Kathleen Sebelius to Campaign for Obama
Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius is going to be campaigning in Indiana for Barack Obama today.
I suspect that there won’t be much difficulty in getting tickets; I doubt that they will be having packed houses to see the Governor of Kansas, since most Hoosiers have probably never even heard of her before.
But just what should Hoosiers know about Kathleen Sebelius?
How about this bit from Wikipedia:
Sebelius has been endorsed by Planned Parenthood and they have conducted fundraising activity on her behalf. Sebelius vetoed abortion legislation in Kansas in 2003, 2005, 2006, and again in 2008.
On April 21, 2008, Sebelius vetoed House Substitute for Senate Bill 389, titled the Comprehensive Abortion Reform Act by its sponsors. Proponents of the bill claimed the legislation would strengthen late-term abortion laws and prevent “coerced abortions,” particularly with respect to minors. The Kansas City Star reported that HS SB 389 would have required the State of Kansas to collect patient diagnostic information providing detailed medical justification for late-term abortions, and would have also permitted litigants to sue abortion providers if they thought that a relative of theirs was planning a late-term abortion in violation of Kansas law.
Kansas City Archbishop Joseph Naumann has stated that Sebelius has a long record of supporting and advocating for legalized abortion and that her public stances have “grave spiritual and moral consequences.” Naumann also asked that she no longer receive Holy Communion. Naumann criticized Sebelius for vetoing HS SB 389.
I’m not thinking that she’s exactly a champion of Hoosier values.
Perhaps the visit by Sebelius is an effort by the Obama campaign to appeal to moderates.
After all, her hard-line pro-abortion stance is at least more moderate (or maybe just less radical) than that of Obama himself, who has voted in favor of infanticide.
I wonder if Baron Hill will show up and join the Governor.
September 12th, 2008 at 9:32 am
Sibelius is the daughter of John J. Gilligan.
Gilligan ran for Governor of Ohio in 1970 and won. This was an interesting election, in that the primary was May 5, 1970; the Kent State massacre was May 4. I’m not sure how it affected the primaries, but when the National Guard is called out to a state college because of protests, and they shoot and kill four students who are simply going about their business, it is going to get tongues flapping.
In 1974, Gilligan narrowly lost reelection against Jim Rhodes. Jim Rhodes ranked right up there with Woody Hayes in terms of popularity. Given that Gilligan was Catholic - he formerly taught at Xavier in Cincinnati - that was an incredible performance for a Democrat.
I didn’t care a lot for Gilligan’s policies. Rhodes was first and foremost an economic booster, trying to build up the state’s infrastructure in order to attract and keep industrial employment. Gilligan came out against some of Rhodes’ proposals (for instance, Rhodes wanted the state to build an airport in every county, no matter how small) and that’s probably what cost Gilligan re-election. Gilligan had common sense, which many politicians lack, and he actually was trying to limit the growth of government.
Sibelius is a lot like Gilligan, in that she seems to have some common sense. The state she leads, like Indiana, is a fairly rural state in the middle of the country, and she seems to be very popular there; I can’t help but think that she’d be very popular among hoosiers.
A majority of Hoosiers disapprove of abortion, but it’s a minority that want to make abortion illegal. Sibelius isn’t pro-abortion; she’s pro-choice.