Letters to the editor (Jan. 14, 2021)

Constitutional amendment

On Friday, the Kansas Legislature will vote to amend the Kansas Constitution. A constitutional amendment must be approved by 2/3 of Kansas state legislators and then put before “the electors,” meaning Kansas voters. Advocates of this amendment are planning to put it on the 2022 primary ballot.

Independents comprise 29% of the Kansas electorate and cannot vote in even-year Kansas primaries, despite the fact that primaries are taxpayer-funded to benefit private political organizations (the parties). Even if a way is devised to allow unaffiliated voters to vote solely on this amendment in that primary, such an option cannot be sufficiently communicated to independent voters who are not even generally aware they can vote in odd-year nonpartisan primaries.

Regardless of content, something so consequential as to require a constitutional amendment should be put before all Kansas voters. It is unconscionable to disenfranchise almost 1/3 of Kansas voters on something so significant just because those voters have not joined private political organizations.

We ask that the Kansas Legislature place constitutional amendments on general election ballots so that all Kansas voters, regardless of political affiliation, can fulfill their right and responsibility as citizens to participate in our representative democracy.

Rise above negative rhetoric

I wish to address one paragraph in particular of Sen. Ty Masterson’s response to Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly’s State of the State address.

Masterson said: “We trust you to make decisions for yourself and your family as to how best to stay safe. We will not support the governor’s regime of unconstitutional mandates and edicts. We trust you will always make the best decisions for your family — not the government.”

I submit that words like regime, unconstitutional, mandates and edicts attempts to paint and dismiss the governor as some kind of oppressive and undemocratic autocrat making authoritative proclamations. The governor has been exercising and demonstrating her leadership as the head of the state and with the best interests of all Kansans. She has followed guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health relating to COVID and has taken into consideration the slipshod guidelines of the federal government.

Her attempts to enforce national guidelines relative to COVID were thwarted by a Republican-controlled committee, leaving it to each county to determine enforcement of mask wearing and distancing.

As a Kansan, I do not feel well-served by people who want to misrepresent our governor or who want to grandstand about individual rights. Leaving decisions about safety to each family and individual during COVID has resulted in a record number of cases and deaths in our state.

Can we not make arguments on issues without debasing the truth? Can we not rise above the negative rhetoric and behavior of our national representatives? Can we not be better than this?

Estes and Marshall unfit

What occurred on Jan. 6 was an attempted coup instigated by the President of the United States. Since the election (and even before) he has lied to create a sense of inevitability of his winning and to inflame his base. My representatives, Rep. Ron Estes and Sen. Roger Marshall, have gone along with this charade and are complicit in the same crime as the president. Their stance during the Electoral College vote was dangerous and gave oxygen to a fire that should have been put out.

There were never enough election irregularities to overturn this election. If these politicians do not see that, they are unfit for office. If they do see it and persist in promoting the belief that President Trump won, they are also unfit.

Estes and Marshall do not just represent a few passionate but misguided constituents. During an attempted coup they represent the nation, and they made a vow to uphold the Constitution. They not only need to repent for objecting to electoral certification but also atone for the aftermath of Jan. 6. They need to debunk this notion that there was widespread voter fraud.