Gambling Vote Today
The real question here is this: If gambling is the solution, what exactly is the problem?

In two Kansas counties, local citizens will be voting today on a simple question – whether they want a mega-casino in their county.

Now the wording of the question on the ballot doesn’t mention the word CASINO at all – but that is because of the verbal, legal and moral gymnastics being employed by the gambling industry. For you see, the state Constitution is very clear – casinos are prohibited. However, with some amazing semantic footwork by Governor Sebelius, the Kansas Democrat Party, and the gambling industry, these folks are trying to stretch the meaning of LOTTERY to include casinos. Obviously that is not what the Constitution states, nor is it what was intended by the authors of the 1986 Constitutional Amendment permitting a state-owned lottery, nor is it what the voters approved at the polls that year.

I voted against allowing state-owned casinos in Kansas for any number of reasons. For my Senate district, which includes Dodge City and the remainder of Ford County, the proposed mega-casino will be a massive drain on the regional economy. A study by a Las Vegas expert – based on a bill introduced by the gambling industry two years ago – estimated an annual $40 million loss to the southwest Kansas economy. How could that be? By the time the casino owners (that would be the state) and the casino operators (there is no one within 200 miles who qualifies under the law as a potential operator) take their cuts – not much left other than the casino jobs themselves. And then factoring back in the regional sources of the net casino haul (read gambling losses) – you have the regional economic impact.

Making a Difference as a Citizen
In the conclusion of his now-famous Gettysburg Address, President Abraham Lincoln resolved “that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." Many citizens, including politicians, have thrown these words around – but what do they really mean? In my opinion, they reflect the key principle of our republican form of government. And it is this – the citizens should be in control of their government, not the government controlling the citizens.

After serving as your state Senator for more than a decade, I firmly believe that citizen involvement – or lack thereof – can make an incredible difference in and upon politics. Let me give you a few examples.

At the federal level, the recent debate over immigration policy reflects the incredible impact grassroots involvement can have on Washington politicians. After weeks and months of contact from American citizens, the Kennedy-McCain-Reid-Bush immigration bill was pulled off the calendar of the U.S. Senate. Although there are rumors that this amnesty proposal will resurface – perhaps even today -- clearly the politicians – at least some of them – got the overwhelming message from the American people. We don’t support granting amnesty to 12 million illegal aliens! A special thanks here to Senator Pat Roberts and Congressman Jerry Moran. It didn’t take citizen involvement to get them to do the right thing - they were doing it already!

At the state level though, a different type of involvement is making the difference.

In recent years, a certain George Tiller has frequented the media. Tiller is a Wichita-based abortionist who specializes in late-term abortions – some only days before the baby’s birthday. Although two judges have found probable cause that Tiller is violating multiple laws, the Attorney General Paul Morrison and Governor Kathleen Sebelius continue to defend him. As he promised in his campaign even before seeing the evidence, Morrison moved to dismiss any charges against Tiller, failed to contact key witnesses in the ongoing investigation, and recently attempted to intimidate the top psychiatrist in the country from speaking about the issue. And Governor Sebelius also defends Tiller in multiple press conferences and just recently even appointed Tiller’s defense attorney to an important position on the Kansas Sentencing Commission.

So what does all this have to do with citizen involvement? Simple -- involvement in the form of campaign monies also makes a difference. George Tiller and his PACs are the single largest donors to Democrat politicians in Kansas. In fact, during the recent election cycle, George Tiller funneled more than $300,000 to elect Morrison and Sebelius – that is heavy involvement. And it has paid off – in an unbelievable effort by the two top elected officials in Kansas to protect and defend a late-term abortion specialist.

So what do these examples mean? Involvement makes a difference. Citizen input – or lack thereof – can change the minds of politicians. It can change what they say and do. While I know that some politicians and their elite friends are troubled by the citizen opposition to the immigration bill, I am more concerned by the impact of big campaign contributors as I have outlined. Government of the people and by the people – should be for all the people, not just those with the largest checkbooks.

Sebelius and the National Guard
Shortly after the devastating Greensburg tornado (and before even visiting the city or area), Governor Sebelius went on national television to criticize President Bush, the War in Iraq, and the use of the National Guard to protect our national security. She falsely claimed the government response to Greensburg was hampered by the National Guard equipment being used in Iraq. (She later issued a press release somewhat apologizing for her diatribe.)

I had one constituent who figured this one out long before the state media said a word – and frankly, most ignored the story about the Sebelius mis-statements. Here is his thought:

'Our' governor is worried about the National Guard and the amount of equipment it has in Iraq instead of here in Kansas. I don't know about you, but if Liberal has a disaster and needs the Guard to help out, I sure hope they have their howitzer back by then! Those things are invaluable when it comes to cleaning up a town!

Another Nevada Model Law
More constituent wisdom below. Like the gambling proposal, this gentleman suggests a new law based on Nevada as a model. His logic is impeccable.

Hello,

I’m a concerned citizen and probably one of many on the issue of Prostitution in Kansas . I have seen thousands if not millions of tax dollars spent on prosecuting offenders of prostitution. I myself could really careless about prostitution itself but my concern is the tax dollars being spent on this issue. After all the reading that I have done on this issue I feel that tax dollar burden is being put to the wrong people WE THE PEOPLE. I feel that legalizing prostitution might be a better solution to reverse this growing problem that is going on. You all might take a look at Nevada’s laws on prostitution and all the statistics that have been collected on there operations. It seems to me that it would be not only economicly but safer in other aspects for the prostitutes and the community if prostitution was legalized and governed to make a more positive impact to our communities. The income taxes collected, the licensing fees collected, less drugs, rapes, the screenings on STD’s that in itself it a big plus and the list can go on for page after page of the positive side. Nevadas STD’s are at 00000000000 that seems to be something to look at, at leased in my eyes. Tax revenues coming in just like the lottery it was illegal at one time wasn’t it? Along with other things that have been legalized that were illegal at one time. Just take a good look at this before making a harsh decision on deleting this e-mail just because I’m a single voice remember my vote counts too just like millions of others out there.

Thank You, Ken