Something’s Happening in Kansas
All sorts of exciting political news this morning (and it’s also Flag Day), but I forgot to write about this article last night and did want to comment on it at least briefly. It’s from yesterday’s LATimes, and discusses recent events in Kansas, where a former state Republican chairman is now the Democratic governor’s running mate. Mark Parkinson’s not alone, either; at least two other prominent state Republicans have switched parties in recent months, citing a growing chasm between centrists and conservatives which was becoming increasingly impossible to bridge.
“Moderates who emphasize economic development and religious conservatives concerned with limiting abortion and gay rights have battled for more than a decade for control of the Kansas Republican Party, which dominates the state with 48% of registered voters. The remaining voters are split evenly between Democratic and Independent registration.
… Today, websites for some county branches of the party instruct on how to identify RINOs – Republicans In Name Only – and keep them from gaining influence. Social conservatives have solidified their power over the party and are especially influential in low-turnout primaries and local elections. Increasing numbers of moderates like Parkinson are saying they’ve had enough.”
I have a deep-seated suspicion (perhaps I should call it hope) that Kansas is only the beginning. There’s an article in this month’s Atlantic discussing the weakening Republican hold on the interior West (from Idaho to Colorado to Arizona), which seems to stem from the fact that the GOP has become obsessed with wedge issues (intelligent design, gay marriage, etc.), and the voters want something else. Author Ryan Sager (who has a very interesting-looking book coming out in September) quotes the Republican minority leader of the CO house: “Our party has basically made the party platform ‘guns, God, and gays,’ and that wasn’t a winning message.”
From Kansas to Montana, voters and centrist political leaders are realizing that the big-government, wedge-issue style of the current national GOP just isn’t working. If the party doesn’t start to change, and quickly, it could find it’s missed the boat.
[Cross-posted at Charging RINO].
10 Responses to “Something’s Happening in Kansas”
This article could somewhat be related to yesterday’s article at TMV about whether or not it’s time to start a third party.
I understand why these former Republicans switched from the Reps, to the Dems. We only need to think about Mark Tapscott to realize that a lot of conservatives / moderates are upset with the current administration.
However; I don’t know whether the Democratic Party is the right place for these people. The Republican Party has some groups with very Right views, but the Democrats harbor individuals with very Left views.
Who knows, maybe, in the end, the best option for politicians like them, is to form a new party of moderates / conservatives.
Actually this is a decision being made about something even larger Michael. The “heartland” republicans are almost devoid of real issues, they cling to the god, guns, and gays meme around the clock out there. The rest of the moderate republicans in the middle of the country are attacked constantly by these social engineers of the right untill they have turned the republican party in these states into a total joke of itself. The democratic party of the “heartland” is alot more moderate than the east and west coast version, and the national republican party has decided fiscal responsability doesn’t matter anymore apparently. The fiscal responsability, and trade deficit issues are worrying the democrats, and they are sick of NAFTA as it currently works, making the paelo-conservatives of the heartland take notice. I know moderates want a 3rd party, and I want a return of something like the old reform party myself, but the big 2 are a candy coated lure to the established politican.
Some people are remembering the line Bill Clinton rode to the whitehouse in ’92….”it’s the deficit stupid”.
Read “Whats the matter with Kansas” (how the conservatives won the heart of america) By Thomas Frank for more insight.
My sense, have lived in Kansas for 20+ years, is that this isn’t much of a story. Mark Parkinson isn’t a statewide name; most Kansas voters don’t know who he is, even after the announcement. The Kansas GOP leadership is in the hands of the right wing- this has happened over the last 15 years. As a result, the GOP lost the governorship in 2002. And there is some level of in-fighting going on in the party for control. Stepping back and looking at the big picture, however, Kansas has two GOP Senators and 3 of 4 GOP reps. Those numbers will remain constant, irrespective of the GOP’s leadership difficulties. In my estimation, reading this as a big trend is an exaggeration.
Michael wrote:
“This article could somewhat be related to yesterday’s article at TMV about whether or not it’s time to start a third party.”
****************************************************
Whether or not its time?
Friend its 20 years way past time to start a third major political party…two party politics just flat doesn’t work well anymore, and that, anyone with a lick of sense can see, hear, and read.
You see a bleeding broken body lying in the middle of a highway you don’t need expert advice to figure out the person was most likely hit by a car.
If you personally have a temprature of 103 you don’t need to have a doctor tell you your sick, you need the expertise of a doctor to diagnose the exact problem, then find and perscribe cure for you.
Well friend…our country has a temprature…its sick, we can all recognize it…the problem is that all the doctors we sent to Washington D C that could and should be diagnosing the problem(s) and finding and perscribing cures…are just as sick or sicker and seem to want to be that way and be as do nothing about the problems and plea to be as helpless as we out here are.
The time for a third powerful party that can AND WILL put both the democrats and republicans in their places with winning plurality votes?
NOW IS THE TIME AND BEFORE ITS TOO DAMNED LATE!
Pyst your cockamamy comments about the “heartland” republicans proves to me you don’t know any true conservative republiicans and what they stand for.
I do hope you meant “the right wing radicals” now popularly called “neocons” that stole the right wing from the true conservatives, rather than the decent honest hardworking people still in the republican party hoping for the best they same way you, I, or any other hardworking honest people in in other party or now devoid of party as I am is.
Pyst..your saying: “Actually this is a decision being made about something even larger Michael. The “heartland” republicans are almost devoid of real issues, they cling to the god, guns, and gays meme around the clock out there.”
That’s a written mirror image of the right wingers you so obviously hate…making them your identical mirror imaged twins!
I’m sorry Pyst…but I’m very intolerant of stupidity no matter who’s mind it comes out of and have slammed right wing radicals crap, that abase left wingers, right back in their faces too…so don’t feel picked on.
Whether or not anyone likes it..we (most of us anyway) are citizens of the United States of America. With diametrically opposite political opinions to be sure, but never the less each of us are citizens. Citizens, some of us its all to evident, that seem to have forgotten what coming to a mutually benificial agreement is all about.
But you go ahead and stay glued to your party thinking beliefs.
I’ll stick to my beliefs for all U S CItizens including you.
Your last comment, Chippedchips, is very well written.
The American political debate has gotten extremely polarized: all reps are ‘right wingers’, all democrats are ‘leftist loonies’. Nothing good can come out of that.
Both parties harbor extremes, but both parties harbor decent politicians as well.
McCain and Giulini are great examples of that within the Republican Party. To act as if they are right wing, neoconservatives is not in line with the truth.
Both parties harbor extremes, but both parties harbor decent politicians as well.
Here, here, Michael. And there’s a whole bunch of unaffiliated, nonparty voters out here who recognize just that.
Michael, kreiz…now you’re talking my kind of politics.
ALL political parties “harbor” as you put it, not only decent politicians but common citizens just like us.
Btw CC I voted Libertarian in ’04 (Badnarik), so trying to assume how I vote isn’t so easy to peg now is it? I don’t feel bad that you call me stupid, because you thinking I don’t remember what conservatives used to be, while I voted for the last vestage of old style conservatism in ’04 makes you look stupid.
Now how did you vote in ’04?
There are not enough Kansans to make any difference in the world. They are tight-arsed republicans though. They even cancel their primaries for “cost” reasons. They are an oppressed people and they certainly need more Democrats, but are they really Democrats?
PING:
TITLE: Revenge may be sweet…….
BLOG NAME: Middle Earth Journal
…..but winning is sweeter.
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