The Dirty Little Secret in Topeka

Now that I have your attention, let’s talk Topeka politics, specifically what goes on when the House & Senate finally get to the point where legislation on the budget is being hashed out on the floor of each chamber. I’ve been there watching them late into the night, when caffeine only makes things stranger rather than clearer. Let me tell you a little secret the Democrats and liberal-leaning Republicans don’t want you to know: Republicans might outnumber Democrats, but fiscal conservatives don’t have the majority.

That’s why a statement like this is so disingenuous:

Representative Melody McCray-Miller reminded the audience that it is Republicans who have been in the majority of both the House of Representatives and the Senate during this time.

Not so fast Rep. McCray-Miller, you seem to forget that the fiscal conservatives have been out-maneuvered time after time when Democrats team up with folks like Reps Quigley, Hineman, Swanson, Pottorff, Moxley, Hill, Craft, or their counterparts like Senators Vratil, Morris, Brungardt or Rep/now Sen. Huntington. (for brevity I’m not listing them all today)

When conservatives hold at least 21 Senate seats and 63 House seats you can start blaming them for not getting fiscally sound policies passed. Until then, the real blame goes to the Republicans who vote like Democrats and the Democrats who join them. It was those folks who set up the current fiscal train wreck.