Tuesday Kris Kobach took a new tack in his campaign for secretary of state. He promised to push for an initiative and referendum amendment to the state constitution. The people deserve the right to pass constitutional amendments and laws without going through the Legislature, he said.
This new focus, like his continuing obsession with illegal immigrants, has nothing to do with the secretary of state’s office. That he would offer it as a reason for nominating him still is further proof that he has no interest in becoming the state’s chief record-keeper and election manager.
Kobach is a policy guy; the Kansas secretary of state is not a policy-setting office. It’s a desk job.
He wants initiative and referendum for Kansas, he said, so “Kansas voters can consider immigration policies and keep taxes in check.”
But the appropriate place to make such arguments is the Legislature because the goal can be reached only through a constitutional amendment, which must first be passed by two-thirds majorities in both the House and Senate and then approved by a majority of the people in a statewide election. He should be running for the Kansas House or Senate.
As secretary of state, Kobach would be in no position to offer such an amendment or have any more say in its adoption or rejection than any other citizen.
All he accomplishes by going off on this new tangent is to demonstrate once again that he is not qualified by temperament or by his personal set of priorities to serve in the very important office he is seeking.
— Emerson Lynn, jr.
