What Kansas needs in 2018 after the end of the Brownback era: a return to the center

Gov. Sam Brownback’s impending resignation reminds Kansans they must pick a new governor this November.

The choice will be critical. After seven-plus years of Sam Brownback, Kansans must get this election right.

The campaign will be intense and complicated. There will be time for a lively discussion of important issues, such as school spending, taxes, support for higher education and others.

Today, though, we can start with this plain fact: Kansas cannot endure another four years like the past seven. A third Brownback term would set the state back years, if not decades.

Voters must turn the page and focus on candidates who can move the state forward.

That will mean rejecting candidates who stubbornly pursue ideology instead of practical problem-solving. Kansas has always worked best under governors who have largely steered a middle course — John Carlin, a Democrat, and Bill Graves, a Republican, come to mind.

Both pursued specific policy agendas. But both showed willingness to bend, when necessary, to achieve broader goals. Both took on left- and right-wing hard-liners in their own parties. Both understood and respected the legislative process. Both knew when to lead.

Brownback, by contrast, stubbornly stuck with a failed tax policy even as the state’s budget cratered. The next governor cannot repeat that mistake, or insist on further tax cuts that would put the state back in the ditch from which it is now emerging.

Kansas voters must also reject candidates who are more interested in their national profile than in local issues. Brownback’s enthusiasm for the White House influenced his work in Topeka, to the state’s detriment.

Anyone who’s watch Gov. Eric Greitens in Missouri knows a candidate’s lust for the White House can be disastrous. Kansans should oppose any candidate more interested in Fox News or MSNBC than the Garden City Telegram.

While Kansans should oppose rigid ideologues this year, they must also beware of “outsiders” who don’t understand how government works. They should not be swayed by drain-the-swamp rhetoric that sounds enticing, but provides few actual answers to actual problems.

Sorting through the options will not be easy. Republican primary voters will likely face a wide field of candidates, which means a nomination might be won with just 20 percent or 25 percent of the primary electorate.

Facing that mathematical reality, moderate GOP voters may want to coalesce around a single potential nominee. The field could shrink before the August primary, making the choice easier.

Democrats have an impressive list of candidates in the primary. The Democrats’ goal should be a primary that yields the strongest nominee and a united party to face the Republican alternative in November.

Sam Brownback once called his tax plan a real live experiment, a phrase he came to regret. But it was accurate: Brownback risked the economic well-being of every Kansan in a attempt to provide a “shot of adrenaline” to the state.

The experiment failed. Brownback’s reluctance to admit failure made it worse.

Kansas started to dig out of the hole last year, and the work will continue in 2018. It would be an incalculable mistake to elect a new governor dedicated to repeating Brownback’s errors.

We’re confident voters will respond accordingly. They’ll demand specific answers to questions, a detailed outline of policy proposals and clear evidence that candidates have the skills and temperament to govern.

Kansas spent the last seven years in the weeds. It is just now returning to the middle of the road, where it has always prospered and will again.

This story was originally published January 28, 2018 at 7:00 AM with the headline "What Kansas needs in 2018 after the end of the Brownback era: a return to the center."