I don’t follow Kansas politics very closely, but it certainly caught my attention that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was in the Kansas City area yesterday, stumping for Derek Schmidt, the attorney general who will be trying to unseat Gov. Laura Kelly in November.
My reaction to that is this: “Is Derek Schmidt crazy?”
Kansans most assuredly are conservative, for the most part, but they are also good and reasonable people, for the most part. They had enough sense to elect Kelly over right-wing extremist Kris Kobach four years ago, and they had enough sense last month to trounce the proposed abortion amandment.
On Sunday, though, Schmidt wrapped himself tightly in Trump and DeSantis garb, telling a large Olathe audience, “I want a future for our great state of Kansas that looks a whole lot more like Ron DeSantis has in Florida.”
That doesn’t like a winning message to me, especially coming on the heels of DeSantis’ sophomoric stunt of having his state finance the shipment of two planeloads of immigrants from San Antonio to Martha’s Vineyard off Cape Cod.
The cost of that caper was $615,000, or $12,300 per person. The crowd in Olathe laughed when DeSantis talked about it, but I think the vast majority of economic-minded Kansans would not be in favor of spending their own tax dollars that way.
DeSantis’ appearance on behalf of Schmidt could easily backfire on the attorney general. He has now positioned himself in Kobach country, and we know where that went.
A group of about 50 protesters outside the Embassy Suites, where DeSantis appeared, represented a more “common sense” side of Kansas.
The Star reported that the protesters chanted “DeSantis get out of Kansas” and held signs with phrases like “Take your hate back to Florida” and “Protect trans students.”
The Topeka Capital-Journal quoted one protester, Amy Cunningham, as saying DeSantis does not reflect Kansas values. “As Kansas has shown in the recent (abortion amendment) election, Kansas showed we are a more moderate state, though still Republican leaning, than maybe Mr. DeSantis stands for,” she said.
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It’s worth noting that DeSantis’ appearance was sponsored by a controversial group called Turning Point Action, which is an offshoot of Turning Point USA.
Turning Point USA is funded by conservative donors and foundations, including Home Depot co-founder Bernard Marcus, who gave $1.5 million to the organization between 2015 and 2018.
In addition — and need I say more? — an adviser to the group is Ginni Thomas, looney-tune wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
Turning Point Action attempts to place ridiculous restrictions on journalists covering events it sponsors. It requires news organizations to agree to give event organizers access to any footage they take, and they could face questions about what the footage will be used for.
The policy also bars journalists from recording speakers who do not wish to be filmed.
Very wisely, The Star objected to the terms and was granted a waiver.
In my opinion, it was a good day for journalism and a bad day for Derek Schmidt. He painted himself into a very dark corner.
JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC 
I personally find it hilarious that both Florida and Texas are sending migrants to Chicago, DC and Martha’s Vineyard where the stench of hypocrisy has been exceedingly ripe.
Indeed, Martha’s Vineyard shipped the entire contingent of migrants off the island. Isn’t that an example of what we used to call ethnic cleansing?
The Hispanic community has been a blessing to us here in WYCO, but the thought of a person of color not holding a leaf blower must have been overwhelming to all of these liberal enclaves.
Kansas needs to return to more conservative ideas. Laura Kelly is taxing us to achieve her liberal plans.