For a while, we've been asking "What's the matter with Kansas". Now, it looks like Kansas is asking "What's the matter with the GOP?" The
Associated Press is reporting that former state Republican Chair Mark Parkinson has had enough!
Former Kansas Republican Party Chairman Mark Parkinson switched his party affiliation to Democrat on Tuesday, fueling speculation that he will be named Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' running mate.
Parkinson came into the Johnson County election office shortly before noon Tuesday and switched parties, said Brian Newby, the county election commissioner. Newby said Parkinson did not say why he was switching parties. But his name has been widely circulated as Sebelius' choice to run for lieutenant governor after she announced Friday she was seeking a second term without a running mate in tow.
But wait, if you reas further down the article, you'll find he's not the first, and probably not the last.
Also among prominent Kansas Republicans who have switched parties is Johnson County District Attorney Paul Morrison. Morrison switched to challenge conservative Republican Attorney General Phill Kline in the November general election. Parkinson is co-chairman of Morrison's campaign.
Some Republicans are crying in their milk.
House Speaker Doug Mays said he was disgusted by Parkinson's lack of loyalty to the party that made him chairman.
"To me, one of the most valuable traits that a person can have, particularly a person who find himself in a position of authority is loyalty," said Mays, R-Topeka. "I think he's being opportunistic on a personal basis. The Republican Party had been very good to Mark Parkinson."
SO WHAT??? Maybe the Republican Party has been good to him, but has the Republican Party been good to Kansas? Sure, he's ambitious, but we all know that, when a Republican becomes a Democrat in Kansas, the party is seriously fucked up! Maybe he got fed up with Republican education boards shoving creationism down the throats of every student in the state. Maybe he's tired of a party that flies the elephant above the Stars and Stripes. Maybe he understands that the party of Alf Landon, Bob Dole and Nancy Kassebaum has become the party of Sam Brownback and Kay "Women should not vote" O'Connor. Everyone has their limits and the Republican Party of Kansas has apparently exceeded his.