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Kansas senator’s ridiculous immigration hearing casts nun aside, eviscerates norms

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Kansas senator’s ridiculous immigration hearing casts nun aside, eviscerates norms

By Clay Wirestone
Kansas senator’s ridiculous immigration hearing casts nun aside, eviscerates norms
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Sen. Mike Thompson, a Shawnee Republican, speaks at a Sept. 28, 2023, hearing about Kansas elections. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

We can no longer rely on norms.

That’s the message that I’ve taken from Monday and Tuesday, from watching both the Kansas Statehouse and the re-inauguration of Donald Trump in Washington, D.C.

For much of Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly’s two terms, for much of President Joe Biden’s one term, those advocating progressive policy positions — or government that doesn’t actively harm people — have put their faith in rules and rituals that many Americans no longer care about. For better or worse, those norms no longer guide us.

In Kansas, Sen. Mike Thompson held an impromptu and one-sided hearing about immigration. The Shawnee Republican listened to discredited and fact-free nonsense from Attorney General Kris Kobach and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.

Then, he refused to let a nun speak.

The words of Sister Therese Bangert, of the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, may or may not have changed minds on his panel. Knowing Thompson, they probably wouldn’t have changed anything at all. But the norm of allowing for respectful debate, and hearing both sides, didn’t restrain or stop him. He behaved as though only one side of the discussion existed.

Specifically, the senator claimed that Bangert needed to give him 24 hours notice to testify. Unfortunately, the public hadn’t been notified of the meeting until the evening before. Franz Kafka couldn’t have scripted the situation anybetter.

In Washington, D.C., after an indoor inauguration featuring previous presidents, Donald Trump signed pardons for 1,500 Americans who invaded the nation’s capital and tried to install him as president four years ago. The blanket action included those who had used violence against law enforcement officers.

There was some finger wagging from the left and assorted positions across the political spectrum. Yet most progressive seemed to instead focus on an awkward arm gesture from Elon Musk.

The basic norm of opposing political violence was not upheld. Senate Republicans tiptoed around the issue or ignored it altogether. The obvious question: Can Trump count on militias to enforce his will the next time, with enthusiastic thugs confident of pardons if they do so? Only the most optimistic or deluded among us can answer that question in the negative.

Trump paid no price for encouraging and enabling political violence.

Likewise, Thompson will face no consequences for spreading untruths about his fellow Kansans and steamrolling a woman of God. He will not be removed from his chairmanship. He will not be reprimanded by Senate President Ty Masterson. Voters returned him to office in November, so they apparently endorse what he’s selling.

We can no longer rely on norms to contain the situation.

I wish we could. I wish that time-tested communal expectations shaped the politics that surround us and the laws that governs us. But we now live in tumultuous times in which these norms have not only been tossed aside, but trod into the dirt by an encroaching mob. No consistency, no justice remains. Only power matters, and those who can inspire voters to act on their fears.

We cannot expect centrist gerontocrats to preserve the nation. (Biden’s ridiculous preemptive pardons early Monday made a poor case for his supposed leadership and gave cover to Trump.) Kansans — and everyday Americans — should instead set themselves to the task of building new norms. Better ones.

This will take more time and effort, cause more tears and strain, than keeping the expectations of the past. But it’s the path ahead, if we choose to take it.

Those who want to include a diversity of voices, those who want to uphold the promise of our state and country, those who believe in the essential values of democracy and human dignity, will need to construct a new way of approaching these issues and setting expectations for the political class. Voters will have to be willing to head to the ballot box and enforce them.

Monday and Tuesday made it clear to me that we cannot go back. The appeal of a Laura Kelly or Joe Biden lingers. Kansans should be proud of the legacy of leaders such as former U.S. Sen. Nancy Kassebaum.

But we cannot let the appeal of the past blind us to the demands of the present. The work awaits.

Clay Wirestone is Kansas Reflector opinion editor. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.