Wednesday, October 1, 2014

VDARE - James Kirkpatrick: What’s the Matter With Kansas?– How Conservatism Inc. Is Blowing It In A Red State - "The way out is to do what Ann Coulter suggested – make this election a referendum on immigration, and nothing else."


What’s the Matter With Kansas?– How Conservatism Inc. Is Blowing It In A Red State


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Leftist Thomas Frank famously accused the Republican Party of working against the interests of its own voters in his book What’s the Matter With Kansas? Fanatical immigration enthusiast and current GOP Governor Sam Brownback seems determined to prove Frank right. His incompetence may cost the state party the Governor’s mansion, the Republican Party the Senate—and worst of all, patriotic immigration hero Kris Kobach his career as Kansas Secretary of State.
Brownback won his gubernatorial election in 2010 by a remarkable 30 point margin [Kansas Governor – Brownback vs. Holland, RealClearPolitics, 2010] He declared his intent to conduct a “real, live experiment” on the state by pushing through tax cuts under the theory that supply side economics would keep revenue up. Revenue collapsed, resulting in the state’s credit rating being downgraded and a political rebellion from within his own party. [What’s the matter with Sam Brownback?by Patrick Caldwell, Mother Jones,September 25, 2014]
More importantly, rural Kansans—the conservative base—may actually face higher property taxes as local communities try to make up the lost revenue [Insight Kansas: Governor’s experiment wallops rural property taxpayersby H. Edward Flense, Leavenworth Times,June 19, 2014] ...