern Kansas," depending on how they define the region) was a meager 34%. Moreover, 64% say they disapprove of the job he is doing, leaving only 1% of voters who aren't sure how they feel about the President.

Perhaps more importantly than Bush's general numbers are his numbers among unaffiliated voters -- you know, the ones that Nick Jordan absolutely has to woo in large numbers to have even the slightest of prayers. Among unaffiliated voters in Kansas (Survey USA does not have a subsection for party affiliating within the regions) Bush's approval rating dips to 27%. It is only 30% among self-identified moderates.

While there is no polling available for Dick Cheney's job approval rating in our fair state, it's safe to say it's probably not much better than President Bush's.

As Democrats and proud Dennis Moore supporters, we'd just like to say thank you to the Nick Jordan campaign and the KS GOP for being so out of touch with Kansans that they still actually think it's a good idea to bring Bush and Cheney to town. (Ask Jim Ryun how it worked for him in 2006!)

Head over to our new ActBlue widget on the right side of our page and help Dennis Moore fight the Bush/Cheney machine that has decided they want him out of Congress.

Rough weekend for Mel

Recently, a post of The Kansas Trunkline, the official blog of the Kansas Republican Party (e.g. the one Christian Morgan admits to authoring) asked why the Governor and Kansans might be upset with Melvin Neufeld and the Republican dominated legislature in Kansas. Recent commentary pieces in the Hutchinson Daily News and Kansas City Star shed some light on the subject.

First, the Hutchinson News.

Normally, leadership would be the pre-eminent quality of someone who ascends to the position of Speaker of the Kansas House of Representatives.

"Leader," however, does not describe Rep. Melvin Neufeld. Instead, the words that come to mind are irrational, bully and even hypocrite.

That's just the first two paragraphs. The piece touches on more than just the Speakers general unlikability.

The western Kansas Republican obviously will do just about anything to get his way in the Legislature, which this session is all about overturning the decision of the state's top environmental regulator who would not rubber-stamp Sunflower Electric's massive coal-fired power plant proposal for western Kansas.

That includes swapping votes and obstructing other - more important - legislation. It includes misinformation and expression of some downright bizarre viewpoints, such as saying he thinks carbon emissions are good for the crops.

Surely they're done, right? Wrong. On Neufeld's accusation that the Governor bought votes on the coal plant issue by permitting empty seats to be filled on the state plane (by Legisators who purchased their own tickets with their own money) ...

This bizarre behavior probably shouldn't be dignified with a response except that its nonstop outrageousness begs for expression of some relevant observations.

The free rides to the Final Four were easily explained. Some coal plant supporters as well as opponents went on the plane, and legislators paid for their own tickets. Sebelius probably figured it made sense to fill the seats. Now, taxpayers could quibble over the fiscal responsibility of flying a delegation of politicians to the Final Four, but it probably is an event the governor ought to attend.

And, besides, that debate is not about vote-buying.And Neufeld exposed himself as a hypocrite, because he has been accused of vote bribery himself, though of a more serious nature. Neufeld called the wife of a legislator in 1994 to say her husband had been found in a "compromising position" with two female lobbyists in a Statehouse lounge. That reportedly was the follow-through of earlier threats he made to the legislator in an attempt to convince him to vote Neufeld's way on a particular bill.

Maybe the Kansas City Star's Steve Kraske will have a more cheerful view on the Legislature's accomplishments this year.

You’ve probably never heard of Melvin Neufeld, but there’s one thing you might want to know about the Kansas House speaker: He goes well with jam.

Yep, he’s toast. Or, at a minimum, he’s so charred around the edges that hardly anybody will go near him.

Or not.

Get this: A Republican speaker in a chamber dominated by Republicans couldn’t cough up the single vote he lacked at one point on a test vote to see whether the House could override a Sebelius veto of the plants.

Talk about a canary in the mine. Good speakers keep five votes in their hip pockets just for sport.

Hell, even Nefueld's fellow Republicans blame him for the utter lack of any substantive accomplishments from this legislative session.

Disappointment typically soars at the end of any session. Lawmakers almost never get everything they want. But I was over there last week and I’m here to tell you: This session set a record for utter exasperation.

“Veterans are saying this is the worst legislative year they’ve ever seen,” said Rep. Pat Colloton, a Leawood Republican.

Lawmakers complain about Neufeld’s closed-door style, his lack of people skills, his unwillingness to accept ideas contrary to his own. His relations with Sebelius are described as uneven. He’s feuding with his second-in-command, House Majority Leader Ray Merrick of Stilwell, who agrees the speaker is in deep doo-doo.

Try as they might, the KS GOP can't even convince their own caucus that Gov. Sebelius and Democrats are to blame. How do they expect to convince the people of Kansas?

Run, Roberts, Run!!!

Before the Democrats even sort out who their nominee will be for the United States Senate seat currently held by Pat Roberts, Roberts and the KS GOP have already set the tone for how this election cycle is going to go. Dirty.

First, Roberts' camp launched a radio ad attacking Jim Slattery for living in Washington, D.C. since 1994. The ad claims that Slattery was a lobbyist "Gucci loafers and all." No word on whether Slattery actually wears Gucci loafers.

Then, the pimple-faced operatives over at the KS GOP found the YouTube.



These two ads show us two things. One, the Kansas Republican Party and the Pat Roberts' campaign have no intentions of talking about issues. Two, they're scared.

Thankfully, the Kansas Democratic Party has shown they're not going to let Pat Roberts voting record and dedication to the failed policies of the Bush Administration be swept under the rug.



Nothing like the smell of political mud in the springtime. At least one party and one campaign is more interested in issues than childish, personal attacks.