Kansas Democratic Party Chair Joan Wagnon will be in Linn County May 28, 2011

Reminder: Sat. May 28, 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. KDP Chair Joan Wagnon will be in Linn County at the La Cygne Public Library Swan Room. 206 Commercial St. Plan to join us!!


Refreshments will be provided.


All Democratic and Independent voters are encouraged to attend this informational gathering.


For more information, please call: 913) 795-4574.

Kansas Democratic Party Chair Discusses Drastic Cuts to Public Schools

Joan Wagnon calls on Governor Brownback and House Leadership to stop shortchanging our kids

TOPEKA, KS - Kansas Democratic Party Chair, Joan Wagnon held a press conference today highlighting the real world impact of cuts to public schools being discussed in the State Legislature.  The following are her remarks as prepared for delivery:

I’ve been traveling the state for two months now, and every audience asks , “What is happening to our public schools.”  It is very difficult for the ordinary citizen to decipher all the conflicting information coming from this legislative session.  They are hearing that programs they care about are slated for reduction or elimination.  By next fall when school starts again, many of these cuts will be in place and parents will see the impact on their children.

The results of these cuts generally fall into these categories:

Higher pupil-Teacher ratios
Less face time for students with teachers
Reductions in programs.  Schools have already cut 1600 licensed and unlicensed personnel, and more cuts will come with the FY2012 budget.  Coaching staff are being cut as well as guidance counselors, arts, music and other programming.
Increased school fees
Reductions in Transportation services
Delaying Purchases
Particularly concerning to me are the budget cuts to the early childhood education programs such as Parents as Teachers, and PreKindergarden.  These programs have already seen a 17% reduction in funding, and if the House has its way, more cuts will come.  If we want to reduce dropouts and improve reading skills as the Governor has suggested, then kids need to be identified for early assistance.  Not funding early childhood education programs solely to preserve an ending balance is unconscionable.  The Senate’s approach to lower ending balances has kept some of the more egregious cuts from happening.

The Department of Education provided me some information about the Base State Aid per Pupil and how that has changed over the years since the first formula was instituted.

School Year            BSAPP

1992-93            $3,600
2005-06            $4,257*  (Statutory BSAPP)
2008-09            $4,400
2009-10            $4,012
2010-11            $3.937
2011-12            $3,780 (Governor’s recommendation)
If we were to fund schools at the statutory requirement of $4,257 it would require an additional $474 million.  And when you consider that the sales tax increase enacted in 2010 drops back down in FY2014 to 5.7%, and the transfer to the highway fund will increase, there will be another $308 hole in the State General Fund two years from now that will make it very difficult to increase the BSAPP.

The legislative Division of Post Audit found, ”…a strong association between the amounts districts spend and the outcomes they achieve … a 1.0% increase in district performance outcomes  was associated with a 0.83% in spending – almost a one-to-one relationship.” Districts that spent more had better student performance.

Clearly, these numbers tell me Kansas is going in the wrong direction in funding its schools.

Throughout this legislative session, the emphasis has been on economic development and job creation.  But, without a strong public school system, all the tax incentives will be meaningless.  Certainly, the trend to reducing the tax base through exemptions, credits and outright repeal of tax sources has been a major contributor to the school funding chasm that grows larger each year.

This week is Teacher Appreciation Week.  These BSAPP numbers don’t leave much room for appreciating our teachers by paying them an adequate wage for the work they do with our children.  Kansas ranks 39th in teacher salaries.

Kansans want good public schools.  They want the legislature to make education a priority.

It is one thing to     decide in a committee to cut this or that; it is quite another to look a child     in the eyes and say they can’t participate in a program because their parents can’t     afford the fees. Or to look a hardworking, compassionate teacher in the eye and     tell them they no longer have a job.

For many rural schools     this will be a death knell. They are already pinched as tight as possible and     further cuts jeopardize their survival.

Now is the time to contact legislators and express your priorities before these decisions are finalized. As a Democrat Leader in this State I am appalled at the state of funding for public schools. As a former legislator and Secretary of Revenue I understand the fiscal constraints as well as anyone but Governor Brownback and the House Leadership are shortchanging our public schools, and it’s time to stop!

Central Committee Meeting March 19, 2011

The Linn County Democratic Central Committee will meet on Saturday, March 19 at 2 p.m. The meeting will take place at the Pleasanton Labette Bank office located at 911 Main, on the west entrance of the building.
This meeting will cover planning for an upcoming fundraiser for our county party that is scheduled for a weekend in April.
We will need all hands on deck.
Please contact me if you have any questions.

Please note the change of date for this meeting originally scheduled for March 12.
Sorry for any inconvenience.

Getting Involved

Yesterday Sam Brownback was sworn in as Governor and a new legislative session began. In the days, weeks, and months ahead we will witness the most extreme government in Kansas history. Our schools, communities, and our entire state will feel the impact.

Today we start to fight back, and we need your help.

Washington Days, our annual convention, will be the first time Democrats have been together since last year's election. It will be held in Topeka on February 25 and 26, 2011, and will be our first opportunity to organize and build a foundation for success in the 2012 elections and beyond.

We are excited to announce this year's Washington Days keynote speaker, Senator Claire McCaskill. We are also excited to welcome back Kathleen Sebelius, who will be our special guest and will introduce Senator McCaskill.

Senator McCaskill and Kathleen Sebelius know what it takes to win elections and defeat Republicans. After their words of wisdom on Friday night, we will spend the weekend organizing and training to strengthen our party. Will you join us?

Fight back at Washington Days: purchase your tickets today! KSDP.org

Our schools, our communities, and our state are now controlled by the most extreme government in Kansas history. We can't afford to wait for even one moment. Help us fight back by attending this year's Washington Days.

Sincerely,
Larry Gates Kansas Democratic Chair

Democratic Values

Although Shirley Palmer did not receive the support to continue on as our state legislator we must begin the next two years with a fresh perspective and a new will to continue fighting to elect Democratic representation in our state.
A recent report revealed that 20 states are now controlled by Republican majorities. We have much to do if we hope to continue the cause of making sure that residents in Kansas and fellow Americans are receiving the proper resources for what our state and federal Constitutions mandate: Protecting the welfare of our citizens - every American should have the right to affordable health care coverage. Our seniors have worked hard to receive and maintain benefits through Social Security and Medicaid. Republicans are threatening to reduce those payments that retirees have come to rely on. Seniors who are now receiving a 50 percent discount on prescription drug costs, will once again be paying too much. Parents who have been given the opportunity to add their children to their health care coverage while students are still in college and looking for jobs face losing that ability if the GOP has their way. Those people who now receive coverage face being refused any health care coverage due to preexisting conditions if the GOP have their way in repealing health care reform.
In the first week of Jan. 2011 our national unemployment rate dropped from 9.8 to 9.4 percent and while these numbers are still high and many are still seeking work, experts have made it clear that the economy is on the right track and spending levels have increased. President Obama, has in two short years, taken a monthly job decline of over 700,000 jobs to an increase at its best level since May of 2008, adding hundreds of thousands more jobs.
Here in Kansas we take pride in our high school graduation rates of nearly 80 percent of our youth. Governor Sam Brownback threatens to lower that rate over the next ten years to a mere 30 percent through underfunding our schools and pushing to restructure our state tax system to fund individual vouchers for private (for profit) schools and taking the experience of school years away from our children by allowing a virtual school system to overrun and outsource our school districts. People in rural Kansas take much pride in their schools, a loss of a weekend football game, other sports, musicals, plays, etc., have already been impacted from reduced funding. Further cuts threaten to eliminate these programs all together. Democrats can be proud of the knowledge that our party stands for supporting the betterment of the lives and services provided to our communites. We will continue to fight for funding for not only our schools but our law enforcement, our fire departments, and our county works departments to keep our roads and bridges properly cared for. These sources are what communities thrive on and a lack of funding will weaken our viability as a community we can be proud to call home.

Voter Support for Democrats Exceeds Support for Party in Power in 1994 and 2006

While history would suggest that the 2010 elections stand to be challenging for Democrats, a variety of recent polls suggest that the barriers to success for Democratic candidates this year may not be as high as some have suggested. While pundits are now commonly comparing this year's elections to those of 1994 and 2006, years in which the minority party took control of Congress, voters today express greater support for Democratic leaders and more trust in Democratic leadership than for the political party in power in either of those election cycles, In fact, an analysis of the relative strength of the party in power, the temperature readings of the incumbent president and the approval ratings and generic ballot tests for the party out of power for 1994, 2006 and 2010 proves that comparisons between those election cycles and today are at best poor.


President Obama is much more popular than President Bush was in 2006 or President Clinton was in 1994.

According to a Washington Post/ABC Poll: President Obama’s approval rating is 50%-47% [ABC/WP Poll, 7/13/10], while a Bloomberg poll measured President Obama’s approval at 52%-44% [Bloomberg Poll, 7/14/10].


In comparison, a November 2006 Washington Post/ABC poll measured President Bush’s approval at 40%-57% [ABC/WP Poll, 10/13/08] and, according to an October 1994 Gallup poll, President Clinton’s approval rating that fall was 41%-52% [Gallup President Approval Rating Index]. Considering the current state of the economy, a country engaged in two wars, the oil spillin the Gulf and united and politically motivated Republican obstruction in Congress, President Obama’s job approval ratings remain relatively strong and are much stronger than either those of President Clinton or President Bush when their party’s lost control of Congress.


Similarly, more voters trust the President and Congressional Democrats to lead the country than trust Republicans to do so.


According to a recent Washington Post/ABC poll, 43% of voters have confidence in the President and 32% have confidence in Congressional Democrats to make the right decisions for the country’s future. In comparison, only 26% have confidence in Republicans in Congress to make the right decisions for the country’s future. [ABC/WP Poll, 7/13/10] While much has been made of the result on this question for the President, politics is a comparative exercise and President Obama and Congressional Democrats remain in a stronger position with the public and are held in higher esteem than are Republicans.


In fact, on what may be the most important issue of this election – the economy – Democrats lead Republicans in voter trust, and do so by a similar margin to Democrats in 2006 and a larger margin than Republicans in 1994.


According to a Washington Post/ABC poll, registered voters trust Democrats over Republicans 42% to 34% to do a better job handling the economy, an 8 point margin [ABC/WP Poll, 7/13/10].


In October 2006, when the Washington Post/ABC asked the same question, registered voters picked Democrats over Republicans by 50%-41% [ABC/WP Poll, 7/13/10], a nine point margin. And when they asked the same question in 1994, registered voters picked Republicans over Democrats 43%-38% [ABC/WP Poll, 7/13/10], a five point margin. So, in the two most recent elections where control of Congress flipped from one party to the other the party out of power held the advantage on the economy while the party in power holds that advantage today.


And voters don’t just trust Democrats on the economy; they support Democrats’ legislative efforts to improve the American economy and to move our country forward in other ways. And voters are more likely to support candidates who back the Democratic agenda.


A recent Washington Post/ABC poll found that 39% of voters are more likely to support a candidate who supports the Recovery Act, compared to 37% who are more likely to support a candidate who opposes the Recovery Act [ABC/WP Poll, 7/13/10]. Similarly, a recent Bloomberg poll found that 58% of voters are more likely to support a Congressional candidate that “supports spending government money to create jobs and stimulate employment,” while just 24% said they would be less likely to support that candidate [Bloomberg Poll, 7/14/10].


According to NBC/WSJ, 51% are more likely to vote for a Democratic candidate who says they will give health care a chance while only 44% say they would be more likely to vote for a Republican candidate who says it should be repealed. (NBC/WSJ, 6/21)



And a recent Bloomberg poll found that 45% of voters say they are more likely to support a Congressional candidate who supports “tougher regulations on Wall Street firms,” while only 15% would be less likely to support such a candidate.

Polls Indicating Republican Electoral Potential Fail to Make the Case for a Major Republican Victory

Despite voter support for Democrats on key issue tests like the economy, some polls do show narrow support for Republicans over Democrats on the generic congressional ballot. However, Republicans hold only a tenuous lead in such polls, with generic support for Republicans this year nowhere near that of Democrats in 2006.

In the latest Washington Post/ABC poll, Republicans led Democrats on a generic congressional ballot by 47%-46%, a one-point margin with little statistical significance [ABC/WP Poll,7/13/10]. In contrast, in an October 2006 Washington Post/ABC poll, voters preferred Democrats over Republicans on a generic Congressional ballot by 54%-41% – a much larger 13 point gap[ABC/WP Poll, 7/13/10].

Similarly, Republican cheerleaders have cited polling showing support for GOP control of Congress as an electoral boon; however, such polling has proven an unreliable indicator of electoral results.

In the current Washington Post/ABC poll, voters by 51%-43% say it’s important for the GOP to control Congress as a check on President Obama’s policies. But although a September 2002 Washington Post/ABC poll found that voters supported Democratic control of Congress “as a check” on Bush’s policies by 56%-34%, more than 20 points, Democrats in that election actually lost seats [ABC/WP Poll, 7/13/10].

Conclusion

While many Democratic candidates this year may face tough races, polling suggests that this election is shaping up to be different in many respects than either 1994 or 2006, with Democrats in position to win close races across the country and to maintain strong majorities in both the House and Senate. In fact, Democrats today are in a greater position of strength than Democrats in 1994 or Republicans in 2006. Democrats have real accomplishments that benefit middle class families and small businesses to campaign on, an economy that is once again growing and creating jobs and a public that still remembers the disastrous consequences of failed Republican policies that cut taxes for the wealthy, cut rules for big corporations and cut the middle class loose to fend for themselves.

So after 18 months of Democrats governing while Republicans in Congress have stood on the sideline and rooted for failure, Democrats are in a strong position to begin the campaign season and present voters with a clear choice: keep America moving forward or going back to the same polices that created the worst economy since the Great Depression.

It's the long shadow of the failed Bush economic policies that is keeping support for Republicans at a near record lows and why support for Republicans falls short of support for the minority party in either 1994 or 2006.

Thus, Republicans’ continued weaknesses and low approval ratings are helping Democrats turn this election into a choice between the two parties rather than just a referendum on the party in power. Despite the downcast assessments of Democratic political fortunes, we believe that this election stands to be different than so-called “wave” elections of the past and that Democrats have every reason to be hopeful that we can weather a treacherous political climate and maintain strong majorities in the House and Senate.  

Meet and Greet Featuring State Treasurer Dennis McKinney

The Linn County Party will host an open meet and greet at the Labette Bank, located at 501 Market St. in La Cygne on July 10 at 2 p.m.
Our featured guest speaker will be our Kansas State Treasurer Dennis McKinney. McKinney has been touring the state, helping residents recover unclaimed property over the past year and he has begun a new program to teach the importance of financial responsibility to our school children. McKinney recently announced his candidacy for state treasurer in his hometown of Greensburg, KS. Tribute was payed to residents and business owners who contributed to rebuilding a new environmentally friendly, energy efficient city, that has received world-wide recognition after the city was devastated by a tornado.
We encourage all residents in surrounding counties to attend, and help us give a warm welcome to our State Treasurer.
Light refreshments will be served.