• Mailings by "SDC PAC" and Kansas Democratic Party were 8.5" wide by 5.5" high.
• Mailings by "SDC PAC" and Kansas Democratic Party had three unusual numbers at the upper left with EXACTLY the same font and position. 

What is known about the quotation attributed to Dennis Pyle from the SDC PAC mailing?  The mailing cites the Atchison Globe, Monday, October 18, 2004:

When asked about the Brown v. Topeka Board of Education ruling, State Senate Candidate Dennis Pyle said:  "We should have left things as they were."

Did a reporter from the Atchison Globe get this quotation from Dennis Pyle?  No!  This quotation was part of a letter to the editor by Clark Balderson, of Wamego.  So the SDC PAC mailing should have cited Clark Balderson of Wamego for this quotation instead of the Atchison Globe.  Isn't this how propaganda works?

Here's the complete Balderson letter, which is still online at the Atchison Globe:  Tom Kautz deserves support in his run for District 1 seat  (The exact same unedited letter also appeared on p. 10 of the Oct 21, 2004 Wamego Times.)

As a lifelong Republican from a longtime Republican family that goes back to the 1870s in this Senate district, it is not an easy decision to support anyone other than a Republican for any office. However, this election I, too, will be voting for Tom Kautz.

I don’t know Mr. Kautz personally, but in visiting with friends who know him and have worked with him, he sounds like a fair-minded, even-handed individual with the capacity to listen to all sides of an issue before arriving at his conclusions. I contrast this with the visit I had with Mr. Pyle during the primary.

As I remember, it was around the time that President Bush visited Topeka for the opening of the Brown vs. Board of Education National Historic Site. Mr. Pyle seemed pleasant enough. I asked what his position was on several issues.

Clearly, his views fell on the side of small government. He then told me that he was very much opposed to the ruling made in the District Court about school finance. His comment included the line, “We’ve got to get rid of activist judges.”

I asked Mr. Pyle if he understood the difference between a Constitutional democracy and a parliamentary democracy, reminding him that we happen to have the former and that the role of the judiciary is, among other things, to ensure that our laws adhere to our Constitution. My comment did not sit well. I then asked him what he thought about the Brown vs. Board of Education ruling in 1954.

My memory tells me that he responded, “We should have left things as they were. The South would have eventually integrated their schools from societal pressure.”

I was floored.

I believe that the real Mr. Pyle, behind the pleasant facade, is a man who has no use for diversity in our society, who has no understanding of the need to protect minorities from the narrow-minded laws that might be passed by intolerant legislatures –– a person who operates without a basic understanding of the U.S. Bill of Rights and the way in which a Constitutional democracy functions.

It scares me to think that our state legislature might become dominated by such extremists. This is not the Republican party I grew up with. This is not the Republican party of Alf Landon, Nancy Kassebaum or Bob Dole. I encourage all to vote for Tom Kautz for the Kansas Senate in District 1.

In this letter Clark Balderson's description seems quite condescending and he appears to be twisting Pyle's words.  Most Republicans do not like judicial activism, but Balderson twists the meaning of Pyle's opposition to judicial activism.  Balderson seems to be saying that anyone opposing judicial activism is a racist -- and an extremist!  Isn't this logic a bit extreme itself?  

In a democratic republic, the judiciary is supposed to only interpret laws, including the Constitution, instead of usurping the power of the legislature to make new laws.  Isn't Balderson's statement "it scares me to think our state legislature might become dominated by such extremists" a condemnation of conservative Republicans?  

What facts are known about Clark Balderson and his political agenda?  

Balderson's statement in his letter about being from a longtime Republican family is true.  His dad, the late Willard Balderson, was highly respected in Wamego (see Manhattan Mercury, Jan, 6, 2002:  "Balderson, leading citizen of Wamego , dies")  and was a generous contributor to the Republican party and a number of Republican candidates.  But what about Clark Balderson himself?

Open Secrets shows that Clark Balderson, a "lifelong Republican" contributed to at least two Democratic candidates for Congress:

• $500 contribution on 7/30/1990 to Democrat Jim Slattery for Congress
• $250 to Democrat John Freiden on 9/30/1996 who was defeated by Jim Ryun.

Was Balderson sincere in his statement "it is not an easy decision to support anyone other than a Republican for any office" when Balderson has twice given money to Democrats for U.S. Congress?

Balderson's contributions to former Kansas Governor Bill Graves gives some other clues about his political agenda.  From the Kansas Governmental Ethics web site:

GRAVES, BILL

  11-15-1994 BALDERSON S CLARK      500.00 GRAVES, BILL

  09-07-1995 BALDERSON, S CLARK    2000.00 GRAVES, BILL

What happened in 1995, which was not an election year, to spark the $2000 contribution to Graves?  The Wichita Eagle gives the answer

WichitaEagle, July 30, 1995
GRAVES NAMES NEW ART COMMISSIONERS

Clark Balderson, president of a Wamego heavy-equipment
business and the Columbian Theatre Foundation, is 
now president of the commission.

About a month after being appointed the president of the Kansas Art Commission, Balderson gave $2000 to Graves.  Was Balderson mixing the arts and his politics?

Clark's interest is in the arts has expanded from the Columbian Theatre to the Oz museum in Wamego, and even movies his son now produces:

Museum to showcase Oz
K-State Collegian, April 16, 2003

Clark Balderson, chairman of the Oz organizing group of The Columbian Theatre Foundation -- the group developing the project.

Oz Museum: Movie history on display 
Topeka Capital Journal, Nov 29, 2003

The museum, created by the Columbian Theatre Foundation Inc. with a $100,000 Attraction Development grant from the state and $400,000 in funds committed from the community, already is receiving rave reviews.

. . .
Clark Balderson, vice president of the Columbian Foundation responsible for the Oz Museum

Wamego film director getting international attention
Topeka Capital Journal, May 16, 1999

Clark's direct connection to the SDC PAC is not clear, however.  Was he personally motivated to write the letter to the Atchison Globe and Wamego Times?  Or did someone else orchestrate this letter as part of a bigger SDC PAC plan?

The SDC PAC does not appear on the list of PACs published by the Kansas Governmental Ethics Office!  Why?

To find all the political money players in Kansas, one must consult at least three lists.  The PAC list shows all the PACs, but there is a separate list of political party committees, and the list of political candidate committees.  Unfortunately, these other lists are not online and must be purchased from the Secretary of State for $0.50/page.  The "SDC PAC" isn't a "regular" PAC, and likely is a Democratic party PAC.

Dr. Tiller's Pro Kan Do PAC report from October 25, 2004 provides a missing clue.  In a flury of last-minute political contributions to various Democratic Party PACs in October, Pro Kan Do gave $5,000 to the "Senate Democratic Committee", PO Box 1811, Topeka KS.  Is the "Senate Democratic Committee" the same as the "SDC PAC" that sent the Senate District 1 mailing?  

ProKanDo used a similar trick to hide a considerable amount of money in the August 2002 primary election.  In 2002 ProKanDo contributed to "KDL" which months after the election was determined to be "Kansans for Democratic Leadership". 

Here is page 3 of ProKanDo's Schedule C from their Oct 25, 2004 report