Statement of Principles

Kansas Democrats are committed to putting the people of Kansas first by promoting values and policies that advance the common good and expand opportunities for every resident of our state. Our core values call on us to make our state the best in the nation in which to live, work and raise a family, not just for ourselves, but for all Kansans.

Kansas Democrats strongly believe in and seek to protect the freedom of the individual, while at the same time believing we truly are all in this together, and, as such, we all have a duty to be active contributors to the life of our communities. As individuals, we fulfill that duty in different ways, be that through involvement in charities, religious institutions, schools, community organizations, or the political process.

Kansas Democrats believe that, as the expression of the democratic will of the people of Kansas, our government should serve all people and encourage their active participation in the political process regardless of their race, color, age, physical abilities, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

Kansas Democrats also believe that government is at its best when it operates in the spirit of cooperation and compromise, rather than partisanship and enmity. We believe what brings us together is far stronger than what might push us apart, and therefore the opportunity to come together to advance the common good is always present.

The Kansas Democratic Party asks the people of Kansas to examine our tradition of leadership, of upholding core Kansas values, and of promoting expanded opportunities for every Kansan, and to then join is in moving our state forward to an even brighter tomorrow.

Issues Section

Strengthening Schools

Just as it is the top priority of Kansans, promoting education and learning in our state has been, and always will be, the number one priority of Kansas Democrats. The success of our children depends on their access to quality schools, and the success of our economy depends on business’ ability to hire well-trained workers. Because Kansas Democrats support our schools, we are committed to providing our teachers with the resources they need to educate our children. This is why Kansas Democrats led the way in recent years to ensure a historic commitment to our children’s schools.

But because we also recognize any new investment requires new accountability, Kansas Democrats have been leaders in the effort to ensure schools are spending our tax dollars wisely and are meeting high standards of student achievement.

The funding of quality schools in Kansas will determine the economic future of our state in the 21st Century. There should be no higher priority for our tax dollars, and there is no greater commitment for Kansas Democrats.

Creating Jobs

Without good jobs, Kansas families would be unable to take advantage of all the opportunities life in our state has to offer. As such, Kansas Democrats are strong supporters of efforts to bring new, good jobs to our state. We recognize that government cannot and should not be the primary job creator in any state, which is why we have sought to form partnerships with businesses – encouraging the private sector to create good jobs here in Kansas and helping businesses that play by the rules to succeed.

In recent years, Kansas Democrats have been leaders in efforts to strengthen our existing industries, such as agriculture and aviation, as well as to encourage the development of small businesses and the recruitment of new, high-tech industries to Kansas. We believe new opportunities in fields as diverse as bioscience research to renewable energy hold great promise for our state’s workers and will continue to lead efforts to encourage the development of these industries in our state.

In addition to promoting job creation, Kansas Democrats strongly support the rights of workers. We believe every man and woman should be paid an honest day’s wage for an honest day’s work, which is why we support initiatives such as paying the prevailing wage on state projects and initiatives to pay workers a wage they can live on. Finally, Kansas Democrats recognize that our economy depends on our transportation network, which is why we support the completion of the Comprehensive Transportation Plan.

Health Care

For too long, the health care crisis in America has gone unaddressed. Kansas families, seniors and businesses are all struggling with the rising cost of health care, which is why Kansas Democrats continue to support efforts to insure more Kansans and to make health care more affordable. Through the leadership of Kansas Democrats, uninsured Kansans now have the opportunity to purchase medicines at a significant discount through local pharmacies. This innovative public-private partnership is an example of the progress that can be achieved when we work together.

No child can reach his or her full potential without a healthy start on life, which is why Kansas Democrats believe we must provide health insurance to every Kansas child from birth to age five. To deny a child the opportunity to start life healthy is simply wrong.

Kansas Democrats also recognize the burden health insurance costs are placing on businesses, particularly small businesses, which is why we have strongly supported incentives for small businesses that provide health insurance to their employees – and why we’ve strongly opposed efforts to cut these incentives.

Kansas Democrats support full mental health parity emphasizing our public policy commitment to community mental health services. A system for determining the appropriate level of such services for individual patients should be established to assure present legislative policy is being met. Additionally, Kansas Democrats will continue to be the leaders in protecting the privacy and access to an individual’s medical records and ensuring access to care without the threat of discrimination based on medical conditions.

Promoting Safe Neighborhoods

Kansas Democrats believe all Kansans have a right to be safe in their homes, offices, schools, places of worship, and communities. We also recognize that our safety is due to the hard work and sacrifice of two groups of individuals: members of law enforcement and members of the military.

Law enforcement must be given the tools to accomplish its mission, which is why Kansas Democrats have been leaders in efforts to crack down on threats to our safety such as methamphetamine producers and sex offenders. We believe in dealing with all crime aggressively, developing long-term strategies for the prevention of crime and providing alternatives to prison when appropriate, and we will continue to promote policies that both prevent crime and punish criminals.

Just as we support the members of law enforcement, Kansas Democrats also support the men and women of our military as they defend our state and our country. Kansas Democrats led the way in the creation of a Military Bill of Rights to help ease the financial burden of military service, and we’ve also supported additional help for Kansas veterans as a way to honor their service to our nation. And because our military personnel remain eternally vigilant, always ready to defend our democracy, Kansas Democrats pledge to always stand with them as they stand watch over our nation.

Kansas Democrats also recognize the role both of these groups play in our homeland security efforts, which is why we strongly support providing these brave men and women with the tools, training and support they need to defend our state from man-made threats.

Kansas Democrats recognize many rural areas of our state face real challenges, which is why we believe we must do even more to address these challenges and return opportunity to rural Kansas. Democrats support ensuring the profitability of family farms by opening economic opportunities and improving and protecting markets for our agricultural products. The fertile soils of Kansas farms need continue to be protected and conserved. This is best accomplished by research, education, and keeping the land in the hands of family farmers.

Additionally, because the closure of a town’s school often means the death of the town, Kansas Democrats are committed to continued support of our rural schools. This includes using new technology to maintain and improve the quality of education available in rural schools, which requires that we make the tools of modern business – such as broadband Internet access – available throughout Kansas, not just in our cities and suburbs.

Just as new technology is expanding the opportunity for a great education regardless of where a child lives; it also has the potential to create new industries in rural areas. Renewable energy production, either through wind farms or through biofuels plants, has the potential to revitalize rural communities, bringing jobs and prosperity while at the same time benefiting our environment. We will continue to lead the way in efforts to expand these industries in Kansas.

Protecting Families and Children

Kansas Democrats believe governments don’t raise children, families do. People who bring children into this world have a responsibility to care for and nurture them to the best of their ability. We also realize, however, that families cannot do this alone. They need the support of strong neighborhoods and communities, as well as government, on occasion. Especially crucial are the provision of services for families and children who need extra help to succeed.

Kansas Democrats will continue to lead on the issues of pre- and post-natal care, affordable day care, after school and community-based programs, child immunizations, enforcement of the requirement for child support payments, and imposition of criminal penalties of those who perpetrate domestic abuse. Democrats recognize that the well-being of children and their families are the responsibility of all of us.

Additionally, Kansas Democrats believe in a fair and adequate system of income security combined with supportive social services needed to sustain families and individuals consistent with our values of fairness and responsibility. All working families must be assured of adequate childcare and health benefits. We will monitor the privatization of social services to ensure that these goals are achieved.

Honoring Senior Citizens

Kansas Democrats recognize the tremendous contributions of older Kansans and are dedicated to preserving and enhancing their quality of life. We support initiatives aimed at helping them to maintain their independence and to live out their lives in dignity, which is why we supported recent efforts to increase the personal needs allowances of Medicaid recipients in adult care homes.

Kansas Democrats also advocate vigorous enforcement of licensing standards for adult care homes and oppose any form of age discrimination. We advocate more uniform application of Medicare regulations and enhanced state and local support of public health home services and hospice services. We endorse support services such as home health and hospice services, adult daycare programs, home delivered meals, transportation services, and programs that continue social integration of our senior citizens through community senior centers. In order to provide the economic safety and dignity deserved by dedicated public servants, we urge that public pension funds be used for the benefits of members and that an appropriate COLA is provided for retirees.

Promoting Equal Rights, Human Dignity and Diversity

Kansas Democrats support the passage of hate crimes legislation to include race, color, age, physical abilities, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity. We advocate the strengthening of remedies of job discrimination at all levels, and we support pay equity. Kansas Democrats also honor cultural, linguistic, ethnic, sexual, religious and spiritual diversity within the context of individual responsibility towards all. Recognizing the involvement of youth culture as a valuable contribution to our vision, we support giving young people a voice through education, encouraging and assisting youth participation in every aspect of political action.

Protecting the Environment

The health of Kansans is intertwined with the quality of our water, air, soil, and wildlife habitat. Kansas Democrats are concerned that protection of these natural resources is often disregarded or heavily compromised for the short-term economic gains of a few citizens. It is time to assign a high priority to cleaning up our rivers and streams, reducing the pollutants in the air, and protecting ground water from depletion, poisons, preserving biodiversity, and addressing global warming.

Kansas Democrats also believe the debate on global warming is settled and, as is stated in the 2006 National Academy of Sciences report, human activities are responsible for much of the recent, unprecedented warming of our planet. This climate change poses a very real danger to our state’s residents and economy and Kansas Democrats support action to reduce the emission of carbon dioxide, both through the use of alternative fuels and increased energy conservation and efficiency.

Incentives should be offered to assist farmers, industries, and municipalities as they move toward more environmentally-friendly practices. All levels of government should work together with the private sector in achieving a healthy environment and restricting by penalizing activities that harm it. Democrats support environmental policies that will enhance, rather than diminish, the natural assets that we pass on to our grandchildren.

Upholding Ethics in Government and Elections

Kansas Democrats believe voting is both a right and a duty and unreasonable impediments to the exercise of that right and the practice of that duty are deplorable. We support compliance with the National Voter Registration Act, as we do compliance with all national laws. Kansas Democrats also believe every vote should be counted, which is why we support requiring all voting machines to have a voter-verified paper audit trail so we can ensure the integrity of our elections.

Kansas Democrats also believe ethics in campaigning and government are absolute principles to which our candidates and public officials must adhere. We support continued scrutiny of state campaign and governmental ethics in an effort to clearly define acceptable and unacceptable conduct and close existing loopholes. We support full disclosure of all independent expenditures done on behalf of all campaigns. We also support a prohibition on candidates for Insurance Commissioner soliciting and accepting contributions from regulated insurance agencies and entities.

Meeting Our Energy Challenges

Kansas Democrats believe America must reduce its dependence on foreign sources of fossil fuels and we reject the myth that energy efficiency and environmental protection are enemies of economic growth. We will make our economy more efficient by using less energy, reducing our dependence on foreign oil, and producing less waste. We support the development of economically and environmentally sustainable energy resources and a long-term commitment to the development of a renewable energy economy, particularly one based on the production of power from wind and biomass. We support the availability of affordable energy and utility services to all Kansans. We support the maximum, efficient utilization of Kansas energy resources.

Increasing Government Efficiency

Kansas Democrats believe in fairness and responsibility, two values that had been lacking in state government prior to 2003. That’s why Kansas Democrats led the way in conducting a top to bottom review and analysis of how government is spending its money and in taking action to increase efficiency and reduce waste. We also believe we should always monitor our state's tax structure to make sure it fair and represents Kansas values. That’s why Kansas Democrats will continue to fight to make sure that no single sector of our economy or group of our citizens bears a disproportionate share of our tax burden.

Adoption

This platform was adopted by the Platform Committee of the Kansas Democratic Party. The meeting was held Friday, August 25, 2006 at the Broadview Hotel in Wichita. The Platform Committee was chaired by Kansas Democratic Party Chairman Larry Gates Rep. Geraldine Flaharty served as Vice Chair and Barb Fowler served as Secretary.