Kris Kobach

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Kris Kobach (born March 26, 1966, in Madison, Wisconsin) is a law professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and a former Chairman of the Kansas Republican Party. On May 26, 2009, he announced his candidacy for the statewide office of secretary of state, challenging Democrat Chris Biggs, who was appointed to the position by Governor Mark Parkinson. [1] Kobach won the Republican nomination in the state's August 3, 2010 primary, receiving nearly fifty-one percent of the vote. [2] [3]

Education

  • Graduated from Washburn Rural High School (1984) in Topeka, Kansas
  • Bachelor's degree, Harvard College (1988) in government
  • Master's degree, Oxford University (1990) in political science
  • Doctorate degree, Oxford University (1992) in political science
  • Juris Doctorate degree, Yale Law School (1995)

Professional experience

In the midst of his pursuit for a law degree, Kobach served as editor of the student-run Yale Law Journal and published two books: Political Capital: The Motives, Tactics, and Goals of Politicized Businesses in South Africa in 1990 and The Referendum: Direct Democracy in Switzerland in 1994.

Immediately upon graduating from Yale Law School, Kobach was admitted to the Kansas Bar in 1995 and took up the position of law clerk for Deanell Reece Tacha, a judge on the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals located in Lawrence, Kansas. In 1996, he became a member of the faculty at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law where he currently teaches Constitutional Law I, Constitutional Law II, Immigration Law, American Legal History, and Legislation.

Political career

President George W. Bush awarded Kobach with the White House Fellowship, a program established in November 1964 by President Lyndon B. Johnson in which the recipient "typically spends a year working as full-time, paid special assistants to senior White House Staff, the Vice President, Cabinet Secretaries and other top-ranking government officials." [4] But even when his fellowship ended, he stayed on as Counsel to Attorney General John Ashcroft. Shortly following the September 11th terrorist attacks, Kobach personally led a team of attorneys and researchers in developing and then implementing the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS), also known as Special Registration. Established as means of keeping "track of those entering and leaving our country in order to safeguard U.S. citizens and America’s borders," the NSEERS served as the first step by the Department of Justice (later the Department of Homeland Security) to "comply with the development of the Congressionally- mandated requirement for a comprehensive entry-exit program." [5]

Kobach first ran for political office in 2004, winning the Republican nomination over opponents Adam Taff and Kansas state legislator Patricia Lightner and challenging Congressman Dennis Moore for his seat in the United States House of Representatives representing the 3rd Congressional District of Kansas; he went on to lose the campaign 55% to 43%. [6] [7] The upside of the experience, however, was that it garnered him national media attention, especially after his speech on the opening day of the 2004 Republican National Convention where he called for the United States military to be sent to the Mexican border to block illegal immigration. He took his anti-illegal immigration message beyond the congressional campaign, even making an appearance on the popular Comedy Central program, The Colbert Report, in August 2009 to take his case to the American public. [8]

Nearly two years following his failed congressional campaign, Kobach was chosen by his peers to a two year term as Chairman of the Kansas Republican Party. His tenure, however, was not without controversy, especially after his creation of "the party's 'loyalty committee ... to sanction wayward Republicans," which, in turn, stripped more than a dozen members of "voting rights in party organization races for helping Democrats." [9]

Controversies

Arizona SB1070

Several days after Republican Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed into law Senate Bill 1070 - The Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act, more commonly known as Arizona SB 1070, the Lawrence Journal-World & News broke the news that law professor and Kansas Secretary of State candidate Kris Kobach had a hand in helping craft the legislation. [10] [11] The Act, which does not take effect until July 28, 2010, makes it a state misdemeanor crime for an alien to be in Arizona without carrying proper citizenship papers required by federal law, authorizes state and local law enforcement of federal immigration laws, and cracks down on those sheltering, hiring and transporting illegal aliens into the United States. Kobach stated that he provided his assistance to Arizona State Senator Russell Pearce for free and did not believe it would impact his campaign for secretary of state, though he was quick to argue that he would be willing to draw up a similar measure in Kansas, but only if asked to do so by a state legislator.

Civil rights groups who have protested the immigration law have petitioned the University of Missouri at Kansas City (UMKC) to impose sanctions on Kobach, who has taught there since 1996. His harshest critics is J.D. Rios, an assistant Kansas City, Kansas school superintendent, who has argued that Kobach "violated the general UMKC policy to promote diversity." [12] Despite threats from liberal alumni members saying they would no longer encourage Hispanic students to enroll at the university, UMKC has staunchly stood in support of Kobach, insisting they believe in academic freedom for all of its faculty members. [13]

"Illegal is Illegal" Rally

On July 14, 2010, Kobach supporters gathered for an “Illegal is Illegal” Rally at the Ritz Charles convention center after permission to hold the controversial event at MidAmerica Nazarene University was withdrawn. Sheriff Joe Arpaio from Maricopa County Arizona appeared in support of Kobach at the standing room only rally.

Several hundred held a mostly silent “Love Conquers Hate” protest along the sidewalk on the perimeter of the convention center. More than 50 from the NAACP Convention in Kansas City joined the protest, racial profiling top among their concerns, as they chanted “hope, not hate” as they arrived in a small parade. Video of the rally can be seen here.[14]

Birther joke

Speaking at a Leavenworth County Republican Party BBQ held in Tonganoxie shortly after the 4th of July in 2009, Kobach made a joke at the expense of President Barack Obama, stating the one thing the former Illinois senator and God had in common was that neither of them had a birth certificate. [15] The State Democratic Party sharply criticized the Republican candidate for Secretary of State for his remarks, arguing that "his latest attempt at humor has gone too far." [16] Kobach replied that it was just a joke and that Democratic critics should lighten up.

Electoral history

2004

2004 Race for United States House of Representatives, District 3 - Republican Primary [6]
Candidates Percentage
Kris Kobach (R) 44.0%
Adam Taff (R) 43.8%
Patricia Lightner (R) 12.2%
Total votes 88,887
2004 Race for United States House of Representatives, District 3 - General Election [7]
Candidates Percentage
Dennis Moore (D) 54.8%
Kris Kobach (R) 43.3%
Joe Bellis (Libertarian) 0.9%
Richard Wells (F) 0.8%
Total votes 335,739

2010

See also: Kansas Secretary of State election, 2010
2010 Race for Secretary of State - Republican Primary [17]
Candidates Percentage
Kris Kobach (R) 50.6%
Elizabeth Ensley (R) 27.0%
J.R. Claeys (R) 22.4%
Total votes 304,279

Contact information

Kansas

Campaign Address:
Kansans for Kobach
PO Box 180
Basehor, KS 66007

External links

References

  1. ↑ The Topeka Capital-Journal "GOP primary assured" 26 May, 2009
  2. ↑ Politico "Kobach’s win" 4 Aug. 2010
  3. ↑ Michelle Malkin "Kris Kobach wins GOP Secretary of State nomination in Kansas" 4 Aug. 2010
  4. ↑ White House Fellows - About
  5. ↑ U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Special Registration
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Kansas Secretary of State - 2004 Primary Election Results
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Kansas Secretary of State - 2004 General Election Results
  8. ↑ Colbert Report, The "Video of Kris Kobach's Aug. 2008 appearance"
  9. ↑ Capital-Journal "Kobach gives up top GOP position" 9 Dec. 2008
  10. ↑ Lawrence Journal-World & News "Kansan Kris Kobach helped write controversial Arizona immigration law" 27 April, 2010
  11. ↑ New York Times "Why Arizona Drew a Line" 28 April, 2010
  12. ↑ KMBC 9 News "Kobach's Immigration Role Leads To Questions" 3 May, 2010
  13. ↑ Red State "Let’s Burn Kris Kobach at the Stake" 4 May, 2010
  14. ↑ "Illegal Immigration Rally: Kris Kobach and Sheriff Joe Arpaio," Watchdog.org, July 15, 2010
  15. ↑ Everyday Citizen "Kobach's 'birther' joke is no laughing matter" 16 July, 2009
  16. ↑ Lawrence Journal-World & News "Kobach says statement about Obama ‘just a joke’" 14 July, 2009
  17. ↑ Associated Press - 2010 Kansas Primary Election Results


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