Never mind what voter registration numbers say about Kansas. Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has easily won a second term, thanks to her crossover appeal to moderate Republicans and the weak challenge by state Sen. Jim Barnett of Emporia. Now Sebelius needs to spend some of the political capital she earned at the polls on moving the state further forward. That will mean reaching out more to the GOP-controlled Legislature and being more vocal and visible.
As for the Kansas Republican Party: It still hasn’t learned the lesson of the 2002 election, which was that Democrats can and will capitalize on its ideological split.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Polls had indicated that Democrat Paul Morrison likely would defeat incumbent Republican Attorney General Phill Kline. But not that Morrison would crush Kline.
Morrison’s landslide victory likely reflects both his sterling credentials and voter concerns about Kline’s misplaced priorities and poor judgment. Now Morrison must show that voter confidence was well-placed as he restores public trust in the attorney general’s office.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
The biggest local race this election, both in money spent and political party attention, was for Kansas House District 87. I’m glad that Democrat Raj Goyle prevailed against incumbent Republican Bonnie Huy, who ran a hard-fought campaign. Goyle is just the type of smart, young professional we need more of in Topeka.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Dozens of soldiers in Iraq said that the United States should not abandon its efforts in Iraq, the Washington Post reported.
“It’s still fragile enough now that if the coalition were to leave, it would embolden the insurgents,” said Capt. Mike Lingenfelter. “A lot of people have put their trust and faith in us to see it to the end. It would be an extreme betrayal for us to leave.”
Added Lt. Col. Mark Suich, who commands the 1st Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment, just south of Baghdad: “Take us out of that vacuum — and it’s on the edge now — and boom, it would become a free-for-all.”
What wasn’t clear in the article was whether the soldiers were just talking about a sudden, precipitous withdrawal, or whether they had the same opinion about a more carefully planned, phased withdrawal.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
It’s one thing for those with no ties to the military to criticize the prosecution of a war. It’s quite another for the Military Times publications to do it. Here’s a link to their extraordinary editorial explaining why Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld needs to resign. It concludes: “Rumsfeld has lost credibility with the uniformed leadership, with the troops, with Congress and with the public at large. His strategy has failed, and his ability to lead is compromised. And although the blame for our failures in Iraq rests with the secretary, it will be the troops who bear its brunt.
“This is not about the midterm elections. Regardless of which party wins Nov. 7, the time has come, Mr. President, to face the hard bruising truth:
“Donald Rumsfeld must go.”
Posted by Rhonda Holman
It’s not just cell phone-impaired drivers you need to be concerned about. The latest road distraction, according to this article: text messaging.
Seems more and more drivers are attempting to type messages, send e-mails and manipulate BlackBerrys while hurtling down the roads.
I passed a young woman the other day who appeared to be text messaging while driving on Douglas: She kept looking down rapidly at something held in her lap.
Frightening.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
Some choice quotes from around the state as Election Day approached:
“It’s like a car wreck. Everybody says, ‘It’s a tragedy,’ but they all crook their necks to see it.” — Tim Shallenburger (in photo), chairman of the Kansas Republican Party, on negative ads.
“So Jim Ryun says, ‘Do you want to race?’ I said, ‘No, but I want you re-elected to the United States Congress.’” — President Bush, stumping for the three-time Olympian.
“You know, it’s great to see all of you in such good health, but, of course, I already knew that. I’ve seen all of your medical records.” — Attorney General Phill Kline, joking to a crowd about his legal fight to subpoena abortion clinic records.
“If O.J. Simpson had been tried in Johnson County, he’d be on death row today.” — Kansas City area defense attorney Kevin Regan, on Johnson County District Attorney Paul Morrison.
“I don’t see that when historians write what happened in the four years Kathleen Sebelius was governor — or the first four, if she’s re-elected — that it’s going to be a very big chapter in the Kansas history books.” — Senate Majority Leader Derek Schmidt, R-Independence.
“This has been the best experience of my life, something I would not trade for anything.” — GOP gubernatorial nominee Jim Barnett.
P.S.: We’ll have an open thread tonight devoted to the election. So as the results come in, share your thoughts.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
The Eagle had a picture in the paper today of President Bush, the first lady and brother Jeb. They were at a rally Monday for Charlie Crist, the GOP candidate for governor in Florida. So why wasn’t Crist in the picture? He decided not to attend, preferring to campaign elsewhere.
We’ll find out soon if the GOP retains control of the U.S. Senate or House or both. But regardless of the election results, President Bush has to be concerned about his ability to lead during the next two years when candidates from his own party don’t want to be seen with him.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
American taxpayers are spending about $8 billion a month on Iraq. Is that money being spent wisely? Soon it could be harder to tell.
Staff members working for Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., quietly inserted a provision in the a military authorization bill that terminates the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction as of Oct. 1, 2007. The office, headed by Stuart W. Bowen Jr., has uncovered bribery and conspiracy, exposed poor construction work and discovered that the military did not properly track hundreds of thousands of weapons it shipped to Iraqi security forces, the Washington Post reported.
Members of Congress are now moving to reverse this provision and reauthorize the inspector’s office. Meanwhile, the Post also reported that because of legal loopholes, flaws in the contracting process and a lack of oversight by Congress, charges against the private contractors rarely stick.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
The December issue of Reason, a libertarian magazine, has an interview with “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. The duo were asked why they hate both liberals and conservatives. Parker said that their show has a simple formula: pit extremists from opposite sides against each other, and then one of the fourth-grade kids observes, “You both remind me of each other.” Parker said: “The show is saying that there is a middle ground, that most of us actually live in this middle ground, and that all you extremists are the ones who have the microphones because you’re the most interesting to listen to, but actually this group isn’t evil, that group isn’t evil, and there’s something to be worked out here.”
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
The state budget — and the re-election campaign of Gov. Kathleen Sebelius — got a big boost last week as new budget estimates projected that the state will collect $299 million more in tax revenue this fiscal year than originally forecast. That means there should be more than enough money to fully fund the state’s three-year school finance plan. And it makes it even tougher for GOP gubernatorial candidate Jim Barnett to convince voters that the Kansas economy stinks and that Sebelius is to blame.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
It’s true that Wichita has a cow town and cowboys in its storied past, but today’s residents don’t really want much to do with bovine smells and sounds and rodeo yee-haws in their neighborhoods.
That’s why the Wichita City Council should approve some commonsense restrictions on staging rodeos inside the city limits when it meets today.
The new rules, drafted by city staff in response to a host of complaints about informal Sunday rodeos on North Broadway, would forbid rodeos inside the city limits except indoors in certain zoned industrial and commercial areas or outdoors on city or county land.
City leaders should avoid the kind of heavy-handed zoning oversight that would effectively outlaw any kind of fun cowboy entertainment or exhibition inside the city — such as the live bull riding to be featured at the new Club Rodeo going in at the former Graham Central Station on East Kellogg.
But they also need to set clear boundaries so rodeos don’t run roughshod over the tender sensibilities of city slickers.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
