Overview

Originating under the leadership of the late Burdett Loomis, Reform and Reaction tells the complex story of recent Kansas politics, beginning in the 1960s and concluding with the reversal of Governor Sam Brownback’s red-state policies in the 2016 and 2018 elections. The Kansas that emerged from the reapportionment decisions and the overhaul of state government in the 1960s and 1970s was one that found itself in a push-and-pull, reform-and-reaction pattern the authors refer to as the arc of Kansas politics.Reform-minded and policy-oriented politicians who tended toward a moderate, bipartisan approach pushed to modernize the state to better serve the needs of its citizens, following the maxim of Governor Robert Docking: “austere but adequate.” Because this approach avoided or rejected the narrow conservative interests of culture warriors, reformist administrations were followed by reactionary administrations that advanced a right-wing agenda. Brownback thus brought the era of “austere but adequate” to an abrupt end when he won the governorship in 2010. When voters became tired of this approach, a new set of reform politicians were elected—and so the arc continues. The only book tracing changes in Kansas government since the 1960s, including the loss of moderates in both parties, the Brownback era, and its aftermath, Reform and Reaction is the last book by the celebrated political scientist Burdett Loomis, who conceived the idea for the book and authored one of its chapters before his passing. Reform and Reaction not only illuminates the political history of Kansas but also sheds light on what may be in store for the future of the Sunflower State.

Full Product Details

Author:   Michael Smith ,  H. Edward Flentje
Publisher:   University Press of Kansas
Imprint:   University Press of Kansas
ISBN:  

9780700636617

ISBN 10:   0700636617
Pages:   256
Publication Date:   12 July 2024
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In stock  
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Table of Contents

Preface Introduction, Michael A. Smith and Chapman Rackaway 1. The End of the Old Kansas and the Reapportionment Revolution, Burdett Loomis 2. Institutional Reform and the Bennett Governorship, H. Edward Flentje 3. Political Competition and Policy Activism in the 1980s: Governors Carlin and Hayden, H. Edeward Flentje 4. The Finney Transition and Political Undercurrents, H. Edward Flentje 5. Contentious Republicans: The Graves Years, Michael A. Smith 6. Democratic Rule in Red-State Kansas: The Sebelius-Parkinson Years, Michael A. Smith 7. Political Strategy Shifts Rightward: The Brownback Years, Chapman Rackaway 8. Brownback’s Red-State Governance, H. Edward Flentje 9. Kansas Voters Reverse Course: The 2016 and 2018 Elections, Patrick Miller Conclusion: The Arc of Kansas Politics, H. Edward Flentje About the Contributors Index

Reviews

"""Kansas political history has not been tidy. It has been uncertain, tense, confusing, and contradictory. Here is the story of how reforms of the 1960s gave way to the tensions of the twenty-first century. Reform and Reaction unpacks the old saying that ‘as goes Kansas, so goes the nation.’ Sometimes, Kansas defined the issues that defined a nation. Sometimes, it was more that Kansas adopted something because the nation had already accepted it. This book drills down beyond broad trends and blanket statements to explore the human and personal interactions that shaped the story of the Sunflower State over the past fifty years and will be an invaluable resource for those who wondered ‘how did we get here?’ . . . or perhaps more accurately, ‘what on earth happened?’""—Jay M. Price is a professor of history and director of the Local and Community History Program at Wichita State University ""Kansas is a ‘Red’ state, but its politics are more varied and elections more competitive, especially in gubernatorial races, than one might expect. Applying an effective ‘reform and reaction’ framework, Smith and Flentje explain the trajectory of politics in the Sunflower State since the 1960s. Highly recommended.""—John Fliter, associate professor of political science at Kansas State University, and author of Child Labor in America: The Epic Legal Struggle to Protect Children"

"""Kansas political history has not been tidy. It has been uncertain, tense, confusing, and contradictory. Here is the story of how reforms of the 1960s gave way to the tensions of the twenty-first century. Reform and Reaction unpacks the old saying that 'as goes Kansas, so goes the nation.' Sometimes, Kansas defined the issues that defined a nation. Sometimes, it was more that Kansas adopted something because the nation had already accepted it. This book drills down beyond broad trends and blanket statements to explore the human and personal interactions that shaped the story of the Sunflower State over the past fifty years and will be an invaluable resource for those who wondered 'how did we get here?' . . . or perhaps more accurately, 'what on earth happened?'""--Jay M. Price is a professor of history and director of the Local and Community History Program at Wichita State University ""Kansas is a 'Red' state, but its politics are more varied and elections more competitive, especially in gubernatorial races, than one might expect. Applying an effective 'reform and reaction' framework, Smith and Flentje explain the trajectory of politics in the Sunflower State since the 1960s. Highly recommended.""--John Fliter, associate professor of political science at Kansas State University, and author of Child Labor in America: The Epic Legal Struggle to Protect Children"

""Kansas political history has not been tidy. It has been uncertain, tense, confusing, and contradictory. Here is the story of how reforms of the 1960s gave way to the tensions of the twenty-first century. Reform and Reaction unpacks the old saying that ‘as goes Kansas, so goes the nation.’ Sometimes, Kansas defined the issues that defined a nation. Sometimes, it was more that Kansas adopted something because the nation had already accepted it. This book drills down beyond broad trends and blanket statements to explore the human and personal interactions that shaped the story of the Sunflower State over the past fifty years and will be an invaluable resource for those who wondered ‘how did we get here?’ . . . or perhaps more accurately, ‘what on earth happened?’""—Jay M. Price is a professor of history and director of the Local and Community History Program at Wichita State University ""Kansas is a ‘Red’ state, but its politics are more varied and elections more competitive, especially in gubernatorial races, than one might expect. Applying an effective ‘reform and reaction’ framework, Smith and Flentje explain the trajectory of politics in the Sunflower State since the 1960s. Highly recommended.""—John Fliter, associate professor of political science at Kansas State University, and author of Child Labor in America: The Epic Legal Struggle to Protect Children

Author Information

Michael A. Smith is professor of political science at Emporia State University and coauthor of Low Taxes and Small Government: Sam Brownback’s Great Experiment in Kansas. H. Edward Flentje is professor emeritus at Wichita State University and coauthor of Kansas Politics and Government: The Clash of Political Cultures.

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