The Kansas Republican Party wants its candidates for the Legislature to sign a pledge of allegiance to the party leadership after the November elections.
Amanda Adkins, chairwoman of the state Republican Party, explained in a letter to prospective lawmakers:
“Republican solutions require Republican legislative leadership supported by Republican legislators. The Kansas Republican Party uses candidate pledges to show the voters of Kansas that we are a team united in an effort to move Kansas forward.”
The pledges could also be called the Kansas Journalists’ Relief Initiative. Think how much simpler a Capitol reporter’s life will be when he or she need only talk to one person to discover how Republicans feel on every state issue and simply ignore all of the other members of the party.
That one person would be Gov. Sam Brownback, by definition. The governor is the acknowledged leader of Kansas Republicans. With this new party policy in place, he, as leader, would determine the party’s position on every issue.
As in several countries one could mention, legislators would become nothing more than window dressing. All of the power would reside with the party leader.
Would it really work so smoothly?
Already cracks appear. Sen. Jay Emler of Lindsborg, Senate majority leader, said he never signs pledges of any kind “because signing a pledge that someone else prepared is taking away options for my constituents.”
There may be other senators and even some members of the House who also would rather think for themselves.
TO BE SERIOUS, political action pledges are an abomination and are always efforts to limit debate and predetermine action. They are self-imposed barriers to thoughtful consideration, which make those who sign and obey them less than whole people. Pledge-signers have said to their voters, “sorry, but I can no longer think for myself on this. No matter how circumstances change, I am bound. No matter how much I disagree with my ‘leaders’ on this very important question, I can’t act as I think best anymore.”
Political action pledges deny the basic premises of representative government.
Every potential Republican candidate who receives Ms. Adkins’ letter and a copy of the pledge should drop her a “No, Thank You” note in reply — and file the pledge in the round file where it belongs.
— Emerson Lynn, jr.
