Wow:
http://thinkprogress.org/...
Since Brownback’s inauguration, 1,414 Kansans with disabilities have been forced off of the Medicaid physical disability (PD) waiver. In January of 2013, Brownback became the first governor to fully privatize Medicaid services, claiming he would save the state $1 billion in 5 years without having to cut services, eligibility, or provider payments. Now, under Brownback’s “KanCare,” PD waiver cases are handled by for-profit, out-of-state, Fortune 500, publicly-traded managed care services. Kansas has contracts with three managed care profiteers — United Healthcare, Sunflower State Health Plan (owned by Centene Corporation), and AmeriGroup. Amerigroup and Centene each gave $2,000, Kansas’ maximum allowed contribution, to Brownback’s re-election campaign.
“They wanted to cut my full-time care hours by 76 percent, which all three of my doctors said was totally unrealistic,” said Finn Bullers, a disability rights advocate who suffers from muscular dystrophy, uses a wheelchair, has type 1 insulin-dependent diabetes, and requires a ventilator in his throat to breathe. “Essentially, they wanted three out of every four hours to go away.”
“Often, these are not optional services,” said Rocky Nichols, executive director of the Kansas Disability Rights Center. “These are life-sustaining services like properly caring for and cleaning out feeding tubes, colostomy bags, and other devices so people don’t die, transferring the person with a mobility impairment from the chair so they can toilet, assisting with the critical and life-sustaining activities of daily living that most of us take for granted. These are basic human needs, not optional wants.”
But Brownback’s claims of savings without risking patient eligibility is mere sleight of hand when taking a closer look at the numbers. When Kansas experienced a $217 million revenue shortfall in April of 2014, Brownback actually broke a promise made to the federal government as to how many people with disabilities would be served. When applying to launch the KanCare program, the Brownback administration originally promised the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services it would accommodate 7,874 people on the PD waiver, according to numbers from the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services. After the first revenue shortfall, Brownback changed that number to 5900 – nearly a 25 percent cut in services amounting to $26 million.
Just before Brownback’s inauguration, Kansas served 6,752 people on the PD waiver. More than 2,000 people with disabilities were added just in the last decade as a result of more advanced healthcare and disabled people living longer lives. However, the gradual uptick in new enrollees stopped abruptly once Brownback took over. According to this chart, over 1,400 disabled Kansans were dropped from the waiver between 2010 and 2014, with a sharp decline in 2014, coinciding directly with the revenue shortfalls resulting from the recent tax cuts. - Think Progress, 10/27/14
Pretty awful, right? By the way, the Kochs have a lot invested in this race:
http://thinkprogress.org/...
Kansas Governor Sam Brownback once supported wind energy, but that was before petrochemical billionaires and Kansas natives Charles and David Koch became his largest campaign donors. Now, Brownback and the Kochs find themselves enmeshed in a highly competitive governor’s race, one that has become a referendum on the much-heralded notion that scaling back government and slashing taxes for the wealthy will lead to economic growth.
A key aspect of this debate hinges on the role of renewable energy in the state and the future of the Kansas’ Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), a law requiring a certain portion of a state’s energy mix come from renewable sources. The Koch brothers have devoted a significant amount of time and money into repealing the standard and as of late, Brownback has wavered in his support. His Democratic opponent, Paul Davis, has taken a stand, saying he would “veto a bill that repeals our RPS” during the first gubernatorial debate.
“Kansas has some of the greatest potential for wind energy in the United States, but the future of wind in Kansas depends upon the continuation of the RPS,” Davis said in an email. “If Kansas were to repeal the RPS, it sends a very strong message to the wind industry that we are not open for business, and you will see people back away from Kansas in a big way.”
Davis said the RPS repeal is being championed by a very narrow group of far right special interests with heavy investments in the oil industry. He said this is despite the fact that the policy remains incredibly popular among everyday Kansans and public and private sector leaders who understand the importance of diversifying the state’s energy portfolio. In fact, Kansas’ RPS — which requires investor-owned utilities to get 20 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2020 — is almost entirely fulfilled several years ahead of schedule.
“Frankly, the RPS has become controversial because those who want to repeal the RPS have poured millions into Sam Brownback’s re-election campaign, which has caused him to suddenly change his position,” said Davis. - Think Progress, 10/27/14
So now the big question is will conservative Kansas get rid of this extremist?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
Polls show the incumbent in a tight race against Democrat Paul Davis, the state House minority leader. It is close because many Republicans have defected from Brownback in the wake of massive tax and spending cuts.
If Brownback can bring home those wavering Republicans, he can win a second term — but so far he has not been able to do so. National Republicans worry that time is growing short.
The Republican Governors Association has dumped $4.9 million into Kansas, something that was not in its strategy book at the start of the 2014 cycle. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, the RGA chairman, recently put out a call to GOP governors and other surrogates to come to Kansas and remind Republicans of the gubernatorial race’s importance.
Meanwhile, Brownback is attempting a balancing act, distancing himself from many parts of his record while arguing that he will be proved correct in the end.
If Brownback prevails, his victory will be seen as an endorsement of the Kansas experiment in supply-side economics. If he falls short, Republican governors in other states are likely to take his defeat as a warning about going too far to the right. - Washington Post, 10/27/14
The majority of local analysts don't think so:
http://www2.ljworld.com/...
A panel of seven political analysts said Sunday they think Democrat Paul Davis is the odds-on favorite to win the Kansas gubernatorial election Nov. 4. But they think the U.S. Senate race is still too close to call.
Insight Kansas, a group of political science professors in Kansas who write columns and blog about state politics, shared their observations Sunday during a forum at the Dole Institute of Politics on the Kansas University campus. They were joined by Ann Gardner, editorial page editor of the Journal-World.
Like TV sports analysts being interviewed Sunday morning just before the NFL football games, the panelists were asked to handicap the top two races on the Kansas ballot.
"I think the odds are with Davis right now," said Michael Smith, who teaches at Emporia State University.
Washburn University's Bob Beatty agreed, conditionally. "If Democrats will vote, over what their registration is, Davis should win," he said.
Chapman Rackaway of Fort Hays State University was the lone panelist to give a slight edge to Brownback. - Lawrence Journal World, 10/26/14
But here's why Brownback's campaign is still a float:
http://www2.ljworld.com/...
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback’s campaign was again aided by loans as he races to stave off a vigorous challenge from Democratic legislator Paul Davis.
Brownback reported raising about $2.2 million for the quarter ending Oct. 23 as he battles to win a second term as governor.
His final tally included yet another $500,000 loan from Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer and a $200,000 personal loan he made to the campaign.
The Brownback campaign acknowledged the loans in a statement but was still proud of its fundraising total for the quarter.
“The governor and lieutenant governor are humbled by the support received across the state,” spokesman John Milburn said. “We are going to win because of the support from every corner of Kansas.”
Davis, the Kansas House minority leader from Lawrence, reported raising about $2.1 million for the quarter. The amount was about double what Davis had raised overall for the gubernatorial campaign so far. - Kansas City Star, 10/27/14
Again, lets kick some GOP ass in kansas this year. Click here to donate and get involved with Davis, Greg Orman (I. KS) and Jean Schodorf's (D. KS) campaigns:
http://davisforkansas.com/
http://www.ormanforsenate.com/...
http://www.jeanforkansas.com/