Taffwatch

Fin (II)

2004-08-10T13:14:00.000-05:00

No recount. The general election matchup is set. Here we go...

Fin

2004-08-09T17:54:00.000-05:00

Kris Kobach has won the Republican primary in Kansas' Third Congressional District, defeating Adam Taff by 207 votes.

We can assume our work here at Taffwatch is concluded.

Our work at http://kriswatch.blogspot.com has just begun. (We'll maintain a link from www.kriswatch.com for easier surfing.)

5:00 p.m.

2004-08-09T11:46:00.000-05:00

That's when the Johnson County results will be known, though if we hear earlier we'll post it. In the meantime, you can checkout Brad Cooper's story in the Star.

Cooper also wrote a Metro Watch item (everyone has a "Watch" these days) about the phone calls...the Sunday after the election.

Decision Day

2004-08-09T08:28:00.000-05:00

Today is D-Day for KS03 Republicans. Taff needs to pick up 82 votes in Johnson County to win, but we're going to see a recount either way so don't expect things to be 100% settled.

Regardless of the "winner" of the primary, analysts say that Congressman Moore has a good shot of keeping his seat.

LJW: Republicans 'couldn't get it together'
Analyst predicts Moore will win 3rd District general election

"The Republicans couldn't get it together," said Larry Sabato, a political scientist and director of Center for Politics at the University of Virginia.

"They have blown it again."

Sabato said nothing was certain in politics but predicted Moore would win the general election Nov. 2.

"It doesn't matter which Republican candidate emerges as the winner," Sabato said.

"That candidate will be representing a divided party. To defeat an incumbent, all the ducks have to be lined up perfectly in a row. The Republican ducks are all over the street."
...
Sabato said Republicans had themselves to blame for Moore's success.

"The Republicans have severely damaged themselves again. Dennis Moore is the luckiest member of Congress," he said.

Meanwhile, Moore continues to take the high road and talk about issues people actually care about.

For his part, Moore, seeking re-election to a fourth term, declined to respond directly to the Republican attacks lobbed at him during the rally. Instead, he said he would focus on health care, education and national security and wait to see who the GOP picks to run against him.

Five for fighting

2004-08-06T15:28:00.000-05:00

With a five point pickup in Wyandotte County (maybe the members of his steering committee who actually live in the county?), Taff's deficit is now down to 82 with Douglas County set to announce results at 4:30 p.m. today.

Johnson County, taking a more leisurely approach, won't canvass until Monday, leaving both campaigns watching and wondering over the weekend.

We predict that whoever wins will:

1. Not win by more than 40 votes
2. Still not have a majority of votes

Based on our previous prediction track record, we see at least one of those coming true.

Lawyer up

2004-08-06T08:50:00.000-05:00

Republicans love to talk about how much they can't stand trial lawyers. Trial lawyers are responsible for everything from rising insurance rates to weak corporate profits. Heck, trial lawyers would be blamed for global warming if Republicans believed in it.

But whenever an election is in doubt, Republicans can't get lawyers fast enough. Bush did it in 2000 (he was the first to file suit over the Florida results, if you recall) and attorney Kobach is doing it this time:

Kobach assembled a legal team to monitor the process of counting
provisional ballots, and campaign volunteers began making fund-raising calls and
focusing on the general election, campaign manager Todd Abrajano said. -- Johnson
County Sun

On the offensive

2004-08-06T08:38:00.000-05:00

Brad Cooper of the Kansas City Star, in a piece that everyone expected to be very different, details how the Kobach campaign's "aggressive tactics" led to the cliffhanger.

Showing more strategic acumen than their tactical mistakes would indicate, the Kobach camp was able to get Taff to fight on ground of Kobach's choosing, namely abortion, gay marriage and immigration. And once it got Taff there, it pummeled him with questionable attacks, forcing Taff to respond and diverting him from his own message (whatever that was besides "I have tactical military experience.")

The article gives an indication of how Kobach would face off against Dennis Moore, with Kobach manager saying:

“We looked at Adam Taff as the incumbent. The only way to beat an incumbent is
to be aggressive and challenge that person. If you try to run a campaign and
just talk about what a great guy you are you're not going to win. That's what
Adam did against Dennis (in 2002), and that's why he lost."

We don't doubt that Taff's failure to make a case as to why Congressman Moore should have been defeated was part of the reason for his loss, but every challenger has to rely on mistakes made by the incumbent to get an opening and the Moore campaign was virtually mistake free in 2002 (and 2000 and 1998.)

Will Kobach's strategy work in the general election like it worked in the primary? We doubt it.

While Kobach was able to lure Taff onto ground of Kobach's choosing in the primary, the general election battlefield is much different. Kobach cannot rely on wedge issues that only fire up his base. He's facing a Moore campaign that is better funded than any campaign in the district's history and a candidate who has dealt with conservative opponents twice before.

Assuming he wins, Kobach will try to make this campaign about issues that have little impact on the daily lives of voters.

Moore, on the other hand, has already staked out where he's taking this campaign and it isn't on ground favorable to the Ashcroft protege:

“I'm going to discuss the issues that are important to the people in this
district, and those issues are affordable health care, quality public education
and a safe, secure nation where we're not deep in debt.”

KS03: Behind the Unity

2004-08-05T15:19:00.000-05:00

If you want to read the mainsteam media's reports on the Republican unity rally, check out Brad Cooper's report here and Scott Rothschild's report here. But if you want to go inside the unity rally for the stuff they didn't mention, keep reading.

Our source inside the rally described the three candidates' moods as such:

Adam Taff: Stunned
Kris Kobach: Exuberant
Patricia Lightner: Pissed

National Republican Campaign Committee Chairman Tom Reynolds was a no-show, but that didn't stop Sen. Sam Brownback and AG Phil Kline from showing up. (Though we have to wonder, if Taff was up 87 votes, would Kline have decided he really wanted to watch Law & Order instead?)

Sen. Brownback introduced Rep. Lightner, who apparently then refused to speak.

She later found her voice during Kobach's speech when he said "this was a great campaign where we really discussed important issues." This prompted a Lightner aside to her husband that many in the audience could hear: "Oh really, when did we do that?" Like our source said, not terribly happy.

Kobach, deciding he too can talk like a military man (we enjoyed his "We have to be marching" quote in the Star) said "my army is still out there." Our question: are they "out there" the physical sense or are they "out there" in the metaphorical sense? We could argue it both ways.

Regardless, a few moments later he remembered it is a unity rally and kindly pointed out "and if Adam turns out to be the winner in a week or so, we'll all get behind him."

Finally, in our quote of the day, Phill Kline noted that "Republicans know George Bush and Saddam are two different people with different values." We guess there had been some question about that. News to us.

Unity fever: Catch it!

A question

2004-08-05T15:18:00.000-05:00

If Adam Taff does end up losing the primary, will he continue to campaign?

What happens now

2004-08-04T13:55:00.000-05:00

Brad Cooper of the Kansas City Star, who probably thought he would get a few days off after the primary, swings into action with a report on the provisional ballot process. Is there any reason for the provisional vote percentages to not mirror the regular count? We don't know.

What we do know, however, is that regardless of whether Adam Taff wins or whether Kris Kobach wins, the "winner" will be a man who 56% of Republicans looked at and said "You know, I think I'll vote for someone else."

Republicans will talk about unity, but a majority of them will not have voted for the "winner."

Scott Rothschild of the Lawrence Journal-World reports that Kobach is taking on the mantle of the nominee, by virtue of his 87 vote advantage. Meanwhile, Taff's campaign appears to have chosen the Gore 2000 playbook and is already talking about a recount.

WTF

2004-08-04T11:05:00.000-05:00

The look on Kobach's face is priceless.

LJW: http://etc.lawrence.com/galleries/primary04/3785_lores.html

OT

2004-08-04T07:26:00.000-05:00

Well, this is unexpected.

Phantom Phonecalls II

2004-08-03T19:03:00.000-05:00

Ok, so Fox4 reported Monday night that the Taff campaign has admitted the calls were made and that they left the disclaimer off by accident. Yeah, that five second "I'm Adam Taff and I approved this anonymous phone call" disclaimer sure is easy to forget.

Reporter Hector Contreras wrapped up the report by saying: “Now ,the last minute flyers and phone calls are not against any political rules but both campaigns admit the dirty tactics are not good for politics.”

Not so fast.

The Federal Election Commission guidelines suggest that the calls were, in fact, illegal.

FEC Candidate Guide -- Chapter 11
http://www.fec.gov/pages/candguide2004/chapt11.htm

"Any public communications made by a political committee, even those that do not contain a solicitation or express advocacy, must include a disclaimer.”

“Public communications include electioneering communications" and include a "phone bank (more than 500 substantially similar calls within 20 days).”

“The notice must state that the communication was paid for by the authorized committee..."

So any citizen who received one of the calls can file a complaint by sending a letter with documentation of the illegal call to the FEC General Counsel. The fine for a missing disclaimer is twice the cost of the communication that was missing the disclaimer. So, a hypothetical $1,000 in illegal calls would warrant a $2,000 fine.

What's the FEC General Counsel's address, you ask? Why here it is:

Office of General Counsel
Federal Election Commission
999 E Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20463

The original must be submitted along with three copies, if possible.

Phantom Phonecalls

2004-08-03T14:15:00.000-05:00

It's a little late in the game with the polls open for only a few more hours, but we've got the anti-Kobach automated phone call that is going out around the district.

You can hear it here.

Thirddistrict.org has said that Adam Taff's campaign manager Bob Zender has confirmed that the Taff campaign is paying for these calls, but we're unable to independently verify that claim. (If you can, e-mail us.)

Now if Taff is responsible, then this classic dirty trick is being propagated by someone who has previously claimed to be above this type of campaigning.

This isn't the first time such phone calls have been detected in the waning hours of an election. In 2000, automated calls to Democrats claiming that it was illegal to vote without your registration card went out. They were ultimately traced to a failed Republican state representative candidate and prompted Congressman Dennis Moore to introduce legislation requiring such calls to carry the same disclaimer as other forms of campaign communications.

UPDATE 8/3 2:50 p.m.: Sources tell us that such calls are illegal under current campaign finance laws (thank you McCain-Feingold) so if Taff's campaign has been doing them, then they'll have some explaining to do. And if his campaign hasn't been doing them, then the third-party person or group who has been has some explaining to do.

UPDATE 8/3 6:00 p.m.: We'll admit right now that we don't listen to much talk radio, but a Taffwatch reader has e-mailed to tell us that Taff manager Zender told 710 AM this morning that the Taff campaign is responsible for these calls. This reader reports that if you call Taff HQ, however, they deny it (we're sure they'll busy right now, so we won't call to find out.) Big ups to P for this report.

Taffwatch is not paid for by or affiliated with any candidate or committee. In fact, Taffwatch isn't paid for by anyone since Blogspot is free. And regarding FEC laws governing independent or third-party expenditures during the weeks before an election, we'd be considered a news source (hey, if the NRA can open a TV station and have it count, we can run a blog.)

Primary prediction

2004-08-02T22:16:00.000-05:00

Ok, here it is:

Taff -- 53.2%
Kobach -- 42.3%
Lightner -- 4.5%

In our reasoned opinion, we believe the "Hey, I think I've heard of that guy" factor for Taff will override any Kobach Fever that may have broken out within the primary electorate.

But, who knows? Nobody thought Taff would win in 2002, but the JoCo education sales tax pushed more moderate voters to the polls.

But, like we said, who knows? Maybe the specter of married gays, illegal immigrants, abortionists, and married gay illegal immigrant abortionists will lead more conservatives to vote.
Or not.

Parting Shots II

2004-08-02T14:22:00.000-05:00

We'll say this right now: Thirddistrict.org is more plugged in to the local Republican Party than we are, which isn't surprising since we don't get around in that circle much.

We have enjoyed reading their reports of hijinx throughout the campaign from their position within the Republican operation. Though we expect that, come Wednesday, we'll not be linking to them much unless they follow the lead of many conservatives who in 2002 backed Congressman Moore after Taff won the primary.

Yet we want to give them a virtual tip of the hat and link to one more story about the shenanigans that have been going on of late.

While the Kobach campaign's lights went out, the Taff campaign's phones seem to be working just fine, as they apparently have been making calls saying Kobach isn't endorsed by GWB. (Though we will say the idea that the Moore campaign would spend money to help Taff is far-fetched.)

Will unity return to the party? We can only hope that conservatives' desire to have a real conservative in office will trump their desire to beat Moore, as it is not unreasonable to believe that, if elected, a moderate like Taff would hold the seat as long as he wanted to, shutting out conservatives for a long, long time.

But that is not for us to decide.

And if you'll excuse us, we must retire to prepare our prediction for the outcome of the race, which we'll post this evening.

Dirty tricks

2004-07-30T15:59:00.000-05:00

Thirddistrict.org is reporting that the Kobach campaign HQ was the target of a precision strike on their power supply last night.

We should note that the destruction or disabling of electric generation and transmission facilities by targeted strikes is part of standard American warfighting doctrine. Usually this is carried out using precision guided munitions dropped from strike aircraft.

This time, however, it appears that someone just flipped a switch.

Parting shots

2004-07-30T10:39:00.000-05:00

“I don't believe I've ever seen it get quite as nasty as it has this year, just really kind of personal,” said Republican consultant Kevin Yowell, who until a couple months ago worked for Lightner in the congressional campaign.

So reports Brad Cooper of the Kansas City Star in what is likely one of the last articles before the Tuesday primary, since the Star usually imposes a blackout the weekend before so as not to allow any last-minute charges to be leveled.

But that doesn't mean any long-standing charges can't be leveled and the candidates are doing just that.

Unity be damned, we want to talk about gays! And abortion! And immigrants!

After a campaign that lasted almost a year, the Republican primary for Kansas' 3rd Congressional District has come down to candidates sparring over abortion, immigration and same-sex marriage.

With only days left, two candidates in the race — Adam Taff and Kris Kobach — are spending thousands of dollars over the airwaves attacking each other . Kobach accuses Taff of being a liberal who doesn't support a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. Taff says he supports a constitutional amendment on same-sex marriage, but doesn't believe one is needed immediately.

Taff says Kobach isn't as opposed to abortion as he claims, charging that Kobach will say anything to get elected. Kobach stressed that he is opposed to abortion and that life's events hardened his position on the issue.

Whoever makes it out of this primary will find Dennis Moore planted firmly in the mainstream, ready to use all of this "I want to ban gay marriage and abortion more than you do!" rhetoric to full advantage.

Kobach: Taff's attacks "cowardly"

2004-07-28T12:18:00.000-05:00

Kris Kobach is fightin' mad and rather than following the example of his mentor and having Adam Taff thrown in the brig at Gitmo, he's come up with an excessively long response to a variety of Taff's "last-ditch" "cowardly" attacks.

Republican unity fever -- catch it!

Crossing the border

2004-07-27T08:42:00.000-05:00

Seven of 16 on Taff's Wyandotte County committee live in Johnson County

On May 12, 2004, Adam Taff issued a news release announcing his 16 member Wyandotte County Steering Committee.

In his news release, Taff stated that the members of his committee "represent a diverse constituency." Apparently, much of that constituency includes Johnson County.

Research utilizing public voter files reveals that half of Taff's committee members appear to be registered to vote outside Wyandotte County or are not registered to vote at all.

According to voter registration records, these committee members appear to live in Olathe, Lenexa, Mission, Shawnee, De Soto, and rural Johnson and Leavenworth counties.

Two committee members -- besides the one for which no record appears -- do not appear under the names listed in Taff's news release, but we'll give them the benefit of the doubt because people with similar names are registered to vote in KCK. Otherwise, Taff's list of committee members registered to vote in the 'Dotte would drop to just six of 16.

The bottom line? While Wyandotte County Republicans remain in short supply, Taff apparently couldn't find enough of them to field a baseball team, let alone fill out his steering committee.

What does this say his level of support in the county? We'll leave that for voters who actually live in the county to decide. But needless to say, Taff can only count on eight votes from a committee that he's relying on to get out the vote in Wyandotte.

Regarding names -- or the naming of names -- because these committee members are not candidates for office themselves, Taffwatch is not going to go through the list to publicly identify who lives where. However, intrepid reporters can follow the above link for the list and will find elections officials very helpful in confirming this report.

Taff announces he is pro-life

2004-07-25T16:06:00.000-05:00

It used to be easy. In Republican primaries, you would have defined "pro-life" candidates and defined "pro-choice" candidates.

Not anymore.

After hammering Kris Kobach in speeches and ads for Kobach's shifting position on abortion, Adam Taff himself told the Olathe News* that he's pro-life.

While his opponents have accused him of wavering on the abortion issue, Taff said Friday that he is firmly pro-life.

“Every abortion is a tragedy,” he said.

Taff says that he is in favor of legislative action to reduce the number of legal abortions, and that the country needs to better promote abstinence and adoption efforts.

Maybe that's not a flip-flop. Maybe it is just Taff's expression of "nuance."

Ok, it's a flip-flop.

And speaking of flip-flops, Taff states his support for an amendment banning gay marriage:

“I would vote to support an amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman,” he said.

Yet this is different than what he said to a February 22 candidates' forum, as reported in the June 25 edition of Human Events:

"Right now, I'm not out there saying that I think we need to amend the Constitution on this issue. I don't think we've got to that level yet. So you're not going to see me go out there and be a supporter of it necessarily."

No, he's not moving to the right in the primary or anything.

In other news from the story, Taff continues to promote the fallacy that the Bush tax cuts help small businesses (there are no business tax cuts in the package), along with reiterating his support for the Bush plan to grant legal status via work permits to illegal immigrants already in the United States, which is somehow different than amnesty for illegal immigrants already in the United States.

Special thanks to a loyal Taffwatch reader for sending us the link. Respect.

* Regarding the link, the Olathe News posts its stories on the same pages each edition, so this page will likely be about something completely different by Monday. Maybe it will be about how Taff is pro-choice again.

Star closes one eye, endorses Taff

2004-07-23T19:35:00.000-05:00

The Kansas City Star endorsed Adam Taff in the 2002 Republican primary. They've done it again, this time looking past contradictions in their own logic to do so.

One example:

"Taff also seems more concerned than in 2002 about federal deficits. He acknowledges that Republicans in Congress have not controlled spending as well as they should have done in the last two years. While some of Taff's positions on taxes would not help the deficit problem, there are similar difficulties with the views of his two primary opponents."

Taff is more concerned with the deficit? Really? So that's why he's supporting extending the budget-busting Bush tax cuts for the rich indefinitely? That must be one of the positions that "would not help the deficit problem."

The Star says there are "similar difficulties" with his two opponent's positions and names one of those when referring to Kobach:

And [Kobach] says he would support efforts to “abolish the IRS” and create a national consumption tax, an impractical proposal that some Washington politicians have long used as a smokescreen to avoid common-sense tax reforms.

Really? Kobach is the only one who wants to impose a national sales tax? Maybe the editorial board should read its own newspaper.

Kansas City Star, May 6, 2004:

Kobach and Taff believe the tax cuts should be even bigger. They favor eliminating the capital gains tax. They favor overhauling the country's method of taxing and moving to a consumption tax.

The Star also falls for Taff's claim that the Congress needs more "tactical military experience", because apparently only a veteran could suggest soldiers need better body armor as Taff has. (Though as a Navy pilot, isn't that out of his area of expertise?)

And we're still waiting for the "more knowledgeable and detailed views on domestic issues from health care to campaign finance reform" that Taff supposedly offers.

Kobach returns to the fold

2004-07-22T09:30:00.000-05:00

Ending his stand on principle after less than a week, Kris Kobach has grudgingly agreed to endorse Adam Taff if Taff wins the primary.

His pledge came in the most boring and muted way possible: the written statement.

Brad Cooper of the Kansas City Star has the story...

Taff ducks debate

2004-07-21T08:41:00.000-05:00

Apparently Adam Taff's "recent tactical military experience" that he likes to tout so much also trained him how to use the art of concealment to hide his position.

LJW: 3rd District forum comes up one shy
Lightner, Kobach discuss immigration, abortion after Taff cancels appearance

Scott Rothschild of the Lawrence Journal-World reports:

Topeka — A third candidate failed to show for a television forum, but Republican congressional hopefuls Patricia Lightner and Kris Kobach on Tuesday argued about immigration policy and who was the stronger anti-abortion opponent.
...
Adam Taff, who also is running in the GOP primary, promised in May to participate in the forum, confirmed last week he would appear, but then canceled less than 24 hours before the taping, according to debate moderator Bob Beatty, a political science professor at Washburn University.

"It came out of the blue," Beatty said. "It's unfortunate the voters who watch won't get a chance to hear Mr. Taff's views on the issues."

Taff's campaign spokesman Bob Zender said the decision not to join the debate broadcast on KTWU was "regrettable" but that a scheduling conflict had occurred.

During the afternoon taping of the debate, Zender said Taff was "meeting with voters" and going to campaign events.

Taff doesn't post his schedule online, but if you know where he was while he was ducking this debate, e-mail us... (But take out the "NOSPAM" part before you do.)

Star "poll": Taff ahead, but with only 38%

2004-07-21T08:24:00.000-05:00

We don't like newspaper polls. We don't like that they often don't use actual political pollsters, preferring to use their own market research departments instead. We also don't like it when they release polls just days before an election -- as the Star did in 2002. Finally, we don't like it when they don't poll enough voters to get a decent sample, yet blare the news far and wide.

The Kansas City Star/KMBC-9 "poll" released today is no exception. It has a 5.9% margin of error, which is insane, because it only interviewed 274 Republican voters in KS03. It also was conducted over the course of eight days, which is entirely too long.

In the poll, Adam Taff is leading Kris Kobach 38% to 21%, but 34% of voters have yet to decide.

While the Taff campaign is no doubt touting this poll to everyone it encounters, the sad thing about the poll's methodology is that, given the margin of error, Taff's lead could be anywhere between five points and 29 points.

He's still leading, which is not unexpected given he was the party's nominee last time, but with a third of the electorate undecided the race can still go either way.

Well, it can't go one way. Patricia Lightner has 4% of the vote.* Not enough to win, but enough to influence the election if she ends up taking enough votes away from Kobach.

* Given the margin of error, Lightner could have between 9.9% and negative 1.9% support.

Give me money...or else the terrorists win

2004-07-21T08:15:00.000-05:00

Just because the computer with our research files is down doesn't mean we don't have access to e-mail, which is good since the Taff campaign just sent out a web video worthy of comment.

A few thoughts...

The minute and a half video tries to make the case that, in these dangerous times, we need members of Congress with military experience. Taff seems to still believe -- wrongly -- that a freshman member of Congress would be making key military decisions, rather than just saying "Yes sir!" to Majority Leader Tom Delay.

The video uses the classic "For What It's Worth" by Buffalo Springfield. Given that we haven't seen any payments to a record label for rights to the song in the Taff FEC reports, it is very likely that Taff is using it without permission. (And the "fair use" provisions of U.S. copyright law would not cover the use of a minute and a half of a song to further political interests.)

Finally, the kicker is a screen implying that the only way you and your family can be safe is to give Adam Taff money.

Ok, it isn't even implying it, it is saying it: "Contribute to your safety; Donate to the Taff campaign."

Or what, Adam, the terrorists win?

Programming note

2004-07-19T09:32:00.000-05:00

We have been doing some research and later this week hope to have a story posted on some interesting discoveries regarding members of Taff's Wyandotte County steering committee.

Developing...

Update 7/20: We're having more technical issues, this time it is on our end and the computer has to go into the shop. We're unsure of how long repairs will take, so it may be early next week before we're able to put the research together into a coherent article. Stay tuned...

Art imitates life

2004-07-18T11:04:00.000-05:00

And you thought we were obsessed with this race.

Thirddistrict.org has posted a photo from Adam Taff's website that supposedly shows Taff giving a military briefing. Only he's briefing members from different service branches, one of whom they report to be a Wyandotte County Young Republican.

The phony photo caper continues here...

Tech issues

2004-07-16T13:57:00.000-05:00

Blogger is acting screwy, only putting some posts in the post box and sending the rest to the bottom of the page. The posts are all there, they just don't look like they should.

Dishing it out

2004-07-16T13:31:00.000-05:00

We now know what Adam Taff is talking about when he says Kris Kobach is dishing it out. Here's a rough transcript of Kobach's latest radio ad. It -- and the Taff ad that has Kobach fired up -- is all over the radio in Kansas City today...

Kris Kobach for Congress Radio Ad
Kansas-03

Kobach: "I'm Kris Kobach, and I approve this message because we need a stronger Kansas and a safer America."

Announcer: In the race for Congress, who can we trust to stand up for our Republican values?

Adam Taff, who supports amnesty for illegal aliens and supports legislation that would reward illegal aliens with in-state tuition?

Or Kris Kobach, who as counsel to Attorney General Ashcroft, sought to enforce our immigration laws and remove alien terrorists from American soil?

Can we trust Adam Taff, the liberal who refused to support the federal marriage amendment and proudly takes campaign contributions from radical pro-abortion groups?

Or Kris Kobach, the conservative who's standing with Republicans and fighting for the federal marriage amendment? And who's been endorsed by Kansans for Life and National Right to Life for his unwavering commitment to protecting the unborn.

When it comes to protecting our families, Kris Kobach is a conservative we can trust to represent our values. But Adam Taff is just another liberal politician.

Bravo, Kris Kobach, for standing up against "alien terrorists." Fox Mulder would be proud.

KS03 Smackdown!

2004-07-16T09:29:00.000-05:00

Brad Cooper of the Kansas City Star has an excellent and entertaining story about how a Republican Unity session dissolved into squabbling, with Kris Kobach accusing Taff of "lying" and "distorting" Kobach's record, and Taff saying "“If you dish it out, then you've got to be ready to take it."

Besides the fact that Taff essentially admits to dirty campaigning with such a statement, this whole episode shows just how far the Republicans have to go to get the "unity" they so desperately need to have a chance at beating Dennis Moore.

Heck, Kobach won't even sign a pledge of support for the nominee if that nominee happens to be named Adam Taff:

“I would like to sign the pledge to back Adam Taff, but because Adam has been distorting and lying about my views, I would like to see him clean up his act,” Kobach said.

“I intend to sign the endorsement. I just want to see Taff stop lying about my position,” Kobach said. “I think it is critically important that the party stand together after the election.”

Meanwhile, Patricia Lightner continued her irrelevance, but offers up a quote that leads us to believe that attendees at the lunch not named Kris or Adam took on the appearance of tennis spectators, watching as the volleys went back and forth.

Lightner said Taff and Kobach argued throughout the meeting. “It was all about who's more negative than the other,” she said.

Good times. Read all about them here...

Moore money, no problems

2004-07-16T09:26:00.000-05:00

A quick blurb on the KS03 money chase as we continue to look at the FEC reports for hidden gems.

Cooper of the Kansas City Star reports :

Rep. Dennis Moore has stockpiled more than $1 million as he awaits the outcome of a competitive Republican primary in Kansas' 3rd Congressional District.

In his report filed with the Federal Election Commission, Moore, a Democrat, showed he had raised more money than Republicans Kris Kobach, Patricia Lightner and Adam Taff combined. The three are battling for their party's nomination to face the incumbent in the fall. ...

Adam Taff: Master of Nuance?

2004-07-15T08:45:00.000-05:00

Brad Cooper of the Kansas City Star issued profiles of the three Republican candidates on three consecutive days this week as voters prepare to go to the polls in August.

We're not claiming bias at all, but in our judgment, the profile of Kris Kobach was the most favorable to the candidate. One of Kobach's main faults? He was very legalistic when it came to the rules of Dungeons & Dragons. (Though this could cost him support from those members of the Republican Party who think Harry Potter is converting our children to witchcraft.)

Taff's profile ran yesterday and featured comments from Republican and Democratic critics, but only after a discussion of Taff's "nuanced" positions:
----
As he campaigns, Taff talks about some issues with certain nuances, which irritates some Republicans and frustrates some Democrats.

For example, Taff says he supports the prescription drug bill that Congress passed last year at a cost of more than $500 billion. At the same time, he says the bill was too costly.

On same-sex marriage, Taff said that he would vote for a constitutional amendment to ban it, but that he doesn't think such an amendment is immediately necessary.

He calls abortion a "tragedy" and supports bans on so-called partial-birth abortion and federal funding for abortions. He adds, however, that there are times when a woman might need to choose an abortion, such as when her health is at risk.
-----

A conservative critic and Kobach supporter, Jacob Swisher, says Taff hangs "in the middle of the road." Meanwhile, former Moore flack Jack Martin said that candidate Taff's "nuanced" issue stands and absence of a public record made for a difficult campaign, saying Taff was a "blank slate."

We disagree with Swisher and Martin's comments on Taff's "nuanced" positions. Nuance requires a solid knowledge of the issues, not a recitation of RNC talking points or saying "I support the President" when you're not sure of the answer.

We think any signs of "nuance" are actually instances of Taff trying to have it both ways. He knows he has to move right to counter Kobach, but knows that doing so cedes the middle ground to Dennis Moore.

"Nuance" could just be code for "flip-flopper" or the Clinton-era "waffler." But even those require an initial strong stand on an issue to flip or waffle from...

End note: Taff's defense of this "nuance" is humorous, in that he says some issues require more than a sound bite and "I take a lot of stands that I catch a lot of grief for" citing the Iraq war as one of his examples.

Yes, because as we all know, supporting the Iraq War in 2002 was a controversial stand for a Republican.

Hitting the airwaves

2004-07-10T15:59:00.000-05:00

Adam Taff has put up what appears to be his first TV ad of the primary, and maybe the first for any KS03 Republican candidate this cycle.

He's also the first candidate we've heard of to include his wife in the mandatory "I approved this message" disclaimer. As in: "I'm Adam Taff. This is my wife Beth. And I approve this message."

As for issues (remember those?) Taff doesn't break any new ground, saying making the Bush tax cuts (for the rich) permanent "Because that will strengthen families."

Well, rich ones anyway. Though this is the Republican primary, so that probably plays well...

Taff also recycles his plan to make college tuition tax deductible, first proposed by the great American President Jed Bartlett (You know, of The West Wing) and pledges -- like every other candidate -- to cut regulations on small businesses.

The ad closes with a waving American flag and jet plane, marking the second time a plane appears in the ad just in case one of the three voters who haven't heard Taff is a pilot is watching.

Mainsteam no more

2004-07-09T14:15:00.000-05:00

We have received information that Adam Taff has declined the endorsement of the Mainstream Coalition in the Republican primary.

If true, this would be a stark departure from 2002 in which he actively campaigned for the endorsement of the moderate group that counts several prominent Republicans among its members.

It would also be another sign that he is continuing to shift to the right in the face of Kris Kobach's conservative challenge.

We trust the sources who told us this, but if any readers have additional information, drop us a line.

Debate watch

2004-07-09T13:55:00.000-05:00

We have two reports on the Johnson County Chamber debate, one from Brad Cooper of the Kansas City Star and one from a loyal reader.

Cooper describes a testy event "filled with jabs and counterpunches" and during which Adam Taff said Kris Kobach would say anything to get elected. This was in relation to a Kobach mailer that says Taff is weak on national security and supports a bill allowing illegal immigrants to get in-state tuition.

Taff told the Star after the debate that he does support such a bill, making one wonder what exactly Kobach was saying that was so bad.

We'll skip the meaningless "electability" topic that the candidates seem so enamored with, instead quoting Kobach, who sounds a little condescending on taxes:

"Bless his heart, Adam is trying as hard as he can to find something on my record to indicate (my) support for tax increases."

And while Taff (bless his heart) has moved to the right (more on that in our other post today) he did state that he doesn't support school vouchers, an admission that won't play well with the part of the Republican party that still isn't so sure about that whole round earth thing.

Our second reporter had a similar description of the debate, but did note one amusing occurrence not reported by the Star.

The first question of the debate was about "TEA-21" which is a transportation funding bill of great interest to businesses concerned about infrastructure development.

Our reporter happened to be looking at Taff's staffer when the question was asked and reports that said staffer visibly grimaced, watching with concern as Taff rifled through his debate book to find something, anything about TEA-21.

Luckily for the staffer in question, who may have been wondering just how one goes about faking a heart attack, disaster was averted as Taff got to answer the question second, giving him an opportunity to hear what exactly TEA-21 was and letting him pull together an answer.

(Side comment: Taffwatch is concerned about the constant appearance of TEA in what is supposed to be a family debate. What if children had been listening?)

Kobach drubs Taff in Olathe straw poll

2004-06-30T08:32:00.000-05:00

In a defeat for Adam Taff's vaunted "Taffers", Kris Kobach defeated Taff 240-101 in the Olathe Republican Party's straw poll.

The Kobach campaign was quick to issue a press release...two days after the Saturday event, and was eager to share their glee: "Kobach's landslide win came as a shock to many, including 2002 Republican nominee Adam Taff who was visibly stunned when the results were announced."

Now this is Olathe, where a conservative winning is as newsworthy as dog bites man, but these straw polls are good tests for a campaign's organizational strength. And Kobach will undoubtedly wave this in Taff's face for the next, well, all debates.

In other news from the poll, Patricia Lightner received two votes. No word on whether her husband attended the event with her.

UPDATE: We've just noticed that Taff has a blurb about the Olathe picnic and straw poll on his website. As one might expect, it makes no mention of the actual results of the straw poll.

Tackling the big issues

2004-06-25T11:51:00.000-05:00

According to Brad Cooper of The Kansas City Star, the KS03 Republican candidates are showing a remarkable ability to avoid discussing any issues of importance, preferring instead to snipe at each other about who voted for what tax increase when.

Kobach's defense of a vote increasing development fees led to our favorite comment of the campaign so far:

"'Adam, I hope that will help you as you learn more about government,' Kobach said."

Oh, burn!

But Taff had a comeback:

"'Kris mentioned these tax increases Patricia has voted for,' Taff said. 'Kris, you obviously felt so bad about that, that you were compelled to give her a donation after she made those votes.'"

Stepping in to defend Rep. Lightener, how chivalrous! (Even if Kobach says the donation was before the vote.)

Meanwhile, Kobach trotted out his "study" of challenger rematches with incumbents, which Taff has had quite enough of, thank you very much.

"'For those of you who don't get to hear it every week, I've heard it for about six months now so it's a little silly,' said Taff, noting that Kobach only got 25 percent of the vote in his bid for the state Senate in 2000."

Gentlemen, why don't you both just agree that you're both election-losers and move on to other critical issues, such as deciding who has more yardsigns?

Yardsign Mania! continues

2004-06-24T08:30:00.000-05:00

First, it was Kris Kobach putting up a downed Taff sign himself.

Now we have a report from a loyal reader that Adam Taff was spotted putting up his own yardsigns.

We have two questions:

Just how generous is National Mortgage Co.'s leave policy?

and

What the heck is so darn exciting about putting up Taff yardsigns that the candidate himself feels the need to do it?

The only yardsign a candidate for the U.S. Congress should ever physically put up himself/herself is in his/her own yard.

Ok, and maybe Dick Bond's yard.

And Steve Rose's, but that's it.

Candidate going door-to-door: yes. Candidate delivering yardsigns: no.

You've heard of swing voters...

2004-06-22T20:31:00.000-05:00

As a faithful reader pointed out to us today, Adam Taff's website recently added the following blurb to its front page:

"Adam is a featured candidate this week on GOPUSA.com, a prominent political website. GOPUSA strives to be the first source Republicans turn to for news and information at the state and national levels."

Interesting, we suppose, though we don't know that a little picture and link along the side of a website is important enough to brag about even with the two paragraph profile inside.

But we were curious about the site, so we clicked through to GOPUSA to find out what other candidates they'd featured.

Let's just say Taff had better hope he has better luck than the previous "featured candidate"...

You see, last week's candidate was Jack Ryan, the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Illinois.

He made news this week so you may have heard of him.

Ryan's campaign is in big trouble as a result of this story, since it is probably not the best way to fire up the Republican base.

Though as a friend of ours pointed out, Ryan has locked up the "swing" vote.

For the record, we are not claiming any link or making any inference whatsoever between candidate Ryan and candidate Taff. We just thought Taff's appearance as this week's candidate was an amusing coincidence given the increased notoriety this same week has seen for last week's featured candidate Ryan.

Update: We'd originally posted more details about the story that has Jack Ryan wishing he had the same ability to get out of a jam that Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan posesses, but we figured we'd let the Chicago Tribune take care of the story instead. (And if they want you to register, just click here instead for The Smoking Gun's version.)

Flying the Friendly Skies no more

2004-06-19T17:07:00.000-05:00

In his campaign speeches during the 2002 election, Adam Taff talked about how after 9/11 he wanted to do something different with his life than just flying people from "point A to point B." He went on what his campaign described as a "leave of absence" from United Airlines.

Many wondered why a struggling airline would allow a pilot to go on leave. Some suspected it was because Taff had actually been let go, but nobody could be sure. The question went unanswered in 2002.

The question has still not been answered, but a chapter has been closed.

The Kansas City Star's recent story on candidate financesshows that, sometime in 2003, that "leave of absence" turned into a "furlough" for which Taff received $13,400 in separation pay from United.

So, Commander Taff (congrats on the promotion, BTW) is no longer flying for United, and we'll take his word for it that the 2001-2003 "leave" was his idea and not the airline's.

While we're on the subject of finances, Taff made $79,000 in 2003. The Star reports "about $65,000" came from National Mortgage Co., where he is programs director (they must have a very liberal leave policy for congressional candidates.)

Now $79K is not a bad take in a down economy. (It is even above the average income of Johnson County, though not as much as his opponents made.) But we wonder how one loans a campaign $140,000+ on that salary while still living in ritzy Lake Quivira...

Is "I know you are but what am I?" far behind?

2004-06-19T16:36:00.000-05:00

We love this.

JoCo Sun: Kobach's rolling billboard flattens Taff campaign sign

The Taff campaign seems to be talking more about its sign getting run over than about, say, how the heck he'd pay for his plan to privatize Social Security. But we suppose it is much easier to fall back on the tried and true tactic of accusing the other side of dirty tricks than it is to explain your own positions.

So Taff manager Bob Zender trots out the accusation, which the Kobach campaign falls for, sending its candidate to fix the sign himself (which is a great photo op for Taff since all the camera will see is an unknown man fixing a big Taff sign.)

It is a pointless story, but an easier one to report than, say, why Taff said he supported a $254 million tax refund for Enron even after the company's wrongdoing was made public.

Though we can say that we did enjoy this quote from Kobach:

"If we really intended to knock over a sign, we wouldn't use a 22-foot truck with my picture on it in broad daylight," [Kobach] added. "If we wanted to do something like that, we would go out in the middle of the night, pull all of his signs out and leave no trace. But we don't want to do something like that, because it's wrong."

Yes, it is wrong. Though he sure seems to know a lot about making yard signs disappear.

But more importantly, if Kobach was as buddy-buddy with AG Ashcroft as he claims, why doesn't he just have all of Taff's yardsigns declared "enemy combatants" and sent to Guantanamo Bay?

Heck, if Kobach had any pull with Ashcroft, Taff would be trying to campaign from a Navy brig. (Though that would be campaigning on a military base, which we understand is against the rules. Not that it has stopped Taff before -- so we hear.)

Energy, energy, energy

2004-06-16T20:53:00.000-05:00

Adam Taff wrote a letter to the Kansas City Star. Drill in Alaska! Pass the energy bill, it will solve all our problems!

Well, not to be outdone, some writers with a closer grasp on the reality of oil supplies and prices wrote in. Bottom line: Oil from ANWR wouldn't start flowing for 5-10 years, just in time for the H5s to roll off the assembly lines and up to the gas pumps.

Equal time

2004-06-16T20:42:00.000-05:00

Kudos to the Johnson County Sun for reporting on Stephene Moore (wife of Rep. Dennis) and her medical mission to Bulgaria. While we would have liked her to have been afforded the same privlidge of having a campaign flack write the article (see this post), we think her story needs no attention from a spin doctor.

But Mega Kudos go to Moore, a registered nurse, for helping Bulgarian women receive medical care they otherwise would have likely gone without, in addition to her work in KC helping women with high-risk pregnancies have healthy babies.

Taff's filed

2004-06-16T20:32:00.000-05:00

The Taff website notifies us that Mr. Taff has filed, getting his name on the ballot for the riveting Republican primary.

Intelligence sources had indicated that Taff was going to attempt to bypass the filing fee (softball expenses adding up, perhaps?) and file by petition, which the Kansas Secretary of State says would require two percent of the registered Republicans in KS03. Our shoddy math puts that at around 3,500 signatures.

Taff's site says nothing about filing by petition and we imagine if he had done so, he'd be blaring it far and wide.

(If you've heard what happened, drop us a line at the e-mail link over there. -->)

Fire on the right flank

2004-06-16T20:13:00.000-05:00

We don't normally like plugging other websites here and went back and forth on whether to put a link to a new site we've been told of on our venerable (ha!) blog.

They bag on Congressman Moore and have that peculiar affliction many conservatives have come down with, subconsciously trying to be like the dreaded liberal-elite by infusing their writing with highfalutin words and discourses on the American Dream. But the plus side, they don't just post whatever comes down the pike from the NRCC without understanding the issue or the vote in question, like this other "watch" site out there.

It was close, but their latest post tipped it for us because it is about our favorite topic -- yard signs!

Apparently, there's been an incident, with the Taff campaign alleging damage to one of its signs by the famous Kobach-mobile (BTW Kris, Dennis Moore campaigned from an RV in 2000. It's been done.)

Did the Kobach-mobile damage a Taff sign? Were any Taffers wounded in the engagement? Does anyone care? The answer to that last one is: yes, as this other blog says it was covered by a TV station.

So, out of respect for their willingness to post on such a critical issue, we provide you with a link to thirddistrict.org.

Sign War!

2004-06-16T20:10:00.000-05:00

Yes! We couldn't wait until the yardsign wars began. A posting about yardsigns is the second message on the Taff site (below a memorial to Ronald Reagan -- what no photos? Must not have liked him as much as GWB did. W turned over his entire website to the Gipper.)

"Thanks to the efforts of a hearty group of Taffers, you're starting to notice our campaign signs springing up throughout the 3rd District." they say. Kobach signs are undoubtedly springing from the trunks and trucks of volunteers as well.

We love to see yardsigns taking up a priority position in a campaign, seeing as they are one of the most useless things on which you can spend your money.

Fore!

2004-06-06T16:48:00.000-05:00

Golf tournaments turn up now and again as fundraisers for political parties and PACs because they're a good way to make donors feel like they're getting something and the organizer makes a little (and we do mean a little) money on the side. Candidates sometimes use them as well, though the cost and hassle of putting one together usually outweighs the gain.

We got an invitation to a golf tournament being put on by Adam Taff's campaign that illustrates this point. The cost for individuals is $125, but the invite instructs donors to write two checks: One for $67 to Taff and one to the Sycamore Ridge Golf Club for $58.

So for all the time and effort being put into the event, only 53% of the money goes to the campaign. And that doesn't even take into account the time spent organizing the event and the cost of food, drink, and the knicknacks this campaign is so fond of. (We're still enjoying our Adam Taff cup, btw.)

But this isn't the costliest of Taff's sporting excursions. His campaign still foots the bill for a softball team which cost his campaign just under $2,000 last year alone. (Not that we mind any of this, we're just pointing out these potential pitfalls as a public service to any aspiring campaign fundraisers out there -- and to Taff's donors who may think their money is going to something like, say, TV ads or direct mail.)

"Electability" rears its pointless head

2004-05-30T14:03:00.000-05:00

The second debate of the KS03 Republican primary season was a little testier than the first one, at least according to Brad Cooper of the Kansas City Star who we hear will be covering the race this year instead of venerable newsman Jim Sullinger.

Kris "Why does the Star keep using a photo of me in a tux as my mugshot?" Kobach "lashed out at the other candidates as clones of incumbent Democrat Dennis Moore" and told the audience that "We learned in 2002 that it's going to take more than a pretty face to beat Dennis Moore."

The debate quickly dove into that murky -- and pointless -- subject of "electability" with each candidate proclaiming himself (or herself) the most "electable."

Kobach said he was the most electable because he wouldn't go easy on Congressman Moore!

Taff said he was the most electable because he has volunteers (excuse us, Taffers) and money -- not all of which is from his own wallet!

And Lightner said she was the most electable because she can work to bridge party lines! ...just like the time her actions caused the members of her own KS House committee to walk out in protest. (But at least they did it together!)

Meanwhile the most "electable" candidate of all was busy elsewhere, representing the Third District in Congress....

Blurring the line

2004-05-15T21:03:00.000-05:00

The April 22 Johnson County Sun (yeah, yeah, we're behind in reading the newspaper) ran a half-page article, with photo, about Adam Taff's new wife, Beth. Her story was moving, having faced family tragedies, and it wouldn't be unusual for the Sun to run an article like this.

What is unusual is to have the article written by one of Taff's PR people.

A blurb at the end of the article mentions, in an "Oh, by the way" manner, that the author "Valerie Jung is self-employed in public relations. Her firm, Pure Eloquence, is currently working on behalf of Adam Taff and other local Republican candidates."

We look forward to reading a half-page article, with photo, about Stephene Moore, written by one of the Congressman's consultants.

We won't hold our breath.

Taff backs national sales tax (a.k.a. soak the poor tax)

2004-05-06T19:45:00.000-05:00

According to the Kansas City Star, Adam Taff came out in favor of ending income taxes and imposing a national consumption -- i.e. sales -- tax at a recent debate.

While this sounds like a good way to simplify the tax code, studies have shown -- and common sense tells us -- that ending the progressive nature of the federal tax code (yes, it is still somewhat progressive, despite conservatives' ongoing efforts) would result in dramatically higher taxes on low and middle income Americans.

As anyone who lives in a state without a state income tax knows, the sales tax has to be very high to make up for it. Tennessee, for example, has combined state/local sales taxes approaching 10%.

The poor pay a higher share of their income in taxes under such a system, as opposed to now where they pay no federal income tax (though they do pay payroll taxes, unlike the Taff campaign.)

Taff's support of a national sales tax might be a winner in the Republican primary, but for the majority of Americans, such a tax would make them the losers.

More on the national sales tax from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities:

Since affluent Americans pay a much higher percentage of income in federal income taxes than other families do under our current, graduated income tax structure — a reality the Tax Foundation's figures obscure — virtually all proposals to shift to a flat or national sales tax would result in windfalls for those at the top of the income spectrum and require either increased taxes on middle- and low-income families or substantially reduced revenue collections. Reductions in revenue could usher in a new era of budget deficits or lead to large reductions in programs upon which the middle class relies.

Taff-backer re-elected as KUCR president

2004-05-06T19:32:00.000-05:00

Justin McFarland, harsly censured by the Kansas College Republicans for making false statements and using the organization to back Taff's primary campaign, was re-elected by the KU College Republicans, showing that Republicans will accept any wrongdoing so long as the person doing the wrong doesn't have a "D" behind his/her name.

University Daily Kansan story

"Fact" of the day

2004-04-24T17:10:00.000-05:00

From Adam Taff's First Quarter Campaign Newsletter:

"SECURING OUR FUTURE" FACT:

"Health care spending accounts for 13% of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP), whereas defense spending accounts for only 3% of GDP!"
----

This "fact" is supposed to make you think "Wow, we really need to spend more money on defense."

What it makes us think is "Wow, do they not realize that 100% of defense spending is government spending, while only a fraction of health care spending is government spending?"

It also makes us think "What the hell is all that health care money going to?" But while Taff supports national defense, we doubt national health care is on the agenda.

State College Republicans slam KUCR Chairman for support of Taff

2004-04-23T15:48:00.000-05:00

The University Daily Kansan is reporting that KU College Republicans Chairman Justin McFarland has been censured, partially due to his use of the organization to support the candidacy of Adam Taff.

Like the state party, College Republicans chapters are supposed to be impartial during Republican primaries. McFarland apparently didn't see it that way.

UDK: "Among the charges in the statement ratified on April 15 were claims that McFarland, Lenexa junior, made false statements and violated a rule of neutrality. The board also found McFarland remiss in sending information to members of the group regarding issues of scholarships, internships and free travel, Laura Findley, communications director for the federation said. The board also held him accountable for his alleged support of 3rd-District congressional candidate Adam Taff."

"Group members have said that McFarland devoted an excessive amount of time to Taff causes during meetings, barely mentioning other candidates."
...
"[KUCR Treasurer Matt] Flynn also said that McFarland had been lax in scheduling meetings with the group and the other 3rd-District candidates. McFarland was turning the group into what Republicans across the state now saw as “Jayhawks for Taff,” he said."
----

With KUCR elections coming up and being up for re-election himself, McFarland said it was all politics, showing what could be a dangerous level of his percieved importance to the Taff campaign:

“When people are behind, then they will attack the front-runner,” McFarland said, “to level the playing field.”

Taffwatch isn't surprised that the KU College Republicans, or at least their leader, would want to get behind Taff, given his fondness for buying the CRs drinks at Quinton's after attending KUCR meetings. (At least this was the case in 2002, according to two sources who had drinks purchased for them. One of those sources has since turned 21. Ah, college...)

Text of the Censure

2004-04-23T15:44:00.000-05:00

Not to pile on, but a loyal Taffwatcher has sent us the text of the censure handed down by the State Board of the Kansas Federation of College Republicans.

Beware, strong language is contained within: "egregiously failed", "violated the trust", "dishonored the office", "knowingly made false statements", "concealed important information", "blatantly violated", and "fully deserves the censure and condemnation".

Text of the censure:

In the spring of 2003, Justin McFarland assumed the duty of faithfully executing the office of President for the University of Kansas College Republicans; implicit in the office is the obligation that the President set an example of high moral standards and conduct himself in a manner that fosters respect for the values of the party and fellow College Republican members; and Justin McFarland has egregiously failed his obligation, and through his actions has violated the trust of University of Kansas College Republicans and College Republicans across the state, lessened the esteem for the office of President and dishonored the office in which University of Kansas College Republicans have entrusted to him.

Be it resolved that:

1. The President knowingly made false statements concerning the loyalty of fellow College Republicans;
2. The President concealed important information from University of Kansas College Republican members;
3. The President blatantly violated the rule of neutrality in the upcoming primary elections;
4. The President conducted himself in a manner that is unbecoming of a President for the University of Kansas College Republicans;
5. Justin McFarland, President of the University of Kansas College Republicans, by his conduct has brought upon himself and fully deserves the censure and condemnation of the State Board of the Kansas Federation of College Republicans.

Approved unanimously by the KSFCR Executive Board on April 15th, 2004.

Jordan D'Angelo, Chairman
Matthew Ahrens, Vice-Chairman
Laura Findley, Communications Director

Present

Jordan D'Angelo presiding.

First National Bank of Taff

2004-04-16T09:23:00.000-05:00

First Quarter FEC numbers are out, and not surprisingly Dennis Moore continues his dominance, according to Alan Bjerga of the Wichita Eagle. Moore has raised more than $1 million this cycle, his campaign reports.

Meanwhile, Adam Taff has made yet another personal loan to his campaign, this time in the amount of $62,865.35. We did notice that Taff lowered the interest rate he was charging his campaign from 7 percent to 3 percent and that he paid off $52,865 in old debts.

So through this loan change-out, his fundraising numbers got bulked up at the expense of higher spending, but he still ends up reporting a debt of $141,804.19.

And he paid rent regularly! But he still isn't paying Social Security taxes on his employees, so he's only 1 for 2.

Finally, what's with the refund of $14,200 in "excess contributions from 12/02"?

Correction finally made

2004-04-06T18:20:00.000-05:00

The Taff web site has finally changed the link to their memorial for Joan Bowman so that it now does not imply that KS Revenue Secretary Joan Wagnon had died. We're sure both families appreciate it.

Letter war!

2004-04-06T18:16:00.000-05:00

Taff went to St. Patrick's parades in Shawnee and KCMO. Kobach apparently went to one in Lawrence. Each side accuses the other of ignoring Wyandotte County. We don't quite follow the connection between KCMO or Lawrence and WyCo, but this back and forth is hilarious. We can't wait until they actually talk about issues, rather than who campaigns where and who copied the other's web site and "mobile campaign headquarters" ideas.

Still dead

2004-03-21T10:42:00.000-06:00

Shattering our belief that the Taffers read Taffwatch on a regular basis (though looking at the logs, someone does) is the fact that -- despite our writing about it last week -- Taff's Web site still has a link to a memorial to Kansas Revenue Secretary Joan Wagnon who is, as best we can tell, still alive.

Primary campaign delivers first laughs

2004-03-14T19:36:00.000-06:00

While Taffwatch is devoted to keeping an eye on our namesake, we're following every candidate in the race. The reason being, we enjoy politics, particularly when it delivers a chuckle.

We were visiting the Kobach Web site tonight. Our first impression is that he's definitely playing up the conservative side, with photos of Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity on his site along with a front page mention of Jonah Goldberg. ($20 says our ads will go all conservative on us as a result of these mentions.)

What made us laugh, however, was his most recent news release touting his "mobile campaign headquarters." (And it wasn't his claim that Congressman Dennis Moore is ignoring Douglas and Wyandotte Counties that made us laugh, though that is hilarious.)

What made us laugh was the third and fourth paragraphs in his five paragraph release:
---
Kobach did note, however, that he thinks it will not be long before his primary opponent, Adam Taff, mirrors his innovative idea of a mobile headquarters.

"I find it a bit strange that every move my campaign makes, my opponent, Adam Taff, usually does the same thing within weeks. His campaign literature, his website and even his campaign themes have all been redesigned to mimic mine. Mark my words, it probably won't be long before Adam Taff follows my lead again and attempts to obtain a mobile headquarters of his own," stated Kobach. "At the end of the day, I think the voters of this district are more impressed by leaders, not by followers. I will continue to show leadership in this race, just as I intend to lead in Congress."
---

We thought Taff's rowboat/aircraft carrier was his mobile HQ, but regardless, it shows how petty this race has already become if Kobach is spending half of his news release getting all up in Taff's face about how he's a copycat.

We just hope these guys don't show up to the same event wearing matching suits and ties or else we could see a real catfight.

Meow.

Who's line is it anyway?

2004-03-14T19:32:00.000-06:00

On the front page of Adam Taff's Web site, he touts his "mention" in the Washington Post:
---
The Washington Post recognizes Taff for Congress

People across the country continue to take notice of Adam's campaign! The Washington Post recently listed the Kansas Third Congressional district as one of the most competitive races in the country. Click here to read why our "chances of success are very high."
---
Who do you think said the "chances of success are very high"? A reputable pollster? Perhaps a respected analyst such as Stu Rothenberg or Charlie Cook?

From the actual story: Taff, who lost by just 3 percentage points, said his "chances of success are very high" because he maintained the organization he put in place for the last election.

Oh.

Playing the percentages

2004-03-14T19:29:00.000-06:00

Taff's March 12 news release touting his fundraising for the fourth quarter boasts of how he had receipts of $122,000 and that 80% of those receipts came from within the Third District.

They apparently forgot to point out that 20% of those receipts came from Taff himself who, as far as we know, still lives in the Third District.

The reports of her death...

2004-03-14T19:24:00.000-06:00

When visiting the Taff campaign Web site, we were saddened to read of the death of Joan Wagnon, former Topeka mayor and current member of Governor Sebelius' cabinet.

Secretary Wagnon and her family will be relieved to discover that she, as far as we know, is still in good health. Despite the link reading "Joan Wagnon," the Taff news release is actually commemorating the death of Joan Bowman, former Lenexa mayor.

We suggest the Taff campaign use the $900 it spends on a softball team and instead hire a proofreader.

Burning a hole in his wallet

2004-03-14T19:14:00.000-06:00

Adam Taff apparently had some extra money to throw around -- or rather throw into his campaign's warchest -- as his fourth quarter report shows he made a $10,000 contribution to his campaign and a $15,000 loan.

This brings his total campaign debt to $140,044.57 -- almost half as much as his campaign's cash-on-hand of $352k -- and takes his cash balance to $212,000.

For comparison, Congressman Dennis Moore's campaign has no debt and a cash balance of $621,061, while Republican candidate Kris Kobach is also debt free and has a cash balance of $178,944.

Rent's up, what gives?

2004-03-14T19:03:00.000-06:00

In a development, Taff's fourth quarter 2003 FEC report shows that his campaign HQ's rent jumped and it is being paid on a regular basis.

The new monthly rent of $1,100 is almost three times his average rent since the opening of his HQ in the 2000 campaign. (The average was $375 a monthy.) Plus, unlike the months his campaign would go between rent payments previously, this report shows payments at the beginning of each month (and a fourth, which we assume was either a security deposit or a payment for September.)

His HQ has apparently not moved, so why the change?

Maybe, just maybe, it has to do with the fact that instead of paying rent to OMS Supply, a company owned by major Taff donors, he is now paying it to American National Insurance Company.

Still think he wasn't getting a sweetheart deal?

We will be getting underway shortly

2004-03-12T15:55:00.000-06:00

This blog will become active shortly. But in the unlikely event you are reading this, please check www.taffwatch.com to find out what this is all about.