To say Kansas Republicans have had a problem with race relations this cycle is an understatement. A Former member of house leadership, Peggy Mast, cited Hitler in a Facebook post as “profound” the same week that the Kansas legal office used the Dred Scott decision to justify a legal battle. More recently, Representative Joe Seiwert implied that people in the Black Lives Movement should leave the country, and has yet to offer a real apology.
Over the last few days, though, Kansas Republicans have been shouting a new mantra: "Where is Jay?", Referring to Jay Sidie. The statement, which has been brought up in email, Twitter and recently in a Kansas City Star article, reflects a real problem that the Kansas Republican Party is having with minority voters. The fact is, while Kansas Republicans are wondering, “where is Jay” Wyandotte County Democratic Party members have become a focus of the party outreach plan. This is no surprise to Democratic activists — like myself — who have long maintained it is crucial for his odds of election.
Conventional wisdom contends that Kansas Republicans take for granted that they will lose Wyandotte and, as a result they do very little. Democratic Party Members, knowing they will prevail, do not work hard enough to turn out the vote in Wyandotte County (Kansas City Kansas) and press the advantage.
The obvious nature of this has been addressed repeatedly, in fact, in my breakdown of the 2014 election, I pointed out that going forward we had to work hard to fix the turnout and performance in Wyandotte. While Wyandotte was not responsible for the outcome in 2014, improving turnout there would be critical, especially for congressional candidates.
At the Democratic National Convention, Dave Helling, editorial writer for the Kansas City Star asked about the Democratic primary race ongoing in the 3rd District, pointing out that we would learn a lot about the race by how Wyandotte County would vote on August 2nd, and he asked what the plan was moving forward.
Democratic members made no secret of it: down the stretch, all efforts possible would be made in Wyandotte. Turnout goals would be high priority for the party. It seems, unfortunately, that either the Kansas City Star did not believe us then, or they fell into the Republican trap, offering the same talking points as Kansas Republican Executive Director Clay Barker.
www.kansascity.com/...
Jay Sidie has gone underground.
The Democratic candidate for Kansas’ 3rd District congressional seat is not here, not there — not anywhere.
At the most crucial moment of his campaign against Republican incumbent Kevin Yoder, Sidie won’t return phone calls. He won’t return texts. He won’t debate, and he’s not available to answer questions.
There is a problem with that narrative, and it’s one pointed out by this comment, with Representative Ruiz noting the reality:
Where was Jay Sidie? He was attending a function among Latino/Hispanic voters on a Tuesday night, just as he was meeting with Black voters and canvassers throughout the week.
The Republican message this week represents everything that is wrong with their party right now. If Jay is not talking to wealthy white Johnson County residents, it is simply irrelevant, he has “gone ghost” according to those like Republican leadership or the KC Star.
When asked about how often Republicans or reporters had visited the Wyandotte County Democratic Office over the last few months since the opening, the answer was simple: Zero. Zero times.
Republicans, who are advancing this narrative, are openly discounting the importance of Wyandotte. To the Republicans, spending time or effort in Wyandotte is the same as being “nowhere”, and should not count toward anything. Preparing to attend minority functions or communicate with minority leadership, church leaders and local leaders? Also, not important.
The Yoder campaign, earlier this week, showed off where the Republican respect level for Wyandotte sits: young, white Republicans driving by and dropping literature--racing to get out of the community.
Meanwhile, Jay Sidie is reaching out to minority voters and showing respect for their communities by making sure community members are his best advocate at the doorstep.
There is a problem in the 3rd Congressional race. A candidate being distant from the voters; and that problem is not because of Sidie.
At the convention, party leadership — myself included — took pains to tell reporters present that we would double down in every way possible on Wyandotte in the last few weeks.
But I guess for Republicans, and even for some of the press, that simply “doesn’t matter”, and that is too bad. Some of the best people, hardest workers, great voices, sharp minds and true friends I have made over the last few weeks have been working hard in Kansas City, Kansas.
And to them, their community IS somewhere.