{"id":178850,"date":"2018-08-04T22:18:00","date_gmt":"2018-08-05T03:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.panix.com\/~msaroff\/40years\/2018\/08\/04\/ka-ching-2\/"},"modified":"2018-08-04T22:18:00","modified_gmt":"2018-08-05T03:18:00","slug":"ka-ching-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.panix.com\/~msaroff\/40years\/2018\/08\/04\/ka-ching-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Ka-Ching"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pro Publica<\/i> has looked into the activities of Kris Kobach, and it discovers that he has made huge bank off of failed lawsuits for draconian anti-immigrant laws that he he has encouraged various municipalities to adopt<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Kris Kobach likes to tout his work for Valley Park, Missouri. He has boasted on cable TV about crafting and defending the town\u2019s hardline anti-immigration ordinance. He discussed his \u201cvictory\u201d there at length on his old radio show. He still lists it on his resume. <\/p>\n

But \u201cvictory\u201d isn\u2019t the word most Valley Park residents would use to describe the results of Kobach\u2019s work. With his help, the town of 7,000 passed an ordinance in 2006 that punished employers for hiring illegal immigrants and landlords for renting to them. But after two years of litigation and nearly $300,000 in expenses, the ordinance was largely gutted. Now, it is illegal only to \u201cknowingly\u201d hire illegal immigrants there \u2014 something that was already illegal under federal law. The town\u2019s attorney can\u2019t recall a single case brought under the ordinance. <\/p>\n

\u201cAmbulance chasing\u201d is how Grant Young, a former mayor of Valley Park, describes Kobach\u2019s role. Young characterized Kobach\u2019s attitude as, \u201cLet\u2019s find a town that\u2019s got some issues or pretends to have some issues, let\u2019s drum up an immigration problem and maybe I can advance my political position, my political thinking and maybe make some money at the same time.\u201d <\/p>\n

Kobach used his work in Valley Park to attract other clients, with sometimes disastrous effects on the municipalities. The towns \u2014 some with budgets in the single-digit-millions \u2014 ran up hefty legal costs after hiring him to defend similar ordinances. Farmers Branch, Texas, wound up owing $7 million in legal bills. Hazleton, Penn., took on debt to pay $1.4 million and eventually had to file for a state bailout. In Fremont, Neb., the city raised property taxes to pay for Kobach\u2019s services. None of the towns are currently enforcing the laws he helped craft. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis sounds a little bit to me like Harold Hill in \u2018The Music Man<\/a>,\u2019\u201d said Larry Dessem, a law professor at the University of Missouri who focuses on legal ethics. \u201cGot a problem here in River City and we can solve it if you buy the band instruments from me. He is selling something that goes well beyond legal services.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kobach rode the attention the cases generated to political prominence, first as Kansas secretary of state, and now as a candidate for governor in the Republican primary on Aug. 7. He also earned more than $800,000 for his immigration work, paid by both towns and an advocacy group, over 13 years.<\/p>\n

\u2026\u2026\u2026<\/p>\n

But in addition to his growing name recognition, Kobach\u2019s bank account also benefited from his immigration work. Records obtained by ProPublica and the Kansas City Star show that since 2005 Kobach has made at least $800,000 through this advocacy. At least $150,000 of that was paid during Kobach\u2019s time as secretary of state. (Kansas law permits government officials to moonlight.)<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So, he’s on a crusade that also makes him a f%$# load of money at the expense of tax payers and officials by exploiting their fears and naivety.<\/p>\n

This sequence of events evokes the Simpsons<\/i>‘ Monorail episode:<\/p>\n