Did Kansas Values Institute blame Brownback and Schmidt for Parkinson's actions to counter 2008 recession?
Parkinson's impact on schools parallels KVI claims against Brownback
For weeks political ads by Kansas Values Institute have pummeled gubernatorial candidate Derrick Schmidt and congressional candidate Amanda Adkins for their ties to former Kansas Governor Sam Brownback.
But is KVI blaming candidates today for unprecedented actions taken by former Democratic Governor Mark Parkinson in 2009 and 2010?
“This recession has devastated our state revenue. We’ve had to cut a billion dollars.”
”Schools were closed.”
”Class sizes have increased.”
”Professors have been laid off.”I am “a person who has cut more money out of the Kansas budget than any Kansan in history.”
— Governor Mark Parkinson (D), State of the State address, Jan. 11, 2010
Former Governor Mark Parkinson’s 2010 State of the State address about Kansas problems during the Great Recession of 2007-2009 parallel many of the Kansas Values Institute claims against Brownback used to bash Schmidt and Adkins. Parkinson should be commended for actions he had to take in a very difficult time. Parkinson’s speech was remarkable since he gave it without notes or a teleprompter.
KVI political ads against Schmidt and Adkins made false claims against Brownback such as:
“Devastating cuts to our schools”
“Some of the largest cuts to schools in Kansas history”
“Deep cuts to schools”
“Cut millions from Kansas schools”
“Classes got canceled”
“Class sizes increased”
“Some schools couldn’t afford to stay open”
Parkinson succeeded Kathleen Sebelius and served from April 28, 2009 until Sam Brownback succeeded Parkinson on Jan. 10, 2011.
Watch Parkinson’s full 2010 State of the State speech on C-SPAN.
Here’s the relevant video clip, or read the transcription below:
This recession has devastated our state revenue. We’ve had to cut a billion dollars.
Now, like any entity, public or private, we had waste in state government and that made the first three or four hundred million dollars in cuts relatively easy. But as the deficit grew, and the cuts grew, we got way past the point of cutting waste, and we’re now cutting into the bone.
The last round of cuts – the cuts that I imposed in November – were brutal. Schools have closed. Class sizes have increased. Professors have been laid off. We’ve had to reduce the supervision of prisoners that are out on parole. We had to cut Medicaid reimbursement. It’s been very, very difficult. And now we face even a greater challenge.
Before I talk about that challenge, I want to publicly thank all 165 of you for the way you responded to last year’s challenge. I asked you to set aside partisan differences; to forget that we’re Republicans and Democrats, and instead just to come together as Kansans as we worked through the challenges that we had. And we did it.
We avoided the partisan bickering that you see in almost every other capital in this country and that you see almost every single day in Washington, DC, and we came together and we solved our problems.
This year it’s more important than ever that we pull together, because this year the challenge is even greater. Now we face another $400 million budget hole. This isn’t $400 million that we need to get these programs back to where they used to be. We’ve got a $400 million budget hole just to fund these programs at their already incredibly reduced level.
Now I’ve spent hours looking at these budgets. Stacey would tell you I’ve spend hundreds of hours looking at them. And I can’t find $400 million that we can responsibly cut. If you can find responsible cuts, I’m open to looking at them.
But let me repeat: As a person who is fiscally responsible; a person who has cut more money out of the Kansas budget than any Kansan in history, there isn’t $400 million that we can responsibly cut.
Now is the time to stop cutting aid to education, to stop cutting aid to public safety, and to stop cutting aid to our elderly and disabled.
Related
Gov [Parkinson] calls for tax increase
Topeka Capital-Journal, Jan. 11, 2010.
The state is in the third year of declining revenues and plans on a fourth year of declines. Lawmakers face a shortfall approaching $400 million as they craft next year's budget. That is after cuts that have eliminated more than 3,700 education jobs, left judicial workers facing furloughs and slashed Medicaid reimbursements by 10 percent. Parkinson has shouldered two rounds of budget cuts since lawmakers last met.
