Guest Column
by
Alan Townsend
Kansas Farmer and Rancher, KSGOP Treasurer
On my Kansas farmland of the western high plains, my days revolve around family, wheat, and agriculture.
Riding in the fields today in my combine harvesting wheat, I work the land, knowing that every season brings new challenges and rewards. As a proud Republican, I believe in God, family, hard work, and small business.
Yes, the weather and the economy are unpredictable, and we rely entirely on God's grace to bless our families, land, and crops with sunshine and rain. It takes many blessings, some luck, and a lot of money to navigate and mitigate the risks that come with farming. We, as farmers, risk everything to feed the world. But we're committed to Kansas, America, and those amber waves of grain.
Born in America and raised in Kansas, my loyalty, devotion, and love for this nation run deep. Our work goes beyond the farm; it's about feeding America and the world. I am a small business owner of a company called 21st Century Bean Company, and we export Kansas products to the furthest reaches of the earth as an affordable and tasty protein product. It's not easy, but nothing worth doing ever is. The weather and agriculture prices may test us, but our love for this way of life keeps us going and sustains us even when it's hard.
We do not quit. We do not cave. We do not buckle. With faith and fortitude, we carry on. This is more than a job; it's a fabric woven from the very essence of who we are.
And through it all, we find meaning and purpose in the rhythm of farm life, honoring the land, and fostering a sense of respect and allegiance to our roots just like loving America and being a Republican. It's a love affair between me and the land and the future of America. We have everything to lose and everything to gain.
I ask you, as a Kansas Farmer, to think about the words above and the summary of them just below and take them to heart;
Let's stick together and get it done.
America First, and nothing else.
1776 Club
Become a 1776’er!
Are you ready to take a stand for liberty, patriotism, and the future of our great nation? Join your fellow Kansas Republican Party (KSGOP) members and become a proud member of the prestigious “1776 Club”.
Together, we can make a difference and save America from the threats that loom over our values and freedoms here in Kansas and across America.
As a card-carrying member of the KSGOP, you will join a passionate community of like-minded individuals committed to upholding conservative principles and ensuring a prosperous future for Kansas and the United States. By joining our team, you can actively participate in shaping policies that align with our core beliefs and be eligible for a random “pop-up -perk” as fabulous opportunities become available.
The “1776 Club” represents the embodiment and foundation of our nation's founding principles and the spirit of independence. By joining this exclusive club, you will gain access to a network of influential leaders and dedicated activists who are working tirelessly to protect our constitutional rights and preserve the American dream.
Joining the KSGOP and the “1776 Club” is not just about being a member; it's about being part of a movement that stands firm against the forces that threaten our American values. Together, we will promote limited government, individual liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all Americans.
Don't miss out on this opportunity to make a real impact. Join the KansasRepublican Party and the “1776 Club” today, and be part of the solution. Together, we will build a stronger, more united America and Kansas for generations to come.
As a “Pop-Up-Perk” of being a 1776 Club member, you are automatically entered into our perks program where random winners are given opportunities for swag to attend unique and exclusive events, and we want you in the “cool kids club” :-).
Signup now to be a 1776’er and get yourself in the hunt... The perks are out of sight, so you don't want to miss out!
Bob Dole, former US Senator, 100th Birthday on July 22
LANDMARK CELEBRATION
July 22, 2023, commemorates the 100th birthday of United States Senator Bob Dole, a Kansas favorite son, who passed away on December 5, 2021.
Bob Dole was born on July 22, 1923, and raised in Russell, Kansas, where he established a legal career after serving with distinction in the United States Army during World War II. He won election to the House of Representatives in 1960. In 1968, Dole was elected to the Senate and was chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1971 to 1973 and chairman of the Senate Finance Committee from 1981 to 1985. He led the Senate Republicans from 1985 to his resignation in 1996 and served as Senate Majority Leader from 1985 to 1987 and 1995 to 1996.
President Gerald Ford chose Dole as his running mate in 1976. Dole sought the Republican presidential nomination in 1980. Dole won the Republicanpresidential nomination in 1996. The Republican ticket lost in the general election to Bill Clinton. Dole resigned from the Senate during the 1996 campaign and did not seek public office again after the election.
Kansas Republican
Calendar of Events
July 29, 2023
4-7 pm
Crawford County GOP Community Picnic
Kiddieland at Lincoln Park, Shelter #3
783 W. 12th St.
Pittsburg, KS
NOTE: Meet some great local candidates and fellow patriots while enjoying free food and drinks (burgers, dogs and more) plus free music, games and even bounce houses for the kids.
August 3, 2023
6:30 pm
Harvey County Ice Cream Social
The Athletic Park
Newton, KS
NOTE: Ice cream served at 630 with speakers at 7pm
Note: If you have a Republican event you would like to tell folks about, email the details for inclusion consideration to:
mbrown@kansas.gop
Facts and Figures
Failed "Bidenomics"
and
Republicans Delivering
for the Economy
Month after month, the data shows Republican governors are leading the way in spite of Bidenomics. As families are burdened with falling real wages, out-of-control spending, and sky-high costs, Republicans are continuing to lead the economic recovery through job growth.
What you need to know
Republican-led states are creating jobs and leading this economic recovery.
The latest state jobs report shows that 8 of the top 10 states for jobs recoveredsince the coronavirus pandemic began are led by Republican governors, and all ten states have Republican-controlled legislatures.
Out of the top 10 states with the lowest unemployment rates, 8 are led by Republican governors.
Seventeen states have hit new record low unemployment rates – 12 of which have Republican governors.
According to a report by CNBC, nine out of the top 10 states for business friendliness are Republican-led.
Additionally, eight of the top 10 states with the strongest economies have Republican governors.
Biden's failed economic agenda has done nothing but hurt Americans.
Prices have risen by 16.6% since Biden took office with Americans still reeling from the lasting effects of inflation.
Real wages are 3% lower than when Biden took office.
Families have paid over $10,000 since Biden took office to afford the same goods under the increased cost of living.
The debt levels of American families have skyrocketed.
Nearly 25 million Americans are behind on their credit cards, auto loans, or personal loans - a number not seen since 2009.
Credit card balances are now at an all-time high.
According to Bloomberg, middle-class households have lost an average of $33,000 in real wealth in just the last year.
Over 80% view the economy as “negative” and say Biden’s policies have done them no good.
The bottom line
The only way to combat failed "Bidenomics" is to elect Republican leadership. Republicans continue to deliver results for the American people.
A Breakdown At The Border
Under Biden’s failed leadership, our communities are less safe as smugglers and cartels are thriving. Biden and Harris’s failed open border agenda has proven to be the root cause of this record-shattering border crisis, and Republicans will continue to hold this administration accountable and put the safety of our families and communities first.
What you need to know
New Customs and Border Protection data released today shows 144,571 illegal immigrants were encountered crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in June.
With more than 4,800 crossings daily, Biden's border crisis is overwhelming the system.
June's 144,000-plus encounters is a 186% increase from the average number of June encounters from 2017-2020.
7,288 unaccompanied children were encountered.
66,658 illegal immigrants were encountered from countries outside the Northern Triangle and Mexico, showing that Biden’s crisis is global.
At least 140 people on the terror watchlist have been encountered trying to enter the U.S. between ports of entry so far this fiscal year, a new record.
7 million illegal immigrants have crossed the border since Biden took office.
This includes the 1.4 million gotaways have escaped past Border Patrol into the U.S.
Border officials say that the official number of gotaways vastly undercounts the illegal immigrants who make it into the U.S.
Biden has installed a de facto amnesty program in which over 75,000 illegal immigrants have had their cases dismissed in court due to his administration's failure to file the proper paperwork.
Additionally, at least two million illegal immigrants have been released into the U.S. and now await future immigration court dates since Biden took office.
Experts say the likelihood U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers will remove them is “virtually nonexistent ” and they “are here indefinitely, if not forever.”
Homeland Security Investigations estimates that Mexican cartels are now making $13 billion a year smuggling illegal immigrants into the U.S.
Illicit drugs are flowing into the country at an alarming rate with only 5 to 10% being intercepted as border officials struggle to contain the smuggling.
2,141 pounds of deadly fentanyl was seized at the southern border in June alone, with much more getting through.
Since Biden took office, more than 21 tons of fentanyl have crossed the southern border, enough to kill 9.7 billion people.
The bottom line
This is the worst border crisis on record and it is only going to continue to get worse with Biden and Democrats disastrous open border policies and lack of leadership. Republican leaders in Congress will continue to hold Biden and the Democrats accountable for the humanitarian crisis they created.
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Kansas Legislative Post Audit
Election Integrity Report
On April 22nd of this year, the Kansas Legislative Post Audit Committee authorized an audit of election security policies and procedures and a review of the security of voting machines, ballots storage, and devices by auditing 15 counties across the state. The Kansas Legislative Post Audit (KSLPA) report was presented earlier this week and subsequently released to the public as Part 2 of the inspection of Kansaselections.
The findings in the report were of interest to many Kansans who have continuing serious unanswered questions and concerns regarding Kansas’ election security and our upcoming 2023/24 elections.
The KSLPA report laid bare that Kansas’ overall election policies are not uniform, ballot security practices are weak, many counties have inadequate voting and tabulation machine security practices, and security measures and policies vary wildly from county to county. Shockingly, two of our Kansas counties ultimately refused to participate in the full audit, and some others “sealed” their records after being instructed not to do so but sealed them regardless of the direction given. There may be nothing to hide in these non-compliance instances; however, behaving this way leads to serious doubts about something being hidden from the Kansas Legislature and the public. That destroys confidence in the process and is unacceptable. The Kansas Legislature and the general public should press these counties to comply as the voting public, and Kansas taxpayers own the information.
The report states the Secretary of State does not proactively provide state-level guidance or make recommendations about minimum election security expectations. The yearly training proved by the SoS staff to County Clerks does not include in depth training on the importance of security controls or how to adequately design and practice them. None of the 15 counties audited had adequate written election security policies or guidance from the Secretary of State’s office.
The KSSoS office owes Kansans a complete and detailed explanation with a clear and comprehensive action plan to immediately fix these glaring election integrity problems. Concrete and verifiable solutions to these flaws are the only way to restore confidence in our Kansas elections.
Our way of life depends on safe and secure elections, and this report pointed out that our elections are not as secure as we had been promised.
The Kansas Legislature and the Legislative Post Audit Committee should be commended for taking up the crucial and complex issue of Election Integrity. The KSLPA report is both an important first step and initial outline for reform.
The Parallel Universe
News Stories You May Have Missed This Week
Since when is the Pentagon a part of Planned Parenthood?
Alabama senator Tommy Tuberville has become Public Enemy No. 1 for blocking all military promotions and nominations over a Pentagon policy that could have been drafted by a committee of Planned Parenthood... The Pentagon is funding abortion tourism for troops in case they find themselves behind enemy lines, i.e. stationed in a state that has significant post-Dobbs restrictions on abortion… It’s a wonder the Pentagon didn’t write an amicus brief in the Dobbs case supporting Roe as necessary on national-security grounds... Stretching the limits of the law is never an obstacle. A letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin from every Republican on the Senate Armed Service Committee a few months ago pointed out that the Pentagon’s new abortion-enabling paid travel and leave policies “are a blatant attempt to circumvent numerous federal statutes that distance the military from abortion-related decisions…”While Tuberville has resorted to the nuclear option in the Senate, House Republicans passed a National Defense Authorization Act last week reversing the new abortion policy, as well as targeting DEI training and gender-affirming care…” In a typical example of how the media cover these kinds of disputes, the Republican bill rolling back these relatively new initiatives has been called “divisive” in the press, whereas the underlying policies would never be characterized the same way… The “extreme” agenda of Republicans here is to return to status quo ante prior to the woke revolution that has co-opted so many of the country’s institutions, including the military.
Source: National Review
It's a war: Texas vs. Biden
Every day, they wade down the Rio Grande, probing the shores for a break in the razor wire now strung along the shore. Illegal migrants by the thousands, looking for the chance to dash across the border. This is where Gov. Greg Abbott has taken his most muscular stand yet to break a historic mass migration event. Texas has greatly extended Operation Hold the Line, which since May has state police and National Guard block immigrants at the river’s edge… After all, in the bizarre logic under President Biden, while Texas may keep them out, if they find a federal Border Patrol agent, they’ll be let right in. It’s become a war: Texas actually enforcing the law, and the Biden administration fighting it at every step… Fed up with the feds, Abbott was given $5.1 billion for border security by his Republican state legislature and a quiver of six new border laws… Now the governor also is installing the first thousand feet of a mid-river marine barrier designed to keep immigrants from even reaching the Texas riverbank. But there’s a flaw in the plan: River crossers have learned that, while Abbott’s tan uniformed men foil their American dreams, Biden’s green uniformed men deliver them on a silver platter... All of these successes, large and small, seem to be wearing down the power of what Texas is doing as a deterrent.
Source: New York Post
Liberals prefer musical degeneracy over patriotism.
Liberals are upset about the music video for “Try That In A Small Town” because it was filmed at the scene of a 1927 lynching, and because it criticizes the crimes committed during the Black Lives Matter riots. Aldean’s intention was to appreciate community values and condemn criminal behavior. The outlandish allegations about race reflect the same logic of reparation demands and censorship of language. Because liberals are convinced that racism is a ubiquitous vice of our time, rampant in our system and in our implicit biases, anything that challenges progressive racial notions is considered racist… “Unholy” by Sam Smith is a song glorifying infidelity but it hit No. 1 on Billboard last fall. “WAP” by Cardi B is an obsessively sexual anthem that refers to women as “whores” and objectifies them, but it is commended as “sexually liberating.” Rap music commonly refers to women as “b*****s” and “s***s,” and portrays them as objects to be acquired through material wealth. Liberals hardly ever criticize rap music for its sexist content. If liberals are worried that Aldean’s hit promotes racism and gun violence, they should also worry about the effects of sexism and degeneracy in popular music.
Source: Washington Examiner
Democrats’ governing motto: So, sue me
President Joe Biden’s $1.5 trillion 2023 deficit makes it easy to forget that a generation ago, federal spending was in balance. President Bill Clinton’s final four budgets, from 1998 to 2001, had surpluses. But although Biden, other Democrats, and the wider Left have abandoned even lip service to fiscal discipline, they certainly haven’t forgotten every lesson they learned 25 years ago. Indeed, they have taken one Clintonian tutorial deeply to heart and cling to it as no administration has before. It is the lesson that lawlessness pays… Democratic administrations would do whatever they wished by executive order until the matter in question was decided in court… The Democratic Party’s governing motto became, “So, sue me…” Now Biden is at it again. The Supreme Court nixed his unauthorized decision to transfer the $400 billion burden of student debt to taxpayers from the people who actually borrowed and benefited from the money… Undeterred, Biden is now trying another route to the same end. His administration is trying to forgive $39 billion of student debt before the 2024 election by camouflaging it as the correction of a clerical error. It’s a bureaucratic “adjustment,” not a blatant bribe for young people’s votes… Rule by executive fiat has its limits, as Biden’s string of legal rebukes demonstrates, but the Democrats are testing them to the breaking point… There are three branches of the federal government. Democrats would much prefer to have just one.
Source: Washington Examiner
New York Mayor ends the cities "sanctuary-city" status.
New York City mayor Eric Adams announced the end of an era this week: Gotham will put its experiment as a “sanctuary city” to an end. “We have no more room in the city,” Adams declared at a press conference on Wednesday. In what the New York Times described as a “somewhat unexpected departure.” Moving forward, the city will warn non-citizen immigrants that there is “no guarantee” they will be able to access shelter or other city services if they try to come to New York… As part of this about-face, the city is distributing bilingual fliers at the crossing points along the U.S.–Mexico border designed to dissuade crossers from coming to New York. The fliers warn migrants that the city is a Dickensian nightmare where “housing” is “very expensive” and “the cost of food, transportation, and other necessities” is “the highest in the United States.” The fliers “do not convey much compassion,” the Times observed. But they do not discourage illegal immigration altogether, either. They instead suggest that border crossers “consider another city” when deciding “where to settle in the U.S…” The city must still abide by a court precedent compelling it to offer shelter to those who need it, but Adams is right that it’s full-up. There are roughly 55,000 migrants still in the custody of city officials. Combined with the over 100,000 homeless in city shelters and with thousands of new migrant arrivals on a weekly basis, the city’s migrant-housing sites and human-relief centers are maxed out.
Source: National Review
Conservatively Speaking
by
KSGOP Chairman
Mike Brown
Unraveling the Controversy: Biden, FBI, $5,000,000, and the Intricacies of the Biden Family Business
The Urgency of Investigating the Biden Family Business
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