Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts on his home turf
Perhaps the most awesome Freudian slip that I've seen so far during the 2014 campaign comes from the campaign manager for Kansas Senator Pat Roberts who used
these words to describe his boss's decision to return to Virginia after winning his primary battle:
“He went back home for two days or three to rest. I think he’s going to come back here the first of next week,” [Roberts campaign manager Leroy] Towns said.
Yes, you read that right. The campaign manager for a senator whose address in Kansas is a time share in a La-Z-Boy store (
really!) openly talks about his boss's "home" as being in Virginia.
Apparently, Towns realized that his choice of words was a flub, but his recovery didn't really make things any better:
“Home is probably not the right word in terms of the way the campaign’s been. But anyway he went back there. It’s where his family is at the moment. But he does intend to spend every moment between now and the election in Kansas, I think, that he can,” Towns said.
Ah, yes, we probably shouldn't call it his "home" ... but it is "where is family is." Or, to put it differently, that's where he lives. And unless he doesn't live at home ... well, you get the drift.
But even though Virginia is his home, or where he lives, or where his family is, Towns did say that Roberts would at least spend every moment possible in Kansas between the primary and the election. That counts for something, right? Wrong, because:
... according to Republicans familiar with the race, that just hasn’t happened. [...] Roberts has not been actively campaigning for about a month now.
Maybe Roberts was counting on a divided opposition to let him coast to victory—he had both an independent and Democratic opponent.
Oops. The Democratic candidate has dropped out in favor of the independent Greg Orman, who may caucus with Democrats if he wins and has a very good chance of winning.
The situation is so dire for Roberts that the national GOP has moved in to take over his campaign because a Roberts loss could put a Senate takeover out of reach for the Republican Party. If that happens, there will be a silver lining for Roberts, however: He'll be able to spend more time at home. In Virginia.
