The Anti-Sam Brownback Blog

At least according to Human Events, a conservative weekly magazine. Senator Sam Brownback has made few friends by supporting the Ted Kennedy immigration bill in the Senate. Human Events postulates:

Don’t take Sen. Sam Brownback (R.-Kan.) seriously when he talks about running for President in 2008. Brownback’s vote today with Senate Democrats on an amnesty bill should put an end to any remote chance he had at the White House.

The three other mavericks Brownback joined are no friends of conservatives, but Brownback is known as a strong pro-lifer who generally votes with the conservatives of his party. This vote is by far the most disappointing.

Well, he knew he was going to get in hot water with the conservative base on this issue. The big question now will be how the issue plays out nationally. I think some republicans were hoping to quietly push through a punitive bill and then trumpet to their base in the midterm elections. So far, the issue has been loud and media friendly. Additionally, the split between the republican factions has been a constant news item.

Personally, I think Brownback expects to bolster his base support once the anti gay marriage amendment comes up in the senate. He will be a leader in that noisy fight and could get some significant airtime if he plays it correctly.

The only question is whether the conservative base will hold a grudge.

Senator Sam Brownback will speak tomorrow at the “War on Christians” conference that begins today in Washington DC.  The conference organizer described it as:

“This conference is the first to explore every aspect of the War on Christians. But we won’t just complain. We’ll offer a strategy for Christians to fight back and ultimately win the culture war and reclaim America.”

Scarborough continued: “The Republican Party often takes the Values Vote for granted. They court us as elections approach and forget us as soon as they’re over. And we fall into line. Well, I’m here to tell you that those days are rapidly drawing to a close.”

Also of note is that they appear to be planning a 2008 straw poll.  Maybe Brownback can pull more than the 1.5 percent he drew at the SRLC.

More details tomorrow after his speach.

According to Tom Tancredo, Senator Sam Brownback is “as left as they come” on the issue of immigration. Of course, this is compared to Tancredo’s plan to deport all illegal immigrants and refuse them medical care.

Brownback’s stance on immigration could hurt him in the GOP primary in 2008. The current conventional wisdom holds that immigraiton will be a hot button issue and the GOP base is more in line with Tancredo than Brownback when it comes to solutions. Brownback’s “compassionate conservatism” approach to the issue would likely play better to moderate republicans than to the activist base. Tancredo obviously won’t make it very far in the primary. He hopes to hang in just long enough to put the spotlight on immigration and force his opponents to take a harder stance on the issue.

If Brownback doesn’t get on the ball with fundraising and organizing, he may find himself in the same boat with his religious conservative issues.

In fact, he will be the “featured” speaker at the convention to be held on April 1st.

Why?  I have no clue.

Yet another example of Senator Sam Brownback saying one thing to pander to his base and then doing something completely different. On a day that had all conservatives squirming under the crushing weight of their out of control spending, Senator Brownback voted for a $2.8 Trillion federal budget just after he voted to increase the national debt ceiling to accommodate his spending spree.

If Brownback was truly principled he would have voted against the budget. He has been talking the talk about increased fiscal responsibility and now refused to walk the walk.

This vote will be used with success in the upcoming midterm elections against republican incumbents. The days when republicans could claim to be the party of small government are long gone.

Sorry for the lack of posting fervor over the last few days. A combination of midterms and a destructive micro-burst of wind that tore through town has kept me overly busy. Posting should be returning to the normal frequency.

A huge thanks to all who inquired about my well being. Ya’ll are great!

Senator Sam Brownback likes to make statements about cutting spending and being fiscally conservative. Here’s the latest from the LA Times:

The GOP faithful is unenthusiastic over a blueprint that fails to deliver tax cuts and new spending curbs.

“It’s not near enough,” said Sen. Sam Brownback,” R-Kan., a prominent conservative. “It’s what we can get through and we’ll be pressed to get this through.”

Awww, such warm fuzzy conservative rhetoric. Who could guess he’s running for president?

Such talk masks Brownback’s history as a spender. He likes pork just as much as the next Senator. He even funded upgrades to an ammunition plant in Kansas that was going to be closed. $10 million went to a plant that was soon to be handed over to the private sector. He had no problem getting that “through”.

Here is a version of the narrative that is going around regarding Senator Sam Brownback’s poor showing in the Southern Republican Leadership Conference:

His base doesn’t go to those things. You know how the left tries to distance itself from the crazies who think the election was stolen in 2004? They are painted as nutty and put in a corner until the Democrat party needs their votes. The same is true for the hardcore pro-lifers. The SRLC was for schmoozing and backslapping; those who allow religion to shape their politics were not welcome.

Senator Brownback will find his support in small churches and prayer groups, not high dollar events meant for grandstanding.

I received this via email, but I have been haring a version of it ever since the straw poll. I don’t know enough about the SRLC to assess its plausibility, but it is an interesting idea. Brownback certainly needs something to tell donors about his lack of support at the straw poll.

If you have been hearing anything else, I would love to know.

Hahahahaha:

Some ambitious party leaders wrapped themselves in the memory of another president. “I am Sam Brownback and I am a Ronald Reagan Republican”

He only wishes.  Does this mean Senator Brownback will support massive deficit spending?