Posted on 07/08/2014 5:32:42 AM PDT by cotton1706
Moderate Kansas Republicans survey the U.S. Senate primary like vegetarians at a barbecue.
Dick Bond, the onetime president of the Kansas Senate from Johnson County, considers three-term incumbent Sen. Pat Roberts and finds him too far right. Roberts’ most serious challenger, tea party favorite Milton Wolf? Much the same.
“I don’t even have a horse to ride,” Bond said.
People who long represented the mainstream of the Kansas GOP find themselves in a party shifted decidedly to their right. That leaves them feeling abandoned, particularly in the Senate primary, which features two candidates who are striving to stake out the most conservative positions they can.
“Moderate Republicans just don’t have a whole lot of places to go,” said Dennis Jones, a former Kansas Republican Party chairman.
Those moderates’ frustration might prompt them to sit out the Aug. 5 voting, putting the contest in the hands of the most committed and most conservative in an increasingly conservative state and party.
“I’ll be doing something that I am not pleased with,” said former Republican state Rep. Nancy Brown, a moderate. “I simply do not (plan to) vote for either one.”
snip
Moderate voters said they were more comfortable with Roberts earlier in his Senate career when he was seen as more willing to support their causes. In 2013, the nonpartisan National Journal ranked Roberts as the eighth-most conservative senator. In 2005, he came in as the 38th-most conservative.
snip
Some might argue that Roberts has played it smart politically. Bond doesn’t buy it.
“He’s been a longtime friend, and obviously he has totally changed,” Bond said. “He drank some Kool-Aid or something.”
Said former state Sen. Tim Owens, a moderate Republican from Overland Park: “My hope is that his latest approach has been Pat Roberts playing politics. I’m sorry to see that.”
(Excerpt) Read more at kansascity.com ...
These moderates for years have told conservatives to come together and support the republican nominee no matter what, from Arlen Specter to Jim Jeffords, etc. But when push comes to shove, they find it very hard to come together and vote for a conservative nominee.
Which is why we've seen Dede Scozzafava endorse a democrat when it became clear she couldn't win, Lincoln Chafee becoming a democrat, Charlie Crist becoming a democrat, Richard Lugar endorsing a democrat, John Warner endorsing a democrat, Jim Jeffords becoming an independent, Lisa Murkowski running as an independent, and on, and on.
If actual or potential challenges make a senator look over his shoulder, which results in more conservative votes in the senate, let's have more challenges!! It's very healthy, and as we can see, separates the wheat from the chaffe.
These are the people who gave us Bob Dole.
Cry me a river. “Moderate” GOP is bullcrap. Just go vote for the dems and be done with it.
What exactly is a “moderate” anyway? Only believe in abortion during the first trimester?
Hey, if you don’t like two conservatives in a primary, put up your own candidate. Alternatively, you can shut up.
Ladies and Gentleman of Free Republic, this is how Sebelius got elected, to those that wonder on occasion.
They can always show their true colors and run as Democrats.
Boo. Frickin. Hoo.
This is only a taste of what we have to endure on a constant basis, where we're told we have to support "moderate" (i.e., liberal) Republican A or B.
“Purist.”
Hahaha. Exactly!! That’s why I post these stories, to show the hypocrisy!
u r funny.
A moderate Republican is one who pretends to represent the people at election time but represents the lobbyists the rest of the time.
Snarlin Arlen, Who’s from Kansas.
/johnny
Moderates love to label tea partiers purists but nobody is more purist than a moderate.
Moderates are lying, manipulative bottom feeding scum who would rather lose to a democrat than allow a conservative to win just so they can sit back and say “we told you so”.
They’re standing on the feeding tube of the comatose GOP complaining about those filthy conservatives while the democrats goose step into full on fascism in the hall.
“They can always show their true colors and run as Democrats.”
Like Lincoln Chafee, Arlen Specter, Charlie Crist, John Huntsman.
We’re smoking them out!!
Great description!
I didn’t know there were any moderate Kansas Republicans left in office. I thought the last two elections pretty much cleared them out.
You are correct, they no longer control politics at the state level. They lost power because of their willingness to go along with whatever Kathleen Sebelius wanted to do. She was their idea of a moderate. They will become Democrats, but are unlikely to be able to bring back a Democrat majority.
They will have reason to be happy about Senator Roberts after the election. He is going with the flow and putting up a conservative front during this election year. But he will return to form as soon as that business is over.
It’s not surprising that the very liberal “Kansas City Scar” is telling moderate Republicans that they should be discouraged and that many of their friends are sitting out the election. It’s a ploy to suppress turnout.
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