Political IQ Again: The ghost of Jerry Falwall

This is funny. I delayed posting my previous Political IQ column for so long, that the next one has just been published, so this is a two-fer day.

This one's called Undermining the Religious Right, wherein I discuss Jerry Falwell's ghost, the hate crimes bill, religious freedom, marriage equality and my own inability to embrace optimism.

The Coming of Armageddon

For once, I agree with the Religious Right. Take a look at my latest column. The Bay Area Reporter also posted this fun illustration by Christine Smith. The entire cartoon can also be seen here.

Harris Poll: Voters are not being anti-gay when they talk about moral values

By Diane Silver

Uh oh. Big media got this wrong and keeps getting it wrong. A national Harris poll of 2,335 adults conducted Dec. 4 - 12 shows that when voters talk about "moral values," they generally do not mean gays, gay rights or much of the rest of the agenda of the religious right. In fact, the supposedly "huge" issue of same-sex marriage was named as a moral value by only 3 percent of those surveyed.

Instead, in mentioning moral values voters are talking about whether an individual politician is, ah, moral, and has such values as honesty, integrity and trustworthiness. Harris notes (the emphasis is mine):

Of all the people who say moral values are very important in deciding how to vote, less than a third (30%) are referring to the candidates’ positions on issues, with by far the largest number (14%) referring to abortion. In addition, they mention gay rights (3%), that marriage is between a man and woman (3%) and gay marriage (3%). A few, but only a very few, mention homosexuality (1%), and stem cell research (1%).

...As part of this poll those surveyed were asked which of a list of 12 issues are most important to them in deciding how to vote. Overall, among all adults, the two so-called "moral values" issues in the list, abortion and gay rights are by far the least important. Health care, Social Security, economic issues, taxes, the war in Iraq, the war on terror, immigration, education and the environment are all important to many more voters.

...These findings show that pollsters, journalists and commentators must be very careful not to assume that voters who feel strongly about "moral values" are primarily concerned with issues such as abortion, homosexuality, gay marriage, stem cell research, gun control or any of the other issues often associated with the Christian Right or the Conservative base of the Republican party.

Hat tip to Marriage Equality News.

Political Scientist: Morrison's resignation came at the best time

The Lawrence Journal-World has a great audio interview with a Washburn University political science professor. Bob Beatty talks about the timing of Morrison's resignation and the possible impact of the scandal on Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and Morrison's arch rival, Phill Kline.

Kansas Attorney General Resigns: Paul Morrison had no choice

[updated 6:17 pm]
[updated 3:57 p.m.]
[updated 3:41 p.m.]

By Diane Silver

See the Lawrence Journal World and Associated Press for details of Paul Morrison’s announcement. The resignation is effective Jan. 31.

I’m sick at heart, but I don’t see anything else Morrison could do.

First, there are the good government reasons. “Good government” was the phrase Statehouse insiders used to favor when they meant they were pushing politics aside and acting for the good of the state.

This scandal, all the investigations and media coverage would have dogged Morrison's every move, sucked up all his time and his staff's time and made it impossible for Morrison to do a good job as attorney general.

This state needs an effective attorney general. Having a distracted, unprofessional AG like Phill Kline was one of the reasons 58 percent of voters booted Kline out of the job last year.

Morrison also had to resign for political reasons.

As one of the most visible Democrats in the state, Morrison was helping to lead the charge against the religious right. He was also helping to push the state out of more than a century of Republican domination and into the blue column.

Having Morrison associated with the Democratic Party would have given Republicans and social conservatives an issue to rally behind. It would have sucked the air out of the Democratic resurgence.

Right now, I just want to cry. I voted for Morrison. I defended him on this blog. I saw him as a leader who could turn Kansas away from the blindly incompetent, abortion-obsessed regime of Phill Kline. I saw him as someone who could make the office of attorney general work for all Kansans -- not just those who shared one narrow religious viewpoint.

If the first reports are accurate and include all of Morrison's statement, then I have to admit that I'm a little angry that he apparently didn't even try to defend himself. Saying so little -- if that's the full extent of Morrison's statement -- is like admitting he's guilty of everything that's been alleged.

Don't the thousands of us who voted for you deserve better than that, Morrison?

One footnote: GOP Chairman Kris Kobach's statement about "questions" surrounding Morrison's interest in enforcing the law is overblown, to say the least. The only questions being raised were from the most vehement, anti-choice wing of the Republican Party.

[update]

Although Morrison didn't go into details, it seems that he did say more than was first reported. See the Kansas City Star's Buzz Blog. This makes me feel a tad better.

[update]

The KC Buzz Blog has Morrison's full statement. It's worth reading.

[update]

Just to clarify... I'm not making any judgments about Morrison's guilt or innocence. I don't have enough information to judge any of that. If Morrison is innocent of nothing more than having an affair, he is still in an impossible situation.

Kansas Attorney General Paul Morrison to speak at 3 pm today

By Diane Silver

This could be Paul Morrison's first public and detailed defense of himself or it could be his resignation or none of the above. I have worries and hunches but no real clue. Here's the notice of the press conference from the Lawrence Journal World.

I have become increasingly concerned about this whole situation, particularly about how it has been reported and about people's responses, including mine, but alas, I have no time to write about those right now. I guess we'll just see what happens at 3 pm.

By the way, Harris News appears to be the first mainstream media outlet to make an independent attempt to confirm or deny the allegations. The Harris story makes interesting reading. It leads to even more questions, particularly about Phill Kline's apparent deep involvement in this thing.

Personally, I tend to believe women who say they have been sexually harassed. It certainly happens often enough. However, the Harris story shows that Kline may well have his fingerprints all over the release of these allegations. That leads to the question: Is Morrison the target of a political witch hunt?

What an incredible mess.

Breaking: Phill Kline to hire special prosecutor to investigate Paul Morrison

[updated 3:34 p.m.]

By Diane Silver

AP has confirmed that the target is the state's current Attorney General Paul Morrison.

For the two of you out there who don't know...

Morrison and Kline are bitter political enemies. Morrison whomped Kline to win the AG's office in November 2006. Conservative precinct chairs in Johnson County then ignored voters and put Kline in as county district attorney to fill out Morrison's unfilled term as DA. The woman Morrison has admitted having an affair with is a former staffer in the DA's office who worked for both Morrison and Kline.

The Kansas City Star broke the story earlier.

Here's why this all matters.

PHOTO: The Kansas City Star provides us with the first photo of Linda Carter, and yes, she's talking to Phill Kline in this shot. Click on the link to see the full image.

[update]

Here's the Topeka Capital-Journal take on the special prosecutor.

Morrison's impossible situation & the latest on the Kansas AG

[Updated 3:30 p.m. with four new links]

[Updated at noon with Johnson County investigation]

By Diane Silver

Honestly, this isn't turning into an All-Paul Morrison-All-The-Time Blog, but I do want to keep up with events. Here's the latest on the situation and a little perspective from me.

Hints of how the AG's personal battle could impact a Kansas county can be found at the News Cow web site. The vice chair of the Kansas Democratic Party reports on her telephone conversation with Morrison. Morrison's fate is dear to Cowley County because he is prosecuting Justin Thurber, who has been charged with murdering Jodi Sanderholm.

The Kansas City Star puts Gov. Kathleen Sebelius on the spot by calling on her to appoint a special prosecutor.

The Topeka Capital Journal reports that Morrison has formally asked the state agency that polices attorneys to investigate the allegations.

Wichita Eagle Editorial Board Member Brent Castillo writes that despite his Christian belief in redemption, he doesn't think Morrison is worth, well, redeeming. Note that Castillo does extend his compassion to Bill Clinton, Newt Gingrich, David Vitter, John McCain and Rudy Giuliani.

Despite disagreeing with Castillo on a few issues, I have to admit that he does point to what may be the most impossible aspect of Morrison's situation. Castillo writes:

(T)he more serious accusations of meddling in the affairs of (current Johnson County District Attorney Phill) Kline have yet to be debunked. If Morrison can't convince Kansans that they're false, he should leave immediately.

Here's the problem: Morrison's alleged meddling apparently only occurred in private, confidential conversations with lover Linda Carter. So far, I know of no allegations that Morrison took any action against Kline.

Unless a smoking-gun document, videotape or audiotape lurks somewhere, the entire situation boils down to she said-he said. If that's true, then how can Morrison clear his name? How can he possibly prove that he never once in private said the wrong thing to Carter? Even if Morrison can legally prove his innocence, how can he win in the the court of public opinion? How do you prove what wasn't said in private?

Finally, I'm sending out a well-deserved jeer to the Lawrence Journal-World. The newspaper dedicated an entire story to Republican attacks on Democrat Morrison without including one comment from Morrison or his staff (except for his blanket denial), or from any Democrat, or even from a neutral legal expert or political scientist. The story read more than a little like a GOP news release.

[update]

Oh my... this is getting curiouser and curiouser. The Kansas City Star is reporting:

Johnson County commissioners today authorized District Attorney Phill Kline to spend an initial $25,000 to investigate alleged wrongdoing that Kline said involved blackmail and telephone harassment.

Kline said he had evidence of criminal wrongdoing, but refused to confirm who the target of the investigation was. However, the inquiry is believed to involve allegations surrounding a sex scandal involving Kansas Attorney General Paul Morrison.

My first thought on this: Is this going to turn into a death by a thousand cuts?

New blog post added:

Thoughts From Kansas weighs in by shining the spotlight on GOP Chair Kris Kobach's involvement with a hate group and adding some thoughts on Morrison.

[2nd update]Johnson County Sun Chairman Steve Rose explains his call for the resignation of his old friend.

Jack Miles, one of Rose's editors argues that "failure as a husband does not equate to failure as a prosecutor" and says Morrison should stay on the job.

The Parsons Sun editorializes on the situation and can't quite decide if Morrison should resign.

The Hays Daily News editorializes that calls for Morrison's resignation are premature.

Paul Morrison Update: Hope, anger & a career beyond saving?

The Kansas City Star and Lawrence Journal World have more on what the Disciplinary Administrator can and cannot do to Kansas Attorney General Paul Morrison.

Seige Mentality adds detail of the administrator and speculates about who could be appointed to take Morrison's place if he resigns.

The Wichita Eagle's WE Blog applauds Morrison's call for an independent investigation and lauds a Republican lawmaker for pointing out the political motivation in conservative attacks on Morrison. Meanwhile, the Eagle's news pages give a ton space to state Republican Chair Kris Kobach's breathless attack.

KC Buzz Blog speculates that Johnson County might be in trouble because of Linda Carter's complaint against Morrison.

Blue Tide Rising gets angry about the GOP approach to the scandal. Mousie Cat takes a stand.

KC Star Columnist Mike Hendricks calls Morrison's resignation inevitable. Hendricks writes: "Paul Morrison’s political hide is beyond saving." Hendricks adds:

But on Issue No. 2, Morrison cannot win.

That is the allegation that, after he become attorney general, Morrison tried to interfere with Kline’s running of the DA’s office. That allegedly included a pending investigation regarding abortion.

(Gov. Kathleen) Sebelius said Morrison should resign if professional misconduct is proved.

But I’d go further. I say it doesn’t matter what the independent investigation finds.

Morrison simply cannot prove that he didn’t meddle in sensitive legal issues in the Johnson County DA’s office.

Come on. We’re supposed to believe that there was no mention of Carter’s job during all that pillow talk?

And to top it all off, national gossip blog Wonkette has now weighed in. It can't be good news when a Kansan gets roughed up by Wonkette.

In case you missed it, here's a post on why all of this matters nationally as well as in Kansas.

Morrison finally makes a good move

[updated 4:45 pm with a link to the Office of Disciplinary Administrator]

By Diane Silver

Kansas' embattled Attorney General, Paul Morrison, has asked for an independent investigation of the charges made against him.

KC Buzz Blog reports on Morrison's move (see below). I particularly like the first part of the AG's statement because if the state's highest law enforcement officer loses the trust of the people he serves, then we are all in trouble.

Losing the confidence of average Kansans was one of the reasons why Kansas' last AG, Phill Kline, was nearly run out of office on a rail.

"It is essential that the people of Kansas have confidence in the Office of Attorney General," Morrison said today in a statement. "Therefore, I will ask the Office of Disciplinary Administrator to investigate the allegations of professional misconduct made against me."

Morrison again denied allegations that he tried to use the relationship to obtain sensitive information about an abortion case launched by his successor as Johnson County D.A., Phill Kline.

"I will cooperate completely and openly with the disciplinary administrator to resolve this matter once and for all," he said.

Morrison Watch: "Kansans deserved better"

The state's largest newspapers are now weighing in on the controversy surrounding Attorney General Paul Morrison.

The Wichita Eagle editorializes about how the state deserved better, but urges caution on booting Morrison from office.

The Kansas City Star, which covers Morrison's old stomping ground of Johnson County, sounds a lot angrier in its editorial.

Meanwhile, Kansas City Star reporters add an article speculating that Morrison's political future may be over. The following passage is significant, particularly given the fact that Loomis once worked for Sebelius and has close ties to Democrats.

Sebelius’ comments probably mean that top Democrats want Morrison to explain himself, according to Burdett Loomis, a University of Kansas political scientist.

He said Democrats probably would stand by him if the allegations of meddling and harassment turned out to be unfounded.

Still, Loomis said, the damage to Morrison’s future may be done.

“I don’t see how even if Morrison stays in office that he possibly wins re-election,” he said.

Even worse for Morrison: The Star reports that a long-time supporter, Johnson County newspaper columnist Steve Rose, told talk radio that Morrison should resign "because of the cloud hanging over him."

For me the most disheartening part of this story is this. (The emphasis is mine.)

Even if he stays put, observers said that Morrison’s troubles were certain to cripple his political future and potentially curtail the Democratic resurgence that Morrison helped start in Kansas.

Morrison Watch: His statement

I didn't have this before, so here is a link to Kansas Attorney General Paul Morrison's original statement defending himself against a series of charges.

Why Paul Morrison & a sex scandal matter whether or not you live in Kansas

By Diane Silver

Oh, what a mess. No matter what happens now, Kansas Attorney General Paul Morrison will forever be linked to the image of tacky sex in somebody's empty office while his staff toils a few feet beyond a closed door.

This is not the image that 58 percent of Kansas voters had in mind when we tossed out former AG Phill Kline last year. The idea was to restore professionalism to the Office of Attorney General.

I suppose this will reveal me as being terminally naive, but the thought of Morrison's out-of-bounds sex life absolutely shocks this little lesbian.

This scandal, of course, has everything: sex (confirmed), infidelity (confirmed) and allegations of sexual harassment, attempting to gain information about the private workings of a DA's office and attempting to interfere with a federal lawsuit (all of that is unconfirmed). The scandal also has a bit of junior high in it, drawing a portrait of an Attorney General who is obsessed with a political rival he has already vanquished. (It's past time for Morrison to head to the chalk board to write a thousand times: "I need to grow up.")

This scandal matters, oh my, how this matters. It matters to Kansans, of course, because these allegations call into question the integrity of the state's highest ranking law enforcement officer. It matters to the state's Democrats because the D's don't have all that many high profile candidates to run for statewide office. Losing one in this manner could really hurt, particularly when the D's are finally challenging the GOP's hold on the state.

But what happens next could well shake more than just the Sunflower State.

* Depending on how she handles this, fellow Democrat Kathleen Sebelius could see her national political ambitions soar or crash to Earth. Before this happened, the governor was poised to run for the U.S. Senate. She has even been mentioned as a possible vice presidential candidate.

* A Republican turned Democrat, Morrison was helping to lead the charge to break the religious right's stranglehold on Kansas. If he isn't vindicated, Morrison's fall could taint other efforts to toss out social conservatives. It could provide new energy to the ultra-conservative wing of the GOP and give them a nifty new campaign issue. As writer Thomas Frank has noted, what happens in Kansas helps move the nation. If Kansas could toss the darlings of the religious right out of office, then other red states could follow our lead.

It is worth noting that outside of a truly stupid sexual affair nothing else has been confirmed. The rational thing to do is to wait, take a deep breath and let the investigations run their course. It's also worth noting that stupidity in sex is not an impeachable offense, and so far, that is the only thing Morrison has admitted. Nothing else has been proven.

From a cold, hard, crass political point of view, though, the best bet for Democrats may be to lean on Morrison to resign now. Sebelius could then appoint Morrison's successor and the party and state could have three years to recover before the next election.

What course of action do I favor? At this point, I truly don't know.

Reports of Phill Kline's vanishing act come under fire

By Diane Silver

Some of Johnson County District Attorney Phill Kline's oldest enemies are coming to his defense in the wake of a Kansas City TV station's investigation. I have to admit that these folks have a point.

In a nutshell: Alternative newsweekly The Pitch, which usually calls Kline dimwit, and moderate blogger JustCara say the KCTV-5 investigation of the longtime darling of the Religious Right is full of holes. The arguments of both make good sense.

I found The Pitch's arguments to be quite persuasive. This is particularly true given that The Pitch joined with KCTV-5 in the Freedom of Information case that opened Kline's parking records to public inspection.

The saddest thing about all of this is that there are real questions about Kline, particularly about where he lives. If he's still living in his Topeka home, then he is breaking the law. Of course, KCTV-5's sloppy report just made this much harder to determine.

More on the report from the Kansas City Star's Prime Buzz blog.

PHOTO: Phill Kline when he was the Attorney General of Kansas.

The incredible, invisible Phill Kline

Johnson County District Attorney Phill Kline takes another hit, this time from KCTV-5, a Kansas City TV station.

More at KC Blue Blog and Kos himself comments.

The crumbling Republican Party: What's next after loyalty committees?

By Diane Silver

Karl Rove's dream of turning the United States into a GOP monopoly has become a nightmare for his once seemingly all-powerful party. Signs of weakness are everywhere. Today's case in point has popped up in Kansas, which was once the reddest of red states, where the GOP has just created a loyalty committee.

I'm not kidding, although any sane person would think this was a joke.

At a mid-year convention this weekend, the state party changed it's constitution, no less, to create the committee. The body will strip GOP officials of their party titles if they help a Democrat get elected. New Republican Party Chairman Kris Kobach sought the change and will chair the committee.

Kobach is best known as a failed Congressional candidate of far, far right, anti-abortion, anti-immigrant views.

I have to agree with Andy Wollen, chairman of the Kansas Traditional Republican Majority, an organization of moderate Republicans.

“I don’t know whether to laugh or cry,” Wollen said. “It’s just the latest demonstration that these people just flat don’t understand people.”

It's also the latest demonstration of why the Republican Party is in trouble. If you have to keep people in line by clubbing them, you've already lost.

What Kobach and gang can't seem to realize is that people are running from the Republican Party because of the radical right's ideas and their love of bullying. I suspect the new loyalty committee will do nothing than drive more people from the state GOP.

Kobach and gang are the best thing that have ever happened to Democrats.

Here's more on the loyalty committee and on the state GOP's attempt to oust it's own representative to the Republican National Committee. Apparently, he isn't radical enough.

The Rev. Jerry Johnston & the tale of hellfire & the funny money

By Diane Silver

I'm taking a brief break from mulling over future life to point your attention to a new Kansas City Star report alleging that the "good" Rev. Jerry Johnston misused donations. This is the second time The Star has raised serious questions about the use of money by the reigning star of fundamentalist Kansas.

As with the first report, this one gives detail and quotes numerous people with firsthand knowledge of the supposed financial shenanigans.

This new report focuses on his first group, Jerry Johnston Ministries. He ran that from 1979 to the birth of his megachurch, First Family Church, in Overland Park in 1996.

For me the most poignant and frightening part of the story are the quotes from Zoe Raymonde, a former accountant for JJM. She talks about how the ministry had just received a $50,000 check from a corporation. The money was supposed to be used for radio and TV shows for the ministry, but Raymonde says that the Johnstons wanted it for their personal use.

The Star reports, but the emphasis is mine:

Raymonde said when she arrived at work the next morning, co-worker (Kim) Barr told her that Christie Johnston (Johnston's wife) had called and said they were to cut her a check for $50,000.

Raymonde said she called Christie Johnston back and told her she wouldn’t do that. Shortly after that, she said, Jerry Johnston called and demanded that she write a check to Christie Johnston.

“I said, ‘You are nuts. Do you think someone’s not going to notice $50,000 coming in, $50,000 going out?’ ” Raymonde said. “I was told I was listening to the devil, to get down on my knees and start confessing. I was told that I was going to sign that check or basically I was going to hell.

For a few moments I'd like to set aside the immorality of a pastor's family allegedly demanding $50,000 of money from the ministry for their own use. Instead, let's say that there was nothing wrong with Christie Johnston's request.

Even if that were true -- and it isn't close to right -- what is moral - ethical - kind - Christian - commonsense right about turning a dispute over writing a check into damnation? What kind of man, let along pastor, would threaten one of his congregation with hellfire for doing nothing more than disagreeing about writing a check?

If Raymonde is telling the truth, then Johnston is not only a cheat with money, he is also a cheat with religion and a poor excuse for a human being.

The Johnstons deny everything and provide an audit, an affadavit and other statements to prove their innocence.The Star report provides a convincing amount of detail and witnesses.

No matter what happened, one thing is clear: Somebody's lying.

The right has lost Kansas & the loonies are disappearing! Not yet, but soon?

By Diane Silver

Imagine my surprise when I woke up to this pronouncement on Alternet about Kansas, my current place of abode:

"The progressive backlash in my old home state is complete. The right wing not only has lost control of Kansas, they've been virtually thrown out of the state..."

Oh gosh, I wish this were true. I really, really, really do, but this declaration by former Kansan Martha Burk is a tad premature.

That's the bad news.

The good news is that Burk's vision may well come true. It may even happen within the next few years. It just hasn't happened yet.

To claim that it has is to naively misrepresent the situation. Ignoring reality is a lousy way to win elections.

First as a newspaper reporter and now as a political activist and blogger, I've been watching politics in the Sunflower State for more than 20 years. Here's how I read the tea leaves.

In the Alternet piece -- which first appeared in Ms. -- Burk takes note of all the Kansas political news that's been zipping around the media since November.

Yup, our governor is Democrat Kathleen Sebelius, and she is really popular. Her lieutenant governor running mate is the former chairman of the state GOP, and he did switch parties to run with her. Right winger Phill Kline got soundly booted out as Attorney General and another moderate former Republican, Paul Morrison, won easily. Democrat Nancy Boyda scored an upset victory over longtime Congressional incumbent Jim Ryun. A couple of moderate Republicans switched parties in the Legislature and won seats.

Perhaps most important, Operation Rescue's "Wichita '07 -- A Cry For Justice" event was an utter bust. Instead of the thousands who were supposed to march on the Wichita clinic of Dr. George Tiller, only a handful of people came.

But Burk left a lot out of her story, and the missing facts are telling.

The biggest sign that the religious right still has a firm hold in Kansas is the makeup of the Legislature. The Kansas House is still ultra-conservative. In January, House members elected social conservative Melvin Neufeld as speaker.

In the state Senate, a woeful 10, yes I said "ten," of the 40 senators are Democrats. In the House, only 47 of 125 representatives are Democrats. Not all of the Democrats are progressive, or even moderate.

Liberal legislation barely gets a hearing in the Statehouse, while almost anything that limits state services or helps the religious right goes to the front of the line.

It's true that the darling of the religious right, former AG Kline, was soundly defeated in November, but a month later he landed on his feet. The Republican Committee of Johnson County -- the state's most prosperous county -- elected Kline to fill the last two years of the recently vacated district attorney's office.

This resurrected Kline's political career, which up to that moment seemed dead on arrival. Given that Kline may well have national ambitions, it's important to watch what he does.

Kansas' future is important because it has often served as an early warning system for the rest of the nation.

How will we know if the religious right is finally on its way out in this reddest of red states? Look for these signs.

1. Watch the primary battle between ultra-conservative Jim Ryun and moderate Lynn Jenkins. The two are fighting for the Republican nod to run against Boyda.

The primary is 14 months away and the 2008 general election still 17 months off, but Ryun and Jenkins are already going after each other with a vengeance. The most recent ignition point is a Club For Growth ad attacking Jenkins. The tussle has already made the local newspaper and the left-wing blogosphere.

What to Watch
If Ryun wins in 2008, then forget about claiming that the religious right has lost power in Kansas. If Jenkins or Boyda win in '08, then there very well may be hope.

2. Keep an eye on the struggle over the Johnson County District Attorney's office.

Kline already has one Republican and one Democratic challenger. To make matters more interesting, the county Republican Party may already be taking sides -- against Kline.

What to Watch
If Kline runs and wins all the fury his insider election created, then moderates and liberals will have proven themselves to be toothless against the right.

3. Scope out the religious right's effort to retake the state Board of Education in '08.

Moderates won control of the state board in November, but enough seats are up for grabs in the next election that the majority could flip once again.

What to Watch
If all the furor over the right's anti-evolution stand doesn't elect a moderate majority, then the religious right may have years of renewed health.

4. Keep sight of the legislative districts and the leadership races.

This is the down and dirty local level of politics in Kansas. The candidates go neighbor to neighbor, particularly in House districts.

What to Watch
If moderates and liberals can't take control of legislative districts, particularly in the House, then the age of a more moderate Kansas may be another decade or so in coming. The winners need not be Democrats to bring a bit of sanity to the Statehouse. However, they do have to turn away from what folks out here politely call the "social conservative" wing of the GOP. If that happens, and a moderate House Speaker is elected, then folks, we really will have a new ballgame.

Religious Right Watch: Minister calls IRS Gestapo for questioning his church

By Diane Silver

The IRS is turning into the Gestapo, says a seemingly bewildered Pastor Mark Holick of Spirit One Christian Center, of Wichita. How can they possibly be questioning his church's tax-exempt status, he asks.

My thoughts?

About frigging time.

The law says that a church cannot campaign for or against a political candidate. Churches can campaign on issues, but not candidates. The IRS says Spirit One may well have jumped into the 2006 election for Kansas attorney general, governor and could be intervening in the upcoming presidential election.

One of the IRS concerns are messages that appeared on the church's sign in the last year. These involved Paul Morrison, who was then a candidate for attorney general; Ken Canfield, who was then running for the GOP gubernatorial nomination; and Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who was running for re-election.

Here are just a few of the messages.

• Morrison accepts blood money from abortionist Tiller. How many babies??

• Canfield supports life and traditional family, Barnett does not.

• Paul Morrison early release of felons. Reginald Carr multiple murders.

• Abortionist Tiller has given $300,000 to Sebelius. Price of 1,000 babies!

The Wichita Eagle has detail on Spirit One Christian Center, while KAKE-TV has video and a story.

Jerry Falwell is dead, & this lesbian is sad

By Diane Silver

Wow. I just saw the news on the Washington Post. One of the founders of the modern religious right, Jerry Falwell, has died at age 73.

If you want the angry reaction to Falwell, look here at Americablog.

Everything John Aravosis says in that post is true.

Falwell caused a lot of pain and hurt many people. His rhetoric may well have fueled laws that helped break families apart and take children from loving parents. His words gave gay bashers an excuse to assault anyone they thought was queer.

I'm not going to talk right now about his impact on choice, the rights of women and other issues. I'm not going to talk about the political work he did through the Moral Majority and all those hurt by it, or the impact of Liberty University, or go into detail on how he seemed to demonize everyone who didn't agree with him.

All of that is true, but I'm not dancing today. I'm not shouting for joy because a human being is dead, and truthfully, I don't think that's what Aravosis is doing. He's angry and fearful, and he and all Americans have a right to be angry and scared.

At this moment, though, I don't seem to be able to work up any indignation. I'm a lesbian. Falwell hurt my people, hurt me, in a thousand ways, yet in this moment all I feel is sadness.

I'm sure Falwell has a family. I'm sure he has loved ones and children and friends who will miss him enormously. My sadness has a bit to do with mourning the death of anyone, but even that's not all of what I feel.

My sadness is over the loss of a chance. Falwell, apparently, was never able to come close to a loving God, the God of inclusion, the God of welcome. If he had, he wouldn't have been able to say or do what he did. He must have carried a lot of pain to not be able to see that all-inclusive God of love. For that lost chance, for Falwell's lost chance, I mourn.

May his family, friends and loved ones find peace and support in dealing with their loss.