Since securing the Republican nomination for President, John McCain has drastically changed his stump speech to try and convince the voters he's not embracing eight years of George W. Bush's failed policies.

Which...is pretty hard to do after you've:

• Voted with the President 95% of the time in 2007 and 100% of the time in 2008
  
• Built your entire campaign around Bush's failed economic policies, failed national security policies, failed education policies, failed energy policies and failed social security policies
• Slowly staffed up your campaign with former George W. Bush campaign staffers, at the recommendation of the political equivilant of Anton Chigurh - Karl Rove

Responding to Republican concerns that his candidacy was faltering, Mr. McCain put a veteran of President Bush’s 2004 campaign in charge of day-to-day operations, and stepped away from a plan to have the campaign run by 11 regional managers, Mr. McCain’s aides said Wednesday.

The elevation of Steve Schmidt — who worked closely with Karl Rove — at Mr. McCain’s headquarters represented a sharp diminishment of the responsibilities of Rick Davis, who has been Mr. McCain’s campaign manager since the last shake-up nearly a year ago...

...The move of Mr. Schmidt is the latest sign of increasing influence of veterans of Mr. Rove’s shop in the McCain operation. Nicolle Wallace, communications director for Mr. Bush in the 2004 campaign (and in his White House), has joined the campaign as a senior adviser, and will travel with Mr. McCain every other week.

Greg Jenkins, another veteran of Mr. Rove’s operation who is a former Fox News producer and director of presidential advance in the Bush White House, was hired by Mr. Schmidt last week after a series of what Mr. McCain’s advisers acknowledged were poorly executed campaign events.

Mr. Rove, who was Mr. Bush’s senior political adviser until he left the White House last year, was said by Mr. McCain’s advisers to have offered advice in recent days to Mr. Schmidt and others on how to get Mr. McCain’s campaign on track, but has stayed mostly on the periphery. Mr. Rove is aware, his associates said, that his own legacy could be helped should Mr. McCain win the presidency.

Well, at least Karl Rove's legacy would improve with a third Bush term - even if America's legacy doesn't.

Take a moment to check out the Reno County Democratic Party site!

Today's headlines:

REGISTRATION DEADLINE Noticed in today's paper that the deadline to register to vote in the August 5th primary is only 3 weeks away. We have choices this year, Democrats! If you are not yet registered or wish to change party affiliation you can register at the Reno County Courthouse or at city offices in all towns in Reno county. In Hutchinson you can also sign up at the driver's license bureau at the mall and at the public library. Reno County Democrats will provide you with the voter registration form as well. To request the form email: renodemo@earthlink.net This is also the email to use to sign up for our newsletter or to submit comments.

Hope to see many supporters and "thumbs up" at the 4th of July parade this Friday morning at 10:00. Our entry will include several candidates, marchers distributing candy and a float. Logistical problems had kept us from including a float for the last few parades but thanks to the generosity of KS State Senate candidate Dave Inskeep - we're good to go.

Pat Roberts finally decided to do something about gas prices by introducing the Gas Price Reduction Act last week. Too bad his voting record in Washington has helped to create the problem.

Once considered one of the most conservative parts of the state, Johnson County now reflects the momentum and excitement Kansas Democrats have heading into this year's election.

With Democratic candidates running in every race (but one) the county may well be on the way to sending more commonsense leadership to the statehouse than ever before.

Johnson County Election Office figures show the number of voters registering as Democrats has been steadily increasing, with more than 2,500 registering in the month of February alone, a bump directly related to the Democratic caucuses that month.

In fact, Johnson County has the most registered Democratic voters of any county in the state and to date has seen a net gain of more than 6,000 voters.

Kansas and Johnson County are traditionally Republican-dominated. In 2002 and 2004, 75,000 Republicans participated in the primary elections. In 2006, that number had fallen to 36,500. In the 2006 general election, Johnson County voters supported Democrats Dennis Moore with 61 percent of the vote, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and Lt. Gov. Mark Parkinson with 62 percent, and Paul Morrison for attorney general with 65 percent.

And it looks like someone else is noticing the changing tide...

“The 2006 election reminds me of a college party when I was a freshman,” [Johnson County GOP Chair Scott Schwab] said. “I had a great time, but then you have to work and make things happen. I think that’s what (the Democrats) are up to now.”

Hmm...Putting aside the confusing "college party" analogy - I think he just admitted that, after winning big in 2006, Democrats have been working hard to win big again in 2008.

And that hard work is paying off with Johnson County's successful Democratic candidate recruitment, the record participation at the Democratic caucuses, and the rapidly increasing Democratic registration.

Thanks for noticing, Scott! Oh, but wait - this sounds more familiar:

“Republicans are getting along like they haven’t done for a long time,” he said. “The party is less split today than the Democratic Party is and that isn’t rhetoric..."

(Wait, who do you guys have running for Johnson Count DA again?)

While Republican Majority Leader Melvin Neufeld turned his back on the challenges facing Kansans every single day, the Kansas Health Policy Authority (KHPA) spent the session looking for solutions.

Today's article in the Overland Park Sun tells the story of how Neufeld and the Republican-led legislature failed to address the skyrocketing costs of health care, and instead passed a series of bills on health care that are unfunded and therefore, meaningless.

This was the year the Kansas Legislature was poised to bring genuine reforms to Kansas’ medical and health insurance system. Advocates of change were left wanting in a session that became bogged down over whether to allow construction of coal-fired electric plants in western Kansas.

This is odd because the Legislature itself launched a major effort last year to make health care more accessible and affordable to Kansans, including the poor.

A bit of background: The Legislature, spurred by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, created an agency called the Kansas Health Policy Authority in 2005. Legislators wanted a single entity to, among other services, provide information and guidance in this costly, complex part of state government.

Ideally, the new organization would be driven by facts, not politics.

Last year, the Legislature enacted a law that required the KHPA to develop a health care agenda for its session this year.

The authority complied. It conducted a “listening tour” across the state in the summer, seeking views of how Kansas’ health care could be upgraded. In November, the KHPA forwarded 21 recommendations to the Legislature and to Sebelius. Know what happened?

An analysis by KHPA shows the Legislature appropriated money for only one of those recommendations, $550,000 for physical fitness and nutrition programs in schools. That is helpful but falls far short of meeting health care challenges in Kansas.

Legislators approved a few more KHPA suggestions but did not fund them. That is window dressing, making it appear the Legislature accomplished something when it did not back the action with funding. Other recommendations were slated for study. That is often used as a dodge to avoid enacting laws.

To read more about how Melvin Neufeld failed the people of Kansas by leading the most ineffective legislative session in 32 years, click here.

To read how long Melvin Neufeld thinks the legislature should wait before going to work on reducing the costs of health care, click here.

To begin work towards kicking Melvin Neufeld and his fellow do-nothing Republicans out of our state legislature, click here.

John McCain offers us nothing more than a third Bush term - which almost everyone (save Jim Ryun & Nick Jordan) knows is something this country can NOT afford.

But don't take it from me - take it from John McCain:

All of the polls agree - Pat Roberts is quickly losing support among Kansans.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state found that the Republican incumbent now leads Democratic Congressmen Jim Slattery 48% to 39%. In May, Roberts attracted 52% of the vote and was up by a dozen points. Any incumbent who polls below 50% is considered potentially vulnerable. The race is particularly interesting given that Kansas has not elected a Democratic senator since 1932.

Roberts leads Slattery 54% to 36% among men and also has the advantage among voters aged 40 and above. The two candidates are essentially even among women and voters under 40 years of age. Among unaffiliated voters, it is Slattery who has a five-point advantage.

Be prepared for Roberts' ratings to fall even lower after he once more votes against renewable energy tax incentives for Kansas small businesses.

Yeah, you heard me - he's voting against tax breaks for Kansas businesses. Don't believe me? Check this out - he already did it.

A new poll out yesterday proves that Pat Roberts' record of aligning himself with Big Oil and Big Drug companies has been noticed by Kansans.

You can read all about at Everyday Citizen and State Swing Project.

And...just for kicks...let's watch this again.