Posted on 08/03/2002 5:53:30 AM PDT by Non-Sequitur
Kansas Republicans are at it again.
Four years ago, the GOP race for governor was billed as a clash of the titans. Incumbent Gov. Bill Graves, the state's leading moderate, was battling David Miller, the state GOP chairman and Kansas' top conservative.
Graves won big, but the race apparently settled little. On Tuesday, Republicans once again must choose between conservative and moderate candidates for governor.
This time, the decisions don't end there. Besides the gubernatorial race, Republicans must pick between conservatives and moderates for attorney general, treasurer and insurance commissioner.
Then there's the hotly contested 3rd District congressional race between the more moderate Adam Taff and conservative Jeff Colyer. And in many areas, Republicans must choose candidates for the state House and candidates for precinct committee slots.
In one compelling House race in east-central Kansas, the son of former U.S. Sen. Nancy Kassebaum Baker, a moderate, is challenging a leading conservative, House Majority Leader Shari Weber.
Bottom line: Republicans will make nearly a full slate of decisions.
Conservative or moderate? Republicans will set their course on Tuesday.
"The Republican Party in the state of Kansas is at a crossroads," said Dennis Jones, the attorney for Kearny County in western Kansas.
Said Burdett Loomis, a University of Kansas political scientist: "What's at stake overall is this continuing struggle for the heart and mind of the Republican Party. These contests occur in other states. But I have yet to see it so well defined in terms of two separate factions as it has evolved over the last 10 years in Kansas."
Definitions of what constitutes a conservative or moderate change over time. These days, a conservative generally can be defined as someone who is anti-abortion, is pro-school vouchers, favors gun rights and opposes tax increases even for public schools.
Moderates, to a large extent, take opposing views.
The elections of 1998 and 2002 differ in another way. In the last election, Miller was given little chance to knock off Graves, who was riding high with the state awash in economic prosperity.
Graves won easily, 73-27 percent.
This election is different. Up and down the ballot, conservatives are in nip-and-tuck races, whether it be for governor (the conservative is Tim Shallenburger), attorney general (Phill Kline), treasurer (Dennis Wilson) or insurance commissioner (Bryan Riley).
Some pundits predict conservative wins Tuesday.
Those candidates are part of a slate set up, at least in part, by Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback, who has emerged as the defacto head of the conservative right. The ticket was pieced together at a meeting of conservative leaders Brownback convened last winter at his home near Topeka.
Opposing the conservatives are candidates, many of whom are backed publicly, or in some cases less visibly, by Graves and to a lesser extent by Brownback's Senate counterpart, Pat Roberts. Roberts is campaigning for re-election this year.
Roberts' staff raised questions about Phill Kline's candidacy for U.S. attorney last year, poking holes in Kline's assertion that he voluntarily withdrew from consideration. Brownback had submitted Kline's name to the White House.
Graves has publicly endorsed David Adkins, Kline's chief opponent for attorney general. Graves is neutral in the governor's race but has been critical of Shallenburger. On Thursday, the governor stepped into another hot race, backing Taff over Colyer, who has close ties to Brownback.
Several Republicans who hold party positions within the 3rd District also have publicly endorsed Taff, breaking a tradition of neutrality and infuriating conservatives who say they feel betrayed.
Once again, the state party is split neatly in two.
"It's Graves-Roberts against Brownback," Loomis said.
"You absolutely have two tickets," said Trent LeDoux, campaign manager for Dave Kerr, the Republican gubernatorial candidate who rates as a moderate. "The difference from last time is you have clear races for every office."
The split could have ramifications this fall. Some observers fear that the infighting could undermine the GOP candidate for governor against Democrat Kathleen Sebelius, the state insurance commissioner who has no opposition in the Democratic primary.
Primaries "always hurt the party in general elections," said Ken Ciboski, a Wichita State University political scientist.
Others, though, suggest that Sebelius could serve as a unifying force. To overcome her big edge in fund-raising and early lead in the polls, Republicans will have to come together to defeat Sebelius, the thinking goes.
As contentious as the 2002 primary has been, some political veterans have seen worse. They think pulling together this time will be easier.
"I haven't heard anything yet that would keep the party from coming back together again," said GOP consultant Kevin Yowell. "There have certainly been differences, but it's not as personal as it's been in previous years. That's what really tends to split the party."
He and others think some of the steam has gone out of the conservative-moderate split. Voters, Yowell said, have grown weary of the fighting.
"Four or six years ago, the issues were so much more emotional," he said. "Nerves were more raw. There was a lot more tension than there is now."
Despite the tough primary, Republican Bob Knight -- who does not place himself in either camp -- and his gubernatorial running mate, Kent Glasscock, a moderate, predict GOP success in November.
"The general election will offer a stark choice for the Kansas electorate," Glasscock said. "There's no doubt in my mind that the Republican Party is going to come together to defeat Kathleen Sebelius."
The real rub could come after the election when the next governor will have to do what he or she was elected to do -- govern. The next governor will confront a divided GOP in the Legislature, as well as a highly independent-minded group of Democrats who delight in exploiting GOP divisions.
That isn't the only problem. The new governor will face a state budget that could require hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts.
All in all, it's not a recipe for sure-fire success.
"Can any of these factions really govern?" Loomis asks. "Even Bill Graves, with all of his popularity, couldn't govern."
On the Congressional race, my preference would be the conservative Colyer first, the military man Taff second, and the Democrat/Socialist (the Constitution cannot limit what Congress can do) Moore.
If Taff can beat Moore and Colyer can't, I'll take Taff, but not happily.
Just for everyone's information - I wrote a letter to Dennis Moore urging him to support the Enumerated Powers Act (fat chance), just to see what sort of reply I got.
I got a reply alright - Moore stated that the Supreme Court says that the Interstate Commerce (loophole) clause is not limited by the enumerated powers. In other words, this commie lives on the belief that the Constitution doesn't limit the FedGov's power at all, as long as said power has anything to do with "interstate commerce".
That's a pretty straightforward statement, but coming from the Star and knowing the positions of the editorial staff, I can just feel a sneer on the face of that comment. I haven't read the Star lately, but I'd be surprised if they endorse anyone except the moderates.
"opposes tax increases even for the schools" implies to me that they think that is akin to child abuse or in some way just unthinkable (as many voters do). They can't just 'say opposes tax increases' and leave it at that - gotta try to pull their soccer mom votes away from the conservatives.
I have a kid in school. I am glad that Johnson County has good schools, but I don't want any tax increases for anything, including the schools. They can tighten their belts like everyone else and they'll be just fine.
I'll vote against all tax proposals.
If it weren't for my democrat mother-in-law taking the Star here, they would have one more lost customer. I have found them useful from time to time: whoever they endorse immediately goes to the bottom of my list.
As for Taff vs. Colyer, my feeling is either one is preferable to Moore. Taff has the chance to beat him and Colyer doesn't. Moore starts with the advantage in Wyandotte and that part of Lawrence left to him. He picks up enough moderate Republicans in Johnson county to give him the edge. With Taff in the race those moderates are more likely to go to him. That's what it takes to win in the 3rd.
What is the parasite / taxpayer ratio in Kansas anyway?
When I think of the mid-west, I don't envision a lot of big parasite centers, but rather, I see large expanses of self-supporting, hard-working, pioneer-spirited, traditional Americans. Do I have it wrong?
Of course, South Dakota elects a scumbag like Daschle.... go figure. I guess South Dakota must be loaded with parasites.
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