Secretary of State Kris Kobach, known for his work in tightening voter ID laws in Kansas while working on immigration reform laws elsewhere in the country, spoke to about 40 people at Talette’s Café in Tonganoxie for a Leavenworth County Republican Party meeting.

Kobach arrived just before 7 p.m., which is when President Obama was to give his speech on his executive order giving amnesty to millions of undocumented people living in the United States.

The restaurant doesn’t have TVs, so Kobach listened to Obama’s speech on an electronic device and addressed the crowd after that.

“They realized that regular programming was more interesting than our teleprompter-in-chief,” Kobach said, referencing major networks opting not to televise the president’s speech to the nation.

Some in attendance voiced concern about the president’s executive order, but Kobach said there were ways to combat it.

“We have to rely on the power of the purse or judicial action,” Kobach said. “It’s not going to be easy.”

He said Congress must use the power of the purse — withholding funding or stipulating use of funds in other areas — to put pressure on Obama.

Kobach also addressed same-sex marriage. He said he commended Gov. Sam Brownback and Attorney General Derek Schmidt in challenging decisions to allow gay marriage in the state.

Kobach also talked about his re-election earlier this month when he won about 59 percent of the vote against Democratic challenger Jean Schodorf.

That was the same percentage he garnered in his first election in 2010.

“It appears there hasn’t been any fall-off in support,” Kobach said.

The secretary of state said the latest vote total — he actually won 63 percent of the vote in Leavenworth County — was indication that Kansans favored the new ID laws that require a driver’s license be shown upon voting.

Critics have said the new laws hinder the accessibility to vote and that voter fraud cases in the state were minimal under previous law. Others have questioned Kobach, who also is an attorney, and his outside work on immigration reform elsewhere in the country. Critics say he should be focused on secretary of state duties.

“Obviously the people of Kansas are fine with that, too,” Kobach said about his immigration work.