Kansas Republican voices an incumbent's lament
On the eve of an election that could end his 33-year career in Congress, GOP Sen. Pat Roberts stood Monday in a tight Republican Party office, the head shots of GOP heroes staring at him, and offered up what could only be called an incumbents lament.
On the campaign trail, senators are punching bags. Voters have lost faith in their government. His opponent doesnt even understand the institution he wants to join. In short: Its rough out here.
Its been a tough year for any incumbent, Roberts said, looking up at walls filled with portraits of George H.W. Bush, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Bob Dole.
That the Kansas conservative was the one delivering the monologue was a bit of a twist. This year, its largely Democratic incumbents bracing for a bruising election day on Tuesday thanks to a tough lineup of red state races, President Obamas deflated approval rating and months of unsettling news from home and abroad.
But perhaps because of his anomaly status Roberts feels the pressure all the more. Deep in a ruby red state, with conservative credentials and decades of service, even Roberts is on the ropes. Even he was having to explain his role in a divided government. Even he has had to distance himself from Obamas agenda, he said.
I think the president, quite frankly, has moved so far left and has made people so frustrated and upset that if youve even been within the city limits of Washington --the federal limits of Washington -- youve got a real challenge on your hands to explain to people that youve been opposed to the Obama agenda all along, Roberts said. People are so frustrated and angry that theyve lost faith in their government.
Roberts trouble comes from more than just proximity to the city limits of Washington. It has also been a result of how infrequently hes been in the city limits of his hometown of Dodge City. The senator has taken heat for allegedly taking up residence in northern Virginia and spending too little time in his home state. He didnt help his cause when, to defend himself, he explained: Every time I get an opponent I mean, a chance I come home to Kansas.
Roberts has had other trouble including a tea party-aligned primary challenge and a Democrat who withdrew at last minute, leaving him in a one-on-one faceoff with wealthy businessman and independent Greg Orman.
Orman has played coy about his partisan sympathies and has not said whom he would support for Senate majority leader. He suggested his allegiances may change from issue to issue, a notion that really riled Roberts, a dedicated party loyalist, on Monday.
Its Jim Jeffords on steroids, he said, referencing the Vermont Republican-turned-independent whose party switching gave Democrats control of the Senate.
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Kansas Republican voices an incumbent's lament