fayfreethinkers.com

Moderates in Kansas Decide They're Not in GOP Anymore

By Peter Slevin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, October 19, 2006

WICHITA -- Paul Morrison, a career prosecutor who specializes in putting killers behind bars, has the bulletproof résumé and the rugged looks of a law-and-order Republican, which is what he was until last year. That was when he announced he would run for attorney general -- as a Democrat.

He is now running neck-and-neck with Republican Phill Kline, an iconic social conservative who made headlines by seeking the names of abortion-clinic patients and vowing to defend science-teaching standards that challenge Darwinian evolution. What's more, Morrison is raising money faster than Kline and pulling more cash from Republicans than Democrats.

Nor is Morrison alone. In a state that voted nearly 2 to 1 for President Bush in 2004, nine former Republicans will be on the November ballot as Democrats. Among them is Mark Parkinson, a former chairman of the Kansas Republican Party, who changed parties to run for lieutenant governor with the popular Democratic governor, Kathleen Sebelius.

"I'd reached a breaking point," Parkinson said, preparing for a rally in Wichita alongside Sebelius. "I want to work on relevant issues and not on a lot of things that don't matter."

See here.

"In a state that voted nearly 2 to 1 for President Bush in 2004, nine former Republicans will be on the November ballot as Democrats."

Ha ha.

ha ha? or uh oh? my first thought was that they know they have to run as Democrats to win, since there's such a backlash against Repugs right now; and if they win, they'll just be stealth republicans (wolves in sheep's clothing)....

Uh oh.

Betsy wrote:ha ha? or uh oh? my first thought was that they know they have to run as Democrats to win, since there's such a backlash against Repugs right now; and if they win, they'll just be stealth republicans (wolves in sheep's clothing)....

DOUG
Yes, but I think the importance of the story is that they know that there is an anti-Republican sentiment in this country, and if it is this strong in the red state of Kansas, the Republicans are screwed.

Most folks in Kansas are moderates, just to one side or the other of true center (median, not the mean created by a small but vocal almost dropping over the edge right-wing extremists), so as long as the moderate position is served more by the Dems than the Rs, these guys will serve the Dems and the people of Kansas very well. Should the Rs ever get their party back, then these guys might be problems. They'll either go "stealth" or switch back.

another problem is that people who just vote straight down the republican party line (because their parents told them to) are now going to be just voting for the fringe repubs instead of the moderates. and unfortunately there are quite a few of those people --- as stupid as it is, they really just vote that way. I'm sorry to say that I actually know people like that.

I know people who vote straight R ticket, too. Lately I've become a straight Dem ticket person - but that could change if the Rs ever get their party back. I was an Independent pre-Poppy Bush. He made me a Dem, and Newty the Cutey made me a "yaller dawg" Dem. Get the R party back in the hands of people like Jan Myers (of Kansas - Brownback got her seat when she retired) or Jeffords before his conscience made him leave them and I'll go back to being an Independent.

I'm exactly the same - a registered Independent who has historically voted for both Republicans and Democrats, but now I'm voting straight down the Demo-line. For a while, at least....

Sometimes looking at icons can tell you a whole lot. A mule can plow enough land in a day to feed a family of four (early through mid 20th century portions). An elephant can eat more in a day than can be grown on the land a mule can plow in a day.

DOUG
Another example of Republicans hiding their party affiliation. From Tim Russert's interview with Ken Mehlman, Republican National Committee Chairman.


Here.

===========
RUSSERT: Ken Mehlman in Maryland, you have a candidate running for the U.S. Senate. And yet...

MEHLMAN: Yes. He’s a great candidate.

RUSSERT: ... his bumper sticker says Steele Democrat. He’s a Republican. And yet nowhere in his campaign literature, on his Web site, or his candidacy materials does he say he is a Republican. Isn’t this misleading advertising?

MEHLMAN: I haven’t seen the particular bumper sticker. I’ll tell you this, Michael Steele’s a great friend of mine. And I’m from the state of Maryland.

============

DOUG
Here's Steele's website:

http://www.steeleformaryland.com/

Also, his signs, T-shirts, etc. are all blue. There is a page of "Steele Democrats" pictures.

Well, AR has Mark Pryor.

CNN put lying Steele as a Democrat instead of what he is--a Republican. This is Steele's strategy since it is so unpopular to be a Republican.

Didn't Faux News do the same thing with Mark Foley? Getting to be an MSM habit - if it's bad, label them D.