Step 1) Work for Sam and help write the contract
Step 2) Move to the other side of table
Step 3) Sign the contract and get checks from Sam
Was that so hard? Even someone who doesn’t believe in science could see how this stuff works.
“We try to bid...so that you don’t have the ethical questions raised about it,” Brownback said. - CJonline
I stand corrected. Shall we review the points that Governor Brownback thinks won’t have “ethical questions raised” that have been making the news lately?
“The FBI is examining whether Gov. Sam Brownback’s former chief of staff and a lobbying and consulting firm he helped found are trading on their ties to the governor to benefit themselves and others financially” - LJWorld
Just what is it that has the FBI’s attention?
“Of concern to the FBI were behind-the-scenes financial arrangements related to Brownback's privatization of the state's $3 billion Medicaid program.” - CJonline
Let’s break it down. The Governor’s right hand man for many decades, David Kensinger, helped Brownback develop the Medicaid privatization scheme the #Koch brothers have been pushing for years in Kansas. He then quit his government position and started a lobbying firm with two other members of the Governor’s personal staff.
Within two month the government workers-turned-lobbyists were hired by the very insurance companies who signed $3 billion worth of contracts with the Governor to privatize Medicaid. A decision that denied the state $5.3 billion in returned taxes from the Federal government, an $8.3 billion swing.
Governor Kickback would like you to think he is the victim of a ‘smear’ campaign. Here he is on TV accusing no one in particular of smearing him, but smearing him none the less.
An odd assumption considering that the FBI has said nothing about it publicly and all the information has come from those interviewed.
“Two of the interviewees said they were intimidated to support and donate to certain candidates by Kensinger” -Wichita Eagle
“The Eagle and The Star have since spoken to three lobbyists and a former state official who said they were interviewed by federal investigators as early as 2012 and as recently as a month ago. they were interviewed about … “pay-to-play” influence, in which political promises are made in exchange for money.”
The Governor’s staff and their lack of tact have embarrassed Kansas once again. The national media is no longer ignoring his Koch addiction.
“the tactics underline the degree to which Washington-style politics and lobbying have taken root in state capitals. “K Street has moved to Kansas,” said a former State Senate president, Steve Morris, one of those moderates who was defeated in 2012” - NYtimes
“Over the last four years, Brownback and his team have been accused repeatedly – by locals in both parties – of running a ruthless, hardball political operation. Whether that operation crossed any legal lines will become clearer soon enough.” - Steve Benen
“This huge and escalating shortfall occurred after Kansas's right-wing Republican legislature and governor, Sam Brownback, enacted huge and foolish tax cuts” - Ian Reifowitz
This excellent video from Rachel Maddow highlights the effects of big donors such as the Koch brothers and Rex Sinquefield. The alignment between Brownback’s biggest donors and what he signs into law is made clear.
The Governor’s alleged Pay-to-Play scheme raises serious questions about other unpopular laws he has forced down the throats of Kansans. His income tax plan has little support outside of his biggest donors, and has done irreparable damage to this year’s tax revenue.
“But the immediate effect has been to blow a hole in the state’s finances without noticeable economic growth.” – Business Week
And let’s not forget the Governor’s education bill received more influence from the Chamber of Commerce than it did from educators.
“Kansas Chamber president and former Speaker of the House Mike O’Neal wrote in an email. “...More money alone is not the answer. More important is how educational resources are delivered, and by whom”
ALEC, the big money bill mill, counts 47 elected officials of the Kansas House and Senate among their members. Together with the Governor they worked on at least 15 ALEC bills in 2013.
Now ALEC and the Koch’s have declared war on windmills (MSNBC video) even though wind energy is one of the most lucrative economic opportunities available in western Kansas. The only reason a bill this unpopular would have any traction is big money backers.
“It all began with a simple mailer that went out to Kansans encouraging them to talk to their legislators” - Dailykos
The official bios of these titans of lobbying tells a great deal about David Kensinger and his two cohorts.
David Kensinger’s bio- …Senator Roberts said the following, “The true Machiavelli of Kansas, David Kensinger, our pitbull without lipstick, whose expertise in this new and very different world of political campaigns is unrivaled. David mounted the parapets, waved the flag, fired the first and last shots and led our troops to victory.” David next embraced the challenge of managing then Senator Sam Brownback’s successful campaign for Governor of Kansas. Governor Brownback chose David to serve as Chief of Staff for his administration.
"George Stafford’s bio- The seeds of George’s political and legislative journey that led him to Kansas are rooted in Washington, D.C. He joined the staff of then-Congressman Brownback as a legislative assistant, before moving to Kansas to manage fundraising and help run the campaign for Brownback’s U.S. senatorial race. He worked directly with the transition team to help implement Brownback’s “Roadmap to Kansas” into effective legislative policy.
Riley Scott’s bio- Working as a legislative staffer, Riley handled several issues for Senator Brownback, including agriculture, energy, banking, and appropriations. At the time of Senator Brownback’s retirement from the Senate, Riley was his Deputy Chief of Staff and served as a senior policy and political advisor, including fundraising and advising Senator Brownback on his successful gubernatorial run in 2010."
We don't call him #GovernorKickback for nothing. These failed policies have caused one of the nation’s largest credit rating agencies to downgrade the Kansas credit rating.
"Citing a sluggish recovery from the recession, risk inherent in the governor’s tax plan and uncertainty over the Legislature’s ability to keep cutting spending, one of the nation’s two major debt rating agencies downgraded Kansas’ credit rating Thursday." - Wichita Eagle
The effects of Sam Brownback's reign over Kansas will be felt in our economy for years beyond his time in office.
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