You’d think all the national publicity Kansas’ sentators get these days would move the needle on their approval ratings at home. Not so, or at least not much, according to SurveyUSA’s ongoing polling of all senators’ constituents. Of the Kansans polled last month, 54 percent approved of the job Sen. Sam Brownback is doing, compared with 52 percent last May. For Sen. Pat Roberts, the approval number in February was 56 percent, compared with 51 percent last May. In fact, the Republican senators’ numbers are remarkable only for how they fall short of Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius: She was at 60 percent last month, up from 54 percent in May 2005. And consider this: 54 percent of Republicans and even 53 percent of conservatives said they liked what she’s doing. Hard to see those numbers adding up to a re-election defeat in November.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
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20 Comments
With approval ratings higher than Brownback or Roberts, it proves the point made by TIME mag that she is one of the greatest governors in the country, a Governor who represents ALL Kansans.
Have to look at the survey results, but I’m betting that Roberts and Brownback will easily win re-election, even it they held the Senate election this year.
By looking at the results, over 70% of Republicans approve of them, and even in the overall category, the disapproval of the Senators are in the 30%.
So the low 50% approval rating actually doesn’t mean anything, because it will not reflect their election results.
Sorry Democrats, but your dream of having a Senator will not be met.
“a Governor who represents ALL Kansans”
Kelly, many in the gay community would beg to differ with that. She has not kept one promise that she or her party made to our community.
You may see us sit out this election given the choices. Of course, we dont have enough votes that she would care anyway.
Also disagreeing with your statement would be people advocating sanity on water policy in kansas. She and her appointees only represent irrigation and wasteful municipalities.
Once again, water watchers in kansas dont have enough votes to matter to governor leadership.
I guess the way to hold office in kansas and be popular is to do nothing. Witness Moran, Sebelius, Brownback and Robers.
The less they do, the more we love ‘em.
Does anyone doubt that kansas will return ALL incumbents to statewide office?
Well, maybe not phill klein. HOPEFULLY not phill klein. But the rest of the statewide incumbents? Take it to the bank.
Here is a twist on an old bumper sticker. “Vote for Incumbents. It is easier than thinking!!”
I’ve been in Kansas for amount four months (6th yr in America) now and your hospitality has been wonderful. Im here writing about the different dynamics of us politics. So heres my opinion of your governor and the state.
In terms of just how Republican the state is, I think you’ve got to expect that an automatic 30% of poll respondents are going to pick the Republican candidate.
Democrats around the country are very disappointed in the polls that show her with single digit leads. Many of them see her as a perfect foil for Mark Warner. Sebelius has strong links in republican counties in the swing states of Michigan and Ohio but i tell my friends to remember:
- You haven’t had a Democratic senator since 1939.- You haven’t voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since 1964.- Your current senators from Kansas are Brownback and Roberts.- Republicans outnumber Democrats in the state senate by 30-10. (Imagine 75 Republicans in the US Senate and you can put such lopsidedness in better perspective.)- Republicans outnumber Democrats in the state house by 83-42. (Like having 289 Republicans in the US House — a huge numerical advantage.)
Sebelius is an excellent politician; she plays her cards very carefully, and if Republicans are successful in uniting this time around, she’ll have a tough fight. She doesn’t deserve to be booted out just because of the “D” by her name, but neither do the Republican candidates deserve to be automatically discounted by any of you all simply because of the “R”s by their names.
Finally, if she were to lose then she would be really unlucky. There are lot of republicans in Washington that dont deserve re-election but have a chance that they dont deserve (talent, burns, kyl and ensign)
Brit, one of the reasons dems do so badly in Kansas is because candidates like governor leadership suck up all the money and talent when they run. She will almost certainly get herself re-elected, but she has no coattails.
If I remember correctly, dems in kansas have not won a statewide race without kathleen since Joan Finney, and we all know how well that went!
Gov. leadership is skillful, but doesnt care about anyone but herself. As you pointed out, we need only look at the ks legislature…and it has gotten worse since she was elected.
Does anyone think that will change if she runs for higher office? She may win, but I doubt the party will have any more success in ks.
Brit,
I only wish we had a BNP-type political movement in this country!
God Bless Britain, God Bless Nick Griffin, god Bless the BNP!
KansasFarmGirl – perhaps you know better than I, but where west of the Mississippi can you find a perfect candidate? I spoke to a Kansas Republican farmer at a public forum last year about water conservation/quality issues, and his reponse was that water for him was like mining. When the vein played out, he would change to dryer weather crops. Now he may not have represented a majority Republcian viewpoint, but on the broader question of environmental protection, there is no question whatsoever which party best cares about and protects those interests. I also think you are sticking your head in the sand if you think the Republican Party is receptive to gay/lesbian civil rights. If you think not voting at all is wise, then you must not recall the Oregon gubernatorial election in 2004 that was determined statewide by about 100 votes. I suppose you also think staying at home and not voting against Phill Kline is wise?
Gosh Kelly, I musta touched a nerve. I am not a republican, and I do not generally support republicans. I also do not support the dems in kansas just because they are dems. I know, how awful of me to demand good candidates, not just ones with a d behind their name.
And as for “finding a perfect candidate”…where did I say that? Typical false bifurcation. If we dont slavishly support kathleen, then boogie boogie boogie, the r’s are gonna get us. Hell, I’d settle for just a “good” candidate. I dont demand a perfect one.
Nice try, but the scare tactics dont work on me. You musta got that “kathleen or else” out of the bushies play book. I think the chapter is called “Fear trumps reason”.
And as for this comment: “I also think you are sticking your head in the sand if you think the Republican Party is receptive to gay/lesbian civil rights” …
No, I dont think the r’s like gay people any more than kansas democrats do. But just for the record, look up the votes in both houses last year on the hate amendment. I think more r’s voted our way than d’s.
And dont forget, it was a GOOD republican, David Adkins, who got it defeated in the senate in ‘04. Too bad the dems couldnt find a civil rights advocate like him in the ks senate or the house in ‘05.
Does that mean r’s love us? No, but it certainly shows where the dems stand too. They can not take our votes for granted. They have done that with other minorities, and we are not gonna bite. Sorry, we have seen that play before as well. It is a well worn playbook.
Wanna give me an example of something good that governor leadership has done for gay people? How about an example of what the dems as a party did for civil rights in kansas since 2002?
After three tries over two years, the gay caucus of the dem party has yet to get a resolution of support passed at any meeting of the state democratic committee. I’m gonna pause here and let that sink in.
The dem LBGT caucus weenied out and didnt even submit a resolution this year. They werer sternly told not to do so by gates, hensley, mckinney, sebelius, et al. Yeah, that is real support of civil rights by the kansas dems.
If the dems lose an election by 100 votes, do you think in two years, they might pay attention to the gay vote instead of taking it for granted? I am willing to try, since nothing else has worked.
“I suppose you also think staying at home and not voting against Phill Kline is wise?”
I think I said “sit it out” not stay at home, and I was refering to the gov’s race. In case you have never voted before, I can vote against phill and leave the gov vote blank if there is no one I can vote for without puking.
But I dont even know why we are talking about this. You and I both know that governor leadership will cruise to her next coronation. Her strategy of doing nothing is working well. See above post about incumbents.
And on the water issue…
Wanna show me some examples in the ks legislature or the gov’s office of successful environmental leadership? I am sure you can find some, but not on water usage and related issues. All you will find on both sides of the isle are good political moves, not good water moves.
The farmer you talked to was an irrigator, no? Thanks for making my point. Irrigators support governor leadership, and she supports them. She and the water office are indeed happy to let them mine the water until it is gone. Check out her campaign contributors on the ethics commission website. Do you see big irrigators? Letting them drain the state is good politics, not good water policy.
Is that what you call environmental leadership?
Gov leadership and her appointees at the water office are also pushing a plan to PAY irrigators to stop using the water.
Sounds good, right? Except for one little thing. The land owners DONT OWN THE WATER. They never have, and never will. The STATE owns all the water in kansas and has a statutory charge to allocate it using the concept beneficial use.
Why should the state pay landowners for something the landowners dont own? Um, maybe because Steve Irsik and the other irrigators who are big kathleen contributors control the majority of the water authority? Look ‘em up. Google ‘em. Facts are an amazing thing.
And BTW, before you say the “pay the landowners” is a good thing…check out how many of those are absentee landowners. The money wont be spent in rural communities via the actual farmers. Lots of the payments will go out of state or to cargill, adm, etc. But then, I guess governor leadership and the water authority think that is ok.
Only in ks…
Check out this great writing on water rights:
http://online.hdnews.net/content/col/hooper022606.html
statistics about people’s opinions are not credible.
Please forgive this out of state comment, but your two senators aren’t exactly heaping glory on Kansas. I respect Sen Brownback for his work on Darfur, but he’s a loon on social issues. As for the White House altar boy Roberts, he seems to have forgotten his oath to the Constitution. His job is to be a Senator with a spine, not a partisan jellyfish. I’m disgusted with him.
Still no answers to these questions? I pitched the softball as slow as possible.
Wanna give me an example of something good that governor leadership has done for gay people?
Wanna show me some examples in the ks legislature or the gov’s office of successful environmental leadership?
Must be contacting the speechwriters….
ksfarmgrrl,
What exactly would you like to see the governor do for your community?
Viva La Raza Blanco!!
What I would like the gov to do is keep her word and have her walk match her talk.
Insider scoop: she actually pushed behind the scenes for the hate amendment to go on the ballot in 05 so the churchies couldnt rally around it in 06. She used her boy Josh Svaty to do it. I can post the article from Harris News if you like.
At Washington Days in 04, her chief of staff promised an executive order concerning discrimination in employment based on sexual orientation. Of course, we were warned that would not happen until after the 04 elections. Because gays are the third rail of kansas politics, we had to just “trust her” that it would happen.
The 06 elections are coming up, and still no non-discrimiation statement as promised. Too politically dangerous is what we were told. I guess she supports us as long as we dont tell anyone.
Her people were the ones who killed the three resolutions of support that were submitted by the LGBT Caucus at three meetings of the State Committe. This after the same promises made to the caucus in 04. The LBGT caucus didnt even bother to submit a resolution this year. I guess they learned their lessons well.
Ian, what I would like the gov to do is keep her promises, or show herself for what she is and stop making those promises. She was on the sidelines with lukewarm statements on the hate amendment, and…can anyone tell me what her position is on gay adoptions?
I’d like to think she cant have it both ways, but with a 60% approval rating, I guess she can! Is that good politics for her? Yes. Does it further civil rights in kansas? No.
I dont think things would be any worse for my community if an r lived at cedar crest. After four years, things arent any better for having a d live there.
I am sighing as I post this. The above will only win her more republican votes in kansas.
You know there is a saying in my community. “What difference does it make which party we vote for if they hate us equally?”
As the ever wise Rage once said, seventy percent of kansans differ from fred, terry and joe only by degree.
Farmgirrl,
As a liberal democrat in a staunchly insanely Republican state, I share your frustration. I can only share it to a point. I know that who you are marginalizes you even more so than me.
As much as you, it frustrates me that many see a lifestyle that they disapprove of as a choice made by an individual to thumb their nose at God and conventional thinking. But this is the Republican and in many cases also the Christian way.
I have posted before that Fundamental Christianity and the GOP are the perfect marriage. They really are. Both see suffering as the sufferers fault; either by lack of faith or bad choices “freely”made.
Farmgirrl? I know you feel badly represented by both parties in this state. You have a right to that. And for my part, I am so deeply sorry to live in a state where such as Fred Phelps, Terry Fox, and Joe Wright are promoted or respected beyond the sorry sad small people that they are by making a villain of you. But removing yourself entirely from the process just as a protest is not the answer. If it were, no Democrat would bother to vote in Kansas, let alone stay here.
Compromise to the slightly lesser of evils does not taste good to a person in search of greater good. But sometimes it is all we have.
In any case Farmgirrl, I got your back.
Thanks JR.
I dont think anyone is reading here anymore, so I will post this again because it just says it all for kansas, no matter who is gov. The die is cast.
Dear Red States…
We’ve decided we’re leaving. We intend to form our own country, and we’re taking the other Blue States with us.In case you aren’t aware, that includes Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and all the Northeast. We believe this split will be beneficial to the nation, and especially to the people of the new country of New California.To sum up briefly: You get Texas, Oklahoma and all the slave states.We get stem cell research and the best beaches. We get Elliot Spitzer. You get Ken Lay.
We get the Statue of Liberty. You get Dollywood. We get Intel and Microsoft. You get WorldCom.We get Harvard. You get Ole’ Miss.We get 85 percent of America’s venture capital and entrepreneurs. You get Alabama.
We get two-thirds of the tax revenue, you get to make the red states pay their fair share.Since our aggregate divorce rate is 22 percent lower than theChristian Coalition’s, we get a bunch of happy families. You get abunch of single moms.Please be aware that Nuevo California will be pro-choice andanti-war, and we’re going to want all our citizens back from Iraq atonce. If you need people to fight, ask your evangelicals. They havekids they’re apparently willing to send to their deaths for nopurpose, and they don’t care if you don’t show pictures of theirchildren’s caskets coming home. We do wish you success in Iraq, andhope that the WMDs turn up, but we’re not willing to spend ourresources in Bush’s Quagmire.With the Blue States in hand, we will have firm control of 80 percent of the country’s fresh water, more than 90 percent of the pineapple and lettuce, 92 percent of the nation’s fresh fruit, 95 percent of America’s quality wines (you can serve French wines at state dinners) 90 percent of all cheese, 90 percent of the high tech industry, most of the U.S. low-sulfur coal, all living redwoods, sequoias and condors, all the Ivy and Seven Sister schools, plus Harvard, Yale,Stanford, Cal Tech and MIT.With the Red States, on the other hand, you will have to cope with 88 percent of all obese Americans (and their projected health carecosts), 92 percent of all U.S. mosquitoes, nearly 100 percent of the tornadoes, 90 percent of the hurricanes, 99 percent of all Southern Baptists, virtually 100 percent of all televangelists, Rush Limbaugh, Bob Jones University, Clemson and the University of Georgia.We get Hollywood and Yosemite, thank you. YOU GET KANSAS!!!Additionally, 38 percent of those in the Red states believe Jonah was actually swallowed by a whale, 62 percent believe life is sacredunless we’re discussing the death penalty or gun laws, 44 percent say that evolution is only a theory, 53 percent that Saddam was involved in 9/11 and…
61 percent of you crazy b*****ds believe you are people with higher morals then we lefties.By the way, we’re taking the good pot, too. You can have that dirtweed they grow in Mexico.Peace out,Blue States