Saturday, January 13, 2007
The Bright Side
Here in Johnson County Kansas, there's been a lot of hand wringing over Phill Kline's firing of seven assistant district attorneys and a senior investigator when he took charge of the prosecutor's office.
Kline's election as prosecutor by Johnson County Republican precinct captains has proved highly unpopular here. The man he's replacing, Paul Morrison, was seen by voters as professional, competent, and highly effective. Kline is seen as a man lacking the credentials to be either Attorney General or county prosecutor and a political opportunist. In the race for Kansas Attorney General, Morrison beat Kline in Johnson County by 65 to 35 percent.
Since Kline was chosen to replace Morrison, the papers have been filled with letters of protest from moderate Republicans and there have been widespread reports of many Republicans registering as independents in protest.
Red State Rabble sees things differently. We don't think everyone is looking at the big picture. In their concern over crime fighting, some of my fellow Johnson Countians forget that many conservative Republicans are without a job right now.
Think about it. What are all the Republican activists who were part of the Iraq Coalition Provisional Authority doing now? Michael "Heckuva Job" Brown is out of work, as is his Kansas doppelganger Bob Corkins. Don McKinney, part-time abortion clinic protester, part-time abortion clinic prosecutor, is also looking for work.
They've all got to go somewhere.
True, the appointment of Kline cronies to replace competent professionals may mean that crime fighting in Johnson County takes a hit, but that was going to happen anyway as Kline found a way to use his new appointment to pursue his crusade against abortion.
This way, at least seven of the unemployable nephews and son-in-laws that would otherwise have been a drain on their parents can be put on the public payroll.
Kline's election as prosecutor by Johnson County Republican precinct captains has proved highly unpopular here. The man he's replacing, Paul Morrison, was seen by voters as professional, competent, and highly effective. Kline is seen as a man lacking the credentials to be either Attorney General or county prosecutor and a political opportunist. In the race for Kansas Attorney General, Morrison beat Kline in Johnson County by 65 to 35 percent.
Since Kline was chosen to replace Morrison, the papers have been filled with letters of protest from moderate Republicans and there have been widespread reports of many Republicans registering as independents in protest.
Red State Rabble sees things differently. We don't think everyone is looking at the big picture. In their concern over crime fighting, some of my fellow Johnson Countians forget that many conservative Republicans are without a job right now.
Think about it. What are all the Republican activists who were part of the Iraq Coalition Provisional Authority doing now? Michael "Heckuva Job" Brown is out of work, as is his Kansas doppelganger Bob Corkins. Don McKinney, part-time abortion clinic protester, part-time abortion clinic prosecutor, is also looking for work.
They've all got to go somewhere.
True, the appointment of Kline cronies to replace competent professionals may mean that crime fighting in Johnson County takes a hit, but that was going to happen anyway as Kline found a way to use his new appointment to pursue his crusade against abortion.
This way, at least seven of the unemployable nephews and son-in-laws that would otherwise have been a drain on their parents can be put on the public payroll.
