Hey how are we doing in KS?

[DrCorday]

Ok, I have a confession. I don't live in Kansas.

I live in Washington, but pretty much my entire family lives out there (in Parsons - it's tiny). So of all the "red states," Kansas is pretty much my favorite. I think.

I guess I don't really know anymore what the point of this post was... except to say this:

I've heard this rumor that Brownback could be leaving the Senate: http://blogs.ljworld.com/kansas_congress/2005/jan/28/worldbank/

Which would kick ass, because I frankly don't like him at all.

[RoBear]

1. Unhappily, I think that's just a rumor.

I agree with you. He and Tiahrt are the most odious men I can think of (from Kansas anyway--if you're talking nationally, well the list gets huge).

[atommom]

2. I'd be happy to see him go too, but am almost afraid to hope...

Although I wouldn't be surprised to see his Republican friends giving him some kind of high-profile job (at the World Bank or elsewhere) soon. By my standards, he is one of the worst in the Senate (as is Pat Roberts).... so it follows that the Bush administration is probably very happy with him! ;)

[MuseRider]

3. Hi back!

About Brownback. I know him personally, he can be very nice to your face. As a representative? He doesn't show up if you want to meet him, he does not respond with anything but his opinion, will not discuss anything, he does not care what you think if you do not agree with him. He does not represent. The word around here is he is thinking of running for President. Sounds about right for the job don't you think? :eyes:

[atommom]

4. I don't usually put much stock in what Steve Rose (of the

Johnson County Sun) says, but his article on Brownback as a possible president gave me the creeps.
<snip>
I would bet my bottom dollar -- although gambling is not embraced by conservatives -- that our own U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback is already planning to run for President, following Bush. Brownback's success is quite plausible, if the shift to the right keeps moving in that direction. Brownback's brand of conservatism -- far more religiously conservative than Bush's -- could take him into the Oval Office.
What would this nation look like after four more years of Bush and eight years of Brownback? I'd be happy to venture a guess.

By the end of Brownback's two terms, 12 years from now, the U.S. Senate may have 60-plus conservative Republicans, and the U.S. House could be so conservative that only Democrats from California and New York would remain.

By the time 2016 rolls around, and Brownback would depart, seven of the nine Supreme Court Justices could be right wing. The whole Federal judiciary could be filled with hard-line conservatives.

The Right will have brought liberals and moderates to their knees. Middle America would control America, while the citizens on the two coasts -- California and New York -- could only watch in disbelief, as if from alien nations.


More nightmare-inducing predictions follow...
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=13342055&BRD=1459&PAG=461&dept_id=155743&rfi=8

[MuseRider]

5. YIKES! n/t

[proud2BlibKansan]

6. I am not really crazy about Steve Rose either

but he is a moderate Republican. I am beginning to be lots more tolerant of them than I used to be :)

[hightension]

17. Around here

People would eat it up.
Our fundies in the midwest aren't really fundies though. They're more like the people are about a year behind in the fashion scene on the coasts.
Our fundies are simply looking at what the real southern fundies are doing, and trying to copy it.
And rabidly supporting a religious righty would pretty much be like upgrading to the Eddie Bauer package, in JoCo thinking.

[beyurslf]

7. The only way he leaves the Senate is for the White House or Cedarcrest

[SheilaT]

8. I'm not sure Steve Rose can be

characterized as a moderate Republican. He claims to be moderate, but he supports conservative Republicans -- including Brownback in the recent election -- almost every time over Democrats.

Brownback is scum in my opinion. And his staff is pretty interesting, in their own way.

In the summer of 2003 I was in DC, attending a disease foundation conference. As part of the conference, we members went to Capitol Hill to lobby our Representatives and Senators on behave of the foundation. I wound up waiting in Brownback's reception area for over an hour (not their fault -- my fellow lobbyists were delayed) and was amazed to watch the squeaky-clean receptionist, who was training an intern, be completely professional and efficient, and then turn to me and trash Senator Roberts to me. Talk about unprofessional!

I would love it if Brownback would retire, but no doubt the Bush Administration would simply appoint him to a post where he could do more damage to more people than he already does.

I wish the people of Kansas would wake up and understand that these ultra-conservatives do NOT have their best interests in mind.

[proud2BlibKansan]

9. I wrote Brownback

asking him to vote against Condi. I also wrote him recently about special ed legislation and election reform. In fact, I have written him probably six or seven times since he was elected to represent me. I always write my Senators and Congressmen. I have been voting since 1972 and writing letters for about that long.

Funny thing is - Brownback never responds. Not even a form letter. Pat Roberts always responds and so does Dennis Moore. So I was kind of excited when I finally got a response from Brownback in January to my request concerning Condi.

But then after I read his letter, I wanted to :puke:. It was a glowing endorsement of 'Dr. Rice'. He didn't even refer to her by her first name. And lemme tell ya, he could use that letter to nominate her for the Nobel Prize.

Pat Roberts doesn't always agree with me. But he usually says something like 'I hope you understand my stance' or 'I know you have a different opinion on this issue'. And he does ALWAYS respond. So did Kassebaum. I have to respect that.

I am thinking of just not writing Brownback anymore. I don't think I can handle another pro Condi letter. That was pretty disgusting.

[MuseRider]

10. Pat Roberts

usually includes a place where if you write to him personally, snail mail I believe, he will respond personally. Like him or not he is at least accessable. We never agree though. I got a letter from Ryan once asking for my opinion on something so I wrote them and sent them and have never heard from him again. I used to get stuff from him all the time. I was respectful, not rude but I did not support his idea so he dumped me I guess.

[proud2BlibKansan]

11. Dole was like that

until right before he ran for prez. I had written him for years and rarely got a response. Then all of a sudden, I was getting answers to my letters. Then he announced his prez campaign.

I write the state reps in MO also. I work there. I also pay taxes there. Their educ laws and policies directly affect me. I have taught in MO for 25 years and have corresponded with the reps that entire time. I always explain that I teach in MO. Sometimes I use my school address but I also use my home address, especially in the summer. None of them ever questioned my residence. Then last election, a crazy group of Repukelicans was elected. One of them replied last year, asking why I was writing him since I was a registered voter in KS. Which kind of freaked me out, since I had emailed him. (So did he do a background check on me before he replied?) He said he only corresponded with HIS constituents.

[MuseRider]

12. You,

my dear, are doubly screwed! Man, it sucks here right now doesn't it?

[proud2BlibKansan]

13. Yes it does.

But I think KS is in far better shape right now than MO, as far as the direction the state legislature is going. We have some major issues to tackle and are getting more than our fair share of negative national attention in the Sunflower State. But the folks in Topeka seem lots more civilized and sensible than the yahoos in Jeff City. Last year, during the debate in the House on education funding, the repukes in Jeff City made fart noises and siren sounds when a Dem made a point they did not agree with. They shouted down the governor during his state of the state address! It was no wonder that Holden decided against running for re-election. Jefff City has turned into a combat zone.

It's very sad. Mel Carnahan was a remarkable man and a wonderful governor. He was a great friend of education and oversaw many needed reforms to schools in Missouri. We are on the cutting edge with our state accountability standards and have one of the better state assessments in the country. Carnahan also started the Caring Communities program, which places fully staffed health clinics in schools all over the state; this program gives parents and community members direct access to social services.

Since Carnahan died, we have had to do battle to keep the idiot repukes from dismantling his reforms. I am sure he is literally spinning in his grave while the battle in Jeff City goes on.

[atommom]

14. I know a Democratic state Rep in Missouri, and she was

literally in tears on election night, when she saw how bad it was about to get there. It's hard for the sane ones to get anything done these days!

[MuseRider]

15. I knew it was bad

but that is much worse than I thought. Carnahan was a good guy. This is really sad. Kansas is in the spotlight right now but it sounds like Missouri has slipped over the edge already.

[DrCorday]

16. AGH! Brownback for Prez?!

Okay, there actually could be worse. Among them: Santorum for Prez, Chambliss for Prez, and, of course, Bush for Prez.

I wrote my senator (Patty Murray), encouraging her to vote down Rice. She wrote back with some kind of canned letter that went like "Okay, Rice sucks, but I really don't want to open the door for Bush to nominate Jerry Falwell or something."

About three weeks later, she sent out a letter about how she was quickly regretting voting for Rice, and how if she had a second chance, she'd probably vote with Kerry and friends. (Maybe she saw the polls, or the ugly jacket thing Condi wore in Egypt or wherever?)

So that's my senator-voting-for-Rice-against-my-wishes story. Okay, it's not as bad, but at least it distracted me from the idea of a Brownback/Santorum ticket. AGH! Why did I just remind myself?!

See ya all!

[hfojvt]

18. Parsons is not tiny

I would call it mid-sized. Mound Valley is tiny, Altamount is tiny, even Belleville and Marysville are tiny, but Parsons is not. At least not from the perspective of SD or even Wisconsin. In Wisconsin, a town the size of Parsons would have a two year college which is part of the UW system. Even places like Baraboo (8,000) and Richland Center (5,000) have two year colleges. And you think Parsons is tiny?
Check out my piece about Emporia:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=209&topic_id=366&mesg_id=636&page=
Can you tell me how the economy/life is going in Parsons? Is the town in free-fall? Are young people pouring out of it like rats from a sinking ship?