The Anti-Sam Brownback Blog

According to a press release, Senator Sam Brownback was the winner in a straw poll held by the Midwestern Young Republican Conference. The full breakdown was:

Senator Sam Brownback	28.5%
Senator John McCain	26%
Gov. Mike Huckabee	12%
Sec. Condeleeza Rice	12%
Sen. George Allen	8.5%
Undecided	2.5%
Hon. Rudy Giuliani	2%
Hon. Newt Gingrich	2%

The press release can be found here.

What does this mean? Not much. The sample size is only 125 people. However, I would imagine this was a gathering of fervent and motivated supporters who are active in the grassroots. It is interesting that his name recognition was high enough to win. It makes me wonder if the young republicans are super aware, or if there was a Brownback evangelist in the crowd.

I see there is an influx of new visitors from the article on blogging by Alan Bjerga.

Thanks for stopping by! Take a look around, bookmark, leave you thoughts.

Here are a couple of my most visited posts:

Brownback Hates Children with Diabetes

The Political Future of Stem Cells

What Will Brownback Run On?

In addition to those, the categories on the right are a good way to check up on Senator Brownback’s recent actions.

This is another winning issue for Brownback who needs to moderate his image to appeal to moderate conservatives:

Caucus members have often times been joined by religious leaders in efforts to improve the human rights situation around the world. Brownback has been a frequent speaker at conferences addressing the human rights abuses in such countries as Sudan and North Korea, alongside human rights and evangelical organizations and church groups.

“Human life is our most precious gift, and we must protect it,” said Brownback.

Part of the equation for Brownback to have a chance in 2008 is a consistently compassionate outlook. Holding the position of co-chair of the Senate Human Rights Caucus aids in that image creation. His intolerance of gays and lesbians must be countered by something warm and fuzzy. He is betting human rights will fit the bill.

As I have said in the past, he is an excellent opportunistic politician.

Frankly, I’m surprised it is that much. Senator Sam Brownback’s name recognition is still in the dumps and he is so polarizing that people who know who he is usually either love him or hate him.

What interests me about this poll by Gallup is not the numbers. This far out they are completely irrelevant. What is important is who is included in the poll. As you can see, Senator Brownback is the only hardcore religious conservative to be included in the poll. Both Rick Santorum (PA Senator) and Mike Huckabee (AR Governor) are conspicuously left off the list. These are the two that may be vying for the same demographic as Brownback. He will never woo the voters that would consider Giuliani and he won’t try. Additionally, this poll does not take into account likely primary voters. The religious conservative base turns out the vote extremely well which is why they have a disproportionate amount of sway in these primaries.

Again, the name of the game for Brownback is name recognition. He needs to be on TV every chance he can get. Iran is a likely avenue for this, as is the upcoming anti gay marriage amendment that is likely going to be introduced in the Senate in early June. Brownback could easily find himself a leading party spokesperson for these issues if he positions himself well.

Mixed in with news appearances will be continued trips to early primary states. As we all witnessed in 2004, they play a giant role in swaying public opinion.

Senator Sam Brownback is satisfied with Condoleezza Rice’s announcement of more money to support Iranian democracy:

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice asked Congress on Wednesday to provide $75 million in emergency funding to step up pressure on the Iranian government, including expanding radio and television broadcasts into Iran and promoting internal opposition to the rule of religious leaders.

Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., who has called for $100 million to promote democracy in Iran, applauded the initiative as the “absolutely right move at this point in time.” While some Iranian activists have criticized the administration for moving too slowly to support them, Brownback said the administration had been “very methodical” in fighting terrorism. “The first step was Afghanistan, then Iraq, and now you’re seeing an increasing focus on Iran,” he said.

Sounds a bit ominous to me. It is interesting to see how the administration did not throw their support behind the Brownback / Santorum bill but proposed their own solution. There could be two reasons for this. First, after Brownback’s criticism of Bush’s domestic spying the whitehouse may not be chomping at the bit to give Brownback positive recognition. Second, and perhaps more plausible, is that the House version of this bill includes language about sanctions that would anger many of our allies. By having Rice announce this plan the administration avoids having to push to have the controversial language removed.

Iran continues to get Senator Brownback in the media spotlight. As I have said before, I think this is a good move on his part and one that will make him appear to be a more legitimate candidate in 2008.

Senator Sam Brownback has decided to unilaterally piss off two of the most powerful countries in the world, Russia and China, as a result for their noncommittal stance on Iran:

Brownback said that to pressure countries that support Iran, Washington should initiate a campaign of sanctions modeled on a 1980s campaign targeting companies that helped the Soviet Union build a pipeline to Western Europe.

“Like the former Soviet Union, both Russia and China need international technological and managerial support to keep their activities going,” said Brownback.

“No international company is going to treat lightly exclusion from the U.S. market in exchange for contracts with the Iranian government,” he said.

For some background on the Reagan economic sanctions see this Time Magazine article from June 1982.

More analysis to come.

Ahh the jokes keep coming:

Sen. Arlen Specter(R., Pa.) brought down the house at last week’s Washington Press Club Foundation congressional dinner with several examples of low wit, according to Roll Call, the Capitol Hill newspaper. Specter told the assembled that Sen. Sam Brownback (R., Kan.) is working on a movie about “two cowboys who go straight and devote their energies to ending stem-cell research.” What’s it called? Brownback Mountain.

Don’t forget those cowboys, like Senator Brownback, hate children with diabetes.

Senator Sam Brownback will be the Keynote Speaker tomorrow at a Heritage Foundation event titled, “Preventing a Nuclear-Armed Iran: Will Russia and China Really Help?”:

[The United States and Germany], along with other democratic leaders, have insisted that the UN Security Council must discuss this issue and take action to prevent Iran from continuing efforts to establish a complete fuel cycle as a step toward nuclear weapons. But getting Iran on the docket at the Security Council and getting meaningful action from the Security Council will depend in large part upon what Russia and China do. Join us as our distinguished guests examine the multiple aspects of this growing crisis.

I think this is a shrewd move by Brownback.  His foreign policy experience already sets him apart from other religious conservatives eying the nomination, namely Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.  If Brownback becomes a leading conservative voice against Iran, it will set him up well to authoritatively answer voter’s questions about security.  Moreover, If Iran continues to be a problem for the international community it would help Brownback to remain in the public consciousness as a function of interviews.

Near the end of the CJ Online article mentioned previously, Bob Beatty, a Washburn Political Science professor contradicted what Brownback’s spokesman said and postulated that we will not be seeing Brownback much this fall:

Beatty said Kansans might see Brownback some this fall. But he said the senator more likely will be spending time in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, which are the first states that begin casting delegates toward the eventual presidential nominee.

“If Brownback is serious about a presidential race, then his most important priorities are the early primaries,” Beatty said. “If he has time to go help somebody in Nevada or Washington state or, heck, even Kansas, that would give him some more political chips. But he really has to work those early primary states.”

This is just one of the perks that comes with having a Senator run for president.  Brownback has already left Kansans in his dust and all of his decisions are contingent not upon Kansans needs, but upon a complicated presidential calculus.  He has no need for us now.