"What's Right With Kansas"

Today's New York Times has an editorial about the state of Kansas and the new direction that the voters of Kansas have taken, rejecting extreme conservatives from state and local offices, and instead choosing moderate, common sense leaders, like Democratic Governor Sebelius.

They note, "What's Right With Kansas":

It would be remiss to finish the election post-mortems without noting a major shift in the nation’s heartland. Kansas — lately considered the reddest of red states — emerged from the election as a bastion of moderation.

Just two years after President Bush carried the state by 25 percentage points, Kansas voters rebelled against continued domination of the state’s politics by the sharply conservative state Republican Party. The Democratic Party posted major gains, including some by former Republicans who switched parties.

The moderate Democratic governor, Kathleen Sebelius, received a whopping 58 percent of the vote to secure her re-election. Three moderate Republicans holding statewide jobs also won easy re-election, two of them after beating back conservative challengers in the primary. And two of the four people elected to the House of Representatives were Democrats, a result that would have seemed inconceivable not too long ago.

Victories by moderate Democrats and Republicans ended conservative control of the Kansas State Board of Education, which tried to replace evolution with creationism in public school classrooms.

And for us, one of the most satisfying results was the resounding defeat of Attorney General Phill Kline, an anti-abortion zealot who gained national notoriety by misusing his office to further his ideology. He tried to force health care workers to file reports on the sexual activity of teens, and to seize women’s confidential medical records. That gross assault on privacy and legal rights was a major issue in the campaign. The 58-to-42 landslide that elected a former Republican, Paul Morrison, was a victory for moderation and the rule of law.

Now this is not new news to us. We've been watching the Heartland transformation for some time, and applauding the job of the Kansas Democratic Party, which has worked hard to recruit, run and elect leaders that will truly reflect the values of people of the state of Kansas, bring people together and move Kansas forward.

Comments (3) «

I have always pondered why we call the GOP the conservative party?

The very word would mean to me that a conservative would be pragmatic, wise, thrifty and conserve our resources for our future generations, here in America. And, that no gain would be good if it did not take into account how it would effect other's in our very own country. I think the Declaration Of Independence addresses this question.

Instead, these so-called self described conservatives are zealots and extremist's on just about every issue from taxation, abortion to our national budget and pushing for a Lazare Fair economy.

How is it conservative to rack up such tremendous deficits and borrow from China to float us...while at the same time shame our Americans who may be in credit card debt over a medical bill? How is it conservative to ignore the wisdom of our Five Star Generals concerning the war in Iraq, and instead "stay the course," thereby squander life and prolong a war in an ineffective manner? That is costing us not just billions each week but people are dying. How is it conservative to harvest and clear cut, old growth forests and continue the same old energy policy-oil, oil, oil and not seek to new solutions for our future energy needs? Why aren't Democrats called the "conservative" and the moderate party?

I think it is time to stop calling the GOP conservatives which implies they are moderate, sensible, pragmatic and careful. They in no way demonstrate or display any of the aforementioned traits. The GOP seem to show no loyalty to America what so ever. I do not think you can be a conservative if you are a "zealot" and an "extremist"-period.

1

proamerica on November 15, 2006 at 04:49 PM

As a native Kansan I am feeling something since Tuesday's election that I've not experienced for the past six years: HOPE.

A note about Kline: his illegally placed signs in public right-of-way all over town (Lawrence, Kansas) are still waving listlessly in a strong Kansas breeze. Apparently the thugs who placed them there haven't bothered to come back and get them. Perhaps they figure a new attorney general might actually enforce the law and prosecute them! Beautiful.

2

jeudi on November 16, 2006 at 05:09 AM

"What's Right With Kansas"

You mean to tell me ya'll actually found something right with Kansas?

(LOL)

;p

3

FreedomOfSpeechForWeThePeople on November 17, 2006 at 12:21 AM

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