By John Celock
Tea Party U.S. Senate hopeful Milton Wolf is making an anti-Washington push in the final hours of his race to unseat Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) in today’s primary.
In an interview on the “Joseph Ashby Show” on KQAM radio in Wichita Tuesday morning, Wolf reiterated his opposition to Roberts’ long congressional career and zeroed in on what he says is Washington-style campaigning. Wolf, a cousin of President Barack Obama, has been trying to establish himself as the latest in a series of Tea Party candidates against long time senators.
“It’s sad that anybody in America who raises their hand and says they want to serve their country, what you have is Washington character assassination,” Wolf said. “They are saying things about me that are not true. It is sad that Washington acts that way.”
Wolf , a physician in suburban Johnson County, was focusing on a series of Roberts attacks on graphic x-ray of gun shot victims that Wolf posted on Facebook, along with allegations that Wolf did not pay taxes in Kansas. Roberts has also attacked Wolf for statements he made where he said he wanted Obama to succeed in office. Wolf has tried to paint himself as the presidential cousin who opposes Obamacare.
Wolf has focused much of his campaign on a New York Times story from earlier this year that said that Roberts rents out his Dodge City home and stays with a campaign contributor when in his hometown. Wolf has said that shows that Roberts really lives in Northern Virginia. Kansas Republicans, though, have told The Celock Report that Roberts is seen frequently around the state not just in Dodge City. The Kansas Objections Board ruled earlier this year that Roberts is a Kansas resident.
Wolf said on the Ashby show Tuesday morning that he has not attacked Roberts and has focused instead on promoting his own conservative brand. He noted that he has designed an alternative to Obamacare and was promoting the fair tax system. He reiterated that he would only serve two terms if elected to the Senate, a swipe at Roberts who is seeking his fourth term in the Senate.
In response to a question from Ashby on whether a candidate like Wolf, who has been attacking Washington, could succeed in the Senate, Wolf said he could.
“I’m not going to Washington to make 99 friends,” Wolf said. “I think Washington has lost its way.”
Wolf said as a senator he would focus on his “voice” in addition to voting in the Senate and would seek to gain support from the public in order to push his agenda. He said that he looks towards former President Ronald Reagan as a role model for gaining popular opinion.
“A senator should have something far more powerful than a vote, that is a voice. Stand up for what you believe in,” Wolf said. “These battles are not won or lost on the Senate floor. They are won or lost weeks before in the court of public opinion.”