Sebelius has been tapped for HHS

[greenbriar]

while I love that our Gov is going to work for Obama

I hate that our state will lose her

[Cirque du So-What]

1. I share your regret

but I hope your state can find someone as great to replace her. Congratulations, Ms. Sebelius!

[edhopper]

2. Is this good?

I don't know that much about her or her qualifications in this area, but will she push for Universal Health Care like Howard Dean would have?

[patrice]

3. She is a powerful woman because sane Republicans around here like her.

She will push for what the People DEMAND.

[edhopper]

5. Well,

That's a bullshit answer. We need somebody to LEAD for Universal Health Care, not kowtow to whoever has the biggest bullhorn. That's where Clinton's effort fell apart.

[Fovea]

9. She is as progressive

as Kansas politics will sustain.

If I had to narrow in on a single trait of Sebelius' that she brings as an asset is her ability to think out of the box.
I would say that on pertinent social issues, she falls into the realm of pragmatic progressive.

More importantly, she has faced down some very powerful and well funded players regarding what's the matter with Kansas, IMO.

Westar comes to mind. She couldnt save Boeing, in the end. But that's on Kit Bond's karma.

[patrice]

17. The People aren't going to get anything that they don't LEAD themselves to.

"We need somebody to LEAD . . . "???? Fuck that, we can lead ourselves.

If you're expecting one of them, ANY one of them, to lead us to Universal Health Care, you've lost already, because you've yeilded all of the control to them.

If we always and only act if we have some sign from them that it's okay or that acting on something might actually work, if we are always only reacting to what/when they "LEAD", we've lost before we have started anything.

[edhopper]

25. Way to completely

misread everything I said.

[patrice]

26. That's what happens when one is referred to as "bullshit." What goes around comes around, friend.

MAYBE your subject line, to which I am replying now, is really more about how obsolete your thinking about Leadership APPEARS to be in your previous post, so of course it would be "necessary" to claim that I didn't understand.

Who has the primary responsibility for the meaning of a message: the message originator? or the message recipient?

Some people continue to play tick-tac-toe, while others play chess.

:hi:

[edhopper]

27. Touting ones own intellect

is a sign of ignorance, "friend".

[patrice]

32. And calling others "bullshit" is not touting one's own "intellect"? rofl

I said, "some", a relative term (if the foo-shits, you can't know that it does unless you put it on) and I will ADMIT I play tic-tac-toe compared to some others, unlike some who characterize others as bullshit, apparently, as a given.

[FLAprogressive]

4. she's yet another DLC flunkie added to the cabinet

[greenbriar]

6. She has been a GREAT gov and was twice elected in a red state

I have met her and she is wonderful

[edhopper]

7. I'm not

disputing how good a Governor she is. I want to know what her qualifications for HSS and bringing us Universal Health Care are?
Does she have any expertise in this area like Dean does?

[w4rma]

10. Her qualifications: Rahm likes her. (nt)

[MadBadger]

11. If anything , she had a step ahead because Obama liked her.

[elocs]

15. Exactly right. Her main qualification is that Obama wanted to choose her,

and evidently he did not want Dean. The man is the President and it is his cabinet. You can't expect him to choose someone he does not want just because one likes him.

[patrice]

20. There's a little more to it than that.

At minimum, she has solid credentials on Education, advocacy for alternative energy, Budget Sanity, and for supporting a relatively Progressive Department on Aging.

[MadBadger]

22. Oh I'm not saying she doesnt. I'm just responding to a post that says "Rahm Likes her."

Anybody who followed the campaign knows it has nothing to do with Rahm and everything to do with Obama.

[patrice]

24. Of course, sorry! And he likes her because she is a competent policy wonk.

[GoCubsGo]

12. She used to be the state Insurance Commissoner

She has dealt with the insurance companies and fraud, probably more so than Dean has. I also suspect that Obama thinks she can work better with Congress in getting Universal Health Care passed than can Dean. Whether that is really the case or not, I couldn't say. Personally, I think Dr. Dean would make a better Surgeon General. IIRC, that position still has not been filled, despite the Sanjay Gupta hoopla.

[Fovea]

8. I agree Greenbriar

I can only hope that her successor can keep Kansas moving forward toward renewable energy independence.

[Stinky The Clown]

13. Good ... another dem seat in a state so marginal for us, it probably goes repub

[hfojvt]

18. by law she could not run for Governor again

We have a two term limit. But I had hoped she would be elected Senator in 2010. Now I do not know who is even gonna run. Nobody who has a chance in hell, I imagine. The same thing for Governor, and she will not be here to campaign for our Candidate. I think our party is screwed in this state now.

[proud2BlibKansan]

30. "Goes" repub?

Hell it has always BEEN repub. Sebelius was helping us pull it left and now she is leaving. Damn.

[DCBob]

14. She will be more valuable in Obama's cabinet.

Kansas can find another good Govenor.

[patrice]

19. Also good preparation for other roles in the nation's future.

[greenbriar]

21. I was kind of hoping she would beat out brownstain in the Sentate

it would have been nice

[patrice]

23. I would have LOVED that. She could have done it too!

So the DNC OWES Kansas something for this one.

Mark Parkinson is next in line. He too has Republican friends, one of whom crossed party lines to run for state legislature this year (got hammered by a no taxes group - American's for Prosperity) but was backed by one of the richest and most well known men in northeastern Kansas.

[proud2BlibKansan]

31. Parkinson won't run in 2010

He has already announced his resignation from public service.

[patrice]

33. Didn't know that. There REALLY is a paucity of strong Democrats in this state.

Why the heck can't someone kind of like Hillary, but NOT too much like her, move here?

It's not exactly as if that isn't done.

[proud2BlibKansan]

34. He made the announcement a couple months ago

I don't know enough about him to have an opinion. But it does piss me off that we get a really good strong Democrat here and she is taken away by the president. I guess he and the party have given up on Kansas. And we are supposed to just smile and say good luck to Kathleen.

[patrice]

35. Yep. I hate being thought of as nothing, which is what Republican representation is going to get us

now, according to that guy, what's-'is-name? . . . Jindoll? . . . guess I'll have to look that one up ;-)

Take a look at Americans for Prosperity sometime (if you haven't already) - They get most of their money nationally and then f- around with local representation.

Note to self: Worker Bees need to do more bitching to Party ears.

:hi:

[proud2BlibKansan]

29. I disagree

No one is stepping up. Brownback will be easily elected governor in 2010. And no Dems are stepping up to run for Brownback's Senate seat.

We are fucked. And it pisses me off.

We had a great Senate candidate run against Pat Roberts and he was virtually ignored by the DSCC. Even DFA wouldn't step up and endorse him.

We finally get a great Democrat here in red state hell and instead of helping us build our party she is snatched away from us.

I am pissed.

Plus Howard Dean was a better choice.

[Neecy]

36. This scenario scares the hell out of me

If Sebelius had run for Brownback's Senate seat, she would have been here to campaign for the entire Democratic ticket, including our candidate for governor. Depending on who we run it may or may not have helped, but at least we would have had a shot at retaining a Democratic governor.

Governor Brownback will be a disaster. The wingnuts in the legislature will be emboldened and we're looking at a loony Christo-Kansas, obsessed with abortion and a reprise of the evolution wars. Not to mention that he'll trash the environment with new coal plants and screw the poor a la Baby Blunt.

I'm pissed too, and throw fear into the pile.

[proud2BlibKansan]

37. I am seriously considering moving to MO

My kids are out of school. We can buy lots more house in MO than here. They have some crazies in the MO GOP but at least DC seems to care about that state.

[Neecy]

39. Unfortunately....

I just bought a house in the Flint Hills and I'll be moving down there later this month. I'll wave forlornly to you in Missouri from my perch in Christo-Kansas.

[proud2BlibKansan]

40. Wow I LOVE the Flint Hills

I am very envious. :)

We have a Progressive Caucus chapter in Emporia. We will probably have our next statewide meeting there. You should come!

[Neecy]

41. it's very pretty

And as far as your housing dollars go, you can get a LOT of house for the money. I have about 1600 sf, three bedrooms, two baths, a huge sunroom, a mudroom (never had one of those in California) a wood-burning stove, the house is all brick and I have a massive yard complete with a big shop-type building in back. My property taxes are also dirt cheap. I like JoCo but I can get so much more house just a couple of hours away.

The KDP site doesn't list a county organization, which is surprising since it's 20% Democratic. I can see I'm going to have to informally (and carefully, given the freeper-type population that exists in large pockets there) network.

Let me know when the meeting in Emporia will be - if I'm unpacked by then I'll try to make it :)

[proud2BlibKansan]

42. We are working on a 105 County Strategy plan now

Had a couple meetings this weekend at Wash Days. The KDP is on board with it. Hopefully that will help the Democrats in some of these non organized counties get together and beat back some of the repukes. I will keep you posted. Good luck with your move. :hi:

[proud2BlibKansan]

38. Neecy, check this out

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=5161613&mesg_id=5161613

[RiverStone]

16. Yet again another (insert long sigh here) that Dr. Dean was ignored

Not even a whisper from our good Prez that Howard was even in the mix, despite many high profile endorsements (and much of the left blogosphere).

Oh well, can't agree with The Man all the time.

[proud2BlibKansan]

28. I am angry

We need here here. And who the hell is going to run for Brownback's Senate seat in 2010?