What's Right with Kansas

Topeka, KS -- Well, King Coal did its best. The insiders in the Kansas political world huffed and puffed. The Speaker of the Kansas House of Representatives kept a vote open for two hours while the coal industry's allies tried desperately to bludgeon four more members into voting to override Governor Kathleen Sebelius's veto of a bill denying the state's chief health officer the right to block coal-fired power plants. And when the votes couldn't be found to override the veto, some legislators threatened to hire a private lawyer with public money to sue the health office for exceeding his authority. (The coal companies, of course, have ample resources to sue on their own -- and it's unlikely that funding for the mammoth Sunflower proposal would still be alive by the time any lawsuit ended.)

But none of it worked. Kansas citizens have spoken out.The Sierra Club chapter in the state organized day and night for weeks and, instead of getting closer to a veto override, the coal forces got further away.

The initial assault by the coal industry was an ad featuring pictures of Hugo Chavez, Iran's President Ahmadinejad, and Vladimir Putin, claiming that if Kansas couldn't build the Sunflower coal plant, it would be forced to import natural gas from these three despots.  Since Kansas produces no coal, but a lot of natural gas (and actually exports gas to other states), these ads didn't go down very well. And the campaign got even more frenetic as it became clear that Sebelius was going to make her decision stick.  Here's a sample quote from one newspaper story on why Kansas said no to coal:

The votes of some Johnson County lawmakers proved decisive. Rep. Judy Morrison, a Shawnee Republican, and Rep. Ben Hodge, an Overland Park Republican, voted no, though both had supported the plants before. Rep. Pat Colloton, a Leawood Republican seen as a possible swing vote, also voted against the override.

Colloton said her constituents convinced her.

"'I'm amazed at how well-educated many Kansans are on issues about the environment and energy," she said.

But even after the vote it's clear that King Coal won't take "no" for an answer -- one of the state's leading political blogs reported the state of play this way:

One thing's for sure: this fight isn't over. Supporters of the coal plant say it's that important.

Legislators had hoped to wrap up their work Saturday. That's still possible, but it's also possible lawmakers could be talking coal next week.

On the same blog, one more piece of evidence that there is, indeed, something right about Kansas. Asked where they stood on proposals to have a temporary moratorium on the federal gas tax, as being currently discussed, an overwhelming majority of the respondents (at the moment I am writing, 78 percent), voted "No." And in a broad public opinion poll taken at the height of the coal fight, 75 percent of Kansans supported the decision to cancel the plants.

Yes Dorothy, this is Kansas!

And if you'd like to congratulate Governor Sebelius, you can do so on her website.

Comments

[johnthetreehugger]

dear Carl Pope,
thanks for your organizations work in Kansas to fight un-needed and dirty coal plants.

However, your parroting of Pentagon/Neo-Con rhetoric is not appreciated.

While there is much about Hugo Chavez that deserves critique, calling him a despot is a bit of a stretch. The man was duly elected (unlike our current moron in chief) and enjoys broad popular support in his country. He takes profits from oil companies and helps the poor for crying out loud. You do the activist and political left in Latin America a grave disservice by dissing Chavez like that.

Sorry, but activists should answer to a higher standard than Fox news and Pentagon propaganda when dishing out their opinions.

yours for accuracy in oppositional politics,
j-

[rfkactionfront]

Thank you Carl and thank you Sierra Club members for your awesome work!!!

The quote from Rep. Colloton -- 'I'm amazed at how well-educated many Kansans are on issues about the environment and energy," -- shows that your message has really gotten through.

As you say, the coal barons are still gonna try to sneak the vote through by other means -- but the voters are watching and America is watching. It's clear that voters want their representatives to say no to old dirty polluting forms of energy and yes to clean, abundant, natural alternatives.

Governor Sebelius has shown tremendous courage, vision, and leadership by fighting back against big coal. A huge thank you to Governor Sebelius for showing the way.

[altohone]

Corporate misinformation campaigns are now as transparent as Pentagon analysts in the media.

They huff, and they puff... and we see great opportunities for windmills.


I wonder if anyone is looking for a settlement comparable to the Big Tobacco one... lying to the public and using the same tactics and operatives seems to be opening them up to the same liability.