The brutal clash between moderates and conservatives expected at the Republican national convention in August is already unfolding in Kansas. At stake is the Republican nomination for Bob Dole’s Senate seat and a lot more. The outcome of the Kansas primary on August 6 will affect the mood in San Diego and signal the prospects for the Republican Congress in November. The bedrock issue, in the words of social conservative Gary Bauer, is “whether the GOP will be a Reagan-style party or . . . go back to a mushy country-club Republicanism.”

Incumbent senator Sheila Frahm, appointed after Dole retired, is the standard-bearer for the moderates. She blasts her challenger for his “slash and burn” approach to budget cutting. Undaunted, Sam Brownback, prototypical House GOP freshman, says those who would “simply skim spending off the top” are pushing the “tough decisions onto future generations.”