Kansas GOP Insider (wannabe): October 2020

Monday, October 5, 2020

Yeah. About that "Republican" the JCRP Just Highlighted

I really, really don't want to write this right now. With less than a month away from the election, it's important for Republicans to appear united. However, as many long-time listeners know, I draw the line at the people pretending to be Republicans at election time but acting and voting just the opposite once elected.

So here we are. Today, the Johnson County Republican Party has chosen to "highlight" so-called Republican Stacy Obringer-Varhall in its weekly e-newsletter. Varhall is running for Johnson County Commission. You know the commission that is completely beholden to whatever Laura Kelly says? The commission that is hell bent on ensuring your kids never set foot in a school building again? The commission that raises taxes every time the sun shines, and doubles the increase every time rain is in the forecast? That commission. Varhall is running for that board.

Varhall is running against Charlotte O'Hara, who has a long history as a Republican -- and not just in name only. She's a former state legislator with a Republican voting record

Varhall, you'll recall, is the Blue Valley School Board member who sent her own kid to Florida for in-school learning so he could play football. She simultaneously voted against allowing kids in the Blue Valley district the same opportunity. It's like Nancy Pelosi and her visit to the hair salon -- only the victims in Varhall's let-them-eat-cake moment weren't adult hairdressers. Varhall's victims are childrenThe hypocrisy is blinding.  

Meanwhile, Varhall is one of a handful of Stand Up Blue Valley's handpicked candidates who remains on the ballot in November. Mercifully, most of their "Republican" candidates were sent packing following Republican primaries in August. Here's a photo of their Zoom meeting bemoaning that their pro-abort candidates lost:


There's Jan Kessinger, who is prominently featured in ads supporting Barbara Bollier for Senate. And there's John Skubal, a Stand Up Blue Valley "Republican" who was scrubbed from office by reasonable Republican Kellie Warren in the August primaries. Skubal is ALSO listed as a "Republican for Bollier." There's Michael Poppa, whose claim to fame is advocating for special treatment for the LGBTQIAZXWMNUYO community. And finally, there's Kerry Gooch, the former executive director for the Kansas Democrats. These are the people Stand Up Blue Valley chooses to "explain" how Republicans have lost their way. (Hint: They're all actually Democrats.) That's like lining up Kris Kobach,  a KFL spokesperson, NRA leadership, and Kelly Arnold to explain how traditional Democrats lost their way.

Johnson County Republican Party, with its recent newsletter, is allowed  Stand Up Blue Valley to set its agenda. I feel like I say this way too often, but it must be said: That is unacceptable.

Rumor has it the current crop of JCRP leadership says they HAD to highlight Varhall because other JCRP leadership highlighted her opponent, O'Hara, in a previous newsletter. 

This baffling decision to cede to the Democrats reflects poorly, not just on the new crop, but also on their biggest supporters. Word on the street is that former Gov. Jeff Colyer specifically asked Fabian Shepard, the current chair, to run for JCRP Chair. And sources tell me that the JCRP leadership asked for permission from Mike Kuckelman -- last seen putting his finger on the scale in Republican primaries and elevating those who figuratively commit fratricide.(Coming soon: About that.) 

It would have been so easy to tell the Mary Birches of the world complaining about Varhall not getting a newsletter-mention something like this: "I will not be held accountable for the actions of others. Further, the county commission race is the only non-partisan race on the November ballot. As a party, we are going to focus on electing Republicans in partisan elections." (Obviously, our county elections should be partisan, but for now, they are not. Until then, feel free to use this feckless excuse to avoid doing anything stupid.) 

I am beyond aggrieved by what JCRP did today. They've legitimized a person who will be the very first on the list for "Republican for Whichever Democrat Is Running for High Office" in 2022. Everyone who pays a lick of attention knows this. Stand Up Blue Valley is probably laughing about the assist the JoCo Republicans just gave to Democratic platform right now.

At some point, the actual Republicans in our party have to refuse to lay down to the Democrats, whether they be honest Democrats who label themselves appropriately, or those in our own party who pretend to be Republicans to get elected. I'm not opposed to compromise, but you'll note: the so-called moderates NEVER do the same for conservatives. And Stand Up Blue Valley will NEVER turn the other cheek for Republicans. Never, ever, ever. 

We don't have to be mean, but we should at least be savvy. Turning the JCRP newsletter into Stand Up Blue Valley propaganda was a no good, very bad, awful decision. Please don't make me say this a second time: Do better.