As Gov. Kathleen Sebelius announces her re-election plans Friday, she’ll do so from an enviable position in terms of public opinion. The Democrat earned an impressive 61 percent approval rating in the latest SurveyUSA poll of this Republican state, 2 points higher than a month ago and 7 points higher than a year ago. That compares with Republican Sens. Sam Brownback’s 48 percent and Pat Roberts’ 49 percent and President Bush’s 35 percent in Kansas this month. Reading into polls is always risky, but it surely is lucky for Sebelius that illegal immigration is mostly a federal issue.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
In case you didn’t see it, I’m including below a letter to the editor in today’s Eagle about the recent blogger meet-up. Also, fyi: I’m trying to schedule a gathering at The Eagle. Looks as if Thursday, June 22, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. might be the best date and time for us. What do you think?
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
True Americans
I am certainly glad I went to a recent meet-up of the bloggers who post comments on The Eagle editorial board’s WE Blog, a lively group indeed — and civil, considering the differing views. I felt totally welcome and was at ease with everyone. It was a pleasure, and I must admit I was somewhat surprised at the diversity. It felt more like a family reunion than a bunch of people who knew one another only from some words and disjointed names.
The views differ as much as the faces, but they all have the same thoughts in mind. They all have the same goals in sight and the same desires in their hearts. What is best for America and the love of this country drew them together in one place. They are not happy to sit silent while the world spins by or be distracted by what is on the television. It was America — people of different lives and different views but all together, different beliefs all wanting a common thing. Word spreads one person at a time, until a chorus is heard.
I would rather sit with any one of these people than spend a lifetime with a world full of those berating the latest to fall off “American Idol.”
R.D. Liebst
Augusta
The profile on the Clinton marriage in Tuesday’s New York Times is still generating a lot of buzz, but I don’t really see why. The primary focus of the piece is how "since leaving the White House, Bill and Hillary Clinton have built largely separate lives — partly because of the demands of their distinct career paths and partly as a result of political calculations." Yeah, well what would anyone expect? Bill is busy being an ex-president and working on projects such as AIDS in Africa and tsunami relief, and Hillary is occupied with being a senator and possibly running for president. And as the piece noted, it is understandably important politically to show Hillary as her own person. What the article and its attention do reveal, as columnist David Broder notes on today’s Eagle Opinion pages, is that "the drama of the Clintons’ personal life will be a hot topic if she runs for president." Another reason to hope she doesn’t.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
"Personally, I believe abortion is wrong," Gov. Kathleen Sebelius wrote last week in her message accompanying a veto of an abortion-reporting bill. She also noted that abortions in Kansas have declined while she has been governor, and promised that "my administration will continue to work to reduce these numbers even more."
Sound good? Not to some pro-life supporters.
"Gov. Sebelius’ attempt in her veto explanation to portray herself as pro-life is outrageous," Kathy Ostrowski, legislative director of Kansans for Life, told The Topeka Capital-Journal. "She cannot reinvent the term, no matter how carefully she chooses her words."
But Sebelius’ spokeswoman responded that the governor wasn’t trying to mislead and has been very clear about her personal beliefs as a Catholic and her support for a woman’s right to privacy.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
The American Civil Liberties Union gets a lot of grief but has been remarkably consistent over the years in supporting civil liberties — regardless of whether it’s a liberal or a conservative cause. But that consistency may not extend to its own board members.
The ACLU is considering a new standard in which its board members would be discouraged from publicly criticizing ACLU policies and internal administration, The New York Times reported. Some board members are flummoxed. "You sure that didn’t come out of Dick Cheney’s office?" former ACLU board member Nat Hentoff asked. "For the national board to consider promulgating a gag order on its members — I can’t think of anything more contrary to the reason the ACLU exists."
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
In an editorialthis week, we wished the Commission on Judicial Qualifications would be more open with the public about judicial ethics violations. But the frustration doesn’t stop there. Kansans have a hard time generally knowing how to judge judges — a particular problem in Sedgwick County, where we still elect District Court judges. On this point, one important new measure just passed the Legislature and was signed Friday by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius; it creates a 13-member commission of lawyers and nonlawyers that will survey court users and evaluate judges’ performance based on "ability, integrity, impartiality, communication skills, professionalism, temperament and administrative capacity." That sounds like good information. Unfortunately, to avoid politicization, the results will be kept private and only for "self-improvement" for elective District Court judges, but made widely available regarding judges and justices subject to retention elections. The advocates behind this didn’t want the survey results to politicize local elections, but that means the performance evaluations can’t inform elections either. That’s not fair to voters.
Meanwhile, interestingly, conservatives are petitioning to make Johnson County’s judgeships elective, prompting The Kansas City Star to editorialize: "Voters should look very suspiciously on efforts to infuse big money and politics into the selection of judges."
Posted by Rhonda Holman
The bids to host the 2008 Republican National Convention are in, as of Monday, from Cleveland, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York City (again) and Tampa-St. Petersburg. Meanwhile, bidding closed Friday for the 2008 Democratic National Convention; cities in the running are New York (yet again), New Orleans, Denver and Minneapolis.
Which reminds us: Why not Kansas City, Mo., which hasn’t hosted one since the Republicans gathered there in 1976? Kansas City was among communities that looked into hosting the 2008 Republican convention but stopped short of a bid. Its mayor told The Kansas City Star Tuesday that GOP leaders didn’t think they could raise the needed $40 million or more in time, but are eyeing 2012.
Of course, one reason the Kansans who attended in 1976 have such fond memories is that it featured something unknown in conventions today: suspense. President Ford won the nomination with 1,187 votes, compared with Ronald Reagan’s 1,070.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
