Steve Howe should do what is right and bow out of the race. This would allow Kline to keep his money for the general election.

Both Howe and Kline seem like terrible choices for District Attorney. Is there a good Dem in the race?

At least Kline is (relatively) safely contained in JoCo.

The more I think about this whole situation, the more my stomach turns. It seems that if Kline is not elected, the newly elected DA will discard the case -- thereby disregarding the law. If this occurs, it seems that the rule of law can be subverted by local elections. And I find it hard to believe that this is what the framers had in mind.

Charles, from my perspective, if Kline is not elected and the new DA discards the case, it will uphold previous findings of fact and bring to an end a grievous abuse of power and simultaneous dereliction of duty in other areas by Kline.

Either way, it will be up to the local voters to decide who best represents their interests in this and other prosecutorial matters, which, it seems to me, is exactly what the framers had in mind.

Ray, please explain in certain terms what were Kline's "grievous abuse of power and simultaneous dereliction of duty."

Jill, Kline's transgressions have been described here before:

http://www.jillstanek.com/archives/2008/06/breaking_news_p_3.html

In short, Kline has to answer to his constituents for spending a shockingly small amount of time doing his actual job as prosecutor, politically motivated firings of career employees without cause, replacing said employees with inept cronies, incompetent prosecutions by said cronies, not living in the district (until just recently, when campaign supporters gave him a sweetheart deal on a house), and, finally, pursuing this baseless case despite being voted out of statewide office for doing so.

Ray, then by your own statements the public, via their votes, can and should elect persons who will selectively enforce the laws based on their belief system. And I am certain that this is not what the framers had in mind. As I do remember from college that we have three equal branches of government for a reason: to ensure one does not control unilaterally. Hence, the enforcement of the laws drafted and approved by the elected legislators must be applied without prejudice to all matters of law -- not just the ones which are “convenient”

If the public wishes to no longer be governed by a certain law, then they seek to elect legislators to change that law. They do not have the power to selectively enforce the law.

I live in Johnson County and I know what I’m talking about. Jill can support anyone she wants, but the facts are these:

Howe is a pro-life conservative. He was recruited after Kline publicly announced last fall that he was not going to run. Several high-profile, pro-life politicians endorsed Howe. They would not have done so if Howe wasn’t pro-life.

Johnson County is overwhelmingly Republican. Social conservatives control the party machinery. The Democratic Party is very weak in Johnson County. Often, they don’t even field candidates. Most of the time, when they do, the Democrats lose. Whoever wins the Republican primary is usually guaranteed to win the general election.

This rule should apply to Kline, but it doesn’t. Kline grew up in Johnson County and was a legislator from Johnson County. When he ran for re-election as attorney general, he overwhelmingly lost the county. Many people are sick of Kline and would like him to go away.

The Mainstream Coalition was formed after social conservatives took over the Republican party. Its members are mostly Republican. Granted, they are moderate and liberal Republicans, but they are still Republicans. They endorse more Republicans than Democrats, because there aren’t that many Democratic candidates to endorse.

Their endorsement of Howe doesn’t change the fact that Howe is pro-life.

Depending on the turnout, Kline has a shot at winning the primary. However, he will probably lose the general election.

If you are pro-life and want the case against Planned Parenthood to continue, you need to support Howe. Otherwise, if the Democratic candidate wins, the case *will* go away.

JoCo Dan, how do you juxtapose the following statements:

Johnson County is overwhelmingly Republican. Social conservatives control the party machinery. The Democratic Party is very weak in Johnson County. Often, they don’t even field candidates. Most of the time, when they do, the Democrats lose. Whoever wins the Republican primary is usually guaranteed to win the general election.

and

Depending on the turnout, Kline has a shot at winning the primary. However, he will probably lose the general election.

These statements seem to be at odds with one another.

Charles, not in KS. The GOP has been tearing itself apart- far right conservatives vs more moderate folks for years. Many people are truly, deeply tired of Kline. If he wins the nom, the Dems will no doubt find a candidate to run and s/he will win.

Charles – sorry I haven’t responded before now. Wichita Linewoman is right in her assessment. There’s really three main political parties in Kansas – Democrats, far-right Republicans and moderate Republicans.