August 05, 2004

The John And Ken Show Roils California’s Congressional Republicans

By Brenda Walker

Talk radio is on the attack against cowardly Republicans with the latest project of the John and Ken Show on Los Angeles’ KFI 640 AM.

Popular talk show hosts John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou have started a campaign to oust from office a powerful, yet-to-be determined Republican California Congressman.

Welcome to "Political Human Sacrifice” radio game show with real life consequences. Possible offerings include GOP House heavyweights David Dreier and Chris Cox.

The campaign was triggered by the Bush administration stoppage of June's interior round-ups of illegals by the Border Patrol.

A dozen officers from the Temecula Station had rounded up hundreds of aliens in Escondido, Corona and Norco and sent them packing.

(Three hundred citizens rallied in support of the Border Patrol)

Actual enforcement obviously horrified the nouveau slavery crowd, the business interests working to reduce labor costs to as close to zero as possible. And Mexican revanchists like Rep. Joe Baca [Video] were also miffed. Baca marched into Under Secretary for Border and Transportation Security Asa Hutchinson’s office to demand that the raids end.

And they did.

John and Ken wonder why no Republican Congressional representative in southern California has a passion for enforcement equal to Baca’s passion for illegals.

The last straw was John Kobylt's interview of Asa Hutchinson. There had been reports that Hutchinson’s staff couldn't get any work done because of the pro-enforcement callers ringing up his office at 202-282-8077.

Hutchinson apparently thought he could quiet the torrent of calls by presenting his standard public relations riff.

The uninterrupted 22-minute interview [Listen] was a classic example of a political tapdance. Hutchinson recited his department's achievements (border arrests, Walmart busts, etc.). But he refused to answer direct questions about interior and workplace enforcement.

John demanded to know when the illegal alien sweeps would resume:

"Why don't you tell us that you will begin rounding them upagain? Our listeners want to hear that the border sweeps will continue…The reason people are angry in Southern California is because the Bush Administration and your department are not doing their jobs in protecting us from the illegal alien invasion. It's costing California taxpayers over $5 billion dollars a year. We have overcrowded schools, overcrowded hospitals, overcrowded emergency rooms, overcrowded freeways. We have enormous problems and we are getting zero help from the federal government."

Hutchinson tried to claim that the DHS was doing something, but in fact, there's no policing in the workplace or anywhere in the interior.

By refusing to promise any interior enforcement, Hutchinson infuriated Kobylt and his audience.

Out of John and Ken’s frustration, a plan emerged: to choose a big-name Republican who's useless on illegal immigration. Their goal is to vote that person out in November.

Step one was an online poll listing 13 Republicans in their broadcast area.. Listeners could pick one Representative to be axed.

The finalists were: David Dreier , Chris Cox , Mary Bono,  Darrell Issa , and  Dana Rohrabacher. John and Ken announced that:

"In the next few weeks, we will invite each elected official to prove to us why they should not be ‘sacrificed.’ We will be asking them to do various tasks, with your input as well, to prove that they are protecting California taxpayers from the illegal alien takeover. Keep listening to John and Ken on KFI AM 640 from 3-7p, because the blue-blazered, Washington elite are being exposed on the issue."

A political death sentence coming from John and Ken is no idle threat. Their show is the most popular in its time slot and many listeners take action based on the what they hear.

When they posted Asa Hutchinson's phone number, an annoyed White House demanded that the two announcers cease and desist.

During the Gubernatorial Recall last year, John and Ken  collected 4,000 signatures against Gov. Gray Davis (ungenerously known as "Gumby" on the show) in four hours at an event in Ontario, CA.

In 2002, they organized a campaign in which over 200,000 Orange County voters used write-in ballots in order to defeat the re-election of suspected pedophile Judge Ronald Kline.

It's not hard to dump a useless Republican in California. A switch of 20,000 to 40,000 votes in a district would unseat even a very popular incumbent, and send a message to the Republicans that immigration law must be enforced.

Taking down a big cheese like Dreier, Chairman of the powerful Rules Committee, or Cox, Chairman of the House Policy Committee, would be huge.

One of the unlucky five, Rep. Darrell Issa, appeared on the show [listen] the day after the finalist’s names were announced. Issa knows this is one election he doesn't want to win.

Tuesday July 27 was a memorable double header, with two Congressmen appearing on the show.

Cox appeared at the 4 pm slot. He is a well known political smoothie, practiced at double talk. Although his voting record on immigration is good, he has climbed near the top circle of Republican A-team leadership in the House and is smart enough to know what they want. He demonstrates neither passion nor strong leadership on immigration.

The hour was painful to hear [But click here anyway.] since Cox, as the Chair of the Select Committee on Homeland Security, has the responsibility to protect the country from terrorists and millions of alien Mexicans.

When John and Ken brought up recent security breaches, like the disturbing case of 14 Syrians with expired visas run amok on a Detroit-to-LA flight, or  Rep. John Culberson's warnings [listen] about al Qaeda men coming across the southern border disguised as Mexicans,

Cox admitted the system had failed. But he gave no indication that genuine inland sweeps would resume.

John Koblyt appeared near a brain explosion after an hour with Cox's pleasant evasions. He recalled how Cox had been infuriating in past interviews for his lack of passion and leadership and for general political shuffling to avoid John and Ken's pointed questions.

Rohrabacher followed during the next hour [Listen]. He sounded more approachable, citing his leadership in the House regarding illegal immigration. He reminded the audience that he had gotten threats of violence because of his bill to collect money owed by indigent foreigners to American hospitals.. And Rohrabacher gets it, saying about unrestricted illegal immigration, "It's destroying our country."

But a disagreement quickly erupted over the $5+ billion it costs California annually supply healthcare, education, housing and other public services to an invading army.

Rohrabacher said the federal government shouldn't be seen as paying for illegal immigration and that such payments would eventually set the subsidies in stone. (SCAAP the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, already does exactly that.)

"Unfunded mandate," responded John and Ken, loudly, citing the obvious irresponsibility of the feds who dump the problem on border states.

In different ways, both Congressional representatives revealed the impervious Beltway mentality. The concept of government for the people apparently weakens after years in Congress.

And the representatives' staffed and buffered lifestyles keep them from hearing the real level of anger from citizens about the invasion. Hour-long blasts of fury from the constituent zone are surely a change in tone from the ordinary Washington life of a Congressional member.

To her credit, Representative Mary Bono actually came to the studio this Tuesday August 3 [listen] and stayed for an extra hour [listen] to answer callers' questions. She touted the additional federal healthcare dollars she had helped legislate for California, known as DiSH or Disproportionate Share Hospital funds, to aid institutions which are being overwhelmed by patients unable to pay. But she made clear that she would not be providing leadership against the underlying problem - illegal immigration.

At this writing, Rep. David Dreier, the listeners' first choice for sacrifice, is resisting appearing on the show.

As one of the more energetic open borders supporters, he has earned a lot of constituent anger. Stay tuned.

John and Ken’s popularity lies in their focus on the National Question. And Southern California is ground zero.

Their trademark is not simple anti-liberal ranting, but precise, useful, targeted blame.

John and Ken are pioneering a unique form of political theater. Politicians get to make their case under heavy duty questioning. Then they must face the consequences.

Around Labor Day, the unfortunate Political Human Sacrifice will be announced. From then until the election day of doom, the loser will receive the pummeling from John and Ken he or she deserves.

It's brilliant radio that keeps listeners tuning in and burning up the call-in lines. 

With government undermining the nation's immigration laws and sovereignty, venues to activate citizens are more important than ever.

Talk radio, along with the Internet, is carrying this debate. The Establishment Media won’t touch it.

VDARE.COM suggestion: after the election, John and Ken should sacrifice a corporate co-conspirator with the Treason Lobby -  like, for example, First Data’s Charlie Fote.