Short Take: Cheering a departing governor
Wild cheering and World Series-level high-fiving broke out at Wednesday night’s mayoral debate in Kansas City, Kan. No, not in response to anything any of the five candidates said, but when moderator Steve Kraske announced that Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback will be leaving office. “Where is he going?” one woman asked another. “Who cares!” her friend replied.
The spontaneous wahoos weren’t all that surprising — after all, the governor whose deep tax cuts decimated the Kansas economy as well as its services was once booed in the flesh at a KU-Wichita State basketball game. As a sitting governor. In a state that had been willing to give him chance after chance after chance.
Still, the moment was striking. And should serve as a warning to President Donald Trump and any other public official arguing that deep tax cuts spur growth and make spending cuts unnecessary. The Kansans in that room at Donnelly College have two words in response: Ha. Ha.
Brownback was always a political risk-taker, and a stubborn one, who even now believes his “experiment” only needed more time to work. We hope others willing to put our solvency and general welfare on the line learn the lessons he never would.
This story was originally published July 27, 2017 at 6:08 PM with the headline "Short Take: Cheering a departing governor."