The Anti-Sam Brownback Blog

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.

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.

As part of his quest to become the nation’s leading hawk on Iran, Senator Sam Brownback has proposed that the World Bank revoke it’s funding of Iran. Brownback had this to say at an American Enterprise Institute panel on Iran:

Then, we must push aggressively in international organizations. We have worked well within the International Atomic Energy Agency. Now let’s ensure that we do the same in the United Nations and at the World Bank. I am betting that few Americans realize that the Iranian regime is among the top ten borrowers of the World Bank. Over the last three years, Iran has received more than $1.1 billion from the Bank, more than half in the last year.

And the #1 bankroller of the World Bank?? Yes, it is the United States. The World Bank must stop lending to the Tehran regime until they renounce terrorism and stop pursuing nuclear weapons.

What sorts of nefarious projects does the World Bank fund? Earthquake cleanup and emergency healthcare, clean water efforts for rural Iranians, slum improvement projects, and small business loans to promote capitalism.

So Brownback’s plan is ridiculous. That much is obvious. As several studies have noted, if you want to reduce Islamic extremism you need to improve the economic conditions in the country. Endemic, generational poverty breeds hopelessness and that is exactly the environment in which the madrassas thrive. Taking away money that is used to clean up slums and fund small businesses is counterproductive to the goal of reducing Islamic extremism.

It is alarming that Senator Brownback is so vindictive towards the Iranian people. The world Bank funds projects that are focused on improving the lives of the poorest and most vulnerable citizens. Would revoking World Bank funding effect the mullahs day to day activities? Not likely. However, for a young boy growing up in a slum it may change his future from being a shop owner to a shop bomber.

At the very least this proposal is irresponsible and naive.

At an AEI speech, Senator Brownback called for a dramatic increase in monetary aid to pro democracy Iranian groups. UPI reports:

Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., called for U.S. aid to be increased from $10 million to $100 million this year.

“This is a pittance compared to the problem,” said Brownback, “This Iranian government, even without nuclear weapons, is a viscous tyrant.”

Lorne Craner, president of the International Republican Institute, told United Press International getting money into Iran would require the assistance of the Iranian expatriates the world over.

I agree that we need to fund Iranian groups that support democracy. However, the implementation of these sorts of plans is where things get tricky.

As for Brownback, we’ve seen it all before. Remember the name Ahmed Chalabi? The Iraqi expatriate who was a central figure in the WMD lies and turned out to be spying for Iran used to be a frequent visitor to Senator Brownback:

Brownback repeatedly had the Iraqi exile testify before his subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. And Brownback continually pressured President Bill Clinton and President Bush to give money to Chalabi’s Iraqi National Congress. “Chalabi played Washington like it was an orchestra, and Sam Brownback was one of the violins,” says Erik Gustafson, Army veteran of the first Gulf War and executive director of the Education for Peace in Iraq Center (EPIC). The nonprofit group, founded in 1998 to work for human rights and democracy in Iraq, questioned the rush to war.

“It was clear Sen. Brownback was one of the prime senatorial offices that Ahmad Chalabi and those that supported Chalabi relied on,” Gustafson says….

On October 31, 1998, President Clinton signed the Iraq Liberation Act. Brownback had co-sponsored the bill, which tallied the sins of Iraq: its war with Iran, the chemical-weapons slaughter of Kurds, the invasion of Kuwait. It committed the United States to spending $97 million to push for regime change in Iraq, including $3 million for Chalabi’s INC.

Sounds eerily familiar… Again, I applaud the thought of supporting democracy. Senator Sam Brownback’s past in this area however, makes me uneasy. Who exactly will we be giving money to?

I am currently investigating a story that has to do with Brownback and Iran. If anyone has information regarding this topic, I would love to get in contact with you. You can email me at TheAntiSamBlog@gmail.com

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.

Almost every day, people email me with outlandish tales about Brownback. When I am tempted to post unsubstantiated rumors, I console myself with the knowledge Senator Brownback will always do or say something nearly as funny or embarrassing. Courtesy of MyDD, here is exibit A from that line of thought.

Take a look at the photo to the left. Yes, that is a picture of Senator Sam Brownback in front of a giant American flag with angels at the forefront gazing lovingly upwards. It sure appears that Brownback is a well grounded every-man who can sympathize with normal people. ..

So this is sorta funny. Check out this image to the right. Notice the American flag in the arms of the cherub to the right in the original photo. Look at the flag in the hands of the cherub to the left. Kind of hard to make out, but I think I see the pre-revolution Iranian flag. Compare for yourself and see what you think.

Sure looks like a match. I have to admit, the symbolism here loses me. What is the pre-revolution Iranian flag doing on a painting of Sam Brownback along with apparent angels? Your guess is as good as mine. If anyone has anymore information about this, please send it it in. Until further notice, this is officially creepy.

Update: A person claiming to be a Brownback staffer has posted on the MyDD thread about this painting:

The real scoop: That is a painting that was presented to the senator by a very nice Iranian American gentleman who painted it and wanted to thank Brownback for his work regarding Iran, namely condemning the anti-Semitic comments of their new president and legislation to encourage peaceful democratic reform inside Iran.

Apparently they didn’t know it would be visible from outside and were just storing it in the room. Fair enough. It is still creepy.

I have been asked what issues Senator Brownback might run on in a republican primary and what he needs to do between now and then to bolster his support. While I obviously am not included in Brownback’s strategy meetings, we can glean from his public appearances what he will attempt to use.

1. First we’ll hit abortion, his most obvious issue of affection. Brownback makes the issue of abortion work for him. Practically all of his name recognition outside of Kansas is within anti-abortion groups. These religious organizations also make up a large part of his speaking tours. On this issue Brownback is more extreme than any other likely primary opponents. In the next two years I expect Brownback to begin utilizing this network of passionate conservatives to raise money and awareness for his campaign. Of special interest is Brownback’s friend from college, Chuck Hurley, who now is the president of the Iowa Family Policy Center. Hurley has already endorsed Brownback for president and has vowed to use his organization to spearhead a Brownback Iowa caucus effort.
2. Next is the group of people he loves to hate. Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals and Transgender people have been constantly attacked by Brownback and his supporters. His current pet project, the anti gay marriage constitutional amendment, is only the latest in a long history of discriminatory acts. This issue also feeds his hardcore religious conservative base and goes hand in hand with abortion. Brownback has been grooming this issue ever since the Christian fundamentalist were ignored by the white house after Bush’s 2004 election. They were promised action on the amendment and Bush went with Social Security destruction instead. Now Brownback is trying to give them what they want, and they will love him for it.
3. “But wait!” conservatives will scream. “He’s not all social issues! What about his work in the Sudan?” Sudan is Brownback’s attempt at gaining the moderate vote. Putting the compassionate back into the conservative, so to speak. I have in the past applauded the attention that he has helped to bring to the situation there and I will continue to agree with him (gasp!) when he says more needs to be done. I will be interested to see how much he focuses on the Sudan in the next two years. I think it is an issue that will play well with moderates, but he will have to show he can make a difference there and not just make speeches.

Those are the big three. Beyond those we have the issues that he has not pushed as of yet, but probably will.

1. On defense, Brownback toes the GOP party line. While this has served him well in the past, this could become a problem if public opinion about the war in Iraq continues to plummet. Look for him to become more hawkish on Iran. He has connections to several Iranian separatist movements and has already vocalized his wish for regime change.
2. On the economy Brownback is know to be friendly to corporations. His largest donor by far is Koch Industries whose owners founded the Cato Institute. He is ranked 100% compliant with the Business-Industry Political Action Committee. This could be a true stealth fundraising angle for him. The Koch brothers could conceivably raise ungodly amounts of cash for Brownback’s campaign. I doubt Brownback will make business issues more public.
3. According to the pundits, immigration is likely to be a hot button issue in 2008. Brownback currently favors a guest worker program similar to that which the president supports. This is not popular with the conservative base. I think Brownback will begin to change course on immigration to come more in line with the extreme views of his potential voters.
4. On energy he again tends to take the party line. He supports drilling in ANWR and increasing domestic oil production. He is also a ethanol brown noser for the obvious (Iowa) political reasons. I expect he will begin to focus more on energy in the next two years. Speaking on ethanol in Iowa will give him a jumping off point for a more substantive policy outlay.
5. He has addressed health care with rural health provider concerns but has not spoken out on policy issues that would help the average American pay for health insurance. I have no clue what his health care policy will entail and how he will address rising costs for employees and employers alike.

Harriet Miers is gone. She was an extremely poor choice for the court and I was certainly not the only blogger to predict her withdrawal. Some would (and probably will) say that Senator Sam Brownback seems to have won.

In reality, this is a severe blow to his presidential aspirations. He needed the bright lights and stage of the judicial committee hearings. His low name recognition requires conflict and fireworks. In fact, this is the worst possible outcome for Brownback. He now needs to leverage the small amount of recognition he received from his pseudo-opposition of Miers to become a loud and abrasive spokesman for another cause. This will be a real test of his political acumen because the Miers nomination was an unintended gift from the White House. Brownback just had to sit back and enjoy. Now he must make himself seem an important expert in other areas.

I think he will attempt to become the leading hawk on Iran. Iran’s President has been making idiotic statements about Israel lately and Brownback has a long history of being antagonistic towards the Iranian government. He added $3 million to the budget to “promote democracy in Iran” and is fighting to have it spent.

The next nomination will almost certainly be split more conventionally down party lines. I don’t see Brownback playing a significant part in that debate.