Kansas heading toward a dangerous government?

Our illustrious and supposed intelligent elected officials, the folks we sent to Topeka to represent us have done anything but during this 2012 Legislative Session.

These people have yet to come up with a fiscal 2013 state budget, have yet to create a new district map as required by law, have yet to make a decision on tax cuts, and now are working overtime (at taxpayers’ expense) in an effort to do the job during the 90-day session. They were, however, able to create a bill that would prevent judicial or administrative decisions from being based on foreign legal codes as well as passing legislation that push abortion back to filthy rooms in back alleys and performed by unqualified people.

It’s enough to make a person sit back, slap their forehead and ask, “What the hell are these people doing in Topeka?”

Kansas’ three-party political system (Democrats, moderate Republicans, and ultra-conservative Republicans) clearly was at the forefront this week during the Republican caucus as they tried to hammer out an agreement on creating new district boundaries for the Senate. The redistricting process is required every 10 years by federal law.

Our-way-or-the-highway, ultra-conservative candidates, backed by Koch Brothers monies, Kansas Chamber of Commerce and other ultra-conservative organizations and groups, have led to an ultra-conservative governor in Sam Brownback and his cabinet of ultra-conservative appointees, an ultra-conservative Attorney General in Derek Schmidt, an ultra-conservative Secretary of State in Kris Kobach, and majority control in the House.

Now their sights are set on taking control of the Senate and their targets are mainly Johnson County Senators Tim Owens, John Vratil (Senate Vice President), Barbara Bollier, and Terri Huntington. Owens is the chairman of the Senate’s redistricting committee and he is being challenged this year by first-term Rep. Greg Smith — depending on the redistricting map.

Ultra-conservatives claim that Owens and other moderates are trying to create a map favorable to themselves and Democrats — a charge Owens denies. But proposed maps have taken Smith out of Owens’ district, have created new districts that have pitted ultra-conservative candidates against each other. Those allegations ignited a shouting match in the Republican caucus and at one point Owens said he wasn’t going to listen to “this garbage” and left the caucus.

How ironic that these kinds of politics are being played out within a political party that supposedly strives for the same ideals. Even more ironic is the fact monies, that could have gone to education or social programs, have been set aside to “defend” a redistricting map that is expected to be contested in the courts because the Republican Party will be suing itself.

It’s clearly strong and divisive partisanship within the Kansas Republican Party in which one narrow-minded philosophical group would like to take control and mandate its political and faith-based ideologies upon every Kansan. When a government is controlled by single, political faction, when it dictates and rules rather than having to negotiate and compromise, it becomes a dangerous government.

And the people always lose.