Scores from Heritage Action:

US Senate:

• Pat Roberts: 65%
• Jerry Moran: 74%

US House:

• Kevin Yoder: 77%
• Lynn Jenkins: 79%
• Mike Pompeo: 85%
• Tim Huelskamp: 92%

Obama’s political victory: Getting the GOP to break its tax pledge is “One of the most consequential policy achievements of the last couple of decades.”

Breitbart: “a 41:1 ratio of tax increases to spending cuts.”

Tax increase for 77% of Americans.

Senate roll call vote.  89 vote yes, 8 vote no.

CNS News:  “Senators Got 154-Page ‘Fiscal Cliff’ Bill 3 Minutes Before Voting on It” 

All Kansas US House members vote “no.”

Sen. Rand Paul votes no: “The deal will do absolutely nothing to save this country.”

Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet (CO) votes “no” - “because the deal did not have meaningful deficit reduction.”

Video, Charles Krauthammer: The House Has Been “Neutered” By Obama

Corporate subsidies in bill – algae, movie studios - Tim Carney at The W ashington Examiner.

Paul Ryan votes “yes.”  Erick Erickson:  “…he’s not really a leader. He’s more a follower of leaders.”

Kevin Yoder was the only House member in Kansas to vote for the Export-Import Bank reauthorization, opposed by Club for Growth.  Tim Huelskamp, Lynn Jenkins, and Mike Pompeo voted against it.

Washington Examiner editorial:

Though GOP lawmakers talk a big game about wanting to limit government, they are susceptible to big government if they can be convinced that a given policy benefits big business. To show voters they truly believe in free enterprise, Senate Republicans should work to kill the corporate welfare agency known as the Export-Import Bank.

The Export-Import Bank, known as Ex-Im, is a government agency founded by a 1934 executive order from President Franklin Roosevelt. Its ostensible purpose was to promote U.S. exports by making loan guarantees to foreign buyers. Though Republicans raised a stink when the bankruptcy of solar panel manufacturer Solyndra exposed U.S. taxpayers to $535 million in losses, a large majority of Republican House members voted Wednesday to extend and expand Ex-Im by approving up to $140 billion in loan guarantees. Without congressional action, the agency’s charter would expire at the end of the month.

Roll Call to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank of the United States.

Club for Growth:

KEY VOTE ALERT
“NO” on Student Loan Subsidies (HR 4628)

The Club for Growth urges all House members to vote “NO” on the Interest Rate Reduction Act (HR 4628). The House may consider it on the floor as early as today. A vote on this plan, and perhaps procedural votes, will be included in the Club’s 2012 Congressional Scorecard.

Regardless of the merits, the government should not be in the business of subsidizing student loans.

Before 2007, the interest rate for subsidized Stafford student loans was 6.8%, but House Democrats voted that year to lower the rate to 3.4% for the next four years. This bill would extend that rate for new loans for another year, costing taxpayers $6 billion. It’s bad policy to subsidize student loans in the first place, but the net result will likely drive up tuition costs for all students, making the overall cost of the bill much higher than its current price tag. House Republicans want to offset this subsidy by repealing the Prevention and Public Health Fund that was created with the passage of ObamaCare. That fund should indeed be repealed, but fiscal conservatives should only try to repeal the entire law, not just parts of it. And for the most part, the offset is irrelevant. Fiscal conservatives should not be promoting bad policy, which this bill contains.

Our Congressional Scorecard for the 112th Congress provides a comprehensive rating of how well or how poorly each member of Congress supports pro-growth, free-market policies and will be distributed to our members and to the public.

UPDATE: The bill passed 215-195.

Club for Growth:

KEY VOTE ALERT
“NO” on Student Loan Subsidies (HR 4628)

The Club for Growth urges all House members to vote “NO” on the Interest Rate Reduction Act (HR 4628). The House may consider it on the floor as early as today. A vote on this plan, and perhaps procedural votes, will be included in the Club’s 2012 Congressional Scorecard.

Regardless of the merits, the government should not be in the business of subsidizing student loans.

Before 2007, the interest rate for subsidized Stafford student loans was 6.8%, but House Democrats voted that year to lower the rate to 3.4% for the next four years. This bill would extend that rate for new loans for another year, costing taxpayers $6 billion. It’s bad policy to subsidize student loans in the first place, but the net result will likely drive up tuition costs for all students, making the overall cost of the bill much higher than its current price tag. House Republicans want to offset this subsidy by repealing the Prevention and Public Health Fund that was created with the passage of ObamaCare. That fund should indeed be repealed, but fiscal conservatives should only try to repeal the entire law, not just parts of it. And for the most part, the offset is irrelevant. Fiscal conservatives should not be promoting bad policy, which this bill contains.

Our Congressional Scorecard for the 112th Congress provides a comprehensive rating of how well or how poorly each member of Congress supports pro-growth, free-market policies and will be distributed to our members and to the public.

UPDATE: The bill passed 215-195.

Heritage Action is the 501c4 lobbying arm of theHeritage Foundation.  They’ve released whatDaniel Horowitz at RedState describes as “the first comprehensive conservative report card of Congress.”  Horowitz writes, “We can now determine which members of the ‘Tea Party Congress’ drink a hardcore brew.”

Unlike most other scorecards, this one was designed to separate the men from the boys.  Most traditional scorecards, and most prominently, the ACU annual report, tend to focus primarily on those votes which fundamentally divide the two parties.  They fail to probe some of the more courageous conservative votes against party leadership.

To that end, any Republican who is even minimally conservative is expected to score at or near 100%.  After all, at a minimum, any Republican should oppose Obamacare, vote down tax increases, and support the Republican annual budget.  This is how the likes of McCain, Graham, and Chambliss have been able to achieve stellar scores.  Except for those like Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins, and Dick Lugar, most Republicans will vote with their party on the final roll call of major bills.  In fact, anyone who is not on the list of 100% is someone who has voted with the Democrats in contravention to fundamental Republican values.  A perfect ACU score should be the floor, not the ceiling, for a conservative voting record.

The Heritage Action scorecard digs much deeper.

In just the first seven months of the legislative session, they scored 30 votes in the House and 19 in the Senate, many of which dealt with obscure amendments that sought to cut spending beyond the comfort zone of GOP leaders. (more…)

Benjamin Hodge writes at Red County:

Both Patricia Lightner and Kevin Yoder have now officially filed for the Republican primary on Tuesday, August 3.

I have not seen any polls lately — the only publicly-released poll has been this one in February from former candidate Nick Jordan — but I’m confident that both Lightner and Yoder are daily, consistently building up support in the form of voters, volunteers, and donors.  If new candidates decide to enter the race between now and the filing deadline on June 10, they enter with some serious disadvantages, particularly if they aren’t willing or able to put $500,000 or more of their own money in their campaigns: (more…)

by Benjamin Hodge

In summary: There is no clear front-runner, in the Republican race for 3rd District US Congress.

“BREAKING,” Steve Kraske wrote on April 22, 2010.  Kraske was reporting that former State Senator Nick Jordan, the 2008 Republican nominee, had dropped out of the 2010 race.  This wasn’t big news to many conservatives.  I wrote at Red County on January 17:  “Why It’s A Good Bet That Nick Jordan Drops Out Of The Third District Congressional Race.” (more…)

Representative Kevin Yoder will be at the Lansing Community Center on Monday night at 7pm.

Come spend an evening among friends and fellow citizens who share your concerns and frustrations about the Kansas financial mess.

As the Chairman of the Appropriations Committee in the Kansas Legislature, Kevin has a powerful influence on how your tax money is spent. Find out if the state legislators plans on asking you for more money.

The Kansas budget is currently in the red, but must be balanced by the end of the legislative session. How do our legislators plan on fixing this problem? Would you like your opinion to be heard. (Remember – Your silence is your consent).

With the economy in a down turn and with money tight all aound, do you really have enough to send more to Topeka?

It is time to get informed and to get involved in the political process. Make your views known to those who represent us in Topeka.

Come join with us and meet other concerned voters like yourself. Bring your friends and neighbors with you! They have a vested interest as well.

Register Now!

Get involved. Make a difference.
See you on Monday!

Sincerely,

John Bradford
Leavenworth County Republican Party
lvncountygop@yahoo.com
913-683-0871

The Star:

TOPEKA | Shuttered correctional facilities, reductions to universities and state agencies, and small cuts to schools are under consideration as Kansas lawmakers seek to erase a $680 million budget deficit.

The Kansas House Monday endorsed a $13.4 billion budget plan that uses nearly $400 million in federal stimulus money to avoid bigger reductions. Lawmakers warned that the state’s fiscal condition necessitated slashing of spending.

In a sign of just how tough the decisions are, House lawmakers voted to dock their own daily pay by 10 percent. The move may be symbolic if the Senate balks at the pay cut. But House Republicans said there’s nothing symbolic about the pain in the other budget cuts.

“It’s tough to go home and tell your constituents ‘I cut services for the poor. … I cut spending on public safety programs,’ ” said Rep. Kevin Yoder, an Overland Park Republican who leads the House budget committee. “The truth is, this Legislature does not have enough money to fund every priority, and we’re going to have to make reductions.”