Will Kansas Republicans get fooled again by electing a party chairman who is nothing more than a non-smoking, non-spectacled version of the outgoing party chair?
Much like Johnson County moderates and Demorcats were secretly hoping Phill Kline would be elected as county attorney, many non-conservatives across the state are also hoping that the upcoming GOP leadership election will see western Kansas state senator Tim Huelskamp tapped to replace Shallenburger.
Outgoing party chairman Tim Shallenburger gave up on the party more than a year ago when he 'threatened' to quit. (Oh, Tim, what would the GOP have done with you- maybe raise some money or at least had a get-out-the-vote plan for your candidates?) He was a do nothing party chair who abandoned the party and has left the coffers dry. Who in the world thinks a conservative lapdog of Kansans for Life like Huelskamp would do any better? Huelskamp has never tried to build coalitions or raise money outside of southwest Kansas. And he wants to be party chair? Beautiful. Priceless. Sounds like he's going through an inferiority complex or at least a case of overinflated ego. This could be exactly what Democrats were hoping Santa would bring them.The nuts in a Huelskamp election would be to further galvanize the conservative/moderate split in Kansas. Until the voting members wake up and realize that the GOP got their collective basksides handed to them because of weak candidates, lack of party leadership, their non-compromising positions and elitist attitudes, they will continue to lose seats in congress and in the statehouse.
Rumors have also been circulating about a possible effort by Phill Kline trying to gauge support for a run at the party chair position, but we haven't seen anything posted here about that development. We'll keep you posted if anything on that front develops.
I'll close today with a stanza from the classic The Who hit, Won't Get Fooled Again.
I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
Don't get fooled again
No, no!
Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss
5 comments:
Dwight Sutherland used that song in his speech at KS Day two years ago.
Kansas Day looks to be tons of fun. Bring the kids! Plan your schedule now. What was once a annual blow out for Republicans across the state is now a shell of its former self, much like the Republican Party of Kansas.
If Kline runs, he'll have the votes. The man has an incredible way of twisting arms. Like in Johnson County, people who supported him will walk out of the room shaking their heads b/c they cannot believe what they just did. Kline's people are simply the most organized to work the state committee.
My guess is that KFL and KRA are unhappy with both Huelskamp and Pompeo. Kline wouldn't even be considering if he didn't have KFL and KRA.
My prediction: Kline is state party chair. In 2008, Pat Roberts gets beat.
That's an ineresting fantasy world you must live in.
Kline as party chair would finally drive a steak through the heart of the "undead" (re-Kansas Republican Party). Many conservatives across the state are shaking their heads and wondering why this guy doesn't just go away. Look how Schwab is back peddling.
Roberts has more money than God in this campaign account. And now that he's on the most powerful committee in the Senate he's only gonna raise more. Smart politician + lots of money = re-election.
Dems don't give a hoot one way or another....Pompeo and Huelskamp are both just what they want
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