There should have been no doubt that Kris Kobach would run away with the Republican primary in his bid to become Kansas's next secretary of state. His opponents were capable enough, but the campaigns they ran -- quaint-by-comparison efforts that focused, rather sensibly, on keeping the office profitable and efficient -- never stood a chance in the Year of the Illegal.
The question is, will Kobach's strategy work come November? The answer: Of course it will.
As his celebrity grew this year, Kobach didn't even have to mention the secretary of state's office, focusing instead on his effort to fight illegal immigration in Arizona, where he crafted SB 1070, and elsewhere throughout the country. When he did bother to talk about what he was running for, he craftily vowed to fight the evil Voter Fraud being perpetrated, he implied, by those same illegal immigrants he's fought so valiantly to deport.
Never mind that experts have debunked the myth of pervasive voter fraud -- and that the idea of illegal immigrants flocking to places full of paperwork is simply illogical. With help from ACORN, Voter Fraud is sexy, and the thought of God damn il-legals "stealing elections" is something anyone can get behind.
In another year, that strategy might disintegrate come November. After all, his Democratic opponent, incumbent Chris Biggs, will spend the next few months explaining how Kobach wants to spend millions of dollars the state doesn't have to install voter ID programs -- part of his plan to fix a problem Biggs says doesn't exist in Kansas.
But this isn't another year. It's 2010, when damn near two-thirds of Americans support Arizona's law, and dozens of states are considering similar measures. Kobach and his made-for-TV jawline are going to keep showing up on cable TV, eloquently oversimplifying the immigration issue, ignoring the idea of comprehensive immigration reform, and pedaling bogus but believable facts, like that illegal immigration costs the country $82 billion per year, which it doesn't, and that Phoenix is the No. 2 city in the world for kidnappings, which it isn't.
Some number of moderate Kansas will surely lap it up, and no matter how hard Democrats try to paint Kobach as an extremist -- pointing out his ties to, well, extremists -- it won't work. Kobach will find himself, for the first time, in excellent position to be elected, and to continue racing around the country chasing out illegal immigrants, only with a slightly fancier title under his name when it appears on Fox News.
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I stumbled on this article on Yahoo even though I was looking for something similar, but I just wanted to say very good stuff and I entirely agree. Is there any method to subscribe to fresh content?
"Hard-hitting, well-cited journalism."
Absolutely. Citing a letter to the editor as evidence of extremist ties, how can the wingnuts ever argue with that? The only citation more convincing would be a Wikipedia entry.
George is full of $#!+. I'm a member of CCOP, and George hasn't the first clue how close are our connections to several African nations, specifically Uganda, Sudan, and Kenya.
Racists -- at which he hints -- do not put themselves under the ecclesiastical authority of Africans. Got that?
George has issues, and he's projecting onto Kobach. CCOP's problem with the Episcopal church related to the divinity of Christ, the uniqueness of salvation through Christ, the factual truth of the resurrection, the existence of Satan, and the overall authority of scripture.
Homosexual behavior was as side show, but it sure makes for a convenient straw-man.
He gets a C- for effort, and a D- for truth and logic.
http://www.christchurch-op.org...
Kobach is also a member of the ex-Espicopal Church group -- you know -- the ones that don't like gays, and pull-out of their English based Church.
He seems to relate well to countries that will kill you for being gay, also.
Man's got issues. Check out the white, white church leadership he has -- that African guy in Rwanda, aside.
Whoa- don't forget about me. I just knocked off a nun in Virginia while drinking and driving- after my third strike.
Free Thinker-You are right that Koback scared voters into believing that our election process has been compromised by illegal immigrants committing fraud. In reality, very few, if any, illegal immigrants attempt to vote. They do not step inside polling places, as they fear being deported.
While many conservatives will attempt to contradict this statement, it is also very true that few illegal immigrants commit crimes for the same reason: they fear being deported. The majority just hunker down and try to keep their families fed.
Our state will waste precious resources if it pursues this bogus issue. We have much more pressing and serious problems that must be addressed.
No one has said (including Kobach) that voter fraud is pervasive, we all know it isn't that common. But we also all know it DOES happen more often that we would like.
Damn Realist,
Thanks- I damn near forgot about that. Does anyone know where I can pick up a few illegals? -Aside from Home Depot parking lots? I need to have something to start the cross burning- a few illegals should be willing to help build the cross, dig the hole to stand up the cross, gather some hay, and stand the cross. Once all the work is done, I'll shoot and throw them in the burning pile- they ain't gonna take my hard-earned pesos.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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