Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline has a tremendous amount of power in addition to too many ‘l’s in his name. The linked Slate article follows on the heels of a NY Times piece, neither of which (surprise surprise, given the sources), is what you’d call complimentary.

You won’t call me that, either. Personally, I’m used to conservatives being “strict original intent” kinda guys for the purposes of interpreting the Constitution. Certainly “strict adherence to and respect for the law” types, at any rate. And here’s Phill Kline, conceivably the most conservative man in a conservative state, fiddling with the rule of law to please himself. For those who haven’t read the article, this is the man who subpoenad 90 women’s abortion records, and is trying to outlaw teen sex, both in an attempt to weed out child abuse in the state of Kansas. Slate’s analysis is masterly, and I won’t repeat it here, but it’s pretty clear that he’s going after abortion clinics.

One wonders about the separation of powers when Presidents avow “signing statements” and state AGs interpret the law however they damn well please in order to stamp out their pet moral peeve.

I haven’t heard about any outcry in Kansas, and I know that the kids who might be thrown in jail (or juvee) as a result don’t have a vote, and therefore won’t be attentively courted by public officials in the upcoming election. My instinct here is to say that Phill Kline is everything wrong with our nation’s understanding of the rule of law, and that he should be fired.

But I’m just one man, I live hundreds of miles away, and I’m not the people of Kansas. Who knows–maybe they really do think it’s for the best.