A recent Florida poll by  7NEWS/Suffolk University (PDF) asked this question:  ”Would you prefer a flat tax for all taxpayers to pay which would replace the current progressive federal tax code?”

Fifty percent said “yes,” only 27% said “no,” and 23% were undecided.

Romney was leading Obama 47-42% in the poll.

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Holton, Kansas, Rep. Trent LeDoux – “My concern is this contract with Accenture, which, in my opinion, is an illegal contract.”

Shawnee, Kansas, Rep. John Rubin, former federal judge and FDIC Regional Counsel — “The darn thing [ObamaCare] is unconstitutional.  Why would we take steps in Kansas to implement anything?”

Topeka Capital-Journal:

A small, defiant group of House Republicans joined forces with the tea-party flavored Union of Patriots to pressure Gov. Sam Brownback to cancel a $135 million contract for a computer system designed to track applicants for state social services.

…

Rep. John Rubin, a Shawnee Republican, said he met with Brownback in an effort to convince the governor the state should have nothing to do with computer system changes that played into mandates for health insurance reform crafted by Democrats.

“The darn thing is unconstitutional,” Rubin told a Statehouse gathering of about 10 House and Senate Republicans. “Why would we take steps in Kansas to implement anything?”

…

The state entered into a five-year contract with Accenture calling for expenditure of $85 million for technology acquisition and implementation of the database and $50 million to operate and maintain the system.

Meanwhile, Accenture agreed in September to pay $63 million to settle a suit tied to a scandal involving acceptance of kickbacks after recommending certain hardware and software to the federal government. The U.S. Department of Justice also accused Accenture of fraudulently increasing prices and rigging bids on government contracts.

…

“My concern is this contract with Accenture, which, in my opinion, is an illegal contract,” said Rep. Trent LeDoux, a Holton Republican.

…

Rumbling from the likes of Shute, Rubin and others within the Republican Party played a role in Brownback’s decision to return a $31.5 million federal grant earmarked for IT systems directly related to implementation of national health insurance reform.

Brownback, while governor-elect in November, didn’t object to Kansas’ application to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for the grant. The award was approved in February, but Brownback unexpectedly decided to send the money back to HHS immediately prior to the August meeting of the state GOP that was shaping up to be a forum for rebellious Republicans unhappy with the grant.

…

“It undercuts our legal argument before the Supreme Court,” [Rep. John Rubin] said. “The only remedy is to cancel the contract.”

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On January 3, Wichita CBS affiliate KWCH commissioned a SurveyUSA poll among Kansas voters about the 2012 election.  This was released on the same day as the Iowa caucus, and was before the New Hampshire and South Carolina primaries.

Two questions were asked to registered voters in Kansas (emphasis added):

1. “Which Republican has the best chance to beat Barack Obama in the general election in November? Mitt Romney? Newt Gingrich? Michele Bachmann? Ron Paul? Rick Perry? Or, Rick Santorum?”
2. “Which Republican candidate would Obama have the easiest time beating?”

Some demographic breakdown of the poll’s sample:

• 57% Republicans, 22% Democrats, and 20% Independents
• 41% conservative, 42% moderate, 13% liberal
• 86% white, 4% black, 6% Hispanic, 4% other
• 19% described themselves as a Tea Party member, 76% did not
• 56% under age 50, and 44% over age 50.

Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann and Texas Gov. Rick Perry had not yet withdrawn from the race, so they were included in the results.

Overall, Mitt Romney was viewed to be the most likely to beat Barack Obama.  Mitt Romney received 38% of this vote, Newt Gingrich received 15%, and Ron Paul received 14%.

Every demographic except Tea Party members said that Romney was the most likely to beat Obama in November.  Tea Party members viewed Bachmann as the most likely (27%), with Romney getting 22% and Gingrich also getting 22% of the vote.

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An important video to watch, from a recent Overland Park seminar sponsored by the Union of Patriots (their Facebook page is here).

First, here is a speech by Rep. Charlotte O’Hara, the only legislator willing to publicly criticize a needless $160 million project by Sam Brownback that is deeply intertwined with ObamaCare.  Overland Park Rep. O’Hara was removed from a health care committee by Speaker Mike O’Neal after O’Hara criticized Gov. Sam Brownback on a radio program.  This video is from KansasWatchdogTV.

The next video begins with a video message from Rep. John Rubin, followed by a strong presentation by Union of Patriots board member Steve Shute of Gardner, Kansas – “Steve Shute – The Clear & Present Danger of Obama Care.”

Here, you can read the letter to Gov. Brownback from the Union of Patriots group.  Learn more at “Our Letter to Governor Brownback regarding Kansas ObamaCare Exchanges.”

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First, I would like to wish readers a Merry Christmas.

Thanks to David Keating at the Club for Growth for first mentioning this recent economic newsletter from First Trust Portfolios, based in Wheaton, IL.

The Bible story of the virgin birth is at the center of much of the holiday cheer at this time of the year. The book of Luke tells us Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem because Caesar Augustus decreed a census should be taken. Mary gave birth after arriving in Bethlehem and placed baby Jesus in a manger because there was “no room for them in the inn.”

Over the centuries, people have come to believe that because Jesus was born in a stable, and not in a hotel room, Mary and Joseph must have been mistreated by a greedy innkeeper. This innkeeper only cared about profits and decided the young couple was not “worth”
his best accommodations…

It may be that the stable was the only place available. Bethlehem, like other small towns, was overflowing with people who were forced to return to their ancestral homes for the census – ordered by the Romans for the purpose of levying a tax.

If there was a problem, it was caused by the unintended consequences of this government policy…

The innkeeper was generous to a fault – a hero even.  He was over-booked, but he charitably offered his stable, a facility he built with unknowing foresight. A facility he was able to offer, while the government officials who ordered the census slept in their own beds with little care for the well-being of those who had to travel regardless of their difficult life circumstances…

And this is why it’s important to favor economic and political systems that limit the use and abuse of power over others. In the story of baby Jesus, a law that requires innkeepers to always have extra rooms, or to take in anyone who asks, would “fix” the problem. But this new law would also have unintended consequences. It would create fewer hotel rooms because the costs of building would rise. A hotel big enough to handle the rare census, would be way too big in normal times.

And who would open a bed and breakfast, if the law could crack down at any time the
house became full? With fewer hotel rooms, prices would rise, and innkeepers would once again be called greedy. Government would then try to regulate prices.

Read the whole article here.

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I encourage you to attend a free event this weekend, focusing on three important topics:  ObamaCare, immigration reform, and tax reform.  It’s Friday night in Overland Park, and Saturday in Wichita.  No, Wichita is not like it’s portrayed in “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.”

It’s co-sponsored by two Kansas City-area center-right groups: the Union of Patriots and FairTaxKC.

I think you’ll find this event educational, even if you don’t come to the exact same conclusions on all of the issues.

The flyer is below (or click here to download the PDF).

Jointuop_ftkc PDF

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Seeing this picture of Newt Gingrich this morning at the National Journal made me realize that Newt looks a lot like Jack Black.  It’s not a bad photo, to be fair.  But he looks a lot like Jack Black.

So, I’d like to ask RedState if we can start calling Speaker Gingrich Tenacious N.

That’s all.

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From CitizenLink:

Ian Wilmut, best known as the scientist who led the research team that cloned Dolly the sheep in the 1990s, used to be a fan of cloning and human embryonic stem-cell research (hESCR) — but these days, he’s singing a different tune.

In a Nov. 29 speech in California, Wilmut urged fellow scientists to invest their time on nonembryonic forms of stem-cell research — especially direct reprogramming, also known as induced pluripotent stem (iPS) research. Under this method — which is far less expensive than human cloning — a person’s own skin cells are reprogrammed to become an embryonic-like cell. No embryos are created or destroyed in the process.

…”It would be your genetic makeup, so there’d be no tissue rejection, no creation of an embryo. If it works out, 10 years down the line your own body might be a pharmacy in the sense that you could use one part that’s healthy to rebuild another part that isn’t.”

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An uplifting 37 seconds of news from KSHB 41.

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Poll from SurveyUSA, conducted Nov. 18-21, 2011.

“Sure, it’s early, and yes, a lot will change, but in an preview of the 2012 Presidential election, cell phone voters (those without a home telephone, typically undercounted in opinion polls), vote sufficiently Democrat to keep Mitt Romney to just a single-digit lead over Barack Obama, and, for the moment, cause Obama to defeat Newt Gingrich.

Kansas’ 6 electoral votes will almost certainly stay in the Republican column (John McCain carried the state by 15 points in 2008), but in hypothetical head-to-head match-ups between the two Republican front-runners today, 11/22/11, it’s:

* Romney 48%.
* Obama 39%.

* Obama 45%.
* Gingrich 40%

* Among respondents who use a home phone, Romney leads Obama by 14. But among respondents who do not use a home phone (the cell-phone respondents), Obama leads Romney by 4, an 18-point difference.

* Among respondents who use a home phone, Gingrich leads Obama by 3 points. But among respondents who do not use a home phone, Obama leads Gingrich by 24 points, a 27-point difference.

* Romney has a Minus 9 favorability rating: 25% see him favorably, 34% see him unfavorably.
* Gingrich has a Minus 22 favorability rating: 25% see him favorably, 45% see him unfavorably.”

For more internal information about the poll (breakdown by party, age, gender, etc.), click here to go the the SurveyUSA poll.

H/T Race42012.com.

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