Trump Wants Kobach-- Establishment Republicans Want Cold Compresses

I woke up yesterday and took a look at look at a funny little post in Axios by Jonathan Swan, "Behind the scenes: Trump's power politics," about Señor Trumpanzee big-footing all over the GOP midterms. He always has to make them all about him-- even when that is a detriment. The first segment was about screwed up the OH-12 race. "Trump," wrote Swan, "thinks it's fun to have a stake in these elections, according to sources familiar with his thinking. And he sometimes seems awe-struck by the way his endorsements can move a stunning percentage of Republican voters."

But the part that caught my attention was about how "senior Republican officials have told me they're holding their breath, hoping Trump won't endorse hardliner Kris Kobach in Tuesday's Kansas gubernatorial primary. Kobach is as far right as a Republican gets on immigration and voting rights, and Democrats view his potential victory as an opportunity to steal centrist voters. A source close to Trump told me they thought the president had been convinced to hold off on supporting Kobach. But he added he couldn't be confident, given that Trump is in Bedminster with a cell phone and plenty of Executive Time." It didn't take long either. Just a few hours later, Trump farted out one of his one-size-fits-all brainless tweets:

Last month Kobach and Colyer, the appointed incumbent governor, debated at Johnson County Community College. The atmosphere was pretty poisonous, which is pretty much what Trump has turned the GOP into. Needless to say, it was generally Kobach's fans who behaved like wild animals.

“If this is what politics is, it makes me want to jump off the stage,” quipped Patrick Kucera, a Johnson County businessman and preacher mounting a long-shot campaign for the GOP nomination, in reference to arguments between the two leading candidates.

Colyer jabbed Kobach for his performance in defending his office against a lawsuit in federal court.

“Integrity is an issue for Republicans and there is only one candidate on this stage who has been fined by a federal judge for lying,” Colyer said as Kobach’s supporters booed.

Kobach was fined $1,000 last year for misleading the court and faced additional sanctions from the court this year, including court-mandated classes on legal procedure, after a federal judge struck down the state’s proof of citizenship law, a policy crafted by Kobach.

It was one of several instances where Kobach’s supporters attempted to shout down the governor as he attacked their candidate.

Kobach had touted the law, which required voters to prove their citizenship before registering to vote, during his opening statement. He omitted the fact that a federal judge struck down the law as unconstitutional last month.

During his closing statement, Kobach presented himself as the candidate that would be more than just “a steady hand on the tiller” in the face of battles over social values.

“We’re going to have to fight for our values. We’re going to have to fight like a third monkey trying to get on Noah’s Ark. You understand me?” he said.

Colyer returned to the attack about Kobach’s performance in court against the American Civil Liberties Union in his closing statement.



“The worst thing is a show pony that think it’s a war horse,” Colyer said. “If the first inclination is to run to the cameras constantly and yell and scream, and then lose the ACLU, it’s not in your best interest.”

Earlier in the debate, Colyer responded to a question about illegal immigration by pivoting to an unrelated attack against Kobach for seeking a pardon for Ryan Bader, a man who was convicted of aggravated robbery in 2009.

Colyer denied the pardon last month and on the campaign trail he has repeatedly criticized Kobach’s advocacy for Bader, the vice president of a company that donated to Kobach’s campaign.

“Yeah, I took his case. Because this man wanted his gun rights back,” Kobach said.

Most polling shows Kobach ahead. Aside from Trumpanzee, he's been endorsed by the whole American neo-Nazi infrastructure-- Trumpanzee, Jr., Hannity, Ann Coulter, Ted Nugent... Although there are 5 Democrats running, the top 2 contenders today are state Senator Laura Kelly and Carl Brewer, a former Wichita mayor. Greg Orman, a businessman who ran for Senate in 2014, is in this race as an independent. Orman has been endorsed by one of Nancy Jacobson's No Labels SuperPACs, Unite America, a right of center outfit that is funded by conservative billionaires.

The most recent general election poll shows that Colyer would beat Kelly but that Kelly leads Kobach. Democrats see an opportunity to pick up the governorship if Lobach wins the primary, counting on Kansans deciding they are sick of extremists.