It's the Kansas Chamber, AFP, and all the big political party bosses vs Hutchinson
Most powerful groups in Kansas are financing out-of-town opponent in District 102
Wow. Those ads. Those commercials. Those mailers that stole the photos I posted to illustrate that the Kansas Chamber of Commerce would do exactly what they are doing right now - deploying hateful rhetoric filled with a variety of comical “alternative facts.”
(Also, here’s a video if you don’t want to read all of this).
No one should be shocked. Groups like the Kansas Chamber of Commerce and Americans for Prosperity (AFP) have disliked me for a long time - and the feeling is largely mutual - because when it comes to Special Interest groups there’s no group that thinks their interests are more special than these two. This is the way entitled folks operate against someone who won’t bow before their wealth and power. And, to be fair, I’ve been causing problems for these groups way before I was in the legislature.
(Note: I have no issue with wealth. It’s neither good nor bad, though I don’t like how often we use it as the measure of a person. I do, however, take issue with people and groups who use that wealth to punch down on those who aren’t as well off as them).
So it’s no real surprise that they’re dropping fat stacks of cash to support my opponent, who was parachuted into Hutchinson by his party bosses with the promise that he’d get all the dark money he needed to unseat me. Based on the amount of money the Kansas Chamber is spending on his campaign, it seems they already own him outright. I’m sure he’ll put Hutchinson’s needs first. 🙄
If you look at my material, you’ll see it comes from my campaign. I spend my money locally, and I spend my time talking about the work I’ve done for Hutchinson. Even though I don’t like to get into these sort of fights, I’m not gonna let a bunch of self-indulgent billionaires punch down on this community - or on me. So, here we go…
“Don’t tell no lies about me, and I won’t tell no truths about you.” - Kendrick Lamar.
I haven’t voted for a tax increase - but I did vote against the excessive corporate tax reduction that the Kansas Chamber wanted (bundled with meager cuts for you). Year after year, this group has its hands out. They’ve worked to allow corporations to avoid paying any taxes on money parked in offshore tax havens - and write off of losses forever. I also didn’t support their flat tax that would’ve provided almost ZERO tax relief to anyone in my district. Here’s what I wrote at the time of the vote: “That’s right - .8 percent of of my taxpayers would see real benefit under this plan. The nearly 52 percent of taxpayers who make less than $75,000 per household wouldn’t get any real benefit at all.”
I did however, support this tax cut, this tax cut, also voted to override the Governor on this one and supported this one that is now in place.
We all know the Brownback Tax Experiment left the state’s budget in shambles. But about that … want to take a guess who was behind it? Yeah, groups like the Kansas Chamber and AFP. In fact, then Speaker of the House Mike O’Neal got a pat on the back and cushy new job for his work in ushering through the tax cut for Kansas’ richest corporations.
The legacy of AFP and the Kansas Chamber’s mess? Kansas is still carrying the debt of that short-sighted and greedy decision. Kansas debt is $1,487 per person - far more than any of our neighboring states. We’ve carried this level of debt, nearly unchanged, for roughly a decade.
In 2013, I wrote that the Brownback/Kansas Chamber tax cuts would raise property taxes by shifting the cost of government to homeowners. I was, unfortunately, right and it did. Homeowners’ property taxes have gone up consistently, partly because we’re still paying for the mess these people made.
Back in the day, when cities, counties, school boards, and non-profit groups that help those with disabilities lobbied Topeka about how the cuts would hurt them, the Brownback/AFP/Kansas Chamber cabal promoted legislation that would silence all dissenting voices in the statehouse. (Here’s the actual editorial referenced in one other their mailings).
The Kansas Chamber is digging back pretty far - this ran in The Hutchinson news on Feb. 15, 2013 Never forget you’re paying a higher sales tax rate than you were supposed to, thanks to the Kansas Chamber and friends. When they cut income tax, they raised the state sales tax, which affects poor and working families the most.
6. I’ve caught the Kansas Chamber lying before and I wasn’t quiet about it. No one should be surprised by either of these things. When they got caught, they blamed everyone except themselves.
Here in Reno County, the Kansas Chamber supported Sen. Mark Steffen in the 2020 election. They said many of the same things about Sen. Ed Berger that they’re saying about me. Then when Steffen wouldn’t go along with the Chamber’s agenda, they said many of the same things about him - only four years after they poured A LOT of money into getting him elected. This is how they operate in every corner of the state - producing slanderous boilerplate material to use across Kansas in an effort to mislead voters, get their “investments” in office, and attack anyone who doesn’t get on board with them. The Kansas Chamber is the premier financier of attack and smear campaigns - and more than any single group responsible for the decay of political discourse in Kansas. They attack Democrats. They attack Moderate Republicans. They attack Conservative Republicans. Their wrath knows only one limit - complete obedience.
These things weren’t really true. 
Here’s an oldie but a goodie. This was one of those groups attacking a lot of Republicans - like Blaine Finch who ended up becoming Speaker Pro Tem, the second in command behind the Speaker of the House. What gets me is how the same people who vilified many of these legislators later lionized them. You know how these groups raise money to pay for their ads? They do things like rent out the Kansas Speedway, and invite all their wealthy donors come and show off their Lamborghinis and Ferraris. These people have toys gathering dust that cost more than many people in my district make over 3 years. They live in a world of excess and then have the nerve to pretend they care about you.
Local Republicans challenged the legitimacy of my opponent’s residency status before the primary election in August. His attorney in that case is the husband of Christie Krieghauser, who is VP of the Kansas Chamber, and whose name appears on all those mud-slinging ads they’re running against me. There’s so much incestuous behavior between these various groups that the ethics commission launched an investigation. The response? A bill drafted by the aforementioned attorney to grossly change the Kansas Campaign Finance Act.
AFP and the Kansas Chamber tried to kill Kansas. Voters stopped it. You can do it again.
You can read the original at the link above
Groups like the Kansas Chamber and Americans for Prosperity DO NOT CARE about you. They are sponsored by insanely wealthy people and corporations with the sole purpose of using their wealth to craft policy that ensures more wealth and more power for them. If you think our system is broken, that there’s too much money in politics - know that the Kansas Chamber and AFP are the biggest and they are paying for and running my opponent’s campaign. These groups have never given Hutchinson the time of day until they saw a chance to use our community for their gain. And my opponent couldn’t find Hutchinson on a map before he agreed to do a favor for his “friends” when his bosses couldn’t find a local candidate they liked.
If those who care about our community, our future, and our families show up to vote, these big groups never win. But they spend enormous sums of money to spread lies in the hope that they can move just enough votes to their side. What they’ll get for that investment is a compliant legislator. What Hutchinson will get is someone who has no concern for our community, and who - from day one - has done whatever his handlers have told him to do.
My commitment to this community and track record are proven. I’ll do what’s best for our town and our state. That’s a promise. And with your support and your vote, I have faith that we’ll stand up against these groups that hope to exploit Hutchinson voters for their own political and financial gain.
