Wheels of fortune spin for KC area politicians
Barb ShellyIt’s that time of year when we take stock.
No, not of the market, although that is always worth watching.
But the fortunes and misfortunes of our region’s leaders are just as volatile and interesting and they are the topic of the day.
Large and In Charge
Sam Brownback. Critics can question the Kansas governor’s policies and tactics, but not his effectiveness. He got nearly everything he wanted in 2012, including his dream Legislature, and is poised to shoot for more in 2013.
Sly James. Kansas City’s mayor is thriving in the job. He makes things happen for Kansas City. As he approaches the halfway mark of his first term, James should use his creativity and considerable popularity to help find a way to reduce gun violence, and to halt decay in east side neighborhoods.
Tim Jones. Kansas Citians don’t know much about the politician from the St. Louis area who is Missouri’s House speaker. But as leader of the huge Republican majority, Jones has as much power as anyone in Missouri government. We’ll see how he uses it.
Make or Break Time
Jay Nixon. Missouri’s Democratic governor appears to have finally found his Big Cause — expansion of Medicaid limits. Getting this done over Republican reluctance would redeem Nixon’s standing among the state’s Democrats, and give him a solid political achievement to take into future campaigns.
Mike Sanders. The Jackson County executive is as capable and hard-working a public servant as you’ll find. But you know he wants to be remembered for more than just competence. This would be the year to get that commuter rail line off and running.
Kevin Yoder. The Congressman from Johnson County didn’t exactly distinguish himself in his freshman term, what with that skinny-dipping incident in the Sea of Galilee. He needs to regain his gravitas, and define himself as more than just another tea party-voting Republican.
Missing in Action
Women political leaders. Where have they gone? Not long ago, women wielded clout as mayors of the region’s largest cities and as top leaders of Jackson and Johnson counties. Now, with the exceptions of Jean Peters Baker as Jackson County prosecutor and Pam Mason as Clay County presiding commissioner, they are hard to find in top roles. One bright spot: Jolie Justus of Kansas City will be influential in Jefferson City as the Senate minority leader.
Sam Graves. Just where was the Congressman from the 6th District when the House took the “fiscal cliff” vote? Graves’ official explanation — “I was detained” — covers a lot of territory. For the record, Graves’ voting attendance for 2012 was in respectable 96 percent territory. But sometimes it’s the one you miss by which you’ll be remembered.
Leading Rebounders
Claire McCaskill. The Democratic U.S. senator was never as endangered as the pundits made her out to be. McCaskill understands Missouri and knew what she needed to do to win, even without a hefty assist from her Republican opponent, Todd Akin. Still, a 16-point win is a big deal.
Peter Kinder. It’s never great for one’s political career to be photographed with a stripper in a bawdy nightclub. But Missouri’s venerable Republican lieutenant governor survived that, plus a primary challenge from a well-financed opponent, plus a general election race against a former state auditor to win a third term. He’s now eyeing the congressional seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson.
Down and Out
Kansas moderate Republicans. They were routed in the August primary, as Brownback’s political machine kicked into high gear to elect conservatives. And given our polarized political climate, they may not be coming back. Ever.
Dave Spence and John Brunner. Who? Our point, exactly. These are the GOP business types who ran in Missouri for the governor’s office and U.S. Senate, respectively. It’s just hard to make the leap from the executive offices to the campaign trail.
Todd Akin. See above mention of Claire McCaskill.
As usual, I conclude with the laws of political gravity. What is up usually comes down, what’s down often (but not always) bounces back up, and what goes around inevitably comes back around.
To reach Barbara Shelly, call 816-234-4594 or send email to bshelly@kcstar.com. Follow her on Twitter @bshelly.
George Hunsucker
Northland
4 months, 2 weeks agoYou left-out the rev. stiffing the taxpayers with his carwash, but that is not surprising to me ms. shelly….
George Hunsucker
Northland
4 months, 2 weeks agoI guess this is more of Suzanne’s female pragmatism showing….
http://freebeacon.com/white-house-war-on-women-escalates/
George Hunsucker
Northland
4 months, 2 weeks agoOr maybe this is the female pragmatism Suzanne was referring to:
http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/joe-biden-gets-frisky-senators-wife_693621.html
Ed Minges
4 months, 2 weeks agoActually, Barb, what goes down comes up only if mistakes are corrected and lessons learned.
As with our esteemed commenter above, the right seems content to continue to get its news from World Net Daily, continue to ignore the perils of lecturing the rest of us mortals on morality while eternally getting its parts caught in its collective zipper, and pretending that the Republican debacle of 2012 was due to the MSM, the perpetrators of the global warming hoax, and uppity Presidents.
Pacem in Terris.
George Hunsucker
Northland
4 months, 2 weeks agoI just enjoy detailing the hypocrisy of the libs….
Where is the screaming for illegal wiretaps? Where is your screaming for Gitom remaining open? Where is your screaming for women being treated as noted above? And most importantly currently, where is your sreaming for Hollywood being villified for producting the violence they do which influences our youth?
It is not there because it criticizes zero and that is not in the lib DNA…
Ed Minges
4 months, 2 weeks agoAmazing.
A complete inability to learn from experience.
Thank you, Mr. Hunsucker. Your fearmongering helped defeat Mitt Romney, and I’m happy to see you intend to stay at it.
Perhaps we can keep a Republican out of the White House until Amy Carter comes of age.
George Hunsucker
Northland
4 months, 2 weeks agoFacts are “fear-mongering” Ed??????
Ed Minges
4 months, 2 weeks agoNovelists find endless amusement seeking virtue in houses of ill repute. It’s a house of ill repute; it says so on the sign; the police recognize it as such; nowhere do they claim to be repositories of virtue. Why would anyone but a novelist look for virtuous souls in a house of ill repute?
Similarly, right-wing radical websites proclaim themselves to be advocates, not reporters, on their “About Us” pages. Their orientation and advocacy is a secret to none. Why would anyone look for facts on an advocacy website?
As a practical matter, the Karl Rove model of fearmongering to win elections clearly doesn’t work any more. If you are in fact a concerned, principled conservatives, you might join the rest of your colleagues in their search for a new direction and new strategies if you ever hope to see one of your candidates in office in your lifetime.
George Hunsucker
Northland
4 months, 2 weeks agoHere are some more FACTS for you to digest Ed and the economy prepares for another recession brought on by zero’s taxation and regulation policies… Oh, that’s right, this is just more “right wing” fearmongering, isn’t it?????
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/unemployment-rises-women-african-americans-december
Ed Minges
4 months, 2 weeks agoYou don’t get it, do you?
http://cnsnews.com/about-us
As long as you continue to believe that only brave right-wing radicals bring us the real news, and that all other sources are corrupt and biased, you will continue to contribute to the horrifying downfall of the Republican Party. I grew up with the Republican Party of Eisenhower, Goldwater, Ford, and, later, Dole; you are apparently comfortable with the present cadre of yowling fearmongers whose clumsy incompetence lost what should have been two easy wins.
Which is fine with me, by the way.
George Hunsucker
Northland
4 months, 2 weeks agoDo you dispute the unemployment numbers for women and blacks??????
Ed Minges
4 months, 2 weeks agoGeorge, you can continue like this trying to find some button to push to prove that the U.S. is going to hell in a handbasket.
Or you can educate yourself a little, if you’re really interested in finding answers. Blacks and women are the first fired, and suffer the highest rate of unemployment. They also have the toughest time finding jobs in a down market. They disappear as “discouraged workers” from the unemployment stats, and return when employers are hiring again AS UNEMPLOYED LOOKING FOR WORK. Look back a couple of months and you’ll find that this phenomenon was being trumpeted by Republicans, seeking to denigrate changes in the unemployment rate. Now they seem to have forgotten that.
DON’T GO TO ADVOCACY SITES FOR HARD NEWS. THEY HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO MOTIVATION TO BE FAIR AND BALANCED.
Go to Fox, go to NBC, and split the difference.