First, the demographics. From In this moment:

With a population of about 40,800, located in a county with a grand total of 63,800 people, Hutchinson is best known as the home of the Kansas State Fair … In the 2004 presidential election, only 33 percent of the county voted for Democrat John Kerry, while 65 percent supported Bush.

And what does Kansas think of Senator Pat Roberts helping Bush stonewall any investigation of His illegal domestic surveillance program? Here’s what the local paper, The Hutchinson News has to say (and I’m quoting most of it—fair use! Fair use!—because it’s all so good):

Pat Roberts made it clear again last week that he puts loyalty to the Bush administration ahead of everything else, even his responsibilities as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Instead of beginning a probe of President George W. Bush’s domestic spying program, as critics demanded, Roberts announced that he’d reached “an accommodation” with the White House - creation of a subcommittee to monitor the operation, just as the Bush administration wanted.

No messy public hearings before the Senate Intelligence Committee. No need to specify how many e-mails and phone calls the government monitored without court authorization. No need to identify which U.S. citizens the National Security Agency watched and why.

And worse—A committee dominated by the Republicans has replaced the FISA court, without even changing the law! And even worse than that, the legislature has usurped a judicial function, helping Bush continue to destroy the separation of powers, our protection against tyranny (Federalist #47, here).

Just business as usual, except that seven of the Intelligence Committee’s 15 members now receive regular briefings from the White House.

Good God! Briefings as a substitute for performing the Constitutional function of oversight!

Two committee Republicans, Maine’s Olympia Snowe and Nebraska’s Chuck Hagel, made life miserable for Roberts when they threatened to side with Democrats last month and vote to investigate Bush’s domestic spying operation. Needless to say, Chairman Roberts left them both off the oversight subcommittee.

Nice. Hopefully Snowe and Hagel didn’t get their thirty pieces of silver for betraying the Constitution. There is justice.

No need taking chances, after all. Roberts wants to stop an investigation, not start one.

Once again, he succeeded.

In July 2004, the committee issued its blistering report on prewar Iraqi intelligence. But to protect the president, Roberts delayed phase two of the report until after the November elections.

Phase two explores political manipulation of the flawed prewar intelligence. Despite repeated promises by Roberts to complete it quickly, the investigation remains unfinished.

Harry Reid brought the Senate to a halt on this one. So where’s the report?

Roberts issued a news release last week to announce his deal with the White House.

“It has always been my desire as chairman to uphold and preserve the nonpartisan tradition of the Intelligence Committee,” Roberts said.

Snicker.

Roberts put Bush’s re-election ahead of an informed electorate when he delayed phase two of the pre-war intelligence report. He placed loyalty to the Bush administration ahead of Americans’ civil liberties when he foiled an investigation of domestic spying.

But that’s OK! Because Bush is a Godly man!

To Pat Roberts, the Senate Intelligence Committee exists for one reason - to validate the policies of President George W. Bush.

Well, yeah. So what’s your point?

There are Americans who are demanding a return to Constitutional government and an end to Repubublican lawlessness and thuggery. Do the Beltway Dems understand this?

NOTE A tip of the Ol’ Corrente chapeau to Josh Rosenau of the Kansas State Project.