The Anti-Sam Brownback Blog

[This C-SPAN interview will run on Sunday at 8pm and 11pm. My readers get it here first]

LAMB: When did you decide to become a Catholic?

BROWNBACK: It was about three years ago that I actually joined the Catholic Church. And I had thought about it from about four years prior to that. So it has been seven years that I‘ve thought, studied, considered doing that.

LAMB: What were you before?

BROWNBACK: I grew up a Methodist. Parker, Kansas, where I‘m from, that a town of 250 people, we kid that we lived up in the suburbs of Parker, we were a mile-and-a-half out of town, but we were on city water, so we thought, that‘s — we were in the suburbs of Parker that — on a farm there.

It‘s a one-church town, the Methodist church, and so I grew up a Methodist, then went to college and got involved with some of the youth groups on the college campus. The Navigators was an organization. And went to a Baptist church there for a period of time.

And most recently, before I joined the Catholic Church, was attending and still attend an evangelical — free, independent evangelical church in Topeka. My family didn‘t join the Catholic Church and so we go — I have a great Sunday morning.

I‘ll go to Mass, then I go to evangelical church. I get the Eucharist and the proceedings from the Catholic Church and the preaching and singing of an evangelical church, and it‘s really — it‘s a beautiful mix.

LAMB: Why Catholic and what lead to that? Who introduced you to it?

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[This C-SPAN interview will run on Sunday at 8pm and 11pm. My readers get it here first]

Note that Brownback won’t discuss numbers on the money raised. He doesn’t have much money. One could say that his warchest is lacking.

LAMB: Let‘s go back running for president. When did you start the process of even thinking about it?

BROWNBACK: It has been probably a year-and-half ago of considering it, making some initial contacts with individuals. And I say no final decision has been made yet, although the things to start to move more rapidly coming into the next year.

LAMB: Have you term-limited yourself?

BROWNBACK: Yes. I am personally term-limited. I did that when I first ran for the U.S. Senate.

LAMB: 2010 no more, no matter what, you are not going to run again.

BROWNBACK: I stated at that point. I stated when I first ran for the U.S. Senate that I would run for two full terms. You may recall Bob Dole resigned. I ran for his seat. Was elected in ‘96, re-elected in ‘98. At that point in time I had stated I believe in terms limits, two full terms. So I was just re-elected in 2004 for my second full term.

LAMB: So what does someone like you do if you want to think about running for president? How big a group do you have working on it right now?

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[This C-SPAN interview will run on Sunday at 8pm and 11pm. My readers get it here first]

Looks like Brian Lamb reads The Anti Sam…

LAMB: What do you think about the anti-Sam Brownback blog by somebody named “KansasNate” who I guess is a student? Do you follow it?

BROWNBACK: I don‘t. I‘m not…

LAMB: Did you know it existed?

BROWNBACK: No. I presume there would be ones out there but I didn‘t know about it.

LAMB: What do you think of the redstate.org, I think it is, that suggests you would be a great running mate for Rudolph Giuliani? Have you seen that?

BROWNBACK: I have not seen that one either. I follow some of the redstate.org, but I haven‘t seen that particular one.

LAMB: What do you think when you just hear that?

BROWNBACK: I‘m in this to put forward a series of ideas. And I really think on the selection of a president you have got to get the man or woman message and moment all come together. And that happened on Ronald Reagan. I believe it happened on George Bush. I just — I think those things just have to all line up. And I believe I‘m the right person. I think I have the right message. And I think the moment is moving in our way.

[This C-SPAN interview will run on Sunday at 8pm and 11pm. My readers get it here first]

This section deals with Senator Brownback’s motivation for his Presidential ambition. Notice how he doesn’t mention abortion at all and only glosses over Gay Marriage with the “basic structures” eupumism. It seems like an attempt to appear sane. Don’t be fooled.

BRIAN LAMB, HOST: Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas, why do you want to be president someday?

SEN. SAM BROWNBACK (R), KANSAS: To be able to serve the people and to be able to renew the society and the culture. There are lots of reasons why one wants to do something like this. And I haven‘t made a formal announcement or a formal declaration. I have been traveling to a number of the early primary states.

But at the core of it, I just see that the country really needs to renew its basic structures. We have got — I chair the D.C. Appropriation Committee, and we have got over — just right at 60 percent of the children born to single mothers. A child can be born in that situation and do well, but the numbers generally move against him.

And I think we have really got to renew just these basic structures within the society. And that‘s at the core. I‘m also an economic conservative. I push things like the flat tax. I‘m a strong proponent of the military and a robust foreign policy. I‘m a full scale conservative in that sense.

But at its core I think we have to renew the society and renew the culture.

LAMB: Can you remember when you first wanted to be president of your eighth grade class?

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An online poll of RedState.org members found Senator Sam Brownback holding a position in the middle of the pack. This poll is not scientific.

Newt Gingrich 19%
Rudy Giuliani 17%
John McCain 17%
George Allen 13%
Sam Brownback 10%
Mitt Romney 9%
Haley Barbour 5%
Bill Frist 3%
Mike Huckabee 2%
George Pataki 0%

Does this mean anything at all? Not really. The audience at RedState is decidedly more conservative than the normal public and also tends to be virulently anti-immigrant. It is a good indication of how the conservative blogosphere feels about candidates this far in advance.

What jumps out at me is the high level of support he attracts even with his controversial stances on immigration. I had predicted his support to be around 5% this far out. I still firmly believe that he is a sleeper candidate that will surprise many. He is dangerously radical but if he can charm GOP moderates with faux compassion his support could easily climb.

Posting should be light for the next week or so. I am planning to research and write several posts about Brownback’s shady past. Highlights will include the Triad Campaign Finance Scandal and some of his links to extremist organizations. If any of you have a favorite Brownback foible that would add to holiday cheer, feel free to email me at TheAntiSamBlog@gmail.com and I’ll get them put up.

Happy Holidays (That one’s for you Bill O’Reilly!)

Remember Chuck Hurley, President of the Iowa Family Policy Center? He was Senator Brownback’s classmate in law school and remains a close friend. Hurley has even pledged his support for a Brownback Presidential run. Now Hurley is spearheading an assault on the rights of GLBT Americans in Iowa.

Republican state lawmakers say they will push for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage in Iowa after six same-sex couples filed legal action Tuesday claiming they should have the right to marry.

The Iowa couples filed a lawsuit in Polk County District Court claiming denial of a marriage license violates their constitutional rights.

Chuck Hurley, president of the Iowa Family Policy Center, said many in Iowa’s religious community will join the push for a constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage.

“We’re very confident that if it is allowed to be debated and voted on, we will continue to have common-sense marriage recognized in law,” Hurley said.

Ahh yes, common sense discrimination and bigotry. Thank goodness there are people like Chuck Hurley and Sam Brownback to protect me from the deleterious effects of gay marriage.

On a more serious note, this is setting up IFPC to be a major player in Iowa electoral politics. I would not be surprised at all to see Hurley resign from IFPC and run Brownback’s Iowa Caucus plan. Brownback will have a pre-organized, religiously motivated base ready to caucus on his behalf. A nice ace in the hole, so to speak.

It seems some republicans are getting a little worried about the Alito nomination. Worried enough to complain to The Hill about the lack of support from republican members of the judiciary committee which includes Senator Sam Brownback.

Republican senators are doing little to defend Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito as their Democratic counterparts and allied liberal groups co-operate to build political momentum against his confirmation, say GOP and conservative strategists working on his nomination.

“[They] better get in gear,” the strategist said, naming Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) and Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), all members of the Judiciary Committee.

“Partly, our side doesn’t think [the Alito nomination] is going to get big until after the first of the year,” the Republican strategist said.

Which is fine and dandy with me. I would rather things get heated after the holidays, rather than peak too soon and then be considered old news when the hearings actually occur.

I’m sure Brownback will turn on the afterburners and make some incendiary comments after the new year. I imagine he is hoping for a nice, contentious confirmation hearing. Just the thing to get his name back in the news and help bolster his radical credentials.

Thus goes the rampant speculation at redstate.org, a popular conservative blog:

By selecting Brownback, Rudy would be accomplishing the following:

1. He would be picking a running mate who is with him on fiscal and foreign policy matters, and who would only serve to reinforce Giuliani’s own fiscal and GWOT conservatism.

2. He would be selecting a fellow Catholic to create a ticket that would appeal to the heavily Catholic swing regions of the country, the northern midwest and the southwest.

3. He would be balancing the ticket on social issues. Brownback could assure social conservatives that he trusts Rudy on judges. Both Giuliani and Brownback could emphasize “big-tent” with this ticket, pointing out how they and their respective states disagree on abortion and gay marriage and what have you, but that they both agree that the federal government shouldn’t be deciding these issues for the states, and that as such, judges that come out of their administration will be champions of judicial restraint, not judicial activists.

4. He would be giving strategic social conservatives one more reason to vote for him: to make Brownback heir-apparent for the GOP nod in 2016. Naturally, the Left would start a “Vote Rudy; Get Brownback” campaign. Perfect. Nothing could be better to make sure the pro-life movement shows up at the polls while doing nothing to turn off states like MI and PA to the ticket, which are filled with culturally conservative Catholics.

5. Republicans would be getting a president who has proven his ability to grow the economy, cut spending, reform government, make the state work more efficiently, and decimate the bad guys.

To see why this duo would have a snowball’s chance in hell, follow me below the fold…

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