May was a banner month for conservatives in the Kansas legislature, who, after returning from a short recess, defeated the state’s Democrat Governor on issue after issue—setting a strong example for Republican legislatures looking to push back against liberal politicians in statewide office.
The Kansas Governor, “Lock-Down” Laura Kelly, has been a target for the state’s conservatives since at least the start of the pandemic when she used her executive power to shutter schools, businesses, and places of worship—in contrast to many Republican governors who took more measured approaches.
The pandemic was a dark time for many Kansans, made worse by their Governor’s gross incompetence in allowing $600 million in unemployment insurance fraud, prioritizing vaccinations of violent prisoners over law-abiding citizens, while cutting $22 million for services to individuals with disabilities.
In November, voters decided it was time to rein in Governor Kelly and ushered in a conservative, veto-proof majority to both the House and Senate chambers. However, with 84 Republicans out of 125 in the House and Republicans outnumbering Democrats in the Senate 29 to 11, Governor Kelly’s woke and broke agenda has faced a very different array of forces in 2021 compared to last year.
In January, the newly elected conservative leadership moved swiftly to pass emergency management reforms designed to curb Kelly’s pandemic power grab, as well as a pro-life constitutional amendment and common-sense occupational licensing reform (led by conservative legislators) aimed at attracting outside talent to the state.
However, it appeared Governor Kelly did not get the message voters sent her in November. Instead of moderating, she doubled down on her left-wing agenda. She issued a flurry of vetoes, including cutting funding for victims of sex trafficking, the elderly and prohibiting the designation of a prayer room at the Capitol.
As a result, when the Republican legislature came back into session, it faced a set of issues on which it had to enact legislation to constrain or override the Governor in just a few weeks. Kansas Republicans got to work immediately, overturning the Governor to ensure lower taxes, protect gun rights, advance election integrity, and ban “Zuckerbucks,” the practice of private money being funneled into state and local election offices by left-wing billionaires such as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The Governor also had her veto overridden on a new law to add new license plate designs for the state’s drivers, including one bearing a slogan to which the Democrats objected, the American Revolution-era phrase “Don’t tread on me.”
Despite numerous veto overrides and other setbacks for Governor Kelly, she pressed on with her left-wing agenda. She vetoed a bill that would provide direct relief to struggling Kansas businesses hurt by her forced lockdowns. She rationalized her decision by hiding behind textbook bureaucratic excuses, claiming that the conservative legislation might threaten federal funding. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t.
House Majority Leader Dan Hawkins offered a scathing response to the Governor’s decision to veto COVID relief to small businesses, saying, “Today is just further evidence that the Kelly administration is a Death Star with the sole purpose of destroying the Kansas economy.”
Using the state budget as a vehicle, Republicans were also able to pass several pro-freedom, pro-growth provisions related to COVID-19, including a ban on state agencies requiring vaccine passports and ensuring that the legislature has a say in how federal relief dollars get spent in the future.
On Wednesday, May 26, the Kansas Legislature met for one final time to conclude business for the year. Many Republicans were hoping to join the other 23 states that have rejected the federal unemployment bonus as the Kansas Chamber of Commerce sounds the alarm that local businesses throughout the state are struggling to find workers. Instead, the Kansas GOP managed to pass a resolution in both the House and Senate urging Governor Kelly to end the federal unemployment “bonus,” which is paying Americans not to work.
May was a great month for Kansans who support economic opportunity, individual freedom, and personal responsibility. For the Governor, “Lock-Down” Laura Kelly, it was a hard lesson in how conservative legislatures can constrain Democrat governors—a lesson many of her colleagues in blue states across the country may be learning soon if they do not heed her cautionary tale.
Excellent news ! I was stationed in Kansas while in the US Army. I found Kansans to be down to earth, honest and overall wonderful people !
Way to go Kansas! If only the remaining states would tell the Federal Government that they do not want the bonus unemployment that allows people to get funds while not working.
We lived in Kansas for 18 years. Kelly was our Senator – although we never could find anyone who admitted to voting for her! We and our neighbors referred to her as Smelly Kelly because her principles and ideas smelled so bad. I was dazzled when a friend told me she had somehow got elected Governor. So glad the legislature has been able to reign her in.
Being a Kansan, “Lock-Down Laura” made me chuckle. Here-to-date I’ve referred to her as ‘Grandma Kelly’ (because she always, smugly and curtly, knows what’s best) and more recently as ‘Note-card Kelly’ (because she doesn’t make a public appearance/speech without her note cards). A former Hillary Clinton staffer reportedly authors her remarks.
Lock-Down also chose politics over children safety and vetoed a bill which would have taught gun safety in the schools thru the Eddie Eagle program. Unfortunately the Republicans could not muster an override to enhance their tally.
Kansas has 105 counties. In the 2018 election Lock-Down Laura only carried 9 counties but, in true liberal Democrat fashion, it was the 9 most-populated counties (more unions and ‘government takers’) or those with major universities.
Governor Kelly’s response should be: “Toto, we are not in Kansas anymore.”
Maybe next election day the people in Kansas will use their heads and vote the right way, so to speak and put in a republican Governor, because it appears this broad doesn’t give a damn about the people except making sure the demonrat agenda gets passed no matter what. She is out to destroy everything in this country just as the rest of them are, and then turn this into a communist country. We who fought hard and many who died for the freedoms we have in this country will not stand fr that, EVER!!!!!
Perhaps since the “vaccine “ is causing many adverse reactions she should prioritize giving it to the violent offenders. Sorta like a lethal injection. Get rid of them and spare the law abiding citizens. ????
RINOs were able to split the vote and gave us the Commiecrat disaster of Laura “Lockdown” Kelly! Much like the RINO Romney/Ryan debacle gave us a 2nd term of Hussein. These US Chamber Of Communists & Koch Bros. types love illegal and unlimited immigration in order to line their greedy, but seditious pockets. Lockdown’s Health Director is a Dr. Mengele type as well, similar to Dr. Rachel “Rick” Levine of PA.
You would have thought that after the Kansas federal & state blowout elections to conservatives, that Lockdown might have taken the hint. I believe she knows that she is one-and-done and is trying to do as much damage as she can on the way out.
A couple of issues that the legislature screwed up on related to COVID are not passing laws against private employers mandating experimental, emergency-use vaccines & vaccine passports…
Perhaps some Trumpism did rub off on some Republicans.