It’s tough being a Republican candidate in Kansas these days.
There once was a time, if you entertained thoughts of going to Washington, D.C., or spending a couple months out of the year in Topeka, the hardest thing you had to do was make sure your name appeared on the ballot with a big, bold “R” behind it.
If you had to debate a Democratic opponent, all you had to do was smile a lot and avoid saying anything stupid . . . but mostly just smile a lot. You’d get your 70 percent of the vote in the general election and be guaranteed job security for as long as you wanted.
Being an incumbent was even easier. Just show up on your annual “listening tour,” remember what town you were in and, of course, keep smiling. You never had a Republican challenger and, most of the time, no one appeared on the Democratic ticket. When one did surface it was often a candidate whose name was unknown outside of his immediate family.
But Barack Obama and Harry Reid have ruined it.
It’s because of them that we have a Tea Party, we have uberconservatives in Congress and in statehouses around the country, and we have ubergridlock. They’re to blame for voter fraud, illegal immigration, taxes, Putin flexing his muscle in the Ukraine and anything that can possibly go wrong in the Middle East.
Worst of all, they’re making it very difficult for Republicans in Kansas to get re-elected.
Sen. Pat Roberts, who has to look at a map to be certain where Kansas is located, mentioned Harry Reid’s name 20 times during the Kansas State Fair debate with Independent challenger Greg Orman. Orman had to be looking over his shoulder to be sure the Nevada senator hadn’t slipped onto the stage without his knowledge.
Gov. Sam Brownback has used a similar strategy by referring to Democratic challenger Paul Davis as “the Nancy Pelosi of Kansas” (whatever that’s supposed to mean) and by claiming the only reason people voted against him in the Republican primary was because “ . . . people are so angry . . . they’re just trying to express it somehow.”
Isn’t that just like Kansas voters?
One minute they elect Brownback governor and the next minute they can’t wait to throw him out of office because they hate President Obama.
Of course, it has nothing to do with anti-education policies, a disastrous tax policy and a state budget that’s going into the toilet.
Curse you President Obama. You’re spoiling a good thing for Kansas Republicans.
One can’t fault Brownback and Roberts for their political strategy. It makes sense when you haven’t done anything that you can . . . or want to . . . be remembered for. When that happens the only alternative is to dangle some red meat like Barack, Harry, Hillary, Benghazi, EPA or IRS in front of Tea Party hyenas and after that nothing else matters.
“Sen. Roberts, what would you do to improve the economy and create more jobs?”
“I’d put Harry Reid out to pasture.”
“How will that help the economy?”
“Did I mention that Nancy Pelosi fights like a girl?”
“Senator, we’re talking about the economy.”
“Harry Reid.”
“What about Harry Reid, Senator Roberts?”
“What more can I say? Once you’ve said Harry Reid you’ve said it all.”
It’s obvious that Gov. Brownback has been looking through the same Republican playbook. The sluggish Kansas economy, the downgrading of our state’s bond rating and state revenues that are on track to bring in $600 million less than projected for the current budget year can only be blamed on one thing . . . or person.
“What we are seeing today is the effect of tax increases implemented by the Obama administration that resulted in lower income tax payments and a depressed business environment,” according to Brownback.
Brownback and his Republican legislature passed massive tax cuts with the promise that it would be a boost to businesses and that higher state tax revenues would follow. Other than being named Barack Obama, exactly what did the President do to throw a wrench into Brownback’s budget?
Unless, of course, Obama really doesn’t like Kansas. Perhaps his unique Muslim abilities made it possible to implement policies that have an impact on Kansas alone.
For example, In 11 of 12 economic measuring sticks, Kansas trails the neighboring states of Nebraska, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Colorado.
Private business establishments in Kansas grew by 0.7% between 2012 and 2013, compared to 2.6% in the region and 2.2 percent nationwide. Personal income growth from 2011 to 2012 was 2.2 percent in Kansas, which lagged behind the six-state region (3.6%) and the nation (3.4%).
It’s obvious that Barack’s tax policies and Michelle’s push for healthier eating are creating an economic disaster in Kansas.
How else do you explain the net loss of 10,197 people from Kansas between 2010 and 2013, according to the U.S. Census Bureau?
Simple. It’s because those people realize that Kansas is in President Obama’s crosshairs and the only way to avoid becoming a victim of his obsessive dislike for Kansas is to escape to places like Oklahoma or Missouri where people are enjoying the benefit of exuberant support for the President and his policies.
The truth is that being Republican isn’t enough to guarantee an easy election as Roberts, Brownback, Kris Kobach and Tim Huelskamp are discovering. Obama, Reid or any other Democrat bogeyman aren’t to blame because Roberts hasn’t had an original idea in 40 years and Brownback’s tax experiment is a disaster.
Republican incumbents are finding very little to smile about this election season and they have no one but themselves to blame.
Rod Haxton is editor/owner of the Scott County Record.