Agricultural Business Council Celebrates A Career Well Done

Photo by Greg Tammen, Kansas State University Olathe

For someone who claimed he didn’t know the meaning of the word “laconic” [brief and to the point], Senator Pat Roberts offered a master class on the use of it in his talk to Council members at a special luncheon honoring his 40-year career in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. The event took place October 15 at Kansas State University Olathe, and featured comments from both Kansas Governor Laura Kelly and Attorney General Derek Schmidt. 

Gov. Kelly introduced Sen. Roberts as a “rabid Wildcat, a natural standup comedian and a revered statesman who became [for her] a role model, a mentor and an advisor.” In closing, she thanked Sen. Roberts for “finally retiring” so she could “publically recognize” him for all that he did “behind the scenes” to get things done. The Governor described the Senator as a “true public servant and a Kansas treasure.” 

Among the many reflections he noted from his career, Sen. Roberts’ lamented how the senate is at odds. “Senators used to spend more time together,” he said, adding that they used to vote “as people,” not a necessarily a political block. He mentioned that his first encounter with Sen. Pat Leahy did not get off on a good start. Since then he and the Senator from Vermont have become “best friends.”

Among some of his laconic observations, Sen. Roberts remarked that “doing away with the filibuster is non-sense.” He related a recent interview with regional political broadcaster Mike Mahoney: “As usual, he cut me off.” He also warned that the country “is getting close to a monarchy,” but suggested the “pendulum will swing back.” The Senator struck a more serious note when he said there are no self-made men. “It’s your friends who make you who you are.”

Sen. Roberts, a graduate of Kansas State University, served eight terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1981 to 1997.He served as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps and worked as a newspaper reporter before entering politics in the late 1960s. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1980 to succeed 1st District Congressman Keith Sebelius, for whom he had worked. He served eight terms in the House, including one as chairman of the House Agriculture Committee. Sen. Roberts was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1996. On the Intelligence Committee, he was responsible for an investigation into the intelligence failures prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He led Kansas' congressional delegation and chaired the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee. Sen. Roberts is the first person to chair both the House and the Senate agriculture committees. On January 4, 2019, Roberts announced that he would not seek reelection in 2020.