First District Growth

The Hutchinson News has a great editorial up that you'll want to take a look at. As Wasinger and company take their strategy national, things continue to turn sour in the big first regarding carpetbaggers wanting an office with power.

Mann up

In light of the Salina Journal article on Tracey Mann, I thought my quick campaign finance search would be of interest.

Described as "conservative, but not ideologic," Mann understands agriculture and "the importance of small business to central and western Kansas" Hemmer said.

Yes, that conservative label is awfully handy isn't it? As with every other candidate so far (of course with the exception of Sen. Huelskamp), Mr. Mann doesn't have a voting record, so it's difficult to say what he'd do if elected.

However, a search of donors to state races turned up a $200 donation by Mann to Democrat Mike Slattery, son of Jim Slattery. The older Slattery got his head handed to him by Sen. Pat Roberts but Mike got elected to the statehouse as a Representative. Mann's Roeland Park address is a couple blocks from Slattery's district.

So, there you go. Conservative but not ideologic means you give money to Democrats who's dad works as a lobbyist and ran against one of the best U.S. Senators Kansas has ever had.

It used to be Republicans that financially supported Democrats were called "moderates". Now they're "conservative but not ideologic"?

I'm just curious, what does a guy running for office in Kansas have to do to be called a liberal?

A rather boring story

Well, this is going to be rather boring, but here goes...

My blog was graced with being the first place where Wasinger supporters linked to the first Huelskamp video they put out. It was just dumb luck that I happened to be online at the time and was the first one to view the video, as you can see by the screen shots with this post.

I've never been the first person to view a video on YouTube except when I was the one loading it. So, the only way that specific link could have been posted here was if the person posting it was the one who uploaded it.

The IP address of the comment links back to Steubenville, Ohio.

This is the same IP address as the first commenter to route people to the KSNBC-01 blog. Thus, our fair and balanced Ohio friends are apparently also the ones who produced both videos.

Both video's are from the first congressional district meeting at Kansas Days and, as everyone can tell, have been heavily edited. The angle of the camera is consistent with where the Rob Wasinger supporters were standing.

On Feb. 13, there were a barrage of comments on this post. It was surprising to me that this post triggered such an outrage from Wasinger's supporters because it didn't even have anything to do with the first district race. I just thought it was something that needed to be said.

In any case, all of those came from either the Steubenville, Ohio, Virginia, Washington D.C., or Boston areas. There were two different folks from Virginia while the other locals featured one commenter each.

Most comments concerned reimbursements to Sen. Huelskamp's wife. I discovered that only reports from 2006 are available online, so someone had to have gone to the Secretary of State's office and get campaign finance reports from 1996 to 2006. How that information got into the hands of bloggers from Ohio, Virginia and Massachusetts isn't clear to me.

One hour before the comment barrage started, there was a hit from an IP address in Hays for a few minutes.

There's of course more to this than what I've put up here, but I think it's best for everyone involved, even the out-of-state Wasinger supporters, that I stop here. There's of course nothing wrong with supporting your candidate; I do it.

And really I can't complain too much about the two videos. They're editing isn't that great so it's easy to see it was selective in nature. But of course, I'd hate to see a full audio file of the first district meeting show up on the internet.

I think the only problem I would address is the person from Massachusetts that decided to attack the adoptions of Sen. Huelskamp. I don't think you're doing your candidate a service by going there.

Instead of signing a clean campaign pledge and then attempting to attack anonymously from Ohio, Rob should have just been straight and honest about his attacks. At the very least, it'd be nice if you referenced your material.

KSNBC-01 today said they endorsed Rob Wasinger. Again, rather than attacking Huelskamp in a thin veil of fairness, I'd hoped that they would just be up front and honest about who they support. I had hoped today's endorsement would clear that up, but unfortunately, it didn't.

Here at Kansas01, we set out to follow the race in a non-partisan manner. We hope that we have been true to our intent, and we hope to continue reporting the race in such a manner.

...we will continue to chronicle the race, cutting through the spin, which means that we will continue to report on developments equally.

The Hutch News has a story up about Rob's new house in Cottonwood Falls. Why he told the Hutch News in December he'd bought a house in Hays I still don't understand.

Cottonwood Falls is a great town and the Flint Hills are just gorgeous. One of the best drives you can take is from Council Grove to Cassoday on K-177.

Also, the Kansas Jackass did a story about Huelskamp working to curb card check legislation in Kansas. I'd say more about unions and why they're good and bad sometimes, but I don't have the energy today.

Strategery

I think the best of Saturday Night Live comes around every four years. It's probably the only thing that keeps them from being canceled, if you ask me.

I think one of the best one liners came from the first Bush/Gore debate of 2000.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find the video of the second debate, but you may remember it. Bush had been criticized for not knowing much about foreign policy, so in an effort to remedy this, he names as many world leader names as possible. I'm so bummed I couldn't find the video, it was hilarious.

Anyway, it would seem our industrious candidate in the first has taken a lesson from the SNL playbook.

The strategery? Name as many towns in the first district as possible. And when he runs out of towns, say "Kansas" as much as possible. (pst St. Francis, Syracuse, Scott City)

Exhibit 1: Rob's most recent fund raising letter:

As the son of a truck driver who ran a dairy route stretching from Hays to Hillsboro and Hutchinson and back, I know the value of hard-earned dollar and a good day of work.

I know, they all start with 'H'. Very strange. What else starts with H that would trigger a subconscious list like that? Weird. (pst, Colby, Garden City, Medicine Lodge...)

Exhibit 2: Rob's updated website:

I am the son of two hard working parents from Hays, Kansas. We all drove back to Hays together.

Well, okay. I admit this may be more like a half an exhibit than a full one. But hey, he's kind of limited in towns he has a connection to, give him a break. What's he going to say, "Vote for me, I once had to stop for gas in Salina on the way back to Hays where I used to live with my aunt." (pst Goodland, Tribune/Greeley County, Elkhart)

Exhibit 3: Rob's updated campaign finance reports:

FEC FORM 2
STATEMENT OF CANDIDACY
FILING FEC-401797
1. Robert K Wasinger
NOTE: Address is different than previously reported
309 Oak Street
Cottonwood Falls, KS 66845-6845

This is interesting because it was filed two days after his finance report and more than a month after Wasinger told a Hutch News reporter he had already bought a house in Hays. It was also more than a month after listing his new Cottonwood Falls address for a reimbursement to himself for travel to an out of state fund raiser. (pst economic development) I guess maybe Rob was hoping no one would notice he changed his address to an empty house. (pst Emporia, McPherson, Council Grove)

Exhibit 4: Rob's new 'About' page - "Kansas" appears 25 times.

Hey, did I mention I'm from Kansas? You're from Kansas! Hey, I'm from Kansas! You know, we Kansans (who are from Kansas) should get together, Kansas, and talk about how great Kansas is, Kansas. We'll meet up, Kansas, sometime, Kansas, in Kansas, Kansas. (pst Great Bend, Hoisington, Lakin)

Exhibit 5: Very questionable judgment on this one, but here it is; attack liberals.

But I need your help to get elected to Congress. Right now, liberals are already attacking me.

Rob! Liberal is in the first district! (Kansas!) You need the votes man! Besides, I've been to Liberal. Every now and then they kind of flip out (once a year while running to be exact) but hey, a vote's a vote, right? (pst Hoxie, Bird City, Oberlin)

And of course, what strategery would be complete without turning the tables. Did you hear Huelskamp isn't from Kansas? Didn't want to come back when he was in high school? (pst Concordia, Clay Center, Glasgow)

I always say the best defense is a good offense. So I'm sure everyone will want to stay tuned this weekend when I tell you who's behind the videos you can find on KSNBC-01.

They're the unbiased, balanced ones.

(You know the only thing that would make this funnier is if I could find a widget that showed how many out of state people that check this blog are going to google maps right now to find these towns.)

Huckabee endorses Huelskamp

Well, I found some WiFi and it's a good thing I did.

"Tim Huelskamp is a rare breed of leader who boldly stands up for conservative principles -- and has a ten-year voting record to prove it."

That just part of the glowing endorsement Tim Huelskamp received earlier today from former Presidential candidate (and winner of the Kansas GOP caucus I might add) Mike Huckabee.

There's only one reason these endorsements are being made this early: money. But as I look at what's happened so far, (Thompson, Blackwell, Huckabee) it's interesting to note that Huelskamp has sought well known Washington outsiders while Wasinger has gone after those that have spent their share of time in Washington. A very smart move.

Huckabee continued with what I would call the recurring theme voters will hear from now until August 2010:

I would not be supporting Tim if he were not 100 percent Pro-Life. Tim did not tell me he was pro-life, his record did. And let me assure you that whether you're talking about fighting for lower taxes, government transparency, or protecting the 2nd Amendment, Tim Huelskamp's conservative voting record is solid.

A record. Isn't that refreshing? And not a record to run from, but a record to run to.

I am committed to doing what I can to help make sure he can bring those Kansas values to Washington, DC -- because we all know we have enough Washington values already. I hope you will join me in the fight for conservative values and support Tim Huelskamp for Congress."

So, not only does Sen. Huelskamp have more cash on hand and more Kansas donations, but he now has more prominent national endorsements (whether verified or anonymous), and thus more momentum and a better plan of attack than Rob Wasinger.

And he's now the only candidate with an endorsement that will actually translate into votes come August. The massive turnout of Kansas Republicans to vote for Mike Huckabee even though John McCain had virtually locked up the nomination should not be overlooked.

And he has a great voting record to back it all up.

That's what I call a front runner.

More here and here and here.

Is another move in Wasinger's future, or has it already happened?

Throughout the short campaign so far, Rob Wasinger has attempted to portray himself as a Kansan who was simply returning to his roots.

It's been a delicate balancing act because he still owns a nearly $1 million home in Virginia that he hasn't been able to unload. To further compound the situation, his wife had listed the home on her website, which was quickly noticed here in Kansas. As of today, the site has been taken down.

Further, just this past March, Wasinger signed off as a Catholic for McCain listing Virginia as his home state. All this combines to make it rather difficult for Wasinger to look like anything but a carpetbagger.

However, I discovered today that he may be even more "locationally challenged" than previously thought.

It began over a week ago when I got word that a house in Cottonwood Falls was to be renovated for, "a former Brownback staffer who has nine children." No question who they were talking about.

Campaign finance records filed January 30, 2009 indicated a travel expense reimbursement to Robert K. Wasinger. This was one of two expenditures in his report to addresses in Kansas even though earlier today he stated that all of his campaign funds would be spent in the first district.

The December 11 reimbursement lists 309 Oak Street in Cottonwood Falls for an address. I didn't quite understand why a Cottonwood Falls address would appear in his report. A voter registration search showed no voters registered at that address.

Today a repeat visit of his campaign filings showed an amended report from February 1, just two days after his quarter report. It was for a change of address to the same Cottonwood Falls address.

In a December 30 story in the Hutchinson News by Mary Clarkin, Wasinger claimed to be living in Hays with his Aunt. Why list your address on December 11 as Cottonwood Falls and then tell a reporter you live in Hays, only to change you address a month later back to Cottonwood Falls? Where exactly are you from Rob? Where exactly do you plan on living in a couple of months?

The Clarkin story also said that, "...he has bought a residence there and his wife and their nine children will relocate from Virginia." Why tell a reporter you live in Hays and bought a house in Hays and then change your address to Cottonwood Falls? Why all the lies?

I don't exactly understand all the deception, other than Secretary of State records show Rob has only voted in Kansas once this past November. He lists his aunt's Hays address on his voter registration record. Perhaps as the voter registration deadline neared for the November election the Wasinger family had been unable to buy a house in the district and thus he talked his aunt into loaning her address to avoid the embarrassment of being a candidate in a state where he'd never voted. This, of course, is just conjecture on my part because quite honestly I don't understand why you'd list multiple addresses or why you'd tell a reporter you're moving to Hays when you're not.

A friend in Cottonwood Falls took the above pictures. He has told me that the house at 309 Oak Street is currently vacant but has been gutted inside in what looks like preparation for a renovation.

A Register of Deeds records search will hopefully reveal more information, such as when the home was purchased.