Governor Sebelius has probably been doing back-flips with the Washington Post’s recent prediction that she might indeed be Barack Obama’s pick for Vice President. Why shouldn’t she. She abandoned Kansas and her moral upbringing to set herself up for this. In her terms as governor, Kathy has succeeded in creating a larger-than-ever bureaucracy while stifling economic growth by way of blocking the Holcomb plant. Even with CO2 re-capturing, she has continued her fight in this effort thus denying Western Kansas with the shot of energy it needs, all in the name of “environmentalism”. She abandoned her Catholic upbringing and teaching to define herself as a true Democrat. Recently, Archbishop Naumann asked Sebelius to refrain from partaking in communion for her record on abortion.

Sebelius proved ineffective in her home state of Ohio. Her Kansas taxpayer-funded campaign trips to assist Obama certainly weren’t something most Kansans approved of. With recent polling indicating her approval rating on the decline, one would think she’d pay attention to what Kansans think. But who cares? She no longer is talked about as a 2010 Kansas Senatorial candidate. She has her eye on something in D.C.

Ric Anderson’s article in the Topeka Capital Journal today outlined the reasons Obama probably won’t pick Sebelius to be VP. Mainly, she lacks foreign relations experience.  Anderson explained that most pundits throw Kathleen’s name into the hat only to provide some variety in their lineup. Of course, Kathy is probably listening to the Washington Post instead of Ric Anderson. After all, listening to Kansans isn’t something she’s been doing for a long time.

Jim Slattery must have imagined his announcement day like a young girl imagines her wedding. It would be perfect, with all the press writing nice things, TV cameras hovering close by, the total center of everyone’s attention after so many years out of the spotlight, which he has missed so much.

But sadly for Jim, his dreams never quite became reality. First, after a triumphant announcement of his “statewide” swing (minus the entire First District – guess he’s conceded 69 counties on Day One), he hit his first roadblock. Newman University in Wichita didn’t want him to announce on their campus. Complaints started flooding the college asking why, with Jim’s past voting record, the Catholic college would allow it? Jim had to pull the event or face a firestorm from the Catholic community. Not exactly a hero’s welcome.

On announcement day, all seemed well with supporters crammed into a hall in Topeka that had been roped off to allow the audience to appear bigger for the cameras. But…the Roberts campaign already had a radio ad up and running, defining Jim as the well-heeled lobbyist from Washington. The press enjoyed the food fight and the ad figured prominently in poor Jim’s news cycle.

And so it went in Kansas City, Kansas and Johnson County…about two dozen people were all they could muster at the events. Kansas City area TV stations barely gave his announcement a mention. By the time he arrived at his new location in Wichita, there were more Slattery protestors and Roberts supporters than Slattery fans.

Wonder when Jim is going to realize he’s miscalculated. Obama’s wave has stalled under the Rev. Wright controversy and the Democratic primary drags on. Many of Jim’s friends have told him they won’t back him over Roberts, who people widely agree has worked hard for Kansas and delivered positive results all across the state. His theme as an “agent of change” fell flat even among reporters – hardly a change agent when you’ve been a fat cat lobbyist for 14 years in Washington.

You know what they say, Jim. Always a bridesmaid, never a bride.

Earlier this morning, as reported by various news agencies, the Senate handily overturned the Governor's politically-motivated veto of the Holcomb Coal-Fire Power Plant legislation. All that was left was to see if Speaker Neufeld could muster the votes in the House to do the same. We can now report that the House of Representatives has just adjourned for the evening - without conducting a Holcomb vote.

Today has been an absolute roller-coaster, as behind the scenes, Neufeld has lobbied hard for the legislation. At roughly mid-day, the Republican Caucus confidently emerged, sure that we'd locked up the votes to pass this necessary and responsible legislation. Sadly, several of the votes have slipped away.

To understand why, we must first turn to the Senate's failure to overturn the Governor's recent late-term abortion veto. Republicans initially had the votes to beat the Gov..once again. Unfortunately, two of our yes votes failed to come through. Senator Jean Schodorff changed and voted no and Senator Jay Emler was absent.

Because of this, two conservative legislators - our sources are telling us with solid confidence it's Ben Hodge and Judy Morrison - decided at the last minute to obstruct a vote until the Senate finds the additional two votes to overturn the abortion veto.

So, it looks as though the pivotal House vote on Holcomb will not occur until tomorrow. Our hope is that the mess over the abortion veto will be solved - Semler's return would make us one vote short, and if Senate leadership can't flip one of the fourteen no-votes we're in real trouble anyways.

In any case, we're still a day away, but it's looking very likely that Speaker Neufeld has reigned in the necessary votes. We're cautiously optimistic - and if House obstructionism blocks perhaps the biggest G.O.P. victory in the last decade, there will be hell to pay.

We'll keep you updated as news comes in, but this is where things are left standing now after an incredibly eventful day in Topeka.

 

This Monday, many Americans began to see the initial effects of the Bush Administration's Economic Stimulus package, designed to help re-inject millions of taxpayer funds back into the economy. So, the money will be returned to the hands of its' rightful owners while simultaneously being invested back into our stagnant economy – sounds like good policy on two fronts, right?
 
Not if you listen to House Democrats, who seem befuddled by the fact that it will be the taxpayers themselves – not Washington representatives – controlling how their money is spent.
 
On the eve of the enactment of perhaps the only fiscally responsible legislation passed by the Democratic House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi can do nothing more than complain about the possibility that consumers will spend their tax rebates on gas. The horror!

Even Senate Democrats have jumped into this debate…on the wrong side.
 
"It's galling to think that taxpayers' stimulus checks will be lining the pockets of OPEC. The sad truth is that the average American family will spend almost their entire stimulus check on higher gas prices this year," said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., chairman of the Joint Economic Committee of Congress.
 
In their effort to pin rising gas prices on the Republican Party, the Democratic Party has unknowingly illustrated to the American Public exactly what the last year of liberal leadership has resulted in – tax increases.

Our encouragement to folks wondering how to spend the money is this – don't 'line O.P.E.C.'s pockets,' as Chuck Schumer so ignorantly put it, save the money for next year's tax filing – when the new Democratic tax increases take effect, you're gonna need it!
 
Even more ironic is the fact that Nancy Pelosi and her fellow Democrats seem to think that Republicans somehow are the ones responsible for high gas prices. It was Democrats like Dennis Moore that recently rejected a call to force Speaker Pelosi to explain to America exactly why they are now experiencing so much pain at the pump.

During the last election season, when she was furiously trying to lobby her way into the Speaker’s Chair, Nancy Pelosi promised the American people that the ‘Democrats have a commonsense plan to help bring down skyrocketing gas prices.’ Now, a full two years later, we’re left wondering – when the heck will we see it?

As of now, the only plan we’ve seen from Dennis Moore and his Democratic colleagues is one that involves raising taxes on everything from hard-working American oil producers (not foreign ones, as Senator Schumer would have you believe) to American citizens themselves.

Want a commonsense plan for lowering gas prices? How about this – provide rubber-stamping, tax-hiking Democrats like Dennis Moore with a retirement plan this election-day so that the broken system in Congress can finally be cleaned up.

Just as Stay Red indicated last week, Steve Howe had yet one more ace up his sleeve.  Today, Johnson County Commissioners Ed Eilert, David Lindstrom and Doug Wood were accompanied by Mayors Carl Gerlach (OP), Mike Copeland (Olathe), Laura McConwell (Mission), and Ron Shaffer (Prairie Village), in announcing their support for Steve Howe for District Attorney.

Enthusiasm for Howe continues to snowball, as endorsements from House Majority Leader Ray Merrick, and Reps. Arlen Siegfried and Jeff Colyer were also announced.  Howe also cemented his support from GOP party leaders with endorsements from 3rd District Chair Ernie Straub, and GOP county officers Marvin Kleeb and Brad Seiter.

Howe has definitely harnessed the momentum in this race.

Steve Howe has received the nod from both senators Brownback and Roberts.  Former senator Nancy Kassebaum-Baker has also announced her support for Howe’s candidacy.  His coalition of support across the party spectrum now runs all the way to the top ranks of the Republican party.  No candidate in recent memory, particularly at the county level, has received such heavy-weight support so early in the election cycle, clearly indicating that Howe has proven himself an extraordinary newcomer to the political scene.  His message of public safety as Job #1, restoring the public’s trust, and conducting the office with professionalism has resonated deeply throughout the county.

Howe’s virtual steamroller of support appears to have kept any challengers at bay, setting up a primary-free race.  It’s bad news for Rick Guinn who had based his whole strategy on running against Kline, and promising to be another “Paul Morrison”.  No doubt, Guinn might have had a shot with Kline in the race, but with Kline emphatically stating that he won’t run, and Morrison imploding, both prongs of Guinn’s strategy have fizzled.  Curiously, Mr. Guinn has been virtually AWOL from the scene since Morrison’s sex scandal and allegations of criminal acts were exposed last fall, lending credence to allegations that Guinn may have known all too well what his boss and close friend Morrison was up to.

Stay Red has also learned that the Howe campaign will be making an announcement soon that is sure to amaze area pundits and give pause to any would-be last minute challengers.  Stay tuned.

Great work, Steve!

We thought we'd go ahead and give you an update on the leadership situation as a result of the fallout from Representative Ben Hodge's sudden resignation.

First, we know that former State Rep. and current JOCO Chair Scott Schwab will be pursuing Hodge's vacated seat. It's unlikely that Schwab will draw a challenge from either the Left or Right of the Party, and largely because of that, it's also unlikely that the KSDP will finance an opponent too heavily during the General.

As to Hodge's situation, no one really knows where he'll be months from now. His name has been mentioned as a potential candidate for State Senate, State Rep (in another District) or State Board of Education. The truth is, however, that Hodge has held his cards close on this one. Your guess is as good as ours - we can't necessarily see any overwhelming rhyme or reason with any direction he may go. We are of the opinion, however, that this isn't all smoke and mirrors - our money's banking on Hodge being on a ballot in 2008...somewhere.

The final issue is appointing a successor for Party Chair following the impending resignation of Scott Schwab. The two names that continually surface - current Vice-Chair Arlene Krings or current Treasurer Marvin Kleeb - appear to be the only interested parties, at this point. Kleeb will likely receive the backing of the moderate precinct delegation while Krings will be the default candidate for many conservative voters.

At this point, it's simply who will turn out their base - if indeed this is the matchup. It's too far off to make a solid prediction, at this point, but StayRed is of the opinion that Marvin Kleeb's hard work - both financial and physical - on behalf of the Party and Johnson County Republicans, shouldn't go unnoticed. He has willingly shown the propensity to support candidates from both sides of the Party. We'll see how this one unfolds, but at this point, these two Party officials seem to be the front-runners.

Any thoughts?

Many of us expected Michael Moore, perhaps the most consistently misguided member of the American liberal-elite, to endorse Senator Hillary Clinton during her Presidential bid. As of last week, when Moore cast his weight (and there's a lot of it) behind Democratic youngster Barack Obama, we found out we were wrong.

What we weren't expecting, however, was for Moore to jump out so openly in support of another female Democrat's Presidential aspirations. That's right, Michael Moore - the man known most commonly as 'Sicko' - publicly endorsed the 2016 Presidential run of our very own Governor Kathy Sebelius.

Apparently he didn't see her stellar State of the Union performance. Or - wait, he probably tuned in but dozed off the thirty-second time she monotonously said 'join us, Mr. President.' Oh it was inspiring, indeed.

This tidbit came in one of Moore's long-winded rants on his website. Check it out.

• How sad for a country that wanted to see the first woman elected to the White House. That day will come -- but it won't be you. We'll have to wait for the current Democratic governor of Kansas to run in 2016 (you read it here first!).

Though we hate anyone giving Kathy a shred of national credibility - doesn't it seem like every time she's placed in front of a camera she embarrasses the Sunflower State with her disgusting lack of charisma? - we'd like to encourage Mr. Moore to continue actively encouraging a 'Kathy Candidacy.' Why? Off the top of our heads, we can't think of a single liberal talking-head that could drive commonsense Kansans away from the Guv. quicker than the King-wacko himself, Michael Moore.

The heart of the 2008 legislative session has come and gone. Still remaining, however, is a two-week final veto session which is sure to feature several very contentious debates.

First, and most important, is the impending showdown over the State budget. Unfortunately, there is next to no wiggle room for state legislators. There is literally dozens of credible projects that will sit before the legislature upon arrival - most of which, unfortunately, will not be included in the State budget.

Look for this situation to evolve in one of two ways. First, legislators will literally close the book on all outstanding projects. The budget will be sent, more or less, as it is to the Governor's desk for final approval. If this scenario doesn't play out, look for an incredibly contentious veto session where nearly every project will receive full scrutiny and, more than likely, most will still be vetoed.

Aside from the budgetary issues, look for Coal-Fire Power to make one final go-around. StayRed believes that this time, it will be pushed through. There is simply too much on the line for House and Senate leadership. While Steve Morris and Derek Schmidt have a tremendous investment in the Coal-Fire bill, they've already done their part - it's passed through the Senate with veto-proof numbers multiple times.

The Holcomb albatross now rests solely on the shoulders of Neufeld. He has a personal investment in the bill for the obvious reason that it's incredibly important to his constituency. Aside from that, Neufeld's mettle has seriously been tested. If he can't show the capacity to pull his Caucus together for one unified stand against Governor Sebelius, his prospects for leadership during the next session may be placed in serious jeopardy.

Our predictions - the Veto-session will be highlighted by plenty of good, bad and ugly moments.

The good - faced with more pressure than ever before in his political career, Speaker Neufeld will get the single vote he'll need to pass a veto-proof version of the Holcomb coal-fire bill.

The bad - if Speaker Neufeld doesn't pull out all the stops, we face the very real possibility of letting Governor Sebelius and her special-interest allies win the fight over Holcomb.

The ugly - the Budget debate will grow contentious...quickly. House and Senate members from all over the State will be fighting for large pieces of an ever-shrinking pie. The million-dollar question - will the legislature honor their commitment to hold the line on spending growth, keeping it under 5% of the previous budget figure? StayRed predicts - and hopes - they will.

StayRed received a very interesting e-mail submission last week, that discussed a story obviously missed by friendly media oulets, but relevant nonetheless.

Earlier this month, sports fans all over the Nation turned their eyes toward Augusta National Golf Course in Georgia for the annual 'Masters' golf tournament, perhaps the most prestigious P.G.A. event in the entire world. Millions of viewers tuned in to see which of the stacked field would rise to the top.

Despite this fact, not all eyes from the Sunflower State were focused on Augusta. In fact, thousands of Kansans took time out of their weekend to celebrate another sporting extravaganza that is much more relevant to the MidWest - the Kansas Governor's One-Shot Turkey Hunt.

This turkey-hunt is the largest of its' kind in the Country, soliciting the help of over 650 volunteers! In addition to those folks, hundreds more attended as actual event participants. Heck, former Governors Mike Hayden and Bill Graves even decided to show up. Guess who wasn't there, folks? Yea, that's right - Kathy Sebelius, who was supposed to be the flipping host of the event, for God's sake!

Also of note - the Governor's 'Gun,' which is typically auctioned off at the event, giving the highest bidder the opportunity to use the gun during the next year's event - went for 1/4 of its' normal bidding price. Apparently the hunters even felt incredibly slighted by Kathy's neglect. 
 
Kathy's absence provides her with the dubious distinction of being the first sitting Governor to miss the event in the last 22 years! Way to go, Kathy. We're certainly glad you haven't totally abandoned your constituency in order to boost your national street cred!

It appears that Kathy's buddy Barack Obama isn't the only 'elitist' member of the liberal left - Governor Sebelius can blow off the common folk with the best of 'em.