RALPH HIPP WANTS TO KNOW WHAT'S UP WITH KANSAS DEMOCRATS

WIBW's long time television anchor Ralph Hipp blogs an insightful question "What's up with Kansas Democrats?" Well, Ralph, perhaps the most active Democratic candidates are Raj Goyle out of Wichita and Stephene Moore hailing from Johnson County.

Raj Goyle, as of July 14th, has $1,255,403, while spending $515,531, leaving a cool $739, 873 for the home stretch according to the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.Org.

Stephene Moore, wife of retiring Representative Dennis Moore, as of July 14th, had raised $839,578, spent $389,638, and has $509,937 left for the final surge according to the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.Org.

Former Salina Mayor Alan Jilka is the Democratic candidate in the big First Congressional District. As of July 14th his campaign raised $744,107, spent $592,190, and held on to $251,233 according to the Center for Responsive Politics'OpenSecrets.Org.

Girard native Cheryl Hudspeth has pledged to take no corporate cash in her quest for Congress. It shows. According to the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.Org. she is not on the radar as having raised even a single cent. Her opponent, one of the worst Representatives in history, has taken in more than a million dollars. Maybe we don't need a Constitutional Amendment to overturn Citizens United and free us from the undue influence of corporate cash. Maybe we need voters who figure out that the candidate on the corporate gravy train is working for the corporate interest and not we the people.

Senate Candidate Lisa Johnston, as of June 30th, had raised $10,627, she spent $4,530, and had $6,096 on hand according to the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.Org. The same source says her opponent, Jerry Moran, raised, as of July 14th, $2,749,244 while having spent $4,497,168, and he claims to have $795,015 left over.  Now that's some creative accounting.  I don't think a self-proclaimed fiscal conservative with that kind of cash mismanagement is what Kansas is looking for in a United States Senator.

Chris Biggs has pledged to be a fulltime Secretary of State for Kansas. The Republican nominee, Kris Kobach, intends to teach law at UMKC and travel the country pushing his odd legal theories threatening Latinos. Recently Kobach claimed he could draft legislation undermining the Fourteenth Amendment that would pass the strict scrutiny of the Courts. That's nonsense. He should not be allowed to teach law. We help can end intellectual fraud by voting for Chris Biggs.

Attorney General Steve Six hit a homerun with his campaign by being an effective Attorney General dedicated to fighting sexual predators with a special task force. He is using new technology scouring the internet to track the monsters who lure children for perverse purposes.

Our candidate for State Treasurer is State Treasurer Dennis McKinney. He has responsibly taken care of his duties overseeing more than $20.6 billion this year. He administers the Learning Quest program that lets Kansans invest for the college expenses of their children. He has overseen the return of more than $11.3 million to their rightful owners; money in old bank accounts, insurance policies, and stocks.

Tom Holland is going to the debate. Sorry Ralph.  And why isn't Ralph Hipp digging into Sam Brownback's membership in a power grabbing cult called "the Family" where he and others got sweetheart deals on rent.  Brownback lived at the Family's C-Street complex with other notorious politicians.  Apparently in their cult the creeds and comandments of mainstream religion do not apply to members.  A number of sexual and legal scandals sprung from the C-Street facility.  And what of Brownback's lackluster performance in the Senate.  The most recent debacle is Senate Republicans blocking the Small Business tax break.

Ralph Hipp's question remains insightful because there are structural problems with both parties in Kansas. In most other states if a person wants to know who their committeeman or committeewoman is that information is readily available. Many states include that information in reports from their Secretary of State. Kansas does not. Some states, and some counties, rely on the party organization to let folk know who is who in their party and how to contact them. Some Kansas county party organizations do this on their own.

It is not enough. Kansas Democrats need to be more transparent. We fail to get the vote out because we are not doing enough in each and every Kansas precinct to know our neighbors, listen to their concerns, and tell them about our candidates. We can do better.

DAVID KOCH IS A RICH RABID RIGHTWING REPUBLICAN WHO WON'T PUT HIS NAME ON HIS SCANDALOUS ADS AGAINST SKELTON AND MOORE

In the Kansas City television market two very similar ads have been running. These ads target Congressman Ike Skelton and Congressional candidate Stephene Moore. Skelton is the long standing Congressman from Missouri's Fourth Congressional District in West Central Missouri. Moore is running to replace her retiring husband, Dennis Moore, in Kansas' Third Congressional District representing Kansas City, Kansas (Wyandotte County) and parts of Johnson County.

The ads attempt to align Skelton and Moore with the Speaker of the House, the President, and some vague "liberal" agenda. In sum, the ad is a distortion short circuiting reality. This propaganda want to blame the Democratic Party for the economic shambles which President Obama inherited. The truth is that Republican economic policies, two wars waged off the books, and tax breaks for the richest of the rich brought our national economy to its knees. They Republicans in Congress have done naught to govern during the 111th Congress.

The obvious question screams at my mind. "Who is this group running these ads , who are the Americans for Prosperity?" Indeed, aren't all Americans for Prosperity? Americans are for healthy children, mom, apple pie, low blood pressure, a cure for cancer, and prosperity. There was the first clue.

Who is it that hides behind the divisive illusion that those who disagree with this group must be Americans for Privation! What gobbledygook! Who are the Americans for Prosperity? Here's a hint, one lump or two?

That's right, there is a great big connection between the rich rabid right wing Republican s who pretended the nation into believing there was actually a grass roots movement called the Tea Party and the alleged Americans for Prosperity. And that connection is money.

Americans for Prosperity is the ultra conservative Republican pressure group from whence the Tea Party emanated. The Kansas connection is the kooky filthy rich David H. Koch of Wichita's Koch Industries. He earlier founded a group called Citizens for a Sound Economy. Americans for Prosperity left the Citizens for a Sound Economy. The jilted group renamed themselves Freedom Works. It must have been an amicable divorce. Freedom Works is Dick Armey's little lobbying/propaganda enterprise heavily involved in the Tea Party.

David Koch and his brother Charles Koch own Koch Industries. Koch Industries is Big Oil and Gas in America's heartland. Koch Industries is America's second largest privately held company. Aqui es mucho dinero. David Koch is the second richest man in America. He is number 19 worldwide. I can only guess that he'd be number one except for the millions he has squandered on politics. But then maybe he paid for the government [deregulation] he wanted.

Don't get all confused thinking David Koch is just like you or me, that dog don't hunt. Koch is the son of petroleum industry innovator Fred Koch. He didn't go to a Kansas public school or any of our higher institutions of advanced learning. No David Koch went to the elite Deerfield Academy in Deerfield, Massachusetts. He graduated from M.I.T. The only good thing I can say is that he was a better than average basketball player setting a single game scoring record of 41 points in 1962/ That record was broken in 2009 by Jimmy Bartolotta. Say, my high school girlfriend married a guy named Bartolotta. Maybe she's related. But that's a different story.

Here's the skinny. David Koch gave $1,000,000 to the Tea Party. What? That's crazy, that's not a tax deductible gift. MIT's high scoring David Koch should know better. You better believe he does. The gift came from the Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation. That's a 501 (c) (3) bona fide tax deductible organization started by David's brother Charles Koch to further the Science of Liberty. Well, maybe the liberty of rich people to amass obscene wealth at the expense of regular folk. So yes, David Koch just had his cake and ate it also.

Open Secrets says Koch Industries is a heavy hitter. in 2008 they gave Republicans $1.7 Million. For the 2010 cycle the figure is up to $700,000. Now that doesn't count the Americans for Prosperity.

Frankly I don't give a rat's behind if David Koch wants to throw his money around. I do care that he does it behind the scenes. When you give this kind of cash to influence politics you ought to be required to sign your name so folks can make an honest assessment of your arguments.

Believe me, the only prosperity David Koch cares about is his own, not ours!