Here's another look into the developing schism in the Kansas Republican Party.
The Kansas City Star published a short article about this split and two interviews. One is with a right-wing Kansas Republican named Mark Gietzen. The other is a Kansas moderate named Betty Lu Duncan.
Here is the story. I'll mention the outline and copy parts of it here. Don't worry if you're not a subscriber.
More under the fold
On Abortion:
Gietzen: "Compromise does not apply to the abortion issue. You're either with us or against us. Abortion is killing. If there's any moral fiber in you at all, you'll oppose that. Shallenburger is trying to say we should allow a few pro-aborts in here. He's saying to the pro-aborts, we should allow pro-lifers in here."
Duncan: "I'm opposed to abortion except in extreme cases, but I am also opposed to being told that I have to think a certain way. That's my huge issue with the right side of the Republican Party. They seem to want to legislate all the way from the bedroom to my pocketbook. So I can't go along with those points of view."
On The GOP:
Gietzen: "There's no room for anybody who is not pro-life to be a part of this party."
On The Democratic Party (Duncan was asked why she wasn't a Democrat):
Duncan: "Because on the national level, I am not philosophically in the same camp with them."
[Don't worry, the water's perfectly fine. We're not as bad as you expect - RBH]
Essentially the "core" of the Kansas GOP is seeking to purge people from the party who don't believe in having the Government intervene to ban abortions.
In the September 12th SurveyUSA poll on Pro-Life v. Pro-Choice, 36% of Kansas Republicans identified themselves as "Pro-Choice".
Now, this SUSA poll is deceptive as it doesn't say if one is pro-life in general, in their personal life, or in laws. There's a difference. I don't want to anger people, but somebody can be perfectly fine if they're personally "pro-life", but they don't want the Government to ban abortions.
The paradox is that people who usually hold "pro-life" views hold the view of "I support the government intervening here and exerting their authority"
They want Government out of their lives, but they'll make an exception for this issue.
In the state of Kansas, the rift is likely to take out the Republican opposing Governor Sebulius and Attorney General Kline.
Two footnotes:
#1 - I put "pro-life" in quotation marks for most of my commentary as I feel that it's a vast blanket statement. And I stand by feeling that "personal 'pro-lifers'" are better than people who want the Government to take the choice from you.
#2 - I should go though the SUSA poll and figure out which states have the biggest splits between the 'two sides'. Although the poll is likely to be faulty.