So, wait a minute. Is threatening political violence acceptable now?
You see, I recall the ancient days of October 2024, when Kansas Republicans frothed in rage at the story of a University of Kansas lecturer who made an unfortunate comment to his students about shooting people who wouldn’t vote for a female president. But just this week, Republican Rep. Patrick Penn of Wichita joked with Hutchinson Rep. Kyler Sweeley about shooting former Rep. Jason Probst.
As far as I can tell, no Republican said a word.
One would imagine — and I’m just a simple country opinion editor here — that the ever-moral and upstanding Kansas GOP would rush to condemn such an offensive statement. After all, four months ago they were flooding my inbox with messages about how much they abhorred any suggestion of violence.
Perhaps that only counted when it came from Democrats. After all, GOP President Donald Trump gave political thuggery a warm bear hug last month, pardoning the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrectionists. It’s difficult to take a principled stand when you’re an enthusiastic member of a violence-worshipping cult of personality.
As always, Kansas Republicans, I’d love to be proved wrong. You can step up any time.
I should note that Probst wrote about the situation here and here on his Substack blog, “That Guy in Hutch.” He has thoughts, as you might imagine.