Kansas Democratic Party Chairman Larry Meeker has resigned, according to party sources. Meeker, a former Mayor of Lake Quivira was named party chair at the yearly Washington Days organizing event in Topeka earlier in the year. Throughout the year, the party has faced internal conflicts over the direction that it would mount for the future; a division between a populist-progressive message vs. a plan the continued appeal to moderate Republicans that so far has resulted in 6 years of continuous losses in the state house.
After an interview with the Pitch, a Kansas City alternative paper, in which Chairman Meeker highlighted that Kansas Democrats "are" red state Democrats, it isn't a matter of branding "we are more conservative than other democrats", the problem was compounded by an interview in the Wichita Eagle.
Meeker said Kansas Democrats are more fiscally conservative than their peers in other states. “A Democrat in Kansas would qualify as a moderate Republican in California, Massachusetts,” he quipped.Many Kansas Democrats balked at the idea of being referred to as "California Republicans", and over the last 48 hours continued pressure has built from the donor base - largely liberal progressives - to call for apologies or recall.
In a conversation with fundraisers in Johnson County who have been closely associated with Ready For Hillary, I was informed yesterday: "Our monthly giving is at a stop. I will not support this."
Executive Committee Members this morning tell me that fundraising is a significant concern. As profiled in the Pitch, Democratic fundraising and recruiting is hurting in Kansas, causing concerns long before Demofest.
Still, many Democrats see hope ahead. Kansas continued trip down the wrong path has resulted in a public bitterly unhappy with the regressive sales tax issues and a public concerned about issues of Mental Health funding and scandals at the Department of Children & Family.
Democrats will meet for an executive committee meeting today at 11:30AM this morning to discuss the current status and a direction forward.