Kansas Primary Results: The Evangelical War On Politics in Kansas Has Turned Into a Crisis

[RKP5637]

Last edited Wed Aug 8, 2012, 04:23 PM - Edit history (1)

See: http://www.policymic.com/articles/12454/kansas-primary-results-the-evangelical-war-on-politics-in-kansas-has-turned-into-a-crisis

Most people consider Kansas to be, firstly, fly-over country, and secondly, an intolerant, conservative hotbed.

For the record, neither is true, but there is a disturbing trend toward blind faith.

Traditionally, Kansans value hard work far above other considerations. Now-Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sibelius was elected governor in 2002 largely because she worked so hard previously as the state insurance commissioner, and Kansans put faith in her commitment to the people of our state and her work ethic. How times have changed.

This is a crisis. When any person in political office is elected simply because of their faith and willingness to conform most to a set of another’s ideals, true leadership is lost. Moderation has all but disappeared here, and the savviest of politicians who have worked to create this atmosphere are enjoying unrivaled, uncompromising power.

[southernyankeebelle]

1. Well it will now a state for the intolorent. Anyone that thinks freely better move out of the state

America will get a chance to see crazy in action.

[RKP5637]

3. It's going off the deep end. The intolerant well might flock to Kansas as

the home for the extreme. And this will meet Brownback's magical agenda that zillions of people are going to flock to KS under his leadership.

[southernyankeebelle]

5. I was already thinking that. Maybe they should take a look at how Ava Marie in FL is

working for them. I'd sure think twice. Be careful what you wish for.

[RKP5637]

9. Ava Marie, FL. Another scary place ...

[southernyankeebelle]

23. Yes indeed. Very scary

[RKP5637]

25. It's like Stepford as in the Stepford Wives movie. n/t

[southernyankeebelle]

29. Yes it sure does look like that.

[coalition_unwilling]

8. They should be prepared ahead of time to be bored to tears

by the endless mile after mile of wheat field, punctuated by an occasional oil drilling thingy. The drive from Kansas City to Denver on I-70 has to rank as one of the most tedious in the entire country.

[MuseRider]

10. I love it.

You have to be able to see the beauty in the flat prairie though. We take the back roads into it, it is wonderfully beautiful but most people would rather just write it off as ugly and not explore what is in there. Get off the freaking Interstate and have some fun.

[coalition_unwilling]

11. I grew up in SW Missouri and used to drive over to Pittsburg all the time

to buy beer illegally (back when you could buy 3.2 at 18).

Lived in Kansas City, MO for many years and had relatives who lived in Shawnee Mission (IIRC), so used to ride my bicycle out there from time to time.

My Dad lives in Lawrence currently, whose history during Bleeding Kansas and the 60s definitely compensates for the rest of Kansas' geographical shortcomings

[MuseRider]

12. My GG and GGG grandfathers

settled this area where I live and were Free Staters. They were Jayhawkers and were written about in John Brown's letters. I could not leave this place if I tried. I love the prairie but would, if I had to choose, prefer this area and the Flint Hills.

Your drive for beer must have been either pre or post Vern Miller

[coalition_unwilling]

13. Mid to late 70s for the drives to Pittsburg. There was a

college or university of some sort there and I think the liquor stores didn't card people very religiously for the 3.2% swill. So one could pretty easily buy 3.2% beer there at the ripe old age of 16 and 17. Have some fond memories of those times, mixed in with a lot of bad ones on the MO side of the border.

[dogknob]

20. They will tire of landlocked Kansas.

Why should the heathens have all the good coastal land?

[Initech]

2. The evangelical Taliban at work.

[RKP5637]

46. Yep, I think that has a lot to do with it, do as commanded. n/t

[LonePirate]

4. As a Kansan, this state is flyover country and an intolerant, conservative hotbed

Just wait until January when these Teabillies and Talibangelicals start sending all sorts of crazy legislation to their messiah in the governor's office. AL, MO, MS, SC, TX and other states will seem like liberal paradises compared to what is in store here.

There are plenty of somewhat sane Republican voters in the urban areas that will help usher in these extremist fools simply because they have an R next to their name on the ballot despite the voters having far more in common with the tepid Democrats that run for office here. It is going to be very scary living here in 2013.

[RKP5637]

6. So many Kansans seem to vote R under robotic control. Some never

even know the issues, they just vote R.

[Major Nikon]

48. It's not even good flyover country

I've flown over it at low altitude. Geographically there's no difference from one side of the state to the other.

Politically I think of Kansas as how Texas would be if we didn't have liberal enclaves in most of the larger cities. Very scary indeed.

[MuseRider]

7. Congressional District 102

incumbent Jan Pauls, Democrat, has helped to write and has co-sponsored much of the religious crap along with her cohort Lance Kinzer, Republican in the House. She has continually voted her religion, against mainly LGBT, women and undocumented workers as well, and said some very horrible things along the way. We ran an openly gay young man against her last night. We recruited him, we supported him and we did all we could for him. He is behind by 7 votes, the provisional votes have yet to be counted. (as far as I can find anyway) If she wins hopefully we can demand a recount and if she still wins we have the option of contesting it because she moved from her home because her district moved, into a church. No furniture, no beds or working kitchen. It is not a residence.

OP, this is not directed at you.

OK, go ahead and keep on with this, it is bad here. Very bad. The Kochs run everything from the Governor on down and the Democrats both here and nationally, have paid not one tiny bit of attention except to point their fingers and chuckle, have been no help at all. The good guys get no money from the party. How in the hell does anyone ever expect a Democrat to win when they can't even afford to advertise or make flyers to defend themselves and mention a few of the things they believe in? Half the people did not even know Sam Brownback had someone running against him until they saw his name on the ballot. We had one time recently when there was attention given to the Dems in our state and that was with Dean. We had Kerry and Edwards come through the state and stop to give speeches. Boyda had money and she won. We made a little progress and now we have been filed in the trash again. They certainly want our money and when they find out where we are they laugh at us on the phone and hang up.

OK, go ahead. The fact that there is anyone out here fighting and keeping it from being worse is pretty amazing but we try. Try fighting for LGBT rights in a place like this. So far our record is better than theirs, they keep hacking away though.

Now you know why I get so irate with the oh so smug democrats from places where you can't turn around without running into another democrat come here telling us what we should do and where we should do it and then making nasty remarks about those of us working our asses off to change things.

[proud2BlibKansan]

47. +1

[northoftheborder]

14. I commiserate - we have a Democrat runnning against a Tea Party for US Senate....and no one

seems to be giving him any support from Washington. Just ignored.

[Tom Ripley]

15. I bet Dorothy Gale would be singing a different tune now

[RKP5637]

16. Yep! n/t

[mmonk]

17. Maybe it's time to join Americans United?

http://www.au.org/

[RKP5637]

18. Interesting!!! n/t

[MuseRider]

19. I am looking forward to the race against Lynn Jenkins.

Tobias Schlingensiepen will be running against her. I was thrilled he won this.

[RKP5637]

21. Wow! Interesting, great!!! n/t

[JHB]

22. How is the situation he describes NOT "an intolerant, conservative hotbed"?

Just asking.

[RKP5637]

24. My first thought too as I first read this. He lives in KS, so maybe he's

trying to balance the contradictions in his head hoping it will get better. Kansas people are pleasant and there are some beautiful areas. Kansas is a real conundrum. Frankly, I think the Koch brothers create a lot of the weirdness in KS.

[MuseRider]

28. Thank you, yes the Koch bros are a big problem.

All their little minons are through the entire government. Constant LTTE's etc., their spouses working directly for the governor or legislators or for programs set up by the governor. They are as pervasive as the Phelps clan who run the gamut of jobs in Topeka. We have needed serious help for a long long time but as time goes on we end up closer and closer to the point of no return.


OK enough pissing and moaning about it. My husband is having heart surgery next week and we just got some not really good but not really bad news and I am at the extreme end of my stress level. Please disregard if this makes no sense.

Edit because of my last remarks. No sense in ranting anyway.

[KamaAina]

30. Kansas? Point of (K)no(w) Return?

Naw. Never happen.

[MuseRider]

31. Well done!

I knew those guys! Kerry still lives close and his brother and nephew built my horse barn

[patrice]

37. He, he . . . I was catcher in the city co-rec slow pitch softball team they sponsored a couple of

summers. Didn't know them personally, and they were in Atlanta most of the time anyway, but drank lots of beer with their front-man's girlfriend who was our pitcher and her best friend who was part of a big construction-biz family in Topeka.

small world.

Good to see you around MuseRider.

[MuseRider]

44. Cool!

patrice!

The first bassist Dave Hope lived down the street from me and around the corner. They practiced in his garage. I got to listen to them when they were called several different bands. Mostly I remember White Clover then, of course, Kansas. I knew several of them a little then but mostly they were guys who were temporary.

I have not seen Kerry since his stroke. I really do not know him. Sat with his family at a Japanese restaurant once but that is it. I knew his brother pretty well over the year we worked on getting the barn up.

Good to see you too. It is a small world.

[RKP5637]

32. I'm sorry to hear about your husband and his surgery. I hope everything

works out OK.

[MuseRider]

33. Thanks,

it will. He is in great shape otherwise it has just gotten a little more complicated than we were told last week. Longer surgery, more extensive and longer hospital stay. All about 1 1/2 hours away from where we live and me having to drive back and forth to take care of him and then the farm. I am stressed to the max at the moment so please forgive my ranting. Things are bad enough without my whining!

[patrice]

26. I'll probably never work here again, I wonder if I can get Di$ability for being a Liberal Democrat.

[RKP5637]

34. Yep, just write a letter to gov. B and ask. KS is probably going to

create a brain drain except for those who are conservative and like the direction KS is headed. I can't imagine many people making KS a point of destination for employment because of all of the negativity TPTB spin, and when there's not that there's the Phelps family, and then the abortion stuff, plus the Koch brothers. They make is just such a hostile sounding place.

It's a shame, because in many ways KS is a very nice place. Frankly, it's quite scary as to what the future holds if the teabaggers are even more on steroids after the 2012 election.

[patrice]

35. Brains can be serious things to drain. Wondering about that recent SNAFU at Ks DMV, e.g. nt

[RKP5637]

36. Yep, wasn't that something. It sounds like simulated system load testing

was not done before the new system was brought online.

[patrice]

39. That's often the problem, maybe exacerbated by little or no documentation so the fix was a bitch too

First two things that get cut in many projects, documentation and testing.

[RKP5637]

41. That is sooo true, so often. "First two things that get cut in many projects, documentation and

testing." I've often read documentation wherein I wonder if what I'm reading was even matched up to the doc title it's so off base.

[patrice]

42. I did documentation for broadband development at a telecom, so I was always rounding up everything

that was out there and making it usable, also did ticket reporting so I had to research ops issues, and release co-ordination in which I had to publish to the enterprise regarding their projects. I know what you're referring to.

You can read a lot of job descriptions that try to marry programming and documentation, but I don't think it ever works. Engineers are too busy doing it to try to figure out what other people might need to know about all of that.

[RKP5637]

43. That last sentence really says it all, especially on a fast paced

project that's changing by the nanosecond ... and also when some of the engineers are getting cranky. ... and eng. mgt. would prefer to have the stuff work than the doc. perfect for something that doesn't. Can't blame them ...

[MuseRider]

45. Just look at the way Missouri voted to amend

their constitution yesterday. We can start there. It sounds perfect. They will bring it up and add it to their religious freedom bill intended entirely to bash and smash and stop "the gays". The same one we have stopped the last two years. It is getting harder with each year to stop, we lost two of our moderate republicans who we were always able to count on. If Ms. Pauls pulls this out over Bishop and we can't stop her because of her "residence" we have the Republican candidate that my group will endorse and work for since he is pro gay rights and pro choice. It will either be her, anti choice and anti gay and pro religious enforcement or him. I don't want to get in trouble but I would be glad to work his phone banks. When living in a place like this is becoming you do what you have to do and if moving left means supporting moderate republicans, and it often does here, then you do so. I follow the recommendations of our PAC and I am damn straight not letting an anti gay, anti woman Democrat with a big, nasty mouth go without a fight.

[demosincebirth]

27. I guess we just should consider Kansas part of the southern consortium of states that pass

not good for those who elect them

[RKP5637]

38. It's like self-flagellation. It seems to be a mindset to blindly vote R. n/t

[patrice]

40. POWER struggle to the death, with the "I *W*I*L*L* cut my nose off to spite your face" crowd.