Cedar Crest clash / LJWorld.com

Archive for Sunday, June 1, 2008

Offering an event at the governor’s mansion to the highest bidder as a political fundraiser may not be a wise practice.

J-W Editorials

June 1, 2008

Although they are defending a Cedar Crest reception attended by Dr. George Tiller of Wichita, probably even Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and her staff are rethinking the governor's practice of donating such events to be purchased by the highest bidder at political fundraisers.

The reception, held in April 2007, was purchased by Tiller at an auction to raise money for the Greater Kansas City Women's Political Caucus. Because Tiller is one of the few doctors in the country who performs late-term abortions, his presence at Cedar Crest has garnered considerable attention from anti-abortion groups and at least a couple of Kansas legislators who say they may sponsor legislation to restrict how the governor's residence can be used.

This isn't a matter that warrants that kind of legislative oversight, but it does suggest the need to discuss how to prevent future events that might be embarrassing to the governor or the state.

Cedar Crest is the governor's home and she should be entitled to invite about anyone she wants to to that home. A governor entertaining political supporters at Cedar Crest certainly is nothing new. The problem with donating an event at Cedar Crest as a fundraising giveaway is that there is no way of controlling who will purchase the right to be entertained at the state-owned governor's mansion.

Certainly there are other individuals or groups who many people would find even more objectionable than Tiller. The Ku Klux Klan has been cited as an extreme example. It's unlikely the KKK would be involved in an auction that benefited a group supported by any Kansas governor, but it nonetheless illustrates the problems with auctioning an open-ended invitation to the governor's mansion.

A reception purchased at a fundraising auction is, at best, a back-door invitation to the governor's mansion. Although certain groups are vocally unhappy about this particular guest, the broader point at issue is the wisdom of opening the doors of Cedar Crest to the highest bidder regardless of what political, personal or even criminal baggage those bidders might bring with them.

It's a topic that is worthy of discussion by the Friends of Cedar Crest, the nonprofit group that sets the guidelines for the mansion's use, as well as the governor and her staff.

Discussion

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1 June 2008
at 12:18 a.m.

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jmadison (Anonymous) says…

Gov. Kathleen O.B.T.(owned by Tiller) Sebelius will soon be in D.C. with our next President, Sen. Obama. She can take her political fund raising to new heights in our nation's capitol after seasoning her skills here in Kansas.
1 June 2008
at 7:47 a.m.

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cato_the_elder (Anonymous) says…

JM, let's not rush to judgment on the results of the November election. The DNC meltdown has just started.
1 June 2008
at 8:04 a.m.

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bondmen (Anonymous) says…

“Not One Shred Of Evidence” That Tiller Party Was Auction Prize May 29, 2008”Documentation Fails To Verify Governor's Story About Tax-payer Funded Pay-back Event”“Gov. Sebelius Honors Tiller At Secret Gala Event At Cedar Crest” photos here http://operationrescue.org/photos/mai…
1 June 2008
at 8:12 a.m.

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monkeyhawk (Anonymous) says…

This editorial was just like reading the comment section of the original story. I have long suspected that LJW maintains this forum to get ideas for their talking points.
1 June 2008
at 8:26 a.m.

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justforfun (Anonymous) says…

So what's so wrong with late term abortions anyway. Not against the law is it? Anyway he pd the money so what's the big deal?
1 June 2008
at 10:34 a.m.

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Centerville (Anonymous) says…

You bet your boots the Governor is 're-thinking' it. Because the DNC, the Dem Gov Assn, and Obama's handlers are 're-thinking' it, too. Nothing like a little ice-cold infanticide to take the edge off a 'happens-all-the-time” house party.
1 June 2008
at 3:53 p.m.

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Pogo (Anonymous) says…

Sebelius is simply just another “connected” ignorant Kansas hillbilly. We shouldn't be so hard on her due to her stupidity and the dopes/hacks she appoints with their arrogant and snobby ideas and receptions. It's not a democrat or republican deal…..she's just stupid….but wealthy and connected.Can you imagine this idiot President and having access to THE button? Good grief.

1 June 2008
at 4:32 p.m.

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Defender (Anonymous) says…

“A governor entertaining political supporters at Cedar Crest certainly is nothing new. The problem with donating an event at Cedar Crest as a fundraising giveaway is that there is no way of controlling who will purchase the right to be entertained at the state-owned governor's mansion.”This kind of crap should not be happening, period, at any level of government. The people making laws and securing the the means to enforce said laws should be involved in only the two aforementioned activities. However, this will blow either up or away when all the former Republican governers guest lists are released. Everyone has skeletons in the closet, and that is why government by special interests of any type should never be tolerated.