Democrats opposed the nomination of Sam Fox to be ambassador of Belgium because Fox donated $50,000 to the despicable Swift Boat Veterans for Truth smear campaign against Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass. And when President Bush withdrew the nomination last week, they applauded Bush.
They should have held their applause. Wednesday, Bush made a recess appointment of Fox, bypassing Senate confirmation.
Weekly Standard Editor William Kristol cheered the appointment: "It’s good; it shows he’s fighting back. He had a ‘kick me’ sign on his back, and it shows he’s taken the sign off."
Democrats rightly saw it as a poke in the eye. "It’s sad but not surprising that this White House would abuse the power of the presidency to reward a donor over the objections of the Senate," Kerry said. "Unfortunately, when this White House can’t win the game, they just change the rules, and America loses."
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
If Newt Gingrich runs for the GOP presidential nomination, he will need to do some aggressive outreach to Hispanic voters. The former House speaker apologizedWednesday — in Spanish! on YouTube! — for calling bilingual education the "language of living in a ghetto." But it’s not as if his earlier comments were off the cuff. They came in a Saturday speech to the National Federation of Republican Women: "The American people believe English should be the official language of the government. . . . We should replace bilingual education with immersion in English so people learn the common language of the country and they learn the language of prosperity, not the language of living in a ghetto."
Posted by Rhonda Holman
The Legislature wisely didn’t intervene in an investigation of Wichita abortion doctor George Tiller and order Attorney General Paul Morrison to file charges. But two anti-abortion groups aren’t giving up their crusade.
Kansans for Life said this week that Morrison should be disqualified from the case. And Operation Rescue called on Morrison to recuse himself because he benefited from negative campaign advertisements against his opponent last election, former Attorney General Phill Kline, that Tiller helped finance.
Morrison hasn’t said much, other than to repeat that his office is carefully reviewing the case and will file charges if justified.
Lt. Gov. Mark Parkinson, a longtime friend of Morrison, told The Eagle editorial board that Morrison can be trusted. “He is extremely independent, tough-minded, fair,” Parkinson said. “And if there are things that need to be prosecuted, he’ll prosecute them. But he won’t prosecute them because somebody tried to force him into doing it.”
That’s why Kansans overwhelmingly voted for Morrison last election.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Regardless of how the scheduled Aug. 7 election turns out, state Sen. Susan Wagle, R-Wichita, argues that Sedgwick County won’t get a destination casino. She told The Eagle editorial board that she thinks the Wichita market isn’t big enough to support both a casino and slot machines at Wichita Greyhound Park, which the state’s gaming bill authorizes (others disagree). But even if investors were willing to make the required $250 million investment in a casino, she thinks that casinos as proposed aren’t allowable under the state constitution, but that slots at the racetrack are. Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and others contend that the state-owned casinos would be constitutional.
In Wagle’s view, Wichita could get “the worst of all worlds” — no casino but a “racino” that will suck money out of the community and state.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Lawmakers reasserted their authority over concealed-carry this week, sending Gov. Kathleen Sebelius a bill barring cities from putting their own restrictions on where permit holders can carry their concealed handguns. Numerous cities, including Wichita, had extended the 2006 bill’s list of 22 exceptions to concealed-carry to include city properties such as parks. Proponents said a patchwork of municipal restrictions was too onerous for permit holders. That argument has some merit, but home rule, usually so prized at the Statehouse, shouldn’t be so casually shoved aside.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
The president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has “pardoned” and will be releasing the 15 British sailors and marines. “They are free after this meeting, and can go back to their families,” he said.
The soldiers are not expected to fly home until Thursday, and one can only hope it all goes as planned. Even with the disagreement as to where the soldiers were captured still unresolved, it will be good to have them heading home.
Posted by Ross Stewart
Elizabeth Bishop made a solid showing in the District 2 Wichita City Council race against incumbent Sue Schlapp, who received 54 percent of the vote to Bishop’s 45 percent.
Because Schlapp is term-limited, though, Bishop’s groundwork in this election could put her in a good position to win the seat if she decides to run in four years.
Posted by Randy Scholfield