Kansas Republicans Evolve -- into Democrats

[DuaneBidoux]

On the last Sunday night in May, Mark Parkinson and his wife, Stacy, asked two of their best friends out to dinner at a country club in Cedar Creek, an exclusive planned community in the upscale Kansas suburbs southwest of Kansas City. They met Paul and Joyce Morrison in a private windowless room at the Shadow Glen golf course clubhouse because Mark had a secret he wanted to share with the other couple, something he needed the Morrisons to keep to themselves for 72 hours.

Parkinson, the chairman of the Kansas Republican Party from 1999 to 2003, was planning to come out of the closet that Wednesday -- as a Democrat.

<http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2006/09/05/sebelius/index_np.html>

(Must watch a Salon commercial)

[Warpy]

1. Repugs now have a problem with Kansas

because all those Goldwater conservatives can't stand the creation "science" crazy people running their government. They're totally pissed off at the party for allowing itself to be overrun and dominated by religious lunatics.

They won't stay Dem, of course. If the GOP ever bounces the lunatics, or if they leave to start their own party, they'll go right back to the GOP.

But for now, they'll vote Dem just to get the nutcases off their school boards and out of their government.

[w4rma]

2. I'm not sure these are the Goldwater type. These Dems seem like

the type that are concerned about wages and salaries.

[longship]

3. The Kansas Repukes are disgusting.

They are, as a whole, openly theocrats. Their publications read like Jack Chick religious tracts, invoking Jesus as much as candidate names. The Sedgwick County (most populous county--Wichita) Repugs ran a phone line out of their headquarters in the 1990's called the "Theocracy Line" which openly advocated the replacement of the Bill of Rights with the Decalogue. The Kansas Republican Party is totally barking, foaming-at-the-mouth mad.

That's why Governor Sebelius and other prominent Kansas Democrats have had good luck in recruiting moderates Republicans into the Democratic Party. I imagine that the Kansas Democrats are very activated these days.

[AlinPA]

13. The whole Republican Party is totally barking, foaming-at-the-mouth mad.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

29. wow. this is hugh. really hugh.

I guess those who sniff not at the kool-aid fountain realize that they must adapt and change.

[Scout1071]

14. No, the right wing nuts are disgusting.

Not all Kansas Republicans suck.

[longship]

21. It appears that the non-sucking ones are increasingly becoming Dems

I was an Dem party officer in the 90's in KS. There may be many good Republicans in KS, but the party machinery is run by lunatics. When a large county party organization openly advocates for a theocratic take-over of the country, what did the moderates do? They did nothing because they had no power. I suspect that this is increasingly true today.

But there is always hope. I crossed over and voted for Senator Nancy Landon Kassebaum twice while I lived in there. She was, by definition, a good Republican. I was very comfortable with her keeping her seat. Kansans love Bob Dole, too. I came to respect him, as well (however, he never got my vote). The last Republican governor was a moderate.

Having not lived there in some time, my only information is from my political friends who seem to think that the KS Rep organizations are increasingly ideologically pure.

[proud2BlibKansan]

31. You are referring to the conservative repukes in KS

The moderates are more like Dems than repukes.

And the moderates are the majority of the repuke party in KS. So you are unfairly characterizing the repuke party in KS when you say they are "totally barking, foaming-at-the-mouth mad'. Yes, the conservative wing of the party is nuts. But the moderates are not.

[dflprincess]

4. If they want to vote for Democrats until their party comes to its senses,

fine. But we already have too many Lieberman like Democrats to deal with and I have some problems with Republicans coming over to the Democratic party and turning it even more conservative.

[Sadie5]

5. I am immediately suspicious

of Repugs who cross over to the Dem side. Are they truly dissatisfied with their party and want to make a difference, or are they the ones designated by the RNC to cross over and tend to business as usual. Makes me wonder.

[jackster]

8. I did read somewhere recently...

about a rash of repubs coming out as dems and in light of the fact that the nation is in a "throw the bums out" mode, the author questions the validity of those switches - is it a game, a ploy - run as Dems to get the vote but stay Repub in every other way? We don't need no more stinkin' Zells or Joes....

[Scout1071]

17. Sometimes a rose is just a rose.

And I can tell you that Paul and Mark are going with their guts and their hearts in making this move.

This is a good thing for Democrats and a good thing for Kansas.

You are just going to have to trust the locals on this one.

[proud2BlibKansan]

32. Thanks for saying that, Scout

Maybe others who don't live here don't understand. We really have two branches of the Republican party here.

[WhiteTara]

49. I was in Amarillo Texas (bright red place)

The cashier at the grocery store told me although she was a democrat, her parents had been a life long republicans and that within the last month, they had become so disgusted with the monkey, they had registered democratic. So, I believe that they are more sincere than we might otherwise believe.

[longship]

6. Are Democrats going to be the party of ideological purity?

That's the precise problem with the Repukes right now. The precise reason why moderate Republicans are finding comfort amongst the Democrats is that we are *not* a party of exclusion. We've *never* been and hopefully never will be such a thing.

I am a fierce, fire-breathing liberal. But I am also a yellow dog Democrat. I have voted for many Democrats who do not hold my opinions on many issues. As a party officer in Kansas in the 1990's there were many candidates, good Democrats all, with whom I disagreed. That didn't stop me from walking precincts, licking envelopes, and raising money for them.

The Democrats must embrace the disenfranchised. That's one of our strongest planks and always has been. I'm not talking about having the DLC run our party, because that's not going to work either. But liberals like many of us and moderates like many of us have to work together to build a better country.

All that is wrong with today's Republican Party can be traced back to its adopting a policy of ideological exclusion. It is not only wrong for Democrats to go down that same path, it would doom us just like it is dooming the Republicans now.

[MuseRider]

18. Bravo!

I live here and I think you have hit it right on, especially about inclusion. I must admit to being a little worried but when you look at the Republican party here you see there is no room for anyone but the religiously insane and the cruel.

I am practically a socialist but I manage to live here without too many problems. I may want to be a purist but the opportunity to do that in this state will never happen so I work with it.

In a state where almost everyone and their bucket calf is a registered Republican it has to be a good thing that we have a Democratic governor and that the moderates are coming over. I don't know what else will challenge the thinking that you must be a Republican in Kansas.

[Renew Deal]

9. It's not about moving the Democratic party to the right.

This is a massive party with many views. It's an issue of sensible people ridding this country of the extremists AKA the RNC. We can use all the help they can get.

[CrispyQ]

11. The final fusion into a one party state.

If this happens, I will not remain in the Democratic Party.

[Stinky The Clown]

34. Do you mean that? You'll leave the party of former Republicans join it?

Why?

[Renew Deal]

7. This seems to keep happening.

Like I said in another thread about another person in another red state. Welcome to the party! The world needs to rid itself of these assholes.

[RangerSmith]

10. Dem's need to welcome

all right now.

This is "The Shot"

It doesn't matter WHY there is going to be a lot of support for dem candidates.

The last true Dem leader was Jimmy Carter and quite a few people remember those plus 15% interest rates.

Take office and surprise people by doing the right things and maybe some long term opinions will change.

[proud2BlibKansan]

33. Jimmy Carter the last true leader?

Have you been asleep for 25 years?

[bperci108]

35. I would tend to agree with him P2B....

...I wouldn't call Bill a "true Dem leader" he was sometimes a little to cozy with the corporate right.

NAFTA was a colossal mistake.

TelCom Deregulation / Media Consolidation was too.

The Waco debacle was as un-american as some of the crap BushCo. has pulled.

As a "manager" I give him high marks and a as general human being, too.

But some of his policies were really misguided. :shrug:

(YMMV...hope this doesn't precipitate an avalanche of flames from the Clinton Idolater crowd here...)

[proud2BlibKansan]

36. I am not a Clinton idolator

Far from it. But Clinton, even with his mistakes, was a far better president than Carter. I also think he was more popular among Dems while he was president.

[bperci108]

41. And on that I would agree.

I think Carter was a more "honorable" man than Clinton, and certainly more honest (especially as far as politicians go...) but from what I have read he had a real problem with micro-management as President.

Don't get me wrong; I like them both, but for different reasons.

But where, oh where, is FDR or Harry Truman when we need them? Did someone break the mould?

:cry:

[acmavm]

12. Oh for f**k sakes, if these clowns believed half the shit they say they do

they'd be democrats already. WE believe in helping the poor. WE believe in healthcare for all. WE believe in equal rights. WE believe in dignity and the right to die when our time comes. WE believe in laws that don't disenfranchise people. WE believe that getting medicines and medical care for our elderly is a priority. WE believe that all Americans deserve to have a job that will support them, maybe not in luxury, but it will put a roof over their heads and food on their tables. WE believe that the victims of Katrina need special help right now, and a lot of it. WE believe that truth, justice, and the American way was just not something Superman believed in, but we all believe them to be necessary for good government in our country.

A conservative repub or a fundie believes just the opposite.

Which party would you say was the righteous one?

[Miss Chybil]

15. How about welcoming the converted? nt

[Scout1071]

16. Thank you.

Unlike most people on this board, I actually know the people in question and they are good people. I've been in that same country club numerous times.

Geesh, not every Republican is the Devil. And the ones that are fed up with their fundie, neocon ways should be welcomed with open arms into the Democratic Party. We are much better off to have the Parkinsons and the Morrisons in our party. Period.

[howmad1]

37. Country Club rethuglicans......

will never make good Democrats. This has stink written all over it. :evilfrown:

[Lyric]

38. This is a terrific opportunity, actually

They might only be coming over to our side because they're angry with the Republican extremists, but we'll have the opportunity to show them firsthand *why* we're Democrats. It's amazing how much the experience of "seeing things from the other side" can change a person.

They come because they're angry, but they'll *stay* because we're right.

[Irreverend IX]

44. Ideological shifting works both ways.

Some people are worried these new Democrats will pull the party to the right, but the Democrats are a lot bigger than these new members from Kansas, and if we show them a warm welcome and our newly elected leaders make some good changes, we'll move a lot of them leftward. I mean, anyone with a brain has to eventually realize that neocon policies will eventually make a wasteland of the country. From WWII to the 80s the working class and executive class existed in a fairly stable symbiosis, but starting with Reagan the radical cons have been trying to advance the wealth of the executive class at the expense of everyone else. If Democrats take power, we can show these people by our example that symbiosis is the only workable solution, and they will join us in advancing it.

[heliarc]

42. Yeah...

but I just invited my friends over to my hot, leaky, apartment for a hoagie and we all wished we had a real democratic party to turn to.

[acmavm]

19. Welcome? No. I hold too big a grudge for what they've put us through

the past five plus years.

Live and let live. Yeah, maybe. Depends on their motives.

Repukes have a nasty habit of being able to go underground and go dorment until they can make their big and sleezy comeback. Dems have a nasty habit of becoming complacent and letting them do just that.

I don't know. I have relatives I may never speak to again because they supported this bunch of criminals and traitors. I suppose we need them in order to win by a margin that will make it impossible for them to steal and not get caught. But I tell you what, I'd wear rubber gloves shaking their hands and use Lysol afterwards.

[Miss Chybil]

40. I'm sure that attitude will win a lot of votes.

Thanks for your help.

[acmavm]

46. Whatever

[MuseRider]

20. I believe you just stated

the exact things that our new Dems stated as what was missing from the Kansas Republican Party. They came to us because of those very issues. Good post.

[Dover]

22. "EVOLVE"? Sounds more like a Creationist story to me....n/t

[w4rma]

23. I don't think Creationists have the term "evolve" in their dictionary.(nt)

[stepnw1f]

30. Nah... Creationism is for Fruitcakes

These folks are sane....

[KansDem]

51. The title should read "Intelligent Design Turns Repubs into Dems"

Let's see what that does to their wee-little minds!

[DuaneBidoux]

24. I think it's a good thing for Kansas, maybe bad for Dems.

When you pay attention to the issues that are making the Republicans switch in Kansas they are still issues that I care about: abortion rights, science education in the classroom, stem cell research, the establishment of an American theocracy and a whole bunch of issues that are generally wingnut issues.

While it's true that these guys may move the Democratic party to the right (in Kansas)it will still be far to the left of the wingnuts but at least the Democratic party in Kansas can act as a bulwark against some of the wingnut issues. You have to deal with the fact that Dems in rural areas and Midwest, etc. will always be more conservative than Dems in Connecticut, for example. So what.

I'm for universal health care and minimum wage increase, and a whole host of "Democratic" issues, but I still would love it if the wingnut issues of potential theocracy, science in the classroom, etc. went away in at least one state!

[rodeodance]

25. Welcome Kansas!

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

26. If they actually vote "D" who cares what their philosophy is

Cut through the crap and simply count their votes. Worry about their angst after the election.

[AX10]

27. So do they really like the Democrats or are they just so repulsed..

by what the GOP has done that they are willing to vote Democratic just to remove those extremist elements from government?

[Tippy]

47. Same thing is happening here in Tennessee

Yes I may have my tin foil hat on ... are they telling us they are voting with us or is it a Karl Rove trick...?

[MasonJar]

28. That's because the Pugs in Kansas are so extreme.

[samsingh]

39. never too late i quess

[Drum]

43. That's a BRILLIANT headline!

:thumbsup:

[sofa king]

45. No scales or forked tongues, please.

I welcome disaffected Kansans and wish us all luck in the future ahead. But I must also offer a word of caution: among those newcomers will be "sociocrats," pure political creatures who are switching parties purely for political advantage.

The reason why the sociopaths converge on the other side of the aisle so often is because they're the ones who know exactly what the GOP represents: power to the club members and fuck everyone else. But they're also going to be the first ones to jump ship when things start to turn ugly. And they'll come here.

We have to be ready to discover and ruthlessly expunge that sort of politician and social climber from our ranks, or risk becoming our enemy. We don't represent their valueless morals and never will--but that won't stop them from trying to exploit and manipulate us just as they have successfully turned the GOP into a conscienceless corporation.

So yeah, welcome to dinner former Republicans, but if I catch you pocketing the silverware I'm gonna put that fork in your damned eye.

[IronLionZion]

48. What's the Matter with Kansas? How Conservatives Won the Heart of America

By Thomas Frank

I highly recommend checking this book out from your local library. It will help make light of the situation in Kansas and other red states in the area.

http://www.amazon.com/Matter-Kansas-Conservatives-Heart-America/dp/0805073396/sr=8-2/qid=1157554647/ref=pd_bbs_2/103-2832358-3585468?ie=UTF8&s=books

[goforit]

50. LOL!!!....Well we can forgive those who see the light. Welcome!!!

[KitSileya]

52. Good for them,

but someone should send them that welcome to our house post someone posted a few weeks ago, about how they should behave while guests in our house.

[Neecy]

53. Here's a dose of reality

I, for one, am thrilled that Paul Morrison is running for AG as a Democrat.

Our current state attorney general is a mouth-breathing, knuckle dragging theocrat who spends almost all of his time harassing abortion providers. This man is a menace and an incompetent one at best.

Can you all look beyond party purity and let us just get Phill Kline's foot off of our necks, even if it means a moderate Republican crossing the aisle? I'm welcoming him to our party and have already signed up to host a yard sign for him.

You all bitch about Kansas and then bitch because Kansans have finally become fed up with their Taliban wing and are coming over to our side. Great way to win elections.