Just had an interesting conversation with our new newsroom employee. Mick Watts. Mick grew up in Wichita and lived outside Kansas for many years before joining his mother here in Ark City. He said he still has the image of Ark City as a union, Democratic town symbolized by the Docking family. (Robert Docking was governor while he lived here in Ark City)
But the town's politics seem to have turned completely on its head. There is a very conservative streak here now, embodied by a very active "new conservative" Republican Party. It is the party of religious conservatives and very strict fiscal conservatives. Kasha Kelley embodies this agenda. It also is home to the man people most identify with the anti-evolution movement, Steve Abrams, who sits on the state board of education.
It's a fascinating story how this town's political image morphed from Democrat and Union to strict conservative, at least in image. Others would know better but I'm sure Ark City was never a "liberal" town per say, more of a Reagan Democrat town got swept up in the new conservative movement that just recently hit its peak.
The Democratic Party in Ark City seems to have gone underground. It's somewhat active in Winfield but you certainly see little signs of activity where it once thrived. I'm certainly willing to be challenged on this. But these are my observations.
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9 comments:
Dave,
I'll be interested in seeing more posts on this myself.
Just the thought that we, the uh, religious conservatives have that much clout amazes me.
I mean, we'll take it. But I don't really see folks giving us this much credit.
However, I don't see myself as stuck in the mud or willing to live in the past to save a dime.
I think it's a 'must' for us to move forward in time. Don't really want to spend the next few years looking at the 'same old' stuff. I hope we can all come together to see Ark City move forward. (for the sake of making our youth as proud of their hometown as some of the 'older' people are of their 'old west' or 'flintstone' era.
Nonetheless, I await the response of others.
Modesty can be appealing but, certainly a new guard is strongly influencing, if not controlling the course of things in southern Cowley. A prime example is the pointed assembly of a group, "Blue Skies", who recruited a slate of candidates with an agenda of moving towards a bond election for the public schools.
We can pretend that has not happened or we can pretend that such machinations were launched in times of old.
Certainly, we have suppressed wages with the exodus of strong unions in the area. Many folks are making the same wage today, in 2008 dollars that the unions liberated from employers in 1978.
Despite the hand rocking the cradle, we have gone to sleep which would not be so bad if we at least dreamed dreams while sleeping.
We lack an articulation of what we want to accomplish in lieu of an explicit mandate of who it is we want to do it.
I do not even argue the people in the pivotal seats. I simply want forward progress instead of periodic updates on reactive legislation as we have gotten thus far from the Honorable State Representative Ms. Kelly.
We still hear more from the rumor mill about the health of Creekstone than we do from leadership about efforts to resolve the international standoff between them and their congressional road blockers.
As far as the Ds, they have learned a valuable and painful lesson. When you consort with the opposition, you do not gain ground, you yield it. D leadership via R sponsorship simply is not D leadership.
and yet... again I say. Thanks for the lifting thoughts.
I want more "leadership". And leadership is not necessarily R or D. It is simply, honest men and women leading. We need people of integrity. I don't think that we should have to look behind every door to finally figure out what 'it' is that you are talking about. And, integrity, is sorely lacking in America, in KS, in Cowley County, and in Ark City.
"Integrity... is doing right, even when nobody sees you."
So if we are rising, let us rise to meet the standards of integrity and honesty, in our dealings with all mankind. (not just for the media)
Now, having said all that, let's move forward with a true heart for the future of all of our children, and our community. Think of them, not just ourselves. I can do this because:
I am who I am because of Whose I am. I am proud to state that I am a Christian, a child of Almighty God.
So just because the Docking family lived here made Ark City a Democratic town? That's quite a statement. I think the Democratic party has changed alot since the Dockings were in power anyway. And I think most of the union's across America are gone now too -- but we do still have a large one at GE. It's so sad that it causes people to actually have to work for what they earn isn't it? I've seen so many people abuse the union that it makes it about as meaningless as the Democratic Party is to me.
Whither you where a Democrat or republican you would have to admit before Reganomics broke the union everyone had it better.
The working blue collar man had better wages, so that allowed him to spend more money on things he needed for his family, we all had better health care packages from our employer's and jobs were supported better in smaller communities.
But the profits for companies did not look the way they do now because we were able to put more money back into our economy because we had it to spend. Not a whole lot of worry about the stock market and how it would effect the retirement.
Everyone including white collar workers made god by wages for the blue collar, back then they wanted to make sure you knew if you did go to college that your effort would pay more than those who chose not to and just entered the work force. I remember people complaining about how the gap between the two working classes getting to close so they started giving merit raises and things like that to create a bigger, but that would not have happened for not the union pushing wages on for and benefits for the working blue collar people
Now we are back to those who have it and those who want it but will not get it.
never the less for me which ever party get in remember we can all sink together or drown together
Hillary Clinton, yesterday said...
WASHINGTON - Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton said Sunday she might be willing to garnish the wages of workers who refuse to buy health insurance to achieve coverage for all Americans.
but when pressed on ABC's "This Week," she said: "I think there are a number of mechanisms" that are possible, including "going after people's wages, automatic enrollment."
Clinton said such measures would apply only to workers who can afford health coverage but refuse to buy it, which puts undue pressure on hospitals and emergency rooms. With her proposals for subsidies, she said, "it will be affordable for everyone."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080203/ap_on_el_pr/campaign_rdp_31
Do we really want our wages garnished to pay for Hillary's Health Care Plan?
I am neither Democrat nor Republican.
Who's going to tell Hill whether we can afford the insurance? Why does she think folks don't have insurance. Geez....
Awwww...Hillary is crying again. Just what I wanted, a President that will cry in public. Do you think that is how she gets her way with Bill too? She must think American's are suckers and apparently some of them are!
Liberal or Conservative, left or right, pro-life or pro-choice, Christian or secular? Do these labels really mean anything at all or are they simply distractions that allow us to avoid thinking clearly about particular issues?
A certain portion of the population gravitates toward authoritarianism (whether "liberal" or "conservative") because they like to have a feeling of being sure about their world. We might do better to be suspicious of dogmatic answers regardless of their source. We can then get down to the productive business of finding common ground even though we start with diverse perspectives.
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