Kansas Reflector: ‘Republican congressional candidate Amanda Adkins embraced a U.S. House GOP group’s manifesto for balancing the federal budget that would slash trillions from Medicare, raise the full retirement age for Social Security and end Head Start for low-income preschoolers.’

Today, the Kansas Reflector released a shocking report detailing longtime Brownback advisor Amanda Adkins’ ‘absolute’ support of the Republican Study Committee’s controversial budget plan. The proposal—which Adkins “embraced”— attacks Medicare and Social Security, slashes education, bans abortion and criminalizes doctors for delivering reproductive care, to name a few. 

The Kansas Reflector noted how Adkins’ support of the plan is similar to her support of the “philosophy of governing advanced in Kansas when Sam Brownback was governor from 2011 to 2018.” Adkins stood with Brownback while he “tanked” Kansas’ budget, schools and social services to pay for corporate tax giveaways.

Adkins’ support of the manifesto shows how out-of-touch she is with the Kansas Third District. Here’s what’s in it: 

• Slash trillions from Medicare
• Raise the retirement age for Social Security to 69
• Ban abortion at five to seven weeks of gestation
• Halt government efforts to lower the cost of prescription drugs
• End the Head Start program for low-income preschoolers
• Cut federal spending on crop insurance
• Roll back climate change initiatives and gun safety laws
• And much, much more

Read more from the Kansas Reflector here or below:

“Republican congressional candidate Amanda Adkins embraced a U.S. House GOP group’s manifesto for balancing the federal budget that would slash trillions from Medicare, raise the full retirement age for Social Security and end Head Start for low-income preschoolers.

Other provisions of the plan would halt government efforts to lower prescription drug prices, make sweeping reductions in federal regulations and forbid intrusion into businesses and schools of the type adopted in the COVID-19 pandemic. The package would hit agriculture by cutting federal spending on crop insurance, block new enrollment in the conservation reserve program and dissolve a longstanding urban-rural voting coalition by separating nutrition programs from agriculture programs in farm bills.

Another cut: The bipartisan international education and food program named for U.S. Sens. Bob Dole and George McGovern to reduce hunger and improve literacy, especially for girls.

[…]

The “Save America” portfolio would limit abortion access, roll back climate change initiatives, lower barriers to carrying concealed guns, crack down on transgender rights and eliminate an agency protecting rights of workers.

[…]

‘This is the Adkins-Brownback agenda gone national,’ Turner [spokesperson for Davids’ campaign] said. ‘She wants to gut your hard-earned Medicare and Social Security benefits, enact a federal abortion ban without exceptions and revive corporate tax giveaways like those that left Kansas families, schools and infrastructure in the ditch.’

[…]

… The Republican plan featured 23 anti-abortion policies, including a federal ban on abortion at five to seven weeks of gestation… Davids, in response to introduction Tuesday of a national 15-week abortion ban bill by U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, said the South Carolina Republican affirmed ‘extreme politicians have been looking for an opportunity to strip away our right to choose through a total ban on abortion, and without Roe, they have one.’

‘We should believe people when they show us who they are,’ Davids said. ‘Amanda Adkins has shown time and again that she will not stand up against these extreme policies — in fact, the bans she has supported go even further.’”

Rep. Sharice Davids released the following statement after U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham introduced a national abortion ban bill:

“This is not hyperbole or hypothetical anymore. Extreme politicians have been looking for an opportunity to strip away our right to choose through a total ban on abortion, and without Roe, they have one.

We should believe people when they show us who they are. Amanda Adkins has shown time and again that she will not stand up against these extreme policies—in fact, the bans she has supported go even further. She’s dangerously out of step with the Kansas Third and now, the threat to our rights is more real than ever.”

Today, the Kansas City Star detailed Amanda Adkins’ close ties to disgraced former governor Sam Brownback—and how that serves as a “weight around the ankles” of her campaign in a district where just 25% of voters view Brownback favorably.

The Star reported that Adkins’ long history with Brownback—including working for him in the U.S. Senate, managing his campaign, championing his disastrous governorship as Chair of the Kansas Republican Party, and being appointed to his Children’s Cabinet—could spell trouble in a state where “Brownback remains extremely unpopular.”

Adkins’ stood by Brownback while his tax experiment “tanked” Kansas’ economy, calling him an “incredible governor.” The Star reports how the Adkins-Brownback agenda had “a more personal impact than national policies” and the former Governor “isn’t exactly disappearing from public view” on issues like abortion, complicating Adkins’ attempts to mask her extreme anti-choice record.

Read more from the Kansas City Star here or below: 

“Since Brownback launched his tax experiment in 2012 and the experiment went south — draining funding needed for schools, infrastructure and local services — his name has served as a weight around the ankles of Republicans… 

[…]

Still, his reputation lingers. Democratic polling in June found that Brownback remains extremely unpopular, with only 25% of voters in the 3rd Congressional District viewing him favorably. His unfavorable numbers were much lower than former President Donald Trump, who 43% of voters saw favorably.

[…]

‘For almost two decades, Amanda Adkins shaped, supported, and celebrated Sam Brownback’s disastrous policies, working at his side even when it meant Kansas kids suffered,’ said Ellie Turner, Davids’ spokeswoman. ‘A record like that is not something you can brush off, especially when Kansans are still recovering from the harm Brownback and his allies did to our state.’

[…]

Adkins served as a campaign manager for Brownback’s 2004 U.S. Senate campaign and was the chairwoman of the Kansas Republican Party when Brownback was elected governor. He appointed her to the Kansas Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund. 

[…]

Under the tax cuts implemented from Brownback, the state faced massive funding shortfalls, making it difficult to fund the state programs voters feel in their everyday lives. Eventually, the Republican-controlled legislature stepped in to eliminate Brownback’s tax cuts, using a supermajority to override his veto. Brownback has insisted that his program just needed more time to work. Because Brownback’s policies affected the state budget, they may have had a more personal impact than national policies, which often take years to be felt by the average voter. 

[…]

But Brownback isn’t exactly disappearing from public view. In a recent speech, Brownback compared voters rejecting an amendment to the Kansas constitution that would have eliminated the right to abortion to the first battle of the Civil War, reigniting an issue that Republicans like Schmidt and Adkins have preferred to leave untouched.” 

This morning, Representative Sharice Davids joined KCUR’s Kansas City Today podcast to discuss key issues for her re-election campaign. Rep. Davids is focused on lowering costs and protecting reproductive rights for folks across the Kansas Third District.

Rep. Davids detailed her recent work to fix the supply chain, bring manufacturing back home, and cap health care expenses as part of her plan to fight inflation and bring down costs. Last month, Rep. Davids supported legislation to cap insulin at $35 per month for Medicare, and give Medicare the power to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices. 

Meanwhile, Amanda Adkins cited irresponsible budget plans that call for large cuts to Social Security and Medicare as a part of her vision to reduce the nation’s deficit that she would “absolutely support.”

Listen to KCUR’s Kansas City Today here or key quotes below: 

• “I’ve been looking at ways to enact policies and push for legislation … to fix our supply chains so that we’re making more here, domestically… [In Congress] I’ve been a big proponent of making sure we’re being as fiscally responsible as we can be.”
   
• “I mentioned the capping of prescription drug costs, including insulin, but we’re also going to see Medicare who’s going to be able to negotiate prescription drug prices, which will not only save folks who are on Medicare money, but it also saves the overall taxpayer money.”
   
• “I’ve been willing to work with anyone—Republican or Democrat—if the outcome is something that is going to be good for Kansas.”
   
• “The choice is very clear: I have fought to protect our rights, and have fought to make sure that people have the ability to make their own decisions with their doctor, and not have a politician making their decisions. My opponent, who has not only supported the recent amendment, but also, was Chair of the [Kansas] Republican Party when they were pushing for an extreme ban without exception for rape or incest.”
   
• “I’ve been going out and meeting with folks in Miami County, Anderson County, and Franklin County… It’s going to require me to learn a lot about new sectors, like agriculture, but it also means that I get the chance to bring resources back to the Kansas Third—whether that’s on infrastructure, small business or the Ag Committee, I’m going to continue to do that.” 

OTTAWA, KS – Yesterday, Representative Sharice Davids met with Kansans in Franklin County to discuss her recent work to lower health care costs. Davids highlighted her record of making health care more affordable, including standing up to Big Pharma, giving Medicare the power to negotiate prescription drug costs, and helping end surprise medical billing. 

“It was great to come to Franklin County and connect with folks here who are seeing lower costs thanks to important health care provisions I fought for,” said Davids. “Too many Kansans are affected by skyrocketing prescription drugs and medical expenses. Whether it’s capping insulin at $35 a month for Medicare, lowering premiums, or ending surprise medical billing, I’m focused on lowering costs for Kansans—and my record shows that I work with anyone, regardless of party, to get it done.” 

Here’s what Rep. Davids has accomplished to lower health care costs for Kansans: 

• Capped the cost of prescriptions for seniors, including by passing Medicare’s first-ever out-of-pocket maximum on prescription drugs, making expensive vaccines like shingles free, and capping co-pays for insulin at $35 a month. 
   
• Stood up to Big Pharma by finally allowing Medicare to negotiate for lower prices on drugs and creating an inflation rebate if companies increase drug prices faster than inflation.
   
• Helped draft and pass a bipartisan law ending surprise medical billing and protecting consumers from these unexpected and often financially devastating expenses.
   
• Lowered premiums for Kansas families who buy their own insurance by an average of $980 each year.

Once again, Amanda Adkins is making headlines for attempting to mask her long-standing position as an anti-abortion extremist. Her sudden cover up comes after the Kansas Third District overwhelmingly defeated the anti-abortion constitutional amendment — which she “100 percent” voted for. 

As Adkins said herself, she is a “pro-life candidate,” who has a record of “supporting life from conception until natural death,” and even backed a plan that would ban abortion with no exception for rape or incest during her time as Chair of the Kansas Republican Party. While Adkins is busy hiding her anti-abortion history, Rep. Sharice Davids remains the only pro-choice candidate for the Kansas Third. 

Rep. Davids told Fox 4 KC: “Now more than ever, people are going to want to know where each of us is at . . . I think given every chance, Amanda Adkins has demonstrated that she is not in step with not just the Third District, but now even Kansas.” 

Amanda Adkins is trying to hide her anti-abortion record, but she can’t escape her past. On top of CNN, Salon, and the Kansas Reflector, she keeps getting called out:  

AP: GOP candidates mask rigid abortion stances after Roe ruling

“In Kansas, Republican Amanda Adkins — who is running against two-term Democratic Rep. Sharice Davids — wrote in a Kansas City Star op-ed published last week, ‘I don’t support a federal ban on abortion.’

The mention came after months of silence by Adkins after the May leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion signaling Roe was in jeopardy. A decade earlier as Kansas’ Republican chair, Adkins had supported a strict abortion ban in the party’s platform.

Adkins’ Star piece also followed close on the heels of Kansas voters’ decisive rejection of a constitutional amendment that would have nullified a state Supreme Court decision guaranteeing the right to an abortion. Notably, the referendum failed in Johnson County — the teeming, suburban heart of Davids’ district — by more than 2-to-1. Adkins publicly supported the amendment.

Nunn’s and Adkins’ efforts to deemphasize their previous conservative stances on abortion are conspicuous.”

Fox 4: Abortion and its impact on the Kansas 3rd Congressional District race

“How Adkins and Democratic Congresswoman Sharice Davids view abortion could also play a role in November though.

Davids said she’s been clear since the start that she’s supports abortion rights. She argued Adkins hasn’t been as clear on her stance.

‘I definitely think that she has not been as clear lately as she was even prior to the Constitutional Amendment vote,’ Davids told FOX4 Thursday. ‘She was very clearly in favor of the Constitutional Amendment that would have allowed for a total ban in our state.

Kansans soundly defeated the amendment though, which kept an abortion a constitutional right.”

Ad Highlights Davids’ Work to Improve the Supply Chain and Bring Jobs Stateside

Today, Sharice for Congress released its next TV ad of 2022, “Big,” highlighting Rep. Sharice Davids’ work to tackle inflation by bringing the supply chain stateside and making the United States more competitive with China. The ad features Dale, plant manager at a manufacturing facility in Lenexa that inspired Rep. Davids’ legislation to make more medical supplies here at home.

Watch “Big” here:

“I worked with both parties to boost manufacturing right here in America,” said Davids. “Because of our bipartisan success, small and medium sized businesses are more competitive than ever before, and we’re bringing down costs for consumers. I’ll never stop standing up to China and fighting for Kansas manufacturers.”

Davids led the charge to include small and medium-sized manufacturers into a federal program that strengthens the domestic supply chain. She helped negotiate and pass a bipartisan law that will reduce the nation’s reliance on goods made in other countries, and make the United States more competitive with China.  

Her recent success in addressing the semiconductor chip shortage will get businesses that sat idle across the Kansas Third District moving again — all while creating jobs and boosting the local economy.

After the Kansas Third District resoundingly rejected an anti-abortion constitutional amendment, Amanda Adkins, who “100 percent” voted for it, is being called out for suddenly trying to hide her extreme record on abortion. 

As reported in outlets across the country this week, Adkins is a self-proclaimed “pro-life advocate” dedicated to “supporting life from conception until natural death” who championed a plan that would ban abortion with no exception for rape or incest. She is supported by extremist anti-choice groups who heralded her primary win as a “pro-life victory.” 

Adkins’ abrupt shift is in line with anti-abortion politicians across the country who now realize that their unpopular positions will be an important factor when voters take to the polls in November:

CNN: Some Republicans try to shift positions on abortion as general election approaches

“Amanda Adkins, the Republican candidate running against Rep. Sharice Davids in Kansas’ competitive 3rd Congressional District, wrote in an op-ed earlier this month saying she did not ‘support a federal ban on abortion, nor do I support any other federal policymaking related to contraception or fertility.’ But while Adkins was chairwoman of the Kansas Republican Party, the organization supported ‘a Human Life Amendment to the U. S. Constitution,’ as well as ‘legislation to make clear the Fourteenth Amendment’s protection applies to unborn children.’

Adkins campaign did not respond to a request for comment.”

Salon: What abortion ban? GOP candidates abruptly ditch long-held positions in post-Roe scramble

“Others, like Kansas Republican congressional candidate Amanda Adkins, have gone to extra lengths to present themselves as newly-converted moderates on abortion rights. Adkins published an op-ed in the Kansas City Star saying she did not ‘support a federal ban on abortion’ and believes ‘it’s not Congress’ place to impose a national abortion policy on Kansans.’ She did not, however, mention her past record as chairwoman of the Kansas Republican Party when the state organization officially supported ‘a Human Life Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,’ and ‘legislation to make clear the Fourteenth Amendment’s protection applies to unborn children.’” 

Kansas Reflector: GOP candidate Amanda Adkins’ congressional campaign not anchored in alleged voter fraud

“Adkins, who described herself as ‘very pro-life,’ said the U.S. Supreme Court decision to reverse a 50-year precedent in Roe vs. Wade left states to set boundaries on abortion rights. 

[…]

On Thursday, Adkins said in a statement she didn’t support a federal ban on abortion nor ‘do I support any other federal policymaking related to contraception or fertility.’ She said she was committed to ‘protecting life at every stage’ as a Catholic, Republican and mother.

[…]

Davids responded to claiming Adkins spent years working to chip away at a woman’s right to choose while aligned with Brownback, as chair of the Kansas GOP and when considering the constitutional amendment on abortion in August.

‘My position is clear: I believe people have a right to make their own health care decisions, not the government, and I have stood up against extreme politicians who want to take away that right,’ Davids said. ‘Those are the facts, and that is the choice that voters face this November.’”

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and the Kansas abortion amendment vote, KCUR detailed how Rep. Sharice Davids has a “potent advantage” over her anti-choice Republican challenger, Amanda Adkins. 

KCUR pointed out how most Americans disagreed with the Supreme Court’s decision to strip away federal protection of abortion, and that reproductive rights will be an important factor when they vote in November. In the Third District, voters overwhelmingly defeated the anti-abortion amendment—which Adkins “100 percent” supported. 

While Rep. Davids has long advocated to keep politicians out of Kansans’ health care decisions, Adkins’ record shows she is an anti-abortion extremist with a lengthy history of working to strip away reproductive rights—a position that puts her at odds with Third District voters. 

Read more from KCUR: 

​​Post-Roe urgency throws a lifeline to Kansas Democratic Rep. Sharice Davids in redrawn 3rd District

“The Kansas 3rd District race between Democratic U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids and Republican Amanda Adkins is a rematch from 2020.

The newly drawn district, with the addition of rural counties and the subtraction of half of urban Wyandotte County, leans more Republican than it did before. But Davids has a potent advantage that she didn’t have last time.

The Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade has reshaped the political landscape, and nowhere more so than in Kansas. Davids is running hard on abortion rights, an issue that Kansas Republicans have used to pummel Kansas Democrats for decades.

[…]

It would be hard to overstate the impact of the political upheaval in Kansas. The landslide vote on Aug. 2 defeating a proposed constitutional amendment that would have ended protection for abortion rights in the state was a major upset, bringing out a record number of voters to the polls.

A subsequent forced recount funded by supporters of the amendment only confirmed the breadth of the victory for abortion rights advocates like Davids.

[…]

Davids has tried to harness that anger. Her campaign has held a news conference and produced ads reminding voters that Adkins was on the losing side of the abortion amendment vote.

Davids noted that Adkins was campaign manager for former governor and U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, a staunch opponent of abortion rights, and that Adkins has said she believes life begins at conception.

[…]”

Elsewhere in the District, voters are picking up on Adkins’ long record as a pro-life extremist:

“WHO’S EXTREME? 

Amanda Adkins lost to Rep. Sharice Davids two years ago, but she again seeks to represent us in Congress. In her Aug. 25 guest commentary in The Star, she attempts to hide how extreme she is. (9A, ‘Decisions about abortion should be made in Kansas, not in DC’) 

She says she opposes “government overreach in our lives.” Does she really? She may claim she would oppose a federal ban on abortion, but she wants that power to go, as she puts it, to ‘we the people.’ That is, she wants the government of Kansas to force pregnant women against their will to carry their pregnancies to term. Tell me why that isn’t ‘overreach.’ 

‘We the people’ in Kansas recently settled that issue. Government needs to stay out of women’s reproductive lives, we said.

Let’s leave the decision of what to do with a woman’s body where it really belongs: to the woman, not to the government.”

Letter to the Editor by Max J. Skidmore in the Kansas City Star

Kansas Republicans like Amanda Adkins are trying to ignore the amendment vote that exposed their views on reproductive rights as dramatically out of the mainstream—but as the Kansas City Star points out, those efforts are being derailed by the recount currently underway with the support of “far-right activist” groups.

As the extreme anti-abortion groups funding the recount promote baseless claims of fraud or, as they put it, “some kind of hanky panky,” Adkins refuses to say whether she agrees. As a reminder, ‘no’ won by 95,000 votes in Johnson County alone—and Adkins was a “100%” yes. 

Rep. Sharice Davids called out the recount attempts for what they are: “A waste of money and time from dangerously out-of-touch politicians who are unwilling to accept defeat.”

Read more from the Kansas City Star: 

​​‘It’s over with.’ Abortion recount hampers Kansas Republicans’ pivot to general election

“Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, the Republican nominee for governor, and former Cerner executive Amanda Adkins, the Republican nominee in the 3rd Congressional District, have both shown little desire to make abortion a central focus on their campaigns following the Aug. 2 amendment vote. 

But now a far-right Wichita anti-abortion activist and a Colby-based election denier are keeping abortion front and center.

The recount won’t dramatically move the needle on the more than 165,000 vote lead. 

But it will keep the issue top of mind for voters as Republicans seek to win back the governor’s office and the 3rd District in November.

Neither Schmidt’s campaign, nor Adkins’ campaign, responded to questions about whether the GOP candidates supported the recount effort.

[…]

While Davids’ GOP opponent Adkins remained mum on the recount, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee sought to tie the Johnson County Republican to the effort. The DCCC called it an attempt by “radical election deniers and conspiracy theorists … working to overthrow the will of voters in KS-03.

[…]”