As a Kansas farmer I would caution everyone about stereotyping Kansans. We entered the Union as the Free State and suffered some of the most violent attacks of the Civil War to oppose slavery. We were "Indian Country" during the removal period. We have been many things over the decades that give us our own culture and our own independent spirit. Remember that we survived the hateful "Summer of Mercy" in 1991, and the murder of Dr. Tiller, without ever allowing laws to be passed banning abortion. Our courts have upheld the constitutional right for abortion. Like previous eras, we get into the headlines because we fight for the rights of others. This may be a battleground right now, but not because we are a "Red State" that doesn't believe in women's rights, but because we are a complicated state with a strong tradition of resisting outside pressure to conform.
Years before I became one of the first women airline pilots, I was the first woman in my jobs at a Wichita-based aircraft manufacturer. Our ad agency once took me to a themed dinner event at their private Witchita club. It beat anything I'd seen in progressive Boston for stylish creativity and fun. Kansas definitely has the most "adventurous" airport approach I've seen -- at two airports across the street from each other. (Unfortunately, one of our execs landing his company plane was sliced in half by a military pointy thing on approach, but that's another story.) And with Beech, Cessna, and Lear, they pioneered in general aviation manufacturing
Still, despite my experience suggesting otherwise, back here, now, in my native MA, I can be guilty of stereotyping Kansas, an obvious mistake. Way to go, Kansas! May your neighbors learn from you and follow your lead.
Dr. Cynthia, I am glad to hear of your state's independent spirit. Your legislators, though do not seem all that independent, following right along with the Republican line. It is good the people of Kansas didn't like that Republican line, at least related to abortion. Also, you all did vote overwhelmingly for Trump, an ignorant vengeful con artist. I guess even independent folks can get bamboozled.
Correct! All of our legislators in my area voted to place the amendment on the ballot! They remain a threat as they are unable to make decisions that might truly reflect their feelings, locked in a Republican machine that will ostracize them and toss them out. I am running as a Democrat to replace one of them. Please, wish me luck! It will be an uphill battle. My campaign is grassroots, no corporate donors. I am not rich. I am a native Kansan born of immigrant parents from Mexico and France. I am running to give voters a choice after 46 years of practice as a Registered Nurse. The lesson we learned in Kansas, that I want to share to the rest of the nation is that it takes INVOLVEMENT and WORK. You MUSt get active and participate. SPEAK with people you meet everyday. I talked with many people in grocery stores, retail stores and on the street, informing them and urging them to vote. I believe I reached a lot of young people, women whose rights were at stake. Don't take for granted that everybody is informed. Word of mouth works!
Wow, great response! I've never been to Kansas, but this gives me a nice snapshot of your state and what motivates the people of it. I did spend some time in Indiana in the last few years and was surprised to discover the extent of corporate farming. It seems to fall on deaf ears when trying to explain it others. Thank you.
Dr Annett: Since you are a KS farmer, I would greatly appreciate it if you would indulge me by watching Rosario Dawson’s documentary The Need to Grow (https://www.earthconsciouslife.org/theneedtogrow) and giving me your opinion of how Kansans might respond to this movie about farmers fighting topsoil depletion and climate change via school curriculums that involve entire families. After I saw it, I went to a Presidential campaign rally by Rosario’s then-partner, candidate Cory Booker, to ask him* if he might be able to use farming as an issue to relate to Midwest voters that Democrats usually ignore. He declined, but I’m still interested in knowing whether the idea has merit.
(*fwiw: It wasn't just a forgettable question from an audience member. After the former Newark mayor's stump speech, I queued up, waited, shook his hand, schmoozed, confirmed he knew the Newark street where my mom grew up & all my cousins gathered monthly, and then handed him a nicely typed suggestion)
I, too, am a native Kansan. I am also from Wichita, and remember the domestic terrorism that summer (I was 12) and I was horrified and dismayed by the assassination of Dr. Tiller. And we are Bleeding Kansas, asking What Would John Brown Do? My dad’s home town, Humboldt, was burnt to the ground TWICE by the Confederacy. Yes, we’re a “Red” state, but many of us are the grandchildren and great grandchildren of FDR Dems who survived the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. We really are not like the other Red States. I want people to know this, not only because I’m a proud Kansan who helped “get out the vote”, but because I worry that other battleground states may believe that they can rest on their laurels because “even Red State Kansas” voted to maintain bodily autonomy. Please choose action over complacency.
Yes, you are so right. We have complicated histories of people who have made great sacrifices to survive difficult times. If we can remember those histories, and draw on the lessons they teach us, we can find ways to survive what we are facing now. I have great hope for the young people of Kansas, I see how they are fighting for their rights and the rights of others. We are one of the top states in the country for green energy, we rebuilt Greensburg after after it was flattened by an EF-5 tornado to be one of the greenest cities in the world - for our own reasons, on our own path. It is messy, it doesn't always work, but we are trying to find a way to help all of our neighbors to navigate these difficult times. Your story is wonderful and I thank you for sharing it with me.
What you write, matters. It's important that people know the history of our country, and who better to tell it than people like you, whose ancestors fought for what this country is supposed to stand for and too often, doesn't.
Dr Annett, RR, and/or someone more informed than I am: PLEASE write about former Guv Brownback's failed tax cut experiment. I only have time to read about it on wiki. Someone who lived through it can write about its impact on KS's post-Brownback politics
Thanks to a Democrat, Governor Laura Kelly, we have fully recovered from the disastrous Brownback "experiment". Our state coffers are overflowing, our schools are fully funded, our highways and infrastructure are funded, we are becoming a desirable place for business. We have to be, we have been losing population, especially our youth. Governor Kelly has EARNED a second term! Her opponent will take us back to Brownback! We will NOT let that happen. We have a history of Democrat governors ,even though we have not sent a Democratic Senator to Washington since 1932. Docking, Wagnon, Sebelius, among others have been good leaders.
In my past life, or before my traumatic brain injury caused me to become detached from my own memories, I received a bachelors in history. I studied purely non-American countries though, as all high school was American history. Thank you very much, Dr. Annett for some CURRENT facts about states, as I know none!
It's good to know there are more packets of PROGRESS in this country! I have lived in New York my entire life, so I take it for granted.
As a Kansan, I never thought we’d be looked to as a bellwether state!
SCOTUS, congressional, state and local legislators need to leave their 'white toast' religion or misguided ideas about "the way things should be" at the chamber doors. We’re well-beyond what the Founding Fathers could have imagined when it comes to cultural and religious pluralism.
The culture wars are well underway. We don't need a religious conflict.
Aug 4, 2022·edited Aug 4, 2022Liked by Robert Reich
I bet most young Jayhawks vote blue. Don't know about those Wheatshockers at Koch U.
Kansas has a Democratic governor, Laura Kelly, running for re-election to a second term, against Derek Schmidt, the state attorney general. Schmidt opposed abortion, has opposed expansion of LGBT rights in Kansas, including by defending the state's laws against same-sex marriages, opposed efforts to legalize or decriminalize marijuana.
One of my former law clerks returned to practice law there (and in KC Mo) after 10 years in DC. Lots of opportunity.
So many have left the farm, for whatever reason, there is free land in Kansas. In 2019, six rural Kansas towns started offering free land to transplants. These Kansas towns included Marquette, Mankato, Lincoln, Plainville, Osborne and Wilson. Most of these towns are located in Central or North Central Kansas with dwindling populations. My experience is that most of Kansas is parched.
I bet if Democrats were able to bring water, rather than oil sludge from Canada, to Kansas, a million flowers would grow.
My experience is that western Kansas thinks it's oil country. May have been true at one time... Now, they have nothing. They are in the Mountain time zone and people identify with Denver.
We once stayed in Ft. Hays, which reminds me of the wasteland. People still wear cowboy hats, but no cattle. Little House on the Prairie took place near Independence, KS, but now no prairie, just dust.
I’ll come to defense of my Home on the Range! (even though I’m a city dweller)
Parts of western KS are still active in oil exploration and extraction. Cattle (feeder and dairy) are still big biz.
There are many smaller towns that are struggling. Family farms struggle to stay viable enough to pass on to family. Many have a found a revenue stream in leases for wind power generation.
Water is an issue. Drought has wreaked havoc on SW KS and the Oglala aquifer is continuing to be pumped though there are efforts to slow the drain.
Oh, and we landed a Panasonic car battery plant! Sounds like a huge deal for the state - if we didn’t give away too much in the way of incentives and tax breaks!
Your hunch is right on target! Young Jayhawkers, Wildcats, Hornets, Gorillas and Tigers are more progressive, more diverse and much more tolerant and open-minded. They helped tremendously by showing up to vote in record numbers. The future is bright in Kansas if we can ensure they consistently vote. Ad Astra Per Astra!
Craig, You are so right about our cultural and religious plurality in this nation and in Kansas too. I have not thought much about Kansas before except for some of its history. Tuesday's vote will make me more aware of the state in the future.
It's a battle on Twitter but I try everyday. It's so disheartening to educated women denying what is right in front of them. I'm incredibly confused by Jewish women, and women of color and those in the LGBTQ community supporting the most radical GOP movement. They clearly don't understand the groundswell of discriminatory policies that are coming for them. Day by day, I hope more eyes can be opened to the insanity that is front of them.
Denise, I strongly recommend you "educate" white evangelical women who fund, staff and organize against the rest of us. You can begin by studying the role of evangelical Christians in colonization, slavery, Jim Crow, eugenics, and Nazi Germany. Once you know that history, your "confusion" will be over.
I didn’t say I don’t understand it, and I’m very educated on the subjects you mention. However, it’s not 1930, so no matter my education, they clearly don’t want to hear it right now from someone like me. I speak the way I speak (must be my overly educated self). I’ll still never understand how anyone could elect Trump, I just won’t. I clearly understand the appeal of his words, but the obviously drunken, appalling quest for loyalty with no gains at all, is abhorrent and an affront to the constitution they preach at every turning point. Confusion was probably an insufficient choice of words on my part, but thanks for your offensive concern.
Of course, you’re offended. I flipped YOUR script and turned it back on you. Getting YOU to open YOUR eyes to the insanity right in front of YOU, was my goal. Learn that lesson and remember it. In the future, flip your scripts and see how you respond before you start preaching it.
If you were “educated” you would have written… “I'm incredibly confused by women supporting the most radical GOP movement.” But that is not what you wrote, is it?
Instead, you exposed your ignorance by writing… “I'm incredibly confused by Jewish women, and women of color and those in the LGBTQ community supporting the most radical GOP movement. They clearly don't understand the groundswell of discriminatory policies that are coming for them. Day by day, I hope more eyes can be opened to the insanity that is front of them.”
Functionally speaking you are un-educated. I suggest you take this hard conversation to heart and do some soul searching.
Wow, I see what you wanted to do, but if you turn someone off because it is offensive or insensitive, you end, rather than continue, the dialogue. None of us has all the answers, no one can claim their sh_t doesn't stink, but collectively we can build each other up and solve problems. Only continued dialogue will allow us to break through all the BS to get to the truth that we can only be successful by coming together. Our political gridlock allows the wealthy/powerful to remain in control and to become more wealthy/powerful at the expense of ALL the rest of us. Their wealth is power, where our power comes from our strength-in-numbers... unless we move from Democracy to Autocracy.
fyiruban - I agree with you and usually I go out of my way to encourage dialog.
However, I push back when people like Denise, start amplifying Trump.
Trump is the master of grievances, and no grievance is deeper than the one revolving around education, especially in rural areas of the country, and areas with large minority populations. With all her talk about her "education" Denise proved Trump was right. Denise proved she is an elite, by looking down on people and trying to educate "us". Denise finds this effort "disheartening". That is downright insulting, especially if you are one of the people she singled out in her descriptive (which includes me).
I did not find your initial remarks to Denise offensive. But your second response to her sounds pompous. Pompous does not work well here in Kansas. Come down a little off your high horse.
Charles, another commenter just called me on this too. Denise got underneath my skin and both, you and fyiurban are right to chastise me.
Pompous does not work in Kentucky either. However, if you happen to have the credentials to throw around, people really appreciate it, when you throw some of your pompous at some pompous jerk who is looking down at them.
Denise, so much of what we see is counter intuitive it is only natural to try to make a, God forbid, “educated” guess.
Puzzling phenomenon; the preference for bad Intel. As we see Trump paint himself into a more and more absurd corner from which there is no retreat, our celebratory cartwheels are Interrupted. We noticed that the more outlandish and demonstrably false the claim, the more rabid and frenzied the following.
I find it instructive to take a quick look at Christianity to fathom this religious like fervor.
Let’s imagine omitting the unlikely “facts “. I.e. the world was made in five or six days, Virgin birth, water into wine, etc. It would take a lot of the pizzazz out of church. You might not get that warm fuzzy feeling. In practical terms, you might have to take care of this earth if God wasn’t likely to make you another one. Most crucially, you wouldn’t have anything to “believe” in. Beliefs, where are you don’t need empirical facts to be sure. What a relief to not have to deal with all the tiresome data.
Reich, Sanders and their ilk give people pandemics, global warming, income Inequality, Medical needs and a host of grief to think about. Trump, on the other hand gives them something to believe in.
I'd hardly call deceit, lies and a con job something to believe in. Have you noticed that pandemics, global warming, and income equality can be dealt with, and hopefully, rectified? Believing in the "nothing" he promises will get them the nothing he has promised.
Celeste, I have recently moved, because of economic necessity, to Trump country. Our county board of supervisors has insisted that Covid information only be reported once a month instead of twice a week, once a week, every two weeks. This is an area that always has a high incidence of hospitalization and death from whatever the latest version of Covid is. These people all believe that masks and vaccinations are manifestations of evil people trying to control us. Citing almost any empirical fact creates a huge blow back around here. My little essay above was an attempt to make some kind of sense out of bonkers behavior. I have a hard time keeping irony and sarcasm out of my writing. Anyway, if you have any ideas about how people develop an affection for bad intel, please share them with me.
Earl, I wish I could say I knew that answer, but this is what I think. Frustration due to lack of personal progress, fear, lack of education and rigorous discussion with people of differing opinions, sense of superiority, bad or false information coming from many avenues, and may I reinforce LACK OF EDUCATION. People in power who want to retain it do things like ban books. In this way, those who are uneducated to a broad viewpoint are kept uneducated, giving the powers that be the opportunity to fill those minds with false information, for instance like blaming immigrants for their problems and offering "solutions" that solve nothing, but incite hate. I, too, live in trump country. I have found that taken on an individual basis, many of the people I have had a chance to talk to find it surprising that I welcome discussion without telling them they are wrong . I have also learned that many of them share my viewpoints, and I've tried to encourage them to continue to have these types of conversation, and to vote for what they really believe. I think that, for example, what happened in the Kansas vote is the result of people expressing what they truly believe without having to share their beliefs out loud to their neighbors. (No one likes to be the "one" who is different in the eyes of those they have to live with day in and day out, which is why confidential voting is so beneficial.) I know this is not an ideal situation...trying to understand everything about how humans think is messy stuff. But I am an optimist, and I believe there is more good out there than not. It's up to all of us to keep reminding Americans what can ultimately happen if we don't stay engaged. (please refer to 1930's Europe) And Earl, sometimes I get sarcastic too. After all, we're only human. Good luck!
well done conservative Kansas..... maybe you are waking up..... As a Yank in the UK, please vote blue (probably preaching to the choir here....).... Get a better social safety net like in Europe. Longer vacations, better minimum wage, sensible gun mentality..... Good luck all.
Aug 4, 2022·edited Aug 4, 2022Liked by Robert Reich
HAHA! i love that quote from William Allen White! wonderful. thank you for sharing that.
and i was pleasantly surprised -- cheered even -- by the vote results in kansas. on one hand, i have friends in kansas who were saying this vote outcome was likely, but my friends are academics, so i was heartened by their predictions, but also wary since they, like everyone, hang out with their own particular group of people.
White had a great quote there! I too, am heartened by the epic surge of sentiment in the heartland! It was so good to see the people celebrating and hugging after they showed their power! Women and men!
Aug 4, 2022·edited Aug 4, 2022Liked by Robert Reich
Professor, I write in response to your mention of the Republican culture war largely to amend my comment from yesterday and also to provide a hopefully more focused and more helpful way forward.
I start with the premise that Republicans mainly want to fight the culture wars because they believe, perhaps rightly, that that’s how they win elections. At the same time, Democrats—leadership in particular—largely seem to want to dodge most culture issues rather than fighting the culture wars and winning them, on abortion (finally in-play), on book banning, on teaching history, on the devaluation and degradation across race and region, and on democracy itself, which, contrary to aristocracy, invariably raises the fundamental question: what is the role of the most disadvantaged in relation to the public interest? Considering the public largely is on the side of the Democrats, I worry that Democrats are not sufficiently in the fight.
To clarify, I notice Democrats frequently are quoted as saying, “We’re not going to deal with this stuff: we’re going to focus on kitchen table issues.” Though that sounds good, setting aside the impending passage of the Inflation Reduction Act that, admittedly, does include some counter-inflationary climate, health and tax reform measures, in the past 18 months, Democrats have been unable to extend the child tax credit, improve childcare, raise the minimum wage to $15, enact truly meaningful gun control measures, advance either the PRO Act or the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, make investments in housing, in eldercare, in Pre-K, or in student loan forgiveness—legislation, in other words, that markedly would improve life for tens and tens of millions of working people and also would mitigate the growing fear of violent assault and cruel insult.
Fair or not, politics mostly is perception and, although Republicans largely have no ideas other than ones arising from greed and self-serving impulses, their strategy of running on divisiveness, far too often, wins them elections. Hence, Democrats have to be willing to engage in war. The other side has shown that it will do whatever is necessary to attain power. Thus, it is incumbent upon Democrats both to show they are engaged in issues that matter most to Americans concerned about the quality of their lives, while also underscoring the kind of society that would ensue from a victorious MAGA party that, at the very least, would scapegoat those who are most vulnerable.
Barbara Jo, while I agree with you in principle (Democrats absolutely should fight like we’re in a war because we are), the reason this legislation has failed has been two Republican moles, Manchin and Sinema. Democrats have proposed great bills. It’s those two idiots who have scuttled them. Sinema is poised to do it again. I don’t know what anyone can do about them, at least in the short term. What this tells me is that the system is very broken.
Other than progressives, I really haven’t heard establishment democrats forcefully speak out or up like Barbara Jo is suggesting. Every once in awhile President Biden does but it’s seems halfhearted and blunted somewhat to not offend large corporate interests. Maybe I’ve just missed it. But the large monied and corporate interests have definitely noticed what the progressives are saying and have come out with guns blazing ever since Biden included a large part of Bernie’s platform in the Build Back Better agenda. And it’s not going to stop until we have enough progressives in Congress to get these things across the finish line.
Jim, While your analysis is spot on, considering, this past January, that 48 Senate Democrats supported most, if not all, of the budget reconciliation package (BBB), I believe they are well aware that unless they are viewed as helping to remedy much of the country’s grotesque inequalities of wealth and income, Democrats will lose seats this fall. Hence, I stand by the playbook I outlined in my reply to Paula B., who is part of this thread.
Agreed. I’ve been feeling disheartened with the results of these primaries. It never seems to change. After fifty years of this I’m getting tired of it.
I’m feeling the same, so much so that I didn’t donate at the start of this month to all the causes and organizations that I’ve been supporting, like it’s just a drop in the bucket against all the dark money fighting against democracy. But the Kansas vote put some wind back in my sails. 🙃
I’m glad you feel that way. I’m still wary. In that poll the other day I voted for Democrats lose Congress.” With all the gerrymandering and dirty tricks I’m very worried. Plus the Democratic establishment still doesn’t get it.
Sometimes I think the Democratic establishment is purposely obtuse hoping that we settle for less than what’s really needed and that in the end we will settle for less. Every time I listen to Josh Gottheimer he’s always saying how hard he’s working for us but I always feel like he’s stringing us along. There’s always that mountain that’s impossible to climb.
Paula, To start, though I’m no fan of either Manchin or Sinema, I suggest we stop referring to them as “Republican moles.” While I don’t doubt they have an arrangement with McConnell, specifically regarding any modification of the filibuster rule, without them, neither Biden’s American Rescue Plan nor the admittedly compromised Inflation Reduction Act would have passed. ( I presume you know that late yesterday Sinema consented conditioned upon the removal of the stipulation to close the carried interest loophole.)
Given the Party’s present status less than 100 days to the midterm election, in my view, our job is twofold. 1) Prevail upon Democratic leadership to present the legislation that has passed as a downpayment of more to come if Dems hold the House and pick up at least 2 Senate seats. 2) Urge leadership to call out every Republican ( plus Manchin & Sinema) by asking, “Who do you want here—somebody who doesn’t want to expand the child tax credit or those who do?” “Somebody who doesn’t want to provide affordable, quality childcare, universal Pre-K, and affordable college or those who do?” “Doesn’t want to make investments in housing and in eldercare or those who do?” Though I could go on, my point, despite a contingent of corporate Dems, is that, aside from Manchin & Sinema, they all supported every one of these measures. Ditto the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act, which would have passed with 50 Senate votes had Manchin and Sinema not joined the 50 Republican Senators who filibustered the legislative protections.
As a final point, I would note, among other priorities, I advise supporting groups like The States Project that work tirelessly to out-organize Republicans, who ruthlessly are organizing to fill state and local positions with their own people—people who don’t believe in free and fair elections.
The Republican Party keeps telling us that we have too much government and less privacy in our lives. The exception, of course is when it comes to women's health issues. The Republican politicians have decided that when it comes to our mother,s our sisters, and our wifes that they, and only they have a right to decide on womens' health issues. And privacy-forget it. They could care less about the privacy of the women of this country.
Two of those judges lied during their confirmation hearings when they said Roe was settled law. They have little moral authority after such dishonesty. But you already knew that.
It was amazing to hear the turnaround in the messaging of the pundits! All of a sudden , this big Kansas vote meant that a sea change could happen. They were using words like "a revolution!". See what happens....
“My advice to the women of America is to raise more hell and fewer dahlias.”) I agree with White. I also beileve that women hold our salvation and our republic.
As a Kansas farmer I would caution everyone about stereotyping Kansans. We entered the Union as the Free State and suffered some of the most violent attacks of the Civil War to oppose slavery. We were "Indian Country" during the removal period. We have been many things over the decades that give us our own culture and our own independent spirit. Remember that we survived the hateful "Summer of Mercy" in 1991, and the murder of Dr. Tiller, without ever allowing laws to be passed banning abortion. Our courts have upheld the constitutional right for abortion. Like previous eras, we get into the headlines because we fight for the rights of others. This may be a battleground right now, but not because we are a "Red State" that doesn't believe in women's rights, but because we are a complicated state with a strong tradition of resisting outside pressure to conform.
Years before I became one of the first women airline pilots, I was the first woman in my jobs at a Wichita-based aircraft manufacturer. Our ad agency once took me to a themed dinner event at their private Witchita club. It beat anything I'd seen in progressive Boston for stylish creativity and fun. Kansas definitely has the most "adventurous" airport approach I've seen -- at two airports across the street from each other. (Unfortunately, one of our execs landing his company plane was sliced in half by a military pointy thing on approach, but that's another story.) And with Beech, Cessna, and Lear, they pioneered in general aviation manufacturing
Still, despite my experience suggesting otherwise, back here, now, in my native MA, I can be guilty of stereotyping Kansas, an obvious mistake. Way to go, Kansas! May your neighbors learn from you and follow your lead.
Dr. Cynthia, I am glad to hear of your state's independent spirit. Your legislators, though do not seem all that independent, following right along with the Republican line. It is good the people of Kansas didn't like that Republican line, at least related to abortion. Also, you all did vote overwhelmingly for Trump, an ignorant vengeful con artist. I guess even independent folks can get bamboozled.
Correct! All of our legislators in my area voted to place the amendment on the ballot! They remain a threat as they are unable to make decisions that might truly reflect their feelings, locked in a Republican machine that will ostracize them and toss them out. I am running as a Democrat to replace one of them. Please, wish me luck! It will be an uphill battle. My campaign is grassroots, no corporate donors. I am not rich. I am a native Kansan born of immigrant parents from Mexico and France. I am running to give voters a choice after 46 years of practice as a Registered Nurse. The lesson we learned in Kansas, that I want to share to the rest of the nation is that it takes INVOLVEMENT and WORK. You MUSt get active and participate. SPEAK with people you meet everyday. I talked with many people in grocery stores, retail stores and on the street, informing them and urging them to vote. I believe I reached a lot of young people, women whose rights were at stake. Don't take for granted that everybody is informed. Word of mouth works!
It is the best means of carrying a message. Most people are too busy working to even pay attention to politics.
I wish I could vote for you but I’m drying up here in the now arid state of California. Good luck!
Wow, great response! I've never been to Kansas, but this gives me a nice snapshot of your state and what motivates the people of it. I did spend some time in Indiana in the last few years and was surprised to discover the extent of corporate farming. It seems to fall on deaf ears when trying to explain it others. Thank you.
I visited FT. Riley Kansas as a soldier back in 1969. It was cold as hell. We trained for Vietnam in the snow.
Dr Annett: Since you are a KS farmer, I would greatly appreciate it if you would indulge me by watching Rosario Dawson’s documentary The Need to Grow (https://www.earthconsciouslife.org/theneedtogrow) and giving me your opinion of how Kansans might respond to this movie about farmers fighting topsoil depletion and climate change via school curriculums that involve entire families. After I saw it, I went to a Presidential campaign rally by Rosario’s then-partner, candidate Cory Booker, to ask him* if he might be able to use farming as an issue to relate to Midwest voters that Democrats usually ignore. He declined, but I’m still interested in knowing whether the idea has merit.
(*fwiw: It wasn't just a forgettable question from an audience member. After the former Newark mayor's stump speech, I queued up, waited, shook his hand, schmoozed, confirmed he knew the Newark street where my mom grew up & all my cousins gathered monthly, and then handed him a nicely typed suggestion)
I, too, am a native Kansan. I am also from Wichita, and remember the domestic terrorism that summer (I was 12) and I was horrified and dismayed by the assassination of Dr. Tiller. And we are Bleeding Kansas, asking What Would John Brown Do? My dad’s home town, Humboldt, was burnt to the ground TWICE by the Confederacy. Yes, we’re a “Red” state, but many of us are the grandchildren and great grandchildren of FDR Dems who survived the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. We really are not like the other Red States. I want people to know this, not only because I’m a proud Kansan who helped “get out the vote”, but because I worry that other battleground states may believe that they can rest on their laurels because “even Red State Kansas” voted to maintain bodily autonomy. Please choose action over complacency.
Yes, you are so right. We have complicated histories of people who have made great sacrifices to survive difficult times. If we can remember those histories, and draw on the lessons they teach us, we can find ways to survive what we are facing now. I have great hope for the young people of Kansas, I see how they are fighting for their rights and the rights of others. We are one of the top states in the country for green energy, we rebuilt Greensburg after after it was flattened by an EF-5 tornado to be one of the greenest cities in the world - for our own reasons, on our own path. It is messy, it doesn't always work, but we are trying to find a way to help all of our neighbors to navigate these difficult times. Your story is wonderful and I thank you for sharing it with me.
What you write, matters. It's important that people know the history of our country, and who better to tell it than people like you, whose ancestors fought for what this country is supposed to stand for and too often, doesn't.
Well said! Thanks from Olpe, KS!
thank you!!!!
Dr Annett, RR, and/or someone more informed than I am: PLEASE write about former Guv Brownback's failed tax cut experiment. I only have time to read about it on wiki. Someone who lived through it can write about its impact on KS's post-Brownback politics
Thanks to a Democrat, Governor Laura Kelly, we have fully recovered from the disastrous Brownback "experiment". Our state coffers are overflowing, our schools are fully funded, our highways and infrastructure are funded, we are becoming a desirable place for business. We have to be, we have been losing population, especially our youth. Governor Kelly has EARNED a second term! Her opponent will take us back to Brownback! We will NOT let that happen. We have a history of Democrat governors ,even though we have not sent a Democratic Senator to Washington since 1932. Docking, Wagnon, Sebelius, among others have been good leaders.
In my past life, or before my traumatic brain injury caused me to become detached from my own memories, I received a bachelors in history. I studied purely non-American countries though, as all high school was American history. Thank you very much, Dr. Annett for some CURRENT facts about states, as I know none!
It's good to know there are more packets of PROGRESS in this country! I have lived in New York my entire life, so I take it for granted.
I hope your voice can be heard loud and clear.
I'm impressed, Dr. Cynthia Annett, sounds like you Kansans are made of the good strong stuff. B McClain
Wow! what was that? Dr. Reich didn't say anything against Kansans. In fact, it was pretty positive. I think you might want to reread.
Jim Terry....Are you a troll?
You are trolling.
Are flys attracted to POOP??
Yeah, the guy is obviously Power Mad . .Napoleonic complex. Sad. Disgrace.
As a Kansan, I never thought we’d be looked to as a bellwether state!
SCOTUS, congressional, state and local legislators need to leave their 'white toast' religion or misguided ideas about "the way things should be" at the chamber doors. We’re well-beyond what the Founding Fathers could have imagined when it comes to cultural and religious pluralism.
The culture wars are well underway. We don't need a religious conflict.
I bet most young Jayhawks vote blue. Don't know about those Wheatshockers at Koch U.
Kansas has a Democratic governor, Laura Kelly, running for re-election to a second term, against Derek Schmidt, the state attorney general. Schmidt opposed abortion, has opposed expansion of LGBT rights in Kansas, including by defending the state's laws against same-sex marriages, opposed efforts to legalize or decriminalize marijuana.
One of my former law clerks returned to practice law there (and in KC Mo) after 10 years in DC. Lots of opportunity.
So many have left the farm, for whatever reason, there is free land in Kansas. In 2019, six rural Kansas towns started offering free land to transplants. These Kansas towns included Marquette, Mankato, Lincoln, Plainville, Osborne and Wilson. Most of these towns are located in Central or North Central Kansas with dwindling populations. My experience is that most of Kansas is parched.
I bet if Democrats were able to bring water, rather than oil sludge from Canada, to Kansas, a million flowers would grow.
Not surprisingly, you can look beyond just KU and WSU. County vote analysis shows the ‘No’ win was made possible by the Wichita and NE KS metros.
My experience is that western Kansas thinks it's oil country. May have been true at one time... Now, they have nothing. They are in the Mountain time zone and people identify with Denver.
We once stayed in Ft. Hays, which reminds me of the wasteland. People still wear cowboy hats, but no cattle. Little House on the Prairie took place near Independence, KS, but now no prairie, just dust.
I’ll come to defense of my Home on the Range! (even though I’m a city dweller)
Parts of western KS are still active in oil exploration and extraction. Cattle (feeder and dairy) are still big biz.
There are many smaller towns that are struggling. Family farms struggle to stay viable enough to pass on to family. Many have a found a revenue stream in leases for wind power generation.
Water is an issue. Drought has wreaked havoc on SW KS and the Oglala aquifer is continuing to be pumped though there are efforts to slow the drain.
Down but far from out!
Oh, and we landed a Panasonic car battery plant! Sounds like a huge deal for the state - if we didn’t give away too much in the way of incentives and tax breaks!
Daniel, think we'll see water pipelines in the next 10 years?
Been working on this issue for many years. Don't know.
https://www.humanitieskansas.org/get-involved/kansas-stories/nature/empty-promises-empty-riverbeds
Are Billions Needed For A Cross-State Canal To Save Western Kansas? If pumping continues at current rates, most of southwest Kansas will exhaust its water reserves within 25 to 50 years. That could dry up the agriculture at the heart of the region’s economy. https://www.kcur.org/2019-01-23/are-billions-needed-for-a-cross-state-canal-to-save-western-kansas
I say, whatever it costs it's worth it. However Republicans are penny wise and pound foolish.
Canada has an excess and will probably want an arm and leg.
Your hunch is right on target! Young Jayhawkers, Wildcats, Hornets, Gorillas and Tigers are more progressive, more diverse and much more tolerant and open-minded. They helped tremendously by showing up to vote in record numbers. The future is bright in Kansas if we can ensure they consistently vote. Ad Astra Per Astra!
Craig, You are so right about our cultural and religious plurality in this nation and in Kansas too. I have not thought much about Kansas before except for some of its history. Tuesday's vote will make me more aware of the state in the future.
NYT. Kansas Result Suggests 4 Out of 5 States Would Back Abortion Rights in Similar Vote. Nate Cohn.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/04/upshot/kansas-abortion-vote-analysis.html?action=click&module=Well&pgtype=Homepage§ion=The%20Upshot
I guess Kansas is finally seeing the Republicans for who they really are. I can only hope more states follow suit.
(Side note: I’m not expecting entrenched red states to suddenly flip to blue, but I do hope they’ll keep the radicals of the GOP at bay.)
Today Kansas, tomorrow more.
Check out Iowa, Missouri.
Without Women there would be no Men! Most American women are decent, kind and caring.
It’s time for the majority,(women) to make America the country that other countries aspire to be. You Go Girl.
It's a battle on Twitter but I try everyday. It's so disheartening to educated women denying what is right in front of them. I'm incredibly confused by Jewish women, and women of color and those in the LGBTQ community supporting the most radical GOP movement. They clearly don't understand the groundswell of discriminatory policies that are coming for them. Day by day, I hope more eyes can be opened to the insanity that is front of them.
Denise, I strongly recommend you "educate" white evangelical women who fund, staff and organize against the rest of us. You can begin by studying the role of evangelical Christians in colonization, slavery, Jim Crow, eugenics, and Nazi Germany. Once you know that history, your "confusion" will be over.
I didn’t say I don’t understand it, and I’m very educated on the subjects you mention. However, it’s not 1930, so no matter my education, they clearly don’t want to hear it right now from someone like me. I speak the way I speak (must be my overly educated self). I’ll still never understand how anyone could elect Trump, I just won’t. I clearly understand the appeal of his words, but the obviously drunken, appalling quest for loyalty with no gains at all, is abhorrent and an affront to the constitution they preach at every turning point. Confusion was probably an insufficient choice of words on my part, but thanks for your offensive concern.
Of course, you’re offended. I flipped YOUR script and turned it back on you. Getting YOU to open YOUR eyes to the insanity right in front of YOU, was my goal. Learn that lesson and remember it. In the future, flip your scripts and see how you respond before you start preaching it.
If you were “educated” you would have written… “I'm incredibly confused by women supporting the most radical GOP movement.” But that is not what you wrote, is it?
Instead, you exposed your ignorance by writing… “I'm incredibly confused by Jewish women, and women of color and those in the LGBTQ community supporting the most radical GOP movement. They clearly don't understand the groundswell of discriminatory policies that are coming for them. Day by day, I hope more eyes can be opened to the insanity that is front of them.”
Functionally speaking you are un-educated. I suggest you take this hard conversation to heart and do some soul searching.
Wow, I see what you wanted to do, but if you turn someone off because it is offensive or insensitive, you end, rather than continue, the dialogue. None of us has all the answers, no one can claim their sh_t doesn't stink, but collectively we can build each other up and solve problems. Only continued dialogue will allow us to break through all the BS to get to the truth that we can only be successful by coming together. Our political gridlock allows the wealthy/powerful to remain in control and to become more wealthy/powerful at the expense of ALL the rest of us. Their wealth is power, where our power comes from our strength-in-numbers... unless we move from Democracy to Autocracy.
fyiruban - I agree with you and usually I go out of my way to encourage dialog.
However, I push back when people like Denise, start amplifying Trump.
Trump is the master of grievances, and no grievance is deeper than the one revolving around education, especially in rural areas of the country, and areas with large minority populations. With all her talk about her "education" Denise proved Trump was right. Denise proved she is an elite, by looking down on people and trying to educate "us". Denise finds this effort "disheartening". That is downright insulting, especially if you are one of the people she singled out in her descriptive (which includes me).
I did not find your initial remarks to Denise offensive. But your second response to her sounds pompous. Pompous does not work well here in Kansas. Come down a little off your high horse.
Charles, another commenter just called me on this too. Denise got underneath my skin and both, you and fyiurban are right to chastise me.
Pompous does not work in Kentucky either. However, if you happen to have the credentials to throw around, people really appreciate it, when you throw some of your pompous at some pompous jerk who is looking down at them.
Denise, so much of what we see is counter intuitive it is only natural to try to make a, God forbid, “educated” guess.
Puzzling phenomenon; the preference for bad Intel. As we see Trump paint himself into a more and more absurd corner from which there is no retreat, our celebratory cartwheels are Interrupted. We noticed that the more outlandish and demonstrably false the claim, the more rabid and frenzied the following.
I find it instructive to take a quick look at Christianity to fathom this religious like fervor.
Let’s imagine omitting the unlikely “facts “. I.e. the world was made in five or six days, Virgin birth, water into wine, etc. It would take a lot of the pizzazz out of church. You might not get that warm fuzzy feeling. In practical terms, you might have to take care of this earth if God wasn’t likely to make you another one. Most crucially, you wouldn’t have anything to “believe” in. Beliefs, where are you don’t need empirical facts to be sure. What a relief to not have to deal with all the tiresome data.
Reich, Sanders and their ilk give people pandemics, global warming, income Inequality, Medical needs and a host of grief to think about. Trump, on the other hand gives them something to believe in.
I'd hardly call deceit, lies and a con job something to believe in. Have you noticed that pandemics, global warming, and income equality can be dealt with, and hopefully, rectified? Believing in the "nothing" he promises will get them the nothing he has promised.
Celeste, I have recently moved, because of economic necessity, to Trump country. Our county board of supervisors has insisted that Covid information only be reported once a month instead of twice a week, once a week, every two weeks. This is an area that always has a high incidence of hospitalization and death from whatever the latest version of Covid is. These people all believe that masks and vaccinations are manifestations of evil people trying to control us. Citing almost any empirical fact creates a huge blow back around here. My little essay above was an attempt to make some kind of sense out of bonkers behavior. I have a hard time keeping irony and sarcasm out of my writing. Anyway, if you have any ideas about how people develop an affection for bad intel, please share them with me.
Earl, I wish I could say I knew that answer, but this is what I think. Frustration due to lack of personal progress, fear, lack of education and rigorous discussion with people of differing opinions, sense of superiority, bad or false information coming from many avenues, and may I reinforce LACK OF EDUCATION. People in power who want to retain it do things like ban books. In this way, those who are uneducated to a broad viewpoint are kept uneducated, giving the powers that be the opportunity to fill those minds with false information, for instance like blaming immigrants for their problems and offering "solutions" that solve nothing, but incite hate. I, too, live in trump country. I have found that taken on an individual basis, many of the people I have had a chance to talk to find it surprising that I welcome discussion without telling them they are wrong . I have also learned that many of them share my viewpoints, and I've tried to encourage them to continue to have these types of conversation, and to vote for what they really believe. I think that, for example, what happened in the Kansas vote is the result of people expressing what they truly believe without having to share their beliefs out loud to their neighbors. (No one likes to be the "one" who is different in the eyes of those they have to live with day in and day out, which is why confidential voting is so beneficial.) I know this is not an ideal situation...trying to understand everything about how humans think is messy stuff. But I am an optimist, and I believe there is more good out there than not. It's up to all of us to keep reminding Americans what can ultimately happen if we don't stay engaged. (please refer to 1930's Europe) And Earl, sometimes I get sarcastic too. After all, we're only human. Good luck!
Jewish woman here. I’ve never supported a Republican or a libertarian in my life. Never will. You don’t have to worry about me or my friends.
Paula B- Denise's comment hit me the same way, for the same reason. Unlike you, I lost my temper and lambasted her.
I was just puzzled.
Paula, my apology. I assumed the comment hit you the same way. 😊
No problem, Raffey. I understand why you reacted the way you did.
well done conservative Kansas..... maybe you are waking up..... As a Yank in the UK, please vote blue (probably preaching to the choir here....).... Get a better social safety net like in Europe. Longer vacations, better minimum wage, sensible gun mentality..... Good luck all.
HAHA! i love that quote from William Allen White! wonderful. thank you for sharing that.
and i was pleasantly surprised -- cheered even -- by the vote results in kansas. on one hand, i have friends in kansas who were saying this vote outcome was likely, but my friends are academics, so i was heartened by their predictions, but also wary since they, like everyone, hang out with their own particular group of people.
Mr. Reich,
I didn't know what a good writer you are.
Let's hope meaningful words file down to action. Thank you for your perspective. I, for one, appreciate the insight.
The key word here, Bex, is "action."
Dr. Reich knows his history. He is no dummy.
White had a great quote there! I too, am heartened by the epic surge of sentiment in the heartland! It was so good to see the people celebrating and hugging after they showed their power! Women and men!
Professor, I write in response to your mention of the Republican culture war largely to amend my comment from yesterday and also to provide a hopefully more focused and more helpful way forward.
I start with the premise that Republicans mainly want to fight the culture wars because they believe, perhaps rightly, that that’s how they win elections. At the same time, Democrats—leadership in particular—largely seem to want to dodge most culture issues rather than fighting the culture wars and winning them, on abortion (finally in-play), on book banning, on teaching history, on the devaluation and degradation across race and region, and on democracy itself, which, contrary to aristocracy, invariably raises the fundamental question: what is the role of the most disadvantaged in relation to the public interest? Considering the public largely is on the side of the Democrats, I worry that Democrats are not sufficiently in the fight.
To clarify, I notice Democrats frequently are quoted as saying, “We’re not going to deal with this stuff: we’re going to focus on kitchen table issues.” Though that sounds good, setting aside the impending passage of the Inflation Reduction Act that, admittedly, does include some counter-inflationary climate, health and tax reform measures, in the past 18 months, Democrats have been unable to extend the child tax credit, improve childcare, raise the minimum wage to $15, enact truly meaningful gun control measures, advance either the PRO Act or the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, make investments in housing, in eldercare, in Pre-K, or in student loan forgiveness—legislation, in other words, that markedly would improve life for tens and tens of millions of working people and also would mitigate the growing fear of violent assault and cruel insult.
Fair or not, politics mostly is perception and, although Republicans largely have no ideas other than ones arising from greed and self-serving impulses, their strategy of running on divisiveness, far too often, wins them elections. Hence, Democrats have to be willing to engage in war. The other side has shown that it will do whatever is necessary to attain power. Thus, it is incumbent upon Democrats both to show they are engaged in issues that matter most to Americans concerned about the quality of their lives, while also underscoring the kind of society that would ensue from a victorious MAGA party that, at the very least, would scapegoat those who are most vulnerable.
Barbara Jo, while I agree with you in principle (Democrats absolutely should fight like we’re in a war because we are), the reason this legislation has failed has been two Republican moles, Manchin and Sinema. Democrats have proposed great bills. It’s those two idiots who have scuttled them. Sinema is poised to do it again. I don’t know what anyone can do about them, at least in the short term. What this tells me is that the system is very broken.
Other than progressives, I really haven’t heard establishment democrats forcefully speak out or up like Barbara Jo is suggesting. Every once in awhile President Biden does but it’s seems halfhearted and blunted somewhat to not offend large corporate interests. Maybe I’ve just missed it. But the large monied and corporate interests have definitely noticed what the progressives are saying and have come out with guns blazing ever since Biden included a large part of Bernie’s platform in the Build Back Better agenda. And it’s not going to stop until we have enough progressives in Congress to get these things across the finish line.
Jim, While your analysis is spot on, considering, this past January, that 48 Senate Democrats supported most, if not all, of the budget reconciliation package (BBB), I believe they are well aware that unless they are viewed as helping to remedy much of the country’s grotesque inequalities of wealth and income, Democrats will lose seats this fall. Hence, I stand by the playbook I outlined in my reply to Paula B., who is part of this thread.
I agree with you! The establishment Democrats need to be pushed a little bit (or maybe shoved) harder and I think your playbook will do just that!
Agreed. I’ve been feeling disheartened with the results of these primaries. It never seems to change. After fifty years of this I’m getting tired of it.
I’m feeling the same, so much so that I didn’t donate at the start of this month to all the causes and organizations that I’ve been supporting, like it’s just a drop in the bucket against all the dark money fighting against democracy. But the Kansas vote put some wind back in my sails. 🙃
I’m glad you feel that way. I’m still wary. In that poll the other day I voted for Democrats lose Congress.” With all the gerrymandering and dirty tricks I’m very worried. Plus the Democratic establishment still doesn’t get it.
Sometimes I think the Democratic establishment is purposely obtuse hoping that we settle for less than what’s really needed and that in the end we will settle for less. Every time I listen to Josh Gottheimer he’s always saying how hard he’s working for us but I always feel like he’s stringing us along. There’s always that mountain that’s impossible to climb.
Paula, To start, though I’m no fan of either Manchin or Sinema, I suggest we stop referring to them as “Republican moles.” While I don’t doubt they have an arrangement with McConnell, specifically regarding any modification of the filibuster rule, without them, neither Biden’s American Rescue Plan nor the admittedly compromised Inflation Reduction Act would have passed. ( I presume you know that late yesterday Sinema consented conditioned upon the removal of the stipulation to close the carried interest loophole.)
Given the Party’s present status less than 100 days to the midterm election, in my view, our job is twofold. 1) Prevail upon Democratic leadership to present the legislation that has passed as a downpayment of more to come if Dems hold the House and pick up at least 2 Senate seats. 2) Urge leadership to call out every Republican ( plus Manchin & Sinema) by asking, “Who do you want here—somebody who doesn’t want to expand the child tax credit or those who do?” “Somebody who doesn’t want to provide affordable, quality childcare, universal Pre-K, and affordable college or those who do?” “Doesn’t want to make investments in housing and in eldercare or those who do?” Though I could go on, my point, despite a contingent of corporate Dems, is that, aside from Manchin & Sinema, they all supported every one of these measures. Ditto the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act, which would have passed with 50 Senate votes had Manchin and Sinema not joined the 50 Republican Senators who filibustered the legislative protections.
As a final point, I would note, among other priorities, I advise supporting groups like The States Project that work tirelessly to out-organize Republicans, who ruthlessly are organizing to fill state and local positions with their own people—people who don’t believe in free and fair elections.
YES!
"Raise more hell and fewer dahlias!" There you go. A good T-shirt. My spirits have been raised by the Kansas vote. Thank you, Kansas! We needed that.
So good to see the organization that took place in Kansas! Especially with the “ Vote No to vote Yes” complication the Republicans crafted.
Well done Kansas!
The Republican Party keeps telling us that we have too much government and less privacy in our lives. The exception, of course is when it comes to women's health issues. The Republican politicians have decided that when it comes to our mother,s our sisters, and our wifes that they, and only they have a right to decide on womens' health issues. And privacy-forget it. They could care less about the privacy of the women of this country.
Two of those judges lied during their confirmation hearings when they said Roe was settled law. They have little moral authority after such dishonesty. But you already knew that.
Two? I count 4.
Did Mr. Terry forget which president put those justices in? And which SENATOR lowered the voting threshold?
I see mommy left yhe basement door open again.
I love it!
It was amazing to hear the turnaround in the messaging of the pundits! All of a sudden , this big Kansas vote meant that a sea change could happen. They were using words like "a revolution!". See what happens....
Women will and always will step up to save our autonomy! ❤️❤️
“My advice to the women of America is to raise more hell and fewer dahlias.”) I agree with White. I also beileve that women hold our salvation and our republic.
I couldn’t raise a dahlia if I tried. I’m pretty good at raising hell.
So am I.