Everyone knows that 2018 will be a critical year in the future of our country. In Kansas too, it will be pivotal. All the gains we made this session will hang in the balance. Will we elect a new Governor like Kris Kobach, who will double down on ultra conservative policies? Will we hold the legislative seats we won in 2016? Will we send more help, so that good bills aren't held hostage to the veto or the "Truth Caucus?"
MainStream fought to bring the change we saw in 2016. We supported hard working candidates. We engaged voters like you, Kansans who knew a change was needed. Together, we walked doors, we got out the vote, we educated the public, we defended our courts and our seniors and our schools and our working poor. Together, we earned the victories we saw this past week, when the Legislature repudiated the tax policies of this administration.
We are ready to kick off 2018, right now.
This Saturday we are gathering hundreds of people in downtown Overland Park for a walk party to get ready for 2018. You are welcome to join us. 8 am, Santa Fe Commons Park. We've had a lot of marches since November. We've seen hundreds at town halls where legislators did not dare show up. We know people are talking the talk about making a change in 2018, and walking the walk to bring that change.
Let's walk the walk together.
1. Walk with us
Join us on Saturday. Bring your family, your stroller, your neighbors, your dog. Bring your enthusiasm, your hopes, your fight. You don't have to be registered. You don't have to have raised money. You don't need a team. You just have to show up, like you do on election day. Show the Kobachs, the Truthers, the Kochs that this is not enough, that we expect better, and that we are coming to get it.
2. Give
Elections are won with money. Change is funded by people like you. The races in 2018, for Governor, for the Kansas House of Representatives, for US Congress, will take a lot of money. We are kicking off a drive to raise $25,000 by the walk on June 17. Can you give $500? Can you give more? Can you give a little? Please help us finish the job. We have one week to show that Kansas is not going to rest until this change is permanent.
Remember to do more than vote. Get informed. Get involved. Make a difference.
What happened in Kansas?
What a week!
We had a good week in Kansas. School finance was sent to the Governor! Ruinous tax policies were shut down! A budget bill was passed! And the Kansas Legislature adjourned. It seems like everything came down to this last week, a near record 113 days of session. We cannot overstate the importance of legislators overriding the Governor's veto of tax reform, as this vote, more than any other, indicates that Kansas has made a change. You fought, you called, you wrote, you marched and worked and spent the last five years turning this ship around. The light at the end of the tunnel might just be the end of the tunnel, and not an oncoming train.
But there's a train trying to get on that track. Just as Kansas was celebrating the end of the "experiment," Secretary of State Kris Kobach declared he will run for Governor to replace Sam Brownback. And he did not just declare, he urged the Governor to veto gun sense legislation, he attacked the Kansas Legislature for passing tax reform, he lauded restrictions on women's health, and then he pledged to do even more.
His candidacy shows us that the fight is not yet over. The emergence of the "Truth Caucus" in Kansas shows us that the fight is not yet over. University and college campuses will still be concealed carry zones starting July 1. School funding is still inadequate, and may still be unconstitutional. Too many Kansans are still represented by the NRA, the Tea Party, or the Kochs, rather than by legislators who listen to them.
We need to finish the job.
Walk the Vote June 17!