JoCo Commissioner Mike Brown’s tirade is appalling. He should apologize and step away

Johnson County Commissioner Michael Brown thinks we should all buy guns and ammunition, because “anarchy” and “insurrection” are around the corner.

Brown made the stunning suggestion in an essay shared Sunday on Facebook that claims the nation faces a “real fight for control of America.”

He called Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly and Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, and others, “merchants of exploitation and weaknesses,” without providing a shred of evidence for the claim.

“I’ve got my own war drum,” Brown wrote. “And I’m waiting for the other side to give me reason to pound on it. And I will. Say when.”

You can find this frightening tripe in the darker corners of Facebook and the rest of the internet any time you want. But it’s appalling coming from someone elected to serve all the residents of his district, and the county.

All Johnson Countians of good faith — in fact, everyone in the region — should reject Brown’s barely-concealed thirst for conflict. He should apologize for it.

The commissioner’s post was written following the unprovoked shooting of two sheriff’s deputies in California. Those shootings were indeed horrific, and must be denounced in a clear, unmistakable voice. Had Brown simply done so, no one would have quarreled with him.

But Brown’s jeremiad quickly moves from the shootings to a broader condemnation of those who don’t think like him. “They WANT anarchy,” he wrote. “The WANT insurrection.”

“Where is Barrack (sic) Obama, Jessie (sic) Jackson, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Rham (sic) Emanuel?” Brown asked. “They are weak. They are not leaders.”

The commissioner’s answer? Voting first. Then, weapons. “Buy a firearm and ammunition and take a class now to learn how to safely use it to defend yourself and your property,” he wrote.

“This is not a joke nor is it hyperbole,” Brown said. Correct. It’s horrifying. In a tweet, Lucas called it reckless, racist and wrong. He’s right.

Let’s be absolutely clear: Johnson Countians are not threatened by an outbreak of political violence. The county has almost always approached its problems with rational discussion, compromise and good faith. That must continue.

Johnson Countians are threatened by commissioners such as Mike Brown, who want to pour gasoline and light a match where no fire exists. He should stop.

Much has been made in recent months of the shift of suburban voters away from President Donald Trump. Johnson County is at the center of that phenomenon, and Brown’s essay is precisely why: Residents are sickened by the attempt to divide the nation into warring camps, largely for partisan gain.

Shortly after noon on Monday, Brown defended the post.

“I am only speaking out against violence and calling on other electeds, community leaders and citizens to do the same,” he said in an email.

“I spoke up because someone needed to do it,” Brown said. “Officers being ambushed, livelihoods wrecked, life savings depleted and myriad of other struggles is all unacceptable.”

A petition on change.org calling for his removal from the vice chairman’s job on the commission has gathered more than 2,250 signatures.

His removal from the leadership position seems like a good place to start. Then voters in Johnson County’s 6th District can finish the work by electing a commonsense candidate for the job.

At the end of Facebook his post, Brown quoted from Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address: “The war came,” the president said.

But the commissioner omits the closing words of the speech. “With malice toward none,” Lincoln said. “With charity for all.”

Mike Brown epitomizes the exact opposite of those standards. He is not fit for a leadership job, and he should be removed from office by voters.

This story was originally published September 14, 2020 at 12:07 PM.