GREAT BEND, Kan. - Statistically, speaking the 112th District House of Representatives seat is the third safest Republican seat in the entire Kansas House of Representatives. In fact, this western Barton County seat hasn't been filled by a Democrat in over 60 years.
So why did I run 3 times as a Democrat for this seat in 2004, 2006 and 2008? I guess I'm a dreamer at heart, a Don Quixote who wants to believe that good things happen to good people who keep trying. Averaging 47.6% of the vote is nothing to be embarrassed about, but it still makes you wonder why politics isn't more fair.
But at a recent Royals game, I saw two things that started to make things a little more clear. One said: "Play for the name on the front of your jersey, not the name on the back." How true. Each time I ran for state tepresentative, I was a member of a team, the name on the front of my jersey "Democrat" is what really counts. The name on the back of the jersey "Marty Keenan" is secondary. And all three times I finished over twenty five points ahead of the meager 21% Democratic registration in my district. So I represented the team well.
The second thing I saw at the Royals game was something in the program that said, "Life is a lot like baseball." One of the references was that we all sometimes "take one for the team." Again, how true. When a batter gets hit in the ribs with a 90 mph fastball, he gets a free base. It hurts, but sometimes you take one for the team.
Yes, I lost narrowly to Rep. John Edmonds in 2004. But that same year my teammate Laura Kelly upset a sitting Republican senator by 98 votes, and has gone on to become a great Senator in the 18th State Senate District. In 2006, I was declared the winner on election night by 18 votes, only to have it taken away from me the next day. Meanwhile, teammate Gene Rardin was unexpectedly elected by 2 votes in the 16th House District in Johnson County. In 2008, I finished with 47% of the vote, but the team did well - Barack Obama, the first African-American nominee for President, actually won a Congressional District in Kansas. And my teammate Gene Rardin increased his winning margin by 89 votes!
Losing is no fun, but the important thing is that the team does well. That's why I believe strongly in "spreading the court" to make Republicans defend even seats that are safely Republican. Every penny of the tens of thousands used to defeat someone like Marty Keenan in a safe Republican District is one less penny that can be used to defeat a teammate like a Gene Rardin or Laura Kelly.
Democrats can survive and even prosper in 2010 if we stick together with a team concept, and concede no offices to the Republicans. Some say: "Concede the governorship to Brownback and concentrate on other things." Others say: "It is hopeless put up a candidate for U.S. Senate."
But this is exactly what the Republicans want.
The important thing is that we advance the team, and do so with a full slate of teammates.
Speaking of baseball, my softball team in Great Bend recently played a game with only 8 players. We had only two outfielders. And the other team did exactly what we would have done if they had no right fielder - hit the ball to right field. We lost 18-2.
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