So Many Republican Hypocrites, So Little Time

December 28, 2007 | SEND TO A FRIEND | GET EARLY NOTICE OF THE HOTW

Kris Kobach

Welcome back to the BuzzFlash GOP Hypocrite of the Week.

Maybe when you come from the Tom Tancredo school of anti-immigrant demagoguery, maybe you aren't being a hypocrite when you brag about suppressing votes (non-Republican, of course) through the illegal technique known as "caging."

But Kris Kobach, chairman of the Kansas Republican Party, served in the Department of Justice under John Ashcroft, which means that he swore to uphold the Constitution. Fat chance, there.

Apparently, Kobach sent a letter of his 2007 "accomplishments" to a list of the Kansas GOP faithful, in which he included this eye-popping boast: "To date, the Kansas GOP has identified and caged more voters in the last 11 months than the previous two years!"

Uh, excuse us, but as a former Department of Justice attorney, you would think Kobach would have a clue that you don't brag about potentially indictable behavior in a "Best of 2007" list.

Since the 2000 election, Greg Palast has been tenaciously educating Americans about the Republican use of caging. (If it hadn't been used in Florida in 2000, Gore would have probably won by an indisputable margin of tens of thousands of votes.) But still it goes on, as Kobach is proud to reveal.

It's not the first time Kobach's respect for the law has come into question. As the People for the American Way notes, when Kobach ran for Congress, he campaigned in churches:

During his unsuccessful congressional campaign, he came under fire from his own party for extreme rhetoric during the GOP primary, and was criticized for special appearances as a "constitutional expert" in churches in the midst of campaigning, such as at several "pastors' policy briefings" with Jerry Falwell in the weeks leading up to the general election.

Remember our motto: So many Republican hypocrites, so little time.

Catch up with you soon.