Desperately seeking spines at the Kansas Statehouse as lawmakers flee accountability

Tylosaurus, the state marine fossil, on display Feb. 24, 2026, at the Statehouse. (Photo by Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

Another day, another message conveyed via whisper or discreet note. Did you know that Kansas GOP lawmakers really don’t like what leadership is making them do? Have you heard that they resent being pushed to vote for harmful bills?

Another day, another stroll through the hallways of the Statehouse, where Kansas Reflector staff members nod to and exchange friendly words with legislators of both parties. Without betraying any confidences, they share similar reactions directly.

Another day, another attempt at explaining why Kansans’ elected lawmakers so blithely barrel through bad votes.

If more people in that building had backbones, we wouldn’t be in this mess. You know the spine, of course: It’s the arrangement of vertebrae protecting a column of nerves while supporting the upper body. We need a backbone to live, to stand or sit upright when the moment demands it. Instead, your average Kansas lawmaker flops around the floor of the Statehouse like a deboned yet sentient fish.

Kansas Reflector has repeatedly documented how GOP leadership abuses its own rules, rides roughshod over those in the minority and bullies everyone to achieve its goals. All it would take was a handful of Republican legislators to find their backbones — those columns of bones and nerves — and reform the institution.

Bills vetoed by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly wouldn’t be automatically overridden. Debate in the House could continue after attempts to shut it off. Bills would actually be debated in a thoughtful, comprehensive manner.

Republican senators and representatives simply have to stand up and say: We don’t like the way you’re doing things now. We want things done differently.

And it would be done.

Instead, as Rep. Brooklynne Mosley, D- Lawrence, told the House as it shoved a law targeting transgender people into law on Feb. 18, lawmakers have chosen a spineless path.

“Most of you know that this is wrong,” Mosely said. “I feel like one of my favorite quotes is: ‘A hero dies once. A coward dies a thousand deaths.’ I watch you guys die every day.”

Having followed Kansas legislators over the past decade, the number of legislators able to sit upright has precipitously declined. Once upon a time, they stood for something. Now they just follow orders, one closed caucus meeting at a time.

Apparently the only spine in the GOP when it comes to trans issues belongs to Rep. Mark Schreiber, R-Emporia. None of his fellow Republican legislators have asked to share it. Somehow, he still manages to win elections and serve his constituents. Amazing how he can stand up proudly for his beliefs while everyone else writhes around on the floor.

We all hear this. We all see this. The stories filter through the rumor mill at the Statehouse. Occasionally, one legislator or another (often a Democrat, like Mosley) breaks the code of silence.

Late last year, we saw what could happen when a smattering of lawmakers spontaneously grew spines. A small number of Republicans — fewer than a dozen — refused to call a special session to redraw Kansas’ congressional maps. Hawkins fretted and fumed, and exacted petty revenge via committee assignments, but he still lost.

Lawmakers still haven’t redrawn maps. From the look of things in January and February, they’re not going to, either.

So why not keep going, my fellow Kansans? Hawkins will be gone next year, either serving as insurance commissioner or exploring opportunities in the private sector. Whatever the case, he has no durable power. Republicans understood this in October and November. Why do they they fear stepping out of line now?

The thing about having a spine is that it can encourage others to regrow their backbones. One or two voices of opposition can lead to more people feeling comfortable in joining them. Three or four spines could lead to six or seven. Six or seven spines could lead to a dozen.

All of a sudden, representative democracy looks a lot more democratic.

I’m not saying that Republicans have to vote like Democrats. I’m not saying the conservatives have to turn into liberals. What I am saying is that lawmakers from across the political spectrum have admitted they yearn for a new approach. If they can stop squabbling with one another long enough to encourage a simultaneous growing of vertebrae, who knows what might happen.

Kansas has a lot of Republicans. But the Sunflower State has always been distinguished by the thoughtful nature of those Republicans and their moderate ideology.

I bet that a lot of Republicans in the Kansas Statehouse want to follow in the honorable, deliberative tradition of Bob Dole, Nancy Kassebaum and Bill Graves. Heck, I bet there’s a bunch who would like to follow in Kelly’s footsteps. But unless they insert that backbone, that desire isn’t going to do them and good.

Poke around on the ground floor of the Statehouse, and you might end up in an alcove with a fossil. The Tylosaurus, a member of the mosasaur family, has been named the official Kansas marine fossil. As you can see from the photo above this column, it has spine to spare.

Perhaps some fearful GOP legislators might borrow some. Just for a day or two, to see how it feels to stand up straight for once.

Clay Wirestone is Kansas Reflector opinion editor. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.

Kansas Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: info@kansasreflector.com.