evolution

If you read the Topeka Capital-Journal, and you read this article — and you like your job — completely ignore the “analysis” therein.

It’s been amateur hour at that particular piece of fish-wrap for a couple of years now.

The RINOs — Republicans in name only — are moderate Republicans who have grown increasingly disenchanted with their role in the state’s dominant party. During the past decade, they have watched their position of power erode in the Legislature and within the party structure itself. And at least a few are ready to look for new horizons.

But despite a high-profile defection, don’t expect a thundering herd any time soon.

Mark Parkinson, the former state Republican chairman, left the party this past Tuesday to join the Democratic re-election team of Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. Parkinson said though he had criticized Sebelius repeatedly in 2002, she isn’t the liberal Democrat he feared would wreck Kansas government.

The “thundering herd” you hear isn’t running away from you. It’s running at you.

Bonus: Shallenberger: this Bullshit-o-Meter goes to eleven!

“Parkinson is way more like John Kerry than he is like George Bush,” Shallenburger said. “He’s way left. He was really out of place.”

It’s more like this, Tim: Mark Parkinson was given a chance to have some influence for what conservative ideals he does hold; he realized you (or the Wichita socialist-cum-Christian-fundamentalist crowd whose bidding you do) weren’t going to lead the GOP anywhere but swirling the bowl, and so he took the chance.

Off-topic: I dislike the term “moderate”. Moderation is a way of life, and it’s okay. “Moderation” is not a political position. I find the people who claim to hold such a position are typically given to moralistic preening — claiming a moral high ground, always tut-tutting over confrontation in politics. If you believe in something then you should either take a stand for it or be prepared to accept the will of those who do.

Me? I don’t really know what political label describes me anymore, but it isn’t “moderate”. (I have been described by others as a “conservative-populist” with a “fierce libertarian streak”.) And I think politics — at least in terms of citizens’ relationships with elected officials — is not nearly confrontational enough.

If you want advice, listen to that of Andy Wollen; whose advice stands for those of all stripes, not just Republicans:

Instead of running from the Republican Party, Wollen said, moderates need to make their commitment to politics more than a weekend hobby. That means voting each election, running for public office and supporting like-minded candidates. It shouldn’t take the latest crisis over evolution on the State Board of Education to get people motivated, he added.

“I see this as a real wake up call for traditional Republicans to get involved, or it will continue to happen,” Wollen said.

True enough.

Correction: Joel says that this was off the AP wire, and sure enough, there’s an AP byline on it. Hard to believe I missed that before, but there you go. It doesn’t change much as far as my feelings about the piece go, but it does explain some things.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 6th, 2006 at 21:59 and is filed under kansas, politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.