Topeka ? Independent candidate Greg Orman is launching a new statewide television ad in the U.S. Senate race in Kansas to counter criticism from Republican Sen. Pat Roberts.

The ad began Thursday in the Kansas City, Topeka and Wichita markets. In it, Orman says Washington politicians would rather attack opponents than solve problems.

The spot does not mention specific criticisms of Orman.

Roberts campaign manager Corry Bliss said the ad “literally says nothing.”

Orman says in the ad that as he faces attacks, the nation’s problems only get worse. Orman is a 45-year-old Olathe businessman running as a centrist.

Roberts paints Orman as a liberal Democrat, saying Orman refuses to call for repealing the federal health care overhaul. Orman says the overhaul was flawed and he wouldn’t have supported it.