Anaylsis: Abortion politics made ground slippery for Morrison

? Attorney General Paul Morrison’s political career seemed to collapse with shocking swiftness when he announced his resignation only six days after admitting to having an extramarital affair with a former subordinate.

But his downfall has been more gradual, and it occurred against the backdrop of the intense debate over abortion in Kansas.

His victory last year in the attorney general’s race left hard feelings among abortion opponents, inspired them to generate a near-constant debate about his activities and watch for any indiscretions.

Morrison gave them a sex scandal.

The woman involved, Linda Carter, said their affair lasted two years and included encounters in hotel rooms and at the Johnson County Courthouse.

She has accused Morrison of trying to influence a federal court case involving Phill Kline, whom Morrison unseated as attorney general, and of seeking inside information about Kline’s activities.

‘Inexplicable’

Morrison denies most of Carter’s allegations. But he acknowledged their affair, and his conduct led to three separate inquiries, including one started by Kline. Morrison sold himself to voters as a man of integrity, a career prosecutor with sound judgment and the right priorities. Even he acknowledged that his actions had damaged his credibility and the attorney general’s office.

“A lot of this is so inexplicable,” said Bob Beatty, a Washburn University political scientist. “For Morrison not to understand that he was stepping into a political minefield and he had to be extra careful is mind-boggling. But apparently, he didn’t understand it enough.”

Carter said in a signed statement that she eventually urged Morrison to “let her go” and heal his family, but that he didn’t, The Topeka Capital-Journal reported Sunday.

According to other news accounts, Carter said as their relationship frayed, Morrison threatened to destroy her effort to obtain a new job and once called her 22 times in a single day.

She also said Morrison said he would tell potential employers that Carter was a “monster, (expletive) sociopath, liar, (expletive) and bad manager.”

She said Morrison also made five back-to-back calls at about 4 a.m. on another day, wanting to know whether she’d gotten a tattoo, as he did, to demonstrate her commitment to their relationship.

The background

Morrison was Johnson County district attorney for 18 years before winning the attorney general’s race. He switched to the Democratic Party late in 2005 to challenge Kline, a Republican whose anti-abortion credentials already were strong when his investigation of abortion providers made him a hero to abortion opponents nationwide.

Kline’s standing among that constituency helped him capture the vacancy in the district attorney’s job created by Morrison’s victory. Because Morrison had won the county office as a Republican, the GOP named his replacement – and abortion opponents exercise strong influence within the party.

In September 2005, when she says her affair with Morrison began, Carter was the director of administration for the district attorney’s office, making Morrison her supervisor. She stayed in the job, working for Kline, until the end of November, three weeks after filing a civil rights claim with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Abortion politics

Morrison supports abortion rights, but that alone didn’t generate the sometimes intense enmity of abortion opponents. A political action committee founded by abortion provider Dr. George Tiller, of Wichita, raised more than $650,000 in 2005 and 2006 to help defeat Kline.

As a candidate, Morrison criticized Kline for seeking records from Tiller’s clinic and one operated by Planned Parenthood of Overland Park as part of a criminal investigation.

In June, he said neither Planned Parenthood nor its personnel were guilty of any wrongdoing.

The next day, in filing a criminal case against Tiller over alleged violations of restrictions on late-term abortions, Morrison criticized how Kline handled his own criminal case against Tiller, which was dismissed by a judge.

Two anti-abortion groups, Kansans for Life and Operation Rescue, called for Morrison’s resignation as soon as The Topeka Capital-Journal broke the story about Morrison’s affair in its Dec. 9 editions.

“Morrison’s resignation is welcomed,” said executive director Mary Kay Culp. “We deeply grieve the pain that the Morrison family has endured. Unfortunately, we also grieve the justice denied when one industry is treated as above the law and unwilling to submit to even the most basic oversight.”

Nor did abortion opponents see the scandal as being only about sex. Carter alleged that Morrison sought sensitive information about Kline’s plans in investigating Planned Parenthood’s clinic in Overland Park. As district attorney, Kline filed 107 criminal charges against the clinic.

Also, Carter alleges that Morrison tried unsuccessfully to get her to write letters on behalf of eight county employees that Kline dismissed after becoming district attorney. Those employees sued Kline; in August, a federal magistrate dismissed all but one of their counts.

“I think that this goes to show the public that Operation Rescue has been right about the corruption and scandals that the Democratic Party has experienced here in Kansas – particularly as it surrounds abortion politics,” said Troy Newman, the group’s president.

‘They’re going to milk this’

For some Democrats, the reaction of groups like Operation Rescue confirms that Morrison faced a cadre of activists dedicated to tearing him down and demonizing anyone who’s not as strong an abortion opponent as Kline.

“They’re going to milk this for all it’s worth,” said Lee Kinch, a Wichita-area attorney who serves on the Democratic National Committee. “Anyone but Phill Kline is going to have problems with that group.”

Kinch and others who supported Morrison’s election aren’t arguing that Morrison isn’t responsible for his own downfall. Without his adultery, there would have been no sex scandal.

But Morrison was walking ground already made slippery by abortion politics. His situation called for caution and sound personal judgment.