Romney kicks SB1070 architect Kris Kobach to the curb

by David Safier

Get ready for Mitt to go soft on Hispanics after drawing a very hard line in the sand, and on the border. He's distancing himself from Kris Kobach, the brains behind Russell Pearce's SB1070 (You knew there had to be someone with brains behind it, right?)

It wasn't always so. In January, 2012, Romney said,

“With Kris on the team, I look forward to working with him to take forceful steps to curtail illegal immigration and to support states like South Carolina and Arizona that are stepping forward to address this problem.”

And Kobach said,

“Comparing my involvement from 2008 to 2012, I’ve been much more involved,” he said, adding that he interacts with Romney’s staff regularly.

Today, though, when asked if Kobach is an "adviser," the email response from Romney's spokesperson was "supporter."

Could Russell Pearce and Joe Arpaio soon be demoted to "people I've heard of but don't know much about"? And will Mitt be heard to mutter "SB 10-seven-what? Yeah, I've heard something about some immigration laws in Arizona, but I haven't really looked into them. I'll talk more about it after I'm elected."