http://www.kansascity.com/news/politics/index.xml News, sports and entertainment from The Kansas City Star en-us Copyright 2012Kansas City Star Politics 60 Tue, 14 Feb 2012 02:40:29 CST http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss McClatchy Interactive's PubSys 1.1.fi feedback@kansascity.com (Feedback) http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/13/3427726/kansas-tax-plan-creates-questions.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/13/3427726/kansas-tax-plan-creates-questions.html#storylink=rss Mon, 13 Feb 2012 05:00 CST Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback wants your trust. He's asking you to give up some of your most cherished tax credits and deductions. In return, he's promising to lower your income taxes. 1242746 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/01/27/3396400/steve-kraske-the-knives-come-out.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/01/27/3396400/steve-kraske-the-knives-come-out.html#storylink=rss Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:00 CST We learned in Iowa that Newt Gingrich can't take a punch. It only makes sense that he can't take a flurry of them either. 1242748 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/13/3427825/budget-puts-kansas-lab-on-shaky.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/13/3427825/budget-puts-kansas-lab-on-shaky.html#storylink=rss Mon, 13 Feb 2012 05:00 CST TOPEKA | Kansas officials were stunned and upset Monday to learn that President Barack Obama recommended no additional funding for construction of a new biosecurity lab, jeopardizing a high-visibility project that the state had seen as a powerful engine of economic growth. 1242747 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/12/3424644/top-republican-wants-vote-on-birth.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/12/3424644/top-republican-wants-vote-on-birth.html#storylink=rss Sun, 12 Feb 2012 11:03 CST Conservatives said Sunday the flap surrounding President Barack Obama's birth control mandate was far from over, with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell saying he'll push to overturn the requirement because it was another example of government meddling. 1242747 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/12/3424925/the-fight-begins-obamas-budget.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/12/3424925/the-fight-begins-obamas-budget.html#storylink=rss Sun, 12 Feb 2012 15:18 CST President Barack Obama unveiled a $3.8 trillion spending plan on Monday that seeks to achieve $4 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade but does little to restrain growth in the government's huge health benefit programs, a major cause of future deficits. 1242747 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/12/3424376/day-after-maine-win-romney-looks.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/12/3424376/day-after-maine-win-romney-looks.html#storylink=rss Sun, 12 Feb 2012 04:38 CST A day after Mitt Romney regained some momentum in the Republican presidential contest, his rival Rick Santorum went on the attack, calling the front-runner "desperate" while promising to compete aggressively to win the state where Romney grew up. 1242747 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/12/3425388/presence-of-cpac-panelist-raises.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/12/3425388/presence-of-cpac-panelist-raises.html#storylink=rss Sun, 12 Feb 2012 05:00 CST On Saturday, Robert Vandervoort sat alongside Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach for an immigration panel at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington. No one questioned that Vandervoort once led a group that preached the genetic superiority of white people. 1242747 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/12/3425005/analysis-kansas-gop-defensive.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/12/3425005/analysis-kansas-gop-defensive.html#storylink=rss Sun, 12 Feb 2012 05:00 CST TOPEKA | Republican legislators are growing defensive over ongoing questions about whether private gatherings they had with Republican Gov. Sam Brownback at his official residence violated Kansas' Open Meetings Act. 1242747 http://joco913.com/news/a-lively-time-for-the-city-of-gardner/ http://joco913.com/news/a-lively-time-for-the-city-of-gardner/#storylink=rss Sat, 11 Feb 2012 05:00 CST A fistfight between councilmen, illegal meetings, secret pay raises and a fractured council largely appointed by the mayor. That's no doubt interesting for the Johnson County suburb of Gardner, but it could also be a problem. 1242747 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3422463/hartzler-tea-party-face-similar.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3422463/hartzler-tea-party-face-similar.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:00 CST Leaving a House Republican caucus meeting one morning, Rep. Vicky Hartzler had to pause a moment to get her bearings. 1242747 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3422252/obama-team-takes-a-step-back-on.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3422252/obama-team-takes-a-step-back-on.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:00 CST Catholics, women's groups and politicians caught in the bitter argument over insurance coverage for birth control remained divided after the Obama administration offered a compromise Friday aimed at quelling a political furor it touched off during the week. 1242747 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3422063/proposed-kansas-abortion-ban-blocked.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3422063/proposed-kansas-abortion-ban-blocked.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:00 CST TOPEKA, | An influential anti-abortion legislator is blocking the push for a ban on abortion in the Kansas Constitution, highlighting a split among abortion opponents over tactics and frustrating the group advocating the "personhood" proposal Friday. 1242747 http://midwestdemocracy.com/articles/house-leadership-details-tax-plan/ http://midwestdemocracy.com/articles/house-leadership-details-tax-plan/#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:53 CST Leadership of the Kansas House today released details of a plan that lowers tax rates while preserving many credits and deductions in an attempt to better help the poor and the working class. 1242747 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3420610/mccaskill-introducing-line-item.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/10/3420610/mccaskill-introducing-line-item.html#storylink=rss Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00 CST WASHINGTON | Sen. Claire McCaskill plans on Friday to introduce a companion bill to legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives that would give President Barack Obama - and future presidents - line-item veto power. 1242747 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3420091/kansas-abortion-hearing-gets-testy.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3420091/kansas-abortion-hearing-gets-testy.html#storylink=rss Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:00 CST A Kansas abortion debate turned nasty Thursday when the leader of a women's group pulled out a rubber stamp and accused a House panel of routinely approving bills restricting the procedure. 1242747 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3420423/missouri-house-passes-voter-photo.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3420423/missouri-house-passes-voter-photo.html#storylink=rss Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:00 CST Nearly six years after the Missouri Supreme Court threw out a law requiring voters to show a government-issued photo ID before casting a ballot, the Missouri House has passed the bill once again. 1242747 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3420152/governor-tolls-on-i-70-in-missouri.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3420152/governor-tolls-on-i-70-in-missouri.html#storylink=rss Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:00 CST JEFFERSON CITY | Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon said Thursday that before any toll booths could open on Interstate 70, voters first should agree to the idea. The governor did not say whether he supports putting tolls on one of the state's most important highways. 1242747 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3420136/nixon-proposes-grants-for-fast.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3420136/nixon-proposes-grants-for-fast.html#storylink=rss Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:00 CST JEFFERSON CITY | Gov. Jay Nixon likes a fledgling program at the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg so much that he wants to offer it statewide. 1242747 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3420093/supporters-of-missouri-sales-tax.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3420093/supporters-of-missouri-sales-tax.html#storylink=rss Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:00 CST JEFFERSON CITY | A group wanting to replace Missouri's income tax with a higher and broader sales tax said Thursday that it is committed to getting the initiative on the November ballot, but declined to say how many millions of dollars it is willing to spend to try to persuade voters to support it. 1242747 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3420047/missouri-to-get-161m-from-national.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3420047/missouri-to-get-161m-from-national.html#storylink=rss Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:00 CST JEFFERSON CITY | Missouri will receive more than $196 million from a national settlement over home foreclosure abuses among most states, the federal government and mortgage lenders. 1242747 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3420041/kansas-public-employees-work-against.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3420041/kansas-public-employees-work-against.html#storylink=rss Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:00 CST TOPEKA | Teachers, other school workers and public employee groups tried Thursday to build pressure on legislators to abandon a proposal to create a 401(k)-style pension plan for new school and government hires. 1242747 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3420023/online-teacher-rating-proposal.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/09/3420023/online-teacher-rating-proposal.html#storylink=rss Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:00 CST TOPEKA | A proposal from Gov. Sam Brownback to post teacher evaluations on school district websites was removed Thursday from a House education bill after it sparked outrage. 1242747 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/13/3426524/a-trillion-dollars-easy-to-say.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/13/3426524/a-trillion-dollars-easy-to-say.html#storylink=rss Mon, 13 Feb 2012 12:48 CST Remember when a billion used to be a lot? Now we talk trillions. 1242753 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/14/3427963/fact-check-there-are-budget-phantoms.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/14/3427963/fact-check-there-are-budget-phantoms.html#storylink=rss Tue, 14 Feb 2012 02:13 CST When a president introduces a budget, there are always phantoms flitting around the room. President Barack Obama's spending plan sets loose a number of them. 1242753 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/14/3427962/chinas-next-leader-xi-jinping.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/14/3427962/chinas-next-leader-xi-jinping.html#storylink=rss Tue, 14 Feb 2012 02:13 CST Washington is getting its first hard look at Xi Jinping, the man destined to lead China in the coming decade, during which the global powers probably will see their economic ties grow even as they are viewed increasingly as military rivals. 1242753 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/14/3427961/transportation-boosted-to-top.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/14/3427961/transportation-boosted-to-top.html#storylink=rss Tue, 14 Feb 2012 02:13 CST After years of procrastination, the White House and Congress have suddenly boosted a long-term plan to improve the nation's roads, bridges and transit systems to the top of the political agenda. 1242753 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/14/3427960/panetta-defends-military-budget.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/14/3427960/panetta-defends-military-budget.html#storylink=rss Tue, 14 Feb 2012 02:08 CST Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is defending his department's slimmed-down, $614 billion budget plan, telling senators it's time to step up and show they are serious about reducing the deficit. 1242753 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/13/3427786/study-1-in-8-us-voter-registrations.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/13/3427786/study-1-in-8-us-voter-registrations.html#storylink=rss Mon, 13 Feb 2012 23:08 CST Some 24 million voter registrations in the United States contain significant errors, including about 1.8 million dead people still on the rolls and many more approved to vote in multiple states, according to a report released Tuesday. 1242753 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/13/3427785/study-1-in-8-us-voter-registrations.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/13/3427785/study-1-in-8-us-voter-registrations.html#storylink=rss Mon, 13 Feb 2012 23:08 CST A new report says about 24 million voter registrations in the United States contain significant errors. 1242753 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/13/3427652/santorum-calls-occupy-protesters.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/13/3427652/santorum-calls-occupy-protesters.html#storylink=rss Mon, 13 Feb 2012 21:43 CST Republican presidential contender Rick Santorum clashed with Tacoma Occupy protesters Monday night during his first visit to a state he said would be a "momentum changer" heading into Super Tuesday. 1242753 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/13/3427484/a-political-tip-sheet-for-the.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/13/3427484/a-political-tip-sheet-for-the.html#storylink=rss Mon, 13 Feb 2012 19:58 CST A political tip sheet for the rest of us outside the Washington Beltway, Monday, Feb. 13, 2012: 1242753 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/13/3427474/romney-raps-gop-rivals-government.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/13/3427474/romney-raps-gop-rivals-government.html#storylink=rss Mon, 13 Feb 2012 19:53 CST If Mitt Romney is rattled by polls showing presidential rival Rick Santorum nipping at his heels, he didn't show it Monday at an outdoor rally with about 2,500 people. 1242753 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/13/3427434/panetta-defends-military-budget.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/13/3427434/panetta-defends-military-budget.html#storylink=rss Mon, 13 Feb 2012 19:28 CST Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is defending his department's slimmed-down, $614 billion budget plan, telling senators that it's time to step up and show they are serious about reducing the deficit. 1242753 http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/13/3427398/obamas-budget-would-shrink-annual.html http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/13/3427398/obamas-budget-would-shrink-annual.html#storylink=rss Mon, 13 Feb 2012 02:00 CST President Barack Obama's proposed federal budget would shrink annual deficits over 10 years, but it would fall far short of taming the nation's exploding federal debt. 1242753