Let’s remember a better time, a time when many of us were immensely proud of Kansas. It wasn’t so long ago, Aug. 2, in fact, that the residents of the state surprised the nation by voting to protect abortion rights, the first state to have a post-Roe referendum on abortion.
Those of us who appreciate the state and who have long been proud of our best historical traditions — of women in politics, of fighting slavery, of a practical approach to politics — were not surprised. But we were relieved and elated at the size of the decisive vote and turnout: 41% for the so-called “Value Them Both” amendment that threatened the right to abortion, and a resounding 59% against.
I heard from my best friend in high school, who along with her husband (our class valedictorian) lives in Dallas: “We are both celebrating and experiencing a brief moment of hopefulness this morning as we read the news of the Kansas vote on abortion rights. Maybe there is hope.”
I heard from my college roommate, who now lives in New Mexico: “My gal-pals and I are so grateful for the strength and power of Kansas women, and we are so impressed!”
In fact, last fall when New York City Mayor Eric Adams skewered Kansas for not having a brand, I was moved to tweet: “So Kansas doesn’t have a brand? How about the State that Shows the Way Forward (re: the landslide vote to protect abortion rights).”
Kansas is a small state of almost 3 million with an independent streak. It’s a manageable state. Living in Topeka, as I do, you can spot your governor grocery shopping, or the first gentleman sitting for a haircut at the beauty/barber shop you both frequent.
Adams took a potshot at Topeka, too, in early March, saying that God had made him the mayor of “the most powerful city on the globe. He could have made me the mayor of Topeka, Kansas.”
Our mayor, Mike Padilla, responded with class, calling Adams’ dig “concerning and unprofessional.”
As home to the Kansas Legislature, Topeka is host to the sometimes concerning and unprofessional behavior of the Kansas Legislature, which meets from January through the end of April, and usually into May.
– Jeffrey Ann Goudie
As home to the Kansas Legislature, Topeka is host to the sometimes concerning and unprofessional behavior of the Kansas Legislature, which meets from January through the end of April, and usually into May. Within our beautiful Statehouse, some of the ugliest and most unmanageable politics emerge.
On the day of the first adjournment, April 6, I mounted the stairs to witness the debate on the latest version of the “parents bill of rights” in the Kansas House. Sitting in the gallery, I was surrounded by ornate architectural details and neutral colors. You can see the names of some of the state’s most distinguished public figures, like Charles Robinson, an abolitionist and the state’s first governor; like Benjamin Mudge, a pioneering scientist and the state’s first geologist.
The stately surroundings were a contrast to the tawdry politics on display. I’m used to the Republican-majority Legislature spending untold hours proposing solutions for problems that don’t exist, but this session has been jaw-droppingly dispiriting. Republicans statewide and nationwide have devolved from advocates of limited government to masters of social intrusiveness, whether in the locker room, the school bathroom, or the classroom.
House Bill 2236, the so-called parents bill of rights, was debated first that morning. If enacted, it would give parents the license to exempt their children from activities or classes that present ideas a parent finds objectionable. Alternative assignments would have to be proposed.
Rep. Jerry Stogsdill, a Democrat from Prairie Village, called it a “perfect example” of government overreach.
Rep. Jo Ella Hoye, a Democrat from Lenexa, asked if the bill would give parents permission to remove books from school libraries. At that point, Rep. Susan Estes, a Wichita Republican and the carrier of the legislation, muted herself. She told Rachel Mipro of Kansas Reflector that she “decided not to participate in misinformation.”
Such was the democratic process I witnessed that morning on that particular bill: scant debate, no clarification, no real understanding of exactly what might be objected to, or why parents need more power in the schools than they currently have.
Mudge presented ideas about science and evolution that at the time made people uncomfortable. Robinson led us from a violent territorial history through the early part of the Civil War, during which Kansas made great sacrifices for the Union cause.
Let us honor them and our independent past, not dive recklessly into the swamp of right-wing fearmongering.
Perhaps more statewide voting on single issues would clarify where Kansans, and not their ideologue representatives, truly stand. Let Kansas once again show the way forward on policy issues.
Source : Kansas Reflector
