TOPEKA, Kan. - Moments ago on the Senate floor, Kansas Senator Pat Roberts compared health care reform to a pivotal moment in American history. Of the following five options, can you tell us which it was...

A) The passage of the Social Security Act
B) Pearl Harbor
C) Man walking on Moon
D) Balloon Boy
E) None of the above

Click here to submit your guess on what Pat Roberts compared health care reform too!

If you get it right, you'll get a sneak peek of the new KDP website. trust me, (you'll want to see it!)

P.S. The answer and video is below, but we'll trust you! ;)

TOPEKA, Kan. - Too little, too late Sam.

After a 25 year career in Washington, Sam Brownback has suddenly become aware of the staggering size of the U.S. debt -- and not a moment too soon, as he's ambitiously seeking the Governor's mansion in Kansas this cycle. The Kansas City Star explains:

...Sam Brownback of Kansas [snip] along with 23 colleagues from both sides of the aisle, believe that the imbalance between spending and revenue is too worrisome to ignore.

But as usual with Brownback it's just another move of political expediciency. Just as Brownback is leaving the Senate he's suddenly rediscovered his inner "fiscal responsibility" just in time for election.

During his time in Congress, a staggering $7 trillion has been added to the U.S. debt -- with hardly a peep in opposition from Kansas' junior Senator. In fact, as I'll detail below, Sam Brownback has been a leading contributor to the problem over the last two decades.

OLATHE, Kan. - Kansas Democrats are on their way to presenting the strongest slate of candidates in years with respected businessman Tom Wiggans' announcement that he will run for Governor. Wiggans, a native Kansan, will run against career politician, and well known right-wing Republican, Sam Brownback. Check out this video...

From his bio:

Tom is committed to applying his vast business experience to Kansas state government as our next Governor. By utilizing his common sense business practices to bring people together and solve problems, Tom will work with both Democrats and Republicans to pull our state out of the economic recession, ensure we have a stable state budget, and create 21st century jobs for our future.

More about Tom and his campaign below the fold.

TOPEKA, Kan. - Last week, Rep. Dennis Moore published an editorial in newspapers across the third Congressional district announcing his support for the House health insurance reform bill. As he explained last week:

I will be voting for this bill because it addresses the issues of affordability, fiscal responsibility, quality and choice. We can no longer afford to do nothing. We must meet this challenge head-on.

This bill will not only dramatically improve the health care system for those who already have insurance they like and want to keep, it benefits those who don't have insurance...

Congressman Moore delivered on that pledge by voting for the bill Saturday.

It's times like these that we need to take a moment and let Rep. Moore know that we appreciate his hard work and dedication. So we've set up a hub on our website where folks can thank Rep. Moore by writing a personal message to him. We'll deliver your personal messages to him on Friday.

TOPEKA, Kan. - In a struggling economy, this is the kind of news we need. Rep. Dennis Moore (D-KS) just announced that the Department of Energy has awarded $9,593,500 in Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants (EECBG) to the state. These grants provide much needed job opportunities as well as give us a chance to take the lead in developing renewable energy.

"The award of these block grants to Kansas highlights the bright energy future of our great state," said Congressman Moore. "With the third highest wind production potential in the country, we must continue to make investments in renewable energy to capitalize on the growing 'green economy' and ensure Kansas is a leader in the adoption of smart and sustainable energy practices."

The EECBG funds are funded through the Recovery Act and will implement a variety of public and private sector initiatives geared toward energy efficiency and renewable energy. Said projects include grants that will be given to local government energy managers across the state. These funds are projected to create hundreds of jobs statewide, reduce energy consumption, and limit carbon pollution.

Also, kudos to Congressman Moore for the launch of his Congressional website -- it looks great!

TOPEKA, Kan. - Today's focus is on the important elections happening all across the country but we wanted to take a few moments to update you on our campaign at KansasDeservesReform.com.

Last week, extremist Republicans in the Kansas legislature were quick to propose a bill opting our state out of benefits of health insurance reform, and we wasted no time responding. Over the last week we've been collecting the names of thousands of Kansans all across the state who deserve to participate in the same reforms as every other state.

I'm happy to report that in just six days nearly 8,000 Kansans signed the petition -- and that number continues to grow by the day! We just delivered the initial names to legislative leaders in the state legislature. Because of the hard working efforts of thousands, there is now no denying that here is a strong pro-reform movement in our state -- and our leaders know it.

TOPEKA, Kan. - We're on the verge of something historic - both the House and the Senate are closer than ever to passing meaningful health insurance reform. Yet, this fight is far from over, and, in Kansas, special interest groups and far-right legislators are already gearing up to derail the process on a state level:

...some of our leaders in the State Legislature are already on top of it. Sen. Mary Pilcher Cook and Reps. Brenda Landwehr and Peggy Mast will hold a series of press conferences Tuesday to announce their sponsorship of bills to exempt Kansas from any federal health reform legislation.

Whoa -- hold your horses. Kansas Republicans are already ready to block "any federal health reform legislation" before we even know what the final legislation will be. So, in response, we've launched KansasDeservesReform.com -- an online petition to pledge your support for real reform in Kansas.

TOPEKA, Kan. - This week, in a stunning act of irony, Kansas Republican Party Chairwoman Amanda Adkins attacked Rep. Dennis Moore for his support of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Never mind that the act has created over 1 million jobs, and Kansas' jobless rate actually declined again last month.

How is this ironic? (I mean, more than usual...)

Well, Amanda Adkins is a top executive at the Cerner Corporation, a company that has advocated for and stands to gain from the very same Recovery Act. In fact, the company itself states on it's website:

...we recognize that our success is rooted in the value of automating the healthcare process, and we are pleased to see that the Obama Administration and Congress understands an investment in healthcare information technology (HIT) benefits the entire U.S. economy.

Smells a little like hypocrisy, eh?

TOPEKA, Kan. - Kansas Republicans just received a surprising criticism from one of their own.

As picked up last night on Huffington Post, former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-KS) told a group of local Kansas journalists yesterday that the GOP needed to get on board and stop fighting health insurance reform. His most stunning observation was reported by the KC Star:

"Sometimes people fight you just to fight you," he said. "They don't want Reagan to get it, they don't want Obama to get it, so we've got to kill it...Health care is one of those things...Now we've got to do something."

Today, Bob Dole will be releasing a statement with former Sens. Tom Daschle, Howard Baker, and George Mitchell along the same lines calling on Congress to enact health insurance reform.

More below the fold...

TOPEKA, Kan. - Last week, SurveyUSA released the results of their monthly approval rating poll in Kansas showing a staggering six percent drop in approval for Senator Sam Brownback. Brownback, who is running for Governor of Kansas, now finds himself under the so-called "safe" 50% threshold for election.

Brownback's 48% approval is nearing his all time low achieved when he left Kansas to pursue his ambition of becoming President. Worst yet for him, he's bleeding moderates. One in ten abandoned Brownback in September. Many have said this race is already over, but this is clear evidence it is only the beginning.

Kansas Democrats have an incredible opportunity to both retain the Governor's office and provide a clear, stable alternative to Senator Brownback's brand of extremism.