A New Day, a New Cycle, a New Blog!

First off, to all of the people out there who visited this blog more than 35,000 times in the last year, we simply can't say how honored we are you took time out of your day to read us.

Isn't that amazing? 35,000 hits since Oct. 15 of 2007. On top of that, we've got more than 500 friends on Facebook, we've been featured on the front pages of the biggest blogs in the nation- not bad for team of kids from Kansas.

This race certainly, certainly didn't end the way we wanted it to- Congresswoman Nancy Boyda wasn't beaten because she was a poor Member of Congress, she was beaten by the same forces this blog was started in order to combat: Unfounded, unsubstantiated attacks from the Republican Party. Nancy's right- It's ironic she ran a campaign to prove to the country you can win without being negative, only to be defeated by a pointedly negative campaign.

But one must move on.

So, today we're here to say goodbye to Boyda Bloc, but to invite all of you to read a new blog, just launched yesterday by a few of our team members: KansasJackass.com

KansasJackass.com will operate in the sound tradition of right-wing blogs like The Kansas Republican and Stay Red Kansas- covering Kansas politics as a whole, legislative on up to federal, with has much witty and pith as humanly possible. 'Course, our former colleagues will be significantly better at it than the Republican currently are (or, at least, you can expect them to post more than once ever full moon).

So, please, bookmark, subscribe, or otherwise follow the new Kansas lefty blog KansasJackass- we're sure you won't be disappointed.

Democratically yours,

The Boyda Bloc Team

Thank You, From Nancy

In an email to supporters Nancy thanked everyone for their hard work, loyalty, and dedication.

"Dear Friend,

It has been a true honor to serve you in Congress for the last two years, and I appreciate all of the help and support you provided to my campaign for re-election.

On Tuesday night, I spoke to a group of supporters in Topeka to concede the race for the Kansas Second Congressional District seat. You'll find the text of my remarks below.

Again, thank you for your tireless support. It has been an honor and a pleasure to serve as your voice in Washington.

Sincerely,
Nancy Boyda"

Remarks from Election Night:

Thank you. It has been an extraordinary privilege to represent you for these last two years and to run for re-election these last few months.

We should go no further without recognizing the many, many people who worked so hard on our campaign.

Thank you to my family. My husband, Steve; my children, Ben and Leah; and my stepson, Andre, are all here tonight. Thank you to my staff, who burned so much midnight oil to keep this campaign alive, to our volunteers and supporters, who have given so generously of their time and money, and to the voters, for keeping our democracy alive. Thank you for sharing your ideas, and thank you for the opportunity to serve you.

And of course, our congratulations are due to Lynn Jenkins for a hard-fought campaign. Let's wish her the very best as the next Congresswoman from the Second District of Kansas.

Two years ago, I stood up here under very different circumstances. I said that I'd won elections and lost elections, and winning was better. Winning is better. And I know this isn't the way you were hoping tonight would turn out, but I didn't run for office just to win.

Those of you who spent so many hours knocking on doors, phonebanking, talking to friends and neighbors about this election - you weren't doing that just to win.

You did it because democracy needs you. America's dialogue needs your voice.

Win or lose, you accomplished something extraordinary, and you should be proud.

And let's remember one more thing. I had hoped to serve in Congress for far more than two years - but the pundits told us even one term was impossible. They said no Democrat could win an election in deep red Kansas, that it wasn't even worth the fight.

They were wrong.

Because of everything you've done, because of your sacrifices and hard work, we've had two years to achieve results for Kansas veterans, for Kansas students, for Kansas workers - for all Kansans.

The last two years were a gift and a joy, and nothing that happens tonight can erase one moment of it. We've achieved the impossible, and that's something we should celebrate tonight.

And then, in just a few hours, tonight will be over. The sun will come up, and we'll have a job to do.

We're going to have a new Congress, a new president, and new challenges to meet. I for one am hoping for a new kind of government: one that sees our biggest challenges as our greatest opportunities.

We cannot afford to be a nation divided any longer.

To the 50 million American who have no health insurance, it doesn't matter whether a Democrat or a Republican represents the Second District of Kansas. What matters is whether they can see a doctor, whether they can fill a prescription, whether they have a fair shot at a healthy life.

To the parents struggling to send their kids to college, to the students struggling to make ends meet, it couldn't matter less which states are red and which states are blue. What matters is whether they can pay their tuition bill, whether they can get a student loan, whether they have a fair chance to graduate and succeed.

To the families falling farther and farther behind as our economy slides farther and farther off course, it doesn't matter whether Washington is liberal or conservative. What matters is whether they can pay the mortgage next month - whether they have the opportunity to work hard and get ahead.

We cannot afford to be a nation divided any longer.

The challenge of bringing America together belongs not only to the senators and the representatives in Washington. It is your challenge, as well.

Congress cannot work for you unless you share your thoughts, express your ideas, stand up for your beliefs.

So to all of you who voted today, I ask you this: Take one step further tomorrow. Write to your Congresswoman-elect. Write to your senators. Write to your new president. Tell them what matters to you and why. Tell them how they can best serve you and your family. Every time you get involved, our democracy grows a little stronger, and America takes a small step toward becoming the nation we want it to be.

Thank you again. Serving you has been the greatest honor of my life, and I look forward to working with all of you for years to come.

Election Day!

Everything that needs said has been said- now there's only one thing left to do:

Kraske Says Boyda Will Win, Random Blog Disagrees

Steve Kraske with the KC Star says Congresswoman Nancy Boyda will get to serve in Congress as something other than a freshmen:

In the Kansas 2nd District, Democrat Nancy Boyda wins re-election in the most competitive race on the Mo-Kan board, save for the Missouri 9th District race.

Boyda knows how to run in Kansas with her all-out hustle on the hustings and her newspaper inserts.

And, like we promised, someone has now finally predicted a Jenkins victory:

KS-02 (Topeka, Manhattan): Democratic Rep. Nancy Boyda won this seat in a major upset in 2006 when she beat Republican incumbent Jim Ryun. But the GOP may have dodged a bullet this year when Ryun lost narrowly in the Republican Primary to the more moderate Treasurer Lynn Jenkins. McCain is going to have cottials in this district, and Jenkins has shown she can win a close race. Prediction: Jenkins wins.

Truth be told, this particular blogger has though Boyda was going to go down for months and months, so this isn't surprising. Regardless, Jenkins isn't going to win, that's pretty clear at this point, but, regardless, we have to make sure we don't tempt the wrath from the whatever high atop the thing.

Topcity: Jenkins Claims "Life's Not Fair"; Topeka Voters Agree

Copied and pasted straight from Topcity.org. Their site is fabulous and so is this wonderful, wonderful rant:

Ms. Jenkins, the Kansas Treasurer and challenger to Rep. Boyda’s house seat, declared at a meeting in Topeka, October 27th, that “life’s not fair.”

Ms. Jenkins was responding to Commissioner Miller of Topeka’s question as to why some Kansas counties would be “unduly enriched” by over payments in fuel tax revenue. Shawnee County, which Commissioner Miller represents, would barely be breaking even on the colossal fiscal blunder.

This massive mistake was caused by a miscalculation in computer software, and had been ongoing for nearly nine years. Jenkins, who “discovered” the software screw up in April, waited two more months to notify the counties of the problem, apparently being too busy running for a national election to worry about her duties to Kansas as the state Treasurer.

Apparently, the current talking points out of the Jenkin’s camp is that “life’s not fair” when an elected official wastes millions in state funds. Similarly, this ambiguous psuedo-aphorism also applies to the failure of Ms. Jenkins to make a timely notification of the pernicious problem (both for the state and her political future) when it was discovered.

Because life’s not fair, and Ms. Jenkins couldn’t hide in a political fallout shelter while slogging down the campaign trail in April and May.

And life is also unfair for Ms. Jenkin’s partisan supporters, a faithful group of loyal Republicans, who have watched in horror as Ms. Jenkins pried up the floorboards of fiscal conservatism from the party platform, smashed the time-honored planks into kindling and then torched her and the Kansas Republican Party’s credibility on the issue in a media bonfire.

But fear not. Topcity Magazine feels that life is fair sometimes. One of those times will be November 4th, where hopefully Ms. Jenkins will receive the vote from Topekans and other Kansans she deserves. If life truly is fair, people will recognize the missed KPERS meetings, the fuel tax overpayment and the gross incompetence of its handling.

And maybe they’ll remember the utterly insensitive, self-serving retort of “Life’s not fair” from a defensive elected official too busy worrying about the job she’s trying to get instead of the job she was elected to do.

Amen!

"The American Conservative" Predicts Boyda Victory

Why Mr. Larison loves Nancy Boyda so we do not know, but he's told it like it is for two years and does it again today:

In the House, Democrats will lose TX-22 and FL-16, as these are normally heavily Republican districts that were lost due to past scandals, as well as PA-11 (Kanjorski’s seat) and LA-06 (Cazayoux will not prevail in the general), but Nancy Boyda in Kansas and Shea-Porter in New Hampshire will be re-elected.

You know, if Lynn Jenkins had only decided to run on something...anything...rather than just let her campaign be consumed by attack ads and misinformation drives, this all might be coming down to a different swan song.

Oh well, too bad for her!

MSNBC's Chuck Todd Sees Boyda Victory

A little something on this beautiful Sunday:

Kansas: Obama’s ties to this state through his mother’s roots haven’t translated to a pop in his numbers. The reliable Republican nature of the state is remaining just that, reliable. But it's not like the GOP is doing big things in Kansas, either. Nancy Boyda, a Democrat from the 2nd District, who some thought would be an accidental victor in '06, looks poised to win re-election, which is the most surprising development in state politics.

Only hours left, friends, and we'll see how this all shakes out.

Of Bedknobs and Balloting: Republicans See Numbers Fall in Key Counties

Depending on which Kansas Republican you want to listen to, Kansas is either seeing record voting turnout numbers- upwards of 78% by election day with almost 30% of registered voters casting advance ballots- because of the "Obama Effect" or because 78-year-old Republican Senator Pat Roberts has captivated the minds of Kansans young and old alike, driving them en masse to register to vote and stand in long lines at the polls.

You know, it's awfully hard to snicker in writing.

So, here are your perspectives:

Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh on Friday predicted a record voter turnout in Kansas -- caused in part by what he called the “Obama Effect.”

The candidacy of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has produced a surge in voter registration, especially among 18- to 30-year-olds, said Thornburgh, who is a Republican.

“We’re seeing that not only in the state of Kansas but we’re seeing that around the country as well,” he said.

Or, if you'd rather, Christian Morgan's partisan delusion:

“Despite what you might have heard from Ron Thornburgh’s press conference today crediting the ‘Obama Effect’ for increased voter interest in Kansas, below is the real story from Senator (Pat) Roberts’ campaign about the great progress we have made in Republican voter registration and turnout efforts this year,” the release from Kansas Republican Party executive director Christian Morgan said.

We're just going to ignore the crazy "Pat Roberts is the reason people are flooding to the polls" blather and instead focus on the second half of the quote- the part about "the great progress we have made in Republican voter registration" this year.

Christian, dearheart, sometimes your lies are just silly unverifiable prattle, but today you've it upon something that can be proven untrue...with numbers and charts and graphs, even!

According to data compiled by Washburn Univeristy political science professor Bob Beatty, the Kansas Republicans Party doesn't come into the 2008 election with particularly good news on the new voter registration front:

Since 2006, Shawnee County [which accounts for 30% of the district's voters- BB] has added 6,641 voters, a 6.5 percent increase. Of those new registrants, 3,369 are Democrats compared to 2,999 unaffiliated and 223 Republican.

Douglas County, home to 20 percent of district voters, has gained 6,157 registered voters since '06. An astounding 4,944 of the registrants are Democrats, while 1,611 are unaffiliated. Republican numbers actually decreased by 400 registrants.

In Crawford County, Republican registrants went down by 830 registrants, or 10 percent. Democrats added 367, a 4 percent increase, and unaffiliated increased by 550, or 8 percent. [Additionally, Republicans have also lost about 500 voters in Riley County, compared to the Democrats picking up another 1,000 or so. Oh, also, emphasis ours.]

While Republicans certainly still outnumber Democrats in most of the state of Kansas, we wish Christian would share whatever it is he's been smoking if he really does believe Kansas Republicans have done a good job registering new voter.

When the arrow is pointing down, Christian, it's always always a bad sign.

Jenkins should be pleased, of course, to see increase in Republican registrations in a couple of counties that Jim Ryun did very, very well in 2 years ago:

Of 624 new registrants in Pottawatomie County, 464 registered as Republicans but only 91 as Democrats and 87 unaffiliated. In Miami County, there are 676 newly registered Republicans compared to 499 Democrats. Another 739 are unaffiliated.

Good news, yes, but Boyda's advantage in counties that make up 41% of the electorate probably negates Lynn's happy feelings.

What's the final word, Dr. Beatty?

Analyses of several key counties — minus Geary, which only has a handful of voters in the 2nd — shows momentum in the 2nd district with new registered voters is not with the Republicans.

So, Christian, you said something about Republicans doing a good job registering new voters?