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Ohio Gov. John Kasich will roll out “responsible” tax plans that protect against revenue gaps. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Arizona’s new Republican governor are delaying big dreams of nixing the income tax as they face budget shortfalls. And Missouri Republicans, once jealous of their neighbor Kansas’ massive cuts, are thankful they trimmed less. Call it the Brownback effect. Story Continued Below . . Republicans once idolized Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback as a tax cutting superstar — now he’s a lesson in what not to do. “It’s a cautionary tale on a national scale … Many of us felt that...

I’d almost forgotten to write this column. I’m sitting here watching election returns, and I am just stunned. Massachusetts? Maryland? MARYLAND?!?! Forget the Senate for a minute, or the massive Republican majority in the House, and think about the fact that Republicans did so well in the gubernatorial races across the country. In Michigan, after passing a “Right-To-Work” law, Gov. Rick Snyder wins handily. Union money and muscle plus President Obama campaigning against him couldn’t sink a man with the Twitter handle @OneToughNerd. Speaking of unions, no one had a bigger target placed on their back by the unions than...

The Kansas governor’s race was a nailbiter all night, with Republican incumbent Sam Brownback neck and neck with his Democrat challenger Paul Davis right up until Davis conceded around midnight EST. Looking at recent media coverage leading up to the election, though, you never would’ve known that #KSgov was a race to watch, especially since so many talking heads heralded it as a referendum on conservative policies. Left and right wing outlets began writing Brownback off for his aggressive tax policies weeks and even months ago, with many calling his predicted loss a mandate for moderation. With 100% of precincts...

Brownback wins; Paul Davis concedes.

I'm not a fan of Governor Sam Brownback, but four more years of Brownback is preferable to four years of someone who is as out of touch with reality as Paul Davis is Davis talks about Brownback's cuts in education spending, but seems totally unaware of the fact those cuts have been restored. He pledges to restore the cuts that have already been restored. He and his supporters don't understand economics. They talk about Kansas job creation rate as if that was the most important measure of the state's economy. Kansas unemployment is only 4.8% which many economists consider within...

TOPEKA, Kan. — Four years ago, Joan Wagnon was a 70-year-old grandmother preparing to retire after decades of public service. A centrist Democrat long credited as blazing the way for women in politics in Kansas, she spent 12 years in the state Legislature and four years as mayor of Topeka — the first and only woman to hold the job. After eight years as state secretary of revenue, Wagnon was preparing to hang it up when "the massacre" happened. On Election Day 2010, Sam Brownback, a two-term, hard-line conservative U.S. senator and a 2008 candidate for the Republican presidential nomination,...

WICHITA, Kansas — Everyone in Kansas will tell you the same metaphor to explain the state's tax policy. It's their own take on President Ronald Reagan's three-legged stool, specified for tax policy. The three legs: Income tax, sales tax, and property tax. If all three remain relatively even — if each is about 33% of the puzzle — the stool is balanced. The theory is that as long as the stool is balanced, the tax burden on Kansans will remain remarkably steady for a long period of time. It's relatively fair across income groups, and Kansans who support the policy...

This week the AFL-CIO threw its considerable weight behind Democrat-turned-independent Greg Orman in his bid for U.S. Senate in Kansas. This came on the heels of a debate that was all about defining who Greg Orman really is: ... The AFL-CIO won't run TV ads for Orman, spokesman Jeff Hauser said, but his campaign will now be incorporated into the union's extensive ground game there. The AFL-CIO had previously endorsed Kansas's Democratic Party's gubernatorial nominee, Paul Davis, who is locked into one of the country's most competitive gubernatorial contests with incumbent Republican Gov. Sam Brownback. During Wednesday's debate, incumbent Sen....

Liberal Greg Orman Says He's Pro-Choice, Abortion Not Important At Debate - VIDEO:

Just weeks ago, Democrats in Kansas were salivating over the possibility that Paul Davis would be the next governor in the state and independent Greg Orman would be a new U.S. senator. Not any longer. In fact, rather suddenly, Republicans are thinking they are going to have an enjoyable Nov. 4 night of watching election returns. ThatÂ’s because they now have growing reasons to think Gov. Sam Brownback is going to defeat Davis and win re-election. That would be unfortunate, given just how badly BrownbackÂ’s economic policies have hurt the state. And they are giddy over the reversal in the...

Poll available at link. To summarize the results among likely voters: KS Senate Race: Roberts (R) 49% Orman (I) 48% KS Governor Race: Brownback (R) 49% Davis (D) 49%

Here's how embattled Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback diagnosed his political problems in an interview with Christian Broadcasting Network's David Brody: “I think they (the mainstream media) want what’s happening in this state to fail that they’re shopping for a factual setting to back that up because it’s working.” Um, no. While blaming the media is both one of the most common strategic moves and one that regularly reeks of desperation, in this case -- like in most of them -- what Brownback is saying is simply not true. So why then is Brownback in so much trouble in a state...

In the race for U.S. Senate in Kansas, independent candidate and businessman Greg Orman leads Republican incumbent Pat Roberts by 10 points among likely voters including those who are undecided yet leaning toward a candidate. Orman’s lead is bolstered by better than a two-to-one lead among independents likely to vote. Voters’ impressions of incumbent Republican Roberts is upside down with nearly half of likely voters viewing him negatively. In contrast, Orman is more positively viewed by likely voters and has lower negatives. Turning to the contest for governor in Kansas, the Republican incumbent, Sam Brownback, faces a tough challenge from...

Even before his election as governor in 2010, liberal observers were warning about Sam Brownback. In October of that year, the New York Times warned that the mere prospect of Brownback’s ascent was “redefining” the Republican party. That’s certainly been his goal. Operating on the assumption that change in the states drives change in Washington, Brownback has, over the past four years, slashed income taxes, privatized Medicaid, expanded gun rights, and taken on the state’s teachers’ unions. Those reforms may have made him a hero to conservatives, but they have also made him a major target this election cycle. For...

WICHITA, Kan. — Moderate Republicans have been kicked around by the tea party for years in Congress and the states. Here in Kansas, they’re fighting back. A moderate GOP uprising is in full swing against Gov. Sam Brownback, the fierce fiscal and social conservative whose policies led to a purge of middle-of-the-road Republicans from the legislature early in his tenure. In a rare and surprising act of political defiance on Tuesday, more than 100 Republicans, including current and former officeholders, endorsed Brownback’s opponent, statehouse Democratic leader Paul Davis. Polls show the challenger with a surprisingly strong shot at taking out...

In 2012, Kansas governor Sam Brownback signed a massive tax cut into law, arguing that it would boost the state's economy. Eventually, he hoped to eliminate individual income taxes entirely. "Our place, Kansas, will show the path, the difficult path, for America to go in these troubled times," he said. National conservative activists raved. Patrick Gleason of Americans for Tax Reform said Kansas was "the story of the next decade." The Cato Institute praised Brownback's "impressive" tax cuts and gave him an "A" on fiscal policy. And the Weekly Standard's Bill Kristol said that, if reelected, Brownback would be "a...

There's been nothing but bad news lately for Gov. Sam Brownback. The FBI is investigating close associates of the Kansas Republican, including his former chief of staff, for possible lobbying and fundraising improprieties, as well as sweetheart deals involving state business. Brownback dismisses it as a "smear" campaign. Nothing may come of it, but it's certainly made for some bad press. Also, the state's bond rating was cut earlier this month amid plunging revenues, lending credibility to his opponents' arguments that his massive tax-cut packages have damaged the state. "The polls show that he's very vulnerable for somebody who should...

Former Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole said Monday that the U.S. should send weapons, including tanks, to Ukraine to help it resist Russia's moves on its territory and to send Russian President Vladimir Putin a strong message. The 90-year-old Republican Party icon and former U.S. Senate majority leader said Putin "has sort of sized up" Democratic President Barack Obama and "concluded that he's not a strong leader." Dole's comments came as Vice President Joe Biden began a high-profile visit to Ukraine and only days after an announcement in Geneva that talks between Ukraine, Russia, the United States and the European...

The Kansas legislature has passed the current gun law reform bill by overwhelming margins and sent it to Governor Brownback for signature or veto.    The bill, HB2578/SB447, strengthens state preemption language that limits the power of local governments to chill the exercise of second amendment rights. It requires adequate signage to prohibit the open carry of firearms by premises that choose to do so.   There is no penalty for open carrying in such premises unless the open carrier refuses to leave when asked to do so. Guns that are forfeited to law enforcement agencies are mostly prohibited from being...

Pat Roberts is up for re-election against a KS doctor with lose ties to the president trying to capitalize on his 15 minutes of fame. Pat Roberts, while not a vocal leader, has been a consistent vote for conservative principles in the Senate. His opponent, Milton Wolf, is running on a platform that Roberts has had his shot and failed to move the conservative movement forward. He has a valid point. Should Kansas conservatives continue to give Pat Roberts their vote even though they continue to lose ground on the national level or is it time to give someone else...