As the Independent candidate for Kansas Governor, Greg Orman likes to paint his opponents as a choice between starvation and gluttony, leaving himself as the balanced diet.
According to Orman, Republican Kris Kobach would derail the state by slashing necessary programs and services in order to afford massive tax cuts in the mode of former Gov. Sam Brownback. (He would.) Democrat Laura Kelly, meanwhile, would bankrupt individuals by calling for big government, big spending. (She wouldnt.)
In truth, Orman is on much the same page as Kelly. He, too, is a fan of keeping schools adequately funded. He, too, has voiced support for expanding Medicaid. And, he, too, has vowed to invest in neglected infrastructure projects.
But unlike Kelly, Orman lacks the experience required to craft such legislation. Being successful in private business is not the same as building consensus.
Orman touts his independence from a mainline political party as the answer to working across party lines. Because of todays polarized politics there is some truth to that claim. An R or D attached to ones name can automatically raise the hackles of political diehards.
But as a member of the Kansas Senate where Republicans outnumber Democrats by 30-to-9, Kelly has had to accept compromise in her efforts to further a more moderate agenda.
Orman likes to pigeon-hole Kelly as a career politician, but serving as a state senator these last 14 years is Kellys first stint in public office. For many years she worked in mental health before becoming director of Kansas Recreation and Parks, where she promoted the expansion of public parks across the state.
As a private entrepreneur, Orman has no experience in dealing with the states massive agenda, ranging from social services to prisons to education to transportation. In his self-promotions Orman says hell tackle skyrocketing healthcare costs, as if it were a line item in a budget.
Instead, healthcare cost is a multi-headed monster comprised of greedy pharmaceutical manufacturers, an unfettered private insurance industry, overuse of emergency rooms and costly procedures that have little oversight.
For the most part these are federal issues, so to say as a state governor Orman can rein in health care costs is overly simplistic.
As for Kobach, he launched his political career as Secretary of State much in the same manner as his mentor, President Donald Trump, by acting as a renegade with no holds barred. And we can see how well thats worked.
What Kobach does have over both Orman and Kelly is name recognition. Like President Trump, Kobach works to always be in the spotlight, while Kelly has been content to work behind the scenes getting Kansas back on track. It was Kelly who took the Department of Children and Families to task over its lax oversight of foster children. It was Kelly who was instrumental in establishing the states Early Childhood Development programs for needy children. And it was Kelly who fought to overturn Brownbacks massive tax cuts that undercut our state schools, social services and infrastructure needs.
And Kobach and Orman?
Not around.
Which leads us to conclude Kellys experience is what makes her the best choice for governor.
Susan Lynn
