The Anti-Sam Brownback Blog

Senator Sam Brownback issued a statement today following the news of civil rights icon Coretta Scott King:

“I was greatly saddened to hear of Mrs. King’s passing,” said Brownback. “Mrs. King was a courageous and valiant woman who held our nation accountable to the principles of peace, equality and equal rights for all Americans. Her strength and fortitude helped America rise to the challenge of non-violent social change.

“I had the pleasure of meeting with Mrs. King several years ago. She was a role model for those of us working toward racial reconciliation in this country. Mrs. King and her husband saw the possibilities of a nation united, not divided by race or other divisions, and we owe it to them to continue this legacy of compassion and change.

I completely agree. One of the most admirable traits possessed by Mrs. King was her insisitence that the equality movement be inclusive. The following are some excerpts of her comments at the Creating Change Conference in 2000:

I say “common struggle” because I believe very strongly that all forms of bigotry and discrimination are equally wrong and should be opposed by right-thinking Americans everywhere. Freedom from discrimination based on sexual orientation is surely a fundamental human right in any great democracy, as much as freedom from racial, religious, gender, or ethnic discrimination.

My husband, Martin Luther King Jr., once said, “We are all tied together in a single garment of destiny…an inescapable network of mutuality.… I can never be what I ought to be until you are allowed to be what you ought to be.” Therefore, I appeal to everyone who believes in Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream to make room at the table of brotherhood and sisterhood for lesbian and gay people.

I hope that someday Senator Brownback will be able to embrace the sort of universal equality that Coretta Scott King so eloquently expressed.

[Hat tip to Pam’s House Blend. If you aren’t reading her daily you are missing out]

Senator Sam Brownback spoke today about Justice Alito’s confirmation.  The Wichita Eagle reports:

Alito “will remain faithful to the text of the Constitution and will not legislate from the bench,” said Brownback, a member of the committee that sent Alito’s nomination to the full Senate. “I… look forward to Justice Alito continuing his long devotion to law and public service on the Supreme Court.”

I have to admit, I’m not optimistic about Alito’s effects on the court.

Do remember that Alito’s confirmation is a victory for Brownback.  His voice of dissent during the Harriet Miers mess was critical to trashing her nomination.  I am certain Senator Brownback’s religious conservative supporters will count Alito as a mark in his favor.

All we can do as Democrats and progressives is win at the ballot box.  Personally, I think 2006 is shaping up to be a banner year.

Tomorrow, after Samuel Alito is confirmed, Senator Sam Brownback will be a participant in a GOP news conference discussing the outcome. Expect him to attempt to use the pulpit to his full advantage. Now that the Supreme court is full, Brownback will have a tougher time garnering media attention.

Personally, I don’t think he performed as well as he needed to during the hearings. Brownback had an opportunity to introduce himself to the American people and yet he couldn’t muster anything that got their attention. His other large issue is Iran, and I expect him to ramp up the rhetoric in the coming weeks and months. If he can maneuver himself into a position of expertise on Iran he can keep himself on the stage. With the Iranian government appearing more psycho by the moment, he might just get the chance.
Looming in the background is the anti gay marriage amendment. It is not clear when (or if) this will be brought to the full senate, but Brownback would also be the leader of that crusade.

In response to the outrage over his comments about Sweden being known by their “fruits”, Senator Sam Brownback today issued a clarification stating that he did not mean it as a joke.  The Washington Post reports:

“While this biblical passage was pertinent to our overall conversation about faith and deeds, it apparently led the writer to believe I was making a joke,” said Brownback, a frequent critic of gay marriage who is pushing a Constitutional amendment to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

“I was not and would never do so with such a personal and sensitive issue,” Brownback said.

His explanation was greeted with skepticism by the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest gay rights organization.

“It’s nice to know that Senator Brownback doesn’t resort to name-calling from the 1970s, but unfortunately his anti-gay agenda continues to speak for itself,” said spokesman Brad Luna.

I’ll take him at his word.  I’m glad that he felt it necessary to issue this clarification and I would hope that in the future he would respond in a more rapid fashion.  It seems that he only took time to clarify once it developed into a national story.  But again, I applaud the Senator for making it clear that he doesn’t use derogatory terms to describe people of other sexual orientations.

In the wake of the Rolling Stone article on Senator Sam Brownback, the Human Rights Watch has called for Brownback to apologize for referring to gays and lesbians as “fruit”. Here is the original quote:

“You look at the social impact of the countries that have engaged in homosexual marriage.” He shakes his head in sorrow, thinking of Sweden, which Christian conservatives believe has been made by “social engineering” into an outer ring of hell. “You’ll know ‘em by their fruits,” Brownback says. He pauses, and an awkward silence fills the room. He was citing scripture — Matthew 7:16 — but he just called gay Swedes “fruits.”

HRC has responded with a letter condemning the remark and asking for an apology:

While you and I are far from agreement on issues of fairness for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans, I had hoped we could communicate our differences with dignity. Senator, your use of the term “fruits” to describe gays sank far below the level of dignified discourse Americans rightfully expect of their elected officials.

In an apparent attempt to use a biblical passage to derogatorily jab at gays and lesbians, you have stepped well over the line of decorum and common decency.

I don’t see why anyone is surprised by Brownback’s hateful speech. Most people are aware he is just that radical. Brownback spews hate and intolerance whenever he has the chance and in the coming months, as we hear more from him, his public displays of bigotry will only increase in frequency.

Shame on you, Senator Brownback.

I see there is an influx of traffic stemming from the Rolling Stone article.

Make yourselves comfortable, look around a bit.

I suggest taking a look at a few of my favorite posts:

Brownback Hates Children with Diabetes

The Political Future of Stem Cells

What Will Brownback Run On?

Delicious:

Homosexuality may not be sanctioned by the Bible, but slavery is — by Old and New Testaments alike. Brownback thinks slavery is wrong, of course, but the Bible never is. How does he square the two? “I’ve wondered on that very issue,” he says. He tentatively suggests that the Bible views slavery as a “person-to-person relationship,” something to be worked out beyond the intrusion of government. But he quickly abandons the argument; calling slavery a personal choice, after all, is awkward for a man who often compares slavery to abortion.

What the hell does “person to person relationship” mean?

Another interesting tidbit:

Brownback’s wife, Mary, heiress to a Midwest newspaper fortune, married Sam during her final year of law school and boasts that she has never worked outside the home. “Basically,” she says, “I live in the kitchen.” From her spot by the stove, Mary monitors all media consumed by her kids. The Brownbacks block several channels, but even so, innuendos slip by, she says, and the nightly news is often “too sexual.” The children, Mary says, “exude their faith.” The oldest kids “opt out” of sex education at school.

No commentary neccessary

Jeff Sharlet has an artcle in the current edition of Rolling Stone magazine that profiles Senator Brownback.  It is long, comprehensive, and well worth reading.  Here is a short excerpt:

“He wants to be president,” Bredesen tells the congregation. “He is marvelously qualified to be president.” But, he adds, there is something Brownback wants even more: “And that is, on the last day of your earthly life, to be able to say, ‘Father, the work you gave me to do, I have accomplished!’” Bredesen, shrunken with age, leans forward and glares at Brownback.

“Is that true?” he demands.

“Yes,” Brownback says softly.

“Friends!” The old man’s voice is suddenly a trumpet. “Sam . . . says . . . yes!”

The crowd roars. Those occupying the front rows lay hands on the contender.

Brownback takes the stage. He begins to pace. In front of secular audiences he’s a politician, stiff and wonky. Here, he’s a preacher, not sweaty but smooth, working a call-and-response with the back rows. “I used to run on Sam power,” he says.

“Uh-uh,” someone shouts.

To quiet his ambition, Brownback continues, he used to take sleeping pills.

“Oh, Lord!”

Now he runs on God power.

“Hallelujah!”

Go read the entire article, you won’t be dissapointed.

Senator Sam Brownback has hit mainstream.

Senator Sam Brownback’s close friend and founder of the National Center for Fathering Ken Canfield officially entered the Governor’s race yesterday at a press conference held in an elementary school. After spouting platitudes about increased school funding and lower taxes, he admitted that he didn’t really know what he was talking about:

Pressed for specifics on how he was going to balance his stated goals of better schools with low business taxes, Canfield replied that it is a complex, challenging issue. He said this early in the campaign he had not yet formed a position on whether the state was spending enough on education or studied the thick budgets.

What a great start. While none of the traditional media saw fit to mention it in today’s stories, Senator Brownback’s longtime staffer Kim Smith is on leave to help the campaign. I have been told by several well informed sources that Brownback planted the seed but did not directly ask Canfield to run. In any case, it remains to be seen if Canfield can raise funds better than his republican primary opponents who both had abysmal reports.