They Just Don't Trust Us

06/08/26 06:02
IMG_6848August 6, 2026 (Vol. 20 No. 29) — There is a common theme emerging during this midterm election year: The people are restless and angry. That is why Republicans are beginning to push back against MAGA conservatives and Progressives are challenging the Old Guard of the Democratic Party. However, there is a second, equally compelling theme that also has emerged: The Republican Party does not trust the people. Fortunately, the people are pushing back.



Nowhere is that pushback more evident than right here in the heart of America. Voters in Kansas slapped their radically right legislature in its face Tuesday when they overwhelmingly rejected a constitutional amendment that would change the way state Supreme Court justices are selected. Under the current system, judges are merit-based selected by a nonpartisan committee of the State Bar Association and the governor. The people get to vote in the next election on whether they should retain the judges. The legislature, unhappy with the Court's rulings in favor of abortion rights, came up with its own scheme. Using language that made MAGA lawmakers appear as champions of democracy, they proposed an amendment that would lead to the direct election of judges. But what it really would have done is to allow huge sums of money to be spent to support the election of anti-abortion judges. Remember, it has been only four years since the people of Kansas overwhelmingly rejected a constitutional ban on abortion. Fortunately, the people of Kansas saw through this charade and rejected yet another attempt by the legislature to curtail people's rights.



I'll admit that I was surprised when the people of neighboring Missouri rejected two equally bad ideas. The first would have required a majority approval in each congressional district for voter-initiated amendments to that state's constitution. That restriction, designed to make it harder for voter-initiated measures to become law, would not have applied to those brought forth by the legislature. For those, a simple statewide majority would suffice. Once again, abortion was at the heart of this MAGA attempt to restrain voter rights. They were still mad over a 2024 statewide referendum that made abortion legal in Missouri. Voters were also confronted with a second amendment that would have eliminated the state's income tax. Sounds real good until you realize how much the state's roads, schools and other services would be harmed by this measure. Once again, the people recognized a wolf in sheep's clothing and soundly rejected these thinly veiled efforts to let the MAGA controlled legislature decide what's best for the people. These votes helped restore my faith in the wisdom of the people of the Show Me State.



Nationally, Democratic Party voters sent a message to its Old Guard by electing progressives. We all saw what happened in Michigan. Even here in Kansas, Democratic voters decidedly went against the party establishment by choosing Cindy Holscher to oppose the MAGA sycophant Ty Masterson in the November general election. And Ted Cruz, the anti-immigration champion born in Canada, gave us a preview of how Republicans will attempt to fight the rising Progressive Blue Tide. He actually said that America is facing an Islamic takeover that will result in the cancellation of Thanksgiving and Christmas. Of course, Trump has engaged in his usual unhinged rhetoric, calling his opposition "Dumbocrats" and "Communists." The irony is that Trump falsely claims Democrats are trying to destroy the country while every action he takes has the same effect.



The message of the last election is clear: The elected establishment doesn't trust the people. And by their votes, the people have said they don't trust them, either. That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.