Prairie Fire

Kris Kobach and Nebraska State Sen. Charlie Janssen file lawsuits against in-state tuition for illegal aliens

Kansas

Deep in the heart of the “Real America,” the peasants are sharpening their pitchforks and preparing to storm the pearly white gates of the Kansas state legislature.

This is the homeland of populism where conservatism is based on the rage of the White working class against coastal liberal elites.

It is difficult to point out a spot on a map of the United States further removed from the progressive values of San Francisco and Washington than Kansas. Flyover country was unimpressed with the “Hope and Change” delivered by Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama.

In particular, the Obama Justice Department’s lawsuit against Arizona succeeded in rubbing populist Whites in Kansas the wrong way. They will be responding next month with a big push to bring Arizona-style immigration reform to the Sunflower State.

Kansas and Kris Kobach

I’ve been silently watching the rise of Kris Kobach in Kansas. I’m also taking notes and drawing the appropriate conclusions. Kobach is simultaneously one of the most valuable and unknown White Advocates in America.

Kris Kobach first came to my attention as a boogeyman who was repeatedly mentioned on the Imagine2050 website. This got my attention over the summer and I started doing some digging on search engines.

I was pleasantly surprised by what I found. I had discovered a “Hard Right” role model.

Kobach is a lawyer for the Immigration Reform Law Institute. He has been a prime mover behind everything from the Hazelton ordinance to Arizona’s SB 1070. He has filed three lawsuits against in-state tuition for illegal aliens in Kansas, Nebraska, and California.

Here is someone who never wasted his time on the legions of alienated rhetorical radicals in the White Nationalist movement. Instead, Kobach has made a lucrative career for himself out of being a hardline restrictionist on immigration and an effective advocate for our interests who has successfully pushed at the boundaries of mainstream respectable conservatism.

Kobach burrowed deeply within the system and rose to become Chairman of the Kansas Republican Party. In the midterm elections, he was elected Kansas Secretary of State, and will undoubtedly use that position to leapfrog to a higher position in Kansas state politics.

The most exciting developments on the immigration front that I have tracked over the past few months have been a direct result of Kris Kobach’s influence upon our political system.

If a single individual could have this much of a positive impact upon White America, then clearly we need to be producing more White Advocates in the Kobach mold, especially in the South where racial attitudes are more favorable.

Kansas and Immigration

The word broke this afternoon that Kansas will be taking a shot at Arizona-style immigration reform in less than two weeks when the Kansas state legislature convenes on January 10th.

The Kansas Chamber of Commerce is expected to put up fierce resistance to the bill. Governor Sam Brownback could also prove an obstacle to a reform. A similar bill was passed by the Kansas House and Senate in 2008 but failed in the reconciliation process.

Brownback has said that he supports Kobach’s voter ID and proof-of-citizenship bills. Georgia passed a voter-ID law in 2005 which King Roy Barnes litigated for years. It has since been upheld several times in the Georgia Supreme Court.

I’m confident that we can at least get something out of the next session of the Kansas state legislature. Even a small victory on E-Verify could lay a foundation for further reform. We saw what happened after Arizona passed its initial crackdown on employers in 2007.

Kansas and NumbersUSA

The Kansas delegation in Congress shakes out as follows: Senator Pat Roberts (A), Rep. Todd Tiahrt (A-), Rep. Lynn Jenkins (A-), Rep. Jerry Moran (B+), Senator Sam Brownback (C), and Democrat Rep. Dennis Moore (C-).

Brownback is leaving the Senate to become Governor of Kansas. Jerry Moran, who was elected to the Senate in the midterms, is a NumbersUSA true reformer candidate. He will be a vast improvement over his predecessor.

Tim Huelskamp, another NumbersUSA true reformer, won his race in Kansas 1. Lynn Jenkins was reelected in Kansas 2. The Republican Kevin Yoder, who supports attrition through enforcement, won Dennis Moore’s old seat in Kansas 3. Mike Pompeo replaces Todd Tiahrt in Kansas 4.

Senators Roberts and Brownback voted against the DREAM Act in the Senate. Reps. Moran, Tiahrt, and Jenkins voted against the DREAM Act in the House. Rep. Dennis Moore, the outgoing Democrat, voted for the DREAM Act.

The Red Revolution in Kansas

Kansas was already a heavily Republican state before the midterm elections.

The Republicans swept everything in the midterms. They replaced Brownback with Moran in the Senate, retained control of their three House seats, and picked up the only Democratic House seat in Kansas.

As noted above, Kris Kobach was elected Secretary of State. Republicans also won the statewide races for Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General.

Heading into the midterm elections, Republicans controlled the Kansas House, 76 to 49. In the upcoming legislative session, they will control the lower chamber, 92 to 33.

Republicans have a supermajority in the Kansas State Senate. They control the upper chamber, 31 to 8. In Kansas, state senators serve four year terms. The next elections in the Kansas State Senate will be held in 2012.

The Democratic Party has more or less ceased to exist in Kansas.

Final Thoughts

Kansans have a lot to crow about this year.

They replaced Sam Brownback in the Senate with a NumbersUSA true reformer candidate, replaced Jerry Moran with another NumbersUSA true reformer in Kansas 1, knocked off Dennis Moore in Kansas 3, provided three votes against the DREAM Act in the House, set the stage for Arizona-style immigration reform in 2011, elected Kris Kobach as Secretary of State, and twisted the arm of Senator Brownback into voting against the DREAM Act which he co-sponsored in 2007.

The only black cloud over Kansas is having to put up with Governor Sam Brownback for the next four years. We can’t expect to win every battle.

The vanguard ridicules the whole concept of working within the system. Kansas is yet another example of a state where this approach is bearing fruit.

I suspect we will be returning to Kansas early next year to celebrate a big victory there.

Note: Did any Kansans here catch that bullshit play calling in the Pinstripe Bowl?