Is this RepublicanUnderground?

[damnraddem]

Heh, heh -- well, it IS Kansas.

For both U.S. Senate and House, I may not have a chance to vote for a Democrat, even though Brownback and Tiahrt are as rightwing as can be. Both have big campaign chests but no Dem opponent.

On the other hand, there is a good Democratic candidate in the district around Topeka -- I'll be supporting her.

[LittleApple81]

1. Are you going to vote for Boyda to replace Ryun?

I contributed to her campaign.

[damnraddem]

12. I'll support her ...

but she's not in my district.

[MuseRider]

2. Go Nancy!

Yes, we are supporting her as well. I am so sad that we lost the woman running against Brownback. Getting rid of Ryan will be a very good thing though, I guess I will have to be happy with that for now.

[GR]

6. There Is Someone Else Who Will Take Her Place...Talked To

him Saturday. Looks like he will be a good candidate.

[damnraddem]

13. Get him to file. He needs ot be campaigning.

Brown, er, back may not be beatable this year; but he cannot be unless someone tries. More importantly, if someone runs against Brownback, he'll have to use some of his large war chest -- which he could otherwise use to support other reactionary pols.

[2Design]

3. get your name on the ballot

Get your name on the ballot. Give people a choice.

[Shrek]

4. Tiahrt's your rep?

You and I apparently don't live too far apart.

[damnraddem]

14. Wichita.

You know: where outsourcing, supported by Tiahrt, has been taking away thousands of manufacturing jobs.

Where thousands have run out of unemployment benefits -- the extension of which Tiahrt opposes.

[beyurslf]

22. Tiahrt is paid the Govt to represent me. I would hardly say he does.

Ever met him? He looks slimy.

[GR]

5. Help Is On The Way....Brownback Will Soon Have An Opponent..

fyi

[MuseRider]

7. Hi GR!

Do tell! Please? This is wonderful news.

[OneTwentyoNine]

19. He will??? That's great news,I thought it was over..

What was the womans name who dropped out?? Was it Joan Ruff? I figured that Brownback would run unopposed.

David

[put out]

8. Move to the 3rd District! Please!

Heh, we have a bona fide Democrat, and friend, he is good! You could live in Lawrence, KS, or Wyandotte County, or Johnson County.

Denis Moore is a fine fellow, and if you know his constituency, it is really telling that he could attract enough votes to win two terms in a heavily Republican district.

But, you're in Topeka. Do what you can, and thanks for doing it.

Sometimes my mother holds Democratic get-togethers. We almost fill up her living room. Sigh.

[ComerPerro]

10. Im in Lawrence, actually

So, I am definately in favor of DUers moving to Lawrence, KS

[strategery blunder]

9. I can't find a single DUer where I live...

Hi from Kirksville, MO, home of the freepers!:hi:

[Jai4WKC08]

11. Just checking in

Hi fellow strangers in a strange land!

I live in south Johnson County (Stilwell). Love to see the neighbors stare at the bumper stickers prominently displayed on our cars--esp since hubby put the "Bush lies" sticker under the one that says "Veteran for Kerry."

Will be working hard for Dennis Moore of course, and trying to raise money for Nancy Boyda--I actually think she has a chance, albeit slim.

If anyone lives or knows someone who lives down here, please contact me about Rick Turnbow for the newly created/gerrymandered State Senate District 37. I'm his campaign manager and we're gonna give it a shot--we are SO tired of not even having any names with a (D) on the ballot.

Isn't Judy Ruff planning to run against Brownback? That's what I had last heard. Anybody know if there's been a change?

[damnraddem]

15. Unfortunately, Ruff withdrew, saying that she'd started too late, ...

didn't have enough money to run, and so on.

And two years ago, no Dem ran against Roberts, either. One-party rule is not the way to go in general -- and certainly not when that party is the GD GOP.

[damnraddem]

16. Here's what we're up against:

http://www.themercury.com/view/article.asp?id=398-2004-04-20-65940-77§ionid=News/Default/NewsArticles. Except that this Creo isn't being stealthy, like those who go elected in 1998 and 2002. But this is just the tip of the iceberg -- there will be Creos in all five BOE districts up for vote in November; and only one of them is an incumbent.

Note that this comes in the face of Kansas' new Biotechnology Initiative.

And note that District 6 includes Manhattan where the local school board, with the excuse of budget crisis, has angered local residents by closing schools -- Kathy Martin also claims that there is no underfunding of Kansas schools.

[chemteacher]

17. Funding Kansas Schools

I'm a teacher in Colorado...family lives in Herington, southeast of Salina.
Two years ago, my wife (another chem teacher) and I thought about moving back to Kansas, but most schools were cutting teaching jobs left and right. Marysville (seemed like a nice town) was deciding to just drop physics and not offer it to save on a teaching job.

Pathetic...It will be interesting to watch what happens with school funding there in the future. I 'm waiting for the legislature to NOT comply with the recent judgment and end up with some class action lawsuit in a few years for 20,000 kids not receiving a "fair and equal" education. Of course this s*** happens in Kansas during the 50th anniversary of Brown vs. School Board.

[damnraddem]

18. This is happening in Kansas while the state is trying to launch ...

a bioscience initiative to bring investment and research in bioscience into the state. LOL!

[put out]

20. I'm in education, too.

My job is in constant jeopardy, under constant scrutiny, to see if my salary is worth what I do.

Keep an eye on it. These are interesting times.

No Child Left Behind. Bigger demands, less time, fewer resources, more tests, more paper work, and less opportunity to care for children and to teach them. And to reach even one a day.

[beyurslf]

21. I was laid off by USD 259. Wichita

[proud2BlibKansan]

23. I'm a teacher too

in KCMO but I live in KS

[SheilaT]

24. I do wish the guy who is supposed

to be planning to run for Senate here in Kansas would actually declare. I also spoke with him last month and he seems personable and a good potential candidate. The longer he waits the harder it will be to have any kind of credible campaign.

I was doing serious volunteer work for Joan, and I'm still angry at her for dropping out. What I kept on hearing in her campaign office was that her fund-raising was going well, and that Brownback's negatives were so high that she stood a good chance.

Now I'm doing volunteer work for Dennis Moore and it's very interesting seeing what it's like on that campaign.

I find living in Kansas (in Johnson County) to be so depressing that I want to leave as soon as our younger son graduates high school next year.

[beyurslf]

25. You do know the Missouri is a pivotal state in the

Presidential election. I plan on going up there to help out Kerry in the KCMO side--just trying to find who to contact.

[proud2BlibKansan]

26. My sister is looking for info on that too

We live in KC area. I'll let you know what she finds out.

I have been invited to a couple Impeach Bush meetings. They have them once a month. I believe there's a website for that group.

The other thing you may want to look into is they have anti-war demonstrations every Sunday on the Plaza. You may want to check out that scene. There's bound to be Kerry supporters there.

[beyurslf]

31. Thanks for the info. Let me know if you find out anything.

Feel free to private me or post here if you like.

[proud2BlibKansan]

27. I have lived in JO Co all my life

and love it. Sorry to hear you are so unhappy here.

You know there are more Democrats in MO but I like living over here much better. Even though Kansas is a Republican state, I like the quality of life a lot better than Missouri. I work over there and am so glad to come home every day to better roads, better shopping and less crime.

[SheilaT]

28. I have not lived in Kansas

my entire life. I've lived in New York State (until age 14), Arizona, the DC area, Minneapolis, Arizona again, and then Boulder, Colorado before moving here. So my perspective is somewhat different.

I hate being surrounded by the right-wing fanatics who try to ram their narrow religious ideology down our throats. I hate the way those people are taking over the public schools. I hate feeling much of the time as if I'm the only liberal Democrat I know.

The reality is, I realize, that there are many other liberals and Democrats in this part of the state. I've gotten involved in the Democratic party in the last year, first through Howard Dean's campaign, now as a volunteer for Dennis Moore (as bad as he is) and soon for LeRoy Jones, who will hopefully be our next Senator, replacing the truly despicable Sam Brownback.

There is a lot to like about this area, including many truly wonderful people. And I very much dislike Missouri. My kids have attended the Barstow School -- are you familiar with it? It's an independent secular school located on State Line Road, just south of 435. It makes me truly crazy to hear the parents who live in Missouri spout of sanctimoniously about how they can't afford to live in Johnson County because taxes here are so high, and then whimper about the lousy public schools in Jackson County. Or when I point out that I don't need signs to tell me when I cross the state line in the winter because in Kansas the roads are plowed and Missouri they aren't, and the Missourians whine that they have so many more roads to plow that it's just not possible. And then they want us to help pay for a new stadium. Sorry. I don't go to games. I think that perhaps those who attend should pay. What a silly idea.

[proud2BlibKansan]

29. Welcome to the area

Yes, I am very familiar with Barstow. I went to Sunset (now Pembroke).

There are lots of liberal dems here. I think you're suffering a bit of culture shock because this is the Bible belt and I don't think there was much of that kind of thinking in the other places you lived. But it can be so much fun to laugh at the idiotic bible thumpers. Plus it is much better here in KC than in Wichita (the armpit of Kansas) or Topeka. And we have CULTURE here in KC. Plus the BBQ ain't bad.

There has been a bias against Johnson County from Missouri as long as I can remember. The truth is that it is less expensive to live over here than in Missouri. I have lived on both sides of the state line and not only are our schools better in KS, but we have cheaper groceries and more shopping which means competitive pricing. The biggest savings though is car insurance. We moved back over to Kansas right before our kids started driving and our car insurance rates were cut in half! We paid a third of what we would have had to pay in MO for our son's insurance when he turned 16. The reason is that MO didn't even have a mandatory car insurance law for years. They have one now but it's a joke. If you have an accident in MO, pray that the other driver is insured!! Their annual auto inspection law is also not worth the paper it's written on. It's easy to find a place that will just give you the inspection sticker for about 3 or 4 times the cost of a real inspection. Thank heavens we don't have to deal with that in KS.

The reason the roads aren't plowed in KCMO is that the city is a dysfunctional bureaucracy with a crumbling infrastructure operating on a limited tax base. You probably live in a much smaller community that can afford to prioritize road maintenance. One more reason to live in KS. And have you driven east on I-70 in Missouri? It is a mess. MO dept of transportation has one of the largest budgets of any state in the country but some say the worst roads in the entire USA. KS highways are much better and always have been. We pay to drive on the turnpike, but it's not much and I think it's worth it. In MO a few years ago, a community in the Ozarks got so tired of asking the state to build a bridge across the lake that they raised the money to build it themselves and made it a toll road to help pay for it. And get this - the toll is like 8 or 10 dollars! To go a few miles on a bridge! Compare that to driving to Topeka for less than $2.

So don't judge KS for being a republican state and decide that makes it bad. MO has been a democratic stronghold forever and they have more corrupt politicians and scandals in Jeff City than I have time to tell you about here. Carnahan really cleaned things up but the first republican dominated state legislature in almost a century is slowly erasing the good things Carnahan did.

This whole stadium thing is so stupid. I am a teacher and I am outraged that we are being asked to fund improvements to those beautiful stadiums where overpaid athletes compete. My school is almost 100 years old and of course has no air conditioning. Where is the outrage about that? I am a big sports fan but I think we have our priorities a little screwed up when we devote so much energy to the sports complex and an unnecessary downtown arena. And there's another good reason to live in KS. We can enjoy all those facilities but not have to pay for them:]

What don't you like about Dennis Moore? He was our prosecutor here in JO County and was wonderful. The current guy - Paul Morrison - is a republican idiot. A real law and order (which means harrass the teenagers) fanatic. I can't stand him and wish Moore would come back.

So welcome to KC. You are right, there are a lot of really good people here. And it ain't no cowtown, either! If you want some ideas for fun things to do here, let me know.:grouphug:

[SheilaT]

30. I've lived here for nearly

14 years now, so I'm not exactly a newcomer. But I'm an extremely liberal Democrat, in in many other places Moore would be a moderate Republican. He's better than the alternative, but it constantly bothers me that politicians think they have to pander to the right. The right sure as hell doesn't find any need to pander to the left.

the Missouri - Kansas thing is clearly a matter of priorities. Missouri doesn't really consider maintaining the infrastructure or having good schools to be very important. Kansas does. In fact, as you know, we in Johnson county are outraged that we can't raise our taxes to pay for even better schools than we already have.

I don't really need to wonder why the two states are so different. I think it stems quite simply from the differing slave and free legacies. Especially when we first lived here I felt I needed a passport to travel to Missouri.

I got really spoiled when we lived in Minneapolis two decades ago. Talk about a city and state that was as uncorrupt as anyone could hope for! One time a local TV station decided to investigate and find corruption in the government, and the worst thing they could find was -- are you ready for this? -- sometimes the guys on the road repair crews stood around and didn't work very hard! And people really were outraged -- the knew it was wrong and shouldn't be happening.

Anyway, I try not to just complain. I'm planning to do serious volunteer work for Lee Jones, who's going to be running for U.S. Senate against Brownback. His office will open on June 1st and I can hardly wait.

[proud2BlibKansan]

32. Let me know about Lee Jones

campaign. I will be glad to help. Brownback is awful and really has to go.

You're right about Moore being like a moderate Republican. But I don't think that's so bad. Better than a conservative right wing idiot. We don't have too many of them here. That Kay O'Connor nightmare from Olathe is the worst one around here. I'd like to help someone run against her. There's also a Sutherland (the lumber store family) who I went to high school with who is talking about running for state legislature. He is a major right winger and I pray he changes his mind. But he has plenty of money to run if he wants to. He lives in Mission Hills, too close to where I live. He can count on me helping his opponent.

[SheilaT]

33. Dwight Sutherland

is apparently planning to run for David Adkins' seat in the KS legislature. Adkins is a Good Guy, one of the Republicans who made sure the marriage amendment got defeated. I understand that Adkins isn't entirely sure if he's going to run for re-election. Which means, at the very least some Dem ought to file. Filing deadline is (I think) June 10, so waiting to see if Adkins wins his primary isn't a good idea.

Because my kids attend Barstow I'm slightly acquainted with the Sutherland family. Dwight's personal political opinions are dreadful, in my opinion.

Lee Jones will be opening a campaign office June 1. I have an address of 13440 Santa Fe Drive (perhaps Old Santa Fe Trail) which I believe would put it in old town Lenexa. His campaign manager is Heather Yates, who has been reaching out to everyone possible.

His campaign plan is definitely non-traditional, and won't depend as much on the usual fund-raising. Lee has a blue-collar background. I believe he was a railroad engineer, has worked as a lobbyist in DC for about a decade. He's a nice guy. I've met him twice and I'm very impressed with him. I absolutely plan on working for his campaign.

[proud2BlibKansan]

34. Sounds great

Thanks for the info.

Yes, Dwight is dreadful. Sounds like a good campaign slogan to me:think:

[notbush]

35. Don't waste your time on Jones

I hate to say it , but there is NO chance there. Better to spend your time and effort on Dennis Moore.
It will be another close race, no matter who runs against him.
He always has an uphill race...I quess that's why he hasn't endorsed Kerry, and from what I read, probably won't.

[SheilaT]

36. Dennis Moore

has to more or less pretend he's a Republican and it makes me crazy. If it weren't that his opponents are always extremely conservative I'd reconsider bothering to vote for him. He is supportive of a number of things that matter to me.

On a personal note, my sons both have alopecia areata, an auto-immune disorder that causes hair loss. I've been going to the National Alopecia Areata Foundation conferences for fifteen years now. Every five years they hold the conference in Washington DC for the express purpose of having the members lobby on Capitol Hill on behalf of funding for the disorder. I'm one of the very few who has done it each of the four times we've been in DC. As a consequence, I have an interesting take on my senators and representative and their staffs acquired over the years. And Moore and his staff are very good to us, unlike his immediate predecessor. My two senators' staff are much less supportive of our request, although generally treat us well.

And I am going to give time to helping Jones. He would have declared earlier, but then Joan Ruff jumped in and he didn't think it would make any sense to have a primary fight. And I think Ruff didn't think through everything that was going to be needed before she declared. Jones intends to run a somewhat less traditional campaign, and if nothing else I'm glad there will be a name with a D after it on the ballot.

[put out]

37. To you and to SheilaT

Morrison runs as a Republican candidate.

I have heard (don't ask how) he detests our right wing legislators. A quote from someone who knows: "He's an idiot".

Little Phillip Kline was singled out; our proud choice for Kansas Attorney General. Not to be confused with Big Phillip Kline.

You are not alone here in the great state of Kansas. Maybe someday we will meet while spending too much money at Barstow's Weekend Morning good expensive organic stuff to eat and plant sale.

Kim

[SheilaT]

38. I hate to be the one to tell you,

but the Farmer's Market will not longer be at Barstow. The current headmaster feels it's no longer part of the Barstow image. I'm somewhat steamed about it, even though I've only been there once or twice.

Who's Morrison?

[put out]

39. Oh, no. It was a great time. Is it already gone?

I am so out of it. That was always a nice Saturday morning trek, and you had to get there early. By 10:00 or so, there was not much left, except the nicest people.

Morrison is Paul Morrison, Johnson County District Attorney. Dennis Moore was DA before him. Morrison might hassle teenagers, but I vote for him. He doesn't suffer fools gladly.

I just admitted I voted for a Republican. Please be gentle.

[Neecy]

40. here's my take...

I just moved to Johnson County from San Francisco (thanks to the tech bust) and talk about culture shock! I've never seen so many churches in one place in my life.

Still, there's hope. Really. Whenever I go out to run errands, I pin on my Kerry 04 button fully expecting to be taunted.

Guess what? Hasn't happened yet. Quite the opposite - I've had at least twenty people stop me and ask where I got it. Several of them have told me they're registered Republicans who absolutely will *not* vote for Bush. I'm going to order some extra Kerry buttons from his site and start handing them out when people stop me. I also just received my new KS voter registration card, so you have one new JoCo Democrat...

As far as I can tell, there are two kinds of Republicans in KS - Dole Republicans, who are for fiscal responsibility and are slightly conservative on social issues, and then the Brownback Repukes - real fanatics, anti-abortion zealots. The Dole Republicans seem to be ripe for the picking and I predict a closer race here than many expect.

I agree that Brownback is reprehensible and I'm angry that in this entire state not one strong Democrat is challenging this idiot. I have hope that so many of you are working to build the party in this state and working to elect local candidates. That's the only way we'll build credible opposition to the two terrible Senators we currently have (although as bad as Brownback is, I find Kit Bond absolutely nauseating).

[damnraddem]

41. There is certainly reason for culture shock, but ...

I remember churches all over San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley. The difference is in who goes to the churches, as well as in who doesn't -- I don't know of any Kansas equivalent for, for example, Holy Radiator (Holy Redeemer) in SF.

At least you're in JOCO, on the edge of semi-civilization -- I've spent 12 years in Wichita. I am now moving, however -- to Texas. Well, I expect more culture shock.

[Big Al from WI]

42. Just vote for Mickey Mouse then.