How to put your foot in your mouth during an election:
From the Kansas City Star, Oct. 4:
Kathleen Sebelius, the Democratic candidate for Kansas governor, apologized Wednesday for remarking that driving on Missouri roads was “much more terrifying to me than the attacks on the World Trade Center.”
Her chief opponent, Republican Tim Shallenburger, criticized Sebelius for the comment, which was made Wednesday at an Overland Park candidate forum.
“If she said it in jest, it is not funny,” Shallenburger said. "The events of 9-11 should not be trivialized.
“Sebelius has failed her first test as a leader.”
Sebelius responded that she had been stranded in Ohio last year after the Sept. 11 attacks. She rented a car and drove alone back to Kansas. In doing so, she drove across Interstate 70 in Missouri.
"The roads in Missouri were much more terrifying to me than the attacks on the World Trade Center because I really did think my life was far more at risk," she said.
Shirley Hemenway of Shawnee, whose son was killed in the attack on the Pentagon, lashed out at the candidate.
“I wouldn’t vote for her for anything, even PTA chairman,” Hemenway said. “She might offend somebody. She’s not a woman to watch her words.”
It was dumb comparison, but in my humble opinion, when people treat 9/11 in such a “holy” manner that using it in an analogy is now borderline blasphemy, “The Terrorist Have Won” ™.
Well, she was correct. The odds of a plane crashing into her while driving across Missouri were a hell of a lot less than the odds of some idiot smashing her car into itty bitty peices.
If a “straw poll” in my Overland Park office is any indication (39-1 against Sebelius), she won’t get any closer to the Governor’s mansion than the parking lot.
And this was before she made the hyperbolic WTC statement. I understand that the “1” has now changed to “Libertarian”.
If you’re a politician, and you cannot think before you speak, yes, it’s a bad thing. Look at it this way a.) Sibelus is out stumping and instead of talking about her platform for Kansas she’s taking time to make juvenile digs about a neighboring state and the quality of its roads. Why? How is that germane to anything Sibelus needs to do in KS? b.) Do you think that this is a new opinion? Has she stored up this little bon mot for a year and just dropped it for the first time now? I doubt it. She’s probably said it, or at least thought about it, since the day it happened. But it never occurred to her to hook up the rational part of her brain before letting that little opinion slip.
Whether it was technically accurate (and yes, after the fact, she was in more danger of being injured or killed while driving on an interstate, though from experience, 70 is hell from the West Virginia line straight through to Colorado) it was a stupid way to express the thought, if it even needed to be expressed at all, which is doubtful. Someone aspiring to be the chief executive of a state ought to be more thoughtful in their speech.
Perhaps she should run in Minnesota. It sounds like something Jesse Ventura might say. It’s a statement with a grain of truth, but yet you cringe because it’s not “politically correct” and you know that someone (a lot of someones, probably) will be offended and raise a big stink.
jjtm, I’d say it’s a bad trait if you want to be a successful politician in today’s political climate. People don’t like to cringe when they hear their elected officials speak.
This was dark humor gone horribly awry. Not only that, but it seems rather tactless to make such a disparaging comment about a neighboring state.
I know that Kansas and Kansans are openly derided by some enormous fucking assholes here on the SDMB, but it actually is a very nice State, and one of the top places to live in the entire country. It’s also a State where, for better or for worse, it is highly conservative, in thought, belief, actions, and voting.
As a result, we tend not to have very controversial elections and campaigns. In fact, because Kansas has no real issues to speak of (at least in the minds of the constituents), there is really not much to argue about. Typically, the most “exciting” thing that happens during a campaign is someone may make an offhand crack about changing liquor laws (allowing Sunday sales), or about changing the hunting license costs.
Comments like Sibelius’ don’t, and won’t, go over well here, regardless of what her party’s spin doctors are trying to do now with them. You can’t un-ring that bell. My belief is that people here will quietly go to the voting booths with that crack running through their heads, and it will likely turn out similar to the last election (where the Democrats almost didn’t even oppose Gov. Graves).
In fact, we have a situation similar to 1998 (which Graves won at 74% of the vote), where pollsters were shocked that, even up to election day, most people did not even know the name of Grave’s opposition! :eek: Rather than contribute this to voter apathy, which I’m certain was a large part of it, the main thing was - in 1998, there were absolutely no real issues of note, and both candidates (Graves and Sawyer) were so close on most parts of their respective platforms that it really didn’t matter who won.
But you, on reflection, maybe this was a campaign tactic by her party. I would have to hazard that most people here did not even know Sibelius was running until this. And you know what they say about publicity…
What part of it? Overall, Kansas is doing pretty well. I know of very few people that are even aware that any cuts need to be made at all.
I don’t think that either of them are real “winners”, and yet, ironically, one of them will win…
Now, I personally think the comment and the reaction was blown out of proportion, yes, and she shouldn’t be judged harshly for it. But right or not, fair or not, Sept 11 is still the “third rail” in a lot of verbal exchanges for the average cow-like voter, and you simply have to watch what you say about anything associated with the event at all.
Let me clarify, ouisey. The KC Star and “Ruckus” on Channel 19 both think it’s a big deal, as does KANU and other media outlets.
But I interface with a lot of people, and discuss these sorts of things an awful lot, and my general impression is that among the few that haven’t tuned it all out, no one really cares at all. I’m sure there must be plenty of people who do care about it, but it’s not what I would call a burning issue, IMO.
Thta’s because cuts have already been made. Not that that won’t stop further cuts, but the entire state is in one of the worst budget crunches I’ve seen in a long time.
Education funding has been slashed. Tuition costs increased more this year to cover the gap than any time in the past decade. Services on campus continually decrease yet we pay more to get it. Then the legislature sees that we can survive with the cuts and winds up for more.
But it’s not even just education. Yesterday I met in Topeka with a guy from the Director of Purchasers office to discuss electronic procurement. It’s a pilot program that has the ability to save the state tens of MILLIONS of dollars. In May it helped save $120,000 alone on a single purchase.
But this pilot program is very limited. It provides for no extra budget to be given to the DoP’s office when the hiring of a competent webmaster could make all the difference in the world.
The program ends June 30 and, so far, no one seems to really care. The state has no money, here’s a prime way to save money and bring us into the 21st century in one fell swoop and the legislature doesn’t care at all.
No interim committee is debating it and no plans are being made for January to discuss renewing the pilot program, or expanding it.
Gah. I’m sorry. This is so far from the OP it’s scary.
