Kansas
Opinion: This idea could bring middle back to Kansas politics and temper extremes
I can’t wait until Election Day is behind us. Politics has gotten so nasty. Whichever party you support, we’ve forgotten that the people on the other side are Americans, too.
Democrats are not an “enemy” worse than our actual adversaries overseas. And Republicans are not “fascists” if they simply disagree with Democrats about the issues. This level of hostility is not the Kansas way.
I’ve been a Republican my entire life and I don’t plan on changing. But let’s face it. The reason things have gotten so polarized is because of the two-party system itself. Instead of listening to the public, both major parties have become captive, to varying degrees, to their worst extremes.
We weren’t so badly divided a generation ago. But with the rise of talk-radio and then the internet, it’s become easy to become popular and make money simply by stoking more and more political rage among society’s different silos. And in a system with only two parties, both are incentivized to keep fighting each other.
But history and experience teach us that America has only progressed when both parties have worked through their differences on hard issues, gotten to reasonable compromises and passed bipartisan legislation with broad public support. And that doesn’t happen much anymore thanks to our hyper-polarized two-party system. The center has been abandoned.
What we desperately need is a way to give people in the middle — moderates who understand that working together to solve problems is more important than bludgeoning your enemies — a bigger voice in the process.
That’s why I am so intrigued by the new United Kansas Party, which was started earlier this year by a group of moderate Republicans, Democrats and independents. Even more interesting to me is its effort to revive fusion voting. The basic idea is simple. With fusion, two or more parties can each nominate the same candidate. Each party gets its own line but in effect they “fuse” their support.
If the candidate welcomes each party’s nomination, voters can support the candidate on the ballot line of the party that best reflects their values.
If you’re a centrist Republican like me, and the United Kansas Party cross-nominates a Republican candidate, you could vote for that candidate on the United Kansas line. If that candidate gets, say, 10% of the vote on that line, you can bet they’re going to pay more attention to what United Kansas stands for: values like moderation, problem-solving, and respect for the rule of law.
It would work the same way on the opposite side. If Republicans nominate someone really extreme and the Democrats back someone more moderate, United Kansas could endorse the more moderate choice, and someone like me could vote for them on that line, rather than having to back them as a Democrat.
With fusion, people in the abandoned center could really improve things. Fusion makes it possible for smaller parties to form and maintain their identities distinct from the major parties, without forcing them to be spoilers. (In our two-party system, third-party candidates very rarely win, but do often inadvertently help to elect the least preferred candidates.) It also has the merit of strengthening our constitutional rights to free speech and free association.
Since achieving legal party status, United Kansas has nominated candidates from both major parties. Not surprisingly, there has been resistance from entities which have sought to preserve laws passed more than a century ago that took away fusion voting. The party intends to continue pursuing their right to freely associate with the candidates of their choice. As legal challenges take shape, let’s hope the Kansas courts recognize this important right.
With fusion voting, we’d probably end up with a multiparty system with the two major parties buttressed by a couple of additional fusion parties. We’d have more competition, and voters would have more choices. The major parties would become more responsive to the will of the people.
Most importantly, we’d break the spiral that the two-party system has caught us in, which is making this fall election so ugly. And that would be good for all of us.
Don Hineman served 12 years in the Kansas House, including two as majority leader, before retiring in 2020. He is the chairman of the Kansas Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund.
KSHB 41 reporter Isabella Ledonne reports on stories in Overland Park, Johnson County and topics about government accountability. Share your story idea with Isabella.
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Saturday marks the final FIFA World Cup 26 match in Kansas City with Argentina set to meet Switzerland on the pitch at Kansas City Stadium.
Kansas City to reduce bus transit frequency, extended hours after World Cup
Public transportation received a big boost during the World Cup.
Johnson County launched JOCO United, and according to leaders, the airport drop and ride service that was implemented for the tournament will stick around.
“It has been very smooth every time,” Johnson County resident Mariah Wickham said. “I’ve been up and down so many times.”
Kansas City, Missouri, also bumped up its transit options, but not all of the those will be sticking around once the final whistle blows.
Tens of thousands of people have been using the airport link, streetcar and the buses to get around Kansas City. The city poured millions of dollars into building up its public transit infrastructure. The KCATA added more frequency to bus transit lines and the streetcar, pushing more fans to use public transportation during the tournament.
Brian Luton
“With the World Cup here, I was able to exercise using the streetcar more frequently and that was really fun,” Trish Luancing said. “It wold be nice to not have to drive everywhere and not have to worry about parking.”
But thousands have been relying on public transit for years, regardless of what event was in town.
“It’s been busier since the World Cup,” Jeffrice Jackson, a bus rider, said. “It’s been smooth sailing.”
The KCATA added streetcar ‘bus bridge’ links, extended bus service hours and increased frequency on East-West routes to link riders to the streetcar. It’s benefited both travelers and commuters.
Brian Luton
“[Service] has been more consistent with the World Cup than it was previously,” Jerry Breault, a rider said. “We were missing buses or routes because there weren’t enough drivers to drive that route.”
But the add-on’s stop on Sunday, July 12. If the transit authority can’t find more money, more than a dozen routes will be cut, potentially impacting more than 8,000 riders.
“It’s a little frustrating,” Breault said. “A lot of us rely on it just to get back and forth to work, to take care of our daily needs. It looks like we may be having to find alternatives and we’re not very happy about that.”
The KCATA will potentially suspend these weekday and weekend routes by September:
Weekday Route Eliminations:
- 9 – 9th Street, 365 average weekday ridership
- 21 – Cleveland Antioch, 512 average weekday ridership
- 23 – 23rd Street, 266 average weekday ridership
- 25 – Troost Local, 1,460 average weekday ridership
- 27 – 27th Street, 422 average weekday ridership
- 57 – Wornall, 411 average weekday ridership
- 71 – Prospect Local, 464 average weekday ridership
Weekend Route Eliminations:
- 9 – 9th Street, 349 average weekend ridership
- 21 – Cleveland Antioch, 312 average weekend ridership
- 23 – 23rd Street, 312 average weekend ridership
- 25 – Troost Local, 1,431 average weekend ridership
- 27 – 27th Street, 455 average weekend ridership
- 57 – Wornall, 595 average weekend ridership
- 71 – Prospect Local, 982 average weekend ridership
Bus fares came back earlier this summer to offset some of the operation costs, but many have reported issues with the free fare cards and eligibility.
“There’s always funding challenges with the KCATA,” Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas said. “How are the fare re-institutions working right now?”
Brian Luton
Mayor Lucas told KSHB 41 News Reporter Isabella Ledonne the transit improvements implemented for the World Cup “should continue,” and there are plans to talk with the KCATA commissioners to “make it work”.
“KCATA cannot just be Kansas City supported alone forever,” Mayor Lucas said. “Our approach and our preference is that the region got to see how much they would like [expanded service] during the World Cup. It was always intentional that if they liked it, maybe they would invest and maybe they would want this thing to go further.”
That’s good news to the thousands of daily riders.
Brian Luton
“I think it’s good because it helps people get around if they need to get around,” Jackson said.
The KCATA did not make themselves available for an interview.
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One of the top prospects in the 2027 boys’ high school basketball recruiting class recently trimmed his list of suitors, and the Kansas Jayhawks find themselves firmly in the mix.
KU is one of eight schools to make the cut for 2027 five-star small forward Demarcus Henry, according to On3 National Basketball Reporter Joe Tipton. His list of eight includes some of the best programs in the country: Kansas, Ohio State, Kentucky, North Carolina, BYU, Arkansas, UConn, and Louisville.
The 6-foot-7 Charlotte, North Carolina, native is one of the best players in the 2027 class. He’s currently ranked as the No. 5 player overall and the No. 1 player at his position, according to the most recent On3.com 2027 player rankings.
As a junior this past year at Compass Prep High School in Chandler, Arizona, Henry averaged 15.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 2.2 steals per game as he helped lead his team to a 25-3 record.
He followed that up with an impressive performance at the NBPA Top 100 camp this summer, leading all attendees in scoring (20.0 points per game) and rebounding (9.3 rebounds per game). He was also a member of the 2026 USA Men’s U18 National Team that earned a silver medal at the FIBA U18 AmeriCup earlier this summer in León, Mexico.
When speaking about his game, Henry mentions his versatility and how he’s developed over the past year.
“I’m just very versatile,” Henry told Rivals in a previous interview. “I can play one through four and just help my teammates and hit shots and play defense. I watch a lot of KD (Kevin Durant) and Paul George. How they score it, and how they could shoot off the dribble, shoot off the catch. I’ve gotten tougher and just more aggressive when I transferred AZ Compass and just being able to get downhill, I feel like that’s really developed for me.”
When asked about what he’s looking for in a potential home at the college level, Henry says he wants to be challenged and grow his game for the NBA.
“What I’m looking for in school is someone that just pushes me to be better,” Henry said. “Help me grow into the person I know I can be and someone who will help me reach my potential. I want to play for a coach that will hold me accountable and help me make me uncomfortable and keep growing and keep getting better and just help me reach the NBA, which is my ultimate goal.”
Early Contenders
Right now the early favorite to land Henry may be the basketball program with the least amount of notoriety of the final eight schools – and that is Ohio State.
Henry has a lot of familial ties to the university as his older brother Chris Henry Jr. is a five-star incoming freshman wide receiver for the Buckeyes football team this year, and his older sister Seini Henry is a talented women’s basketball player at Ohio State.
He’s already taken an unofficial visit to the school and has also taken an unofficial visit to BYU. Thus far, they are the only schools to have received a visit.
Follow
The Royals have been linked to shortstop Jacob Lombard out of Gulliver Prep (Fla.) — if he makes it that far — left-hander Gio Rojas out of Stoneman Douglas (Fla.) HS, outfielder Eric Booth Jr. out of Oak Grove (Fla.) HS, UC Santa Barbara right-hander Jackson Flora and Georgia Tech outfielder Drew Burress, among others. Maybe they shake up the board and go with Huntington Beach (Calif.) HS left-hander/outfielder Jacob Grindlinger, who is just 17 years old after reclassifying for this year’s Draft and has legitimate upside as a two-way player. Grindlinger is No. 16 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 250 Draft prospects list and is rising on boards as Draft day nears.
Prep players usually mean a lot of upside but with more risk, while college players bring a higher floor and more experience — often with a chance to move quickly. Over the full Draft, the Royals are going to value both.
“There’s a good mix of high school and college,” Bridges said. “To tell you the truth, our range is pretty broad. There’s a clear-cut four players, five players in this Draft, and then believe it or not, where we’re picking, you can go a number of different directions. So we have a pretty good balance of what we’re looking at, both high school and college.”
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