Obama-mania, catch it!

100% total full-frontal caucus action

Along with my friends Marc, Matt and about 2215 other Kansas Democrats, I piled into the Douglas County Fairgrounds last night for the Democratic caucus.

The night was spent mostly waiting in line to get into the arena, which was a huge dirt area used for livestock shows and such. I suspected a secret Republican plot; once they got all the Democrats in the arena, they would lock the gate and release the bulls! Luckily, nothing so dramatic happened, just a lot of talking, cheering and running into people we knew. The actual counting and speeches didn't take too long at all, and at the end of the night, the count was about 10-1 Obama over Hillary. It came close to being a complete sweep, but after the first round of counting, a few of the Edwards folks joined the Clinton section, which pusher her over the limit and got her a couple delegates. In the end, my district went 9-2 for Obama, and for the first time in the history of Kansas Presidential politics, my actual vote counted for something! It even made the muddy parking lot and the drive home in a snowstorm worth it.

Go, Lawrence!

Our conservative state legislature hates the city

When someone in the Legislature says, “There goes Lawrence again,” Barbara Ballard doesn’t back down.

“We are proud of the fact that we support the rights of all people,” said Ballard, a Democratic legislator from Lawrence.

It’s no secret that Lawrence, the seat of Douglas County, marches to the beat of a different political drummer compared with the rest of Kansas.

Lawrence has been described as an island of Democratic blue in a sea of Republican red. Unlike most of Kansas, Lawrence repeatedly supports Democratic presidential candidates and was the only Kansas county in 2005 that voted against a state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.

So, often during the legislative session, something that Lawrence has done, or plans to do, gets targeted by Kansas lawmakers.

I really, truly wish there was some way a city could secede from a state. Lawrence is basically the only desirable place to live in Kansas (with the possible exception of parts of Johnson County, which are really nice suburbs). I would love to go all "Fort Sumpter" on a bunch of conservative legislators from Western Kansas.

We even have a ready-made rebel yell: "Rock Chalk!"

Conservatives are in favor of local control of government...

...Except when they're not.

In a state where marriage is quite definitely "protected" from the depravations of loving gay couples thanks to a constitutional amendment approved by voters two years ago, it looks like even that isn't enough for a random state legislator, Lance Kinzer, who hails from Olathe, but somehow thinks he should be able to tell the citizens of Lawrence what kind of local ordinances they are allowed to pass. He has introduced a bill that would prohibit cities such as Lawrence from adopting any kind of domestic partner registries or programs.


Lawrence, you might recall, was the only county in Kansas to vote against the marriage amendment, and it did so by an overwhelming margin. The city commissioners of Lawrence are planning on implementing a domestic partner registry. Although the reigstry cannot counter state law, and will be basically symbolic, it is an important statement that clearly reflects the will of the citizens of Lawrence.

Representative Lance Kinzer has no right to tell Lawrence what ordinances it may adopt. Home rule is a fundamental building block of our system of government, and it basically means that cities are free to govern themselves and enact any ordinances they see fit so long as they do not violate state law. The legislature has the power to enforce uniform state law on any subject it wishes, but this power is to be used sparingly, on the principle that local control is the best.

There is no matter of statewide concern here. Lawrence's registry doesn't force other cities to do anything, nor does it violate state law (unless a court or the Attorney General say otherwise; and there will certainly be a suit to determine this).

The reason Lance Kinzer is trying to tell the people of Lawrence what to do is bigotry. He cannot abide by the thought that anywhere in this state there might be a city where gay people are actually thought by the majority of their neighbors to be fully human. The Kansas legislature is hardly a bastion of liberalism, but I doubt the leadership is spoiling for a "culture war" fight this year. Hopefully this disgusting bill will die alone in a committee, and the people of Lawrence -- and Olathe -- can make of their communities what they wish.