I want to say it's 'better late than never,' but it's difficult to have sympathy for anyone in this story.
Republican state lawmakers in Kansas have had just about enough of the Brownback economic regime of cutting public institutions to a degree that is unconstitutional.
Things have apparently become so bad, the state GOP's top leaders in the legislature are abandoning Governor Brownback's sinking ship.
From the Associated Press:
If Brownback won't reconsider any of the tax cuts, they say, he will have to figure out for himself how to balance the budget in the face of disappointing revenue.
"Let him own it," Republican Rep. Mark Hutton said. "It's his policy that put us there." [...]
"We're growing weary," said Senate President Susan Wagle, a conservative Republican from Wichita. While GOP legislators still support low income taxes, "we'd prefer to see some real solutions coming from the governor's office," she said.
It's difficult to have sympathy for anyone in this story because they gave Brownback exactly what he asked for. They voted for Brownback's tax cuts. They voted to punish the state judiciary for forcing them to fund education. Republicans in the legislature have cooperated with the governor for years but now they've had a change of heart because this is an election year.
Every single senator and representative in the state legislature is up for reelection this year and their constituents are not pleased with the way things are going.
They want the governor to "own it" now that their own asses are on the line. Maybe that's the best people in Kansas can hope for.
Last month, Brownback ordered $17 million in immediate reductions to universities and earlier this month delayed $93 million in contributions to pensions for school teachers and community college employees. The state has also siphoned off more than $750 million from highway projects to other parts of the budget over the past two years.
Republicans are incapable of responsible governing.