We're back in Kansas, Toto.

• Author: Clinton, Kate
• Position: About Kansas City

Lots of my friends have read and loved Thomas Frank's bracing book, What's the Matter with Kansas? As well documented in Frank's book, his native state's rectitudinous rectangularity has morphed from its early radical progressivism to its current radical conservatism. When asked, my friends can restate the premise of the mutation: The right wing expertly manipulated culture issues--gay marriage, evolution, patriotism--to avoid real life economic security issues. But a nagging "huh?" bothers me. Like all those post-election Democrats visiting the Lakoff and Wallis shrines, I thought if I could really answer the Kansas conundrum, we might be able to parse the election. And of course, people would start paying big bucks to visit my shrine.

I do not count myself one of the root-cause, coastal liberal snobs, and maybe that's the way all coastal liberal snobs think. I love performing in Kansas City. It is a town that has enough civic confidence and flexibility to locate itself in two states. I can vouch that New Yorkers would not be so well disposed to an Albany, Massachusetts.

KC used to be the 7-eleven stop on everyone's westward trek. When the kids in the way back of the Conestogas whined, "Are we there yet?" the family would stop in KC to resupply for the rest of the journey.

The gay population, so besieged in Kansas, is vibrant and feisty. After all, Fred Phelps, his family, and their national "Kill Fags Tour" hail from the state capital, Topeka. No one knows whose payroll he is on or where he gets his frequent flier miles. His answer to the question "What's the matter with Kansas?" is, of course, Dorothy.

During a bit of free time before one of my shows, I was roaming around KC, idly wondering why people vote against their own best economic and political interests. That's when I came upon Hallmark headquarters. Founded in 1910, it has grown to be the dominant force in "the personal expression industry--helping people express their feelings and touching the lives of others." It owns Crown...