The Anti-Sam Brownback Blog

Senator Sam Brownback came in 10th out of a field of 13 in today’s Southern Republican Leadership Conference Straw Poll. Results from The Hotline:

Not a good showing at all. While no one expected him to come close to challenging for the front, he got less than half of Mike Huckabee’s vote. Huckabee is the other hardcore religious conservative and is much less well known on the national stage than Brownback. What does this vote mean? Not much. The only conclusion I draw from this is Republicans are afraid of Brownback’s extreme persona. They like his issues, but believe that Huckabee’s much lower profile would allow them to sneak their radical views under the nose of average American voters.

This also is not good for his fundraising efforts. It is hard to ask for money when you don’t have many friends…

To no one’s surprise, Senator Sam Brownback pushed a flat federal income tax for Washington D.C. at a hearing yesterday.  While Dick Armey showed up to shill for Brownback’s idea, there was pointed criticism of using D.C. citizens as economic lab rats:

Paul Strauss, the District of Columbia’s shadow senator, said it would be “unconscionable” to impose a different tax system on the city.

He sat up front at a hearing at which Brownback heard testimony from four conservative economists who support the idea.

“It is morally wrong for Congress to use D.C. as an experiment,” Strauss said. “I also find it alarming that this Congress, which has all but bankrupted the federal government, now wants to change the system in D.C., which has a budget surplus.”

I don’t have much to add to what I wrote previously on this subject. I think Washington D.C. should have real representation and should not be treated as an idea sandbox for whichever party is in power. Let D.C. decide what is right for D.C., not some Senator from Kansas who is trying to make a name for himself before the 2008 GOP presidential primary.

As mentioned previously, Senator Sam Brownback desires to experiment on Washington DC and impose a flat tax instead of the current federal income tax. Today, he will hold a hearing on the subject with several dissenters in attendance. The DCist reports:

Brownback will chair a hearing to further explore the issue, one that he has openly proclaimed to be excited about. His excitement may be tempered by stiff opposition from D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton and D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams, though, their non-voting status notwithstanding. The hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m. in 124 Dirksen.

We’re not real big fans of the idea. It’s not so much that we think a flat tax won’t work, it’s that we’d rather not see it imposed by congressional fiat. Lord knows the country’s tax system could use an overhaul and the tax code a good re-write, but the District may not be the best place to start for those trying to be creative about it.

I completely agree. I don’t have the requisite economics background to declare this beneficial or otherwise, but I am sure that a Senator from Kansas should not be making decisions about Washington DC. DC is far overdue for some real representation. Senator Brownback should stop using DC citizens as his personal guinea pigs.

The larger context of this hearing is the 2008 GOP primary. Senator Brownback is posturing for the Steve Forbes wing of the republican base which could otherwise be turned off by his government intrusion into private lives. Brownback hopes to buy them off while he advances his radial agenda of intolerance.

While he had tried to stay out of the brouhaha surrounding the port deal, Senator Sam Brownback today stated that he didn’t know what to do about the sale:

“There are things that compete back and forth” in the Dubai situation, said Sen. Sam Brownback. The United Arab Emirates, home country of the proposed buyer, supports boycotting Israel in opposition to America, he said. On the other hand, “the UAE has worked with us on the war on terrorism,” he said. “This needs to have a very public review.”

Brownback is again walking a very fine line. He has enjoyed an unusual level of support from the Jewish community for his hawkish views in the middle east. This could wane if he came out in support of a company that is boycotting Israel. I do agree with him that the entire back room deal needs some very public examination.

For a PAC that is having fundraising problems, Senator Sam Brownback’s “Restore America” leadership PAC sure is throwing around some money. According to FEC disclosures, Restore America gave Tennessee GOP Senate Primary Candidate Ed Bryant $5,000 during the last quarter. Giving money to GOP candidates is the reason to have a leadership PAC, but putting money into a primary race is a little unusual. Not crazy, but he has so little money I am surprised to see it go into a primary.

The Hill reports that Brownback and Bryant are from the same House Freshman Class of 1994. Anyone know of any other connections?

Senator Sam Brownback will be a featured speaker at Vision America’s “War on Christians” conference:

Conference convener Vision America says “The War On Christians And The Values Voter in 2006″ will be the first “to consider the savage and accelerating” attacks by groups such as the ACLU and Anti-Defamation League.

“During the past Christmas season, the airwaves were abuzz with talk of the war on Christmas,” said Don Feder, a former syndicated columnist and the spokesman for the event. “Yet efforts to purge Christmas from the culture are but one aspect of a coordinated campaign against Bible-believing Christians.”

What a sob story. Have a look at the topics for the conference:

Panels Include:
The Gay Agenda: America Won’t Be Happy
The ACLU And Radical Secularism: Driving God From The Public Square
Hollywood: Christians Through A Distorted Lens
Jews Confront The War On Christians
The Judiciary: Overruling God
The Media: Megaphone For Anti-Faith Values
Taking Our Faith To The Ballot Box

Overruling God? What will they come up with next? I could rant for a while on how Christians have the most accommodations of any religious group in our society, but I don’t have the energy. Suffice it to say that Brownback is pandering to the farthest right of the GOP base. As one of my republican friends told me today, “I wouldn’t be caught near those nuts.”

A few months ago, the conventional wisdom was that immigration would be the big issue of the 2006 races. Then the GOP found that not all of their members are in the same page. President Bush has put forth a plan that would allow a guest worker program, which some of the GOP activist base find abhorrent. Senators McCain and Kennedy have introduced a bill that would not only have guest workers, but would allow them to work towards citizenship. Senator Sam Brownback is supporting this legislation.

Brownback finds himself in the company of unusual allies on this issue. Many Democrats are also supporting the McCain / Kennedy bill and many GOP activists consider it unacceptable.

I think Brownback is in dangerous territory with his activist base. It is hard to know where the religious right falls on the issue, but by supporting this bill he would certainly lose the support of the most hardcore republican activists. I am sure Brownback will attempt to play this off as a compassionate conservative issue, but the climate for debate on immigration inside the GOP is so poisonous at this point any decision is likely to cause some flak.

Senator Sam Brownback is pushing a bill that would dramatically increase the fines for broadcasters who are found to have violated the FCC’s decency rules for television:

Brownback said a study released by the Parents Television Council shows how broadcasters are complicit in marketing adult material to children, and that increased fines will “send a signal to the industry.”

What I find most interesting about his push on this bill is that it is not as strict as some other competing bills. In the article, Brownback notes that a stricter bill would have a harder time passing the Senate. This level of pragmatism is not something he is known for. I imagine it is born out of the necessity to pad his resume with the word “family” in the runup to the presidential election in 2008.

Pushing for more fines on broadcasters is a solid winner. The public loves to beat up on them, and they often deserve the harsh denunciations of their content. I just question exactly how mush of this is parental responsibility. At a certain point you have to take charge of your family’s television habits.

During a conference call with reporters, Senator Sam Brownback today called for a substantial reduction in troop levels in Iraq:

Sen. Sam Brownback said today that he supports “substantial” reductions in U.S. forces in Iraq within the next year, but would not commit to a timetable for withdrawal.

“They have to take control of their country,” said Brownback in a teleconference with Kansas journalists. “As far as setting a hard date to be out and I don’t think that would be wise.”

On April 8th, 2004 Senator Brownback had the following to say about troop reductions in Iraq:

VAN SUSTEREN: Senator Brownback, tonight are you concerned that it is getting worse in Iraq?

SEN. SAM BROWNBACK (R), KANSAS: Well, I’m concerned that it’s getting worse and that the situation needs to stabilize but, Greta, we’ve got to stay on the course that we’re on. We need to hand over the governing of the country on the deadlines that have been set.

We cannot back out of this and you can see clearly what the opposition to democracy coming into Iraq is after. They are trying to get at U.S. public opinion. That’s what they’re really driving at here and we need to stand firm and behind our troops and behind the efforts that’s taking place in Iraq.

What a hypocrite. Senator Sam Brownback wants it both ways. When support for the war was high, he was a chickenhawk cheerleader. Now that the American people have turned against the war, he clamors for the troops to be brought home. This man has no integrity. Perhaps “sanctity of life” rules his heart, but “sanctity of public opinion” rules his words.