Syndicated Columnists
The Kansas GOP no longer backs traditional conservative ideals. That’s why I left it
In a column earlier this week, The Star’s Michael Ryan praised conservative principles of “limited and accountable government” and the appointment of “jurists who respect your right to be largely left alone,” implying that the Kansas Republican Party shares those priorities. As someone with experience inside the party, I have a markedly different perspective. Neither of those values resides in the Kansas GOP.
What the leadership of the Kansas Republican Party embodies today is something quite different. I left the GOP because I saw that the party leadership has jettisoned fiscally conservative values to pursue ideological purity centered on a new embrace of tax cuts sold as economic adrenaline. Kansans saw what happened when former Gov. Sam Brownback — with help from his conservative legislative allies — drove our state into debt. They passed a reckless tax experiment that devastated Kansas’ bottom line. It caused years of catastrophic revenue shortfalls and devastating budget cuts. They cut schools, highways, foster care, health care, public health programs and much more. And in the meantime, they left our state fundamentally unprepared and unable to address any unforeseen crisis and incapable of modernizing the very infrastructure needed to serve Kansas families. “Limited and accountable” became “impotent and irresponsible.”
It wasn’t until a reasonable, bipartisan coalition banded together that Kansas regained fiscal sanity and reversed the Brownback tax experiment. The coalition was led in part by Democrat Laura Kelly, then a state senator, and state Sen. Barbara Bollier, then a Republican. They kick-started the recovery of state budgets and services that has continued through this year. The irresponsible fiscal policies of the Republican leadership in the Kansas Legislature were one significant reason I decided to change parties — along with the massive cuts GOP lawmakers made to schools, their disrespect for Kansas teachers and their tendency to interfere in Kansans’ personal lives.
Kansas is in a crisis now — a global pandemic resulting in an economic free-fall. We are fortunate to have a governor who preached fiscal restraint even when revenue was stable. That cannot be said for any of the Republican candidates for U.S. Senate. They advocate for more reckless, irresponsible tax cuts. They oppose expanding access to KanCare, the state Medicaid program, to create more jobs and strengthen rural hospitals. They politicize the judicial selection process. And they consistently support policies that harm rural, urban and suburban families alike. So, it matters little who becomes the Republican nominee — each of them has demonstrated allegiance to this extreme version of the Republican Party, not to the people of Kansas. They do not represent the Kansas values that Ryan described as conservative ideals.
On the other hand, Kansas Democrats have demonstrated time and time again our commitment to workers and families in every corner of this great state. We are fiscally conservative and have avoided deficit spending at all costs. We demonstrated fiscal restraint and put Kansas in a much stronger position ahead of this pandemic. We restored funding to our schools, so every child enjoys the opportunity to succeed — no matter who they are or where they live. We invested in infrastructure to make sure all communities can thrive. Democrats fought to expand Medicaid, which would have strengthened our health care system ahead of this historic health crisis. And we seek to provide dignity and autonomy for all people over their bodies and minds.
At the end of the day, primaries are an important part of an election. Voters hear from candidates about their values and their goals. In 2018, Democrats had a crowded field in the race for governor, but ultimately we settled on the strongest, best-suited candidate to win the election and fix our state. Kansas is better for it.
I’m hopeful that Kansans will reject self-immolation by once again putting party labels aside and picking the person who is best equipped to be a voice for Kansans in Washington, D.C. Sen. Bollier has a track record of standing up to both parties to do what is best for Kansans. She has made tough choices to defend the most vulnerable among us — even when it was very unpopular. As a doctor, Barbara looks at the facts and finds commonsense solutions to our challenges. This is exactly what we need during this unprecedented time. Dr. Barbara Bollier would be an independent voice of reason in the U.S. Senate for all Kansans — from Johnson County to Johnson City.
Dinah Sykes represents District 21 in the Kansas Senate.
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