WE Blog

Death penalty review promised

Rhonda Holman — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 12:04:23 +0000

Good for state Sen. Thomas “Tim” Owens, R-Overland Park, for his stated commitment to give a proposed repeal of Kansas’ unused death penalty more than a cursory glance in the legislative session that starts in January. “We are going to have a complete and thorough discussion of death penalty abolition,” said Owens, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee. Since Kansas reinstated capital punishment in 1994, nine men have taken up residence on death row but no execution dates are in sight. Meanwhile, according to a 2003 study, capital cases are costing Kansas 70 percent more than noncapital cases.

Open thread 11/8

Rhonda Holman — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 12:03:30 +0000

Everything really should be on the budget table

Phillip Brownlee — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 12:02:22 +0000

When talking about budget problems, state lawmakers like to say that “everything is the table.” But they usually don’t mean it — refusing to consider tax increases or cuts to certain programs. However, the state’s budget shortfall is so serious — nearly half a billion dollars this fiscal year, according to new revenue estimates and including increased education costs — that lawmakers need to rise above their rigid ideologies and be open to all options. That includes more cuts to education and other important programs, delaying the phase-in of tax cuts, and increasing some taxes or eliminating some sales-tax exemptions.

Roberts already wants a fourth term

Rhonda Holman — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 12:01:12 +0000

When Sen. Sam Brownback gives up his job to run for governor next year, it could be Kansas’ only open seat for a while. The Hutchinson News reported that Sen. Pat Roberts, who is officially Kansas’ “junior senator,” already plans to run for a fourth term in 2014 and had $82,256 in campaign cash as of September. If Roberts won in 2014 and served the full six years, by the way, he’d be 84 when his term ended in early 2021. At that point, Roberts’ 24 years in the Senate would make his longevity among Kansans second only to Bob Dole’s 27 years.

So they said

Rhonda Holman — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 12:00:37 +0000

“I had a tremendous time looking at fossils.” — Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (in photo), in Lawrence, saying KU’s Dyche Hall “may be the best university natural history museum in the United States”

“My name has been besmirched.” — Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, in Pittsburg, saying an earmarks-related ethics probe was started by an anonymous accusation

“We hurt people. I can tell you who didn’t share in the pain: corporate interests.” — Rep. Ann Mah, D-Topeka, on the 2009 Legislature’s spending cuts

“I was just reading this interesting story that I was going to run for the Senate in Kansas as a Democrat. I don’t know where that came from. I’m a lifelong Republican.” — Sheila Bair, chairwoman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

Pro-con: Have White House gripes boosted Fox?

Phillip Brownlee — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:02:54 +0000

The Obama White House’s inexplicable war on Fox News has magnified Fox’s stature among viewers. Far from marginalizing Fox and delegitimizing it as a news source, as intended, the feud has made more people than ever choose Fox News as their favored source of television infotainment. Fox’s ratings bumped up almost 10 percent in the two weeks after the White House decided to engage Fox News directly. And among advertisers’ favorite demographic — 25- to 54-year-olds — Fox’s ratings went up a whopping 14 percent. This is probably not the kind of change Obama voters thought they were voting for. Congratulations, Obama. You have transformed Fox into the most successful “news” channel ever. — D.K. Jamaal, Examiner.com

The breathless claim that Fox News’ ratings recently spiked thanks to the White House’s public critique is bogus hype. A detailed analysis of Nielsen ratings numbers clearly indicates that in the two weeks after the White House in mid-October sparked a media controversy by claiming Rupert Murdoch’s channel was not a legitimate news organization, Fox News’ ratings did not soar. They experienced no significant increase at all. Instead, in the two weeks after the initial verbal jousts with the White House, Fox News’ total day ratings virtually flatlined. Think about it. The unfolding controversy — which gobbled up untold hours and pages of news coverage as the Beltway press treated the dispute like a major news event — and the hubbub barely moved the ratings needle one inch in Fox News’ favor. — Eric Boehlert, Media Matters

Open thread 11/7

Rhonda Holman — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:01:53 +0000

Praeger still optimistic about health reform

Rhonda Holman — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:00:52 +0000

To hear the GOP members of the Kansas congressional delegation tell it, passage of health reform will end liberty as we know it. Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, is already talking about trying to repeal or defund any bill that makes it into law. Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger (in photo), also a Republican, has concerns about the unlevel playing field a public option could create, but she remains optimistic about reform overall, telling the Topeka Capital-Journal: “If we go with a plan that retains as much flexibility as possible, keeps the states are regulators, allows us to continue to be there for consumers, and we could get a national system in place in terms of no pre-existing condition exclusions and everybody have coverage and meaningful subsidies, I think we’d all be better.”

Shooting is tragic, terrible

Phillip Brownlee — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:04:10 +0000

The shooting at Fort Hood is so tragic and terrible. As President Obama stated, “these are men and women who have made the selfless and courageous decision to risk and at times give their lives to the rest of us on a daily basis. It is horrifying that they should come under fire at an Army base on American soil.” Suspect Maj. Nidal M. Hasan is in stable condition, and authorities are still trying to piece together what may have prompted the attack. In the meantime, our prayers should go out to the families of those killed and to the wounded, which includes a woman from Kansas.

Kellogg-Rock a major milestone

Rhonda Holman — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:03:20 +0000

This week’s opening of the Kellogg freeway at Rock Road — eastbound lanes Wednesday, westbound lanes today — represents a major milestone for Wichita’s transportation system that arguably deserved fireworks and a marching band. Then again, the ability to drive 14 miles along Kellogg without stopping may suffice, especially for those who remember when the thoroughfare was a 19-stoplight nightmare. It will take a while not only for the city to open all the through and turn lanes at Kellogg and Rock but also for drivers to adjust to the changes. And watch the speed out there: As more of Kellogg becomes a freeway, it must not also become a free-for-all.

Open thread 11/6

Rhonda Holman — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:02:19 +0000

Avery had a unique burden

Rhonda Holman — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:01:28 +0000

Kansans’ thoughts and prayers are with the family of William Avery, the former Republican governor who died Wednesday at age 98. Avery was the last Kansas governor to feel the weight of the death penalty on his shoulders, having dealt with the appeals of the “In Cold Blood” killers and two others among the last to be hanged in the state, in 1965. Yet he advocated in 1985 that Kansas reinstate the death penalty, viewing it as reasonable protection for law-abiding citizens. Avery, who billed himself as “Kansas’ No. 1 salesman” and served 10 years in Congress before running for governor, actually took pride in tax increases — though the 1965 package of income and sales taxes, intended to fund education and provide property-tax relief, denied him re-election in 1966. “The teachers told me they appreciated that. But when it got to election time, I saw no evidence they told anybody,” Avery said decades later. Given that Gov. Mark Parkinson and legislators could face a fiscal 2011 budget shortfall of $500 million, it was sobering to realize Thursday that the shortfall Avery aimed to bridge back then was a mere $50 million.

Will ethics leak hurt Tiahrt?

Rhonda Holman — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:00:09 +0000

When Politico blogger Ben Smith heard that Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, was among the more than two dozen House members who are the subject of an ethics inquiry, he wondered whether it meant Rep. Jerry Moran, R-Hays, will be a senator soon. “It’s tough enough running in a GOP primary in a conservative state as an appropriator. . . . And when you have even a whiff of scandal surrounding your role as a congressional spender, you’re in an even tougher spot,” Smith wrote. “Tiahrt will need to clear his name quickly on this.”

GOP reform bill makes Democrats’ plan look good

Phillip Brownlee — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:38:24 +0000

The Congressional Budget Office concluded this week that the GOP health care reform proposal would end up adding about 6 million people to the ranks of the uninsured. By 2019, 52 million people would be uninsured (up from 46 million today). In comparison, the CBO determined that the Democrats’ bill would leave about 18 million uninsured. The Democrats’ bill also would reduce the deficit more than the Republican plan, the CBO calculated. “The only thing worse than having no health care reform plan is releasing a bad one, getting thrashed by CBO and making the House Democrats look good in comparison,” wrote Ezra Klein of the Washington Post.

Campaign managers trade jabs

Phillip Brownlee — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:03:48 +0000

Scott Paradise, campaign manager for 4th Congressional District candidate Wink Hartman, dismissed the endorsement of fellow GOP candidate Mike Pompeo by state Sen. Susan Wagle, R-Wichita, as one career politician endorsing another political insider. “If we want our government to change, then we have to stop sending those same career politicians to Washington,” Paradise said in a statement. Pompeo’s campaign manager, Aaron Jack, responded that Pompeo is a businessman and a first-time candidate for office, not a politician. “Here we are, 52 weeks to the day from the general election, and already Wink Hartman has decided to launch a negative campaign,” Jack said.

Open thread 11/5

Rhonda Holman — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:02:48 +0000

Disclosing meals, gifts has merit

Phillip Brownlee — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:01:48 +0000

Setting aside Sedgwick County Commission Chairman Kelly Parks’ mysterious comment Tuesday about how he had “turned some stuff over to the FBI” — no one at the county seemed to know what he was talking about — Parks’ push for disclosing free meals and gifts received by commissioners has merit. Taxpayers deserve to know who is spending money hoping to influence policymakers. Commissioner Dave Unruh questioned the benefit of reporting every minor gift that commissioners receive, such as a coffee cup. But the commission could set a minimum dollar value of gifts and meals that should be disclosed.

Hopeful signs for Rainbows

Rhonda Holman — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:00:17 +0000

It’s encouraging that Rainbows United appears to have resolved objections to its reorganization plan and could emerge from bankruptcy as early as March. The agency provides essential services to special-needs children and their families. Recognition also should go to Rainbows’ creditors for agreeing to a reorganization. Some creditors, such as the South Central Kansas Education Center, are small organizations, and Rainbows’ bankruptcy is a significant hardship for them, too.

Big wins for GOP but mixed results for conservatives

Phillip Brownlee — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:39:02 +0000

GOP wins Tuesday in the governor races in New Jersey and Virginia boosted Republicans’ hopes for a 2010 comeback. But the win by Democrat Bill Owens (in photo) in a special New York congressional race — a seat that Republicans have held for more than a century — highlighted what can happen when conservatives try to purge moderates from the GOP. National conservative talk-show hosts blasted the GOP candidate as too liberal and not a true Republican. And politicians such as Sarah Palin and even Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, injected themselves into the race by endorsing the Conservative Party candidate. But Newt Gingrich warned that such national interference in local elections could make Nancy Pelosi the House “speaker for life” and guarantee President Obama’s re-election. “I think we are going to get into a very difficult environment around the country if suddenly conservative leaders decide they are going to anoint people without regard to local primaries and local choices,” Gingrich said.

Tiahrt takes aim at Democrats, Moran

Rhonda Holman — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:20:07 +0000

During a Monday town hall meeting in Pittsburg, Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, said that Democrats wanted to get people “into a life of dependency” from “cradle to the grave,” using the terms “communism” and “socialism” to describe them. “That didn’t work in Russia,” Tiahrt said. “And it didn’t work in Germany.” On his battle against the health reform bill, he said: “This is about freedom. . . . Nobody in America should ever have to go to a public official to get health care.” Nor did Tiahrt measure his words in discussing his rival for the U.S. Senate seat, Rep. Jerry Moran, R-Hays. Tiahrt said: “We need somebody to fight for us. We need somebody who is going to ride toward the sound of the guns.”

All Americans entitled to all of health reform

Rhonda Holman — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:19:44 +0000

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., proposes letting Americans in some states have the “public option” while leaving out other Americans who happen in lives in states that choose to opt out. The politically motivated idea offends Washington Post columnist David Broder. “Consider the precedent that would be set if a major piece of social legislation were to be passed with a states’ rights provision,” Broder wrote. “Imagine, for example, if Franklin Roosevelt had signed the first Social Security law with the proviso that any states with Republican governors and legislatures could exempt themselves from its coverage. This might have seemed a minimal concession to conservative opinion. But what would have followed? How long before some states would have demanded an exemption from the wage-and-hour law that established a minimum wage? And what about the clamor in a broad swath of the country when the first civil rights law was passed?”

Abortion could still derail health reform bill

Phillip Brownlee — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:03:07 +0000

Abortion remains a sticking point in health care reform legislation. The House version of the bill would allow people to use federal subsidies to buy private insurance that covers abortion, but only if the federal funds don’t go toward paying for an abortion. In other words, the insurance companies would have to use money from other sources, such as private employer insurance premiums, to pay for the coverage. But some House Democrats, led by Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan, want a complete ban, and may have enough votes to derail the bill.

Open thread 11/4

Rhonda Holman — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:02:50 +0000

New Palin books don’t explain derangement

Phillip Brownlee — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:48:58 +0000

Two more Sarah Palin books are coming out. “The Persecution of Sarah Palin” blames the media elite for Palin’s problems. “Sarah From Alaska” is sympathetic to the challenge Palin faced but argues that her lack of preparation contributed to her poor interview and debate performances. But neither book fully explains why Palin causes such derangement in many of her supporters and critics, a Washington Post book review argued.

Thomas didn’t mind criticisms of MSNBC

Phillip Brownlee — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:29:33 +0000

In his Oct. 28 column, Cal Thomas compared the Obama administration’s complaints about Fox News to “dictators who desire control over the flow of information in order to enhance their power.” So, asked Jon Stewart of “The Daily Show,” does that mean Thomas also objected when the Bush administration leveled similar complaints last year about MSNBC? No. Thomas groused in May 2008 that the Bush administration waited until its last year in office to criticize media coverage. “They should have taken on the media a lot sooner,” Thomas said.