Eight years ago, Phill Kline used an anti-abortion crusade to win the Republican nomination for Kansas Attorney General and, in a tight election, the office itself. For four years, his crusade took center stage in Topeka, as many of the AG's core responsibilities (e.g., consumer affairs) fell by the wayside. In 2006, the voters handed him a resounding defeat, and the office returned to a more ordinary operation, where actual criminal and civil litigation took center stage.
I write these words on my 77th birthday. And though I’m very grateful that the Lord has allotted me another measure of my life, I write with a “shadowed heart.” Perhaps some background might shed some light.
I don't know if you've noticed, but there's been a nuanced shift in the talking points of our president lately. Throughout the campaign, plus for about a year after election to the highest office in the land, he spent most of his waking hours beating the Bushes. For every ill, real or perceived, the fault lay squarely on the shoulders of George Bush and the “failed policies of the last eight years.”
The future of the Kansas Democratic Party may be riding with the fortunes of Attorney General Stephen Six, Secretary of State Chris Biggs and State Treasurer Dennis McKinney. Each are unelected incumbents who were appointed by Democratic governors to fill out the unexpired terms of their predecessors who resigned.
I’ll admit that I wasn’t former President George W. Bush’s biggest fan, but let’s give credit where credit is due. He knew who the enemy really was. So when I see people get worked up over things like a mosque blocks away from ground zero in New York, I wonder why more people don’t follow his lead.
There are days that one goes to the movies in the devout hope that one will not be lambasted with deep plots, challenging themes, edgy messages or glamorous girls in gooey gowns (well, maybe the last is OK). Wouldn't it be nice to go to a show sans any embarrassing moments where your 6-year-old son or 80-year-old grandmother could laugh right along with you?
The mid-term primary election season is over – thank goodness! I’ve spent a couple of weeks just shaking my head and reflecting on what was witnessed by voters in Kansas.
Most media reports on last week’s primary elections focused on high profile congressional races and concluded that Republican voters had turned to the right. A more careful look at the election results may suggest a different view
I don’t consider myself to be a particularly religious individual. I’m not an atheist, or even an agnostic. I have faith in God and Jesus, but not so much in the texts and institutions we’ve constructed around them. I don’t go to church regularly. I have my grandmother’s Bible, but it’s more of an heirloom than a book that sees a lot of use. I’m here, God is there and maybe one day we’ll have a long talk about the how and why of the universe.
To his credit, presidential candidate Obama never lied to us about his predilection for wealth distribution. He told Joe the Plumber that it was better to “spread the wealth around.” Most folks, as did I, thought it was simply benign campaign rhetoric. Little did we realize how serious he was.
Journalism is about stories.
The lesson to learn from Tuesday’s Republican primary was probably overshadowed by Jerry Moran’s victory for the U.S. Senate over Todd Tiahrt.
I am writing this a couple days before the upcoming primary election. Therefore, this will be published sometime after the election. Though I pray for the future of our country, I must admit I have become increasingly cynical that some of those we choose may not do the right thing.
Congress is getting ready to adjourn for its annual August recess. Members will be scattering to the four winds, back to their respective districts or states. Most -- the brave ones, anyway -- will be conducting listening tours, or a series of town-hall style meetings. With that absence, there's good news and there's bad news.
August 3 has turned into the most ballyhooed primary in modern Kansas history. Republican races between well-funded candidates for the U.S. Senate and the 1st and 4th congressional districts in particular have engulfed our television screens with political advertising and filled the newspapers with their campaign messages.
My father is planning a move from Salina to McPherson, and as a result, we are downsizing his household possessions considerably.
