What's really the matter…

…with Kansas. Sunflower State native Laura Rozen explains it all (well, a good bit of it, anyway) for you...

A transformation Kansas has experienced in a big way. In short, the Christian far right very savvily runs someone for every single vacant seat, every primary, dog catcher, school board, you name it, again and again, whereas nobody I know from high school in moderate Johnson County is running for anything.

…and don't think it can't happen here. That's why Carl Ballard's timely advice is worth the attention of upper lefties. Filing for a whole raft of boards, commissions and local offices - glamorous posts with fire, water and sewer districts that actually affect the quality of people's lives - closes Friday. Some of these races may end up with no filings, and sometimes the first name on the list will ward off challenges. There's a chance to build our Democratic farm team by picking off some low hanging political fruit.

What are you running for? Having made a stab at the Legislature and a couple of Parks Board runs, I can say it's instructive, at the very least, and a blast on the best days...