The Anti-Sam Brownback Blog

(Crossposted at The KU Young Democrats Blog)

In the upcoming nomination hearings Senator Sam Brownback has a chance to catapult his name into households around the country. Last week he stated that he would be opposed to anyone who was not a vocal opponent of a woman’s right to choose. Bush has handed the judicial committee just the type of nominee that Brownback warned against.

For Brownback, this is not just about the supreme court and certainly not about Kansas. This is about his plan to run for president in 2008 on the backs of the Christan right. They would be his constituency and his foot soldiers. They would fund his campaign, much as the netroots left funded the Howard Dean campaign in 2004. They are the only group of voters that currently have the foggiest idea who he is. It is their frustration at the shelved anti-gay marriage constitutional amendment and the continuation of abortions that he will use to paint himself as their outsider from the Midwest. A Christian man above the corruption of Washington politics. The only caveat? He has to feed them. They are hungry after being starved by the Bush administration.

Here is his chance.

If he opposes the Miers nomination he will get the press that has so far eluded him. He will bolster his bona fides with his base. He will also incur the ire of the business lobby who likes Miers and couldn’t care less about social issues.

It is obvious that he didn’t know about Mier’s nomination before the rest of us. Yesterday he didn’t even issue a statement. Today he issued a weak wait and see press release (emphasis added).

Brownback continued, “I have said in the past that I would like a nominee with a proven track record on important issues to all Americans and whose judicial philosophy is well-formed. I am not yet confident that Ms. Miers has a proven track record and I look forward to having these questions answered. President Bush has a long-standing working relationship with Ms. Miers and I trust the President knows her heart and her mind. Even so, the confirmation process has just begun and questions about her views on the Constitution need to be answered. As President Bush and President Reagan have commented in the past, in this regard I feel we must trust but verify.”

I am looking forward to seeing him interrogate her. This is the defining moment for his presidential bid. If he is strong in demanding what the right wants he will be well on his way to being a strong GOP primary contender.

For Democrats this is a good thing. Senator Brownback is much more conservative than the majority of Americans and generally comes off looking like a radical. His strong presence in the GOP primary would push the other contenders to the right thus pushing away moderates needed in the general election. Any TV time he gets now is a gain for Democrats.