In Kansas, Democrats Turn To the Right to Keep Seat

[question everything]

The Wall Street Journal

In Kansas, Democrats Turn To the Right to Keep Seat
Freshman Rep. Boyda Faces GOP Onslaught; A Fight for 16 Spots
By KEVIN HELLIKER
June 8, 2007; Page A1

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Today, the 51-year-old Ms. Boyda is a Democrat. But you often wouldn't know it as she gears up to run for re-election in November 2008. With Republicans aggressively attacking her, and two Republicans already seeking her seat, she is positioning herself as independent. She plans to keep the word "Democrat" off her yard signs and rejects assistance from the Democrats' national congressional campaign committee.

Next year's battle for Congress is well under way, even as presidential politics are getting most of the attention. Ms. Boyda's success will help determine whether the Democratic Party can keep control of Congress, and show how firmly it has planted new roots in conservative corners of the country where it made surprising gains last fall -- places like Kansas, Indiana, Kentucky and Texas. In these places, the Democrats are often barely distinguishable from Republicans on many issues such as gun control. Ms. Boyda and other candidates won by painting the Republicans into a corner and portraying the Republican Party as the party of corporate interests and the Iraq war. They hope to win re-election the same way.

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About 20 Democratic freshmen are seeking re-election in Republican-leaning districts. Republicans could regain control of the House by picking up 16 seats, assuming they didn't lose any. Aware that the benefits of incumbency accumulate over time, the Republican Party is targeting many of these freshmen, believing that the presidential election will draw a bigger turnout from core Republican voters. In recent days, the National Republican Congressional Committee paid for radio attacks in the districts of 12 freshmen Democrats. "These so-called conservative Democrats have compiled voting records identical to San Francisco Speaker Nancy Pelosi, due in large part to getting strong-armed by the Speaker and her lieutenants daily," says a Web site of the Republican committee, which also has started blogs critical of 21 Democratic freshmen.

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The political struggle in the district over the next year is likely to center on the war in Iraq. Ms. Boyda has described the invasion of Iraq as colossally misguided. "Diverting resources from Afghanistan and invading Iraq may be one of the most dangerous decisions this country has ever made," Rep. Boyda said in a speech on the floor of the House this spring. At an April meeting with constituents in Topeka, many raised concerns about the lack of progress in Iraq. The issue worked against Mr. Ryun in the 2006 vote. At one point he earned some skepticism in the local media by arguing that violence in Iraq showed the U.S. was succeeding in overhauling the country. Mr. Ryun invited President Bush and Vice President Cheney to campaign for him in the last week of the race. Mr. Ryun "absolutely pinned his campaign to support for the Iraq war and for the Bush-Cheney administration," says Dan Garrity, a lawyer in Atchison and lifelong Republican who has tended to vote Democratic recently. "For those of us who opposed the war, for those of us who still believe in the Republican core values of fiscal responsibility and limited government, it's pretty hard to sign on with what the Republican Party stands for today," he says.

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A glance at the Kansas Democratic Party shows how divisive these battles have been. The state's Democratic lieutenant governor used to be chairman of the state Republican Party. The attorney general, another Republican-turned-Democrat, won office last year by soundly defeating the Republican incumbent, who had made national news by providing legal support to movements that oppose abortion and support teaching intelligent design.

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[proud2BlibKansan]

1. The Republicans can have Boyda back as far as I'm concerned.