Cheating in the name of….

Kansas’ supermajority ruling party governs in the shadows

There has been some very good reporting in the past week or so about the way Kansas’ elected Republicans play fast and loose with the rules - and then dodge anyone who tries to call them on it.

Over the years, I’ve watched the ruling Republican Party in Kansas cheat and game the system, even when it was completely unnecessary. They have the numbers to win a fair fight, under the rules of the game they get to set, yet they just can’t seem to help themselves.

One of the interesting things that seems to happen to people with power is that having the power is never quite enough. They want more and more, even when they can always get their way. Over time, that power starts to feel like an entitlement, and that entitlement starts to feel at some point as a right, which they believe to beyond question or rebuke.

The Kansas Reflector’s Clay Wirestone did a good job outlining the ways in which Republicans are running the state government outside their view of Kansans.

It seems to be much, much worse this year, but it was clear to me many times during my time in the legislature that much of what happens has been pre-ordained by leadership and special interests. There were times committee meetings felt completely orchestrated and controlled. In those years, leadership at least felt the need to go through the motions of an open government. Now, it seems, they feel the right to cut to the chase and just ram through their agenda in the shadow recesses of the Capitol.

Another piece worth checking out is in the Hutchinson Tribune, where Michael Glenn writes about his experience trying to track down the 102nd District Representative.

He outlines in the column his difficulty in getting a response from Kyler, who indicated he was far too busy for a 15 minute meeting despite two of his committees not meeting that day.

And, of course there’s the ongoing saga of U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, whose team has been busy posting material on social media making it seem as if good ole Roger Dodger has been busy hustling around the state to visit with constituents.

In reality, most of these events are staged and tightly controlled, with only a handful of vetted supporters allowed access to the esteemed senator from Florida. I mean, Kansas.

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Nationally and in Kansas, there has been a move towards centralized control of decision making and an effort to normalize cheating or disregard for rules and institutional norms by the people in power.

Sadly, some key people in the minority party, who should be working against such efforts, at times seem to be colluding with and even assisting the erosion of any sense of fair play or integrity in government.

I’ve never understood this softness of some people in power. They can’t seem to handle even the slightest challenge to their authority, and faced with reporting on their ill-conceived actions, they simply claim that everyone is unfair to them. They force through their ideology, move to punish those who speak truth to power, change the rules to suit their needs, and manipulate systems to further advantage them.

And when people start to get a little testy about it, they move their work to the shadows and say they could be more transparent if only everyone wasn’t so mean.