LJWorld.com weblogs Congressional Briefing
Posted
by Joel Mathis
July 18, 2007 at 10:05 a.m.
Is Pat Roberts vulnerable in 2008?
Is Sen. Pat Roberts vulnerable in 2008?[The Swing State Project,][1] a liberal Web site tracking campaigns across the country, seems to think so. Some of their reasons:![][2]¢ "Since August '06, Roberts' average approve-disapprove (poll numbers) has been 50.3-37.3. These are not the intimidating approval numbers of an unbeatable incumbent. If a Senator from a traditional Presidential swing state had approval numbers like these, that Senator would be a top-tier target. "¢ "A few indicators suggest that Kansas is growing more and more comfortable voting Democratic. First, compare the approval ratings of a couple of chief executives. George W. Bush's approve-disapprove in Kansas stands at a shocking 38-60. Bush's approval in Kansas is so low that Pat Roberts himself has begun to qualify his support of Bush's Iraq War."¢ "The Kansas Republican Party has seen better days. The KS-GOP is apparently near bankruptcy. The KS-GOP is getting sued over a labor dispute. And, following a spate of high profile Republicans in Kansas changing their voter affiliation to Democrat (including current statewide officeholders and a former KS-GOP Chair!), the KS-GOP has cooked up a rather creepy Unity Pledge."But, as the Web site notes, finding a prominent Kansas Democrat to mount a challenge Roberts might be difficult.UPDATE Christian Morgan, executive director of the Kansas GOP, responds: _1. The Party is not nearly bankrupt. We have good cash on hand and are increasing money-raising daily.__2. We haven't "cooked up a creepy Unity Pledge" - in fact - we haven't created a Pledge at all. _Other headlines today:Rep. Nancy Boyda (D) ![][3][(Politico.com) Tax fight sends business lobby back 'home':][4]Nine months after taking back Congress, Democrats lament they still have to remind the business community who's in charge. Some Democrats grew frustrated last month when Wall Street investment interests, after courting the new majority, rushed back to longtime Republican allies at the first sign of a possible tax bill. ... In the meantime, political operatives in both parties are keeping a close eye on campaign donations and coalition work to gauge the support they have from individual lobbyists. Democratic aides are still upset that business groups ran six weeks of ads against four vulnerable Democrats -- Reps. Nancy Boyda of Kansas, Christopher P. Carney of Pennsylvania, Tim Mahoney of Florida and Heath Shuler of North Carolina -- in opposition to a bill that would ease organizing requirements for labor unions.[(Tonganoxie Mirror) Boyda: Iraq exit strategy should be Bush's lone option:][5] Congresswoman Nancy Boyda has high praise for the U.S. commander in Iraq, but says it's time President Bush and his advisers prepare an exit strategy for U.S. combat troops in the oil-rich country. "We need to make decisions now on where things are, not on where they wish they were," Boyda, D-Kan., said in a telephone interview Monday while en route to Kansas City International Airport to catch a flight back to Washington. She and her husband, Steve, had just left a get-acquainted lunch at Fort Leavenworth with its new commander, Lt. Gen. William Caldwell, and his wife, Stephanie. [1]: http://www.swingstateproject.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=636 [2]: http://roberts.senate.gov/Roberts-020405-18060-080-CFFflipped.jpg [3]: http://ljworld.com/specials/election04/primary/boyda.jpg [4]: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0707/5003.html [5]: http://www.tonganoxiemirror.com/section/local/story/11250
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Comments
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Horace (anonymous) says…
Roberts was charged with overseeing the CIA before 9/11 and before the Iraq WMD fiasco.
He may be an honorable guy but he is fatally incompetent. Send him home and lets see what Kathy can do.
Machiavelli_mania (anonymous) says…
Yes, Pat Roberts is responsible for the f a i l u r e of Congressional Oversight of (of the DIA) Intelligence in the run-up to invade Iraq. He also F A I L E D to practice adequate Congressional oversight prior to 9-11.
AND he votes with highly-unpopular Bush 98% of the time. Even voted with Bush last night.
Machiavelli_mania (anonymous) says…
I am WITH you on that one. Kathy is a mover and shaker. AND that is what Kansas needs.
And Pat Roberts has been bought-and-sold by something, someone, some lobby other than Kansas voters.
I would love to vote for "Kathy" over Roberts. She would do a far better job.
But we have those Diebold machines that a lot of states are now replacing, and Brad Bryant is not to be trusted as far as you can push him. So Roberts may win, all thanks to the KS Sec. Of State's political bend.
If you cannot re-count a vote, it is not a vote.
LiberalDude (anonymous) says…
It won't take a "prominent Kansas Democrat" to beat him. The Boyda victory showed that. At this point I think Kansan's would take anyone over more Bush/Roberts/Brownback crap.
Tychoman (anonymous) says…
Is Roberts vulnerable? God I hope so.
dagopman (anonymous) says…
Are most of the posters Republican or Democrat? I am curious.
50YearResident (anonymous) says…
Roberts will be joining Ryun in retirement come his next time up for re-election along with all the other "Bush enablers"
Jamesaust (anonymous) says…
Q: Is Pat Roberts vulnerable in 2008?
A: Yes.
Sebelius would clearly beat Roberts. I'd guess, if she's interested, she's targeting Brownback's seat in 2010 instead when her current term ends. (If Brownback doesn't run again then look to Moran - a Roberts clone - or Tiahrt - a Brownback clone - in the GOP primary.) I'm quite doubtful that there is any other Democrat though who could beat Roberts though. Neither Boyda nor Moore would have a prayer in the 1st or 4th Districts and couldn't hope for much more than 50% in the 2nd or 3rd. I suppose an ex-Republican could run as a Democrat.
Besides, Roberts himself thinks he's vulnerable. He's been spending a lot of time back in Kansas and has already had Bush in the state to raise campaign contributions for him.
Democrats NEED a strong opponent against Roberts even if they don't win as a competitive race would suck money and attention from '08 challenges to Moore and Boyda. In '08, Democrats are raising money 3:2 (even 3:1) so they can afford a 'US Grant' strategy of taking all the loses necessary knowing that the other side will eventually run out of resources.
mick (anonymous) says…
Roberts is going to get a huge amount of money from Big Pharma and others. The only way he can be beat is if the Kansas newspapers come out in support of his opponent which I doubt.
Oracle_of_Rhode (anonymous) says…
Let's hope Roberts goes down. He's bad for Kansas and, as his botched oversight of pre-9/11 intelligence proved, he's worse for America.
MyName (anonymous) says…
Roberts is probably the least obnoxious of the Republican Congressional delegates from Kansas. He's a senior senator and has shown that he can actually lobby to bring research and defense dollars back to Kansas. I think our governor would be an improvement, but I'd rather see a Roberts-Sebelius delegation than a Sebelius-Brownback delegation to Congress.
For me, it's not a question of whether Roberts is vulnurable, but whether the Democrats can field a decent candidate that will decide who I vote for in that election. If they bring out a nobody, like they have in the past, then there isn't really much of chance for a change in that particular seat. United States Senator is not an entry level political job by any stretch of the imagination, and I can't think of anyone other than the governor who would be a good candidate to run against him.
LiberalDude (anonymous) says…
I think some of you (Jamesaust and mick) selling the people of Kansas short. Yes, Kansas has been a Republican dominated state for a while now, but I think the state Bush aproval poll from the article (38-60) says that Kansans are ready for change. Part of the change IMO means that a candidates "name" won't mean as much in this coming election. People are sick of corrupt politicians and maybe it is time for some "non-career politicians" to get voted in to shake D.C. up a little.
mick (anonymous) says…
Pat Roberts helped to defeat a bill in committee recently which would have required Big Pharma to negotiate better prices for their drugs. Pat Roberts until recently denied the NAFTA superhighway even existed and it's going to go right through here unless it's stopped. The US Senate is 100% bought and paid for and the mainstream media is all about deceit and manipulation. If the people don't wake up the US is lost.
dagopman (anonymous) says…
Kathleen Sebelius denied the existence of the NAFTA superhighway as well.
kshiker (anonymous) says…
You guys don't even have a candidate to face Roberts. The last time I checked, there is no one who wants to face him. The Democrats will probably just do what they usually do, convince some opportunistic Republican to switch parties which is how you seem to get all of your major officials elected (Parkinson, Morrison, Boyda etc.) Not sure if some of you know too much about how the political process operates, but you can't win if you don't even field a candidate.
bugmenot (anonymous) says…
Pat Roberts is ka-razeeeee!
dagopman (anonymous) says…
You want to talk about ka-razeee...the Boyda clan (Steve & Nancy) are absolutely crazy.
Machiavelli_mania (anonymous) says…
Most of the big Kansas Newspapers are McClatchy. And I believe them to be less than GOP oriented.
Robert's is a "donkey's hindquarters", the arse.
Generally there are only two counties in Kansas that routinely vote Dem, but last election was a stunner. The entire eastern third of the state went Dem in their voting. If you are not familiar with Kansas population, that means that most of Kansans voted Dem.
Roberts brought defense contracts right to the same neighborhoods as AQ cells. Isn't that interesting? Anyone remember the AQ spy found in Homeland Security, referred for his job by neo-con Grover Norquist? Things are very seldom as they initially seem.
Roberts is a supporter of big Pharma? That must explain why he doesn't want the new immunotherapy prostate cancer treatment called Provenge (DNDN/Neuvenge for breast cancer and many other patented antigens to fight cancer) to be approved by the more-then-crooked FDA, as his response letter to us indicated. This treatment process would herald in a revolution in cancer treatment and many big pharma have a huge need to stop it, no matter how many people die of prostate cancer or other cancers in the process. Roberts and big pharma, Sloan-Kettering (can you say "Yuck"?) are not interested in saving lives. They are interested in making massive amounts of money off your desire to remain alive.
Machiavelli_mania (anonymous) says…
Gods, I would love to face Roberts! I would LOVE to publically face Roberts, so he can't double speak, which is now his habit. I would assess every single Congressional vote he ever did and hold it against him.
kshiker (anonymous) says…
Mania --
Then throw your hat in the ring. Lunatic candidates like yourself are typically the only recruits the Democrats can find for Senator Roberts when he faces reelection. Good luck!
2006 was a very good year with very good Democratic candidates facing very weak Republican candidates and challengers. Jim Ryun ran the worst incumbent congressional campaign in the history of the state. Nancy Boyda is a very smart candidate (and former Republican) who ran a very good campaign against a horribly weak incumbent. Kathleen Sebelius is a very smart candidate (her father-in-law is a Republican) who ran a very good campaign against a weak challenger. I'm a Republican and I'm proud to say that I voted for both Boyda and Sebelius.
However, Pat Roberts is a different story. You will not have as much luck against Roberts. He is a respected public figure in this state who has delivered for Kansans for a long time.
Machiavelli_mania (anonymous) says…
I have no qualifications for running for a national Congressional office. I didn't work for Keith Sebelius like Roberts did. And I don't believe Roberts ever lived in W. Kansas for any length of time over a year.
Roberts, as you can see, is not respected. And he failed to deliver for Kansas for the past 6 years.
Machiavelli_mania (anonymous) says…
Do you notice how a lot of people are f o r m e r Republicans?
Why do you suppose that is?
Lynn731 (anonymous) says…
Boyda is an idiot. Thank you, Lynn
dagopman (anonymous) says…
Lynn-
Don't say something like that about Congressman Steve Boyda.
jimincountry (anonymous) says…
Harry Reid, the "pip squeak senate majority leader" of our illustrious democratic majority, makes me so happy to have a man like Roberts as my senator! Traitors like Reid are sure to bring back the republican party, regardless of the miserable job the RNC has done.
doubledogleg (anonymous) says…
Any serious examination of the facts will show that Pat Roberts has done more for Kansas than nearly any other person in the history of the state. He works his tail end off both in Washington and in Kansas. He has spent more time traveling the highways and listening to constituents in small county seat towns than perhaps anyone ever. He's been doing it since 1968. He knows more about Kansas, and he personally knows more Kansans than just about anyone. He gives a damn good dinner speech. And, brings a common sense Kansas perspective to highly charged debates in Washington. Furthermore, he is the one individual who has earned the support of both sides of the GOP. Combine that with a hefty campaign warchest, a Marine's fighting spirit and it is easy to understand why he remains the most popular Kansan.
jonas (anonymous) says…
"And, brings a common sense Kansas perspective to highly charged debates in Washington."
I, personally, only occasionally find Kansas perspectives to be based on common sense.
KUBlue (anonymous) says…
Below is the unity pledge that the KS GOP insists doesn't exist:
GOP Unity Pledge
I, _______________, promise never to abandon my present Republican Party affiliation for the purpose of political gain. The Republican Party, both nationally and domestically, was founded on sound and principled ideals, that include but are not limited to, personal liberty, individual freedom, responsive and citizen-based Government, life-affirming values, economic growth, strong and cutting edge military, low taxes and a mutual respect for fellow Republicans. Because of that, I will, at no point in my political or personal future, find cause to transfer my Party loyalty to any other affiliated organization.
I will not, at any future moment, become a registered Democrat for the purpose of seeking any political office. Additionally, I will not change my Party affiliation to that of any peripheral political party, such as the Reform Party, the Green Party or the Libertarian Party. Such a move would be not only opportunistic, it would be an unjustified trampling of everything that I previously claimed to stand for.
I care far too deeply about the previously espoused Republican ideals as well as the thousands of hard-working Republican citizens all over the State of Kansas to ever consider changing my political Party affiliation. I look forward to a life of citizen-serving, Republican political involvement. I thank the Kansas Republican Party, including all of the registered Kansas Republicans, for their years of service, good will and friendship.
I solemnly pledge to always be a Republican, no matter what promises are made by external forces seeking only to undermine the Republican values I stand for. I can have reasonable disagreement with members of the Republican Party; however, at no point will 'Party switching' or quitting of the Party be tolerable.
Signed,
X __________________________________