While we wait and speculate about the actions the Kansas Legislature will take this session, the first, concrete bit of action has come our way. Numerous school districts in the state have sent out mail-in ballots regarding school funding.

We wish you a happy new year, and hope you had a restful holiday season, because 2015 will start with a bang in Kansas politics.

This is a special letter to MainStream supporters from our outgoing Board President, Dennis Sweeny.

My time as president of MainStream is ending this month. It has been an eventful two years.

We need to clear up a misunderstanding. There are a lot of knowledgeable political writers out there arguing that the moderate movement is dead. That the "moderate majority" is a myth. They tell us that this moderate block is a vast collection of milquetoast sometime-voters who can't be herded, don't vote, and couldn't care less.

They are a little confused.

We'd like to provide a primer on what moderate means to us.

Last week we asked you to help us extend our reach, to meet new people, reasonable voters and concerned non-voters alike. Half of voting Kansans chose against extremism in this past election, and we'd like to meet them.

Here is video of our recent forum, "Kansas Politics in 2015: Insights after the election."

It may seem that we don't have much to give thanks for, in the wake of the election. But in the spirit of getting over it, we present the Lesser Prairie Chickens:

In the aftermath of the election, we've heard plenty of people bemoan that moderates do too much talking, and not enough acting. At our forum this week (lots of talking!), the audience asked what was going to happen now? There were lots of predictions (talk, talk, talk) about the budget, about the doom of rural Kansas, about the urban areas sliding after it down the Governor's glide path to zero. After the forum, some members of MainStream convened again to talk (!) and plan.

First of all, thank you to all our members and supporters for your work, your energy, your donations and yes, your votes. The election did not turn out the way many of us hoped it would. It has been a bad couple of days, and in the end, there is no way to soften the blow. We lost.

This is a guest post by MainStream Board Member Sheryl Spalding.

While the outcome of election night, statewide and nationally, was not what we were hoping for, there are a few bright spots.