Like many Kansans of a liberal bent, Kathie Moore says that her involvement with politics was a dutiful trek to the polls every four years for the presidential elections in the futile hope that one day it might actually have an impact. Her routine was to vote Democratic (with a few notable exceptions) and "no" to the retention of judges on the theory that any change in Kansas was probably for the best.

Then came “W”. Having suffered through the nightmare of the years following his initial “election”, Kathie was determined to do more in 2004. That’s when I discovered the Reno County Democrats and it’s been a whirlwind ride since then. In the last five years, Kathie and her fellow Reno County Democrats have sold “Think Blue – Proud to be a Democrat” t-shirts, marched in area parades, set up an internet blogspot and email newsletters, held many local receptions and events and most importantly, increased their membership significantly. Kathie hopes that other counties in her red state will be encouraged by the progress her county has made. She says that these are projects that any county organization can undertake with little expense, and they can have a huge impact. She believes that there are many progressive thinkers that just need permission and encouragement to “come out”. We agree with her!

Kathie says it's fortunate that The Hutchinson News has selected her to write a bi-weekly column. The compensation is minimal but the satisfaction has been enormous; Kathie receives letters of support from the many “closeted” liberals in her area. There have been a few derisive comments as well but as they usually consist of regurgitated conservative media talking points, she gives those responses little credence.

We've admired and respected Kathie's writing and passion for grassroots organizing for some time. We are fortunate that she has joined our Everyday Citizen community!

When asked why she wants to write for both the Kansas Free Press and here, at Everyday Citizen, Kathie explained,

"I recently read that 90 percent of the broadcast programming of local origin is markedly conservative. The loosening of regulations that limited the number of news sources owned by any one concern has led to this situation.

To read her works, please see her blog at the Kansas Free Press.