Come protest against the Obama Administration's trillion dollar boondoggle of a spending package at the KC Tea Party this Saturday, Feb. 28th from 10 am to 12 noon at J.C. Nichols Fountain (47th and J.C. Nichols Parkway). Protesters will be walking 1 mile to Sen. Claire McCaskill's KC office at 4141 Pennsylvania Ave.
What: KC Tea Party/Protest against government spending fest
When: Saturday, Feb. 28th from 10 am to Noon
Where: J.C. Nichols Fountain (47th and J.C. Nichols Parkway
Bring your own signs and get creative!
Friday, February 27, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
The Konnection Recaps Kansas Days for NewMajority.com
I recently summarized the activities at "Kansas Days," the annual state Republican convention and celebration of Kansas statehood and was pleased to have my article published on NewMajority.com, a new website run by David Frum dedicated to reform and renewal of the Republican Party and providing articles and blog updates on national and state politics from around the country from a variety of voices on the center-right.To check out my piece, co-authored with Earl Glynn, visit www.newmajority.com and or click on this link.
Friday, January 30, 2009
BREAKING NEWS: Michael Steele elected the new RNC chair
Former Maryland Lt. Governor Michael Steele was elected chair of the RNC today with 91 votes. The Konnection is pleased with the choice of Steele, who brings youth, vision, and innovative ideas to revitalize a struggling party. We trust that with Steele as RNC chair, he will be a much more visible head of the party, unlike Mike Duncan, and will ensure that the party not only increases its outreach to youth and upgrades its infrastructure technologically, but will also work to make conservatism more relevant, viable, and attractive to voters who have fallen away in recent years.
This marks a generational shift and for the first time, both the leaders of the Republican and Democratic parties are African-American.
This marks a generational shift and for the first time, both the leaders of the Republican and Democratic parties are African-American.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Upcoming Elections: Obama-mentum or GOP-led Comeback?
Only a few states have off-year, odd-numbered year elections and these races can often provide insight or a glimpse at trends. While Republicans have been demoralized with Obama’s large win and the Democratic stranglehold on both houses of congress, they can take comfort in the fact that they have won all three congressional elections that have occurred after Nov. 4th (Chambliss’ re-election in Georgia, and two house seats in LA—one of them a pickup in the defeat of indicted Dem. Incumbent William Jefferson in an ultra-liberal New Orleans district the GOP has not held since the 1800s).
New Jersey and Virgina have upcoming gubernatorial elections. VA Attorney General Bob McDonnell has a clear field on the Republican side and has a slight advantage in the race, which would be a pickup for the GOP. According to a Rasmussen poll conducted last month, he leads Dem. Brian Moran by 41-37 percent, runs dead even with Rep. Creigh Deeds 39-39 percent, and leads Dem. Frontrunner, Clinton advisor, and former DNC chair Terry McAuliffe 41-37 percent. At this time, unaffiliated voters are leaning towards McDonnell. Although is is still too early, this is great news for Virginia Republicans.
And now, a Rasmussen poll of this year's NJ Governor's race:
New Jersey and Virgina have upcoming gubernatorial elections. VA Attorney General Bob McDonnell has a clear field on the Republican side and has a slight advantage in the race, which would be a pickup for the GOP. According to a Rasmussen poll conducted last month, he leads Dem. Brian Moran by 41-37 percent, runs dead even with Rep. Creigh Deeds 39-39 percent, and leads Dem. Frontrunner, Clinton advisor, and former DNC chair Terry McAuliffe 41-37 percent. At this time, unaffiliated voters are leaning towards McDonnell. Although is is still too early, this is great news for Virginia Republicans.
And now, a Rasmussen poll of this year's NJ Governor's race:
New Jersey always seems like fool’s gold for the GOP. Time and time again, polls show unpopular Democrats doing poorly in polls against Republican challengers only to win in November and retain the advantages of the state’s Democratic party machine. But let’s not forget that New Jersey had a Republican governor as recently as 2002 and has held a lock on the governor’s office for more than 20 out of the last 30 years. Could this be the year that residents of the highest-taxed state in the union reject institutionalized corruption once and for all? Corzine’s approval rating is below 50 percent—an ominous sign for any incumbent—and his association with Goldman Sach’s has hurt him with public disapproval of the banking bailout at an all-time high. Combine that with the state’s budget woes, fiscal mismanagement, and soaring taxes, and U.S. attorney Chris Christie, who has won kudos for prosecuting corruption in the state, may have a serious chance after all as this poll suggests. The GOP may go for 2-0 in pickups in an off-year, which could signal a very good year for Republicans looking ahead to 2010.
Looking to 2010, the latest polling out of California is most shocking—if the numbers are to be believed, the Republicans have a good chance of holding on to this bluest of blue states with a Republican more in line with party values than Ah-nuld. Former eBay chief executive Meg Whitman formerly worked on Romney’s campaign before becoming McCain’s finance director and is known as a fiscal hawk—which should be attractive in a state with a ballooning deficit and no taxes left to raise. Whitman leads two of the leading Democratic contenders and is within striking distance of former Gov. Jerry Brown.
Of course, other Republicans including CA state insurance commissioner Steve Poizner and newly-elected Congressman Tom McClintock have expressed interest in running for the state’s top job and it remains to be seen if either of them can be as competitive as Whitman when matched up against the top Democratic contenders.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Terror Targets: New York, D.C....and Kansas?
Several months have passed since the media and political pundits began pondering the ramifications of Obama’s campaign promise to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay, and as politicians and media speculated on potential domestic sites for the terrorist prison here in the U.S., it became obvious that the Obama administration was considering the disturbing possibility of placing these dangerous terrorists in Ft. Leavenworth—just minutes from the Kansas City metro area. Fortunately for us, Kansas has two hardworking senators in Pat Roberts and Sam Brownback, who have already introduced legislation in the Senate to block any proposal to house the prisoners at Leavenworth. Additionally, Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins, who now represents Leavenworth as part of Kansas’ 2nd district, has also been an outspoken opponent of the idea and has introduced house legislation to block it. Yet Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has remained silent on the matter for months (perhaps due to her friendship and endorsement of Obama and the desire not to impede his election chances). Well, now Sebelius has given an detached statement claiming to oppose the use of Leavenworth to house the prisoners, while reiterating her support for closing Guantanamo. Too little, too late.
The other day, Geraldo was discussing this issue on a panel in a segment of Sean Hannity’s new show on Fox News when one of the panel members who favored keeping Guantanamo open asked Geraldo where he thinks the prisoners should go. Geraldo shot back, “put them in Fort Leavenworth, no one lives there.” Brushing aside Geraldo’s arrogant and elitist reaction for a moment (I doubt he would be so quick to advocate the housing of terror suspects in his own backyard of New York City), Geraldo’s statement displays remarkable ignorance. For Geraldo, like most other media, entertainment, and political elites, Kansas City is just flyover country—the part of your travel where you nap, have that intoxicating in-flight beverage, or snack on airplane food while bouncing back and forth between the east and west coasts. It is doubtful Geraldo has even been to Kansas City, much less Leavenworth, or he would know Leavenworth has a population of 35,000 and is just minutes from one of the major population centers of the Midwest with a metro population of over 2 million.
The new administration’s potential decision to transfer terror suspects to the continental U.S. could be one of its first major missteps and prove to be incredibly unpopular. These suspects are undeniably dangerous---61 of the suspects who were released were recaptured on the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq. In Guantanamo Bay, the suspects are isolated from civilian populations and other prison populations, ensuring safety for all involved and lessening the risks posed by a prison escape.
If the prisoners are transferred to the U.S., there will be an obvious and eminent security risk for all civilian populations living in a 50 mile radius of the prison, as they would be directly in the path and possible target zone of escaped terrorists. Also, if the terror suspects are not housed in a separate facility completely, but are housed with other prisoners, the risk increases for radical Islam to spread among the general prison population, a disturbing trend already taking place in prisons throughout the country, most notably in California.
Lastly, the most grave and unmentioned threat would be the international impact and attention on any area of the country that houses the prisoners. The prison location and its nearest metropolitan area would immediately become a target for terrorism by Al Qaeda and splinter cells around the world.
These reasons alone should be enough to counter any move to transfer suspects to the continental U.S, but unfortunately, Kansas remains a possible target by the incoming administration, and rather than exert her heavy influence over the administration’s policy, Sebelius has chosen to put her ambitions first. “Change we can believe in” may become way more than we bargained for—a national security risk we cannot afford.
The other day, Geraldo was discussing this issue on a panel in a segment of Sean Hannity’s new show on Fox News when one of the panel members who favored keeping Guantanamo open asked Geraldo where he thinks the prisoners should go. Geraldo shot back, “put them in Fort Leavenworth, no one lives there.” Brushing aside Geraldo’s arrogant and elitist reaction for a moment (I doubt he would be so quick to advocate the housing of terror suspects in his own backyard of New York City), Geraldo’s statement displays remarkable ignorance. For Geraldo, like most other media, entertainment, and political elites, Kansas City is just flyover country—the part of your travel where you nap, have that intoxicating in-flight beverage, or snack on airplane food while bouncing back and forth between the east and west coasts. It is doubtful Geraldo has even been to Kansas City, much less Leavenworth, or he would know Leavenworth has a population of 35,000 and is just minutes from one of the major population centers of the Midwest with a metro population of over 2 million.
The new administration’s potential decision to transfer terror suspects to the continental U.S. could be one of its first major missteps and prove to be incredibly unpopular. These suspects are undeniably dangerous---61 of the suspects who were released were recaptured on the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq. In Guantanamo Bay, the suspects are isolated from civilian populations and other prison populations, ensuring safety for all involved and lessening the risks posed by a prison escape.
If the prisoners are transferred to the U.S., there will be an obvious and eminent security risk for all civilian populations living in a 50 mile radius of the prison, as they would be directly in the path and possible target zone of escaped terrorists. Also, if the terror suspects are not housed in a separate facility completely, but are housed with other prisoners, the risk increases for radical Islam to spread among the general prison population, a disturbing trend already taking place in prisons throughout the country, most notably in California.
Lastly, the most grave and unmentioned threat would be the international impact and attention on any area of the country that houses the prisoners. The prison location and its nearest metropolitan area would immediately become a target for terrorism by Al Qaeda and splinter cells around the world.
These reasons alone should be enough to counter any move to transfer suspects to the continental U.S, but unfortunately, Kansas remains a possible target by the incoming administration, and rather than exert her heavy influence over the administration’s policy, Sebelius has chosen to put her ambitions first. “Change we can believe in” may become way more than we bargained for—a national security risk we cannot afford.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Up-and-coming Kansas Republican Rockstars: the Future of the Kansas GOP
Kansas Republicans, in contrast to the national outcome, made gains against the Democrats in 2008 and 2010 promises to be a banner year for Republicans, as Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh and Sen. Sam Brownback jockey for the GOP nomination for governor in order to put that office back in Republican control (it will be), and Jerry Moran and Todd Tiahrt run for Brownback’s U.S. Senate seat. In addition, a slew of state senate seats will be up for grabs, all 125 state house seats will be up, and all statewide offices will be up (the Konnection has received credible tips that attorney and state GOP chair Kris Kobach is set on re-claiming the attorney general’s seat for the GOP). Meanwhile, here are some Kansas Republican pols on the younger side who we believe will be powerful leaders in the future based on their current successes:
Kevin Yoder—this young KU law school grad and current attorney is now serving his 3rd term in the house representing an Overland Park-based district that includes the headquarters of Sprint. Yoder is known as a pragmatic voice in the legislature who transcends the moderate/conservative political divide in the Kansas GOP and is well respected by moderates and conservatives alike. Yoder won his race this year with more than 60 percent of the vote and is constantly mentioned as a favorite for Johnson County DA in the future, state senate, and even congress. Yoder was recently named chair of the power Appropriations committee.
Julia Lynn—another young, energetic, and bright newcomer, Lynn faced a strong opponent in Olathe Superintendent Ron Wimmer in her first election bid after being appointed to Kay O’Connor’s seat by the GOP precinct committee members in 2007, but Lynn won by a resounding 10 percent. Lynn was recently named vice chair of the Tax and Commerce committees, a major accomplishment for a freshman legislator who will be making waves in Topeka and throughout her political career.
Kevin Yoder—this young KU law school grad and current attorney is now serving his 3rd term in the house representing an Overland Park-based district that includes the headquarters of Sprint. Yoder is known as a pragmatic voice in the legislature who transcends the moderate/conservative political divide in the Kansas GOP and is well respected by moderates and conservatives alike. Yoder won his race this year with more than 60 percent of the vote and is constantly mentioned as a favorite for Johnson County DA in the future, state senate, and even congress. Yoder was recently named chair of the power Appropriations committee.
Julia Lynn—another young, energetic, and bright newcomer, Lynn faced a strong opponent in Olathe Superintendent Ron Wimmer in her first election bid after being appointed to Kay O’Connor’s seat by the GOP precinct committee members in 2007, but Lynn won by a resounding 10 percent. Lynn was recently named vice chair of the Tax and Commerce committees, a major accomplishment for a freshman legislator who will be making waves in Topeka and throughout her political career.
Kasha Kelly--this dynamic Arkansas City representative has championed budget reform, fiscal responsibility, and led the implemention of the state's first sunshine laws to promote state budget transparency online. Kelly has incredible skill and drive, which makes her a rising star in the party.
Lance Kinzer--this third-term Olathe lawyer carefully researches the issues and knows the Kansas constitution like the back of his hand. Kinzer has championed reductions in state spending and a strict constructivist view of the state constitution. He has also worked across the aisle and written critical legislation to downsize government and halt its growth. Look for Kinzer to run for AG someday.
Lynn Jenkins—popular state treasurer took on native son and former congressman Jim Ryun and overcame long odds, defying the pundits and winning. But she didn’t stop there—Jenkins promised new Republican leadership, running on a strong platform of the core issues of low taxes, cutting wasteful spending, eliminating earmarks, and sealing the borders. In one of only a few defeats of incumbent Democrats nationwide, Jenkins returned the 2nd District to Republican control. Jenkins will be a powerful force in Washington and strong voice from Kansas, serving as a prime example of the type of campaign Republicans need to run if they want to regain power.
Steve Howe—conservative, bridge-builder, 15-year veteran of the Johnson County DA’s office who united Republicans around his candidacy and defeated political opportunist and turncoat Rick Guinn in November, despite being heavily outspent. I personally know Steve well and worked in the DA’s office with him and he will be an honest, effective, and tireless advocate on behalf of the citizens of this county. It will be refreshing to move beyond the political posturing, corruption, and controversy-plagued administrations of Morrison and Kline. The question is: what is next in Howe’s political future?
Mark Gilstrap switches to GOP
The media has inundated us with reports of Republican defections to the KS Democratic Party in recent years, yet there is only brief mention of Kansas City, KS State Senator Mark Gilstrap’s recent defection to the Republican Party. Gilstrap, the most conservative Democrat in Topeka, has supported Kline for Attorney General, and is a pro-life social conservative with fiscally-conservative tendencies. Sebelius’ unprecedented endorsement of Gilstrap’s primary opponent led Gilstrap to lose his longtime seat in the Democratic primary. Really, Gilstrap had no choice as his party all but abandoned him and decided it had no use for someone who wasn’t going to tow the liberal party line of the governor. Gilstrap returned the favor by endorsing Republican Steve Fitzgerald in the general election.
Republican Steve Fitzgerald has come within four points of winning this KCK seat twice now. The Konnection believes that Gilstrap should and must run as the Republican nominee in 2010—his odds of beating Kelly Kultala would be great, since he is well-known in the district and would attract a substantial Democratic crossover vote. Additionally, the lost of an additional senate seat would reduce Democratic numbers in the state senate to an abysmal 8 members in the 40 member body—a profound failure considering Sebelius massive fundraising efforts and long-term goal of increasing the party’s numbers in that body and in the state house.
Republican Steve Fitzgerald has come within four points of winning this KCK seat twice now. The Konnection believes that Gilstrap should and must run as the Republican nominee in 2010—his odds of beating Kelly Kultala would be great, since he is well-known in the district and would attract a substantial Democratic crossover vote. Additionally, the lost of an additional senate seat would reduce Democratic numbers in the state senate to an abysmal 8 members in the 40 member body—a profound failure considering Sebelius massive fundraising efforts and long-term goal of increasing the party’s numbers in that body and in the state house.
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