The Anti-Sam Brownback Blog

As many media outlets have pointed out, Senator Sam Brownback’s quixotic quest for the Presidency has officially begun. On the day he files the paperwork to begin an exploratory committee, I would like to point out what I think Brownback hopes to accomplish. A later post will describe how I think his candidacy will end up.

Senator Brownback hopes to tap into the conservative activists who feel voters rejected republicans in November because they strayed too far from their conservative roots. The right-wing blogosphere has brought some of that sentiment to light, but Brownback hopes that more early voters will flock to his unapologetic conservative stances.

Brownback will cast himself as the “true” conservative of the field. He will attack McCain and Giuliani as liberals in disguise. Romney will be attacked for being a Mormon, though not in public. Huckabee, should he decide to get in the race, would be a very similar candidate and would probably be attacked for his lack of international experience.

Senator Brownback’s ideal scenario would involve an under-the-radar Iowa grassroots operation run through the evangelical churches and the Iowa pro-life organizations. He would hope to be many caucus goer’s second choice, and could cut deals with other smaller candidates to trade votes if one or the other can’t make the minimum. Even with his conservative credentials, Brownback can’t hope for a win. Second place would be a bombshell, third place would be the goal and would still shock the pundits.

Coming out of an Iowa shocker, Brownback would skip New Hampshire and focus on South Carolina. Here, second place would be a necessity.

After South Carolina, Brownback would start cozying up to the front-runner. Assuming the poll leader is more moderate than him, Brownback would start to build the case that picking him for Vice President would soothe the nerves of the ultra-conservative base and add a compassionate international twist to the ticket.

Best case scenario: Vice President Brownback. Check back tomorrow for my prediction of what will actually happen.

Side note: My absence for the last couple of months was not motivated by a lack of disdain for a Brownback Presidency. Rather, I was on the staff of a campaign which did not want my views confused with those of the candidate. Thank you for your encouraging emails.