| REGISTER TO WIN | |
 |
But if she means business, things usually get started with a sterner flourish: “It’s Kathleen Sebelius.”
These days, the Democratic governor has been making a whole lot of calls with the more formal introduction. The topic: protecting her veto of an expansion of a western Kansas coal plant.
“She’s really pulling out all the stops,” said Kansas Rep. Candy Ruff, a Leavenworth Democrat. “More so than anything I’ve ever seen.
“This,” Ruff said, “is all about the win.”
A lot is on the line for the two-term Democrat. If a Democrat wins the White House this year, you don’t want your resume to show a fresh drubbing. The $3.6 billion coal plant has received media attention nationwide.
And there’s her standing within Kansas. It is, after all, the premier issue of the legislative session.
Winning gets exchanged for clout, the standard currency in any state capitol. Losing puts your career in the same position as the dollar — devalued.
Her public standing appears almost as solid as ever. In a mid-March survey conducted by SurveyUSA for KCTV in Kansas City, Kansans by 61 to 33 percent approved of the job she was doing.
Her stand has drawn the attention of congressional leaders such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
She’s out front — and surely wants to show that she can manage a party-splitting issue (one she strongly believes in) back home and come out on top.
But it all hangs from a very thin thread. The Senate voted to override her, but the House remains a vote or two short.
“She’s definitely involved,” said Sebelius spokeswoman Nicole Corcoran. “She calls it hand-to-hand combat. She likes to be in the middle of it.
“It’s like, ‘Give me the list,’ ” Corcoran said of her boss’s attitude toward the jawboning.
Some observers think that Sebelius wins even if overridden. The theme will be that she took a principled position that was unpopular in her own state. And, they point out, Sebelius’ position is awfully easy to explain. In fact, you can do it in two words: clean air.
“She wins either way,” said Bob Beatty, a political scientist at Washburn University. “That’s a nice position to be in.”
• • •
Let’s roll back the tape on the appointment of Kevin Gunn to the Missouri Public Service Commission, the body that oversees utility rates.
March 27: Democrats in the statehouse block the nomination of their fellow party member. The reason: Gunn, a former chief of staff to congressman Richard Gephardt, is the party’s star candidate for a St. Louis area state Senate seat. Democrats felt betrayed after Gunn accepted Gov. Matt Blunt’s appointment to the Democratic seat on the PSC.
Some Democrats reportedly are worried that Gunn won’t donate his unspent campaign dollars to the party.
Monday: Gunn empties his campaign kitty, tossing about $44,000 to a host of Democratic Party committees, including $35K to the St. Louis City Democratic Central Committee.
Thursday: Gunn’s nomination coasts through the Senate in 20 minutes.
Friday: The Missouri GOP unloads, noting that it’s “very telling that Senate Democrats were willing to hold a member of their own party hostage for campaign cash rather than honestly evaluating what was best for Missourians.”
Gunn’s response: “I’m not even going to respond to that because it’s not true.”
• • •
I want to thank whoever wrote my name in for the Subdistrict 1 seat on the Kansas City school board Tuesday.
Shelley McThomas, who heads the Board of Election Commissioners, informed me of this great distinction on Friday.
She noted that I’m in good company with other write-ins, including Mickey Mouse, Daffy Duck, George Brett, Al Brooks, Jackie Gleason, Barack Obama and Bob Dole. For the record, Mickey Mouse beat me, with three votes.
Join the discussion
Share your observations and experiences about news. Lively, open debate is the goal, but please refrain from personal attacks or comments that are racist, vulgar or otherwise inappropriate. If you see an inappropriate comment, please click the "Report as violation" link to notify a KansasCity.com editor. Thanks for your feedback.