It had to end sometime...

It has taken me a few days to recover but, it's over... and I feel like I've been hit by a ton of bricks.

Growing up, I was extremely opinionated and outspoken on political issues. I decided that I was a Republican early on, preferring the elephant to the donkey as a mascot. I was one small voice in a family of proud Democrats, or as my dad says, "John F. Kennedy Democrats."

In first grade, I stood in front of my class and campaigned against a candidate for mayor of our town. I passionately testified that I just didn't feel he could relate to the citizens of Ellinwood and that he was hard to understand. Of course, the 8-year-old me may have also been a little bitter over a call at one of my soccer games that this candidate just happened to be officiating. (On a side note, my team scored no goals that season. Zero, folks.)

I remember being devastated when President H.W. Bush lost to Bill Clinton in the 1992 election.

In fifth grade I wrote a scathing paper criticizing the first lady, Hilary Clinton. I predicted that she had political aspirations of her own. I said something to the effect of, "If Mrs. Clinton is so concerned about our country or her place in our history, she should just run for office herself rather than riding on her husband's coattails."

Mrs. Engle, my beloved fifth grade teacher, told me she knew I would be a journalist after that paper.

Since then, my political views have changed a bit. Rather than cheering for the GOP, I find my place somewhere in the middle. I have grown to dislike political parties in general because of the divide they create.

As a freshman in college, I volunteered for the "Vote No" campaign that fought a local bill that would essentially make it legal for local businesses, landlords, etc. to deny citizens services based on their sexual preference. The vote ended so close it was clear that if our campaign had not existed, that bill would have passed.

After the last presidential election and having spent my first few years of adulthood frustrated with my President and government, I found myself turning away from politics all together. After all, what place is there for Democrats or Independents in RED Kansas anyway?

For the last year and a half I have been terrified of my impending graduation from college. I completely lost my direction and declared a second major thus deciding to stay in school longer. It was an attempt to postpone reality and to give myself a second option, if this whole media thing didn't work out.

Then life threw me a curve ball, or perhaps it was God. An opportunity to work for a congressional campaign dropped into my lap. I knew I had to take advantage of it, it was one of the few things that really felt "right" amid this whole scary just-about-to-be-in-the-real-world thing. It was media related and it would only be for a few hours a week. I didn't anticipate it being anything more than a resume builder.

I was so wrong.

As a result, I was forced to research local congressional and senate campaigns. I remembered the excitement of following a political race. Everyday, I couldn't wait to get back into the office. Waking up at 7:30am to get there on time was something I actually looked forward to. I was so excited to practice media in the real world and to communicate ideas and issues through social media. The experience reignited a forgotten passion for politics and allowed me to discover a new passion for social media.

In the end, we lost. I cried the whole way home, to which a friend of mine asked, "You cried? Why would you cry over that?!" I guess my heart got involved.

I could sit here and try to outline reasons for the loss, but I won't. Because in the end, it doesn't matter. We lost, that's all there is to it.

I will, however, say thank you.

Thank you to everyone who came along on this journey with me. Thank you to all of you who asked how it was going, who read my postings, who got interested in the Second District Congressional Race.

Thank you to Karl and Chad who gave me a chance to put my two cents in. Thank you, Linda. Thank you, Steven. Thank you to all of the other amazing people I was blessed to run into in the office every day that I was there.

Thank you mostly to Nancy Boyda. Thank you for giving me something - someone - to believe in again. Thank you for running a clean campaign. Thank you for always standing up for what you believe in and for the citizens of Kansas, no matter what. Thank you for shaking my hand, looking me in the eye, and meaning it. Thank you for everything.

I feel so incredibly blessed to be a part of it, however minor my little part was. It was honestly one of the best experiences of my entire life.

IT'S ELECTION DAY!!!

Get your butts to the polls and make your voice heard!

No one is expecting the 18-29 year old age group to be any less apathetic than we have been in the past - it's time to make our mark on history.

Don't forget to vote today!

WE are going to decide this election.

Get EXCITED that there are long lines. I cried yesterday at early voting when I saw how many people had turned out, NOT even kidding. =) If you have to stand in line for a while, DO IT. It's worth it. You would do it for a big concert or tickets to the World Series, right? This is the future of our country NOW and WE can do something about it.

It doesn't matter how you vote... just THAT you vote.

Happy Voting!
Tara Schroeder
Nancy Boyda for Congress
Social Media Intern

Life is ironic, huh?

Madelyn Dunham, the 85-year-old grandmother of Democratic Presidential candidate, has passed away - the day before arguably the most important election in our nation's history.

So bittersweet... As the final hours of his campaign slip away, I have to assume that Obama is reflecting on her impact on his life. Where he is in life is due greatly to the guidance and support of Dunham - and she isn't here to share it with him.

I'm sure she will be watching from above, though, as her grandson makes history no matter what tomorrow's out come is.

Have you voted yet?

Did you know you can vote early at the Shawnee County Election Office until 12pm on November 3rd?

If you can't get to the office early, I'll see you at the polls on election day!

Get out there and make your voice heard!

Happy voting!
Tara
Nancy Boyda for Congress
(785) 234-2251

PS... If you have any questions or want some more info, stop by the SNCO Election Office's website: http://www. co. shawnee. ks. us/election/.

Watch Party Details!

Need somewhere to spend your Election Day evening?

The Kansas Democratic Party is hosting a watch party on Tuesday evening.

Come out and celebrate with other Kansas Democrats! Confirmed guests include Governor Kathleen Sebelius, Congresswoman Nancy Boyda, Jim Slattery, Anthony Hensley, Dennis McKinney and other Kansas Democrats.

WHERE:
Downtown Ramada Inn - Regency Ballroom
420 SE 6th St.
Topeka, KS 66607

WHEN:
Tuesday Nov. 4th at 7p.m.

For more information or to RSVP, stop by the KDP website:
http://www. ksdp. org/edayparty

Happy Voting!
Tara
Nancy Boyda for Congress
(785) 234-2251

“For an accountant, Lynn Jenkins seems to have zero interest in accountability.” - Mike Gaughan, Kansas Democratic Party executive director

I find it interesting that an error made in 1999 wasn't discovered (or reported) until 2008... the same year Jenkins is running for Congress. Topeka friends please note that Shawnee county was shorted $1 million. Quite a few pennies there, Jenkins.

http://www.tonganoxiemirror.com/news/2008/oct/23/county-shorted-gas-tax-mistake/

Boyda passes on outside help, Jenkins does opposite.

Nancy Boyda issued a letter yesterday asking the DCCC (Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee) to stop running ads in her favor.

As mentioned in the article, the DCCC can contribute to key races if they so choose but Boyda fears the ads paid for by outside groups, although positive, may sway voters.

In the same day that Boyda wrote a letter asking the DCCC to stop running the positive ads out of her ethical concerns for Kansas voters, her competitor Lynn Jenkins invited Mitt Romney over for a tea party at a private fundraisor in Topeka (sidenote: the tea party thing was a joke, don't get your undies in a twist). Jenkins also allows ads paid for by the NRCC (National Republican Congressional Committee) and "near-daily email attacks on Boyda." Nice.

http://primebuzz.kcstar.com/?q=node/15215

Keeping them honest...

Where is Anderson Cooper when you need him?

http://boydabloc.blogspot.com/2008/10/jenkins-refuses-to-reveal-kpers-e-mails.html

Holy cow! An 8-person protest! Does that even count?

CJOnline article: GOP official questions Boyda's priorities

Members of the campaign for Lynn Jenkins protested outside of the Boyda campaign office this week. Jenkins has criticized Boyda's attendance record - possibly as a response to Boyda's recent criticism of Jenkins' KPERS attendance. Unlike the Jenkins campaign, Boyda representatives have given "a list of what events prevented the congresswoman from attending." Read the article below.

http://www.cjonline.com/stories/102108/loc_346687109.shtml

Putting West Plains, MO on the map.

A few years ago, while I was on my college visit to Washburn, my mom and I stopped by the capital building since we were in town. I remember seeing a sign that with Topeka's Word of the Day - "Deference: yielding to the judgment or opinion of another. Courteous submission out of respect for the wishes of others." It struck me enough at the time to take a picture.

It seems like a silly thing to make a sign for - silly that we need to be reminded to respect each other. But apparently a few folks in Missouri need that sign plastered on their foreheads.

Recently, an anonymous citizen put up a billboard depicting presidential candidate Barack Obama in a turban and with the middle name "Hussein." The billboard also claims that electing Obama will "equal" more abortions, same sex marriages, taxes, and gun regulations.

Well obviously, Mr. Anonymous, taxes and gun regulations may increase due to any candidate getting into office, but I fail to see the connection between electing a candidate and guaranteeing an increase in the number of abortions or same sex marriages as a result. If a person chooses to get an abortion or to get married, in general, it's not because the president told them to. That's like saying if you move to Kansas you will be swept away to Oz by a massive tornado.

Might an elected official pass laws to support these two scenarios? Possibly. But jumping to such conclusions and going as far as trying to influence voters with them, is crossing the line.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm all about political activism and am a staunch supporter of freedom of speech, but I am thoroughly sick of how offensive and negative so much of the political outreach is today.

I wonder what would happen if a campaign were run solely on the positive aspects of a candidate. Would it be refreshing to voters to see only positive ads?

So friends, the moral to the story... We should respect our RIGHT to freedom of speech. That means that not only should we respect every American citizen's right to say whateva the heck they want, but we should also respect the right itself and honor it with restraint. As citizens, we should take this right seriously and actually think before we speak and even (gasp) consider how what we say will affect others.

Or, let's at least be a little more creative in attacking a candidate.


http://media.www.washburnreview.org/media/storage/paper1140/news/2008/10/13/Opinion/Obama.Sign.Offensive.Walks.The.Line.Of.Free.Speech-3484218.shtml?reffeature=recentlycommentedstoriestab

Debate over attendance: She was just "busy?"

Oh, how I love the smell of politics in the morning.

The tight race between Rep. Nancy Boyda, D-Kan., and Republican state Treasurer Lynn Jenkins heated up this week as Boyda raised the issue of Jenkins absences at important KPERS meetings.

It has been reported that Jenkins missed 12 of 46 meetings. In other words, Jenkins was MIA 26% of the time. Boyda reportedly tagged the state Treasurer's absences during such a crutial time for the fund and the Kansas citizens it affects as "irresponsible."

Rather than addressing the accusation, Jenkins has chosen to skirt the issue and avoid giving valid reasons for missing these meetings at a time when the KPERS fund by $1 billion in the first quarter of the fiscal year 2009. Instead, Jenkins told the public she was "busy."

Interesting.

Jenkins and her camp have chosen to throw back criticism of a ten minute absence on Boyda's part during a recent congressional meeting. Boyda reportedly removed herself from the meeting (for only ten minutes, folks) because she felt the speaker was disrespecting Congress.

So... let's put all this together. Jenkins was absent from just over a quarter of KPERS meetings during a time that the fund, that is so important to Kansans, was struggling. Annnd instead of explaining to these citizens that she is seeking to represent the reasoning for her absenteeism, she chose to slam her competitor for standing up for what she believes in by stepping out of a meeting for ten whole minutes. As a young Kansas citizen and active voter, I am left a bit confused.

After all, aren't we as citizens hungry for politicians who not only do their job but actually stand up for what they (and we) believe in?

http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2008/oct/08/campaign_wont_elaborate_jenkins_missing_kpers_meet/?city_local