I live in Kansas and have almost all of my life. I grew up in poverty, and I can tell you from that perspective the 80s looked very different. I've seen up close and personal what the Republican party has done to this state with its stranglehold on our politics. Don't forget that the Koch brothers are based here, just for example.
The party itself has gone so far off the deep end it's not even funny, and it's taken Kansas with it. Gone are the days of Bob Dole and Nancy Kassebaum. Kansas Republicans have historically been relatively centrist and practical for the most part, but neither could survive in the GOP today. Governor Brownback has been an unmitigated disaster, not to mention everyone from Kris Kobach to Phil Kline.
And then there's Kassebaum's successor, Pat Roberts.
More after the fold...
Where do I even begin?
Sure, I can see how he might be able to make a pretense of moderation, at least in the current climate, maybe compared to his Tea Party primary challenger, but that pretense doesn't really hold water.
Let's start with his most recent and probably biggest stunt. Did you notice how a few Republican senators voted against the deal to end the shutdown and avert economic catastrophe? He was one of them. His party was given the economic equivalent of a nuclear weapon and he voted to USE it. Again, only because he's being challenged from the right.
What's probably next in line in reverse chronological order is his attempt earlier this year to cut $12 billion from food stamps, on top of the brutal sequester. He didn't just vote for this- he introduced the amendment. It was literally his idea.
Then there's gun control, my God gun control. How can anyone call himself pro-life and oppose practically every piece of gun control legislation he ever sees? Gun violence in this country extracts a death toll to rival 9/11 every single month. Then Gabby Giffords, Sandy Hook, the teacher who recently gave his life defending his students, it goes on and on and on and Congress WILL NOT DO ANYTHING about it. Over 90% of Americans want tougher gun laws, even large majorities of Kansans and NRA members do. It's just that Congress is in thrall to the gun lobby and manufacturers and the NRA leadership. Pat Roberts is part of the problem.
Environment: LCV gave him a 0%, drilling in ANWAR, more offshore drilling, hell the "Drill Everywhere Amendment", gutting mercury regs, attacks on the EPA, trying to sneak Keystone XL into completely unrelated legislation, etc etc ad nauseum.
Just for laughs, run a Google search for "Pat Roberts hypocrisy".
His brilliant work on the Intelligence committee:
"Three years ago on the eve of the invasion of Iraq, Roberts himself was involved in disclosing sensitive intelligence information that, according to four former senior intelligence officers, impaired efforts to capture Saddam Hussein and potentially threatened the lives of Iraqis who were spying for the United States."
(28 June 2006 by 1st Republic 14th Star)
Budget: Back when we had a surplus he voted to put tax cuts over debt reduction. Funny how Republicans didn't care about the deficit when Dubya (who DOUBLED the national debt) was President.
He voted against the Violence Against Women Act, ending tax benefits for shipping jobs overseas, CHIP, and just about any and all campaign finance reform.
He voted for constitutional amendments banning flag desecration and gay marriage, wiretapping, more use of the death penalty (again, pro life? wtf?) making the War on Drugs even worse with tougher penalties and wasting more money, raising the estate tax to $5 million and over (and tried to eliminate it entirely), and practically every "free trade" bill and treaty.
He voted for Alito and against Sotomayor.
He wants to spend even more money on the Pentagon.
He wants to PRIVATIZE EDUCATION AND SOCIAL SECURITY. Cuz ya know, corporations do such a great job running prisons!
UGH. You get the idea. This is going long already...
How has this sniveling weasel survived this long? 1) By selling out completely to the NRA and Koch brothers and 2) by staying in the dark, under the radar. Roberts is arguably the most anonymous senator of all. He's been in public office for over 30 years but 41% of Kansans say they have no opinion of him. He wins elections only because of that little (R) by his name and the party's training and manipulation of likely voters. In 2002 the Democrats didn't even try to beat him. He literally ran unopposed. Obviously that's no way to win. That attitude needs to stop. Howard Dean's 50 State Strategy can and does work, even if it takes time.
Which brings me back to my original question. With a strong Democrat challenger who can tap into the state's Progressive roots and populist sentiment, someone who can win over the working class voters and bring the poor to the polls, is Pat Roberts beatable? Who would that be? Any chance Kathleen Sebelius is interested? Granted, she's more "moderate" than "progressive" but she would be much better.
Are Roberts's recent votes the last straw? Maybe with enough effort to educate voters?
Frankly I'm a little worried that no challenger has stepped up so far. I don't see why not. If nothing else, Brownback is so unpopular that the turnout of Democratic voters will be much higher than it usually is in a midterm election. We can leverage that. We should at least try.