What the hell is happening in Topeka? Heading into this Kansas legislative session, Plog was poised to poke fun at the budget-slashing, culture-destroying, rights-infringing, possibly racist foibles that the Sunflower State's conservative elected officials were sure to engage in. But all that great lunacy is so far MIA.
Yeah, Gov. Sam Brownback spent his first few months in office consolidating state agencies and departments like they were Russian nesting dolls. And state Rep. Virgil Peck showed last week that some politicians, even post-Tucson, haven't given up violent rhetoric. Still, Republicans in the Kansas Legislature are acting like someone slipped reason-promoting roofies in their coffee.
Just days ago, for instance, Republicans led the charge to quash Secretary of State and frothy-mouthed opponent of illegal immigration Kris Kobach's proposed Arizona-style immigration bill. We thought this was a lock! But no. Pat Colloton (R-Leawood) led opposition to the bill over fears about racial profiling. A Republican who isn't cool with rounding people up and checking their papers? WTF! Kobach must be heartbroken to have one of his own party stab him in the back with ... with ... logic.
The Legislature again acted responsibly in the face of a fearmongering bill that would have required a prescription for certain cold and allergy medicines now available over the counter. The state Senate saw through anti-drug rhetoric and pie-in-the-sky ideas of a meth-free Kansas and spiked a bill that would have increased health-care costs.
A Senate committee also scuttled a bill that would have repealed a law allowing children of illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition at state colleges. In your face again, extremists. The Wichita Eagle reported that Rep. Caryn Tyson (R-Parker), who co-sponsored the bill in the House, said, "Currently, the law favors persons who have not obeyed the law over persons who have obeyed the law." Of course, it doesn't -- it just allows children that didn't have a choice to come here obtain a degree and become productive members of society. But rather than listen to Tyson's misrepresentation of the law, lawmakers saw it for what it really was. Amazing.
Finally, and perhaps most surprisingly, the Legislature this month slapped Brownback in the face and overturned his order abolishing the Kansas Arts Commission. By a vote of 24-13, the Senate decided it was better for the state to shell out around $800,000 for arts projects statewide in order to remain eligible for juicy grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. Republicans want public sculpture and classrooms well stocked with finger paints? What's next -- legalizing gay sex?
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Perspective? So, True/False is a matter of perspective in your rainbows and unicorn world of the bottomless pockets of working (not Workers of the World) people?
In the real world, there is a limit to how much you can extort from taxpayers to support non-productive enterprises, especially during economic downturns. As the saying goes, "The problem with socialism (aka the welfare state) is that eventually you run out of other people's money".
Just love it when leftists jump in to defend and lionize Rinos! So funny when today's headlines are all about the lost love of Arch Libs for their dear leader, His Obamaness, over his GWB policy/behavior/war-monger/patriot acting/gitmo copy-catting.
Rinos exist everywhere in the Big Government-Welfare State Complex. Robbing peter to pay paul, for his vote, is what professional pols on all sides do. Time for peter to just say no!
@Ben Palosaari. Thank you !! I have added this headline to my "Favorite Quotes" on Facebook !
Moderate Republicans are and have almost always been true voices of reason in Kansas. It's the psychos like Kobach that give them all bad names.
Just wanted to point out that the author of this article is probably a liberal living in Missouri, and that Brownback has admittedly been reasonable. This is in sharp contrast to the previous two liberal Kansas governors' administrations. Logic would say Republicans = Reasonable. ... Ben, you said it yourself.
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