Paul Harris, of the Observer, writes in the Guardian that
Democrats dare to dream of recapturing the Bush heartland
The squat, bunker-like building in a south Topeka suburb does not look like a place to turn American politics on its head. Nor does Mark Parkinson, a tall, affable man, look too much like a revolutionary. But here, deep in the American heartland, are the warning signs of a political earthquake.
The two-storey office block is Parkinson's campaign headquarters as he runs as Democrat candidate for deputy governor. So far, so normal. Except that only a few weeks ago Parkinson was a Republican. In fact, he was Kansas Republican party chairman.
His defection to the Democrats sent shockwaves through a state deeply associated with the national Republican cause and the evangelical conservatives at its base. Nor was it just Parkinson's leave-taking that left Republicans spluttering with rage and talking of betrayal. It was that as he left Parkinson lambasted his former party's obsession with conservative and religious issues such as gay marriage, evolution and abortion.
Republicans Have Let Down Their Own People By Fixating On Ideological Extremism
Parkinson accuses Republicans of fixating on ideological issues that don't matter in peoples everyday life.
What matters is improving schools and creating jobs,' he said. 'I got tired of the theological debate over whether Charles Darwin was right.'
Finally, news that makes sense from the mid-west. I've been puzzled that so many people of the mid-western redstates seemed to buy into GOP Neocon extremism, hook, line, and sinker. At least here is what I hope is the tip of an iceberg of a reawaking of common sense in the American heartland. Or "Hope in the Heartland" as our local Democratic slogan says.
This is music to Democratic ears and has profound potential implications for November's mid-term elections. Kansas has been an iconic state for the Republican right, a symbol for issues such as teaching creationism in schools and fighting abortion rights. The modern Republican party, masterminded by political guru Karl Rove, has harnessed fury over such topics to allow the Republicans to dominate US politics since 2000.
But in a swath of heartland states such as Kansas, Democrats are seeing the first signs of their party's rebirth. Parkinson is not alone in switching sides. In Virginia, Jim Webb, a one-time Reagan official, is seeking to be a Democrat senator. In South Carolina, top Republican prosecutor Barney Giese has defected after a spat with conservatives. Back in Kansas another top Republican, Paul Morrison, also joined the Democrats and is challenging a Republican to be the state attorney-general.
Kansas Governer Kathleen Sibelius Focuses On Education, Jobs, And Health
Democratic Governer Kathleen Sibelius seems to be the high powered leverage point in Kansas politics inspiring Democrats to take the fight to the GOP.
...she has impressed by reaching the middle-ground voters in a startlingly successful first term. Shunning the hot-button social issues, she has focused on education, jobs and health. This has earned her approval ratings touching 68 per cent in a state that was overwhelmingly pro-Bush in 2004.
Sibelius has cracked the political holy grail: persuading heartland Republicans to vote Democrat. 'Her style works here, and then bringing over Parkinson to the Democrats has been the coup of all coups,' said Professor Bob Beatty, a political scientist at Washburn University near Topeka.
Republicans In Disarray
An interesting strategic twist is that the exodus of moderate Republicans in Kansas is allowing the right-wing to become more extreme. Could this be a "virtuous" feedback loop portending a more significant breakthrough in the mid-west for Democrats?
As the Democrats enjoy a resurgence, the Republicans are in disarray. Parkinson's defection encouraged other moderates to abandon a party controlled by right-wing religious zealots. In political terms they are called Rinos, or Republicans in Name Only. If enough Rinos desert, the strict ideologues in the party are likely to drift further right. 'A number of conservatives are actually pleased that the moderates are leaving the Republican party. That really could spell trouble,' Beatty said.
There is a long way to go. Larry Gates, chairman of the Kansas Democratic party, says his side is still vastly outgunned, but he is optimistic. 'The Republican party is just controlled by the neocons. They are not flexible. But in Kansas it is an issue like education that is foremost in people's minds,' he said. The Democrats bypass abortion and evolution to focus on jobs, schools and health. The Democrats' local slogan for 2006 sums up the mood: 'Hope in the Heartland.'
Conclusion
Paul Harris sums up his analysis by predicting the first party which moves to the center is going to win Kansas.
The defections across the country have been spurred mostly by a reaction to the extremism of the right. The future, as Kansas predicts it, lies in the middle ground for the first party to stake a claim to it. 'That is the absolute lesson. No party is going to win an election by being on the edges. The first to go to the middle ground will win,' Gates said.
Perhaps, Howard Dean's 50 state strategy may turn out to be even more clever than many suspected. Not just a strategy forcing Republicans to spend resources defending safe states, but now it appears, starting to crack open new territory for the Democrats.
Hope In The Heartland Indeed.
Let's hope this is a trend that picks up.
