"A government that derives its power from the state’s richest corporations can never serve the interests of the people."

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An ugly truth
June 30, 2014

Thanks to one upset lawmaker, Kansans got a rare look recently at the inner workings of Topeka — and the tenuous relationship between lawmakers and high-dollar lobbyists.

And there wasn’t a thing at all pretty about it.

This year, Rep. Scott Schwab, R-Olathe, didn’t receive an endorsement from the Kansas Chamber of Commerce, something that has come automatically for the lawmaker during the past 12 years. But this year there was a slight wrinkle: Schwab didn’t fall in line with the Kansas Chamber and the Koch Industries lobbyists that sought a repeal of the Renewable Portfolio Standard, which requires utility companies to produce 20 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2020.

In response, Schwab fired off a letter to his supporters outlining his suspicions for why the Kansas Chamber had turned its back on him after so many years of endorsements. By Schwab’s account, it boils down to this: Koch Industries, which makes much of its money from oil and gas, wanted a repeal of the RPS. The Kansas Chamber followed suit and withdrew its annual support for Schwab and nearly any lawmaker who didn’t unquestionably support the RPS repeal. Perhaps more telling is the way in which Schwab described the treatment, and thinly veiled threats leveled at him by those who sought the repeal.

Wind energy was one issue pushed by lobbyists and think tanks, but it certainly wasn’t the only one. Education, legal reform, tax policy and a variety of other issues all have drawn the interest of groups like the Kansas Chamber of Commerce and Americans for Prosperity. And on each of those issues, those groups ensure lawmakers know how they’re expected to vote, and the consequences of dissent.

And remember, Schwab’s no liberal — he’s a bona fide conservative, who regularly votes in the interests of Kansas businesses, enough to win years of endorsements from the Kansas Chamber of Commerce. But this year, when Schwab had the nerve to question if Kansas businesses truly sought the repeal, he found himself crosswise with some of the most powerful political players in the state — despite large support for wind energy from businesses and residents in Kansas.

So let’s put aside all this talk about whether issues fall on the conservative or liberal side of the isle [sic] and face the fact that the political structure in Kansas has been turned on its head and does not serve the interests of most Republicans, Democrats or independents.

When a lawmaker says that a lobbyist “lit into” him for raising a question about who supported the RPS repeal, there’s no clearer sign that lobbyists view lawmakers as tools who work for them. When those same groups feel empowered to affect and influence elections and are willing to support unknown and untested candidates, we should know that they are not interested in a government that represents Kansans.

A government that derives its power from the state’s richest corporations can never serve the interests of the people. And a Legislature that falls victim and wilts to threats and bullying from high-dollar lobbyists has ceded the authority given to it by the people of Kansas.
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