McCain Thinks Roberts’ Hold on Army Secretary Misses the Mark April 28, 2016

(AP) – Kansas Republican Sen. Pat Roberts is blocking a vote on the nomination of Eric Fanning to be the next Army secretary. At issue are efforts by the president to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and transfer detainees to the United States.

Republican Sen. John McCain tried to secure a vote on Fanning, who if confirmed would be the first openly gay leader of a U.S. military service.

But Roberts objected on Thursday, saying he won’t relent until the White House promises no detainees will be moved to Fort Leavenworth in Kansas.

McCain says it’s unfair to block Fanning’s nomination over an unrelated issue. McCain calls it a distortion of the Senate’s advise and consent role.

Fanning has served in several roles at the Pentagon.

Blunt & Roberts-Former Intell Members-Blast Torture Report December 9, 2014

Here is former Intelligence Committee member Roy Blunt’s remarks provides by Blunt’s office:

Former Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts criticized. It, too.
Back in 2003, it was reported that Democrats asked Roberts to look into the methods of enhanced interrogation that were in use.
He did not.
Here are his remarks Tuesday:
“The release of this flawed and partisan study poses an immediate and direct threat to Americans overseas and those serving our nation in harm’s way. This is a liberal political exercise that serves no purpose and will damage the national security of the United States at a time when the threat of terrorism and terrorists groups, like ISIS, grow more dangerous by the day. The release of this dated study damages our efforts to fight terrorism and will cause those who serve in the Intelligence Community to become risk averse, shaking the faith these brave men and women have in their mission and in our government. I encourage Americans to read the Minority Views for a much more accurate assessment of the facts.”

Missouri Democrat Claire McCaskill:

“This is a gut-check moment for our country-a test of whether we can hold to our values as a true and open democracy.

“One thing that separates America from most nations in the world is our ability and willingness to hold our government accountable. That’s what this report represents. And it is something that would never happen in countries such as North Korea, China, or Russia.

“The world knows that the United States engaged in torture. Engaging in such practices damaged our nation and tarnished our values. But failing to hold our government accountable would do permanent damage to those values and diminish even further our standing in the world.”

Washington Post.: Inside the Red Wave with a Roberts Lead November 5, 2014

The Washington Post
Battle for the Senate: How the GOP did it

From the Senate to gubernatorial races, here are the key winners Republican from the 2014 midterm elections. (The Washington Post)
One night in early September, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called a longtime colleague, Sen. Pat Roberts, from his living room in Louisville, furious about the 78-year-old Republican’s fumbling and lethargic reelection campaign.

Roberts had raised a paltry $62,000 in August. He was airing no ads. His campaign staff, mostly college students, had gone back to school. Most worrisome, McConnell had in his hands a private polling memo predicting Roberts would lose in Kansas — an alarming possibility that could cost the GOP a Senate majority.

McConnell was blunt. A shake-up was needed. Roberts unleashed a flurry of expletives at McConnell. Ultimately, though, the ex-Marine gave in. The next day, he led campaign manager Leroy Towns, 70, a retired college professor and confidant, into a Topeka conference room and fired him. There were tears. “It hurt,” Towns said.

Eleven hundred miles away in Richmond, Va., Chris LaCivita, a hard-charging Republican fixer, was on his back deck picking apart steamed crabs and drinking beer with friends when he got the order to fly to Kansas. The Republican rescue was underway.
More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/battle-for-the-senate-how-the-gop-did-it/2014/11/04/a8df6f7a-62c7-11e4-bb14-4cfea1e742d5_story.html

Bob Dole a Clown? November 1, 2014

Washington Times:

Independent senate candidate Greg Orman, left, talks with a supporter before a campaign event in…
Did Greg Orman, the wealthy businessman running as an independent in the Kansas Senate race, really call Bob Dole, the 91 year-old Kansas Republican political legend, a “clown”? Orman’s remarks, just days before the midterm election, have set off a new round of sparring in his contentious race against incumbent Republican Sen. Pat Roberts.

It happened Friday, as Dole, along with fellow GOP luminaries Chris Christie and Haley Barbour, appeared at a Roberts campaign event. In recent days, other Republican bigwigs, including Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, Mike Pence, and Ted Cruz, have campaigned on Roberts’ behalf. So Orman was asked: What about the continuing series of national Republicans who have come to Kansas to campaign for the incumbent?

“It sort of seems like a Washington establishment clown car to me,” Orman answered, according to a transcript provided by his campaign. “You know, every day a new person comes out of that car. You know, ultimately we have gone out and we have brought our case to the voters of Kansas, and everywhere I go, I hear the same things. Kansans think Washington is broken.”

Not long after, Elahe Izadi, a Washington Post reporter covering Orman, tweeted: “Greg Orman referred to Clean Sweep GOP bus tour as a ‘Washington establishment clown car.'”

In the heat of a campaign, a Democrat, or even a self-styled independent like Orman, could probably get away with referring to Christie, et al, as occupants of a clown car. But Bob Dole? In Kansas? The Roberts campaign was quick to jump on Orman’s ill-chosen words. “If he wants to attack me, that’s fine because I’m used to being attacked by liberals,” Roberts said in a statement. “But Mr. Orman owes Sen. Dole an apology.”

Roberts campaign manager Corry Bliss called Orman’s words a “slimy attack” which revealed the independent candidate’s “true colors.” And then Dole himself reacted with a simple statement that bordered on bewilderment. “I don’t think I’ve ever been called a ‘clown’ before,” the World War II hero turned lawmaker and presidential candidate said. “I’m disappointed by Mr. Orman’s statement.”

Asked for reaction, the Orman campaign said Orman has said many favorable things about Dole and would never refer to the former Kansas senator as a clown. “Greg Orman has the utmost respect for Sen. Dole, and he obviously did not call him, or any other person, a ‘clown,'” said Orman campaign manager Jim Jonas in a statement. ”
More :
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/battle-in-kansas-did-greg-orman-call-bob-dole-a-clown-roberts-campaign-slams-slimy-attack/article/2555580

K-State Coach Endorses Roberts October 30, 2014

(AP)– Beloved Kansas State University football coach Bill Snyder has endorsed Sen. Pat Roberts for re-election and is appearing in a new television ad for the three-term Republican incumbent.

Roberts’ campaign launched the statewide spot Thursday, just five days before the election and with Roberts locked in a tight race with independent candidate and wealthy Olathe businessman Greg Orman.

Snyder is highly respected and has largely remained aloof from politics. His 6-1 Wildcats are the only unbeaten team in the Big 12 and are generating buzz because they’re ranked ninth for a national football playoff spot.

Snyder describes Roberts in the ad as a good friend and “as good as it gets for the state.”

Orman has argued that Roberts is part of the gridlock in Washington.