Get used to saying it: Gov. Mark Parkinson. Kansas will have to get through the next two years without Kathleen Sebelius to kick around or adore.
Around the state, Republicans and Democrats are revising their expectations for Kansas’ political future. The news that Sebelius has accepted President Barack Obama’s nomination to be secretary of Health and Human Services means that she is not likely to be available to run for Senate in 2010, leaving the Democratic Party without a strong contender for the seat being vacated by Sen. Sam Brownback. If her appointment is confirmed by the Senate, she will have plenty on her hands for the next four years at least.
The more immediate question for the state is what Sebelius’ departure will mean for the state’s energy future. The bill recently passed by the Legislature once again attempts to reverse the decision of the Sebelius administration to block construction of two new coal-fired power plants in western Kansas. Vetoing that bill may be one of Sebelius’ last acts in state office. But with Sebelius gone, can a veto be made to stick?
In the end, it may not matter. If the bill is allowed to stand, chances are good that it will be rendered obsolete by changes in federal energy policy and stronger federal policies on control of carbon emissions.
What Kansas loses in the departure of Sebelius from state politics, the Obama administration and the United States will gain. As a Cabinet secretary, she will be for the nation what she has always been for Kansas — a strong advocate for available, affordable health care for all. And this time, she will not be dealing with a Republican Legislature, but with a Democratic Congress.
The president has made a good choice in Sebelius, one he would have been well-advised to have made some time ago. Sebelius has made the right choice, too.
Kansans who feel abandoned by the governor’s decision should stop to reflect on what that decision will mean. The state is losing a popular political figure, but it will be gaining a strong voice in Washington. As HHS secretary, Sebelius will be in the middle of the action in the administration’s efforts to reform the nation’s health-care system.
If those efforts are successful, she will have done more for the people of Kansas — and the nation — than she could ever have done in two more years in the Statehouse.
Patrick S. Kelley
Editorial Page Editor
dalelinn (Dale Linn) says...
I don't suppose our editor is aware that in the the stimulus package (that Obama, Pelosi, & the democrats put together and passed) there is 1.5 Billion (with a B) set aside for a state of the art coal fired plant to be built in Illinois. It's good riddance to a governor that puts political ambition ahead of the good of the state she is governing.
March 3, 2009 at 11:37 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
under_score (anonymous) says...
Anyone that wants gov't to take over health care has obviously had no experience with medicare/medicaid.
March 3, 2009 at 3:40 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
dale011 (anonymous) says...
Good riddance and I hope the wind stays in her back all the way to the beltway. Too bad the rest of the USA will now have to deal with her. Maybe we can vote in a Governor that isn't part of the liberal left in Lawrence now.
March 3, 2009 at 3:59 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Bjnemp (anonymous) says...
I'm with you, dale011. I don't care where she is going, I'm just very happy that she is going. Unfortunately, now the entire nation has to put up with her self-serving liberal antics. Obama is assembling a real whiz-bang cabinet that is indicative of his decision making skills..
March 3, 2009 at 4:52 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
methusla (anonymous) says...
You know what irks me when I read these posts about anything that has to do with the politics, is the fact that after all these years of so called "PARTY POLITICS", is the fact that everyone blames either the Republicans, the Independants, the Democrats,, the left, the right, the liberal, the conservatives, the moderates, etc. What everyone needs to realize is that the only way to fix the situation this country is in and return this country to some semblance of its former power, respect and greatness, is for everyone to work together in a by-partisan, non-greedy, non-corupt, fair, imparshial way, with caring, fairness, and impartialialty for everyone amd above all, " ACCOUNTABILITY" for their actions, stop the blame game and get to the business of saving this country and its people. If this means some people, businesses, corporations, banks, etc. will have to fail, then so be it. There is no way throwing good money after bad is going to accomplish anything over the long haul. Also if government regulation and control is what is needed to stop the greed that has run rampant for decades, then so be it.
Also if anyone thinks that this mess can be turned around or this country and its economy can be saved without some kind of government intervention, and I mean the right kind of government intervention, they are sadly mistaken.
The greedy " FAT CAT" profit minded investors of " WALL STREET " neither have the inclination nor desire to save anyone but themselves and there in, lies a big part of the problem, their entire interest is in take, take, take and then get out !
March 3, 2009 at 5:27 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )