USD 497 troll/teacher ("trocher"?) displays anti-Christian bigotry

Those who have visited the Facebook pages of Sam Brownback, Kris Kobach, and other Republicans may have noticed comments from a certain troll named David Reber. Reber is a teacher at Lawrence Free State High School and the lead negotiator for the Lawrence Education Association. In addition, Reber appears to be an anti-Christian bigot. See video below:

Reject the smearing of Kris Kobach

It won't surprise many that the Kansas City Star has endorsed Scott Morgan, the liberal Republican from Lawrence, over incumbent Secretary of State Kris Kobach in the August 5 GOP primary.  There are only liberals on the Star's editorial board, so they will pick the more liberal candidate.

However, note the Star's headline in their endorsement of Morgan: "Reject extremism in Kansas’ Aug. 5 primary." Of course, no one should accept extremism. However, the endorsement never got around to defining what they meant by "extremism." In fact, the word was never used again after the headline. The Star merely expressed its opposition to a Kansas law that requires voters to show they are citizens before they can legally vote in Kansas. This is hardly an extreme position. In fact, a March 2014 survey found that 78% of likely voters believe everyone should be required to prove his or her citizenship before being allowed to register to vote. That’s up from 71% a year ago. Just 19% oppose that requirement. The Star is with the 19%, suggesting that they may hold the extreme position with a shrinking minority.

Liberals have been employing the "extremist" smear for decades now. In fact, Ayn Rand wrote an outstanding essay during the early 1960s entitled, "'Extremism,' or the Art of Smearing":

Among the many symptoms of today’s moral bankruptcy, the performance of the so-called “moderates” at the Republican National Convention was the climax, at least to date. It was an attempt to institutionalize smears as an instrument of national policy—to raise those smears from the private gutters of yellow journalism to the public summit of a proposed inclusion in a political party platform. The “moderates” were demanding a repudiation of “extremism” without any definition of that term. 

Further:

This brings us to the deeper implications of the term “extremism.” It is obvious that an uncompromising stand (on anything) is the actual characteristic which that “anti-concept” is designed to damn. It is also obvious that compromise is incompatible with morality. In the field of morality, compromise is surrender to evil. 

There can be no compromise on basic principles. There can be no compromise on moral issues. There can be no compromise on matters of knowledge, of truth, of rational conviction. 

If an uncompromising stand is to be smeared as “extremism,” then that smear is directed at any devotion to values, any loyalty to principles, any profound conviction, any consistency, any steadfastness, any passion, any dedication to an unbreached, inviolate truth—any man of integrity. 

"Man of integrity" would be a good way to describe Kris Kobach. If you agree with that, then reject the smearing of Kobach.

'Republican' Davis supporter switched parties days before news conference

Cynthia Yulich, former USD 497 school board member (2003-2007) and president of Emprise Bank in Lawrence, is one of the 104 103 "Republicans" who are supporting liberal Democrat Paul Davis in his bid to unseat the Republican incumbent, Sam Brownback, in this year's gubernatorial race.

It turns out that, since at least as early as August 2008, Yulich had been either a registered Democrat or an unaffiliated voter. According to the Douglas County Clerk’s Office, she registered as a Republican on July 2.

Like Scott Morgan, the "moderate" Republican running for secretary of state, Yulich was on the Lawrence school board when USD 497 started working with the Pacific Educational Group's "Courageous Conversations" program. As this blog has noted before, USD 497 has spent more than $300,000 on this is radical, socialist, and, frankly, racist program during the past several years. That should give voters an idea of just how radical some of these "moderate" Republicans actually are.

h/t Travis Perry, KansasWatchdog.org

Scott Morgan and Wint Winter go "All In"

Three days after Scott Morgan appeared at a rally organized by the Democrat-dominated Mainstream Coalition and a day after Winter Winter, Jr. formally endorsed liberal Democrat Paul Davis for Kansas governor, the "moderate" duo appeared on MSNBC's "All In with Chris Hayes" on July 16. (video here, transcript here)

If I had to describe their appearance in one word, that word would be "odd." If fact, Morgan offered this response after Hayes asked him why he was challenging Kris Kobach in the GOP primary race for secretary of state:

Well, it`s kind of an odd decision, but frankly it was realization that at some point
you have to stand up and say, this isn`t as -- we`re better than this. 

And he was such an extreme example of what had gone wrong in Kansas,
and I was oddly qualified for the secretary of state, and so I decided, you
tell your kids, you have to stand up to the bully, and I said, OK, I need
to stand up and say, this doesn`t represent us.

Of course, two nominal Republicans appearing on MSNBC to join in on that network's bashing of the GOP is not a common occurrence. But there was Morgan and Winter sandwiched in between segments featuring Robert Reich, Bill Clinton's secretary of labor and chairman of the left-wing Common Cause, and a certain Zephyr Teachout, who is challenging Andrew Cuomo in the Democrat primary for governor of New York because she doesn't believe he is liberal enough. As you can see, it was an odd evening.

According to Morgan, Kobach uses his position as secretary of state "as a platform both in the state and nationally to go against immigrants...." As someone married to an immigrant who came to this country legally, I have to take exception to that comment. My wife and I were at an event with Kobach last week. He could not have more cordial towards my wife. Morgan is being very dishonest when he conflates legal immigrants with illegal immigrants. Kobach's appearance with Gov. Cuomo's brother, Chris, on CNN on July 17, demonstrates that Kobach also is not a "bully" when it comes to illegal immigrants. He showed a great deal of compassion and sympathy towards the thousands of Central American children who have recently crossed our border. Cuomo and Kobach actually had a thoughtful and reasonable discussion about that tragedy of Obama's own making.

Kobach "just has a deep desire to be on national television," Morgan continued, apparently unaware of the fact that he was on national television, albeit a network with few viewers.

Morgan then went on to claim, without evidence, that Kobach "wants to be president." He followed that comment with this odd statement: "And so that doesn`t rub well with a lot of Kansans, whether
they`re moderate or conservative." No, because it rubbed us Kansans the wrong way when fellow Kansans Landon, Eisenhower, and Dole ran for president. 

Wint Winter was up next. Winter was representing the 104 (make that 103) "moderate" Republicans who have endorsed Democrat Paul Davis in his campaign to unseat Gov. Sam Brownback, a Republican. 

"What prompted you to take this somewhat dramatic step," Hayes asked Winter. Winter gave three reasons, all of which appear to be false. Here they are:

"Number one, he`s enacted, in his own words, an experimental extreme tax plan."

I can find no record of Brownback saying, in his own words, that his tax plan is "extreme." I have emailed Winter to see if he can provide a source for that claim and will include an update if he responds.

"[S]econdly, that`s resulted in cuts to our schools. Education is a victim of that experiment."

The following chart shows that actual per-pupil spending on education and the inflation-adjusted funding beginning in 1998 have both increased:

According to the Kansas Policy Institute, "Inflation-adjusted funding appears to have declined by 3.7% since 2008 (green line) but that is also misleading. Total funding as reported by the Kansas Department of Education is actually district-reported total expenditures. KSDE calculates local expenditures by subtracting the amounts they funnel to school districts from state and federal sources from district-reported total expenditures. However, local expenditures are not the same as local funding because districts often do not spend all of the state and local tax dollars they receive. The portion not spent is used to increase their cash reserves (and not reported as funding)."

Winter's third reason was that Brownback's tax plan resulted in "a very substantial deficit spending."

However, as Raney Gilliland, Kansas Legislative Research Department director, told Kansas Watchdog, “There really aren’t deficits, I think you’re probably aware of that, because constitutionally we can’t go below zero.”

Winter later went on to say, "we need a governor in the state legislature that can balance the budget."

Winter hasn't be in the state legislature for more than two decades, so perhaps he has forgotten that the governor does not serve in the state legislature. The governor is in the executive branch.

When Hayes returned to Morgan, Morgan said, "But the point here wasn't to succeed necessarily -- I'd love to win and I think it's more possible than I would have thought." So Morgan is not in the race necessarily to succeed. I find that to be an interesting statement for two reasons. First, note that he said this after claiming that Kobach "doesn't want to be secretary of state." It sounds a bit as if Morgan was projecting. After all, at the beginning of the interview he said, "It's not the most exciting office; it's largely clerical." Second, doesn't that statement add more credence to the belief that Morgan is merely running against Kobach in the primary in an attempt to weaken the secretary of state before he faces his Democratic opponent in November?

Odd indeed.

Paul Davis' botched rollout of "Republicans for Kansas Values"

According to the Kansas City today, "The Paul Davis for Governor campaign said it slipped up Tuesday by not including its disclaimer on a news release announcing the endorsements of more than 100 Republicans in Kansas." Further:

Kansas law says any “brochure, flier, fact sheet, postcard, fund-raising invitation, or door hanger that expressly advocates the election or defeat of a candidate for state or local office must include the ‘paid for by’ statement,” according to the Ethics Commission website. 

[Republicans for Kansas Values] expressly endorsed Davis. 

Wednesday, an official with the Davis campaign said RKV isn’t an independent group, just part of the candidate’s campaign committee 

The official said the RKV news release should have included a statement it was paid for by the Davis for Governor committee.

Unfortunately for the Davis campaign, the RKV only got worse today. It seems that former U.S. Rep. Jan Meyers, 85, didn't really endorse Davis for governor. From the Kansas City Star:

Meyers said she did join Republicans for Kansas Values — “I’m trying to be a moderate” — but would never publicly endorse a Democrat over a sitting Republican governor. She said that “there must have been some miscommunication.”

One has to wonder if there was any "miscommunication" with others who signed the RKV new release.

 If Davis can't handle something as easy as a news release or signing up people to endorse his campaign, can we really expect him to be able to handle gubernatorial duties?

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/news/government-politics/article751853.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/the-buzz/article742322.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/the-buzz/article742322.html#storylink=cpy

Republicans for Kansas Values endorse Paul Davis

The Davis-Docking campaign has released a list of 104 Republicans who have, as a group that calls itself "Republicans for Kansas Values," endorsed Paul Davis, the Lawrence liberal Democrat, and his running mate, Jill Docking.

Looking through the list, the names are overwhelmingly names that appear on a list of so-called "Traditional Republicans for Common Sense." I wrote about this group in May, and made the following points:

Founding members of Traditional Republicans for Common Sense include former U.S. Sen. Sheila Frahm, former U.S. Rep. Jan Meyers, former State Sen. Dick Bond, and others who have not stood for election since the last century. It might be unfair to call these politicians “has-beens,” but there is an “All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up” feel to the group....

Former State Sen. Wint Winter, Jr. of Lawrence is also a member of Traditional Republicans for Common Sense. Winter, last elected to office in 1990, has opposed conservative Republicans for many years. For example, in November 1998 Winter and other “moderate” Republicans backed Craig Templeton over Jim Mullins, a conservative, in the election for chairman of the Douglas County Republican Party. U.S. Rep. Vince Snowbarger had just lost to Democrat Dennis Moore, leading one “moderate” to accuse Mullins of “sitting on his hands” prior to the election. Interestingly, just a few months before the chairmanship election, Templeton was the president of the short-lived Douglas County chapter of the Mainstream Coalition, a liberal organization founded by Rev. Robert Meneilly in Johnson County in 1994. The coalition’s political action committee, MAIN*PAC, actually mailed 67,000 postcards in opposition to Snowbarger’s reelection in 1998.

Is it possible that Winter was unaware of the Mainstream Coalition’s opposition to Snowbarger? Not likely. Winter’s brother, Dan, was on the Mainstream Coalition’s board of directors at the time. MAIN*PAC did its banking with Johnson County Bank, where Dan was the CEO and president.

Of course, Winter is quoted in the Davis-Docking press release along with Dick Bond, who recently accused U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts of "drinking the Kool-Aid" since he allegedly has moved to the right during recent years.

Conservative Republicans would be wise not to assign too much credibility to Republicans for Kansas Values. Their values are neither Kansas nor Republican values. Endorsing a far-left state representative who shares Barack Obama's ideology proves that.

UPDATE: Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger, Lawrence, is also a member of Republicans for Kansas Values. Earlier this year, she teamed up with Jill Docking and other liberals to form "Reroute the Roadmap." At that time, Praeger "insisted her membership in the group was not tantamount to an endorsement of Davis." Of course, that claim fits in with her tendency to stray from the truth.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/the-buzz/article337679/Praeger-continues-to-distance-herself-from-Brownback.html#storylink=cpy

Scott Morgan to rally with far-left group today

Scott Morgan, GOP candidate for Kansas Secretary of State, announced on his Facebook page that he had been endorsed by the MainStream Coalition's political action committee, MainPAC. In addition, he would be attending the 2014 MainPAC Candidate Rally this afternoon at the Shawnee Civic Centre.

For those unfamiliar with the Mainstream Coalition, it is a far-left group that was founded in Johnson County during the 1990s. But don't just take my word for it when I say it's a far-left group. Consider this letter from Craig Templeton, who was president of the Douglas County chapter of the Mainstream Coalition in 1998:

November 11, 1998 

Mr. John Watkins 

Dear John: 

At the Tuesday meeting, you encouraged us to write, call or fax you if we have anything we felt should be discussed. Tuesday night at the Holidome, you asked me about my involvement with the Mainstream Coalition. You became rather distracted and I didn't get the chance to respond to your question, so I ask your indulgence here for a moment. 

A group of local women had approached me and asked if I could help with their effort to organize a local "Mainstream" group. They explained that they wanted to form this group to provide an open discourse to educate people about issues of the day. They further wanted a community balance and wanted me to provide a conservative perspective. I savor any opportunity to preach to the unsaved! I thought this was my big chance! 

I was wrong. 

The group turned out to be heavily weighted to the left--too many Democrats for my taste. I also then heard the group's founder, Bob Meneilly, speak at KU. It was clear I was making a mistake. Kevin Groenhagan [sic] of the Lawrence Business Ledger was at the same speech and spoke to me afterward about disturbing investigative research he had done on the organization. I invited him to drop by my office where he shared a raft of research he had put together on the Mainstream. 

My last official act with that organization was to make a motion to disband the Douglas County group. The motion carried and to my knowledge the organization gasped its last breath. I am actually proud to say that the only official act I took with the organization resulted in its complete collapse in Douglas County. I guess I sort of thought you'd be supportive of such action on my part. I wish I'd had the chance to clarify this for you Tuesday night. 

Thank you for your interest in my work for the community. 

Sincerely,
Craig Templeton 

cc: Kevin Groenhagan [sic], Lawrence Business Ledger
      Members of the Douglas County Republican Central Committee

Members of the Douglas County Republican Central Committee had good reason to be concerned about Templeton's involvement with the Mainstream Coalition. The group's political action committee had just mailed out 67,000 postcards of behalf of Dennis Moore, the Democrat who successfully defeated U.S. Rep. Vince Snowbarger, a Republican, in the campaign for the the 3rd District. However, Templeton was running to chair the Douglas County Republican Party as a moderate alternative to Jim Mullins, who had just finished one term as chair and narrowly defeated Templeton for a second term. Obviously, Templeton had a little explaining to do, and part of that explaining entailed saying that he made a mistake because the Mainstream Coalition was "heavily weighted to the left--too many Democrats for my taste." Templeton's perception of the group's Democratic Party bias was accurate, albeit a bit belated.

In fact, the Mainstream Coalition became a member organization of The Interfaith Alliance (TIA) during the 1990s. Meneilly served on that organization's board of directors. TIA was started in 1994 with $25,000 seed money from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which, of course, exists mainly to recruit and raise money for Democratic congressional candidates.

Jill Hanauer's served as TIA's executive director until 1997. As a student at the University of Colorado, Hanauer called in the American Civil Liberties Union to help her stop that school's football coach, Bill McCartney, from leading his team in a moment of silence before games. McCartney would later found Promise Keepers. After college, Hanauer raised more than $3 million for the Democratic National Committee and then joined the National Abortion Action League in 1990. She had also worked for liberal Democrats such as Tom Harkin, Gary Hart, and Patricia Schroeder.

Hanauer's anti-Christian and pro-abortion positions are also evident in the Mainstream Coalition. For example, in the October 1997 issue of Messenger, the official newsletter of the Mainstream Coalition, Meneilly attacked the Promise Keepers for using religion to promote political agendas. "[The Promise Keepers] claim only to be religious, but driving men to Washington (of all places) is an attempt to make more of a political statement than a religious witness!" Meneilly wrote. Of course, Meneilly failed to mention that the headquarters of his TIA was, and continues to be, located in (of all places) Washington, D.C.

Incidentally, the "raft of research" Templeton wrote about in his letter eventually became a 1999 report entitled "The Mainstream Coalition Exposed." You can download the report here.

Some might look at the dates of everything mentioned above and wonder if perhaps the Mainstream Coalition has become less of a left-wing extremist group during the past 15 years or so. Unfortunately, it remains as rabidly pro-abortion and anti-Christian as ever. Consider a letter to the editor that Michele Burger, the Mainstream Coalition's president, wrote to several Kansas newspapers after Gov, Sam Brownback proclaimed December 8, 2012 as "National Day of Restoration":

Gov. Sam Brownback proclaimed Dec. 8 as a “Day of Restoration,” exhorting all Kansans to “repent” and pray to a “Holy God.” This official proclamation by our sitting governor cannot go unchallenged, as our great constitutional republic is built on the foundation that religion and government should be separate. 

Some say that people who object to government displays of religious texts, symbols and proclamations shouldn’t take “offense” so easily. This has nothing to do with taking offense; it’s about a clear understanding of the fundamental dangers to our constitutional republic when religion and government are mixed. Our history is replete with examples of what happens when government and religion are not kept separate. 

Our society is and always has been pluralistic, and our founders made clear that respect for all religions, and no religion, would be the law of the land. If our founders could read Brownback’s religious proclamation, I am certain they would hang their heads in shame.

Would the Founders really hang their heads in shame? Consider that on September 25, 1789, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution calling on President George Washington to issue a proclamation designating a national day of prayer and thanksgiving. The Senate agreed to the resolution the next day. Washington issued that proclamation on October 3: “Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor—and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me ‘to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.’”

Interestingly, the House of Representatives passed the prayer and thanksgiving resolution on the very same day that they sent 12 amendments to President Washington to be transmitted to the states for ratification. Those amendments included what became the First Amendment. That would be the same First Amendment that Burger claimed laid the “foundation that religion and government should be separate,” and, hence, should have prohibited Brownback from issuing his proclamation. 

Craig Templeton eventually learned that the Mainstream Coalition was heavily weight to the left and was dominated by Democrats. As of this writing, Morgan has about 12 hours to realize the same thing and cancel his appearance at the MainPAC Candidate Rally and reject the group's endorsement. Failure to do so would only add to the growing perception that he is far too liberal to be a Republican candidate for any office in the state of Kansas.

Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/2012/12/16/2604226/letters-to-the-editor-on-school.html#storylink=cpy