Stop ultra-conservatives from controlling Johnson County's future
Yael T. AbouhalkahKansas voters are deciding today whether they want to follow Gov. Sam Brownback’s ultra-conservative leadership - or stay with a little bit more moderate path - in the state Senate.
The future of Johnson County is in the balance, to a degree, because the moderates who generally represent this area soon could be outvoted in Topeka in the Senate. (The House is already a rubberstamp for Brownback.)
Brownback and his supporters have been pushing hard - with outsized contributions from the Kansas Chamber of Commerce PAC - for ultra-conservative Republicans to defeat more moderate Republicans in today’s Senate primaries.
Johnson County’s excellent school system, for instance, will fall under more fiscal pressure and face more cutbacks if Brownback and his allies decide to cut educational funding.
And the poor and needy? They will face more problems as the ultra-conservatives don’t support Medicaid expansion and continue to ramp back on social services.
Among the key battles today in Johnson County’s Republican state Senate primaries (including The Star’s recommendations):
District 7: Kay Wolf of Prairie Village over David Harvey of Mission Hills.
District 8: Incumbent Thomas C. (Tim) Owens of Overland Park over Jim Denning.
District 10: Tom Wertz of Lake Quivira over incumbent Mary Pilcher-Cook.
District 11: Pat Colloton, of Leawood over Jeff Melcher of Leawood.
District 21: Joe Beveridge over Greg A. Smith of Overland Park.
District 37: Incumbent Sen. Pat Apple of Louisburg over Charlotte O’Hara of Overland Park and Daniel Campbell of Paola.
The Star’s full Senate recommendations are here.
Joe Jones
9 months, 2 weeks agoUmm sooooo…if voters ARE so called “ultra conservative” they are not free to vote in those that are representative of their desires?
I have read Allahakbar’s stuff for years–his version of “ultra conservative” would be Joe Lieberman
Hey Allahakbar–—I saved my ninth grade civics book—ya wanna do some reasearch?
George Hunsucker
Northland
9 months, 2 weeks agoSo, are the KC leaders ultra liberal YT????
They must be given the city’s “performance”.
Dan Moye
9 months, 2 weeks agoJoe Jonas. You seem to misunderstand the point of an opinion column. He is urging people who may be on the fence to support moderate candidates, not saying that people don’t have the right to vote for ultra-conservatives. Generally people who rely on outright bigotry can be considered “ultra” something…
Charles Purvis
9 months, 2 weeks agobig·ot·ry [big-uh-tree] Show IPA noun, plural big·ot·ries. 1. stubborn and complete intolerance of any creed, belief, or opinion that differs from one’s own. 2. the actions, beliefs, prejudices, etc., of a bigot.
Right now, the most prominent examples of people with this trait are the mayors of Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco. And guess what? They’re all “ultra” leftists.
Mark Hastert
9 months, 2 weeks agoWhat we’re witnessing in Kansas is nothing short of a Republican pogrom, a purge where no one’s bona fides will be pure enough. This internecine warfare will debilitate the party for a generation or more.
Mark Hastert
9 months, 2 weeks ago“the most prominent examples of people with this trait are the mayors of Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco”
I agree whole heartedly. It’s one thing for a private citizen to vote with their dollars or protest but government officials should not interfere with an otherwise legal business. I just wish our government officials would cease trying to legislate religious beliefs too. Brownie & Company represent a very very conservative element in the Republican party. These guys would “primary” Ronald Reagan. If, as conservaitves like to claim, America is a center right nation then we’ll soon be at a point that moderate Democrats and progressives will be closer to most Americans than the Republicans. It’ll be a long road back from the brink.
Dan Moye
9 months, 2 weeks agoI didn’t mean to say they were mutually exclusive, I certainly believe bigotry exists on both sides of the line. I was just pointing out that Joe wasn’t really creating that great of an argument by calling Yael “Allahakbar.” Especially since that saying is spelled Allahu Akbar…but I guess the internet isn’t the focal point of strong arguments?