Group seeks to stem tide of ‘extreme’ conservatism

[atommom]

This is a small, as yet unnamed, group of about 12 people, but it's still a tiny glimmer of hope...

Topeka — The political winds of moderation are starting to pick up force through conservative Kansas.

At least that’s what a new bipartisan group of Kansans are hoping for as they organize themselves to launch an effort to unseat conservative State Board of Education members in the 2006 election.

“We think there is a portion of the State Board of Education whose philosophy is not in tune with mainstream Kansans,” said Don Hineman, a rancher and farmer from Dighton.

He said he and other like-minded Republicans and Democrats were frustrated with the State Board of Education and planned to endorse moderate candidates, regardless of party affiliation.

http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2005/aug/28/group_seeks_stem_tide_extreme_conservatism/?politics

[Mabus]

1. About friggin' time

Believe me there are a lot more out there they are starting to wake up.

[ComerPerro]

2. I read this article this morning in the paper, and it got me quite upset

I want to do everything I can to make sure these neo-Con creationist freaks get voted off.

But Jim Mullins, of Lawrence, who has been a past leader of the assembly, said conservatives will have no problems in Education Board races because most Kansans share their views.

“In Lawrence, I’m a right-wing kook. But in the rest of Kansas, I’m mainstream,” he said.

He predicted candidates such as Morris will prevail whether they face a moderate Republican in the primary or a Democrat in the general election or both.

“It’ll be nice to see her get re-elected,” he said.

I'm gonna do whatever I can to make sure the people of Lawrence knows what this jerk thinks of them.

And I will support anyone who runs against Morris and the intelligent design supporters.

[atommom]

3. He's a RW kook no matter where you put him ... and I fervently

hope he's wrong about Connie Morris. How the hell can anyone support that nutball??? :banghead:

[Mabus]

4. Any idea what the press coverage of her is locally

that is, what do the western Kansas papers say about her?

[atommom]

5. Here's an excerpt from an editorial in the Hays Daily News

I found this in a news database, but can't get the newspaper's actual website to load right now, so no link yet. But it is interesting. I haven't seen a single favorable article about her, even from western Kansas.

Recall is a great tool to undo an election when you find out you have a real lemon of a public servant.

But in the case of state school board member Connie Morris, what you see is mostly what you get. Her agenda was clear when she ran for office.

That some people now don't like what they have, well, we would like to know if they were paying attention when Morris ran for the seat in 2002, or if they even cast a vote for the State Board of Education on that ballot.
<snip>
Although, it would be more accurate to say that a small minority of special-interest voters elected Morris. And that is what happens with the state school board. Voters only pay attention when it gets overrun by special interests. Only then do they turn out to return mainstream common sense folks to the board.

But once more, no one was paying attention to the state BOE races in 2002. And so people like Connie Morris got elected.

A recall is going to be a long shot. For one, the state Legislature in recent years narrowed the criteria for recall. A person just about has to be convicted of a felony to be recalled. By law, general incompetence is not a valid reason to recall. Misconduct in office is a possibility, but that still might be a tough case, Morris' vacation to Miami and BOE meeting behavior notwithstanding.

All this is not to put down the rebellion. But the effort might be more productively channeled into a campaign to get legislators to approve a constitutional amendment to make the state school board an appointed body rather than elected one.

[Mabus]

6. WTF?

Thanks for finding that. Who voted for her?

[atommom]

7. I'm thinking the die-hard fundies and the bigots all turned out to vote,

but most of the sane people ignored that race. I don't know how else to explain it. :shrug:

[Mabus]

8. It just ticks me off

Education is one of the most important issues that we, as voters, have the opportunity to support. What really ticks me off is that a good well-rounded education makes for a better future for everyone. Why do these good people want to stifle their children's futures? Why deny a child an opportunity to learn things that will be beneficial in life by voting for these kinds of humanoids?

:rant:

[atommom]

9. It drives me crazy too. A few crazy RWers can somehow convince

these people to hand over their rights and gut their children's education. The anti-intellectualism is getting ridiculous (and, as a nerd, I resent that). :mad:

[AX10]

10. I wish them success. Being bipartisan...

also helps. The middle is who will take us away from the hard right wing.