Sen. Jerry Moran on Pat Roberts, the Tea Party and the NRSC's role in protecting incumbents

washingtonexaminer.com ^ | 3/12/14 | David Drucker

[cotton1706]

Sen. Jerry Moran is in a unique position.

The Kansas Republican won his Senate seat in 2010, perhaps benefiting from the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s decision to stay out of what was a vigorously contested GOP primary against a fellow incumbent congressman. But as the current NRSC chairman, Moran is throwing his weight around on behalf of Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts, who is facing a primary challenge from Milton Wolf, a radiologist and distant cousin of President Obama.

The NRSC took a hands-off approach to GOP primaries in 2012, even where incumbents were running for re-election. But since Moran became NRSC chairman last year, the committee has assumed its traditional role of protecting incumbents and playing a role in primary contests. That could put Moran on the spot in Kansas.

The senator is up for re-election in 2016 and could find himself staring down the same collection of activist groups, based in Washington, D.C., and elsewhere — though not in Kansas — who are working to oust Roberts. The same goes for the Republican voters who end up in Wolf’s camp in the Aug. 5 primary. But Moran doesn’t appear worried.

In a brief interview with the Washington Examiner on Tuesday just off the Senate floor, the NRSC chairman said he expects Roberts to cruise to victory in the primary, while cautioning that there is not a noticeable Tea Party-GOP establishment split among Kansas Republicans that might exist elsewhere. Moran also questioned the power of the out-of-state groups who are supporting Wolf to move the needle. Here’s an edited transcript of the exchange:

[cotton1706]

Look at Jerry Moran's voting record. What type of candidates do you think he will fund and endorse??

Moran (KS) - - 72% (Average) - 66% (Heritage) - 75% (CFG) - 80% (ACU) - 67% (FreedomWorks)

[navymom1]

Certainly no conservative. He’s my senator and one of the reasons I left the Republican Party.

[fieldmarshaldj]

I might be more excited to remove Pat Roberts were it not for the fact that we know NOTHING about Zero’s cousin Milton Wolf.

[BillyBoy]

>> we know NOTHING about Zero’s cousin Milton Wolf. <<

He's Obama's cousin? No way! I must have missed the first 54,392 times he said it. ;-)

[Clintonfatigued]

I know a little about Milton Wolf. He’s a radiologist and he says that Cousin Barack is “ruining the country.” He seems to have some Tea Party support.

[Impy]

Roberts doesn’t need to be replaced at all, let alone with a cypher who’s campaign consists of “I’m a doctor not a politician!!!!” and “I’m Obama’s distant cousin that he never met before, it would somehow annoy him to have me in the Senate”.

I wish Senate Conservativs fund would endorse Joe Carr in TN instead of wasting time on this.

[BillyBoy]

You're right, these "conservative activists" touting Wolf constantly do almost nothing to help Joe Carr against a real RINO.

And ironically the "we don't want career politicians", "three terms is enough, its time for him to go or be pushed" and the "he's been trending downward in his conservative votes" crowd seem to be TOTALLY supportive of incumbents like Justin Amash, who fit ALL of their above reasons for primarying an incumbent, and are much further left than Pat Roberts or Mike Enzi. Amash has voted with Pelosi on numerous major legislation, uses the excuse that he's doing it for "constitutional reasons" (the constitution somehow forces him to oppose drilling in Alaska and to support abortion for gender selection), yet the "Tea Party Express" crowd still loves him.