The truism of the moderate Lynn Jenkins

Normally, we don't like to blame things on the media. Reminds us too much of Phill Kline, however, a few things have begun to bother us about the local media's coverage of the 2nd District race.

First, without any real reason, Lynn Jenkins has been anointed a moderate. Tell me, on what issue is Lynn Jenkins moderate? Just because she isn't as conservative as Jim Ryun, who was ranked the MOST conservative member of Congress by the National Journal.

Does that mean folks like Duncan Hunter and Tom DeLay are moderates too? They were in the House at the same time as Jimmy, so apparently since they're less conservative than he is, they're moderates.

Of course they're not, and neither is Lynn Jenkins. I challenge any Jenkins supporter reading this blog to post in the comment section ONE ISSUE on which Lynn Jenkins could truly be considered a moderate.

People call her pro-choice, but in reality she supports exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother. You know, like EVERYONE ELSE WHO ISN'T COMPLETELY INSANE.

In reality, as Blue Tide Rising and Boyda Bloc have both correctly pointed out, and Lynn has even stated herself, Ryun and Jenkins have just about the same positions on nearly every meaningful topic.

Both want to deport everyone with a hint of brown in their skin. Both want to make the irresponsible Bush tax cuts for the super-rich permanent. Both refuse any kind of meaningful withdrawal from Iraq until we "win," whatever that means.

Beyond that though, the media seems to be obsessed with Lynn's victory in the primary. Understandably, it was a major upset and Lynn and her campaign deserve some credit for getting the job done.

But let's be honest here, Lynn Jenkins did not win that primary so much as Jim Ryun lost it. She still has a major name recognition problem. Jim Ryun was just SO BAD during his 10 years in Congress, Republican primary voters just wanted him to go away. This isn't a sign of some major shift to the center in Republican primary voters (remember, Lynn is still a conservative) it just means they're sick of Jim Ryun.

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.

Cheese flavored lies

Another post from The Kansas Republican, another lie. Or at least a blind assumption made in the absence of facts.

These clowns read a story on da int-ruh-netz that said a cheese factory decided to locate in Eastern Colorado as opposed to Western Kansas.

OBVIOUSLY this is Gov. Sebelius' fault. Not the Republican-controlled legislature. They eveen linked to the story!

The problem is, the story made no mention of anything even remotely political.

Leprino reportedly chose the location partly due to the quality and availability of milk in neighbouring Weld County. Moerover, in December 2007, FLEXNEWS had reported that Leprino had also considered other locations for the plant in north Colorado and in south west Kansas.

Leprino provides mozzarella cheese to companies such as Domino's Pizza and Pizza Hut and has 9 plants in the US, and 2 in the UK.

Apparently its Governor Sebelius' fault there isn't more/higher quality milk in Western Kansas.

Then, they repeat the same baseless accusations made by their cousins over at Stay Red Kansas, that 1) the recent GAO decision was the result of Roberts, Tiahrt, Brownback and Moran's hard work and 2) Jim Slattery is angry about the decision.

Meanwhile, thanks to tireless work by Senator Roberts, Brownback and the rest of
the DC gang, the GAO ruled that the Air Force's procurement process was not
handled properly.

What, no props for Reps. Nancy Boyda and Dennis Moore?

Nevermind the fact that Slattery released a press release praising the decision or that Roberts and Brownback actively created an atmosphere condusive to the decision while Tiahrt and Moran sat on their hands.

The casual relationship that TKR and SRK seem to have with "facts" and "truth" is starting to get annoying.

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.

When in doubt, lie, lie and then lie some more

Remember when Republicans were the party of fiscal responsibility. Somewhere in the past decade or so they decided that it would be easier to just CLAIM to be fiscally responsible, but not actually, you know, do it.

We thought that was going to be part of Lynn Jenkins' campaign in the primary against Jim Ryun. You know the, "If ever there was a time to send a CPA to Washington..." line. Well, apparently she's decided she can't win by actually being fiscally responsible, because that takes a lot of work and requires sacrifices that you just don't have to make when you can simply lie about it.

So Jenkins and Ryun teamed up with Nick "The Tool-man" Jordan to perpetuate one of the NRCC's lies against Dennis Moore and Nancy Boyda.

(Dear TKR and SRK, the above letters in the pretty colors with the funny line underneath them, that's called a "citation" Readers can click on it to see independent confirmation of the claims being made)

Jim Ryun, Lynn Jenkins and Nick Jordan — all Republicans trying to unseat two Democratic congressional incumbents who represent Lawrence — say the Democrats voted for the largest tax increase in the history of the United States.

(OK boys and girls, the above lines with the messed up margins, those are called "block quotes." This is another method of providing verification and credibility to one's argument)

Zing. One point for the radical right. But wait, there's more. It turns out that their statement, powerful though it may be, is...how should we say this...not true.

On that day, the House on a 212-207 vote approved a budget resolution, which Boyda and Moore supported. No Republicans voted for it.

The bill title was: “Revising the congressional budget for the United States government for fiscal year 2008, establishing the congressional budget for the United States government for fiscal year 2009, and setting forth appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2010 through 2013.”

You see, the bill didn't actually do a damn thing to the tax code. So how, pray tell, can you carry out the largest tax increase in the history of the universe without making a single change to the tax code? The answer: you can't.

Sure, Reps. Moore and Boyda, along with other Democrats who are actually fiscally responsible, are willing to let some tax increases on the wealthiest Americans expire, because it was unwise fiscal policy in the first place. (Sorry billionaire oil tycoons, you may only be able to buy one Rolls Royce this year)

But the Republicans don't stop the lying train here. No sir. There are more lies to be told.

In his speech at Americans for Prosperity, Jim Ryun painted a horrifying picture of what might happen when all of the middle class tax cuts are destroyed by the above mentioned vote.



Just one problem, the resolution in question seeks to PRESERVE those tax cuts.

In a speech before the anti-tax group Americans for Prosperity, Ryun said the resolution that Boyda voted for will increase the taxes on millions of Americans, including many in the middle class.

But the resolution also includes policy language that calls for middle income tax relief, including extension of the increase in the child tax credit, relief from the so-called marriage penalty, and other deductions aimed at the middle class.

“Nancy has always believed that the middle class relief should be made permanent,” said her spokesman Thomas Seay. He said the sunset clauses in Bush’s plan don’t take effect until 2011. “Nancy has said again and again that when this issue reaches a vote, she’ll support extending middle class tax relief,” Seay said.

Oh right...the facts again. (NOTE: TKR and SRK...facts are things that are verifiable accurate. In addition to citations and block quotes, you should consider adding these to your blogs as well.)

Don't believe a politician on either side? I don't blame you. But typically you can trust the non-partisan research institutes. Not Center for American Progress or Americans for Prosperity, the actual research organizations that care about...research.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities says the budget resolution contains no tax increase, let alone the largest in U.S. history.

The resolution approved by the House assumed that the nation’s tax law would be amended to extend some of the expiring tax cuts, especially those affecting middle class families, according to the center, which is a nonpartisan group that works on policies and programs that affect low- and moderate-income families. The costs of those tax cuts would be offset by other changes in policy, which could include eliminating the tax cuts for the very wealthy, some Democrats have argued.

Of the allegations made by the Republicans, Aviva Aron-Dine, a policy analyst with the center, said, “Our view is that that claim is inaccurate.”

She added, “The language of tax increases is very powerful. It’s important to correct the record.”

Time and time again, I find myself think "Stephen Colbert was right." The truth really does have a liberal bias.

Tip of the hat to BoydaBloc.

Fundraising update: Donald Betts, StayRed lies

Donald Betts' campaign fundraising totals have been posted, and we'll admit we were a little disappointed. During the first quarter, when Betts spent most of his time in Topeka doing the job the people of the 29th District elected him to do, the campaign brought in $35,771.91. The campaign has $13,424.98 Cash On Hand.

This certainly makes his campaign to unseat Todd Tiahrt more difficult, but it is 3 1/2 times more money than Garth McGinn raised during the entire campaign. Nobody expected Betts to match Tiahrt dollar for dollar, so he'll just have to outwork him. But even with an aggressive ground game, Betts needs to step up the fundraising (hint, hint).

In other news, StayRedKansas posted Nick Jordan's fundraising numbers under a headline that can only be described as a lie. "Jordan Out-Raises Moore In Net Fund Raising Receipts." Uh, no. As we reported earlier (see here and here)

True: Nick Jordan has spent less money in the past three months (turns out doing absolutely nothing is really cheap).

False: Nike Jordan outraised Dennis Moore. Last time I checked, the person who "outraises" the other is the one who raises the most money. I'm not a mathemetician, but by my calculations, $185,209.98 > $166,212.25.

Just another lie from StayRed, don't know why we're surprised.

What say you, Americans for Prosperity

After listening to Americans for Prosperity drone on and on about what a horrible state for business we find ourselves in, some might have been shocked when they happened upon a recent story in the Lawrence Journal-World entitled "Kansas No. 10 Pro-business state."

Using 29 categories — including taxes, quality of life, human resources, labor, education, infrastructure and incentive programs — the study’s authors indicate the best places to expand a business.

In Kansas’ case, the state fared well by having a relatively high-quality work force, plus relatively low costs for utility services (emphasis added) unemployment insurance and workers compensation rates, said Brent Pollina, the study’s lead author.

Kansas also has effective professionals working on economic-development activities at the state level, he said, reflecting a commitment from the governor’s office.

Though the story does say Kansas is 38th in business taxes, it goes on to say that it is still a very hospitable state for business.

“Kansas actually is one of the rare states out there that seems to being doing right by the business community in their state,” said Pollina, vice president for the Chicago-based firm, which provides project-management services for Fortune 500 companies and others looking to expand into new areas of North America. “They have been constantly going over what the state government does and trying to make improvements on it, whereas most of the other states out there figure good enough is good enough.”

Looks like all those horror stories Alan Cobb and his anti-tax cronies tell you have no basis in reality. But then again, we've seen how well Alan Cobb deals with reality.

BREAKING NEWS: REPUBLICAN BLOG MENTIONS BOEING

We've been on our friends at StayRedKansas and TheKansasRepublican a lot lately, trying to ascertain why, if they care so much about Kansas jobs, they haven't posted a single post regarding the disastrous decision to outsource a military contract to AirBus. You know, the one that John McCain tacitly endorsed while Sam Brownback, Pat Roberts and Todd Tiahrt twiddled their thumbs.

Well finally, after all of our efforts, TheKansasRepublican used the word Boeing in one of their posts. Fear not, they also talked about Holcomb and there were still plenty of sophomoric personal insults, so they're not ill or something.

While Tihart may have to fend off unwarranted accusations of the Boeing deal gone south, the facts will clearly prevent any of Betts’ mud from sticking. Few congressmen have delivered for their district the way Tihart has, and he maintains a large network of support throughout the 4th. The war in Iraq will certainly not ring the way it did against Republicans in 06, and Tihart has the warchest/ work ethic that will make the 4th nearly impossible to lose. Betts will need more than a few senate accomplishments and a kiss from "Kathy the cougar" to defeat "Todd the god."

Naturally, they didn't provide any evidence for why the accusations against Tiahrt are unfounded. It's possible they're just lazy, but our best guess is they don't have any. If you'd like so more intelligent analysis (with citations even!!!), see here, here, here and here. See also here.

More than just a weak defense of the Boeing deal, their argument for why Tiahrt will crush Sen. Donald Betts is that Tiahrt brings home the bacon from his powerful seat on the House Appropriations Committee.

This we cannot argue with. Todd Tiahrt loves him some earmarks. But this very same blog, in the post immediately prior to this one, criticizes Nancy Boyda for using earmarks for such wasteful things as equipment for local law enforcement and water treatment plants.

So Wyatt, Carrie, Doc, Custer, Wild Bill and all the rest, tell us, why is bringing home the bacon a reason to re-elect Todd Tiahrt in the 4th District, but grounds to toss out Nancy Boyda in the 2nd? Is there something about Todd Tiahrt's earmarks that is somehow more justifiable than Nancy Boyda's or even Dennis Moore's?

Readers, see for yourself. Here is a list of Nancy Boyda's earmark requests and here is the same list for Dennis Moore. You see, Reps. Moore and Boyda are some of the very few in Congress to make all of their earmark requests public on their web site. I would link to Rep. Tiahrt's, but....

House GOP: Regulatory uncertainty killed the dinosaurs

Leftbrain Kansas has obtained a draft press release from the office St. Mary's Republican Richard Carlson which reads as follows.

TOPEKA -- A recent study by prominent Kansas legislators has concluded that regulatory uncertainty created by Kansas Department of Health and Environment's Rod Bremby's decision to reject the Holcomb power plant expansion may have played a role in the extinction of the dionsaurs.

Rep. Larry Powell, top lackey for legislative psuedo-science expert Melvin Neufeld, said that the dinosaurs were unable to sustain life in an environment where they just didn't know how much carbon they were going to be able to produce.

"They know that when they breathe, they're creating so much carbon that it was only a matter of time before Secretary Bremby denied their air quality permit," Powell said. "Even though it's good for the corn, the uncertainty was just too much for them, and they eventually died off. We can thank the Sebelius administration. Kathleen Sebelius killed the dinosaurs."

We are unclear as to why this press release was never sent out. As far as we can tell, it's just as believable as the one they actually did send out. In the second release, Carlson claims that Bremby's decision led to Hyperion Resources' decision to build an oil refinery in South Dakota instead of Kansas.

Nevermind the fact that the company had already set up an office in the South Dakota city that was in contention.

Nevermind the fact that only Elk City, South Dakota is listed on their web site as a potential location.

Ignore the fact that they had already begun the process of acquiring land and getting it zoned all long before Secretary Bremby's decision.

It was none of these factors that caused them to choose South Dakota, it was all because Secretary Bremby invokes fear in their hearts.

He is the biggest bad ass on the block and they just didn't want any of it.

Just like the dinosaurs.