Call it political expedience, but Republican expatriate Paul Morrison's switcheroo made national headlines and gave the Kansas Democratic Party a much-needed shot in the arm. Perhaps Morrison sensed that he couldn't defeat incumbent Attorney General Phill Kline in blood-red Kansas' Republican primary, where the God-fearin' conservative forces would surely rally behind Kline. Or maybe Morrison just had his eye on a higher political office. Whatever the reason, the socially moderate, tough-talkin' DA's defection has made the attorney general's race the main event of the November election, relegating Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' run for another four years to mere undercard status. Morrison's move led a GOP exodus that included the former party chairman, Mark Parkinson, who joined the Sebelius ticket. (We wonder whether Morrison's move rallied Republican moderates all over the state, given that they kept most of the conservatives off the state school board in August.) Morrison has proved that he's capable of playing the rough-and-tumble political game. Morrison's offensive has questioned Kline's ability to protect children, has criticized Kline's fixation on abortion and has called Kline out for accepting campaign cash from the gay-bashin' spawn of Fred Phelps. We eagerly await November, when we'll find out whether Morrison the politician proves more lethal than Morrison the lawman.
