To the editor:

In its Jan. 30 issue, the Journal-World quotes Kris Kobach: “The Southern Poverty Law Center has been saying negative things about me for a long time …” and the group has “basically become a left-wing smear organization.” The first sentence is true, and those “negative things” are based on undisputed facts.

Kobach’s second sentence is blatantly false. Over the past 30 years the SPLC has won legal battles for the rights of minorities, children, prisoners and immigrants. It has successfully sued a virulent Ku Klux Klan branch and other hate groups for their violent acts, driving some out of business. It continues its legal and educational battle for otherwise powerless victims of illegal discrimination and violence.

Please read the online record to understand how Kobach’s statement makes him a one-man smear group.