NewsRadio 1330 KNSS - Slattery Makes Bid for U.S. Senate

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Posted: Tuesday, 29 April 2008 1:11PM

Slattery Makes Bid for U.S. Senate

Democrat Jim Slattery portrayed himself Tuesday as an agent of change as he launched his campaign for the U.S. Senate, but he immediately faced a radio ad attacking him as a Washington lobbyist.

A former congressman, Slattery is seeking to challenge Republican Sen. Pat Roberts, who's seeking his third term. He described Roberts as an entrenched politician who has been in office too long.

Slattery called the Iraq war "tragic and costly" and said he would have voted against the congressional resolution allowing President Bush to wage it. He also said current political leaders have demonstrated a "breathtaking incompetence."

About 100 supporters attended a rally in Topeka to watch Slattery kick off his campaign, and Gov. Kathleen Sebelius introduced him. He also scheduled events in Overland Park, Kansas City and Wichita. Besides Sebelius, legislators and other prominent Democratic activists attended Slattery's Topeka rally.

"My mother used to tell me that it is better to light a candle than curse the darkness," Slattery said during a rally in Topeka. "Let's not curse the darkness. Let's light a candle for change in Kansas."

Roberts campaign spokeswoman Ashley McManus noted that Slattery left Congress in 1994 for an unsuccessful run for governor and has worked since then as an attorney and lobbyist.

The incumbent began broadcasting a statewide radio ad featuring a couple mocking Slattery, describing him as "a real liberal." In it, the man says Slattery is a Washington lobbyist, "Gucci loafers and all."

"Pat Roberts just understands Kansas better," the man says.

The woman replies: "Yeah, Roberts got to Greensburg just hours after the tornado. He really helped people." The ad refers to the twister that destroyed more than 90 percent of the southwest Kansas town in May 2007.

Slattery said Roberts' attack ad is a sign that the incumbent senator probably has internal polling showing that he's not secure in his bid for re-election.

In the Aug. 5 primary, Slattery faces Lee Jones, an Overland Park railroad engineer and labor union activist. Jones garnered only 27 percent of the vote in 2004 in an unsuccessful race against GOP Sen. Sam Brownback.

Republicans enjoy significant advantages in voter registration in Kansas, and Democrats nationally concede that unseating Roberts will be difficult. No Kansas Democrat has won a Senate seat since 1932.

"The reason Slattery's running is that the Democrats only have a handful of politicians in this state with enough name recognition to have a plausible chance," said Bob Beatty, a Washburn University political scientist.

Slattery served in the Legislature and started a real estate firm in Topeka before winning a seat in the U.S. House in 1982, representing the 2nd District of eastern Kansas.

In 1994, Democrats considered him their most formidable candidate for governor but as the nominee faced a nationwide Republican tide, receiving only 36 percent the vote against GOP nominee Bill Graves.

Sebelius acknowledged encouraging Slattery to run for the Senate this year. He told supporters in Topeka that he's concerned about the economy, the nation's dependence on foreign oil and the war in Iraq.

"The United States Senate is simply not getting the job done," he said. "I cannot in good conscience continue to sit on the sidelines and watch career politicians lead this country in the wrong direction."

But McManus described Slattery as someone who "stopped working for Kansas years ago so he could make millions for himself working for special interests."