A day in the life of Mark Peterson

There has been an increase in attacks against Democrats for being Socialists or Democratic Socialists.  Often described in apocalyptic terms, the term “socialism” may generate fear among voters but does not explain what socialism is or why people should be terrified of it. As implied by Mr. Trump and many of his acolytes, the term “socialism” suggests a major, horrific role for government in the economy and our lives, leading to economic ruin and the end of life, liberty, and the American way.  That sounded pretty bad to me, so I decided to search for examples of Big Government Socialism, and (if found) reasons why it instills such terror among some.  And so, I spent a day observing our world here in Pittsburg, looking for examples of the impact of government in our daily lives, and the prospect that I might find evidence of the dreaded “socialism.”

I began my day with a simple, innocent task: shaving. Any sign of government? Well, there is the water system of Pittsburg, which was built and paid for by government, and whose pipes bring me water clean enough to drink (inspected by government) and a government sewage system that takes care of the water and refuse when they leave my house.  Okay, lots of government, but not very scary . . . yet. I then ate breakfast: scrambled eggs and toast. Any sign of government? Oh, yea, the USDA inspects food to make sure it does not kill me. Boy or boy, there is a lot more government in my life than I thought!

I was troubled by these examples of government, and so I took a walk to nearby Lakeside Park. Was I then free of government?  Well, maybe, except for the sidewalk, and, oh yea, Lakeside Park, both built and paid for by government. I said hello to a nice policewoman who was making sure that I was safe at the park. Any government?  Oops, the police are paid for and regulated by government in their commitment to my safety. After the park I walked past Lakeside Elementary School. Is the school (finally) a government-free haven? Are students finally free of government? Oops, the school was built by the government, and the teachers are paid by the government.

I was so confused that I drove out to the Wilderness Park north of Frontenac for a hike. Was I then in a blissful world of free markets and no government?  Oops, who paved the roads to get to the park?  Government.  Who owns and takes care of the park, so it is free for anyone to enjoy?  There’s that darned Socialist Government again! I observed a jet flying high above and wondered if it was from the Air Force, protecting our beloved country. Any sign of government in Air Force jets? Oops, yes, the military and all the soldiers are paid for and live according to the strict rules and regulations of the military. If one defines socialism as government control, one might conclude that the United States military is the largest socialist organization on planet earth!

These revelations left me deeply confused, and in other circumstances would have led me to severe depression, but I had to go to an appointment with my doctor.  Given how shaken I was, I hoped that this appointment would at least protect me from the evils of socialism and big government. Did it? No, my appointment was paid for by government (Medicare).  After the appointment I returned home where I found an email from Social Security informing me that my monthly Social Security check had been deposited into my checking account, which is protected by FDIC. (Note that Social Security and FDIC certainly represent examples of Big Government Socialism, but both are quite popular.)

I write this now not simply to tell a story of “A day in the life of Mark Peterson,” but to suggest lessons that might be learned from my story. If you are going door to door canvassing and get a comment from a voter who is apprehensive about Democrats and/or Socialism, ask them what, SPECIFICALLY, they find so troubling. I recall a non-traditional student (and a mother of three children) in one of my political science classes some years ago. She was complaining about her property taxes, and I asked if she knew that most property taxes revenues are spent for public education, including the schools her three children attended. No, that was news to her, but she understood my point and came up after class to share a laugh about it. Moreover, most of my students at PSU were not aware that the state of Kansas pays for a large proportion of their tuition at PSU.

If you are canvassing and a voter expresses concern about health care, inform them that the United States pays far more per person than any other economically advanced country, and what do we get for this expensive system? The lowest life expectancy of any of these advanced, democratic capitalist countries, AND, unlike almost all others, we do NOT have universal coverage. Why?  Because those other countries have SOCIALIST health programs, where governments dictate health care costs. Explain to voters that “Medicare for all” will cover everyone and reduce costs.

If they are concerned with the growing gap between the rich and poor, explain that Democrats want to reverse the spending cuts that Trump and his acolytes passed for programs that helped those in need (such as Medicaid and food stamps). And if elected in November, Democrats will pay for programs to help those in need by raising taxes on the RICH, especially those tax cuts for the rich that were passed by Republicans in 2025.

If they express concern about the horrendous heat wave we experienced this summer, remind them that this is another example that global warming is real and manmade, and that such heat waves will only worsen unless our government plays a larger role regulating pollution (that’s right, a larger role for government), and cooperating with other countries to address a hotter planet.

If voters ask you if you support socialism, ask them how they define socialism. If they think socialism means a role for government in our lives and the economy, remind them of how government provides services such as those described by Mark Peterson (see above). If they believe that socialism means big government, remind them that the current administration has expanded the power of ICE agents to the extent that they have the power to kill innocent people, such as Renée Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis (among others), and do not face criminal prosecution. Now THAT is an example of Big Government that I find deeply troubling!  Personally, all people I know who describe themselves as Democratic Socialists firmly believe that government does NOT have the right to kill innocent people. Such violations of individual rights and liberties are completely the policies of Trump and Republicans who support his horrifying disregard for individual liberty, and (tragically) human life. I fear that this REPUBLICAN form of “Big Government,” as expressed by Trump and his acolytes, is an existential threat to our basic freedoms.

Which brings us back to questions such as: what is socialism and why do people fear it? The best answer (albeit not satisfying) is that socialism is a term used by MAGA Republicans to instill fear of Democrats among Americans, as was the case during Joseph McCarthy’s “Red Scare” of the early to mid-1950s.  The key here is Trump’s use of the term “socialism” as a vehicle to expand power. Perhaps it is best understood by a quote from Trump cited in Bob Woodward’s second book about Trump’s first term in office. As Trump expressed to Woodward, “Real Power is — I don’t even want to use the word — fear.”

Let us not succumb to fear.

— Mark Peterson, professor emeritus

Constitutional amendment not needed!

The proposed Constitutional Amendment that seeks to clarify that only a person who is a citizen of the United States is eligible to vote in Kansas is a solution looking for a problem to fix.  Only citizens of the United States are currently eligible to vote in Kansas and this would not change that requirement.  This small change in language could be exploited, however, to make some changes in documentation and other requirements for new voters to provide proof of citizenship in order to complete their voter registration.

Current law is clear that voters are required to be citizens in order to register to vote and the current registration form warns registrants that if they submit false information on the voter registration application, including claiming to be a citizen of the U.S., they can be convicted and sentenced to up to 17 months in prison.  This is a significant risk for someone to take in order to vote only one fraudulent ballot!  Time and time again it has been proven that only a very small number of ballots are fraudulent (the vast majority are by U.S. citizens that claim false addresses or other issues) and there has been an even smaller number of non-citizens voting.  People that are in the U.S. without citizenship follow the laws pretty closely so that they can remain in the U.S. if they have the proper documentation. Or they don’t want to throw up any red flags if they are not documented.

The Kansas Legislature imposed a proof of citizenship requirement in 2011 that was a disaster for election officers throughout the state. When people submitted a voter registration that did not include the required proof of citizenship documentation the registrant would not be able to vote until the documentation was submitted to the elections office. In just 2 years there were over 31,000 U.S. citizens in Kansas that were not allowed to vote because of the citizenship documents that had not been submitted.  The vast majority of those registrations were young adults that had turned 18 and completed their voter registration form but had not followed up with proof of citizenship documentation.  Election offices repeatedly reached out to these individuals for the required documentation but often had little success.  In 2018 a federal court declared that the law was an unconstitutional burden on voting rights and it has not been enforced since that time.

During that time of enforcement of the proof of citizenship requirement, my staff and I helped many people apply for copies of birth certificates from other states or helped obtain marriage or divorce documents that would help people trace changes in their name from their birth certificate. Some older citizens that were registering for the first time and had been born at home would require other documents and affidavits to be obtained. To put it bluntly, it created a mess for election officials across the state to deal with and it was a constant source of complaints when we met with officials from the Secretary of State’s office to discuss election issues and review other requirements of election officials.

When the state legislature was considering this bill, Secretary of State Kris Kobach (at that time), ran an extensive review of the voter registrations from 1999 through 2012 and they could only find 39 non-citizens that had registered during that time. That’s an average of 3 per year out of nearly 100,000.  The two that had been registered in Crawford County had never voted according to our records and it appeared that they were automatically registered to vote, in error, when they legally obtained a driver’s license.  In my subsequent discussions with the Secretary of State office it sounded like that was a very common story among those 39 registrants.

It is very clear that the registration of noncitizens to vote is not a problem and it is already not allowed by law.  The people that are proposing this change to the Kansas Constitution are wanting to take us down a path that will lead to more documentation requirements in order to register to vote. That was a real nightmare for the people that run elections at the county and it is a place that they do not want to return to. Many states do not want to submit their voter registration rolls to the federal government for verification because of the possibility of hacking and the changing of administration guidelines and philosophy.  An organization called the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) is a public charity non-profit membership organization currently comprised of 27 states that submit their voter rolls for review and comparison to each other and to information from federal agencies to help identify duplicates, deceased voters and other errors in the voter rolls.  It’s board is composed of the election officials of the member states and it would be an excellent group to identify any noncitizens on the rolls.

A Constitutional Amendment is not needed to clarify that only citizens of the United States are eligible to vote!  It is already the law!  It is a way to chip away at the right to vote by making it more difficult for a lot of people to register to vote!  Please vote NO on the amendment!

— Don Pyle, former Crawford County clerk, 2008 to 2020

As of today, there are just 33 days until Election Day!

Our campaign is in full-throttle going into October! So far, we’ve knocked on nearly 3,000 doors across the district and raised more than $31,000, all without taking a dime from corporate PACs.

Along the way, we’ve been proud to earn endorsements from leaders and organizations across our community, including former mayor and county commissioner Jeremy Johnson, the Kansas AFL-CIO, and the Kansas National Education Association.

Our campaign is making waves. We were recently featured in The New York Times as part of a growing movement of younger voters and candidates who are fed up with the political establishment that has long abandoned us. We’ve also drawn attacks from Ty Masterson and Breitbart News following the successful town hall Senator Cindy Holscher and I hosted together. Thank you to everyone who showed up and made that event such a success!

But our fight isn’t over yet. We are on the verge of flipping this seat and playing our part in Crawford County to fight back against the radical republican agenda trying to take us Brownback to the bronze age.

With just 33 days to go… WE NEED YOUR HELP!

Whether you can knock doors, make phone calls, or donate a few dollars, every bit of support matters. Check out our website, where you can donate and sign up to volunteer! You can also email me with any questions and concerns; both my website and email are listed below.

Thank you all. Let’s do this!

In solidarity,

Isaiah Harris
isaiahforkansas.com
isaiahforkansas@gmail.com

By Mike Sand

The purpose of our Headquarters is to provide a safe, centralized meeting place, comfortable and efficient workspaces for party officers and volunteers, social support for our members, and reliable information for our community.

HQ is in full swing with canvassing on weekends and phone banking in the evenings. We are going through a truly impressive amount of supplies, so, any donations are truly appreciated.  There’s a drop box in the office, which is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Shifts are posted on the bulletin board, so if you can take one, please sign up.  There’s always something to do, from sign assembly to sweeping.

If you come across anyone that needs election information or help updating their registration, send them to 217a North Broadway. We can help.  If anyone belongs to a group that’s interested in having someone come talk about voting, get in touch. 

There’s a lot happening, and none of it happens without people showing up. Thanks to everyone who has been volunteering, making calls, knocking doors, bringing materials, attending meetings, helping at events, and generally figuring out how to get things done.

The Liberal Ladies met on Sept. 9 at the Democratic Headquarters. During the meeting, we celebrated five birthdays by singing Happy Birthday, signing cards, and eating treats brought by Nancy Tomassi, our Celebration and Events Chairwoman. We heard of the recent death of Patsy Lawson. Patsy had visited us a few weeks prior with her granddaughter, who, from a young age, showed an interest in politics. Patsy was so pleased at being back with her support group. She had attended Liberal Ladies for a long time.

We discussed the poster to invite people in to register to vote.  Kathy De Grave has been helping design the poster and fliers. Janice has 15 places to put the fliers up.  Skip Urich later came to me and asked if he could have a flier for Signet. If anyone else wants a flier, we have plenty.

I meant to suggest that members keep their eyes out, on TV or podcasts, for Marc Elias, a lawyer, whose firm is litigating all the Trump attempts to change our elections. 

David Su came to ask for workers for Isaiah Harris' campaign and to encourage us to attend Isaiah Harris’ meeting this weekend with Cindy Holscher. He asked for LL's to help with finger foods and desserts. 

Sally reminded us about the upcoming Cherokee Parade.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Liberal Ladies met again on Sept. 23 at HQ. When I walked in from the back room there was a terrible clatter and, entering the front room, I saw many women struggling to fit posters over wires.  The wires kept falling over, adding to the talk and laughter. It was a Workshop of Purpose and a great beginning for Liberal Ladies. We had a late start to a very full meeting. Janice and I talked about having tributes to our deceased member, Patsy Lawson. We didn't want her to be lost among all the birthdays recognized in the meeting of Sept. 9, although she would have loved that.  We discussed ways to celebrate and we may think about a tradition of recognizing members at our Christmas lunch.  

Jean described a neighbor in an abusive situation and asked for some feedback on ways to respond to someone in such distress. Jean was feeling very unsure of what she could do to help. She got good, supportive information.  

I noticed there were two new women in the group.  We usually introduce ourselves, but there were so many of us (21), that instead I explained how LL happened and how it works. I then asked if they would introduce themselves to us. They are both fairly new in town.  Rowen came from Santa Fe, with water scarcity and very expensive to live there. Her sister is assistant principal at PHS.  She is an artist and horticulturalist. Rowen invited her friend Deborah to move to Pittsburg because of the lower cost of living and the cultural aspects. Deborah is retired from healthcare and is a singer working on healing her voice. She likes to plan fundraisers and events! She moved here from Portland, Oregon.

Harriet explained our plan with postcards. She handed out lists of voters and sayings from Heather Cox Richardson that could be part of the postcard messages. I asked the County Dems if they would help us with money for postcard stamps. They donated $87!  So, I bought $87 worth of stamps. Emily also offered to buy stamps. Emily says that people who vote are more likely to attend the Candidates’ Meet and Greet scheduled on Oct. 21.

Darlene reported that her husband, Paul, would take off work on Nov. 3 to drive people to vote. Emily explained how they gather names of those who need rides. Isaiah's helpers want to do this as well. Harriet suggested we send postcards to newly registered voters. Precinct chairs are also sending postcards.

— Susy Hammons

By James Orwig

All over the country people are starting to question the desirability of having data centers in their backyard. The promised financial benefits are offset by the demand for power from the grid or power generated by natural gas generators. Cooling the centers requires water, which puts the data centers in competition with local needs. The noise generated by the cooling systems and generators produce levels of noise that disrupt the daily lives of nearby residents. The jobs generated are mostly construction and some maintenance jobs. Taxes are not guaranteed to be the salvation of the community.

With those thoughts in mind, the Kansas Chapter of PDA is welcoming Collen Campbell and Aimee Gillette from Protect Kansas, a group recently formed to keep a data center from coming to Shawnee County. Hear an in-depth discussion of what's going on with data centers in Shawnee County and why putting one there (and in most places in Kansas) is a bad idea. There will be an opportunity to ask questions and find out what you can do to join the fight. The meeting is Wednesday, Oct, 14, at 7 p.m. CDT on Zoom. This is the link to register on Mobilize: https://mobilize.us/s/yxhMLL

Article submissions are needed from Crawford County Democrats and friends about issues and topics we should all be thinking about. Let us publish your thoughts in this Revue, for distribution to county Democrats and others across the state. Back issues of thr newsletter are also on the website at https://www.crawfordcountyksdems.org/newsletter.

Please email your thoughts or those of your caucuses and interest groups for publication in the county party’s newsletter to news@crawfordcountyksdems.org. Accompanying photographs or other ideas for illustrating your articles are also welcome. Feel free to ask questions by text or phone of newsletter crew Harriet at 620-704-8566 or Phil at 708-466-0659. Also please include your phone number with your message in case we have questions for you.

We look forward to hearing from you!