Is Kansas Republican arrested for DUI, attempting to flee getting special treatment?

It was bad enough that Kansas Senate Majority Leader Gene Suellentrop was arrested just before 4 a.m. on Tuesday, after police stopped an SUV that they said had been speeding the wrong way on Interstate 70. But now, The Star has reported that the Kansas Highway Patrol had to attempt a “tactical vehicle intervention” to stop him. You know, like in the movies.

The SUV had been traveling eastbound in the westbound lane for at least 10 minutes, according to police dispatch audio, and even when cops tried to cut it off, it still didn’t stop.

So was a judge right to decide there was no probable cause for Suellentrop’s arrest, because there was some “pertinent information” missing from the police report? Following the rules matters, so it’s possible. And we may not know for some time, since the Kansas Highway Patrol is not releasing even that portion of the report that the public is entitled to see.

But here’s what we do know: The public is well and truly tired of seeing the powerful get special treatment.

Ridiculously preferential treatment is written right into the Kansas Constitution, which says that lawmakers can’t be arrested during the legislative session “except for treason, felony or breach of the peace.”

If you know of any Black person in the land who has driven in the wrong direction for 10 minutes and walked away, we’d love to hear about it. Or if you know of any average Kansan who has managed that, tell us about it.

Going the wrong way on I-70 is such a great way to get yourself and others killed that Suellentrop should consider himself one lucky lawmaker.

And if there’s some sober explanation for how that could have happened, well, we’d love to hear that, too.

The case has been referred to the Shawnee County district attorney. But while that investigation is going on, Suellentrop should step aside from his majority leader post.

Then, he should put this time to good use, and take a new look at some of his old positions.

Specifically, as the chairman of the health committee, he’s personally had a lot to do with blocking the Medicaid expansion that would significantly expand health care access in general and addiction services in particular in Kansas.

Last year, he made sure Medicaid expansion died without a vote. This year, its passage yet again looks unlikely. Suellentrop has said it was just “not on the radar. Not even close.”

Is the need for such services ringing any new bells with the chairman and majority leader after a bad night that could have been much, much worse? Is it on the radar now? Along with maybe just a little more compassion for the non-powerful who make mistakes.

If the near-calamity of turning around on the highway leads him to a turn-around on health care, that would at least show he’s capable of learning from experience.