Former Senator Pat Roberts Reflects on Lost Bipartisanship

Former U.S. Senator Pat Roberts expressed nostalgia for a time when bipartisanship was the norm in American politics, particularly during an interview conducted in October 2023. Reflecting on his relationships with figures such as U.S. Representative Kika de la Garza and U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, Roberts highlighted how collaboration transcended party lines to shape significant agricultural and food legislation.

Challenges of Partisan Politics

During the interview, part of the Kansas Oral History Project, Roberts lamented the current state of political affairs, where raw partisanship has become a defining characteristic, especially evident during the recent government shutdown. “Somehow we’ve got to get control of this ideology,” he stated. He noted that ideological rigidity has made productive discourse increasingly rare, leading to a decline in the Senate and House’s functionality. “We’re getting to the point of almost a meltdown in what the Senate used to be and the House used to be. That’s a real concern to me. That’s very sad,” he added.

Roberts emphasized the importance of listening in politics, asserting that the first lesson in the field is to understand the value of dialogue. “The first thing you’ve got to learn in politics is to listen, and the second thing is there’s no ‘I’ in politics. It’s a ‘we’ thing,” he explained. He expressed concern about the departure of experienced lawmakers who understood the significance of collaboration, with some current representatives lacking mentorship from seasoned officials.

Commitment to Listening and Engagement

Roberts, who represented Kansas’s 1st District in the U.S. House for eight terms from 1981 to 1997 before serving in the Senate until 2021, attributed his success to regular listening tours across every county in his district. He recalled advice from former Kansas Governor Frank Carlson, who taught him that “you never get hurt by what you don’t say” and that active listening was crucial to effective governance. This approach allowed him to engage with constituents, even those critical of his policies, while maintaining a sense of humor.

A native of Topeka, Kansas, Roberts’s political journey began early, influenced by his father, Wesley Roberts, a prominent figure in Kansas Republican politics. His early exposure to political figures, including President Dwight Eisenhower, further solidified his path into public service. Reflecting on his tenure, Roberts noted his role in the completion of the Eisenhower Memorial in Washington, D.C., a project marred by delays and family disputes over design.

Roberts recalled the significance of the memorial, which features an open-air plaza and a backdrop depicting the Normandy cliffs. He expressed disappointment over the time it took to complete the project, lamenting that many World War II veterans did not live to see the memorial dedicated. “I am sad that it took so long because we lost a lot of World War II veterans,” he noted.

His reflections also included poignant memories of conversations with former Senator Bob Dole, a close friend and fellow Kansan, who passed away in 2021 at the age of 98. Roberts recounted a touching moment when Dole expressed his affection during one of their conversations, illustrating the deep bonds that can form across party lines. “He said, ‘I love you.’ And I said, ‘I love you, too, Bob.’ I teared up the whole day. He was a great man,” Roberts said.

As Roberts looks back on his career, he hopes for a return to a political climate where bipartisan cooperation is prioritized, allowing lawmakers to achieve meaningful results for their constituents. His reflections serve as a reminder of the importance of dialogue, understanding, and collaboration in a time when such values appear increasingly rare.