Topeka ? There’s politics and there’s politics.

Using a football analogy, it’s like when the ball carrier, under pressure from the defense, is one step from running out of bounds.

The defender can either lighten up with a simple push, or dive into the runner with all his might.

In Kansas politics, it’s usually the push.

But last week, when Gov. Mark Parkinson, a Democrat, announced $160 million in cuts and revenue adjustments to balance the budget amid falling tax revenues, House Republican leaders laid into him and other Democrats, issuing a fiery news release. In fact, the release was sent out before Parkinson made his budget announcement.

House Majority Leader Ray Merrick, R-Stilwell, blasted Parkinson’s earlier decision to delay tax refunds because of revenue problems. “The governor’s response is not to make changes to the way the State operates on a day-to-day basis but to essentially steal money out of the pockets of Kansans,” Merrick said.

House Speaker Mike O’Neal, R-Hutchinson, blamed the budget woes on Democrats voting for too much spending.

“They will doubtless now use the latest shortfalls to continue their call for destructive tax increases on Kansas families and businesses that will only deepen the recession,” he said.

Democrats, who are vastly outnumbered by Republicans in the Legislature — 78-47 in the House and 31-9 in the Senate — were not amused.

The budget approved by the Legislature to conclude the 2009 session was adopted by a coalition of Democrats and moderate Republicans who ran over O’Neal, Merrick and House Appropriations Chairman Kevin Yoder, R-Overland Park, who had pushed for deeper cuts.

Senate Democratic Leader Anthony Hensley of Topeka called the House GOP news release an example of “hack politics.”

He said the budget has been plagued by record falling revenues.

“While the House Republican leadership has repeatedly chosen the low road, and were unable to put together a bipartisan coalition to pass a budget during the 2009 regular or veto session, Governor Parkinson has chosen the higher road by taking a tough stance on our state’s financial hardships,” Hensley said.

House Democratic Leader Paul Davis, of Lawrence, was equally critical of the Republican launch.

“The economic condition of the state mirrors that of the entire country,” Davis said. “No budget proposals — including the budget alternative pushed by House Republican leadership — would have prevented the situation we face today. Governor Parkinson would still be forced to make allotments, but on programs and services that already endured crippling reductions.”

It remains to be seen whether the political exchanges will affect today’s meeting of the State Finance Council, when Parkinson will seek approval from legislative leaders for $700 million of certificates of indebtedness, which use funds from state account reserves as an inter-governmental financing tool to pay off bills in July.

Parkinson said he expects no problem, but in February, Republican legislative leaders forced then-Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to sign a budget-cutting bill, sought by GOP leaders, before they would agree to issuing $225 million in certificates.