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A vote on Sebelius has been set for Tuesday, one day before the full Legislature returns to attempt an override of her veto of better abortion regulations. I doubt that date was chosen at random. Waiting any longer will only put her nomination in further trouble. If the Legislature would happen to override her veto (which I don't think will happen), she'd be in more trouble. Right now, Sebelius says she has the votes to win confirmation. I doubt that will change by Tuesday.
Sen. Pat Roberts looks like he will still vote for confirmation. Sen. Sam Brownback looks as though he's still going to vote to confirm as well, although it certainly isn't going over well with the pro-life community.
I certainly don't want to see Sebelius confirmed to the HHS post. She's proven herself over and over again to be nothing more than a pro-abortion radical beholden to George Tiller even when she's getting ready to leave the state. I can only imagine the paybacks she'll have to hand out as HHS Secretary.
Gov. Sebelius is one step closer to becoming HHS Secretary. Sebelius passed committee approval with complete Democrat approval as well as yea votes from Olympia Snowe of Maine and our own Pat Roberts.Eight Republican's voted against her confirmation. Sen Jon Kyl of Arizona voted against because he wasn't convinced she would do enough to keep the government out of the doctor/patient relationship. Her ties to Tiller were also noted. Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah voted against Sebelius because of her inability to tell the truth regarding her relationship to Tiller.Sebelius will most assuredly be confirmed by the Senate as a whole, probably quite soon. It's too bad she'll now be able to influence our entire nations health care system, but on the other hand, I'm not sad to see her leaving the land of Oz.
So of course the question now becomes whether or not she'll still be around for the veto session. I think now that the committee vote is over and pro-lifers don't seem to have anyone on point to block a full vote, she'll be confirmed quickly, maybe even by the end of the week. It's quite possible she'll be gone before the end of the veto session.
I doubt that will have any bearing on whether or not additional taxes and fees are passed to balance the budget.
The Hutchinson News has a feature article regarding Tracey Mann's friendship with State Rep. Mike Slattery.Mary Clarkin wrote a fairly evenhanded story, with the exception of the first paragraph. Clarkin states:
If Salina Republican Tracey Mann wins the GOP primary next year in the 1st Congressional District, he very well could capture the vote of at least one Kansas Democratic politician in the general election.
Of course, this isn't possible even in the general election because Slattery lives in the third congressional district, not the first. However, if Slattery would like to resign his seat in the Legislature in order to vote for Mann, I'd be okay with that!The article notes various political contributions Mann has made, supporting both Slattery's in the past election cycle but also making donations to Nick Jordan in the third and Jerry Moran in the first districts.A couple of things I noted...
First, Mann continues to label himself "conservative" yet I don't know a thing about his stance on any issues. Perhaps he is...perhaps he isn't. Who knows?
Second, his treatment of Pat Roberts in the past election concerns me.
Mann did not say who he supported in the Roberts-Slattery contest, but noted the contribution was public record.
If he won't say who he supported but notes who he gave money to even after the election is over, that's very concerning. Don't get me wrong, I'm fine with him supporting Slattery or really any other Democrat he wants. Any voter has that right. My concern is electing another Republican official who won't support other Republicans once in office. It's that kind of public perception that hurts the party. Roberts has the highest approval rating of any statewide elected official and is well liked by both moderates and conservatives. He's a model of Republican leadership.
In essence, the article suggests that friendship trumped principles in his choice of who to support. I don't know what I'd do in the same situation. I think everyone will rest easier once they actually find out what Mann thinks rather than who his friends are.
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?
