Daily Archives: May 17, 2009

Dobson stinging over Sebelius

May 17, 20096:04 a.m.

dobson4Was James Dobson of Focus on the Family pushed to surrender in the culture wars by the confirmation of pro-choice Kathleen Sebelius as secretary of Health and Human Services?
“We tried with Kathleen Sebelius and sent thousands of phone calls and e-mails to the Senate, and they didn’t pay any attention to it because they don’t have to,” he told his radio audience last week. “And so what you can do is pray, pray for this great nation. . . . As I see it, there is no other answer. There’s no other answer, short term.”

By Rhonda Holman | Filed under President Obama, Religious right | Comments (122)

Open thread 5/17

May 17, 20096:03 a.m.

thread399

By The Editors | Filed under Open thread | Comments (123)

Kansas Democrats have got to be kidding

May 17, 20096:02 a.m.

wardjim3Does the “D” after the names of Kansas’ minority party legislators stand for “denial” these days? Gov. Mark Parkinson and the new lieutenant governor, Troy Findley, have ruled out running for governor. So has Rep. Dennis Moore, D-Lenexa. And the Democrats’ appointed statewide officeholders, Attorney General Steve Six and Treasurer Dennis McKinney, haven’t even had a chance to run for their own seats yet, let alone aim for Cedar Crest. Yet House Assistant Minority Leader Jim Ward (in photo), D-Wichita, said: “We will have a very strong candidate for governor.” And House Minority Leader Paul Davis, D-Lawrence, said: “We have a very good chance of winning.”
But who among them can possibly win against likely GOP nominee Sam Brownback, whose experience includes 12 years in the U.S. Senate, one term in the U.S. House and a run for president?

By Rhonda Holman | Filed under Kansas government | Comments (27)

Wrong time for payback

May 17, 20096:01 a.m.

Parkinsons PrioritiesGov. Mark Parkinson said he hasn’t felt any animosity from Republicans still sore about his switch from state GOP leader to Democratic lieutenant governor and now governor. “In a normal economic time, where the state has plenty of money and we’re not in the kind of recession that we’re in right now, some of that retaliation-type stuff might have occurred,” Parkinson told Topeka TV station WIBW. “But these aren’t normal times. We’re in the worst economic recession that we’ve been in since the 1930s, and I think all of the legislators, Republicans and Democrats, understand that the time for normal, typical, childish party politics is over, that we’ve got to pull together to create solutions, which is what we did during the veto session.”

By Rhonda Holman | Filed under Kansas government, Parkinson | Comments (1)

So they said

May 17, 20096:00 a.m.

layton5“Yes, I was pleased with my time — runners love flat courses!” — Wichita City Manager Robert Layton (in photo), on his division-winning 38:39 finish in the River Run 10K

“I went into the public trails and got lost. . . . I listened for the interstate and found my way back to I-70.” — Gov. Mark Parkinson, on his recent maiden jog near Cedar Crest, the governor’s mansion

“Health didn’t fare well at all. I learned a long time ago that there are two things you can’t argue with: no money and a closed mind. We had both this year.” — Rep. Bob Bethell, R-Alden, on the 2009 legislative session

“Moderate rhetoric, hard-left policies.” — Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., summing up President Obama’s approach to abortion in the New York Times

By Rhonda Holman | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (84)