Intelligent Evolution

A funny thing is happening in the nation's heartland – many of Kansas' moderate Republicans, disgusted with the state party's social conservative agenda, have switched parties and running for office as Democrats. And they said evolution was dead in Kansas…

This November, Democrat candidates will include the former chairman of the Kansas Republican Party, a four-term district attorney, and seven other former GOPissants. Credit for their redemption can be attributed to Democratic Governor Kathleen Sebelius and state party chairman Larry Gates…but they had some help.

Sebelius and Gates have been abetted by the social conservatives who dominate the Kansas Republican Party. When conservative Republicans won seats on the state school board, for example, and changed the science teaching standards to include the theory of intelligent design, Kansas became a national punch line, and moderate Republicans squirmed.

[Paul] Morrison, the Democratic candidate for attorney general, says that it took more than a call from Sebelius to persuade him to switch. Morrison, who calls himself a "very, very moderate person," felt that incumbent Phill Kline had turned the attorney general's office into a platform for partisan politics. Kline made headlines when he attempted to access the medical records of Kansas women who'd had abortions. "So much time and energy," Morrison says, "is being spent on pursuing a narrow partisan agenda that most people don't agree with."

For Cindy Neighbor, who's running for the state House, the decision to ditch the Republican Party came when she looked at a platform that included opposition to stem cell research and support for school vouchers and the teaching of intelligent design.

Hmm…maybe we should encourage more ridiculous right-wing agendas and outlandish hyperbole. I mean, if we shake the few sensible apples off the GOP tree, the Democratic Party stands a much better chance at capturing moderate/independent voters and passing legislation that matters, right?

Actually, some people disagree. Kansas State University Political Science professor Joe Aistrup thinks that " the addition of former Republicans may be shifting Kansas Democrats to the right. Any time, as a party, you start expanding the base to include former members of the other party, you're recalibrating the party to a more moderate point of view." And Thomas Frank, author and self-proclaimed player on "Team Liberal" says that, "I don't think it's that great a victory if people come to the Democratic Party without any kind of change of heart, or if the Democratic Party is just becoming full of moderate Republicans. Then that's, in some ways, a terrible defeat for my side."

As much as I want to see Team Liberal win (and dude – when are we getting team jerseys already?), I can't help but think that we have to make room for all moderates, at least in a state as Red as Kansas. Core liberal issues may never play in the Sunflower State, but I think we need to swallow our blue pride for a chance to capture as many offices as possible. Maybe Kansas will never fully embrace the liberal revolution, but there's a good chance we can help its citizens evolve into a mindset a bit more appropriate for the 21 ^st Century.

Darwin would be so proud.