This blog has no relationship to the Tim Huelskamp for Congress campaign

I have been asked to change the name of my blog so that it is clear I have no relationship to the Tim Huelskamp for Congress campaign.

Under normal circumstances, I would delete this blog now that I've started a new one, Right Kansas. However, in light of the recent hit blog against Sue Boldra, I am instead posting this last notice and keeping this blog open to protect against unwanted blogging from a certain other campaign.

Thanks for you understanding, and please visit Right Kansas!

A bit of egg on my face

Visit rightkansas.blogspot.com...

Well, I guess I have some egg on my face. Of course, I'm anonymous, so I guess I'll deal with it, right?

Anyway, imagine my surprise when I got this email.

To whom it may concern,

I am contacting you regarding your blog, Huelskampherald.blogspot.com, and I am asking that you change the name.

The name implies an affiliation with the Huelskamp campaign, which is incorrect, and so I ask that you select an alternate name to avoid any confusion. Your understanding in this matter is expected and appreciated.

Sincerely,

Brian A. Weber
Kansans for Huelskamp.

Yikes!

So, I'll be doing my best to import this blog to a new one, Right Kansas. We'll see how that goes. I'll send an email and see if I can leave HH up for a while. We'll see...

BTW, no hard feelings. I understand why Huelskamp has asked this and I'm happy to comply. So, unfortunately for everyone else in this race, I'll still be around, just at a different address!

Blogger wars go national

It's the joke that never dies.

Over the past couple of days, Rob Wasinger has begun reaching out to national blogs and posting his thoughts and comments there. It's difficult for me to be critical of this as more information from candidates is good and I appreciate someone willing to use new media to reach new voters.

And if that were the only motives behind the blogger bust out, I'd be fine. But there certainly seems to be an ulterior motive here, mainly, that Huelskamp hasn't rolled over and died like Wasinger's plan entailed. In fact, it looks like Huelskamp is dominating state support and been more than competitive on the national scene. That combined with an embarrassing public tie to his pro-Wasinger blog and the Boldra hit blog and suddenly a new blogger image becomes necessary.

Of course, it wouldn't be complete unless Huelskamp joined in. He now has posts up on Red State and American Spectator. Both are excellent and the Am Spec piece certainly highlights Wasinger's inability to say Sebelius is a bad choice for HHS. It's such a simple truth, one wonders why he can't spit it out.

Rob has a post up on Red State as well and has certainly gotten his blogger posse to recommend him. My favorite recommendation comes from E Pluribus Unum. I think it's because it reminds me of another bloggers name, but I can't quite put my finger on it. Perhaps my readers can help me out on that one. ;)

Huelskamp continues to fight for 2nd amendment rights, defund PP

It's easy to see why Kansans for Life decided to endorse Sen. Huelskamp.

An amendment was successfully adopted by the Kansas Senate that would de-fund Planned Parenthood in Kansas during the next budget year. Although the amendment still faces several hurdles, mainly pro-abortion Gov. Sebelius, the amendment just goes to show the strength and courage Sen. Huelskamp has to attack even the mightiest of the abortion industry.

At the same time, Sen. Huelskamp was also fighting Kansan's right to bear arms. SCR 1611 would allow the people to decide if an individuals right to bear arms should be included in the state constitution.

I continue to be amazed at how efficiently Sen. Huelskamp is able to move his priorities forward in the Kansas Senate and at his success on not just one issue, but many. His ability to produce results and not hyperbole is certainly an issue that I hope will be raised as the campaign drags on.

For me personally, I appreciate someone who follows through on past promises. As I mentioned back in December, Sen. Huelskamp said he would target Planned Parenthood funding, and he's now followed through. That's certainly refreshing given what we're used to seeing in Topeka, isn't it?

Also, I guess Sen. Huelskamp is now on Twitter. You can follow him @timhuelskamp. Looks as though he's a fairly regular tweeter. So if you tweet, give him a follow.

KFL endorses Huelskamp, makes life awful tough on Wasinger

While I left the country for spring break, it seems politics never takes a break anymore.

Kansans for Life took the unprecedented step of endorsing Sen. Tim Huelskamp for Congress a few days ago, which makes it, I'm sure, the earliest endorsement of a candidate in KFL history.

What makes this endorsement so interesting is Rob Wasinger's attempt in a March 10 fund raising letter to make it appear the National Right to Life committee had endorsed, or was leaning towards, endorsing him.

"Douglas Johnson of the National Right to Life Committee said I had been ‘a strong ally and key strategist in many pro-life fights in Congress."

There really seems to be no limit to the lies the Wasinger campaign is willing to tell in order to further Rob's own personal agenda of power in Washington. He's even willing to distort a fellow pro-lifers words in order to extract more money from Kansans hard earned paychecks.

So far, Rob has been unable to elicit even a penny in donations from the first congressional district. It seems that Rob's hit a wall, and when the chips were down, knowing how bad it would look to turn in another quarter of reports with no donations from the district he wants to represent, he decided instead to twist words and throw a fellow pro-lifer under the bus in order to gain the power he so desperately wants.

This desperate lie just further highlights Rob's continued inability to gain the support of Kansans in his campaign. And it just adds to the lies already told by the Wasinger campaign. Easily proven lies like telling the public he had already bought a house in Hays when in fact he had already changed his address to Cottonwood Falls. Like going on a national blog and saying I had posted something I hadn't. Like saying all of his campaign funds would be used in the first district when his campaign finance report only shows reimbursements to himself and his family. And now claiming an endorsement he's never received. What lie will the campaign tell next?

To me personally, this is just further proof of the failed strategy of the Wasinger campaign. Use unsuspecting national pro-life leaders to convince the folks back home that he's the most "pro-life" of them all and then build from there, eventually eliciting donations from people in the first district and shedding his "Washington persona."

But the problem with that strategy (or I think in Rob's case strategery) is pro-life activists in Kansas are engaged. They've been fighting the hard fights for years; they know who's friend and who's foe. They know who's been there for them when a fight needed to be fought and who threw prominent pro-lifers under the bus for their own gain. And no amount of outside influence is going to change their minds.

And that, I think, is why you're going to slowly see the Wasinger campaign implode. It won't happen overnight as I don't think he's tapped out his donors from Brownback's Presidential campaign, but as that money dries up and he becomes more desperate, you'll see more tricks just like the Doug Johnson endorsement lie. And each one will just put another nail in the coffin of his campaign.

Huelskamp highlighted on Eagle blog

The Wichita Eagle editorial blog noted today Sen. Huelskamp's opposition to a plan that would consolidate Kansas counties into 13 versus the 105 the state currently has.

“Wouldn’t we just save a lot more if we eliminate them all?” — Sen. Tim Huelskamp (in photo), R-Fowler, on the proposal by Sen. Chris Steineger, D-Kansas City, to consolidate Kansas’ 105 counties into 13 supercounties

The rhetorical question highlighted the question of how far politicians should go in considering government consolidation. The only state in the union that is not further organized into counties is Alaska.

KSNBC-01, in their usual fair handed fashion, believed this to be a quote of support of eliminating all counties in Kansas. Of course, the author doesn't seem to understand that the outrageous nature of this claim not only reflects poorly on the author, but it also provides further evidence the author of KS-01 is also behind the new Sue Boldra hit blog.

The Hutchinson news has more on the Boldra blog flap.

Heulskamp on Stay Red Kansas

Sen. Huelskamp has a guest post on Stay Red Kansas. Stay Red is allowing all of the primary election candidates give an appeal as to why they should be elected. Go on over and give it a read. Here are a few sections I particularly liked:

My record as a Kansas conservative leader is clear and consistent: For more than a decade in the Kansas State Senate, I've been a leading advocate for fiscal responsibility, the sanctity of life, judicial restraint, private property rights, and the protection of marriage.

While a lot of politicians talk about transformational conservative leadership, few actually try it. For the last dozen years, I am proud to say I have been a leader in fighting for innovative solutions in the Kansas State Senate – and I look forward to putting that same experience to work for you in the United States Congress.

A rather boring story

Well, this is going to be rather boring, but here goes...

My blog was graced with being the first place where Wasinger supporters linked to the first Huelskamp video they put out. It was just dumb luck that I happened to be online at the time and was the first one to view the video, as you can see by the screen shots with this post.

I've never been the first person to view a video on YouTube except when I was the one loading it. So, the only way that specific link could have been posted here was if the person posting it was the one who uploaded it.

The IP address of the comment links back to Steubenville, Ohio.

This is the same IP address as the first commenter to route people to the KSNBC-01 blog. Thus, our fair and balanced Ohio friends are apparently also the ones who produced both videos.

Both video's are from the first congressional district meeting at Kansas Days and, as everyone can tell, have been heavily edited. The angle of the camera is consistent with where the Rob Wasinger supporters were standing.

On Feb. 13, there were a barrage of comments on this post. It was surprising to me that this post triggered such an outrage from Wasinger's supporters because it didn't even have anything to do with the first district race. I just thought it was something that needed to be said.

In any case, all of those came from either the Steubenville, Ohio, Virginia, Washington D.C., or Boston areas. There were two different folks from Virginia while the other locals featured one commenter each.

Most comments concerned reimbursements to Sen. Huelskamp's wife. I discovered that only reports from 2006 are available online, so someone had to have gone to the Secretary of State's office and get campaign finance reports from 1996 to 2006. How that information got into the hands of bloggers from Ohio, Virginia and Massachusetts isn't clear to me.

One hour before the comment barrage started, there was a hit from an IP address in Hays for a few minutes.

There's of course more to this than what I've put up here, but I think it's best for everyone involved, even the out-of-state Wasinger supporters, that I stop here. There's of course nothing wrong with supporting your candidate; I do it.

And really I can't complain too much about the two videos. They're editing isn't that great so it's easy to see it was selective in nature. But of course, I'd hate to see a full audio file of the first district meeting show up on the internet.

I think the only problem I would address is the person from Massachusetts that decided to attack the adoptions of Sen. Huelskamp. I don't think you're doing your candidate a service by going there.

Instead of signing a clean campaign pledge and then attempting to attack anonymously from Ohio, Rob should have just been straight and honest about his attacks. At the very least, it'd be nice if you referenced your material.

KSNBC-01 today said they endorsed Rob Wasinger. Again, rather than attacking Huelskamp in a thin veil of fairness, I'd hoped that they would just be up front and honest about who they support. I had hoped today's endorsement would clear that up, but unfortunately, it didn't.

Here at Kansas01, we set out to follow the race in a non-partisan manner. We hope that we have been true to our intent, and we hope to continue reporting the race in such a manner.

...we will continue to chronicle the race, cutting through the spin, which means that we will continue to report on developments equally.

The Hutch News has a story up about Rob's new house in Cottonwood Falls. Why he told the Hutch News in December he'd bought a house in Hays I still don't understand.

Cottonwood Falls is a great town and the Flint Hills are just gorgeous. One of the best drives you can take is from Council Grove to Cassoday on K-177.

Also, the Kansas Jackass did a story about Huelskamp working to curb card check legislation in Kansas. I'd say more about unions and why they're good and bad sometimes, but I don't have the energy today.

Strategery

I think the best of Saturday Night Live comes around every four years. It's probably the only thing that keeps them from being canceled, if you ask me.

I think one of the best one liners came from the first Bush/Gore debate of 2000.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find the video of the second debate, but you may remember it. Bush had been criticized for not knowing much about foreign policy, so in an effort to remedy this, he names as many world leader names as possible. I'm so bummed I couldn't find the video, it was hilarious.

Anyway, it would seem our industrious candidate in the first has taken a lesson from the SNL playbook.

The strategery? Name as many towns in the first district as possible. And when he runs out of towns, say "Kansas" as much as possible. (pst St. Francis, Syracuse, Scott City)

Exhibit 1: Rob's most recent fund raising letter:

As the son of a truck driver who ran a dairy route stretching from Hays to Hillsboro and Hutchinson and back, I know the value of hard-earned dollar and a good day of work.

I know, they all start with 'H'. Very strange. What else starts with H that would trigger a subconscious list like that? Weird. (pst, Colby, Garden City, Medicine Lodge...)

Exhibit 2: Rob's updated website:

I am the son of two hard working parents from Hays, Kansas. We all drove back to Hays together.

Well, okay. I admit this may be more like a half an exhibit than a full one. But hey, he's kind of limited in towns he has a connection to, give him a break. What's he going to say, "Vote for me, I once had to stop for gas in Salina on the way back to Hays where I used to live with my aunt." (pst Goodland, Tribune/Greeley County, Elkhart)

Exhibit 3: Rob's updated campaign finance reports:

FEC FORM 2
STATEMENT OF CANDIDACY
FILING FEC-401797
1. Robert K Wasinger
NOTE: Address is different than previously reported
309 Oak Street
Cottonwood Falls, KS 66845-6845

This is interesting because it was filed two days after his finance report and more than a month after Wasinger told a Hutch News reporter he had already bought a house in Hays. It was also more than a month after listing his new Cottonwood Falls address for a reimbursement to himself for travel to an out of state fund raiser. (pst economic development) I guess maybe Rob was hoping no one would notice he changed his address to an empty house. (pst Emporia, McPherson, Council Grove)

Exhibit 4: Rob's new 'About' page - "Kansas" appears 25 times.

Hey, did I mention I'm from Kansas? You're from Kansas! Hey, I'm from Kansas! You know, we Kansans (who are from Kansas) should get together, Kansas, and talk about how great Kansas is, Kansas. We'll meet up, Kansas, sometime, Kansas, in Kansas, Kansas. (pst Great Bend, Hoisington, Lakin)

Exhibit 5: Very questionable judgment on this one, but here it is; attack liberals.

But I need your help to get elected to Congress. Right now, liberals are already attacking me.

Rob! Liberal is in the first district! (Kansas!) You need the votes man! Besides, I've been to Liberal. Every now and then they kind of flip out (once a year while running to be exact) but hey, a vote's a vote, right? (pst Hoxie, Bird City, Oberlin)

And of course, what strategery would be complete without turning the tables. Did you hear Huelskamp isn't from Kansas? Didn't want to come back when he was in high school? (pst Concordia, Clay Center, Glasgow)

I always say the best defense is a good offense. So I'm sure everyone will want to stay tuned this weekend when I tell you who's behind the videos you can find on KSNBC-01.

They're the unbiased, balanced ones.

(You know the only thing that would make this funnier is if I could find a widget that showed how many out of state people that check this blog are going to google maps right now to find these towns.)

Huckabee endorses Huelskamp

Well, I found some WiFi and it's a good thing I did.

"Tim Huelskamp is a rare breed of leader who boldly stands up for conservative principles -- and has a ten-year voting record to prove it."

That just part of the glowing endorsement Tim Huelskamp received earlier today from former Presidential candidate (and winner of the Kansas GOP caucus I might add) Mike Huckabee.

There's only one reason these endorsements are being made this early: money. But as I look at what's happened so far, (Thompson, Blackwell, Huckabee) it's interesting to note that Huelskamp has sought well known Washington outsiders while Wasinger has gone after those that have spent their share of time in Washington. A very smart move.

Huckabee continued with what I would call the recurring theme voters will hear from now until August 2010:

I would not be supporting Tim if he were not 100 percent Pro-Life. Tim did not tell me he was pro-life, his record did. And let me assure you that whether you're talking about fighting for lower taxes, government transparency, or protecting the 2nd Amendment, Tim Huelskamp's conservative voting record is solid.

A record. Isn't that refreshing? And not a record to run from, but a record to run to.

I am committed to doing what I can to help make sure he can bring those Kansas values to Washington, DC -- because we all know we have enough Washington values already. I hope you will join me in the fight for conservative values and support Tim Huelskamp for Congress."

So, not only does Sen. Huelskamp have more cash on hand and more Kansas donations, but he now has more prominent national endorsements (whether verified or anonymous), and thus more momentum and a better plan of attack than Rob Wasinger.

And he's now the only candidate with an endorsement that will actually translate into votes come August. The massive turnout of Kansas Republicans to vote for Mike Huckabee even though John McCain had virtually locked up the nomination should not be overlooked.

And he has a great voting record to back it all up.

That's what I call a front runner.

More here and here and here.

Happy trails!

Wow, so the state finally went broke. With Sebelius at the wheel, it was just a matter of time.

My hat's off to legislative leaders for finally standing up for what is right. I can't say that I'm any too happy to learn my return will be delayed, but this train wreck has been in the works for many, many years.

Well, it's been an eventful couple of days, but ol' farmerjoe won't be Schilling out much for the next few days. I'm off to the east coast early tomorrow morning.

I'll be meeting my HillBilly of a friend in the afternoon. He says he knows someone who works in the Senate that can get us good viewing spots, but I really doubt that. My wife plans to catch the last flight out after work to meet me for a late Valentine's Day. I don't really understand the FUSs over that holiday.

We hope to go by and see some action in the Capital. I'm thinking about trying to stop by the RCN and see what's going on at Republican headquarters. Maybe stop by Roberts or Brownback's offices, but I'd probably just end up talking to an intern.

I'll try and check in, but who knows if my hotel room will have internet or not. Last time I was there you had to pay for it. I don't think so!

Happy late Valentine's Day! And Happy Broke Kansas Day too, I think!

Barker caught funneling campaign donations

Mary Clarkin from the Hutch News has another interesting article up about the funneling of funds by Tim Barker's parents.

The Barker for Kansas campaign report showing money raised and spent during 2008 revealed the campaign returned $1,840 apiece to the candidate's parents, Patrick and Ann Barker, Pratt, because their donations exceeded federal limits.

The problem appeared to be triggered by campaign donations given by three Barker family-related firms, Barker Brothers LLC, Greengroup Ethanol LLC and Greengroup LLC. The report showed those donations in turn were reattributed to family members, so the donations were not actually given by the companies but by the family.

A corporation cannot give a campaign donation from its treasury, but must have a separate segregated fund for such donations, according to Mary Brandenberger, spokeswoman for the Federal Election Commission.

Reassigning the companies' donations to family members put Barker's parents over the $2,300 individual limit in 2008 per election cycle, thus prompting the return of excess donations.

I'm unsure why a lawyer and businessman would not be aware of the restrictions on corporate donations to his campaign.

I've been pondering over the past few weeks if Democrats would actually get a candidate for the first. I really began to wonder if they wouldn't just be happy enough with Barker. I mean, he hasn't even been a "Republican" for a year. He has a 24 year old Democrat as his Treasurer. And I've noticed comments on liberal blogs that supported him (kind of.) One was even from Bordonaro, Moran's last "challenge" in the first.

I'd have to say now though, that they will either have to find a Steve Morris to run or an actual registered Democrat.

The article also covered the other guys in the race:

Most of Wasinger's donations came from outside Kansas, while Huelskamp drew on in-state contributors

Of course I've already pointed out that Wasinger was only able to raise 3.4% of all contributions from Kansas, with nothing from the first district. That's a very sad state of affairs, although not as juicy I guess as campaign donation fraud.

Huelskamp advocates government transparency at all levels

When it comes to government transparency, Republican's continue to lead the state in innovative, practical ideas. I'm happy to say Sen. Huelskamp is among those leaders.

A recent Kansas Liberty article outlined Senate bill 226 which would require all Kansas school districts to post their spending data online in a searchable database similar to KanView. According to Liberty:

"KanView was an outgrowth of an amendment offered by Huelskamp during the 2007 legislative session. Formally called the Kansas Taxpayer Transparency Act, it required the state to develop a searchable, publicly accessible website reporting the financial activity of state government. It was the first effort of its kind in the nation."

With over half of our state budget going to K-12 education, it is certainly time for the taxpayers to know how their money is being spent.

In addition, Huelskamp’s proposal, Senate Bill 226, would require the Legislature to provide a concise, easily reviewable listing of legislative votes.

“In order to hold us accountable, our citizens need quick, easy access to our voting records,” Huelskamp said. “But with the current legislative website, it is nearly impossible to track legislative votes. Instead, this bill would provide for simple, daily Internet updates of our voting records to allow constituent review and criticism.”

This is certainly something I can't wait for. It's unacceptable that in 2009 a Kansas citizen can't find out how their Representative or Senator voted.

I'm looking forward to seeing more of Sen Huelskamp's practical, common sense proposals once elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Is another move in Wasinger's future, or has it already happened?

Throughout the short campaign so far, Rob Wasinger has attempted to portray himself as a Kansan who was simply returning to his roots.

It's been a delicate balancing act because he still owns a nearly $1 million home in Virginia that he hasn't been able to unload. To further compound the situation, his wife had listed the home on her website, which was quickly noticed here in Kansas. As of today, the site has been taken down.

Further, just this past March, Wasinger signed off as a Catholic for McCain listing Virginia as his home state. All this combines to make it rather difficult for Wasinger to look like anything but a carpetbagger.

However, I discovered today that he may be even more "locationally challenged" than previously thought.

It began over a week ago when I got word that a house in Cottonwood Falls was to be renovated for, "a former Brownback staffer who has nine children." No question who they were talking about.

Campaign finance records filed January 30, 2009 indicated a travel expense reimbursement to Robert K. Wasinger. This was one of two expenditures in his report to addresses in Kansas even though earlier today he stated that all of his campaign funds would be spent in the first district.

The December 11 reimbursement lists 309 Oak Street in Cottonwood Falls for an address. I didn't quite understand why a Cottonwood Falls address would appear in his report. A voter registration search showed no voters registered at that address.

Today a repeat visit of his campaign filings showed an amended report from February 1, just two days after his quarter report. It was for a change of address to the same Cottonwood Falls address.

In a December 30 story in the Hutchinson News by Mary Clarkin, Wasinger claimed to be living in Hays with his Aunt. Why list your address on December 11 as Cottonwood Falls and then tell a reporter you live in Hays, only to change you address a month later back to Cottonwood Falls? Where exactly are you from Rob? Where exactly do you plan on living in a couple of months?

The Clarkin story also said that, "...he has bought a residence there and his wife and their nine children will relocate from Virginia." Why tell a reporter you live in Hays and bought a house in Hays and then change your address to Cottonwood Falls? Why all the lies?

I don't exactly understand all the deception, other than Secretary of State records show Rob has only voted in Kansas once this past November. He lists his aunt's Hays address on his voter registration record. Perhaps as the voter registration deadline neared for the November election the Wasinger family had been unable to buy a house in the district and thus he talked his aunt into loaning her address to avoid the embarrassment of being a candidate in a state where he'd never voted. This, of course, is just conjecture on my part because quite honestly I don't understand why you'd list multiple addresses or why you'd tell a reporter you're moving to Hays when you're not.

A friend in Cottonwood Falls took the above pictures. He has told me that the house at 309 Oak Street is currently vacant but has been gutted inside in what looks like preparation for a renovation.

A Register of Deeds records search will hopefully reveal more information, such as when the home was purchased.

Clean campaign one day, lies the next

I have to hand it to the Wasinger campaign, they are such... how do I say this tactfully... artists, when it comes to leaving discrete anonymous comments to promote their candidate.

Is Huelskamp going to sign the clean campaign pledge like Wasinger did today?

You know, those pledges only mean something if you, well, abide by it.

From Rollcall today:

And according to campaign finance records, Wasinger did not report any itemized contributions from the mostly rural 1st district. Wasinger defended his fundraising, saying he expects to raise more in the district once he expands his campaign.

"I look at all the money that I've raised, all that money is going to be spent in the district," Wasinger said. "It's my very own contribution to economic growth."

I'm at a loss for words. Are you really that arrogant? People are hurting and you're being glib about your campaign funds contributing to economic growth? Are you that out of touch with the first district that you seriously think voters consider your out-of-state contributions to help them out economically?

Hey, from the bottom of my heart Rob, thanks for all you've done for the Kansas economy! In fact, let's take a look at just what you've done to help us po' folk out.

10/10/2008
Marilyn Wasinger
Copy machine purchase and post
$236.97

12/11/2008
Robert K Wasinger
Reimburse travel to fundraiser
$383.87

Man, what a boost! I don't know what we would have done without your generous campaign spending to your family and yourself. And I'm just sure the travel expenses from December were spent in the first district.

So, where else did you spend money?

11/22/2008
Cara E Gavin
West Roxbury, Massachusetts
Inkind: hosting expenses fundraising
$300.00

11/22/2008
Tim V Gavin
West Roxbury, Massachusetts
Inkind: Fundraiser event costs
$300.00

12/09/2008
John Walsh
Mclean, Virginia
Inkind: Fundraising event expense
$1500.00

12/11/2008
Windows Catering Company
Alexandria, Virginia
Catering for fundraising event
$1463.25

Wow Rob. It looks like you care more about the economies in Virginia and Massachusetts than in Kansas. I guess this would explain why they're you're #1 and #3 contributors so far.

Do us all a favor and keep your East Coast money on the East Coast and don't be so arrogant as to think voters in Kansas see you're campaign spending as anything more than you trying to buy your next job.

Oh, and try not lying the next time. If you say you're going to spend all of your money in the district, why not try actually doing it???

KS-01...MSNBC of the big first

As I previously noted, there is a new blog about the first district race. I'm certainly glad to link to it, as they have done so for me.

If you haven't figured this out already, let me be clear: I support Tim Huelskamp for Congress. I write this blog in an effort to get the truth out about his positions and what he's done for Kansas as well as get the truth out about his opponents and why they are not the best choice for Kansas or conservatives.

KS-01 seems to be different however. They claim that they will be non-biased and informative rather than, well, I guess biased such as myself.

I'm sure I feel like many other conservatives about 'bias' in the media. It doesn't bother me that the media is biased, it bothers me that they pretend they're not. This is my problem with KS-01.

Everyone has an opinion. Everyone has a position. Everyone comes from somewhere and has beliefs that shape the way they view the world. What I'm saying is, everyone has some bias.

This is my gripe with the 'mainstream media.' I don't care that they lean left, it just irritates me that they pretend they don't. And really, to be honest, many of them probably really truly believe they are unbiased in their reporting. If all I read were righty blogs, that would soon become my middle ground and anything outside of that would seem slanted to me.

I believe the same is true of a large sector of the media, Kansas and national. They are surrounded all day by those who, for the most part, agree with what they think. Therefore their baseline naturally leans left and they are unable to admit or consider the possibility that they have been unfair in their reporting.

We have become a nation that seeks diversity at all costs, but external diversity. Diversity of thought is neither valued nor sought.

Ok, back off my soapbox now! I say this because KS-01 is neither unbiased nor objective.

Wasinger Gets Lots of Love at Kansas Days - While to our knowledge neither senator has officially endorsed Wasinger, it looks like the senior members of Kansas' Congressional delegation may be lining up behind Wasinger.

Huelskamp Fiddles While Topeka Burns? - In what can only be described as a bizarre attraction for Huelskamp, a single violinist moved about playing classical music at Huelskamp's event during Kansas Days on Friday. One wonders if these are good signs for our presumed front-runner.

I think it's great there's another blog out there. And it should only be natural for another campaign to organize someone to do what I'm doing here.

But for goodness sake, don't insult readers by pretending to be something your not! I find nothing more insulting than a TV anchor telling me what to think and then claiming they're 'objective.' KS-01 is no different. How insulting to readers to tell them you're unbiased and then write what is on there.

I personally don't understand what the problem is with having an opinion. When I post facts, they're facts, and my liking one candidate over another can't change them. When I reason through an argument, you can sit back and say, "You know, that makes sense," or say, "Wow, he's way off!"

I would take a reporter who is slanted but openly admits it over someone who claims to be objective but then only gives half the story anytime. And I find KS-01 to be no different in their choice of "reporting" than many major news networks.

Of course, you may disagree with me. But guess what? At least you know where I'm coming from!!!

Wasinger MIA at main conservative event

Apparently conservatives aren't as divided as everyone thought.

An email to hhkansas@gmail.com today said that Jerry Moran, Todd Tiahrt, Sam Brownback, and Tim Huelskamp were all in attendance at the KRA Banquet Friday night. Wasinger was no where to be found.

Well, here's the whole email:

Just thought you'd like to know Wasinger was no where to be found at the KRA Banquet last night. Moran, Tiahrt, Brownback and Huelskamp were there and spoke. Nearly everyone had a Huelskamp sticker on. It won't be official for a while, but nobody I saw had a Wasinger sticker and no one I talked to really even knew who he was. Also, when they called Moran to speak, he was out of the building. Whoops!

Also of note, it looks like the Wasinger campaign has found a blogger of their own. You can visit it at kansas01.blogspot.com if you haven't already found it from several anonymous comments left here promoting the site.

The latest story is that Wasinger got a lot of checks from Kansans at Kansas Days. Unfortunately, his campaign finance report tells a very different story.

Wasinger raises 3.4% from Kansas, nothing from 1st district - Huelskamp 95.6% from Kansas, 62% from 1st district

In what can only be described as expected, Rob Wasinger raised just under 3.4% of total itemized contributions from within Kansas.

What is somewhat unexpected is his inability to itemize a single contributor from within the district he hopes to represent.

As the charts above demonstrate, Huelskamp is the clear winner in raising funds where it matters.

A state to state analysis shows Virginia to be the #1 battleground for fund raising with the Wasinger campaign. Just over 25% of total itemized contributions come from Wasinger's current home state. Second is New York at 18.5% and "home" to our new Secretary of State and, I might add, one of the best carpetbaggers around. Third is Wasinger's old stomping ground and home to the first gay marriages performed in the US, Massachusetts. Just over 14% raised there.

Kansas came in #7 with a mere 3.4% of total itemized contributions. Three contributors accounted for the Kansas slice, two from the second congressional district and the third from Wichita.

It's rather inexplicable how a candidate for Congress is unable to find a single large donor from within his "home territory" while the frontrunner is able to gain over 60% of his itemized contributions from within his home district, and over 95% from within Kansas.

Huelskamp reported more un-itemized contributions than Wasinger. I can only speculate that the vast majority of those came from hard working Kansans who gave what they could while itemized reports would seem to indicate Wasinger's came from out-of-state.

Barker raised just over $26,000 and only has $2,200 on hand, which combined with his business in bankruptcy and poor personal voting record, effectively eliminates him from the race.

It's also interesting to note that with all the star power Wasinger supposedly has that he was only able to raise $26,000 more than Huelskamp by going nearly exclusively to old friends in Virginia, New York and Massachusetts. Meanwhile Huelskamp stayed competitive with over 95% of contributions from Kansas.

It seems voters in the first district are voting with their wallets so far. It will be interesting to see if Washington insider cash will influence decision makers here in Kansas in the coming months. With the connections Wasinger has, it's certainly surprising he wasn't able to raise twice as much.

On the other hand, the numbers highlight the most difficult problem for the Wasinger campaign... they just don't know anybody in the first district.

It's official, Washington insiders think Kansans should vote for Wasinger

Can somebody send Wassy a memo...if you want to win an election in Kansas, it really helps if you know people, well, who are in Kansas.

Of course, I'm referring to the Fred Thompson endorsement Wasinger has posted on his website. It's supposed to be a big deal I guess (heck, I like Fred as much as the next guy, even though he has about as much liveliness as my 90 year old grandmother on a Monday night). But, I'm still waiting for somebody who's at least been to Kansas to come out and say they support Wasinger.

Is it too much to ask that the guy get local support? Is it that hard for you Rob?

Look, we all know you've been in Washington for years. We're aware you know the good ol' boy network. We know you're in good with people that have never been to Kansas and have no plans to ever come here. But at some point man, you're gonna have to come to Kansas and meet the people who actually live in the district you want to represent.

I understand this can be hard. After all, it was just back in March that you were on the steering committee for 'Mr. Moderate' John McCain's campaign to win the catholic vote.

Oh, and what local did Wassy list as his home? Was it Hays? Not! Virginia, of course!!!

But really, I'm just enthralled at you're ability to get people who endorsed Sam Brownback for President to endorse you for Congress (except Fred because, well, Rob had already run the Brownback ship ashore before Fred finally called it quits.)

Oh wait, what's that? People who endorsed Brownback are now endorsing the guy who ran his campaign? Gee, isn't that neat? Should we all be impressed you know how to use a Rolodex and welsh off your old boss?

Or rather, maybe the question should be why haven't other Brownback supporters made similar endorsements? Like Michael W. Smith, Tom Managhan and Stephen Baldwin? Or should we ask why King removed her support? Or why none of these "endorsements" can be found on your website?

Here, I'll help you out with a new campaign slogan:

Wassinger
The DC insider that Washington elites think Kansans should vote for.

FEC reports are due tomorrow. Can't wait to see how much of that $100,000 plus Wasinger claims to have raised came from within Kansas.

Concerned Women of America PAC goes with Huelskamp

When it comes to tangible pro-life endorsements that translate into votes rather than anonymous blog comments, Tim Huelskamp seems to be way ahead (although he gets a lot of anonymous comments too.)

Concerned Women of America PAC today endorsed Tim Huelskamp for Congress over Rob Wasinger of Virginia/Washington/Boston..........and Hays (kind of sort of not really), and no name "Think I'll run for Congress today" Tim Barker.

Now, for Wasinger supporter(s) [in parenthesis because I'm not quite sure there's more than one yet], this is what a real endorsement looks like:

"Tim was already well known to Concerned Women PAC long before he decided to run for Congress. Not only has Senator Huelskamp been a solid vote on pro-life and pro-family issues, he has been a leader," said Beverly LaHaye, Founder and Chairman of Concerned Women PAC.

Unlike with individuals, there's more that figures into an endorsement than just knowing a guy when organizations are concerned.

They look at, oh, I don't know, a voting record, which no other candidate has in this race. They look at leadership...not the "behind the scenes have nothing to loose" kind of leadership, but the up front, in the public eye, actually accomplished something kind of leadership that, again, no other candidate has in this race besides frontrunner Tim Huelskamp.

LaHaye continued:

"This is exactly the type of candidate we look for; Tim's a proven legislator who led the effort to pass a marriage amendment in his state, and has shown time and time again that he will do whatever it takes to protect the unborn. What touched my heart the most about Tim however was his personal story. He has lived in the first district all his life, as a farmer, a legislator and a good husband to his wife Angela and four adopted children. I couldn't be more pleased to endorse Tim Huelskamp for Congress."

So while it's interesting to read individual testimonials posted here anonymously from people who have never been to Kansas, not gonna come to Kansas and probably wouldn't even like to look at photographs of Kansas, it's really more pertinent and refreshing to hear that the organizations and people who will actually influence voters in the first district have already decided who has the record and leadership capabilities to get their support.

You can read the full press release below.

Washington, D.C. - Concerned Women Political Action Committee (CWPAC) announced its endorsement of Kansas State Senator Tim Huelskamp in his campaign for Congress in Kansas First District.

Concerned Women PAC is affiliated with Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee, the nation's largest public policy women's organization with more than 500,000 grassroots members nationwide.

The First Congressional district became an open seat when current Congressman Jerry Moran announced he would be running for the U.S. Senate in 2010 for the open seat created by pro-life Senator Sam Brownback, who is running for Governor.

"Tim was already well known to Concerned Women PAC long before he decided to run for Congress. Not only has Senator Huelskamp been a solid vote on pro-life and pro-family issues, he has been a leader," said Beverly LaHaye, Founder and Chairman of Concerned Women PAC. "This is exactly the type of candidate we look for; Tim's a proven legislator who led the effort to pass a marriage amendment in his state, and has shown time and time again that he will do whatever it takes to protect the unborn. What touched my heart the most about Tim however was his personal story. He has lived in the first district all his life, as a farmer, a legislator and a good husband to his wife Angela and four adopted children. I couldn't be more pleased to endorse Tim Huelskamp for Congress."

Concerned Women Political Action Committee was started in 2002 to help elect solid pro-family, pro-life conservatives to Congress. Concerned Women PAC sends out a monthly letter to members encouraging them to financially support candidates like Kansas State Senator Tim Huelskamp. For more information on this race, please contact Mike Mears at 202-408-4941.