Pat Roberts: Don't blame the Senate Intelligence Committee for faulty intelligence

At what appears to be a rare debate between US Senator Pat Roberts and his challenger, former Democratic Congressman Jim Slattery, Roberts said that he shouldn't be held accountable for helping usher the US into the wrong war at the wrong time using faulty intelligence.

Just because he was the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee in charge of overseeing all of that nonsense, doesn't mean he should be responsible for matters relating to intelligence oversight, apparently.

You see, Pat says that since his committee released a report (a couple of years after they were supposed to) that sort of kind of admitted that we screwed up, he should get a pass on being the one in charge when the screw-up happened. No joke, folks.

Roberts countered that the world, not just the U.S., got the intelligence wrong -- and once that was realized it was his committee that made the information public. Several audience members laughed at Roberts' statement.

Unfazed, Roberts continued: "Jim, you wouldn't even know about this information except for the fact I released it."

OK, first of all, EVERYONE knew the intelligence was faulty, it was only a matter of those who were willing to admit it. Second of all, Roberts should not get a pass for admitting he was a worthless chair, especially when it took him so long to do it.

Memory Pills Roberts has got to go. Forty years is long enough.

Slattery launches web site

Jim Slattery posted this video on his official blog yesterday, hitting on the same theme we've hit on a couple of times (here and here). Pat Roberts is scared of his record and he's scared of a legitimate candidate like Jim Slattery.

The Slattery camp also launched a new Web site, 40 Years is Long Enough, detailing Pat Roberts many failings as a United States Senator.

Check out the video, the blog and the Web site and let's get Pat Roberts out of office.

The Kansas Republican Assembly is right

Stop the presses folks, the nutjobs over at the Kansas Republican Assembly -- a shell organization which, in effect, runs the KS GOP -- have actually made a good point, though I don't think it was intentional.

In an effort to slander the "Red Star" (some people refer to it as the Kansas City Star, a Pulitzer prize winning newspaper) these radicals have said something intelligent.

A very wise politician once told me, “You’ll know when your opponent thinks you might win when they start attacking you by name.”

They were referring to an admittedly curious development in which Dave Helling over at PrimeBuzz has been specifically referencing The Kansas Meadowlark, the grandaddy of all crazy republican blogs in Kansas. Imagine if the folks at TKR were just a little bit more unstable, but actually did research. Ya, that's Meadowlark.

So, with this quote in mind, do you believe the Republicans when they say Slattery doesn't have a chance?







Neither do I. The worst part? This isn't even all of them. There have been two more TV ads and a radio ad attacking Jim Slattery. Please use our ActBlue widget at the right of your screen to help Jim Slattery fight back. Pat Roberts has millions and this onslaught is not going to stop anytime soon.

Roberts: When I said I was going to play nice, I didn't REALLY mean it

Pat Roberts has gone negative yet again. Curiously, his most recent ad isn't on his web site. Embarrassed of your new spot, Pat?

Maybe its because you remember that you said something back in August 2007, when you spoke with Rep. Dennis Moore at an event at Johnson County Community College. What was it that you said? Can't remember for sure Sen. Memory Pills?



Oh no worries, here's a video to remind you.

There is a difference between campaigning for the office, and campaigning against somebody else and I have always tried to campaign for the office…I will campaign for the office and I will not campaign against anybody.

We totally agree Pat, we totally agree.

Jim Slattery hits the nail on the head

Roberts releases poll

Pat Roberts released a poll, paid for by his campaign, that shows the "overwhelmingly popular" Senator barely has a majority, despite being in congress for decades.

The poll shows Roberts leading presumptive Democratic nominee Jim Slattery 54% to 34%.

As we've said on this blog since day 1, while this race will be difficult for Slattery, anytime you see an incumbent as entrenched as Roberts is hovering around 50% four months out, things could get exciting.

More than that, this poll was conducted June 27 - July 1. Which means Pat Roberts had already been on the air for weeks with three television commercials and a radio ad before any of this was taken into account, and still only 54% of Kansans are willing to add on to his 40+ years in Washington.

The poll also included numbers for the Presidential race. Like the Senate race, it shows a Republican who is winning, but with numbers that should be concerning. The poll has McCain beating Democratic nominee Barack Obama 49% to 36%.

Again, remember, George W Bush got over 60% in 2000 and 2004, so for a Republican presidential nominee to be polling under 50% in Kansas -- in July -- is HUGE.

In the end, both these polls show what most people watching these races already know -- Sen. Obama and former Congressman Slattery are facing tall odds, but they each have the advantage of running against thoroughly flawed incumbents and could be in position to mount challenges no one thought possible in a "red" state like Kansas.

McCain outraised by Obama in Kansas; Roberts hires Mean Girl to campaign

A couple of interesting notes in a Harris News story from this weekend.

First, we see that Sen. Barack Obama has raised more money in Kansans than has Sen. John McCain.

Obviously, it's early and this isn't necessarily a good method of predicting elections, but it was certainly unexpected and I think goes to show that a) Kansans are excited about the candidacy of Barack Obama and b) John McCain still has some work to do after losing the Kansas caucuses to former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.

Especially intriguing was the response by KS GOP Executive Director Christian Morgan...

"Senator McCain has a pretty big lead in the state of Kansas and he's not going to lose that lead to Barack Obama," Morgan said.

OK. Glad to know the KS GOP still thinks John McCain will win Kansas. Doesn't really address the fundraising numbers, but hey, it'll do.

Speaking of intriguing responses. Responding to Slattery's claim that Sen. Pat Roberts used your tax dollars to come back to Wichita and film a TV commercial, Roberts' camp had an especially venomous response that would make Regina George proud.

"Kansas is winning and Jim Slattery is whining," said Roberts' spokeswoman, Molly Haase.

Classy. Word is Tina Fey has contacted Molly about being cast in the sequel to Mean Girls.

Of course, Sunday's Topeka Capital-Journal shows even the mainstream media now realizes that whatever Kansas may have won from the recent GAO decision, it was in spite of, not as a result of, Pat Roberts, Sam Brownback, John McCain and Todd Tiahrt.

Slattery hits Roberts on Buy American

The Slattery camp today hit Sen. Pat Roberts for his reactionary "leadership" on the matter of the controversial contract awarded by the USAF to a French company.

This is an issue that we here at LBK have been all over since the first days of our existence, and something our Republican counterparts on the Net have pretty much ignored (coal is so much more sexy).

“Roberts had two chances to fight for Boeing and Kansas,” Slattery said. “First as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and then as a member of the conference committee for the 2006 Defense Authorization bill. On both occasions, Roberts failed.”

The Roberts camp had contended that the provision wouldn't have prevented the deal because Northrop Grumman -- an American defense contractor -- is partnering with AirBus on the contract. According to Defense News, that's not the case.

“The [Buy American] provision aimed at Airbus, a subsidiary of European giant EADS, is a narrowly written amendment banning the defense secretary from buying goods or services from any foreign company that receives subsidies from a foreign government that is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The prohibition applies when the United States is engaged in an unresolved WTO dispute over the subsidies, or if the WTO has ruled that the subsidy is prohibited.

The language is tailor-made to keep Airbus from winning an Air Force tanker contract against its American rival, Boeing.”

NOTE: It is but a coincidence that the son of Pat Roberts, member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, was a lobbyist for one of the biggest defense contractors in the country (Northrop) and he just worked on helicopters, so there is nothing unseemly going on there.

The Roberts camp is singing a different tune now. Now they're saying they voted against the Buy American Provision because it was "protectionist" and "irresponsible" and that it would have been vetoed by the President.

The problem is, if the provision was specifically tailored to prevent the very eventuality that happened -- AirBus winning the contract -- why is Roberts so outraged now? Does he no longer believe it's "protectionist" to prevent the outsourcing of military contracts to companies subsidized by foreign governments?

Also, don't forget the fight to kill the Buy American provision was championed by none other than Sen. John McCain.

Kudos to Slattery for holding Roberts' feet to the fire and saying what we've all been thinking since ol' Memory Pills started carrying the Bush Administration's water.

“It’s time Roberts put the best interests of Kansas ahead of old party politics,” Slattery said. “Roberts had an obligation to do his job and stand up to President Bush on behalf of Boeing and Wichita.”

...

Slattery said Roberts should be fired for failing to protect Kansas jobs. “It is time to replace Roberts with a senator who will care about Kansans and champions the issues important to them,” Slattery said.

I think Sen. Sam Brownback put it best.

"Thanks be to God and the GAO."

Someone had to make the right decision, because Brownback, Tiahrt, Roberts and McCain sure weren't in any mood to do it. Not if it meant standing up to George W. Bush and their EADS lobbyist buddies.

Double Vision, One Name

Jim Slattery (US Senate candidate) and his son Mike Slattery (KS Senate candidate) spoke about their visions for Kansas and the country on a live chat today. Check out the full chat here.

Here are some highlights:

Question: After the economy, the #1 issue for young voters is the War in Iraq. What do you think is the best way to bring the war to a close?

On June 12th, 2008 JimSlattery says:

I think it is disgraceful that we went to war in Iraq based on inaccurate intelligence data. Since then we have lost the lives of more than 4,000 of our best, brightest, and bravest men and women. The war continues to cost over $10 billion a month. I think that within the next year we need to begin to responsibly withdraw our troops from Iraq and refocus our attention on fighting a smart war on terror.

Question: What do you feel you would bring to your office that differs with most older leaders?

On June 12th, 2008 mikeslattery says:

Thanks for your question. I believe being raised in the technology age gives young candidates a more hopeful perspective on life. Watching technology do the "impossible" repeatedly in our lifetime gives us the ability to dream about changing our future.

Furthermore, I believe our generation is focused on the future much more than previous generations. We are focused on making peace across party lines to make a difference for the people we represent. Previous generations get too caught up in "big party" politics, as opposed to caring for their constituents.

Question: When you are talking to young voters what do you tell a young person that is not registered to vote and why they should register?

On June 12th, 2008 JimSlattery says:

Bottom line. If we are going to turn this country around, we can't do it if young people aren't involved in the process.

Every young American has the duty to register to vote and vote. We all have to assume our responsibilities as citizens if we expect to change our country.

How do you know Jim Slattery is legit?

When the National Republican Senatorial Committee decides to use some of their precious few campaign funds to slander him.

It's official folks, not only do Republicans realize that Slattery is a legitimate candidate, methinks they may even be a little nervous. The NRSC is broke, they aren't going to spend one red penny in a race that they think is in the bag.

So what do we do? Well, for starters, donate to Jim's campaign using our ActBlue widget to counteract the national right-wing money.

Pat Roberts hasn't lived in Kansas for nearly half a century and has been in Washington since before man walked on the moon. It's time for him to retire.

Will John McCain be the third Republican ever to lose Kansas?

Poll numbers show this may not be as preposterous as it sounds.

In a poll released yesterday, SurveyUSA indicates McCain holds a 49-39 lead in the state with 12% of the electorate undecided.

In a state where Republican Presidential candidates routinely put up numbers north of 60%, it's significant that McCain cannot break 50.

It should be noted that Huckabee handily won the Kansas Caucus after McCain had already effectively won the nomination and, much like the Democrats who claim they won't vote for Obama or Clinton, many of these jilted Republicans will come back into the fold before it's all said and done.

Additionally, respondents were 42% Republicans, 40% Democrat and 18% Unaffiliated. Democratic registration in the state is on the rise, but this is probably a more Democratic sample than the population as a whole.

These quirks aside, SurveyUSA has been quite successful this cycle in predicting notoriously difficult to predict primaries, so it provides at the very least for some interesting discussion.

The second thing this poll provides is a counterpoint to the recent Rasmussen poll that shows more Kansans would be less likely to vote for Obama with Kathleen Sebelius on the ticket.

The poll showed, not surprisingly, that Huckabee would be McCain's strongest running mate. Among the Democratic pairs matched with Huckabee, Obama/Sebelius does the best by far at a mere +4 for McCain.

Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty is the only McCain running mate who causes Obama to lose ground (a whole point) with Sebelius on his ticket and former North Carolina Senator John Edwards is the only Obama running mate that does better than Sebelius.

As they say, the only poll that matters is in November, but this poll lends credence to the argument that Obama makes Kansas competitive. If McCain pulls in 55% instead of 60%, that spells bad news for Republicans and could mean Obama brings Nancy Boyda, Jim Slattery and Donald Betts along for the ride.

Pass the mud, please

I'm growing more and more disgusted with the Pat Roberts campaign each time his spokesmodel Ashley McManus opens her mouth.

Of course, Pat Roberts has always said he's tired of the way campaigns resort to slinging mud instead of focusing on the issues. After his first $50,000 ad-buy (in April), apparently the type of shoes Jim Slattery wears is considered an issue.

Now, in a recent story in the Washington D.C. newspaper The Hill, McManus is up to her typical underhanded, immature snarkiness.

Ashley McManus, a Roberts spokeswoman, said Slattery’s criticism of the war is “a bizarre thing for Jim Slattery to say, given that when he was in Congress he voted for us to go to war with Iraq [in Operation Desert Storm].

Are you serious? Is this woman really going to have us believe that voting for Operation: Desert Storm is the same thing as voting to preemptively invade a sovereign nation based on faulty intelligence (which her candidate would help cover up later on)?

Maybe that kind of stuff goes over in Virginia, Ashley, but here in Kansas, we're not buying it.

As the story went on, McManus continued to prove that she and the Roberts campaign have permanently waved bye-bye to reality.

“We look forward to a campaign based on the issues and the differences between Pat Roberts’s tireless service to Kansas and Jim Slattery, who stopped working for Kansas so he could enrich himself working for special interests,” McManus said.

Just because you heard Pat Roberts' voice at the beginning of the "gucci loafer" radio ad saying "I'm Pat Roberts, and I approved this message," that doesn't mean he...well...approved the message.

It's not just the Roberts campaign though that has separated themselves from reality. Republican consultants too seem to be basking in the false sense of security.

“I’m sure [Slattery]’ll be able to raise some money, and I’m sure that the senatorial committee will come in and spend some money too, because they’re definitely raising a lot, but I think Pat Roberts is very well-respected throughout Kansas, both in the eastern and western part of the state. And when the ads start coming up, I think that Pat Roberts will probably pull away,” [Republican consultant Aaron] Trost said.

As we've covered here extensively, the public polling data doesn't back up this claim of Roberts' popularity.

Though his overall approval rating is 54% as of 4/25, it is heavily propped up by a 70% approval rating in Western Kansas. In Eastern Kansas and Wichita, where the overwhelming majority of voters in the state live, his approval ratings are 52 and 48%. Hardly a slam-dunk for a guy who has been in Congress for 20-some years and has never got less than 62% of the vote in November.

For Roberts to win this race, he must do extremely well in Eastern Kansas and Wichita and he must pull a good number of moderates and independents into his fold. His numbers among moderates and independents? 51 and 54%.

But honestly, what does the public know about who the public likes.

BREAKING NEWS: Rasmussen poll shows Roberts is vulnerable

HUGE news from the Slattery/Roberts race. An independent Rasmussen Reports poll shows Roberts leading Slattery 52-40.

That's right, Roberts, who didn't even have an opponent in 2002 (not had a weak opponent, had NO opponent) can only muster 52% before Jim Slattery has spent one red penny on advertising.

Moreover, the poll also indicated that 17% of respondents were undecided on Jim Slattery, if those votes break 50/50, that makes it a 48-44 race before a single Slattery TV commercial hits the airwaves.

Obviously Roberts has ample campaign funds, so this will still not be an easy race, but we're here to tell you that, come September, October and November, this will be one of the races the whole nation is watching.

Inspired by our friends at Kos and some of the other major liberal blogs, we'd like to take this opportunity to put forth a challenge to our readers. We're still a very young blog, so let's start off with a modest goal, say, $100 by the Sunday at 8 p.m. Use our ActBlue widget at right or head to our ActBlue page so that we can track donations.

Run, Roberts, Run!!!

Before the Democrats even sort out who their nominee will be for the United States Senate seat currently held by Pat Roberts, Roberts and the KS GOP have already set the tone for how this election cycle is going to go. Dirty.

First, Roberts' camp launched a radio ad attacking Jim Slattery for living in Washington, D.C. since 1994. The ad claims that Slattery was a lobbyist "Gucci loafers and all." No word on whether Slattery actually wears Gucci loafers.

Then, the pimple-faced operatives over at the KS GOP found the YouTube.



These two ads show us two things. One, the Kansas Republican Party and the Pat Roberts' campaign have no intentions of talking about issues. Two, they're scared.

Thankfully, the Kansas Democratic Party has shown they're not going to let Pat Roberts voting record and dedication to the failed policies of the Bush Administration be swept under the rug.



Nothing like the smell of political mud in the springtime. At least one party and one campaign is more interested in issues than childish, personal attacks.

Senate fundraising numbers

Here at LeftBrainKansas, we continue to be your only source for campaign finance data (other than our friends at Boyda Bloc of course, but they're sort of limited in their coverage) Today, we bring you the US Senate numbers (save for Jim Slattery, who's report has yet to be posted to the FEC's web site). Obviously, Sam Brownback is not running, but he's spending money, so we decided to include him as well. We'll update this as soon as Slattery's report is posted.

Links: Lee Jones, Pat Roberts, Sam Brownback

Fundraising Update: Jim Slattery

We already reported Pat Roberts' campaign numbers, now an Associated Press story printed in today's Wichita Eagle has approximate numbers for Democratic candidate Jim Slattery as well.

Republican Sen. Pat Roberts is reporting nearly $3 million in the bank for
his latest re-election bid, while his leading Democratic challenger raised more
than $250,000 since entering the race last month.

The latest totals for the Kansas Senate race indicate that Roberts will
face a vigorous challenge in his quest for a third term.

Considering that Jim Slattery only filed his Statement of Candidacy with the FEC on March 14, that means he has raised a quarter million dollars in less than a month, not too shabby.

ROBERTS CAMPAIGN ANNOUNCES NUMBERS TO SUPPORTERS

Pat Roberts camp sent out an email to his supporters with some basic numbers in it for their 1Q haul. Thanks to the reader that forwarded this email to us.

According to the email, Roberts raised $522,024.00 and has around $3 million in cash on hand. This doesn't (or at least shouldn't) come as a surprise to anyone. We knew whoever went up against Roberts was going to have to overcome a fundraising deficit.

Word on the street is Jim Slattery is putting up some impressive numbers in a very short period of time. We'll keep you posted throughout the day as reports pop up.

After all the dust has settled, we will post a breakdown of all the fundraising numbers for the four US House Races and the Senate race, as well as the two state parties.

BREAKING: Roberts downgraded by CQPolitics

We've been hammering on Pat Roberts lackluster polling data (see here and here) and his inability/unwillingness to protect American jobs (see here, here, here, here, here and here) and people are finally starting to realize that this race is going to be one worth watching. In a story released today by CQ Politics, the Roberts vs. Slattery/Jones race was downgraded (or upgraded, depending on your perspective) from "Safe Republican" to "Republican Favored."

The story had some interesting quotes from Kansas politicos, and even a GOP employee.

The GOP of course brought out their tired line about Slattery having worked in Washington, D.C. after getting caught up in the Republican Tidal Wave of 1994 and losing his gubernatorial election to Bill Graves.

“He abandoned the state 14 years ago for Washington’s special interests,” charged Corrie Kangas, political director at the Kansas Republican Party. “He’s a poster child for everything gone wrong in Washington.” She added her opinion that Roberts “has a strong record of achievements standing up for Kansans.”

Once you get over the initial shock of realizing the someone besides Christian Morgan works for the KS GOP, you can see the stupidity of this statement. Pat Roberts left Kansas in 1962 and has never looked back.

Pat Roberts is a Kansan like Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Penn.) is a Kansan.

Hell, Barack Obama's Kansas roots are practically deeper than Pat Roberts'.

But more than just having lived in Washington for the past, oh, four decades, Roberts is a lap-dog for the Bush Administration and presided over the Senate "intelligence" Committee during some of the worst atrocities committed by the United States since...ok, just since Ronald Reagan, but still.

“He’s been carrying the Bush administration’s water for seven years now,” Mike Gaughan, the executive director of the Kansas Democrats, said of Roberts. “He turned his back on middle-class Kansans. Kansans are tired of politicians who pledge allegiance to the Bush party. They’re looking for a uniting candidate.”

Finally, the piece highlights the most recent abysmal failure of Roberts' tenure in

Some observers also think Democrats may be able raise an issue about Roberts’ effectiveness in the wake of the awarding of a $40 billion contract for refueling tanker planes to a European company instead of Boeing Corporation. Boeing has factories that are major employers in Wichita, the largest city in Kansas.

“The tanker deal was a shocker, with Wichita so tied into aviation,” said Bob Beatty, an associate professor of political science at Washburn University in the state capital of Topeka. “There could be a lot of ads on this issue, not from Slattery but probably from issue groups. Especially in the Wichita area, they could come in and hammer hard and negative.”

But even that prospect left Beatty sanguine about Slattery’s chances for an upset of Roberts. “Certainly, the Republican is favored at this point. A lot of things have to happen for Slattery,” Beatty said.

It's time for a Senator who has the guts to stand up to the likes of John McCain when they want to ship Kansas jobs to France, and not do what George W. Bush tells them to.

Mr. Mediocre

Yet another Survey USA approval rating poll has been released for Sen. Pat Roberts and the "wildly popular" Senator continues to be...well...not wildly popular. (Historical analysis on Roberts lackluster polling is here)

His ratings did tick up, from 51% to 52%, but let's take a look at the numbers in depth.

In Western Kansas, where comparatively few people live, Roberts enjoyed a very strong 72% (19% of those surveyed).
In the Wichita area, his approval rating dips down to 50% (30% of those surveyed.
In Eastern Kansas, which makes up an overwhelming majority of the state's population, his approval rating dips to 46% and makes up 51% of those surveyed.

Basically, without a single iota of campaigning from Jim Slattery, a popular six-term Congressman from 2nd District in his own right, Roberts is looking at a 52-48 race. Hardly a slam dunk.

But let's look at something else: the undecideds.

In the Wichita area, 19% were unsure of their feelings on Pat Roberts. In Eastern Kansas, that number is 15% and overall it was also 15%.

That means that of the 600 adults that took the time to take part in this phone survey (which, for the record, had a margin of error of +/- 4.1%) nearly 100 of them were unsure.

Now, we do not wish to contend that this race is a lock for the Democrats either. Slattery faces a primary (Lee Jones) and Roberts will probably end up with over $4 million to slander whomever the Democratic nominee is, but it looks like the Nancy Boyda vs. Jim Ryun/Lynn Jenkins race will not be the only throwdown in Kansas this election cycle.

Cross posted at DailyKos.

Jim Slattery web site

Jim Slattery has a preliminary web site up. Go check it out.

If Lee Jones strikes your fancy, he also has a web site.

Whichever candidate you prefer, one thing is for sure: Pat Roberts has got to go.