Why?

Bernie Sanders is coming to Kansas.

The Senator from Vermont will join Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in Wichita on July 20th in the 4th Congressional District to campaign for James Thompson. Afterwards, they will travel to the hotly-contested 3rd Congressional District to support Brent Welder, who faces five Democratic candidates in the August 7th primary. The winner will vy for the seat held by incumbent Trump-fluffer Kevin Yoder (R-Kochland).

Democrats in Kansas are energized this year, running good candidates in each Congressional district. The 3rd and 4th districts will have primaries. In the 1st District, Democrat Alan LaPolice of Clyde is gearing up for a general fight against unpopular Roger Marshall, an OB/GYN freshman Republican representative whose signature achievement is making appearances on Fox news, staring blankly into the camera and robotically repeating Republican talking points. The 2nd District features Paul Davis, who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2014, and who, in the general election, will face one of two batshit crazy Republicans. That district is replacing Republican Lynn Jenkins, who is retiring to avoid the humiliation of being shoved out the door by her unhappy constituents.

Why is Bernie’s visit troubling?

KANSAS PROUD

Here's the thing -- we Kansans prefer to settle our affairs amongst ourselves. “Kansas Proud” is not merely a marketing motto -- it is an understanding of our history and our ability. It is the self-reliance and ruggedness that have sustained us through Dust Bowl drought, the crushing agricultural business cycle, and the emptying of our rural areas. The cult of celebrity doesn't play well here, especially when it feels more like meddling than celebration. For example, Secretary of State, vote suppressor, and gubernatorial candidate Kris Kobach has been widely ridiculed for bringing in Trump Jr and Ted Nugent in an attempt to salvage his flailing campaign. Last week, Kevin Yoder dragged in Vice President Mike Pence, who visited Kansas City but somehow didn’t quite make it to the Kansas side of the border. Yoder didn’t even bother to attend his own fundraiser.

REPRESENTATION MATTERS, UNLESS YOU ARE BERNIE

The optics of two east coasters coming into two separate districts to campaign for two white guys is bad. There is no way to spin it.

Welder faces two women in his primary. His main challenger, Sharice Davids is the face of Democrats today. Her mother was an Army drill sergeant. Davids grew up in a single parent household, attended a Kansas community college, and earned her law degree at Cornell. She worked as a fellow in the Obama White House, crafting high-level policy. She is Native American, a former MMA fighter, and an out lesbian. She is also a committed progressive. Welder's followers have criticized a $360,000 ad buy from Women's Voice, an Emily's List-linked PAC. They have also linked the Emily's List endorsement to the Sander's visit. Emily's List endorsed Davids on May 24, 2018, but the Sanders campaign stop was announced just this past week, facts which they simply ignore. Welder’s looseness with facts spills over into an appalling lack of judgement — he was forced to apologize for using the tragic murders of two Wyandotte County deputies as a fundraising opportunity. Davids, in contrast, is laser focused on her priorities:

In the 4th Congressional District, which includes Kansas' largest city, Wichita, the situation is very similar. Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez will be making an appearance for James Thompson, who went from childhood homelessness and poverty, joined the Army, and became an attorney. He faces Laura Lombard, founder and owner of an international trade company. Thompson gave opening remarks for Sanders' visit during the Kansas Democrats' yearly Washington Days Topeka meeting in 2016. Thompson lost the special election to fill then-Congressman Mike Pompeo's seat with a bland Koch placeholder.

Thompson's failure to reach out to the 4th District's rural voters, who turned out to vote in higher numbers than the blue Wichita base, was cited as the main reason for his defeat. Trump’s tariff war has decimated soybean, cattle, and pork markets, and the vast swatch of rural communities in the district vote faithfully. They recognize that Republican elites have played them for fools. This is a textbook case of having a progressive candidate whose background and skills fit the district.The 4th district is, without a doubt, far more conservative than Cortez' home in the Bronx. I am not sure what is gained by appearing in Wichita prior to a Democratic primary.

bernie and kansas

Sanders won the Kansas 2016 caucus 67% to 33%. That voting enthusiasm comes with a big caveat, however. Fewer than 40,000 Kansas Democrats participated in the caucuses, representing less than 10% of registered Democratic voters. In the western part of the state, several low-population counties held joint caucuses, requiring voters to drive two hours one-way to attend. The caucuses were inaccessible for the elderly, the disabled, people who worked non-traditional hours, and the parents of young children. Enthusiasm was high, but turnout was low because too many people simply were unable to participate.

Sanders’ campaign inspired many young Democrats in Kansas to take an interest in politics and join the decision-making process. Those supporters are in leadership positions in the Kansas Democratic Party -- at the state level, in county parties, and running as candidates in state and local districts. The Kansas Democratic Party platform is one of, if not the, most progressive platforms in the country. But many of them are feeling Kansas Proud and questioning why Sanders is once again ignoring diversity and stumping for white men over better-qualified women.

Ocasio-cortez has her own election to win

The number one question I have received about the Sanders visit is why would Ocasio-Cortez be flying around the country and making appearances when she has her own campaign to run? She has developed a large number of followers, but fundamentally she is ignoring her one true mission — to win her own race. And in order to do that, she needs to be in her District knocking doors and letting people know who she is. Gaining national recognition isn't necessarily going to win her a seat at home.

MY TAKEAWAY

As a gay woman in Kansas whose issues Bernie has dismissed as “identity politics,” I see this as a double-down for straight white men in a state which needs, and is ready for, more diverse representation. Kansas desperately needs the new perspectives and energy.

If Bernie really wants to help Democrats in Kansas, why doesn't he simply trust us and support whoever wins after we've decided for ourselves?