Kansans Brace for Possibility of "Governor Brownback"

Pro-choice advocates in Kansas have had to put up with a lot over the years. They've suffered the attentions of the poisonously anti-choice Operation Rescue, an extremist organization that waged a virulent campaign against providers, while conservative Republican majorities have battered away at abortion rights on the legislative front.

Choice advocates suffered a grievous loss earlier this year when the unrelenting atmosphere of violence promoted by Operation Rescue resulted in the assassination of Dr. George Tiller. But no matter how bad things have become with the extremists, pro-choicers have been covered legislatively. Despite its red state reputation, Kansas advocates have relied on friendly governors to veto an endless stream of anti-choice bills.

But now, as the state gears up for the 2010 governor's race, this delicate balance could be shattered by the current front runner: Republican Senator Sam Brownback.

Brownback's name should be warning enough to anyone who knows anything about reproductive rights. This is the guy who attempted to make ultrasounds mandatory for women seeking abortions, tried to deprive Planned Parenthood of Title X family planning funding for low-income clients, and argued that rape and incest survivors shouldn't have access to abortions. When he ran in the 2008 primaries, Brownback declared abortion is "the reason I'm in the race for president, to right this wrong." He has never lost a political race in Kansas.

"[To say we are nervous] would be an understatement," said Kari Ann Rinker, the National Organization for Women's lobbyist in Topeka. "I've never heard of the man making a reasonable vote. Anytime a woman is responsible for her private health care decision making, he has no problem inserting himself into the process."

During Brownback's time in the U.S. Senate, the effects of his radical opinions on reproductive rights were diluted by the sheer size of the upper chamber. But as governor he could really do some damage in alliance with the conservative lawmakers who have long controlled the Kansas state legislature. "We see a lot of scary stuff on a regular basis," Rinker says. "[Governor] Kathleen [Sebelius] vetoed a lot of the worst stuff that came down the pike."

Without a friendly hand behind the veto pen in Kansas, in the last year Planned Parenthood would have been defunded by budget amendment, providers would be required to put up posters acknowledging the anti-choice bugbear of coercive abortion, and any woman past 22 weeks of pregnancy whose baby could conceivably be kept alive through artificial means wouldn't be eligible for an abortion. (In Kansas, abortion past the 22-week mark is illegal unless serious health risks are involved; another vetoed item would have allowed parents or partners to sue if they suspected the health risks weren't that serious.) Efforts to achieve all of these were attempted in the past year. There is no reason to expect a Republican legislature with Brownback behind it to be any less pugnacious about women's rights.

More troubling still, the field of gubernatorial candidates appealing to the pro-choice vote isn't particularly broad. In the past, moderate Republican governors like Bill Graves, Sebelius's predecessor, have vetoed anti-choice legislation. But this year the Republican primary field has been swept of contenders by Brownback's intimidating presence and the party's nationwide purge of anyone to the left of Rush Limbaugh.

While Brownback has been the presumptive Republican nominee since early 2009, the Democrats didn't announce a contender until November 17, when Tom Wiggans, a moderate businessman recently returned to Kansas, entered the race. But despite Wiggans's personal fortune and centrist credentials, he has already retired from the field, leaving Democrats scrambling for a replacement. A new contender is unlikely to be announced until after the holidays.

"We are a long ways away from November 2010 still," said Tyler Longpine, Communications Director for the Kansas State Democratic Party. "A year is an eternity in politics. Between now and then Sam Brownback will get the challenge he deserves."

As of right now, the prospects look bleak. Wiggans was reportedly tapped because senior Democratic Party officials at the state level decided against running next year, due to Brownback's unusually strong position.

"By virtue of Brownback's name recognition, the length of time he has been a Senator, that he was a presidential candidate, there is no question this he [will be] the front runner," said Peter Brownlie, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri.

But name recognition cuts both ways. Everyone in Kansas knows about Brownback's hard right edge, particularly around women's issues, and that may not be a boon in a state whose voters are rapidly wearying of abortion-related demagoguery. The last statewide politician who emphasized his radical anti-choice ideology didn't do his political prospects any favors. Phil Kline gained notoriety for using his powers as attorney general to paw through women's confidential abortion records in quest of some unspecified wrongdoing (the women were largely patients of Dr. Tiller). When the extent of his extremism became clear, Kline was rewarded for his bullying doggedness with a double-digit loss to a Democrat in the 2006 election cycle. In 2008 he lost his next election, for Johnson County district attorney, again by double digits, this time to a fellow Republican.

"People of both parties and all over the state are tired of abortion being the prominent issue when the state is facing economic problems," Brownlie says. "In the last two election cycles it has been pretty clear that a lot of voters are really sick of politicians who are all about abortion, all the time."

A couple of timely court dramas could help realize Brownlie's opinion. Two of Kline's top aides are currently on trial for ethics violations related to their hectoring crusade against abortion providers. It is widely speculated that Kline may be next. Brownlie hopes that "the possibilities of sanctions or disbarment will further discredit the far right anti-abortion wing of the Republican Party."

Considering the fruits of Kline's radical anti-abortion positions, and other x factors, like the fall out from the trial of Dr. Tiller's killer, pro-choice advocates have reason to hope, if Democrats can find a worthwhile candidate. In which case, Brownback's position may not be as unimpeachable as it appears.