Free Republic

The Johnson County moderate, a fixture of Kansas politics for decades, is an increasingly endangered species. Republicans and analysts on both sides of the moderate-conservative divide say the Nov. 4 election results confirm that conclusion. The centrist bankers, lawyers and businessmen who once defined the county’s politics are giving way to younger, more socially oriented conservatives who now play the major role in determining the county’s approach to government. “The old guard just doesn’t have the weight they used to have,” said Secretary of State Kris Kobach, a Republican just elected to a second term. “The fact that the elites...

The Kansas Legislature continues to grind toward a tax agreement today. It’s tempting to snicker at the chambers’ inability to actually pass a budget after working at it for three months, but we should cut lawmakers some slack. Remaking an entire state takes time. Much has been made of the continuing gridlock in our national government, brought on largely by the polarized nature of our two major political parties. Divided national government, in our time, is a recipe for dysfunction. But a much different dynamic is playing out in state governments. There, one-party control is becoming the norm. According to...