The Kansas Democratic Party released a radio ad today questioning why Pat Roberts launched his 2008 campaign with a bitter, personal attack ad. After decades of taking money from big oil and drug companies and then doing nothing to lower gas and prescription drug prices, a negative campaign is all Pat Roberts has to offer the voters in Kansas. Here are some of the facts about Pat's record.

• Roberts Has Taken Over $302,000 From the Oil and Gas Industry During His Career. 
• Roberts Voted for $5 Billion Tax Break for Big Oil in 2006. In May 2006, Roberts voted to provide $5 billion in tax breaks to big oil companies over five years. This money could have been used to provide tax cuts to the middle class that were instead eliminated.
• Roberts Provided More than $9 Billion in Tax Breaks to Big Oil in 2005. In July 2005, Roberts voted for a pork-riddled energy bill that gave billions to the oil and gas industries, which were already making more than enough money as gas prices were rising. Oil and utility companies such spent at least $367 million pushing Congress to pass the energy bill, which the St. Louis Post-Dispatch criticized as "unlikely to affect prices now."
• Roberts Has Taken Over $143,000 From the Pharmaceutical Industry During His Career. 
• Roberts Has Voted Four Times Against Negotiating Lower Drug Prices for Seniors. In 2007, Roberts voted against a bipartisan proposal to allow Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices for millions of older Americans. A 2005 report found that the drug prices offered by the Medicare prescription drug plan are over 80% higher than prices that could be achieved if the federal government could negotiate with drug companies for lower prices. This was at least the fourth time that Roberts voted against allowing the federal government to negotiate for lower drug prices.