Conservatives have gained firm control of the Kansas Republican Party.So it only makes sense that this year’s speaker at annual Kansas Day events will be … one of the country’s leading moderate Republicans. Right?The Associated Press reports: “Christie Todd Whitman, the former New Jersey governor and former Cabinet secretary of President Bush. Whitman says moderates are the future of the GOP. She’s even written a new book, ‘It’s My Party Too: The Battle for the Heart of the GOP and the Future of America.'”It’s unclear whether the event’s organizers, most of them moderates, meant to gig Kansas conservatives by picking Whitman. “Neither Kansas House Speaker Doug Mays nor State Sen. Phillip Journey, both conservatives, seemed bothered. “‘She is a significant Republican figure and gives a good speech,’ Mays said. “U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, a moderate, seemed surprised to hear of Whitman’s selection. But he advised: ‘If the Republican Party of our state wishes to be the party of governance, it would do all Republicans well to listen to what Christie Todd Whitman has to say.'”Other links today:Pat Roberts links The Spy Who Billed Me: “Intelligence contractors themselves, meanwhile, have fielded armies of lobbyists to keep the money flowing; according to the Project on Government Oversight,” writes Mother Jones, a liberal magazine. “Over at the Senate Intelligence Committee, Chairman Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) received $14,000, almost half of his PAC intake in 2004, from six key contractors.”Agriculture Nominee Clears Committee Hurdle: Agriculture Secretary Designate Michael “Johanns promised an aggressive campaign to open the Japanese market to U.S. beef, which has been banned there since the discovery 13 months ago of the mad cow in the U.S.,” reports the Los Angeles Times. “Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) suggested that everyone in the Cabinet who interacts with the Japanese, including officials from the State Department and Commerce Department, should press the beef import issue. ‘It ought to be a total posse,’ he said.”Sam Brownback links Zeroes to heroes: “I don’t think we should measure this by, ‘OK, the Muslim countries are going to like us now’,” Senator Sam Brownback, a Kansas Republican, told Scotland on Sunday about U.S. tsunami aid. “We should measure this by what’s the right thing to do. And the right thing for us to do is to help those in great need.”Jerry Moran links Activist judges a real problem, Moran says: “Activist judges often are in the eye of the beholder, acknowledges Rep. Jerry Moran, R-Hays. If a court’s ruling matches your political leanings, the court has good judges; if not, they’re activists out to override democracy,” writes Phillip Brownlee of the Wichita Eagle editorial page. “Still, activism is a legitimate and growing concern, Moran said.” How to contact As always, you can find information to contact members of the Kansas congressional delegation here.