Mark Parkinson: Do We Trust Him or Not...

Ding-dong, the wicked witch, the wicked witch, the wicked witch. Ding-dong, the wicked witch is… Oh, never mind, you know how the rest of it goes.

Yes, I’m talking about Kathleen Sebelius. And yes, I know that was a cheap shot. Sorry.

Quick question though: According to almost every media outlet to ever report on her, what was her one defining strength? You know, the one they all reported on? Give up? Okay. It was her ability to reach across party lines to find workable solutions to issues that affected all Kansan’s. Yeah right.

Maybe it‘s just me being cynical and all, but what really important issues did she ever reach across party lines to address? It certainly didn’t happen any time the legislature tried to strengthen and close loopholes in Kansas’ late term abortion laws. She vetoed these bills every time one crossed her desk. I didn’t matter to her that Kansas has become the late-term abortion capital of the world. And it didn’t matter how much support the bills had from the citizens of Kansas or how much support there was in the legislature. In the end, it was either her personal beliefs or her political future that dictated which bills survived and which one‘s fell victim to her veto pen.

How about the Holcomb power plant? Did you see her reaching across party lines to work out any kind of compromise to this issue. No, it never happened. It didn’t make any difference to her how much support there was in the state or the legislature. It didn’t make any difference to her how much revenue the project would produce for the state in this time of economic chaos. It didn’t matter how many jobs this project would bring to an area of the state that has been losing jobs and people for years now. It didn’t even matter to her that her own K.D.H.E. approved the permits to allow the project to proceed. Again, it was either her personal beliefs or her political plans that got in the way of reaching a compromise and keeping the state moving forward.

Hopefully, that kind of partisan crap is now behind us and we can get on with our lives again. Five days into his new job, our new governor, Mark Parkinson and Sunflower CEO Earl Watkins worked out a compromise solution that so far, seems to make everybody happy.

Well, everybody but the enviromental groups like the Sierra Club and a few other like-minded groups. Go figure, personally I believe the only thing that’s ever going to make some of these people happy is if we all end up eating berries and living in cave somewhere.

I know, it’s still early in Parkinson’s administration and he certainly deserves the benefit of a doubt. But let’s not get all googlie-eyed over the guy just yet.

Remember, first and foremost, he’s a politician. There was a time he headed up the Kansas Republican Party. Remember that? Remember how he used to hammer Democrats and how he especially hammered Sebelius back in the day? Remember how he turned his back on his own party to join her to become Lt. Governor in the first place? Remember how many bridges he burned in the process? I do.

Maybe he’s on the up and up here and once again, I’m way off base. Nothing new there. But have you considered the possibility that this was Parkinson and Sebelius’ plan all along? There was no way Sebelius was going to get an Obama, Cabinet position if she allowed the Holcomb project to move forward. So it is possible they agreed that once she was gone, Mark Parkinson would come riding in on his white horse and save the day. Hey, it's a pretty good strategy. I wonder if the Republicans are smart enough to pay attention.

What do they get in return? The Democrats will score huge political points, plain and simple. They’ve known all along that once Sebelius leaves us for Washington, the Kansas Democratic Party would be in trouble. And what better way than to solve one of the biggest issues we face durning his first week in office?

I know, I’m not supposed to think that way. I'm sure it's going to land me on some governmental watch list somewhere for thinking the wrong way. Anyway, we're all just supposed to take things at face value and not ask questions. But here’s the deal. I’ve seen way too many politicians saying one thing and doing another. I’ve seen way too many of them who only seem interested in promoting their own political future or that of their political party, whether it’s in the best interests of the people they’re supposed to be looking out for or not.

In the mean time, Governor, you've hit the ground running and for that, I am impressed. Not that matters anyway, but you gotta remember, you’ve made an awful lot of enemies over the last couple of years. Be careful out there.

Okay. You've gotten this far, so you might as well tell us what's on your mind. Maybe you agree with me or maybe you think I'm out of my mind. Say so. You're only a click away.

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