In Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius‘ 2007 State of the State address collectivism was the theme: “Only a failure to act as ‘One Kansas’ can compromise our future and dash our hopes.” As shown in my post The Collectivism of Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius, this drive towards collectivism is a threat to liberty and the individual.
This year, her State of the State speech was not so heavily-laden with collectivist themes. But they’re still there.
She reminded members of the legislature of the “heavy burdens can be lifted when all of our hands lift together.”
To the people, she said “Let us come together, as we have in the past, to find common ground and to work for the common good.”
Perhaps invoking president-elect Obama’s recent speech, she promoted the role of government: “Ultimately, the role of government is to use our collective resources to do what individuals cannot do alone.”
“In all of our endeavors, we recognize that jobs and capital are best expanded in the private sector. But without resources and workers from government, the massive undertakings needed to promote the common good would likely fail.” I don’t think she really values private sector jobs over government jobs. For many years of her term, most of the job growth in Kansas was in government.
“Working together, we can succeed.” … “Yes, these are difficult times and we face difficult decisions, but by working in a bi-partisan fashion we’ll once again find answers and experience success.”
Fortunately the “One Kansas” theme is gone, but collectivism remains the goal in Kathleen Sebelius’ Kansas.