Greg Orman – The Cipher For Senate

The Only Man Less Open Than Greg Orman
The Only Man Less Open Than Greg Orman
Image Credit: Clancco.com

Senator Pat Roberts leaves a lot to be desired. He represents McLean, VA quite efficiently. Unfortunately, he runs for office as a Senator from the Great State of Kansas. Although he was forthright and honest enough to announce to the world that he could be found in Kansas “anytime he had an opponent.” So if there were ever a candidate for the costly and difficult incumbent removal surgery, Pat Roberts could quite possibly be it. Regrettably, the eager assassins of the status quo have to take into account just what Senator Roberts would be replaced with. This won’t be easy as Moe Lane very capably pointed out yesterday. Roberts’ opponent, Greg Orman is oleaginous and opaque to the point of being a political cipher. Perhaps only the guy in the Guy Fawkes mask who symbolizes Anonymous reveals less about his true identity to the general public.

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Here’s what we do know about Greg Orman.

Orman, 45, is a political enigma. Over the years, he’s donated money to both liberal Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) and the National Republican Congressional Committee. He says he voted for President Obama in 2008 and Mitt Romney in 2012. And he won’t reveal which side he would choose in the Senate. But national Democrats have been mum about Taylor’s sudden departure, fueling speculation the party believes there is a very good chance Orman would side with them.

When it comes to any issue, he manages to squirm his way onto both sides like a blob from a 50’s era Monster Flick. He holds both sides accountable for partisan gridlock. He wants to secure the border, but still would have supported the last comprehensive amnesty reform bill that would have given lawbreakers citizenship ahead of people who waited in line and followed the procedures. After several years of giving money to Barack Obama, he favored Romney in 2012 because Obama was too partisan in how he approached healthcare. Oh, and if he is elected senator, he will caucus with whichever party has the majority, and then talk to both sides if he is the deciding vote. He’s a true Rock of Jello-GelatinGibralter.

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His refusal to say anything that would suggest a partisan set of beliefs is almost impressive. When asked if he would greenlight The Keystone Pipeline, he says he needs to study the issue. Does he favor gun control? Yes, but he won’t say the deplorable words “Assault-Weapons Ban.”

Then we encounter the issue of who funds this guy. Rajat Gupta, of Goldman Sachs infamy, is Orman’s Wall Street money connection. Yet despite his ties to the Corzine Money Factory, his history of donating to Barack Obama and Al Franken, he claims to approve of former Republican Bob Dole’s collaborative legislative style.

I think the clearest indication yet of what we can expect from Greg Orman came from his rejection of a recent overture from defeated GOP Primary Candidate Milton Wolf. Wolf offered Orman the opportunity to blow Pat Roberts out of the water. Wolf, considered a Tea Party stalwart, would endorse Orman over Pat Roberts if he agreed to caucus with the GOP. Orman turned this down. Milton Wolf may not be a friend of Pat Roberts ever in this lifetime. However, by making Greg Orman actually decide on something, people can see which side he came down on. This is what Pat Roberts will have to continue doing if he wants to remain a powerful man in Washington, DC.

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