The political metamorphosis of Jim Barnett

Bob Weeks at the Voice for Liberty in Wichita posted an interesting article a few days ago where he took the legislative vote ratings for both Sens. Tim Huelskamp and Jim Barnett and graphed them over time. It was so interesting to me that I went back to the vote ratings and created my own graph, but with a few events highlighted in Jim Barnett's political career. The result showed a politician who clearly has no moral or philosophical compass by which he governs.

As you can see below, Barnett's fiscal track record improves and declines dramatically depending on the year and what kind of election he's likely to face. In 2004 for example, he faced his first re-election to the Senate and improved his score with the Kansas Taxpayer's Network from 11% to 50% accordingly. Then in 2006, he scored a 100% rating for the first time. This, of course, coincided with his campaign against several other candidates for the Republican governor's nomination.

But in 2008, facing little opposition for his Senate seat and coming off a good amount of name recognition, the old Jim comes back with his liberal ways.

And now that election day 2010 is upon us, we once again see an upswing in his scores.

When put this way, the say anything, do anything Barnett that I know shines through. Anything to get elected, anything for more power.

And Tim Huelskamp? A record to run to, not from.

Click on the image to enlarge it.

Taxpayer advocates call Huelskamp's record "perfect"

New but not at all surprising, Americans for Prosperity-Kansas gave Sen. Tim Huelskamp's record this past session in the Senate as 100% perfect. Huelskamp was one of only seven Senators to receive a perfect score from AFP. Until the Kansas Taxpayers Network merged with AFP-Kansas, Huelskamp also had the highest lifetime rating of any sitting State Senator as well.

Clearly when it comes to advocating for the taxpayer, Sen. Huelskamp has the record to back up the rhetoric.

"It's always an honor to be recognized by AFP as one of the conservative leaders in the state senate," Huelskamp said. "As a state senator, I have always been willing to take up the cause of fighting for lower taxes and limited government, and that is something I will continue as Congressman for the Big First."

Jim Barnett didn't even come close to scoring 100% in the key limited government test. As of 2007, Barnett had a lifetime taxpayer rating of 44.7% from the Kansas Taxpayer's Network. That's lower than Democrat David Haley.

Barnett's voting record and thus his numbers, have improved as his aspirations for higher office has been made more clear.

"Conservatives would be hard-pressed to find a stronger and more consistent voice in the Kansas Senate than Sen. Tim Huelskamp," Derrick Sontag, the state director for AFP-Kansas, said. "We want to thank Tim for his hard work on behalf of limited government, lower taxes and less wasteful spending."

Congratulations Senator! It's certainly no surprise to anyone familiar with Kansas politics, but we thank you for your efforts just the same.

Rally for comprehensive energy tomorrow

Citizens who want to see a comprehensive energy plan passed in Kansas this year are holding a rally tomorrow at 1:30pm on the south lawn of the Capital. If you would like to see cheaper energy rates, more energy production and the investment and jobs that would come along, join the Kansas Chamber of Commerce, Americans for Prosperity and other groups to encourage legislators to override former Gov. Sebelius' veto.

Here's the official invitation with details:

Join Congressman Todd Tiahrt, Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins, state legislative leaders, the Kansas Chamber, Americans for Prosperity and other business and labor groups to ask the legislators to override Sebelius' veto of the energy bill.

The rally will begin at 1:30pm this Friday (May 1st) on the south side of the capitol. If it is raining the rally will be held in the basement of the old Hayden High School on the NW corner of 8th and Jackson in Topeka.

Bring as many people as you wish and lunch will be provided from 11:30-1 in the basement of the old Hayden High School.

Flood the halls and make the calls!

Americans for Prosperity Kansas is holding a "TEE" Party at the statehouse this Thursday. AFP wants as many people as possible to go to the Capital Thursday for the second day of the wrap up session. If you can't attend, make some calls!

Here's the itinerary:

• 10 a.m. -- Meet at Dillon House (404 SW 9th St., just west of the Statehouse) for a briefing on the Kansas state budget. AFP will provide talking points, legislative contacts and other materials, before we head over to the Statehouse to talk with legislators.
• 12 p.m. -- Box lunches will be provided at Dillon House
• 1 p.m. -- We will go back to the Capitol to continue lobbying one-on-one with individual legislators
• 4 p.m. – Dismiss

No signs will be allowed in the Capital, which is why this will be a TEE Party instead of a TEA Party. If you have a T-Shirt you'd like to make to wear, feel free to do so. AFP will have some shirts there for you to decorate if you don't have the time.

If you're not able to come all day, just stop by for the time that you can. I know that's the biggest block to conservatives, isn't it? We just have to... work. It really gets in the way of going to TEA Parties and speaking with legislators, doesn't it?

AFP has arranged for buses from Wichita and Johnson County if you can't afford to make the trip. Go to AFP's homepage to register, even if you don't plan to use one of the buses. There's no charge to attend and lunch will be provided.

Budget battle heating up this week

The Legislature returns Wednesday for its wrap up session where they'll have to trim over $330 million from the budget. Democrats and some moderate Republicans are pushing hard for every kind of "revenue enhancement" (aka "tax increase") they can think of without calling for an across the board income, sales or property tax increase.

$330 million is about 2.5% of the $13 billion budget. That's certainly nothing to sneeze at. If the $13 billion budget was instead a $50,000 a year income, a 2.5% cut would be $1,250. A noticeable cut, but one that would certainly be possible.

The other number that is being left out of the budget conversation is how much spending has increased since 2004. That would be 48% according to Americans for Prosperity - Kansas.

So to put that in perspective, that would be like a family spending $26,000 a year and then four years later spending $50,000 a year. Now, would it be possible for them to cut a measly $1,250 after nearly doubling spending over just four short years? I'd hope so.

Huelskamp makes the TEA Party rounds

According to the tweets Sen. Tim Huelskamp is putting up, he'll be attending four TEA Party rallies across the first district today.

Joined an enthusiastic crowd at the Dodge City TEA Party. Real citizens ready for real change in DC. 3 TEA Parties to go! #tcot #teaparty

Turnout in Salina, KS was over 500 people. Great crowd, very receptive. #tcot #teaparty

I know from the Hutch News that he'll also be at the rally in Hutchinson. I'm not sure which other rally he plans to attend. Rob Wasinger and the other first district candidates were not seen at the Salina rally.

If you haven't found a TEA Party to attend yet, go to AFP-Kansas. They have a list of all the parties across the state.

It also looks like the Kansas Meadowlark, Wichita Liberty and KRA are going to be doing some coverage of all the TEA Parties across the state. You may want to check those sites out later tonight and tomorrow.

You know, I just don't think I pay enough taxes

Sun Publications Steve Rose is a patriot. A Joe Biden patriot.

In a Wednesday editorial, Rose blamed the state's current fiscal crisis on tax cuts over the years. And not just the cuts from last year or the year before, but all tax cuts from, well, seemingly forever.

A friend who serves in the Legislature asked the state’s research team to figure out how much all the costs of all the tax cuts have totaled since 1995. The cumulative impact on Kansas, the study finds, is a loss of $7.6 billion in revenue during that period. We are now losing about $600 million a year from tax cuts.

Of course, Steve fails to mention the 0.4% hike in the state's sales tax the last time we spent way more than we had. Since Steve fails to mention the legislator who requested the study, or really anything else about the study, I have no idea if the $600 million figure includes reductions due to the extra revenue generated by the 2002 sales tax increase. And increases in cigarette taxes. And a 83% increase in property appraisals since 1997.

Of course there are others who would say we spend too much rather than we're taxed too little. AFP-Kansas Director Derrick Sontag noted, "had we restrained spending growth to five percent since 2004, we wouldn’t be facing this budget shortfall."

However, I have a solution that everyone, liberal or conservative, can support.

I encourage the legislature to pass a law allowing anyone to voluntarily increase their tax liability. No more waiting for politicians to act. No more pleading, begging for votes to increase taxes. You can just increase your own taxes!

It's great for everyone. Steve Rose, the Kansas Jackass and others who want higher taxes and more spending can do their patriotic part.

Of course, there's been some trouble lately with Democrats paying their taxes. Maybe that's why they want tax increases, because they'll never have to pay?

Nah, I'm sure when given the opportunity to contribute even more to the government, they'll jump on board.

And because I firmly believe in leading by example, anyone who voluntarily adds to their tax liability should get their name published on a government website so everyone can see what a joy it is to give money to the government. This, in turn, will encourage others to give.

And those of us who feel that spending increases of more than 5% year in and year out are bad... well... we can just pay our required taxes and be very unpatriotic.

Huelskamp targets Planned Parenthood funding, cites $1 billion shortfall

When it comes to cutting state pork, there's nobody better than Sen. Tim Huelskamp.

Huelskamp announced yesterday that he intends to scrutinize every penny of state spending in the face of a $1 billion state deficit. In light of some Senate Republicans refusing to discuss possible budget solutions and still blaming the budget shortfall on "tax cuts" rather than their own over spending, Sen. Huelskamp's comments are a breathe of fresh air.

“In the last two fiscal years alone, Kansans have forked over more than $550,000 to this organization,” said Senator Huelskamp. “There is simply no reason in the world why the taxpayer dollars of hundreds of thousands of pro-life Kansans should be used to underwrite abortion providers in this state, particularly those under criminal indictment and investigation.” Huelskamp promised to seek budget language that would prohibit such funding.

One does have to wonder why, if the face of a $1 billion deficit, the state would continue to fund someone under criminal investigation. Just as it pains the citizens of Illinois to pay Gov. Blagojevich's salary, it too should pain Kansans to know their hard earned tax dollars are going to an organization charged with 107 different felony misdemeanors.

And before liberals start howling about the "anti-abortion" activists, Huelskamp's press release notes actions already taken by the state of Virginia, a state that voted for the most liberal Presidential candidate in history.

If Kansas were to defund Planned Parenthood funding, they would not be the first state to attempt to do so. Citing concerns about the racist foundations of Planned Parenthood, their documented willingness to cover up for rapists and other child predators, and their illegal promotion of pornography to teenagers, other states such as Virginia have made moves similar to that proposed by Huelskamp.

Senate President Steve Morris and Vice President John Vratil have blamed the budget crisis on tax cuts passed under their leadership the past few years. But as AFP's Alan Cobb pointed out, it isn't the tax cuts that are to blame but the over indulgence of a majority of Kansas Senators, Representatives and Gov. Sebelius herself.

“Isn’t it worth mentioning the impact of four years of large budget increases on the current budget situation? If the budget had simply increased at 5 percent, hardly a small number, each year since 2004, we would have more than $2 billion in the bank now.”

2004 is the year Sen. Morris and Vratil took over leadership of the Kansas Senate.

Personally, I think the CPI is the most a budget should increase without the approval of the voters. But isn't it interesting to know that if legislators had just had a little self control...not even a lot, but just a little bit...that we'd now be in the black instead of the red

Kansans can rest assured that Sen. Huelskamp will examine every penny in Washington just like he has the past 12 years in Topeka.