Former U.S. Rep. Jim Slattery, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Kansas, had a far ranging online chat via the Lawrence Journal World and its readers today.

I was most interested in how he would address is “lobbying past,” particularly after the recent past Pat Roberts ad blasted Slattery for being a—horror of horrors!—a lobbyist.

Here’s Jim’s response to a question on the topic from the chat:

Moderator: As I’m sure you can imagine, several members of our audience would like to know about your “past as a lobbyist.” So I’ll condense those questions into one. 1) What groups did you represent? 2) Did you pay Kansas income taxes on your earnings? 3) How do you respond to those who say a former lobbyist shouldn’t be elected?

Jim Slattery: 1) I have released a full list of my lobbying clients and the work that I did on behalf of those clients. Many of my clients were Midwest companies that had national and international problems. For example, Midwest Grains in Atchison, my hometown, was my first client. I also did work on behalf of the Kansas City Southern Railroad. I’m very proud of the work I did for those clients because it helped save jobs in the United States. I never took a client whose cause I did not believe in and I did not represent any large oil companies, pharmaceutical companies, or foreign governments. 2) I paid Kansas income taxes on my earnings in Kansas. I have paid income taxes in Kansas every year since I graduated from college. 3) It depends on who I lobbyied for and I never did anything I didn’t think was in the public’s best interest. I am very proud of the clients that I represented and the work that I did on their behalf. Had I lobbyied on behalf of EADS/Airbus, like Pat Roberts son, that would be a legitimate objection.

I thought this was a very good start on answering the “accusation” of being a former lobbyist. My next piece of advice for Jim is to go on the offensive against Roberts about him having basically never left Washington, DC for forty years or so. Jim not only has to define himself but define his opponent.

Hats off to the LJW and Rep. Slattery for an excellent chat on the issues!

Technorati Tags: Jim Slattery, Pat Roberts, 2008 Election, U.S. Senate, Kansas