Nothing’s the matter with Kansas (Democrats)
Sometimes there can be more to a landslide than meets the eye.
Case in point: Mike Huckabee won the Republican caucuses in Kansas tonight in a blowout. So, Kansas must still be completely under the thumb of the Religious Right, as described by Thomas Frank in his book “What’s the Matter with Kansas,” right?
Well, maybe not.
Guess how many people attended the GOP caucuses today in overwhelmingly Republican Kansas?
Around 20,000 in wonderful weather (and don’t be surprised if that number is a bit exaggerated).
Guess how many people attended the Democratic caucuses last Tuesday evening in overwhelmingly Republican Kansas?
More than 37,000. And as I’ve described before, many of them had to stand in line for long periods of time in an ice storm in order to do so.
Kansas Democrats are sizzling with excitement over the presidential election. Most of us support Obama, but the Clinton supporters are on fire too.
As for the Republicans, let’s just say excitement isn’t what it’s all about. I think that the general response of the more moderate party faithful to John McCain can best be described as a respectful yawn. Most of these non-far right Republicans didn’t bother showing up to the caucuses. Huckabee won tonight because the Religious Right still has the ability to turn out its voters.
Don’t be fooled. These folks aren’t stupid (even if some of them are a little nutty): they know Huck has no chance of winning the nomination.
This was a message to John McCain: they were telling him “we don’t like you.”
