Because what we’re thinking is that next time you (correctly) accuse U.S. Senate Republicans of pretending that accountability just wasn’t possible for former President Donald Trump, look in the mirror and behold someone who just did exactly the same thing.
Kansas House Republicans, you are even more responsible for this unacceptable outcome. It was Republican Rep. John Barker, who chaired the committee investigating Coleman, who declined to let even one of Coleman’s victims testify at the mini-hearing on this matter. Barker said the committee shouldn’t look at any behavior before Coleman or any other member was in office, though it doesn’t have to be that way.
2021/01/13 02:28 TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas House Democrats started the process Tuesday to oust a newly elected lawmaker over multiple issues that include the 20-year-old’s rhetoric on Twitter and allegations of harassing and threatening girls and young women. A formal compliant filed in the House about State Rep. Aaron Coleman will kick off a bipartisan investigation that will culminate in a recommendation and vote about his future in the Legislature. A two-thirds majority would be necessary to oust Coleman, of Kansas City, Kansas, who was sworn in on Monday. “He is a danger to women, said Minority Leader Tom Sawyer in a statement. “His removal is necessary to ensure the safety and well-being of legislators and Capitol staff.”
A formal complaint filed in the House by Democratic members about State Rep. Aaron Coleman will kick off a bipartisan investigation, culminating in a recommendation and vote on his future in the Legislature.
Kansas Rep. Aaron Coleman says he s leaving Democratic Party
House Dems file complaint against new lawmaker
(Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
John Hanna/AP
Kansas state Rep.-elect Aaron Coleman, D-Kansas City, sits for a portrait for the Legislature s website, Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020, in a basement hallway of the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. Coleman has had a temporary order issued against him in court, directing him to have no contact with the campaign manager of a former opponent. (AP Photo/John Hanna)
Posted at 10:50 AM, Jan 12, 2021
and last updated 2021-01-12 14:02:20-05
Recent Kansas editorials
Question of the Day
The Topeka Capital-Journal, Dec. 26
As soon-to-depart President Trump flails about attempting something - anything - to change the election results from November, we should note a pillar of democracy that has stood strong.
Our judicial system.
Judges and Supreme Court justices on both the state and federal levels have given precious little oxygen to the president’s nonsensical claims of election malfeasance. They have weighed evidence, considered legal arguments and, in case after case, shut down the president.
That’s far from a partisan verdict, by the way. Many of these judges were appointed by Trump himself. What the president doesn’t seem to understand is that even judges of a conservative bent swear an oath to the U.S. Constitution - not the person in office.