Going plus-one: Republicans keep leapfrogging previous political barriers – Kansas Reflector

Audio Astra critiques latest audio reporting on Kansas information, together with podcasts and radio tales. Eric Thomas directs the Kansas Scholastic Press Affiliation and teaches visible journalism and photojournalism on the College of Kansas.

This week’s Kansas Supreme Court docket’s determination allowing Republican-drawn legislative maps delivers so many various classes. 

It simply relies on who you might be. 

A Black voter in Wyandotte County sensibly may turn out to be extra cynical that the Kansas political system is rigged towards minority illustration. A centrist may see the political ping-pong of partisan lawsuits and courtroom rulings as one other symptom of a divided nation. 

Nevertheless, the lesson discovered by Republicans is most important in Kansas due to the state’s conservative supermajority. A conservative state legislator may study that they cannot solely write laws that serves their private curiosity, however they’ll additionally disclose their craven motivations, as Republicans did with the redrawn map.

Or, that very same Republican state legislator might additionally say, “This amassed political energy . . . it’s sufficient for us.” 

Unlikely. 

Why cease at an awesome quantity of political energy? Political analyst John Dickerson, on the Slate Political Gabfest this week, gave voice to a perspective that he won’t totally imagine — however I positive do. 

Republicans, Dickerson stated, “will go plus-one. They may do what is critical to do to retain their energy place. And we’ve got seen a number of cases of that — possibly not all the identical amplitude — however once they come up upon a barrier they may go plus-one. 

“That has been seen in sufficient totally different areas that you just’ve acquired to imagine that that is principally the way in which they function, and that when you care about something the conventional limitations which might be going to guard the factor you care about, there’ll all the time be an effort of plus-one to go after that factor you care about.” 

The previous few years of nationwide politics nominate so many instance to assist this “plus-one” method to conservative politics: 

• The willingness to snub the Merrick Garland nomination, fast-track the Amy Coney-Barrett nomination and sanitize Brett Kavanaugh in trade for a Supreme Court docket that might strike down Roe v. Wade.
• Evangelicals stomaching former former President Trump’s ugliness and infidelity towards ladies in trade for a GOP-controlled White Home.
• Nationwide protection hawks overlooking Trump’s lodging of Putin’s Russia in trade for maintaining Trump in workplace.
• Senators permitting delusional election fraud theories and excusing the Jan. sixth rioters in trade for unified right-wing political assist in midterm elections.

The sample is evident sufficient nationally. Every impediment could be overcome with political energy that earlier than was “unprecedented.”

So we shouldn’t be shocked when this “plus-one” political aggression infects Kansas.

The clearly gerrymandered map is the obvious instance. Whereas constitutional within the courtroom’s opinion, the map is a geometrical absurdity aimed toward much more political energy for Republicans. Earlier than the primary maps have been drawn, traces so clearly aimed toward minority disenfranchisement appeared “too far.” 

However that’s the nature of “plus-one.” Ever altering, the requirements have to be frequently recalibrated. A feminine legislator bursting into the lads’s legislative rest room turns into political theater slightly than a hateful and embarrassing stunt. A drunk legislator driving recklessly turns into a motive for a light scolding slightly than inspiring management to take away him from workplace. 

Republicans may declare these actions assist solidify their electorally earned energy. Nevertheless, a dialogue about transparency on KCUR’s “Up To Date” this week gives one other motivation: a little bit of laziness. 

Why ought to a Republican supermajority disguise the sponsors of their payments, the matters of their hearings and the contents of their laws? A visitor on the present, the Kansas Reflector’s personal Tim Carpenter, recommended lack of transparency makes issues simpler. 

Management can extra rapidly go legal guidelines with out thorough and balanced hearings. It’s almost not possible to find conflicts of curiosity in anonymously authored payments. 

In these methods and extra, an rising development towards authorities secrecy in Kansas is one more “plus-one” tactic by Republicans. The opaque legislative course of helmed by Republicans has impressed many journalists to write about it over the years. 

How ought to the Democrats counter these “plus-one” techniques? The message may very well be a morally murky one. They might dive into the sport of political one upmanship with Republicans. 

However Dickerson gives an electoral different: “Assemble a motivational argument” that “doesn’t rely singularly on abortion.” As an alternative, create an argument utilizing the examples above that paints Republicans as ruthlessly and, within the case of Kansas, needlessly hoarding energy.  

Our political actuality, Dickerson says, could be a lot totally different “if there have been a Democratic occasion that was energized by a pacesetter who might make and repeat this case.” 

Nevertheless, a Democratic occasion as sturdy and inventive as that may be troublesome to think about — particularly right here in Kansas. 

What did we miss? Electronic mail [email protected] to tell us of a Kansas-based audio program that might be attention-grabbing to Audio Astra readers.