Lawmakers deserved detention

Republican lawmakers aren’t amused by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’ new TV campaign commercial, which depicts them as unruly, misbehaving students. But like it or not, that’s how many Kansans see them. Lawmakers, particularly many of those from Sedgwick County, made little effort over the years to adequately fund urban school districts — even ignoring their own audits. And when the courts finally intervened, they threw a fit about judicial activism.
The bigger exaggeration in the ad is the claim that Sebelius “broke through years of legislative gridlock to pass a plan that strengthens our schools.” Sebelius did play a behind-the-scenes role, but the reason the Legislature finally acted was because the Kansas Supreme Court made it, not because of Sebelius’ leadership.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee

21 Comments

  1. CR
    Posted August 31, 2006 at 12:08 pm | Permalink

    The Republicans don’t like their roles as unruly kids, huh? Then these same Republicans should not have cried “Activist Judge” when the ruling came out. The legislators need to just do their jobs in Topeka and not on overtime!

  2. Posted August 31, 2006 at 12:14 pm | Permalink

    It’s like Listerine.

    When the Republicans feel the burn, you know it’s working . . .

  3. Dennis
    Posted August 31, 2006 at 12:15 pm | Permalink

    Awwww. Poor babies. Got their feelings hurt.

  4. Posted August 31, 2006 at 12:17 pm | Permalink

    Democrats have used the Martin Luther King high road, and lost, for long enough.

    Now it’s time for Malcolm X, “by any means NECESSARY.”

  5. Ian Santiago
    Posted August 31, 2006 at 12:20 pm | Permalink

    MLK..”high road”???? lmosrfao

    V.L.R.B!!

  6. Posted August 31, 2006 at 12:28 pm | Permalink

    “Someday this nation will rise up, and live out the true meaning of its creed.”

    But not while people like Ian live in it . . .

  7. Courtney
    Posted August 31, 2006 at 12:41 pm | Permalink

    We need to strengthen our grassroots politics. I’m tired of all these career politicians who have been in office so long they aren’t afraid of being voted out. So they just sit around pointing fingers and sucking up all the tax money they can squeeze out of us.

    When i go to vote i just try to find the candidate that will screw me the least. Which is getting hard with all the under-the-table lobbiest crap that is obviously going on.

    Every office should have a max of 2 terms, like the prez, to keep it fresh and competitive

  8. TRACY
    Posted August 31, 2006 at 1:06 pm | Permalink

    Courtney must be a Jim Hightower fan.Ditto for me.

  9. mrcontroversy
    Posted August 31, 2006 at 1:08 pm | Permalink

    Good on you, Tracy.We’re trying to get Hightower’s daily commentary on the radio station we’re buying.

  10. Posted August 31, 2006 at 2:18 pm | Permalink

    MrC.

    E-mail me about your radio station.

    I might be able to find people to help you out with that.

  11. mrcontroversy
    Posted August 31, 2006 at 2:55 pm | Permalink

    CapnI’d love to talk to you, but your email address doesn’t show on your posts.Feel free to email me, though.I’ve already been in contact with Hightower’s people. I’ve known Jim for over 10 years.

  12. TRACY
    Posted August 31, 2006 at 2:58 pm | Permalink

    Great!What’s your format going to be?

  13. sotheysaid
    Posted August 31, 2006 at 5:26 pm | Permalink

    It is interesting how everyone seems to think the legislature is only made up of Republicans. The Governor must think the same thing because she could not find a Democrat in the legislature that was worthy enough to be her Lt. Governor. She had to go out and find a Republican.

    So she is apparently talking about the Democrats in the legislature as well. It is sad to see her put down the Democrat legislators like this. Some of them work pretty hard and issues. Dennis McKinney and Jim Ward are two that she should have considered but they were not worthy enough for her.

    It’s funny to watch her spend so much money trying to convince people that she really was a leader. You just could never find her leading anything except for a tax increase her first year.

  14. Ben Huie
    Posted August 31, 2006 at 5:28 pm | Permalink

    STS – given the fact that 2/3 of the Legislature are Republicans it stands to reason that she would seek someone who might be able to work with Republicans.

  15. sotheysaid
    Posted August 31, 2006 at 5:29 pm | Permalink

    She said the legislature was unruly not the Republicans. So she is saying the Democrats were unruly.

    She just keeps getting funnier by the minute.

  16. CR
    Posted August 31, 2006 at 7:14 pm | Permalink

    So if Sebelius calls Democrats in the legislature unruly then she must be okay in my book. Isn’t that why you Bushies like George W. because he tells it like it is?

  17. Jed
    Posted August 31, 2006 at 11:15 pm | Permalink

    I keep wondering how much of the wrangling over school finance relates to the RR’s determination to shut down public education completely?

  18. Posted September 1, 2006 at 6:15 am | Permalink

    Shit, I’m unruly right here for free.And I work far more days a year doing this.Sounds like I need to run on the unruly platform.

  19. ksfarmgrrl
    Posted September 1, 2006 at 9:33 am | Permalink

    Can I be your second?

    I’ll stay in the car….

  20. Paul F. Rosell
    Posted September 1, 2006 at 11:15 am | Permalink

    Sebelius NEVER came up with a school finance plan of her own, did she?It is easy to criticize.Sebelius is good at that, but who isn’t?I actually do think Kathleen Sebelius is a great politician. Her ownly real weakness is her off the cuff remarks, that get her in trouble at times.Sebelius’s commercials talk about cutting waste in government and her support of our Kansas National Guard troops.Kathleen might be VP material, but somehow I dont see her fitting in with the Lamont/Michael Moore crowd.

  21. Posted September 1, 2006 at 11:30 am | Permalink

    As part of the “Lamont/Michael Moore” crowd, let me say that we can support anybody who isn’t batsh*t crazy, i.e., George W. Bush and his cronies.