Who Owns Chris Biggs?

Chris Biggs makes a lot of noise about keeping the Kansas Secretary of State's office non-partisan:

“I believe that partisanship should have nothing to do with the Secretary of State’s office,” said current Secretary of State Chris Biggs,“Elections in Kansas are fair, accessible and non-partisan.”

“That will change is if Kris Kobach is elected,” continued Biggs. “It’s clear that Kobach and his partisan allies are pursuing a political agenda that will destroy Kansas’s proud tradition of non-partisan Secretaries of State and make it harder for eligible Kansans to vote.”

All very noble, Mr. Biggs - too bad you don't practice what you preach.

The truth is that nearly 60% of Mr. Biggs recently reported (10/25/2010) campaign donations came from labor unions, special interest groups, lawyers, law firms and political sources.

Mr. Biggs' is his own single largest benefactor, having loaned his campaign $30,000 during the reporting period. This generous contribution is dwarfed, however, by the $61,562 he received from various lawyers and law firms. Contributions from legal and governmental interests represent a whopping 45.40% of Biggs' total fundraising efforts.

Labor unions and special interest groups were also very generous to the "non-partisan" Biggs campaign, kicking in nearly $30,000, or another 13.35% of Biggs' funds.

All total, 58.75% of Mr. Biggs' donations came from these highly partisan sources. By contrast, his opponent, Kris Kobach, reports a mere 12.74% of his donations were received from lawyers, governmental and special interest groups.

Who is the real "partisan" candidate, Mr. Biggs? What kind of favors will your contributors be expecting should you be elected?

I voted!!!

On October 19, exactly two weeks before Election Day! In my case, that says a lot about how important this election is to me.

I have always loved Election Day. You start your day knowing that voting will be the top priority of your day. So you begin the day by deciding exactly when you will go to the polls. Since retiring from a 9-5 job, we try never to vote in the early morning. Lots of people have to get to work, so best not to crowd the polls between 7 and 9. Same holds true for the noon hour, and the last two hours, 5-7, when people who had to be at work early will be trying to vote on their lunch hour, or on the way home from work.

It was always fun arriving at the polling place and sometimes having to wait for a parking place. Then standing in line. I remember one election day when the lines were so long they extended out the door and we shivered in the cold for about ten minutes before the line moved us indoors.

But this election is so much more important. Ever since I first read one of the ancient Greek philosophers discuss the fragility of man, I adhere strongly to the principal of not putting off until tomorrow. So, when the time for early voting began, we hurried to the temporary polling place.

In keeping with President Obama's view that this year's voters are angry and fearful, I voted like a angry, frightened old man. Democrats have controlled Washington, and our New Mexico state government, and I do not approve of their job. Years ago, a business client suggested that an employer should not hesitate to fire an employee who is not doing their job. His reasoning is that firing them from a job they do not like (why else would they do a poor job?) helps both the employer and the employee... forcing them to find a job where they will be happy.

So, I voted a straight Republican ticket for all candidates, and voted against every proposed Constitutional Amendment. If you want to amend my Constitution, don't spring it on me on a sample ballot while I am in line at the polling place. You are gong to have to spend some time convincing me.

I also voted against every bond proposal. Before I agree to any spending, prove to me that the population as a whole will suffer in the absence of the spending.

When Republican Gary Johnson was in our state house, he viewed every spending bill from the angle of how it would benefit all the people of New Mexico. If it didn't pass that test, he vetoed it! I learned a lot from Gary Johnson!

Yesterday a campaign worker approached my wife with some literature supporting some candidate. She said, "Sorry... I've already voted!" It feels so good!

Kansas Democratic Secretary of State Needs Ethics Lesson

A couple of weeks ago, the Kansas Secretary of State, running for reelection and lagging in the polls, decided that the official website of the office needed to be redone to make the site "as helpful and user friendly as possible." Problem is, it's still a rotten site - the major change is that it's now a full page ad for Secretary of State Biggs, featuring a large picture, and this text (emphasis added):

About Us

Secretary of State Chris Biggs is one of only four state officers authorized by the Kansas constitution and elected state-wide every four years. With his vision and leadership, our office serves all Kansans by performing numerous statutory duties related to the administration of statewide elections, business entities, and the uniform commercial code. The Kansas constitution created our office, but statutes define our daily duties.

Chris Biggs is "authorized by the Kansas constitution"? And the office only runs, I'm sure, because of his "vision and leadership." Transparently political...from the man who harps constantly about how non-partisan the office is supposed to be.

Today, we learned that Biggs is spending $159,000 of taxpayer money to run this ad:



He calls it a public service announcement. Just educating the public, he assures us. I'm sure it's important for the public to hear the name of the Secretary of State in order to learn about advance voting options in Kansas. Another blatantly political move, less than three weeks before the election.

The gall of an elected official spending $159,000 in taxpayer funds to display his mug all over the state this close to an election is incredible. And, by the way...how do we know he's spending $159,000? Because his campaign communications director, Tyler Longpine, tells us it is so. Why would anyone from his campaign need to be involved with the public service duties of the Secretary of State?

This is an outrage, and as a Kansas taxpayer and voter, I urge you to reject this transparent ploy and send this slimy politician packing. He has no respect for our money or our intelligence and is not fit to preside over elections for class president, let alone for the great state of Kansas.

Remembering 1972

It is a surprise to me that none of the political commentators are mentioning the 1972 elections. My guess is that Richard Nixon was so demonized that that election has been purposely ignored.

Mr. Nixon was the Republican incumbent. The Democrat nominee was George McGovern. For a running mate, McGovern chose Missouri Senator Thomas Eagleton.

Throughout the campaign, McGovern's left-leaning philosophies proved to be out of step with the American people. (He was tagged as the candidate for "Abortion, Amnesty & Acid") His choice of Thomas Eagleton, only added to that image.

Mr. Nixon was quite popular and there was every indication of a huge Republican victory. Then, just before the election, it was discovered that Mr. Eagleton had undergone electro-shock therapy for depression. That sealed the election outcome. Eagleton withdrew and was replaced by Kennedy brother-in-law Sargent Shriver. It did not help the Democrats.

McGovern won only the state of Massachusetts and The District of Columbia - 17 electoral votes in all. Nixon won 49 states and 520 electoral votes. It was, and remains, the biggest presidential landslide.

Toward the end of the campaign, some members of the Nixon campaign staff foolishly decided to break into the Democrats National Headquarters at the Watergate Complex and plant listening devices. The left-leaning media, spurred-on by the anti-Viet Nam War protesters, rode that break-in scandal mercilessly. As investigations unfolded, Nixon and his White House staff, hoping to protect their colleagues, made cover-up attempts which led to Nixon's resignation. Thus, our most spectacular election victory was followed by the first ever resignation of a U.S. President.

November, 1972 was 38 years ago. If you were 18-years-old then, you would be 56 today. It is not surprising that most of today's voters do not remember 1972. What they do know of the election is what the liberal media have taught... that Nixon was a crook.

Now, these 38 years later, I am seeing another landslide Republican victory in the making. And, following the election, I worry that there will be a relentless search to find some small infraction on the part of Republicans, Conservatives or Tea Party members, which can be exploited and blown into a Watergate-like bomb.