Brownback Cruising for a Bruising

Bob Dole could be foul-tempered and rabidly partisan, but when you compare him to Sam Brownback, he was a full-blown moderate. Kansas is close to the most Republican state in the country, but it is also the home of Dwight Eisenhower and Nancy Kassebaum. This tradition of moderate Republicanism is strong in the Sunflower State, and it helps explain why the Democrats haven’t been able to make much headway there over the last century.

To get an idea of what’s been happening in Kansas, it’s helpful to go back to 2006 when Gov. Kathleen Sebelius was seeking reelection. At that time, the former chairman of the Kansas GOP Mark Parkinson switched parties and was announced as Sebelius’ running mate for Lieutenant Governor. This was a repeat of 2002, when John Moore quit the Republican Party to run with Sebelius. These defections did not really reflect any real strength for Democrats in Kansas, but they showed growing divisions within the state’s GOP.

The divisions have been badly exacerbated since Brownback was elected governor in 2010. Many moderate officeholders were purged from the party in the 2012 primaries and the legislature has been on a right-wing tear ever since.

The result is that Governor Brownback is so incredibly unpopular that he is actually trailing an unknown Democratic state Representative in most recent polls.

Basically, the people of Kansas are conservative, but they’d prefer Eisenhower conservatism to Brownback conservatism, and the only place they can find that kind of moderation today is in the Democratic Party.

I can’t say that Brownback will definitely lose because the national Democrats are very unpopular in Kansas. But he shouldn’t be favored to win, either. He’s too radical.

8 Comments

BooMan on February 23, 2014 at 7:42 am

NY Times:

TOPEKA, Kan. — Sam Brownback took office as Kansas’ chief executive more than three years ago, promising a conservative revolution. By all accounts he has kept his promise.

Mr. Brownback, 57, has overseen the largest income tax cuts in state history, an expansion of gun rights, restrictions on abortion, sharply reduced welfare rolls, increased voter-registration scrutiny and a paring of state government bureaucracy. To accomplish his goals, he helped push the Republican-majority Legislature further to the right by working to oust moderate Republicans, deepening a longstanding rift within the state’s G.O.P.

“We believe this is a strategy that builds a strong state in the future on the red state model,” Mr. Brownback said in an interview in his Capitol office here. “I think we are doing this aggressively and I think you’re going to see some very good things moving forward. It’s not as if we haven’t tried the blue state model, because we have.”

But revolutions come with risks, not least because change comes so fast. Single-party control got things done here, but it also ignited an intraparty struggle, as the governor learned last year when some of his allies resisted the higher sales tax rate he requested to balance the state’s books. And while many Kansans remain in Mr. Brownback’s corner, moderate Republicans and Democrats are loudly expressing their anger. With Mr. Brownback facing re-election, voters will be assessing a mixed scorecard of achievement.

Errol on February 23, 2014 at 1:12 pm

That article is interesting but it’s too much on the “both sides” angle, i.e. change coming too fast isn’t the issue, it’s whether his red state solutions actually work the way they are promoted to work. What interests me in Brownbeck’s administration is that he has essentially free rein to create “red state model” government. Now we’ll see if that’s what ppl actually want and if it solves the problems it claims it will solve.

Errol on February 23, 2014 at 1:22 pm

speaking of Kansas – these losers
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/wolf-x-rays-serious-injuries
that horrifying and I can’t believe it’s legal for him to post patient records on his fb page.
any thoughts about Chad Taylor, dem challenger?
http://kmuw.org/post/shawnee-county-da-likely-challenge-roberts-senate-seat

on February 25, 2014 at 1:02 pm

It’s illegal and it’s wrong. It’s a HIPAA violation, absolutely. It’s unethical as well.

I am totally aware that physicians make fun of patients, and this is human. You tell stories to each other. I do the same about some clients. The manner of telling is what is the difference. In public, on Facebook? Never. That is totally out of bounds and wrong. In private in the doctor’s lounge among physician colleagues? That is OK, because it will happen regardless of what we say about it.

Marie2 on February 23, 2014 at 2:03 pm

They should just rename the state Kochlandia. That would end the confusion and stop the “What’s the Matter with Kansas”? questions.

btw — it was only once politically progressive for white farmers. The racist roots are deep in Kansas.

Errol on February 23, 2014 at 3:39 pm

not so. history is complex
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/ks-nicodemus.html
- on February 25, 2014 at 1:05 pm
  
  Yes, absolutely. Kansas was once the anti-slavery answer to Missouri, which was pro-slavery. Quattrell’s raid into Lawrence, KS, at the start of the civil war was a massacre of civilians in the anti-slavery KS by pro-slavery MO raiders. It’s indeed amazing that Kansas has become SUCH a strong red state, since they were a firm backer of Lincoln and the North at their inception.

on February 25, 2014 at 1:11 pm

there is a long time to the general election, and there will be a huge amount of crud aired about any Democrat. While I would like to see a Democrat win, who would put money on it?

BooMan on February 23, 2014 at 7:42 am

NY Times:

TOPEKA, Kan. — Sam Brownback took office as Kansas’ chief executive more than three years ago, promising a conservative revolution. By all accounts he has kept his promise.

Mr. Brownback, 57, has overseen the largest income tax cuts in state history, an expansion of gun rights, restrictions on abortion, sharply reduced welfare rolls, increased voter-registration scrutiny and a paring of state government bureaucracy. To accomplish his goals, he helped push the Republican-majority Legislature further to the right by working to oust moderate Republicans, deepening a longstanding rift within the state’s G.O.P.

“We believe this is a strategy that builds a strong state in the future on the red state model,” Mr. Brownback said in an interview in his Capitol office here. “I think we are doing this aggressively and I think you’re going to see some very good things moving forward. It’s not as if we haven’t tried the blue state model, because we have.”

But revolutions come with risks, not least because change comes so fast. Single-party control got things done here, but it also ignited an intraparty struggle, as the governor learned last year when some of his allies resisted the higher sales tax rate he requested to balance the state’s books. And while many Kansans remain in Mr. Brownback’s corner, moderate Republicans and Democrats are loudly expressing their anger. With Mr. Brownback facing re-election, voters will be assessing a mixed scorecard of achievement.
- Errol on February 23, 2014 at 1:12 pm
  
  That article is interesting but it’s too much on the “both sides” angle, i.e. change coming too fast isn’t the issue, it’s whether his red state solutions actually work the way they are promoted to work. What interests me in Brownbeck’s administration is that he has essentially free rein to create “red state model” government. Now we’ll see if that’s what ppl actually want and if it solves the problems it claims it will solve.
Errol on February 23, 2014 at 1:22 pm

speaking of Kansas – these losers
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/wolf-x-rays-serious-injuries
that horrifying and I can’t believe it’s legal for him to post patient records on his fb page.
any thoughts about Chad Taylor, dem challenger?
http://kmuw.org/post/shawnee-county-da-likely-challenge-roberts-senate-seat
- on February 25, 2014 at 1:02 pm
  
  It’s illegal and it’s wrong. It’s a HIPAA violation, absolutely. It’s unethical as well.
  
  I am totally aware that physicians make fun of patients, and this is human. You tell stories to each other. I do the same about some clients. The manner of telling is what is the difference. In public, on Facebook? Never. That is totally out of bounds and wrong. In private in the doctor’s lounge among physician colleagues? That is OK, because it will happen regardless of what we say about it.
Marie2 on February 23, 2014 at 2:03 pm

They should just rename the state Kochlandia. That would end the confusion and stop the “What’s the Matter with Kansas”? questions.

btw — it was only once politically progressive for white farmers. The racist roots are deep in Kansas.
- Errol on February 23, 2014 at 3:39 pm
  
  not so. history is complex
  http://www.legendsofamerica.com/ks-nicodemus.html
  - on February 25, 2014 at 1:05 pm
    
    Yes, absolutely. Kansas was once the anti-slavery answer to Missouri, which was pro-slavery. Quattrell’s raid into Lawrence, KS, at the start of the civil war was a massacre of civilians in the anti-slavery KS by pro-slavery MO raiders. It’s indeed amazing that Kansas has become SUCH a strong red state, since they were a firm backer of Lincoln and the North at their inception.
on February 25, 2014 at 1:11 pm

there is a long time to the general election, and there will be a huge amount of crud aired about any Democrat. While I would like to see a Democrat win, who would put money on it?

Brownback Cruising for a Bruising

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