”It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere you go.” So begins the popular Christmas carol.

It used to be that Kansans thought more highly of their state government than the political goings-on in our Nation’s Capitol. But with today’s Kansas political scene, it seems apt to rewrite the song: “It’s beginning to look a lot like Washington - in Kansas.” There seem to be fewer differences every year between politics in either Capitol.

Your federal government has made runaway spending and budget deficits a nearly-annual rite of passage in Washington. Similarly, Governor Sebelius and a majority of your legislature (without my support) will spend $526 million more in 2008 than you will send in taxes – the largest spending deficit in the history of Kansas! To put the $526 million in perspective, it equals the entire state budget of 1974!

On the environmental front, politics reigns over science and common sense in Washington. But now the gospel of Al Gore and global-warming crowd – once relegated to the elite media and the United Nations – has now infected Topeka. The Governor and her Secretary Rod Bremby ignored state environmental law, environmental regulations and due process in rejecting the expansion application of Sunflower Electric. In over-ruling the findings of their own Ph.D. scientists – who actually approved the application – Sebelius and Bremby instead issued press releases based on political goals and environmental jingoism. Oh well, who needed $3.6 billion in investment and thousands of new jobs in western Kansas, not to mention the associated wind farms and state-of-the-art environmental technology?

And in enforcing duly-passed laws, there are also critical similarities. The feds can’t seem to figure out how to secure our nation’s borders and workplaces from a steady stream of illegal immigrants (the common sense solution is clear to any Kansas rancher or military veteran). My efforts at state-level immigration reforms and welfare limits have been stopped for years. Meanwhile, our state’s judicial system – including the Kansas Supreme Court and our Attorney General – continue to provide special legal provisions for major campaign contributors. In all these cases both state and federal, law-abiding normal citizens like you and me are short-changed by folks who are none of the above.

Soon though, there will be opportunities to change course in Topeka. The 2008 Legislative Session begins in January and I welcome your thoughts on comments on all of these issues. As always, I will be fighting hard to make Topeka a lot less like Washington.

“It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, soon the bells will start. And the thing that will make them ring is the carol that you sing, right within your heart.” May you have a blessed Christmas in 2007!