Daily Archives: May 12, 2008

Should church block Sebelius?

May 12, 20081:11 p.m.

sebeliusmug.jpgThe Catholic Church can set whatever policies it wants for its members. So the Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann, of the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kan., is free to ask Gov. Kathleen Sebelius not to take Communion because of her support for abortion rights. But the archbishop’s rebuke does raise some questions: What about other pro-choice politicians? What about all the other pro-choice parish members? Should Catholic lawmakers who support the death penalty also be ask to stop taking Communion? What’s the responsibility of politicians to their church and to their secular duty to represent all the people?

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Religion | Comments (151)

Clinton now insulting whites

May 12, 20081:08 p.m.

clintondlc.jpg“I don’t know if Sen. Obama can win the White House. No one knows. But to deliberately convey the idea that most white people - or most working-class white people - are unwilling to give an African-American candidate a fair hearing in a presidential election is a slur against whites,” New York Times columnist Bob Herbert wrote about Hillary Clinton saying that Barack Obama can’t get enough support from “hardworking Americans, white Americans.”
Meanwhile, the Clinton campaign acknowledged this weekend that it was $20 million in debt.

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Presidential race | Comments (104)

Kansas’ historic GOP streak

May 12, 20086:05 a.m.

mgillWashburn University political scientist Bob Beatty noted in the Topeka Capital-Journal that no state has gone as long as Kansas in electing members of only one party to the U.S. Senate. In challenging Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., Jim Slattery seeks to be the first Democrat since George McGill (in photo) in 1932 to be sent to the Senate by Kansas voters.

By Rhonda Holman | Filed under Kansas delegation | Comments (159)

Open thread 5/12

May 12, 20086:04 a.m.

thread

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Open thread | Comments (265)

2008 already good for democracy

May 12, 20086:01 a.m.

votingThe highly competitive presidential nomination races have been good for democracy, judging from an Associated Press survey of states’ voter registration: More than 3.5 million people have registered to vote this year, with new registrations up about 64 percent from the same three months in the 2004 campaign (in 21 states that could offer comparable data). The survey shows a surge of new voters among African-Americans and women. “This could change the face of American politics for decades to come,” Gov. Kathleen Sebelius told AP, predicting permanent gains for Democrats. In Kansas, more than 13,100 people registered as Democrats in the first two months of 2008, for a total 445,000, as the number of registered Republicans declined by more than 1,500 to 741,000.

By Rhonda Holman | Filed under Presidential race | Comments (21)

The mystery of the ‘Kansas rectangle’

May 12, 20086:00 a.m.

kansasHere’s a funny Onion spoof of Kansas, taking off on the Bermuda triangle. Ouch.

By Randy Scholfield | Filed under American life | Comments (22)