Brandon Kenig for State Board of Education

Well, as most of you already know, I've made the jump from blogging and working on local campaigns to local electoral politics. I'm running for Sue Gamble's place on the State Board of Education for District 2. I'm running on a platform of Accountability, local control, and ensuring our students retain a competitive edge in the global economy.

For more information on my campaign, check out my new campaign website:

http://www.brandonkenig.com/

You can sign up on my website as a supporter, endorse me, and donate to me via PayPal.

It's time to get back to the basics--science and math--while preparing our students for the jobs of tomorrow, not the jobs of yesterday.

Vote Brandon Kenig for State Board of Education in the August 5th Republican primary

Your financial support will be put to good use:

$20 buys 6 yard signs

$10 buys 75 palmcards

$20 buys 6 yard signs

$35 covers the cost of 30 mailings

RightOnline Summit

I'm attending the RightOnline Summit in Austin, TX. It's the first-ever national meeting of all bloggers right-of-center (moderates, conservatives, libertarians). The hope is that the bloggers will network and integrate their efforts, producing a stronger and powerful force that is more united and uniform in voice and message to compete with the liberal netroots like Moveon.org and the DailyKos. The liberal netroots are also meeting in Austin this weekend, just down the road.

In Memoriam: Tony Snow

No amount of words can define or uniquely capture the Renaissance man who was Tony Snow. An adoring father, a loving husband, a patriot who served his country in the military and in public service, a journalist, a radio show host, a pundit, and press secretary to the President of the United States.

Tony Snow reverberated with an upbeat optimism that constantly permeated everyone and everything around him. He was a conservative who disagreed with liberals without ever being disagreeable and did more than most of his contemporaries in attracting new followers to the movement.

I've had the opportunity to hear and see Tony Snow on many occasions. I'll never forget the last time I saw him at the CPAC conference this past February in Washington, D.C. Snow was selected to give the closing speech of the conference, and at a time when Republicans were more disillusioned than ever with the president, the Iraq war, oil prices, Democratic excitement at expanding their majorities in the house and senate, the presidential campaign...Tony gave a speech that was uplifting, encouraging and much more than the usual pep talk. His optimism and urgency regarding the 2008 elections encouraged many to pledge on the spot to do their parts in helping to elect Republicans in their local areas and talk with friends and neighbors to get McCain elected in 2008.

A man of principle, Tony Snow was never afraid to criticize his own party when necessary (Snow's criticicism of Bush's policies and spending binges were just one example). But Snow also saw the big picture: he recognized that we cannot just throw out the half loaf of bread because we can't have the full loaf. He could easily frame the realities for the average person and demonstrate the urgency in electing McCain or other Republicans to ensure the Democratic majority does not have unchecked, unlimited power, to ensure a checks-and-balances remain in place. Snow recognized that overarching issues such as the war on terror and national security are more important than individual idelogical disgreements on campaign finance reform or global warming or even immigration, and that the the selection of U.S. Supreme Court justices over the next 8 years would affect the ideological direction of the country long-term much more than one candidate's position on one issue.

The country mourns over the loss of a national figure in journalism who brought out the best in all of us. In just a month since the death of another iconic and responsible journalist, Tim Russert, we would do well to remember the messages of these men and how they lived their short lives, for they truly served as shining beacons of the impact and legacy that can be accomplished even when life is unfairly cut short.

We pray for Tony's family, and especially his children, that God will help them to always remember and understand how truly remarkable their father really was.

Tony Snow, always willing and able to utilize humor, told us in February:

"You know why Hillary and Obama are talking about change all the time? Well, that's because that's all that will be left in your pockets when they're through."

Trouble for Obama...

I was eating at the Shawnee Applebee’s the other night and I couldn’t help but overhear the conversation between two young (late 20s-early 30s) Asian women out having drinks after work. Now, these young women struck me as savvy, sophisticated young suburbanites who had probably just settled into their careers (a glance at their jewelry and designer handbags indicated a socioeconomic status of upper-middle class).

The two women were chatting about the upcoming election. One mentioned to the other how she had supported Clinton in the primary to show her support for a woman candidate for president. But the woman admitted that the more she considered the race, she would have hesitated voting for Clinton in the general election. So, her friend asked, who was the best candidate to enact change?

“Well, with Hillary we would've had the Clinton saga all over again, the old scandals and possibly new. I don’t see how that represents any kind of change—Hillary has some good ideas, but she’s a throwback to the Clinton era, and everything it represented, good and bad.”

“Well, what about Obama—he is running as the “change” candidate after all,” her friend said.

“He is, and I was excited about him early on, but now there’s something about him that scares me. He has yet to be specific on just what kind of ‘change’ he’s for, or how he’d pay for it all. I don’t know—he’s treated like a rock star and everyone is getting swept up in this cult phenomenon without knowing any of the details. We know so little about him. I can’t completely say what it its, but I just don’t feel comfortable with him.”

“Well, surely you can’t think McCain represents change—he’s just like Bush isn’t he?” her friend argued.

“No, I don’t think you can say that. McCain’s more independent and he has upset people on both sides for speaking his mind. He’s been very critical of Bush and doesn’t have any ties to the administration. He’s bucked his own party many times and faced criticism from both sides—I don’t think you can say that about Obama and Clinton.”

“So you’re voting for McCain?”

“I don’t know…I feel too uncomfortable voting for Obama, but I don’t have a problem voting for McCain.”

This is the target demographic Obama needs to capture in order to win the presidency, what some pollsters have termed the "Sex and the City" women voters: young, 21-35 year old single, professional, career-minded women. This woman was also a minority and a Democratic primary voter who had supported Hillary. She’s now leaning towards McCain.

Not a good sign for the Obama campaign…

New Kansas blogs...

Wow, what a political season. With blockbuster primaries like the Steve Howe vs. Phill Kline race for District Attorney and the 10th state senate district primary between Mary Pilcher Cook and Sue Gamble, it is shaping up to be an interesting political year indeed. Even many of the Democrats in KS have primaries this year, and with soaring energy prices and approval of congress at an all-time low (in the single digits), Kansas’ two Democratic congressional incumbents—Nancy Boyda and Dennis Moore—will face tough races from popular and experienced Republican opponents. Moore is embroiled in a scandal involving his staff’s misuse of funds and work time to engage in political activity and Moore is facing heat from constituents for his opposition to offshore drilling and his lack of a solution to the energy crisis. Additionally, Republicans have the opportunity to make legislative gains in the legislature and whittle down Democratic-held seats in Johnson County to just 2 or possibly none.

Two new blogs will be added to my blogroll:
www.kansastrunkline.blogspot.com

The Kansas Republican Party had revamped its website and added an interactive and innovating blog that tracks Democratic blunders in Kansas and highlights Republican solutions. Check out the state party’s new blog and new website: www.ksgop.org

Also, Nick Jordan’s new blog is making waves: www.wakingupwashington.com