There are some events in the political world that you can judge in a minute. In Gardner, Kansas, the southern tip of Johnson County, the Kansas Republican Party held their own tent revival. Steve Rose, a conservative editor for the Kansas City Star (He endorsed Pat Roberts) pointed out that these events in the past have been.. ghastly (please see update below from the Democrat running in this race, correcting the KC Star)
http://www.kansascity.com/...
At a recent tent revival for conservatives held in Gardner, a small town near Olathe, they had, as part of the event, a game for kids. It was “Kill RINOS”!
For amusement — sick humor, if you ask me — they propped up a large poster titled in large print: “Eliminate the RINOS!”
Underneath that headline, centered on the poster, was a drawing of a large rhinoceros. On the rhino was a round target, inside of which was a big red heart. If you hit the heart inside the round target, the rhino would definitely be killed.
A fun game for little kids that encouraged them to Kill RiNOS (Republicans in Name
Steve Rose continued:
A souvenir photo of that poster, with kids awaiting their turn to throw darts at the “RINO,” was emailed to a large swath of conservative Republicans by State Rep. Bill Sutton, a conservative Republican from Gardner, who helped put together the event.
He wrote this tagline under the photo: “Train them young! Kids are lining up to kill RINOS!”
What a great lesson to teach kids. Eliminate those who disagree with orthodoxy. Those who share many, if not most, ideas with you are the greatest threats. Yes, mein Führer.
I've had an opportunity to attend and record meetings with Sutton, and his decision to have a game to train children to hate those who don't believe in his ideology is not shocking.
Rep. Sutton is the same representative who referred to schools and teachers as "bandits" (near 1:50-2:05)
Some people respond to pressure, and others decide to get angry about it. When confronted by unhappy members of his community about the decision to move ahead with Turn Gay Away legislation, Sutton stood his ground and said he'd gladly revisit this issue.
There is something truly despicable about games in which children are learning, even as part of a joke that killing their opposition is a conclusion that is in any way justifiable, and when an elected state Representative takes joy in the comment.
Bill Sutton is challenged by Caitlin Trujillo: https://www.facebook.com/...
9:25 AM PT: Why I like our Candidate there
Caitlin Trujillo, the Democratic candidate in this district has pointed out the photo to which the KC Star article observes occurred in 2012, not 2014. This doesn't change who was behind it, or the sentiment, it just implies that Kansans were willing to let him serve for two years afterward knowing this.
The move on her part represents why politicians who represent us try to stick to the truth of details, and I'm glad she has corrected the KC Star.