Kansas GOP Leaders Face Pressure

The top Republican leaders in both the
Kansas House and Senate face criticism from their political right.
Senate President Steve Morris is a target of small-government,
anti-tax conservatives who’d like to oust him from his seat in the
GOP primary in August. The Hugoton Republican faces dissention
among GOP senators for creating a special study group on tax issues
– a move some interpret as trying to stall Republican Gov. Sam
Brownback’s income tax plan.
House Speaker Mike O’Neal seems an unlikely target of criticism
from the right because he’s established conservative credentials.
But after the Hutchinson Republican removed another conservative
from the House Appropriations Committee, the lawmaker excoriated
him in an email and accused O’Neal of abusing his power by naming
himself chairman of the committee redrawing political districts.