Brownback addresses Republicans in Salina: “We are having a difficult time”

The Kansas Republican Party met near Salina on Saturday for their summer meeting.

Several Republican leaders addressed the group, including U.S. Senator Sam Brownback, who will be a candidate for Kansas Governor in 2010.

Brownback summarized recent difficult times in Washington, and explained how he will use an approach in his run for Governor that he first used in 1993:

… We are having a difficult time …

On the issue of healthcare they [Democrats] put forward a specific plan … and it’s going to cost $1.6 trillion and it’s not going to cover anybody additionally that’s not covered right now.

That’s the “nut” of the problem that we’re talking about in this country …. is adding a whole bunch of taxes and not addressing any … underlying problem. .

I think we have to step forward … ideas and solutions that are market-based , that are principled, that answer the problem, but don’t add to the taxes, because we are way over taxed. We’re huge in debt, and we cannot keep going forward that way. …

I want to take you through a bit of brief history. I first started running … in 1993. … You just had a popularly-elected Democrat President, Bill Clinton, with a House and a Senate and a media who were very supportive of him, … saying a lot of things like you’re hearing right now. The President wanted higher spending, record debt, bigger bureaucracy, more control over private sector decisions, massive new energy tax, and federal takeover of the healthcare system. Does that sound familiar? This was in 1993.

I remember watching on C-SPAN when the House Democrats voted increased taxes on the country. I said, “No. You can’t do that and expect that the country is going to grow and prosper.” … I turned to my wife .. and said we’ve got to do something about it. And, I did. I ran for Congress. And I got elected in that 1994 class … With that class … here’s a series of specific items that we’re going to do. We put forward a contract with America. Here’s what we’re going to do on welfare reform. Here’s what we’re going to do on taxes. Here’s what we’re going to do on federal spending. Much of which we got through. …

We are best when we run on a series of specific ideas and issues, and put them out to the public to let the public measure us against our ideas. [applause]

[We] wandered away from principles and the country fired the Republican Party. That’s tough in a private setting. That’s tough in a public setting. …

[This] can be a chance for us to figure out how to get our way back. … The way back is … on a series of specific ideas… Now we find ourselves in a very difficult spot.

I am for a federal government that does what it is required to do — and does it very well. But, doesn’t do a whole series of things that it shouldn’t do, or is not built to be able to do, and I think that is where we lose our way. …

What you shouldn’t do is take over the private sector. What you shouldn’t do is burden the society with taxes it cannot carry. What you shouldn’t do is burden the future [generations] with a mortgage that they can’t pay. [applause] …

I think this is a generational issue that we should start to address. I am very fearful for my generation going down as one that didn’t step up to its challenge; that was given a great situation by the greatest generation — the World War II generation. …

It is up to our generation to step up and deal with these crushing fiscal problems. And we need to do it. And we’ll be judged if we don’t do it. …

I’ve been voting against a number of things … the government stimulus [applause] — what we needed was an economic stimulus. What we got was a government stimulus. There is a difference. …

What you’re looking at in the future is increased taxes on energy. … “Cap and Trade” will .. raise utility rates in Kansas … by 25%. It’s the wrong direction. …

[Federal takeover of the healthcare system .... is something we shouldn't have. ...

The President wants an activist Judiciary to make policy instead of the people's elected representatives. "Not on my watch."

[Brownback explained his pledge to only run for two Senate terms.]

There is another election I’m interested in. I will be running for Governor of the State of Kansas.. …

We run best when we run on ideas. When I run for Governor, I’m going to run on a series of ideas. It will be like a roadmap for Kansas. It will be specific. It will be items we can put out in front of people … the people can measure us against [these ideas]. We’re developing that now. …

FEC Audit

One surprising bit of news during the Treasurer’s report was that the FEC was conducting an audit.  From the prepared statement by current treasurer, Steve Fitzgerald:

Four FEC personnel began an audit in our office last Tuesday and are expected to be with us for approximately two weeks.  The audit covers the period 1 Jan 2007 to 31 Dec 2008 and has been triggered by failure to provide information to the FEC as required.  …

FEC reporting can be complex. ….  There is no evidence of any wrongdoing; however, the state of the records was not good and considerable effort has since gone into establishing the records as well as correcting procedures to prevent a recurrence. …

Business Meeting

The business before the meeting was mostly a number of proposed changes to the party constitution and bylaws.  Most of these items were technical in nature.  For example, one dealt with whether it was OK to run a meeting via E-mail.  Another dealt with the specific amount of time before a meeting that an agenda should be published.

At first there were barely enough present to vote on the constitutional measures.  Later after several delegates left, voting was no longer possible on the constitutional matters since 2/3rds of all delegates were no longer present.

Many that I talked to thought the proposals were generally good ideas, but were not needed as rules.  Perhaps the proposed changes would be more appropriate in some sort of “best practices” guide instead of rules from a group believing in limited government.

At one point while district chairs were confirming the number of delegates still present to vote, several candidates for office were given the opportunity to address the state committee, including Tim Huelskamp, Tracey Mann, and Sue Boldra for Congress in the First District, and Mike Pompeo for Congress in the Fourth District.

There will likely be a candidate announcing soon for Kansas Treasurer.

The next Kansas Republican Party meeting will be in Topeka during Kansas Days in Jan. 2010.  Some of the Constitutional matters discussed on Saturday may be discussed at that time when more delegates are present.

There were comments that a certain female Governor had been invited to be the speaker at Kansas Days in January, but it’s unclear when that might be confirmed.

Tags: FEC audit, Kansas Republican Party, Sam Brownback