Back to Brownbackistan?

October 9, 2026 (Vol.20 No. 37) - A message to my fellow Kansans: Do you want to go back to the days of Brownbackikstan?

For those who unfamiliar, I am referring to the governorship of Sam Brownback, whose pro-big business policies of the 2010's drove the Kansas economy into the toilet. He was the most unpopular governor in the country. The state was finally stabilized when voters elected an adult, Laura Kelly, to serve as governor. Now, as Kelly is term-limited, she is getting ready to turn over the reins of state government to either Republican House Speaker Ty Masterson or Democrat State Senator Cindy Holscher. A New York Times poll says Masterson has a five-point lead over Holscher. If that poll is true - we won't really know for three weeks if it is - then Kansans had better prepare themselves for Brownbackistan II, a place where the government gives to the rich by taking away from the poor.

What will Masterson do if he becomes governor? He says he wants to end the "tax squeeze" on Kansans by proposing a $2 billion tax cut. Never mind that the Tax Foundation ranks the state's tax burden in the middle of all the states in the Union. What Ty doesn't say is how he will pay for his tax break, nor that it will mostly benefit the wealthy. But since he has taken credit for Brownback's tax plan, we can reasonably guess where the money will come from: Education, roads and rural health care. When it comes to education, Masterson says the schools should focus on reading and math - and not what he calls "woke nonsense" of DEI. Of course, that "woke nonsense" is about the kinds of things that are important for children to learn to live in and eventually lead a civil society. And even if Masterson is correct, how will he be able to have our kids focusing on reading and math if he guts the education budget in favor this tax breaks?

Masterson says he wants to defend "Kansas values." However, his Browbackian approach to governance will do the opposite. It is my experience that Kansans value education, fairness, equal opportunity, and the right to choose their own path without government interference. Recent votes against anti-abortion and court-stacking measures support my judgement. If elected, a Masterson-led state government will intrusively attempt to dictate what Kansans should and should not do. Under his leadership in the State Senate, Kansas state government has already invaded the state's high school and college classrooms, eliminating what he has called "woke" DEI policies. He and those of his ilk are ignoring an undeniable, unavoidable and uncomfortable truth: Within the next 15 years, the United States will become of majority-minority country where non-white residents outnumber whites. It's going to happen, and there isn't a damn thing Masterson can do about it. So why not embrace the change instead for running and hiding from it like a scared little boy? Keep in mind that the Republicans already have supermajorities in the state House and Senate. Without a the checks and balances of a Democrat governor like Kelly or Holscher, imagines the kind of mischief the Neo-con ultra-conservatives will impose upon you.

Both Masterson and his opponent voted in favor of a bill granting 10-year state and local tax exemptions to data centers in 2025. Now, 18-months later, the two candidates are taking opposite stances. Holscher says there should be a freeze on new data centers until the financial and ecological impacts of these water and energy hungry facilities are introduced into rural communities. For his part, Masterson is accusing Holscher of "flip-flopping." Of course, he doesn't mention the $1 million campaign contribution his campaign received from IT sources. Which kind of leader do you want, one that is willing to reconsider her position when new facts emerge or one who is in the pockets of the nation's "Tech Bros?"

I don't trust Masterson. Ty lies. He says he supports public education while planning to gut it. He says he supports rural health care when the votes he has taken on the subject over the years tells us a different story. He says he will protect "Kansas values" while his legislative agenda closely mirrors that of Donald Trump's top hatchet-man, Stephen Miller. (Ask the farmers, ranchers and meat packers of Western Kansas what they thinks of ICE's immigrant round-up.) The essential truth is this: When it comes to the issues that matter most to Kansans, Ty lies. And if you do not want to go back to the bad old days of Brownbackistan, then Masterson should not be our next governor. That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.