Nancy Kassebaum
The most elite unit in Napoleon’s army was the “Old Guard.”
Its members were the longest serving veterans and those with the fiercest loyalty to the Emperor. Last weekend I went to an event where the Old Guard of the Kansas Republican Party was gathered. Nancy Landon Kassebaum Baker was there and I was breathlessly assured by one of her former staffers that if I played my cards right I would be granted an audience with the Queen Mother of “Moderate” Republicanism in the state.
I quietly demurred, having had unpleasant dealings with “Nancy” over the years. In 1978, her opponent in the Republican Senate primary was Wichita businessman Sam Hardage. Hardage, his wife, and two children were badly injured in an airplane crash two days after the primary. (The night of the primary, I had gone with Hardage to Kassebaum’s headquarters to congratulate her. He held her arms aloft for the cameras, like the victor in a prize fight.)
Hardage and his family were medivacked back to Wichita from Colorado where the plane crash occurred. While they were in the hospital there I got a call from David Bushong, Kassebaum’s campaign manager, asking me to release Hardage’s list of campaign contributors.
I called Hardage in the hospital to get his permission and was startled by his angry response. Apparently at the exact moment her campaign manager was telephoning me to get the “Glengarry leads,” Kassebaum was holding a press conference on television, claiming she’d just visited her defeated rival in the hospital, along with his family, and that they were all going to be fine but to join with her in her thoughts and prayers for their recovery.
Kassebaum had made all this up and Hardage saw this press conference from his hospital bed.
I called Bushong back and told him what she needed to do to get the contributor’s list, i.e. go straight to the hospital and actually do what she’d claimed to have done earlier. Having caught Kassebaum in a lie, I was regarded by her with fear and loathing from then on, even though I loyally supported her as a senator.
In 1996, I was at a party for the delegates to the Republican National Convention in San Diego, my hostess’s son came up to her and said; “Mom, there’s this older couple here. He said his name is Howard Baker, or maybe it was Barker? The wife’s name is Nancy Katzenbaum, I think that’s right! Anyhow, they seem to think I should know who they are!” I thought to myself: “Sic transit gloria mundi” – “Thus passes the glory of the world.”
Now “Nancy” is refusing to do a television ad for Pat Roberts, her successor.
Larry Winn III
Larry Winn, III, the clown prince of yet another moderate Republican dynasty, was there too, as was Ed Eilert, former O.P. mayor and eternal Johnson County Board of Commissioners Chair. Derek Schmidt, as attorney general the only surviving Mod-Squad state wide office holder young enough to run in the future, was holding court in another corner. There were dozens of other guests from around Kansas whom I recognized from 40 years in Republican politics.
These are many of the same people who have decided this year to abandon the political party which was so good to them for so long, providing them an assured source of money and power for their entire adult lives.
Their names adorn the list of Republicans for Paul Davis (d.b.a. ‘Traditional Republicans for Common Sense’) and “Republicans for Greg Orman” (If they could figure out a way to betray 3rd District Congressman Kevin Yoder and elect his Democrat opponent, as they did so many years with “Republicans for Moore,” they would, but their ingenuity and resources are limited.)
The list of Republicans for Davis was originally one of 100 former office holders but it has now been expanded to five hundred. The common denominator that describes them all is “former.”
One name on the list is very “former” indeed. Former Overland Park State representative Phil (“Big Phil”) Kline died in February, five months before the group’s formation was announced.
In other words, they are people who have lost their positions in state and local government and with it their control of the Republican Party. Specifically, and most pointedly, they are the ones conservatives purged from the state senate after they tried to sabotage Sam Brownback’s agenda.
The Emperor’s New Clothes of this political season, which no one will talk about, is that the fiscal crisis that is threatening Brownback’s reelection was largely of the moderate Republicans’ own making.
The same people who are now delighted to swell the chorus that Brownback has endangered the state’s solvency deliberately created this situation to put him, and the state, in a political trap.
The original 2012 Brownback state income tax proposal was much more modest than the one ultimately passed.
It was deliberately designed to be revenue neutral, eliminating a number of deductions, credits, and exemptions in order to broaden the tax base and thus permit lower tax rates. The tax rates were to be cut across the board and not just for the wealthy, as his critics contend. However, by the time the co-captain of Team Moderate in the state senate, John Vratil, got through with the bill, all the loopholes were restored.
The annual revenue loss was thus tripled, jumping from a projected $94 million dollars to over $300 million.
I’m reminded of the line from “Animal House;” ‘This calls for an incredibly stupid and futile gesture on someone’s part and we’re just the ones to do it.’ This should be the political epitaph of Vratil and company, because that “stupid and futile gesture,” a deliberate act of sabotage, resulted in their being wiped out in the August primaries later that year.
That spring, however, Vratil, his co-captain Steve Morris, and the other moderates thought they were sly dogs indeed. They thought that Governor Brownback wouldn’t dare sign such a budget buster into law. They could then run against him for not fulfilling his promise to cut state income taxes. Unfortunately, Brownback, the “Hell Boy” of their worst political nightmares, called their bluff, signed the bill into law and the tax cuts went into effect. To further add to their nightmares, the income tax cuts, when coupled with the repeal of the personal income tax on owners of pass-through entities like limited liability companies, looked like they might work, at least initially.
In 2012, all job growth in the Kansas City metropolitan area was on the Kansas side.
Eight thousand new jobs were added on the Kansas side, five hundred lost on the Missouri side, for a net gain that year in the KC Metro of 7,500 jobs.
Brownback was right that it was “an adrenalin shot” to the economy. But like the proverbial shot of adrenalin, it just as quickly wore off. I thought at the time that Brownback took an incredible risk by stepping on this fiscal I.E.D. If the national economy did not recover fast enough, growth alone would not be able to make up for the lost tax revenues. That is exactly what happened, but the resulting crisis is more the moderates’ fault by forcing him into this Hobson’s choice. (If you don’t think Republican moderates and Democrats are capable of this kind of cynicism, consider how they castigated Brownback last year for not repealing a temporary sales tax increase, which their version of income tax cuts had made impossible by ratcheting up the deficit.)
The other issue the moderates have used to undermine Brownback was his proposal to change the state’s judicial selection process. Now a legitimate argument could be made that his call for giving a governor power to select judges would violate the separation of powers doctrine. This allocates the functions of government between three branches; executive, legislative, and judicial, none of which is supposed to encroach on the powers of the others.
This,however, was not the argument used by the moderates.
This was too subtle for them and thus less amenable to demagoguery. No, they-the legal establishment, as well as the political establishment – which in Kansas are largely one and the same – screamed that this would lead to a “politicized judiciary.” This is rich coming from a group that vets all judicial appointments through the party bosses. (For years this meant former State Senate President Dick Bond for moderate Republicans, Johnson County Democratic Chair Larry Gates for the Democrats. Conservative Republicans need not apply.) For several years all the new Johnson County District Court judges had worked in Dennis Moore’s law office or had been activists in the Kansas Democratic Party.
Judge Terry Bullock
I’ve written before of Judge Terry Bullock’s reign of error in Topeka, especially in the school finance area. Most recently, the husband of a sitting Kansas Supreme Court justice held a political fundraiser for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Paul Davis at their home. (This was while the Court was considering the Democratic Party’s efforts to let their senate nominee withdraw from the ballot so “Independent” Greg Orman would have a better chance.)
In law, there is a saying that you cannot come into court seeking equity with “unclean hands.” The moderate and/or Democratic schtick about not changing the current judicial selection process lest we “politicize it” is a sick joke and an insult to the intelligence of the Kansas electorate. They have no moral or ethical standing to oppose Brownback’s approach, which at least has the advantage of candor. He wants to appoint conservative judges and he’s being thwarted by a corrupt legal establishment hiding behind the fig leaf of non-partisanship.
The thing you have to remember about the Moderate Machine is that they have the ethical standards of a pack of hyenas.
They only attack GOP conservatives when they are vulnerable, e.g. Brownback this year. (Where were they when he was running in 1998, 2004, and 2010?) They also only have these crises of conscience when they lose primaries. As long as they are firmly in control of the party machinery, they don’t care how conservative or ideological the party gets. Why did none of these people walk when Reagan was the standard bearer, if they’re so fearful of the G.O.P.’s “move to the right?”
Oh, yeah, Reagan in the White House could help them in Topeka!
Wint Winter Jr.
Actually, Wint Winter, Jr. the former Lawrence state senator, who is the spokesman for “Traditional Republicans” – the anti-Brownback group – is a past master at leaving the Republican Party and then quietly rejoining it when it’s to his advantage. In 1980, he appeared on the podium in Lawrence with liberal independent candidate John Anderson, who was running against Ronald Reagan. Several years later he accepted appointment to the Kansas State Senate as a Republican. He also supported his law partner’s selection as a federal judge by Reagan’s running mate, George H.W. Bush, when Bush was president.
Moderate Republicans have abandoned the party innumerable times (e.g. Republicans for Jill Docking, Republicans for Kathleen Sebelius, Republicans for Paul Morrison, Republicans for Dan Glickman, Republicans for Dennis Moore, etc.) only to come slithering back when it is to their personal advantage.
For one hundred and fifty years the Republican Establishment controlled state and local government without any concern about the party’s positions on the issues, its overarching philosophy, or its candidate’s beliefs. Now that they are out of power, the clear aim of many moderates is to pull the temple down around the party’s ears, like Samson in the Bible. This is true even though it means defeating one of their own, like Pat Roberts.
Two hundred years after the real battle of Waterloo, we are now at the GOP Old Guard’s own political Waterloo, their last chance to wrest control for themselves.
Whatever Brownback’s and Roberts’s shortcomings, which the moderates seldom if ever objected to before in their 30 year and 50 year long careers, the voters of this state should not turn back the reins of power to the corrupt few who profited so long from running the Kansas Republican Party, which is what will happen if Brownback and Roberts are defeated.
At the actual Waterloo, Napoleon held back committing the Old Guard to battle until the last possible hour. He then ordered them to make a suicidal charge at the British lines but it was to no avail. The Old Guard had failed and with it Napoleon’s desperate bid to regain power. Let’s hope this last charge of the Kansas Moderate Old Guard, driven more by spite and resentment rather than any adherence to principle, is equally in vain.
Interesting article but this is where you lose me:
“They thought that Governor Brownback wouldn’t dare sign such a budget buster into law. They could then run against him for not fulfilling his promise to cut state income taxes. Unfortunately, Brownback, the “Hell Boy” of their worst political nightmares, called their bluff, signed the bill into law and the tax cuts went into effect. ”
This isn’t exactly unheard of in politics. In fact, in hindsight it seemed like pretty good politics on the moderates side. They may have wrongly assumed that Brownback wouldn’t sign onto a law that was a (as you put it) “budget buster.” He did sign it and he is taking most if not all of the blame for the state of things. It sure seems like a poor political move on his part and a wise political move on the moderates part at this point. Is it cynical? Sure, but politics are pretty cynical by nature.
Also, are you referencing the comic book character Hellboy or is that some sort of nick name Brownback has received?
Hellboy, opus dei flagellator, Brownshirt, there are a few nicknames out there for der gov.
He was the one that signed it, he gets to own it.
The point is the mod’s Heads I Win,Tails You Lose approach to politics.Back in the late ’90s moderate Republican Bill Graves was governor.The conservatives in the Kansas House sent up a tax cut that Graves responded to with a threat to veto,i.e.,”What part of ‘hell no!’ don’t you understand?”. Graves ultimately signed a much larger real property tax cut into law and added a further tax cut of his own,i.e.repeal of the personal property tax on motor vehicles.( Never mind that this also destroyed the county governments’ tax revenues.Hey,it was an election year!) Several years later,after the dot-com collapse,when capital gains tax revenues dried up and the state was no longer running the huge surplus it had been in the 90’s,guess who got the blame from the Star? The legislature,for it’s “risky tax schemes”. No blame was assigned to the governor,of course,because you can be a serial killer as long as you’re a “pro-choice moderate” in the eyes of the Star and the rest of the local and state journalistic community. Why are these moves “wise”if they cause real long term damage to the state’s tax base and the people responsible are given a complete pass as long as they are of the right political persuasion?
I blame Graves for that also, I could care less what Der Star thinks. You can only cut so much bone before the back breaks Dwight. An overhaul of the basic school administration system structure would help immensely with cutting costs. School districts in the hinterlands with only a hundred or so students with several superintendents is wasteful at best. Consolidation of these districts is a must do soon.
nice vcomment dude….but the powers that be
won’t do it.
why have blue valley and Shawnee mission. combine
resources to save money~!!!!!!!!
but too much power and money at stake…unless
the people take over and tell the freaking idiots
what they want…with no excuses!!!!!!!!!!
I am talking about rural districts Harley. Like high schools that have barely 50 people populations. Kansas is one of the worst offenders of administrator to student ratios in the country and it is a waste of tax money.
“Why are these moves “wise”if they cause real long term damage to the state’s tax base and the people responsible are given a complete pass as long as they are of the right political persuasion?”
I’m not saying it is wise in the sense that it was a good or moral thing to do for Kansas but rather it was a wise political move (at least in hindsight). It probably seemed like a blunder at the time because Brownback didn’t back down but now it seems like it was a solid political play because the moderates are riding a wave of sympathy and Brownback is suffering.
I’m not looking at this from the viewpoint of “who is more moral” but rather who played better politics. Brownback signed the law and, in my opinion, he spun it as a victory for his vision for Kansas. Now he gets the blame for it’s lack of success and the moderates and liberals are saying, “I told ya so!”
If you want to look at it from a moral point of view then I have no idea who comes out on top. Brownback because he believes in what he is doing even though evidence shows that it isn’t working? The moderates for playing cynical politics but getting rid of Brownback’s failing vision that seems to be doing more harm than good?
exactly right….lets clean house!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“Whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican, I think everyone can agree that politicians are crooks. But I don’t think politicians are thieves, because you can’t steal what you’ve been given. Once we stop giving in, they’ll stop taking” —Jarod Kintz.
This will never happen because the electorate is a bunch of uneducated sheep that vote by color (i.e red or blue), not by candidate. Just keep voting the same people over and over and keep bitching about how nothing ever changes in politics. Yo, genius…ever wonder why?
+1
Another great piece.
In other news, Hillary Clinton was named after Sir Edmund Percival Hillary.
How do these people spin their misc yarns and assume no one will ever connect the dots?
Like, oh lets say, a man in his hospital bed or anyone with a solar powered calculator that can do birth year math.
southy…..why waste all your time writing about the republican party.
It’s dead and its on it’s final leg.
No matter what happens this mid term it will die a death come 2016.
They will lose the senate..and Hillary will be elected.
It’s the start of the end of the party.
Who cares about theseold republicans…they elected and may reelect
the worst governor ever…but he only has a few years to screw things
up worst than they are.
The tsunami is coming. The dems get 18 million new voters in
2016…and with Hillary (a woman) running and the republicans
defending 24 senate seats (6 in democratic states)….no matter
what happens in November…means nthing.
These pols can’t get along. They can’t get anything done.
America is flailing and from my outlook its on a downward path.
And everyone of these politicians and the corporations who are
destrying the basics of this nation are to blame.
Stop the b.s…..who cares about larry winn .
Whenthe demographics become so overwhelming for thefar right
of the republican party…it will eat its own and fade into history.
We are on a terrible path. The boomers fell asleep. They took what
the greatest generation had built and have let it go to sh*t!
I know whats going on.
Wish I had time to discuss this more…but I’m headed to royals game.
this country is falling apart and we know who to blame. You can rant about
moderate or liberal or conservative…to all these thieves…its all about the
money.
From coast to coast the next generation will have to live with what we have
created for them.
and what a mess we are leaving for them. We were lazyand stupid.
god bless America.
Harley
Harley, I realize that I question your opinion at my own peril and open myself to your literary wrath but I disagree with you on a couple of points.
First, if the GOP controls the Senate after this election, Obama loses his ability for Senate confirmation of any appointments he might make. This is especially true of any judicial appointments.
Secondly, the majority of state legislatures were under GOP control back in 2010 when the census info was released. GOP state legislatures reconfigured the congressional districts to favor themselves so while the future does look bright for the democrats controlling the White House and the Senate, the House looks to remain in GOP control for a while.
Just sayin’
agree stomper….but the gop has passed few of obamas
nominations…during ebola we have no surgeon general.
Nothing will change if they control the senate or not..
still have gridlock and we will get nothing done to fix
the problems we have. Instead of republicans be
obstructionists…the dems will stop bills…and the president
won’t sighn anything the repubs bring to him if they
win the senate.
That’s if they win the senate…and its a very fluid situation
and we may not know til January ’15 who controls it.
Either way theres gridlock..only worse.
Then we’ll have the largest registration drive ever…in the
next 2 years blacks and Hispanic voter drives will be hyper
driven….
Remember…2015 only has important events until about
November…then everything turns to elections of 2016.
In lame duck ….Obama should just use executive order
and fight everything.
regardless…we’re headed toward a civil war in the senate
dems versus repubs and repubs versus repubs.
NNothing will get done.
We’ve created a logjam and nothing will get done.
It’s time to clean house!!!!!!!!!
Wrong Harley. There is no surgeon general because the appointment of that position is squarely within the Senate. They have 51 votes enough to approve the candidate but it’s such a poor choice ripe with the good ole boy buddy system even Barry’s tow the line supporters won’t broach the subject. Doctors for Obama propped up Obamacare and has been railing on Gun Control. Believe it or not there are plenty of Democrats who support the 2nd Amendment and backing such a radical is political poison. Liberals would love to everyone believe it is the Republicans but nominations and appointments are the Senate’s responsibility and the votes are there. Try the rhetoric elsewhere
What,are you working the hot dog stand at the game?
As Harley revels in his affiliation with the Liberal Democrats. Hypocrisy can be found in his willingness to flaunt his social class, brag on his means and wealth. Bragging as any elitist would while his “party affiliation” lays claim that American elitist attitudes are the source of all evil both here and abroad. Side with any party and you can see the trouble of the country. Three chambers in government House, Senate, and Presidency that control the direction of the country. One merely needs to examine the party that has been in control of 2/3’s, or all 3, of those chambers throughout history to see “how we got here” Surprise Democratic control reign supreme since the 1940’s in nearly twice as many Congressional Sessions as Republicans. So who’s to blame those that have been behind the wheel the most frequently.
http://uspolitics.about.com/od/usgovernment/l/bl_party_division_2.htm
Democrats had all 3 chambers 11 times since 1945. Republicans – 2 times
Democrats had 2/3’s 12 times since 1945 – Republicans 9 times
This does exclude the 112th and 113th sessions of Congress. But when looking at overall government control the numbers don’t lie Democrats have been steering the ship.
also…when they start closing the schools down and theres no money to
pay the teachers who ya gonna turn to?
thanks to all those who took an incredible nation and sent it down the sh*tter.
but don’t worry….the crooks will keep their hands in the cookie jar…whether
they’re liberal or conservative…
folks…America has been f*cked!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Best thing to ever happen would be big government out of education. Plenty of examples to follow on the right way to educate even within our own country as well as abroad. Watch “Waiting for Superman” It has little to do with government and everything to do with process and structure. Even the school year is rooted in outdated agricultural calendar. That tells you an overhaul is required meanwhile the government changes policy every administration driving up costs to scuttle the previous admins policy and implement new.
This was a great piece, Dwight. Lots of inside insight to support your points and a very interesting history lesson on the numerous players.
I guess my points of contention are twofold.
First, it is almost astonishing to me that to be labeled as a moderate is a bad thing. Certainly nothing wrong with a strong commitment to a particular ideal or set of principles but, to me, in politics, the goal is to get things accomplished. It is about compromise. Both sides have to give a little to reach some level of acceptable middle ground. Politicians are elected to do the work of the people, both at the state level and in Washington. Tea Party Conservatives and Bleeding Heart Liberals might make for a great cocktail party debate but I think we need moderates on both sides to move the ball down the field. To be called a “Moderate” should not be an insult.
Secondly, I absolutely agree with you that politics is loaded with examples of individuals, on both sides of the aisle, that are two faced hypocrites, lacking in any moral or ethical standards. I have been a political junkie for almost 50 years now and one of the saddest realizations I have come to is that rarely do the best people run for office. Whether you are a democrat or a republican, very often you just have to hold your nose when you pull the lever in the voting booth. For me, that means focusing only on ideology and rarely, if ever, on personality. What is your view on the role of government and which candidate most closely mirrors it? Which way will the elected official vote when an issue comes up either in the Statehouse or the Capitol in D.C.? To me, that’s all that matters. Yep, I’m not crazy about voting for a moral or ethical degenerate but unfortunately, that’s the system we have. My only concern is how they will vote. If we eliminated every candidate from consideration just because they are not ethically or morally pure, we’d have no one to vote for. Sad but true. Throw personality out the door and focuse strictly on ideology is my political mantra.
Again, Dwight, this was one of your best pieces.
Stomps:
Not sure Dwight was trying so much to cast the word moderate as an expletive, if you will, but rather point out that many of the moderate Kansas Republicans are full of both themselves and …
That and liberal media like most of the writers at the Star have a tendency to give these so-called moderates a pass while ascribing blame on those with whom they disagree with politically…regardless of where the blame truly lies.
every newspaper/media is the same.
their preferences come out and we get nothing done.
got my aca costs today…
one year ago $789…
this upcoming year….$345
where’s my increases?
Happy teabagger Tuesday y’all!
Thank heavens you’re back on duty,Mysterious J. You dropped the ball there for a while. Good to hear from you again!
“These are many of the same people who have decided this year to abandon the political party which was so good to them for so long, providing them an assured source of money and power for their entire adult lives.”
That’s one way of looking at it. Another way is crazy people took the party away from the moderates. And the party is going to pay for it in two weeks.
Pat Roberts may be a lot of things but “crazy” or “extreme” are not qualities that are thought of as applying to him. My gripe with Brownback is that he is far from a True Believer,but is,in fact, extraordinarily calculating and machiavellian. Secondly,a political party doesn’t belong to anyone as a matter of right. You have to earn political office and political influence. The Old Guard lost power through a combination of laziness,cynicism,and corruption.( Safeguarding patronage for themselves is not exactly an inspiring message to the electorate.) No one else,let alone the party as a whole, should have “to pay”for their own shortcomings,which caused them to lose their positions of influence.
nice comment southy~~~~
Coming from a stern task-master like you Harley,that means a lot ! Thank you!
Plus 1! Nice work on the column, too.
Did they have their meeting at the local democrat party headquarters?
Preach on Brother Sutherland! A voice of reason navigating the cesspool of our mainstream media printed publications.
I know a couple of the people you profiled. One, WW, is far to the left of of our esteemed former moderate governor, Katie Sebelius.
Very well written, Mr. Sutherland.
I see that you wrote that Kline died in February. I’ve not heard of him dying. Perhaps you meant death to his political career? I’m just a bit confused on that.
My apologies. I misread that.
The Phil Kline who died on February 19th was the engineer and owner of Shaffer,Kline & Warren,the surveying firm. He was a long time state rep from Overland Park. His first name was spelled with one”l”and he was known as “Big Phil”,to distinguish him from the other Kline whose first name was spelled with two”l’s”and who was from Shawnee and who served as Kansas attorney general and Johnson County district attorney.
Dwight; There was an article in Huff Post Politics today about the races in Kansas. Written from the Moderates point of view. Interesting piece. You are a voracious reader so guessing you already saw it.
To quote from one of my all time favorite movies:”Don’t worry,man! The Wolf is on top of it!” Harvey Keitel as Winston(“I solve problems!”)Wolf,perhaps his greatest role, in “Pulp Fiction”.Seen exactly twenty years ago with Armand !
As always, a colorful and informative response. I can’t imagine a more interesting conversation than one between you and Armand.
If lying was a capital crime, the hangman would work overtime!
Too true !