Kansas Newspaper Joins Utah Newspaper in Turning on Conservatives

Even their Friends Don't Like Them

This Forum has already documented the fact that the St. Lake City newspaper ripped Sen. Orrin Hatch a new one. This was a conservative calling out a conservative. Now in Kansas the same thing is happening, the Kansas City Star is calling on the Republican Gov. to resign.

It seems the Governor has been nominated for a federal post (in part to get him out of Kansas where he is very unpopular; the GOP dominated legislature is over-riding his vetoes and raising taxes). But the Senate has not acted on the nomination and now the Star wants an actual governor instead of one who is only pretending to be one. The Star speculates why his nomination is in limbo.

That’s because those in your own Republican Party didn’t put a vote for your confirmation as U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom on the Senate calendar by the end of the year.

They did not simply run out of time, either. After all, you were nominated by President Donald Trump in July, and dozens of other long-deferred votes on appointments were cleared in a flash before senators left town for the holidays.

Was it something you said, at that confirmation hearing for which you appeared so ill-prepared?

Was it something you did, or undid, like protections for state employees against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation?

So Brownback just sits around collecting his check and alienating people. A decent person would resign so the state can continue to recover from his disaster of a reign. But because Brownback calls himself deeply religious he doesn't have to do the decent thing.

But to come back to the governorship now, after handing off many of the important duties of the job to Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer, would not be in the state’s best interest. If he’s your hoped-for successor, don’t disadvantage him further by dragging this out. Especially with the state of the state address coming up, along with the new legislative session and the new budget.

Colyer has been patient, and so have we. But we wrote before that if nothing happened by the end of the year, you really need to either give up the governorship or get back to it. The problem with the latter option at this point is that you’ve made clear your heart is no longer in it, and the feeling’s mutual. Still, we believe you do care about your state and its people.

Well this is where we part company with the Star.   Like all politicians Brownback doesn't care about the state of Kansas or anything other than his career and taking taxpayer money for doing nothing.