Leaders are out of step with state
What’s most striking about the latest Kansas Speaks survey is how out of step the Legislature and Gov. Sam Brownback are with the majority of Kansans.
Consider these results from the scientific survey conducted by the Docking Institute of Public Affairs at Fort Hays State University:
▪ Only 16 percent of those surveyed said concealed or open-carry guns should be allowed on college campuses. Yet the Legislature and Brownback are effectively forcing universities to allow firearms beginning in 2017.
▪ 62 percent support allowing a federal expansion of Medicaid. Brownback and the Legislature are blocking expansion.
▪ 61 percent characterized Brownback’s tax reforms as a “failure” or “tremendous failure” with regard to economic growth, while only 7 percent rated them a “success.” Yet Brownback threatened to veto changes to the reforms.
▪ 64 percent said block-grant funding of schools has resulted in a lower quality of education. Only 7 percent thought it had resulted in a higher-quality education. Brownback insists that schools are better off.
▪ 53 percent support a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants with no criminal records.
▪ 54 percent think food purchases should be exempt from sales tax, and another 34 percent think food should be taxed at a lower rate.
▪ 61 percent prefer lower taxes and spending by state government. However, 63 percent favor increasing taxes on top-income earners, and 67 percent support higher taxes on large corporations.
▪ 32 percent oppose allowing same-sex couples to be married in any way, and 32 percent favor allowing businesses to deny all services to gay couples on the grounds that serving them would violate their religious beliefs.
▪ 29 percent are satisfied with the Legislature, and only 18 percent are satisfied with Brownback.
The survey results are largely in line with previous Kansas Speaks surveys, which also showed Kansans as much less conservative than their elected leaders. That being the case: Why do Kansans keep electing people who don’t represent the majority’s views?
The main reason is that many of those surveyed by Kansas Speaks may not vote. Only half of registered voters in Kansas voted in the 2014 general election, and many other Kansans aren’t even registered.
What’s more, many legislative races in Kansas are effectively decided in the GOP primary – when even fewer people vote.
Another clue to this disconnect is that more than half of those surveyed for Kansas Speaks said they didn’t know the name of their state senator or state representative. Only 18 percent actually named them.
Elected leaders should pay attention to all Kansans. But if a majority of Kansans don’t bother to register and vote, or if they don’t pay attention to the views of those they vote for, this is what we get: representatives who aren’t representative.
For the editorial board, Phillip Brownlee
This story was originally published October 27, 2015 at 7:07 PM with the headline "Leaders are out of step with state."