Normally, leadership would be the pre-eminent quality of someone who ascends to the position of speaker of the Kansas House of Representatives.

"Leader," however, does not describe Rep. Melvin Neufeld. Instead, the words that come to mind are irrational, bully and even hypocrite.

The western Kansas Republican obviously will do just about anything to get his way in the Legislature, which this session is all about overturning the decision of the state's top environmental regulator who would not rubber-stamp Sunflower Electric's massive coal-fired power plant proposal for western Kansas.

That includes swapping votes and obstructing other -- more important -- legislation. It includes misinformation and expression of some downright bizarre viewpoints, such as saying he thinks carbon emissions are good for the crops.

In the last week, Neufeld has gone so far as to accuse Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of buying votes against the coal plants by taking legislators on state aircraft to watch the University of Kansas basketball team play in the Final Four in San Antonio. Then, Neufeld, along with House Majority Leader Ray Merrick, R-Stilwell, introduced a resolution calling for the Legislature to sue Sebelius for violating the separation of powers.

Last week's tactic was to roll coal plant legislation in with economic development projects for eastern Kansas to try to force through the Sunflower measure with a veto-proof margin. That was not only extreme, but irresponsible.

This bizarre behavior probably shouldn't be dignified with a response except that its nonstop outrageousness begs for expression of some relevant observations.

The free rides to the Final Four were easily explained. Some coal plant supporters as well as opponents went on the plane, and legislators paid for their own tickets. Sebelius probably figured it made sense to fill the seats. Now, taxpayers could quibble over the fiscal responsibility of flying a delegation of politicians to the Final Four, but it probably is an event the governor ought to attend. And, besides, that debate is not about vote-buying.

And Neufeld exposed himself as a hypocrite, because he has been accused of vote bribery himself, though of a more serious nature. Neufeld called the wife of a legislator in 1994 to say her husband had been found in a "compromising position" with two female lobbyists in a Statehouse lounge. That reportedly was the follow-through of earlier threats he made to the legislator in an attempt to convince him to vote Neufeld's way on a particular bill. ...

As for other legislation being held up or even sabotaged for the coal plants bill, that might not be completely proven, though earlier Neufeld made noise about doing just that. And now what is clear is that the Speaker has played some games with other legislation, and some other important issues have not received the attention they deserve because Neufeld, for one, has been singularly focused on the Sunflower issue.

That is no laughing matter. It means the Legislature has failed, for example, to make driving safer for teens and undertake any meaningful health care reform.

So along with the other adjectives one could use to describe Neufeld, bad leadership is the outcome that is unfortunate for the state in many more significant ways than the settlement of the coal plants brouhaha.

Editorial by the Hutchinson News