The members and supporters who make MainStream's work possible are much on our minds today. We would certainly not be the organization we are, nor be able to encourage the change we have in Kansas, if it were not for your time and generosity. In girding ourselves for the next month before the general election on November 8th, we looked back at what we have done together this year. Of all the efforts and events, of all the money donated and money spent, one singular product stands out. the candidate endorsements made by MainPAC.
We always encourage our members and supporters to educate themselves, to look at the candidates, and to make informed decisions about who to vote for. Then, we ask you to do more than vote: work for your candidate of choice, educate others on the issues, and take friends and family to the polls.
But it takes time to research each candidate. It takes effort to step up each day to do more. And so, for those of us too busy, too tired, too stressed, but still anxious to make the right decisions in this election, we are happy to provide our general election endorsements for Johnson, Wyandotte, and Douglas Counties in Kansas.
These candidates stand for the principles we do, good government, strong public schools, and fiscal sanity. MainPAC, our political action committee interviewed candidates, explored their campaigns, pored over questionnaires and voting records, and made these determinations. Take these with you to the polls and let's get this state turned around for good.
But there are two notes we'd like to add to the endorsements.
Vote all the way to the bottom!
First, you'll see our new voting logo, reminding you to vote all the way to the bottom of the ballot. The Presidential race throws a lot of shade from the top of the ballot, but when you get to the bottom, you'll find races that might be just as important. At the bottom will be the judicial retention races. We encourage you to vote to retain ALL the judges. Sam Brownback is making a grab for more power by encouraging the dismissal of four of the five judges up for retention, in the hopes of delaying more judicial decisions, and perhaps getting more friendly justices who, in his words, "will vote the way we want them to."
Vote moderate in the Presidential Election
You'll see, on our endorsements, that we did not endorse a candidate for President. Not that we did not choose, but that we did not even consider one. MainStream has always held strictly to state-level politics in Kansas. The Presidential race is outside of our purview.
But, we cannot sit by and let this election in particular go by without comment. Please do your homework. Learn about the issue, and the candidates, make your decision, and make a plan to vote. Then, do more than vote. Because the choices are stark, as the issues go. We stand for truth in politics, not bluster. We stand for excellent public education, not pandering promises of better education through vouchers. We stand for compassionate health care, not empty offers of "something terrific!" instead of expanding what already works. We stand for the separation of church and state, not, well... the complete dismantling of that separation.
In Kansas, we have seen what happens when a leader is elected who believes in himself. A leader who sticks to his story despite the facts arrayed against him. A leader who pushes on in the face of insurmountable evidence. Sam Brownback hoodwinked the people of this state into electing him, then into electing him again. Now, his approval rating is the worst of any governor in the country.
Please vote. Please do more than vote.
Thank you.
