Why a pro-life conservative couldn't vote for Kline

If you asked Phill Kline I probably represent the prototype supporter of his candicacy for Johnson County Prosecutor. Considering all the phone calls and mailings I received I know I was targeted on a get out the vote effort.

I have consistently voted and supported pro-life and culturally conservative candidates. In addition, I have been very much a law and order type guy. I'm a male, professional, upper middle class, college educated.........low tax, high personal responibility guy......you get the picture.

So why couldn't I support Phill Kline?

Phill Kline lied when he told people that if appointed to fulfill this term that he wouldn't seek re-election. I think he thinks people have a short term memory and forget this fact. He barely addressed it in his campaign. I wanted a real explanation for changing his mind and he never provided it.

He is a divisive figure. He is hated by so many Johnson County republicans and all democrats holding onto only the core of the conservative republican vote. I like to win and I don't think Phill Kline can win in the general election. We, in the conservative wing of the party, need to realize that controlling the party will not get us general election victory. We have watched this occur now in Johnson County as well as for Governor. It is an embarrassment that in a staunchly conservative county we have a Democrat in Dennis Moore representing us in Washington. This blood is strictly on the hands of the ultra conservatives/pro-life radicals in Johnson County who insist on putting up candidates that are to the right of Rush Limbaugh. If we put up the right candidate Dennis Moore is beatable. Continuing to support people like Phill Kline will not get it done.

He tried to run a dirty campaign. The ends do not justify the means. He went negative against Steve Howe and I think it is bad form to go dirty in the primary. It is selfish because if you don't win you've potentially damaged our candidate for the general election. Check out the sound bites from Hillary Clinton that McCain is using against Obama if you don't believe me. He rallied the support of people outside the county to do his dirty work, raise money, and would have definitely been beholden to them.

He became a one issue candidate. Kline allowed himself to be defined by this struggle to a single issue and allowed it be defined as a fight against Planned Parenthood and a fight against abortion rights instead of struggle to bring sexual predators to justice which clearly has better appeal to all voters. This was a huge strategic error in that 50% of people support abortion rights and everyone hates a sexual predator. There is some bad stuff going on at Planned Parenthood and had there been a prosecutor with more character and more respected in the community he might have been able to generate the public support he needed to wage the fight. I consider it a major opportunity lost and in the end he may have strengthened Planned Parenthood. Howe has promised to review the case and prosecute it based on the law.

He spells his first name like an idiot. Who the hell spells Phill with two "L's". That is ridiculous.

In the end Phill Kline was a deeply flawed candidate and those issues just can't be overlooked. I'm tired of losing ground to democrats and Kline represents another loss. I wish Tim Golba, Mary Kay Culp and their crew would wake up and smell the coffee. We aren't going to win putting up these losers. I would rather have a moderate republican than a liberal democrat. It is about building a coalition of support and as long as we simply cling to the little core of remaining conservative republicans we will continue to lose. Jill Stanek states on her blog she was personally on hand when Phill Kline flip flopped and decided to run. Jill is from Chicagoland and is a big mover and shaker in the pro-life movement. It bothers me and I feel bad that Phill duped these people from outside the county to help him. Phill Kline lacks the character to be in the position of enforcing Johnson County law with any credibility.

Phill Kline lacks the character to be trusted with the job. Clearly the press was no friend to Phill Kline but he had he been above reproach they would have nothing to report. Reports and investigations about him not showing up for work on a regular basis, providing and claiming a false Johnson County residence which is a legal requirement for holding the job was pure sleaze and made him untrustworthy. KCTV 5 did an interesting investigation working to document his time in the office and demonstrated that he and his wife were really still living in Topeka......his kid is enrolled in Topeka schools. Republicans with ethical and character issues really piss me off and don't deserve our support.

I hope this is last we've heard of Phill Kline in public life.....the last gasp of his life on the public dole. Like I said in a previous post......look for Phill Kline to make a fortune working with the national pro-life interests on a national scene. He has become a hero to them. Read Jill Stanek's blog at http://www.jillstanek.com/ and you'll see what I mean. She describes him as heroic.

Kline Surrogates get filthy on Howe

I retrieved the mail last night to find a completely nasty direct mail piece from a surrogate group of the Phill Kline campaign. It came from the "Victim's Voice Foundation, Inc" complete with a PO box in Lenexa for an address and not so much as an email address of phone number.

They are mentioned in a blog/website of Jill Stanek of Oak Lawn, Illinois who writes in this link about how the nationwide pro-life movement needs to support Kline and seeks to raise $300K in the final days of the campaign. She is correct in The Star's hatred of Kline....no doubt she got that one right.

I read in the paper this morning that Kline is getting a lot of help and interest from the Right to Life groups and featured a quote from James Dobson....the comb-over king of the evangelical right's Focus on the Family. Taking on Planned Parenthood appears to be good for business for Kline and I'm guessing even IF he loses this primary or election he'll have plenty of work in those organizations and probably at much better wages. In fact.....in a little digression I think this is part of Kline's longterm plan. Win or lose now, he will cash in with the right to life group as their hero and lawyer showing up in towns all over the country on their nickel to challenge abortion law, gay rights, whatever.....the Gloria Alred of the conservative evangelicals. I wouldn't be surprised to see Tim Golba's hands all over this thing.

Anyway, the campaign flyer states with a picture of scared woman on the front, "When prosecutors make mistakes.....Murderers go free.

The inside of the flyer is pretty large so I'll put it into 2 part but it is a tri fold. It features a Willie Horton type picture of the perp.......incredibly dirty.

The left panel of this trifold shows a picture of Steve Howe and this dim lighting of the picture is pretty accurate....it isn't just my scanner:

The back looks like this for a final little dig.........

So, this is some dirty little antics by Phill Kline. Now, Kline will say this isn't from him but you know absolutely he knows about everything done by these groups, is directing these groups, and should take responsibility for them. He won't. This is the way the game is played.

Within the context of the positive ads from Kline I heard on the radio this morning where he doesn't even mention Steve Howe but talks about his own record it is very interesting.

This, from an academic standpoint, is a very good strategy on Kline's part. If I were Howe, I'd play to where the money is coming from and ask Kline to denounce this types of ads. It is also very close to election day when there is very little time to respond. I missed the radio debate this morning....some of us have to work.

I have also been peppered recently from Kline's campaign with automated phone surveys. It must cost quite a bit run something like that....wonder who is paying for it? Anyway, it always asks if I'm voting and if I consider myself a conservative, if I am pro-life and if I know that Phill Kline is taking on Planned Parenthood.

Does stuff like this make you less likely to vote for Phill Kline? It has been said that nobody gets the opposition out to vote like Phill Kline.

You all mark my words here and now....win or lose.....Phill Kline will get rich by working with these groups in the coming years in the private sector. He is a courageous hero to the pro-life community in the US. Unfortunately, they have claimed an incredibly flawed and somewhat sleazy person for that role.

If Planned Parenthood violated the law I want them prosecuted and it does seem like Planned Parenthood is just trying to run out the clock on Phill Kline. I wonder if it will work?

Are you supporting Kline or Howe in the this race?