GEM, Kan. - Thank you, Marty Keenan, for your post, Kansas Democrats Aren't Benchwarmers. The assurance that the Kansas Democrats are alive and kicking is great news. Those of us out here in the far west are a little isolated from the few rallies we here about in the eastern part of the state. For instance, I'm not going to drive 100, 200 and 300 miles to get in on a 1 or 2 hour rally. I also understand that it is hard for state wide candidates to justify the great traveling distances to rattle the bushes in western Kansas.
Especially when the candidates know there is only a handful of Democrats with the gumption to speak up when they are surrounded by dyed-in-the-wool Republican parrots who repeat, over and over, the falsities espoused by the right wing talk show hosts, especially the Sarah Palin-Rush Limbaugh types. Our newspapers are fed the political news from Republicans, who basically lay out the Republican agenda and point out all the good things they, as our reps, have accomplished.
We never here any thing about the negatives from the dissenting Republicans or from the Democrats who are in the minority. How about some dissenting views, like we get from Supreme Court rulings?
Tom Holland sounds encouraging. But, let's hear a little more about how he plans to stimulate our economy, produce jobs, fund our schools, protect the environment, etc.
Where does he stand and how does he plan to cooperate with the feds when and if we ever get a health care bill passed? Just telling us he has beat two Republicans isn't enough. We haven't seen much about what he has done in the legislature after beating those Republicans. I'm sure he has worked hard, but, I can only assume he worked for those issues and solutions that fit the general Democratic philosophy.
Most of us, even out here in the west, have decent Internet access. How about some sites specifically to relay the atmosphere and a little of the content of rallies. Kansas Free Press (KFP always confuses me, that's also my initials.) is great, but everyone doesn't subscribe. We need email chains, Facebook (for those of you who have that), Twitter and all those other thousands of apps to get the word out. Sorry, I'm not high tech enough for all those newfangled gadgets. Email and someone else's blog sights have to do it for me. The Internet is the cheapest and most effective communication tool we have. Let's use it.
How about some examples of Dems working with Dems in laying out strategy? We all are well aware that Dems are at a distinct disadvantage as a weak minority in the legislature. All the more reason we need cooperative strategy and workable compromise with moderate Republicans. We know that has happened, but we have very little evidence that it was planned strategy.
It is important to point out the failures and weaknesses in the Republican candidates and their past performances. But that cannot be the main thrust of our campaigns. Just saying, "He's wrong and I'll be right," doesn't mean much. It falls flat when a candidate only indicates that "I" will do all these things, without acknowledging that these goals depend on cooperation and support from others.
Obviously, people should know that. Yet, it isn't very evident when you listen to all those who have abandoned our president. He hasn't delivered all the perceived hard promises he articulated on the campaign trail. They forget when time rolls on and those promises don't materialize, it opens the door for ridicule when we don't meet the goals. We live in a culture that expects and demands immediate gratification. We don't accept that hoped-for reality isn't reality, even on the TV reality shows.
We live in a complex society that leaves minorities hard pressed to gain recognition for their needs or accomplishments. Even if and when the Democrats are the majority, we need to remember that our majority is made up of coalitions of minorities and we must continue to strive for equity for all.
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