Policy and Politics
tfk | November 5, 2006Catharine Ryun has made an ad for her daddy, in which she explains why we here in Kansas have benefitted from her Papa's reign in DC.
Which is odd, because she's worked in the White House since 2001. Shortly after starting work there, she took a meeting with none other than Jack Abramoff. Like her papa, she's a DC insider, no longer a Kansan.
Bonus Catherine Ryun moment: NPR interviews her in the course of a report on real life "40 Year-old Virgins." I kid you not. I guess no one was interested enough in her to ask Pops if he could take her to a movie.
tfk | November 5, 2006Ask a ScienceBlogger, November 3:
What's the most important local political race to you this year (as a citizen, as a scientist)?
I have to pick just one? There are two important Board of Education races in the area where a creationist can get ousted. There's an Attorney General's race where a panty-sniffing, science textbook fearing wacko can get the boot. There is a competitive House race in which a rubber-stamp for the bad actions of the Bush administration can be outpaced. Plus, a member of the House Science committee who has helped protect the integrity of federal science is up for…
tfk | November 4, 2006By the time the next Congress is sworn in, as many Americans will have died in Iraq as died on 9/11.
At 6:00 Sunday evening, the Prez will blow into Topeka. A report on his speech in Colorado gives a sense of what we can expect:
[A] blistering message against Democrats on taxes and terrorism. And, with a verdict in the trial of Saddam Hussein in Iraq due as early as Sunday, … extensive comments on Iraq.
On September 11, 2001, al Qaeda struck out from its shelters in Taliban-run Afghanistan, destroying part of the Pentagon and the World Trade Center, killing nearly 3,000 people.
On October…
tfk | November 4, 2006Ecological Economics highlights an essay about the ongoing battle against fundamentalism:
There are too many false prophets in our profession—the kind who like to assert policy opinions in black-and-white terms, such as 'there is only one right way' and 'no other way will do'. This is what I like to call 'economic fundamentalism'. And I believe it is wrong on all counts.
For one thing, economics does not lend itself to doctrinaire policy assertions. The technical complexities are too great, the behavioural reaction of human beings too changeable and unpredictable, and the market subject to…
tfk | November 4, 2006
March 13, 2006 – US puts Iraqi documents on the Web:
conservative bloggers, eager to bolster the case for going to war against Iraq, have long argued for release of the documents. They gained a powerful ally last month in Michigan Republican Pete Hoekstra, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. In an interview with blogger Andrew Marcus, Hoekstra called for Negroponte to release the documents online. ''Unleash the power of the Net," Hoekstra said. ''Let the blogosphere go." Kansas Republican Pat Roberts, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, backed Hoekstra's proposal.…
tfk | November 3, 2006They have teeth. Kansans receiving blitz of phone calls in A.G. race:
Scores of automated phone calls have been coming to Kansas households during the past few days, blasting the candidates for attorney general. …
the tenor of the calls has yielded complaints.
"One woman was almost in tears," said Carol Williams, director of the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission, whose agency received a wave of complaints on Thursday.
In one call, Kansans take an automated survey asking them their preference between Republican Attorney General Phill Kline and Democrat Paul Morrison.
Voters make their…
tfk | November 3, 2006The Journal World editorializes that:
we believe it is important President Bush have the support for his entire program, both domestic and foreign. For this reason, we believe it is best for Kansas, as well as for the entire country, to have Rep. Jim Ryun in Washington to support Bush’s plans for the economy, taxes, job creation, national security and judicial appointments, as well as his policy to fight the growth of terrorism.
This is not to say Ryun has done a superb job, but it would be far better to have Ryun representing this district and to support President Bush than to have his…
tfk | November 3, 2006KC Buzz Blog asks the question, having observed:
Claire McCaskill and Jim Talent will probably spend $18 million, combined, on TV before Tuesday -- yet their race is roughly where it was a year ago.
Nancy Boyda, by contrast, hasn't spent a lot on TV -- but has pulled close to Rep. Jim Ryun in Kansas 02.
Perhaps some of the cognitive scientists here at Sb will take up this answer from an academic perspective, but I've put some specific comments on those two races below the fold.
Two things make a difference here. First, Claire McCaskill just finished running for Governor and holds statewide…
tfk | November 2, 2006Hotline reports:
Tomorrow, Pres. Bush visits the Topeka-based district of Rep. Jim Ryun (R-KS). As of early this week, an NRCC poll showed Ryun down 2 points to Dem Nancy Boyda.
Up to now, I've only heard about a Sunday visit. Is anyone else hearing about a Friday arrival? And if they got that wrong, how much stock do we place in their reporting on the NRCC poll? Apparently the Ryun campaign did an internal poll a month ago that put him at 50%, Boyda at 33%. Boyda's internal polling from an overlapping time period had her within the margin of error.
I'm told that internal polling from the…
tfk | November 2, 2006Right-Wing Agenda reports that a Kline supporter explain why the AG is running a campaign so filthy that his own base is abandoning him:
there's not much Kline can do when voters are so stupid as to ignore the good and focus on the bad.
This has been your Phill Kline deep thought for the day.
tfk | November 2, 2006The Washington Post reports:
Prompted by a request this fall by 14 Democratic senators, the IGs are examining whether political appointees have prevented climate researchers at NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration from conveying their findings to the public.
Muzzling scientists like this is propagandistic nonsense. It hurts us all, it weakens the policy process and prevents the public from making informed decisions. If political appointees are censoring scientists, they deserve what they get.
tfk | November 1, 2006"Who would have thought that some little girl like you could destroy my beautiful wickedness."
Like the witch in The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, Phill Kline's future is melting before our eyes. Sleazy ads peddling accusations that the alleged victim chose to drop, his Republican predecessors endorsing his Democratic rival, and that rival beating him in fundraising were all just warm-up acts.
First, today's Iola Register (what, you don't read the Register?) has a letter from local sheriff Tom Williams, in which he withdraws his endorsement because of Kline's lying ads. Kline has touted…
tfk | November 1, 2006Kansas City Star | 11/01/2006 | Boyda would support welcome changes:
Kansans in the 2nd U.S. House District who want to see significant changes in Washington have a logical choice: Nancy Boyda, an outspoken advocate for reform at home and wiser policies abroad.
In view of Washington’s poor record over the last two years, the case for a determined reformer like Boyda is even stronger than when she first sought the seat in 2004.
The Topeka Democrat speaks forcefully against wasteful federal spending and supports tighter rules to ensure greater scrutiny of proposals that will cost tax dollars.…
tfk | November 1, 2006Majority Leader John Boehner, fresh from offering to beat John Kerry to death if he doesn't apologize for calling the President stupid, tells CNN:
Let’s not blame what’s happening in Iraq on Rumsfeld, the generals on the ground are in charge.
Does anyone honestly think that whoever would become Majority Leader in a Democratic House would say anything so foolish?
tfk | November 1, 2006Balkinization offers A Concise Guide for Independent Voters on Nov. 7:
Best reason to vote for Democratic candidates for Congress: Take away majority control of Congress from the corrupt, big-spending, huge deficit-creating, radical religious right-pandering, cut taxes for the rich to help them get richer and give corporations everything they want Republican Party.
Tie breaker for the undecided: The Bush Administration flouts the rule of law, promotes torture (while hiding behind hypocritical double-speak denials), and has taken the country into a disastrous, mismanaged war that has increased…
tfk | October 31, 2006On All Hallows' Eve, the NRCC has decided it's time to scare Kansans with TV ads about…
TAXES!
Boo.
In a poll of the fifty most endangered Republican districts, taxes were the 5th most important issue, behind the war in Iraq (the clear leader), jobs/economy, health care, and terrorism. But that isn't the worst part for the NRCC's tricky treat, the worst part is that Democrats are more trusted on taxes than Republicans are (43% to 41%).
This isn't an appeal to Independent voters, the people who will decide the election. This is an appeal to the base, a holding action. The DCCC ads about…
tfk | October 30, 2006Candidates for state office in Kansas filed their reports today.
In the State Board of Education races, incumbent creationist John Bacon raised $4,500, for a total of $3,146 cash on hand. Don Weiss, the TfK endorsed candidate, raised $11,738 and has $3,283 on hand. Bacon managed to win the primary while spending almost no money, thanks to his ties to the conservative churches. This is a very winnable race, but it will be tight.
The other creationist up for re-election is Ken Willard. He raised $8,070, and has $5,298 on hand. His opponent, TfK endorsed Jack Wempe, raised $27,930 and…
tfk | October 30, 2006From Insight on the World, 1997 (shortly after his first election):
Insight: Has your lack of political experience been a problem?
Jim Ryun: No. In the campaign that was a strength. Part of our campaign was to go door-to-door talking to people instead of spending time in forums, television or radio. And the comment we heard most often was, "You're not a typical politician. You answer our questions. We like that."
From the Atchison Daily Globe:
I have repeatedly contacted U.S. Rep. Jim Ryun’s office to express my opinion and ask that he consider a point as my representative. I kept on because…
tfk | October 28, 2006A month ago, Jim Ryun's campaign planted a story about how Nancy Boyda wasn't a serious challenger because the DCCC wasn't putting any money into her campaign. Of course, she's been saying that she wasn't seeking DCCC involvement since she announced this campaign, but Ryun was desperate.
In response to the charges, the Boyda campaign put a poll in the field. Using sound survey methodology and a Republican call-center in Utah, the poll showed that Boyda was in a statistical tie with Ryun. Two subsequent internal polls and a poll by the state party all tell the same story.
That, combined…
tfk | October 27, 2006A few weeks ago, Phill Kline swore to the Wichita Eagle's editorial board that he would not make a 15 year-old lawsuit, long since dismissed, an issue in his campaign. A newly released video of the event shows that he even told them specifically that he wouldn't make those unproven charges part of TV commercials.
But, of course, he did.
I guess we're all used to politicians – especially the lawyers – being slimy liars, but we still can hope for better. And with Paul Morrison on the ballot, we can have better. An attorney general who won't go on fishing expeditions through patients'…