The Anti-Sam Brownback Blog

I see there is an influx of traffic stemming from the Rolling Stone article.

Make yourselves comfortable, look around a bit.

I suggest taking a look at a few of my favorite posts:

Brownback Hates Children with Diabetes

The Political Future of Stem Cells

What Will Brownback Run On?

Sometime over the next few days The Anti Sam Brownback Blog will be moving to a new server (at the same host).  If everything goes correctly you should not notice anything different. *Knock*Knock* on wood.

I just wanted to gove fair warning in the unlikely case things get a little crazy around here.

As always, your tips about Senator Brownback are always welcome.

Some light Christmas morning Brownback quotes courtesy of the Kansas City Star:

“Lobbyists are children of God, too.” — Brownback on his attitude toward influence peddlers.

“I’m drinking this (Pepsi) for Bob Dole (who has made Pepsi commercials) … but I’m not taking the other stuff (referring to another Dole ad gig).” — Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas.

Happy Holidays!

[This C-SPAN interview will run on Sunday at 8pm and 11pm. My readers get it here first]

Looks like Brian Lamb reads The Anti Sam…

LAMB: What do you think about the anti-Sam Brownback blog by somebody named “KansasNate” who I guess is a student? Do you follow it?

BROWNBACK: I don‘t. I‘m not…

LAMB: Did you know it existed?

BROWNBACK: No. I presume there would be ones out there but I didn‘t know about it.

LAMB: What do you think of the redstate.org, I think it is, that suggests you would be a great running mate for Rudolph Giuliani? Have you seen that?

BROWNBACK: I have not seen that one either. I follow some of the redstate.org, but I haven‘t seen that particular one.

LAMB: What do you think when you just hear that?

BROWNBACK: I‘m in this to put forward a series of ideas. And I really think on the selection of a president you have got to get the man or woman message and moment all come together. And that happened on Ronald Reagan. I believe it happened on George Bush. I just — I think those things just have to all line up. And I believe I‘m the right person. I think I have the right message. And I think the moment is moving in our way.

Posting should be light for the next week or so. I am planning to research and write several posts about Brownback’s shady past. Highlights will include the Triad Campaign Finance Scandal and some of his links to extremist organizations. If any of you have a favorite Brownback foible that would add to holiday cheer, feel free to email me at TheAntiSamBlog@gmail.com and I’ll get them put up.

Happy Holidays (That one’s for you Bill O’Reilly!)

University of Kansas Professor Paul Mirecki who recently became famous due to disparaging remarks he made about intelligent design was hospitalized this evening after being beaten by two men who apparently referenced the controversy. The LJ World Reports:

Kansas University religious studies professor Paul Mirecki reported he was beaten by two men about 6:40 a.m. today on a roadside in rural Douglas County. In a series of interviews late this afternoon, Mirecki said the men who beat him were making references to the controversy that has propelled him into the headlines in recent weeks.

“I didn’t know them, but I’m sure they knew me,” he said.

Mirecki said he was driving to breakfast when he noticed the men tailgating him in a pickup truck.

“I just pulled over hoping they would pass, and then they pulled up real close behind,” he said. “They got out, and I made the mistake of getting out.”

He said the men beat him about the upper body with their fists, and he said he thinks they struck him with a metal object. He was treated and released at Lawrence Memorial Hospital.

If true, and we have no reason to assume otherwise at this point, this incident is a turn for the worst for Kansas political debate. We may be the laughing stock of the nation from time to time (and certainly deserve to be) but I didn’t think that conservatives would resort to violence.

This chills me to the bone. Beyond concern for Professor Mirecki, I now have to wonder about my safety as a blogger. Should I look pursue methods of self defense? When I started this political blog I was warned by a few people that I might face repercussions in my future professional life. I never thought I would be considering the possibility of facing violent repercussions.

[note: While this is not directly Brownback related, I felt it important as a pregressive KU student to spread the word]

[Update]

I think a poster on Dailykos put it well:

I think I must have missed the part in the Bible where Jesus said “Yay, blessed are those who kicketh ass and taketh names. Be ye so-called intellectuals or faggots, my grace will not be shed for thee, but a bludgeoning in thine eye in it’s place”.

Whoever committed this crime may call themselves Christians, but obviously are not upholding the teachings of Jesus Christ. As progressives, we need to remember that not all Christian Fundamentalists would stoop to this level of brazen violence in order to enforce their ideas. Hopefully, many will condemn this attack.

When I wash new clothes for the first time, I always test the detergent on a small piece of unimportant, hidden fabric inside the clothing. If the detergent reacts badly, I wouldn’t want to ruin a part of the clothing that can be seen. I don’t care about the test patch.

Senator Sam Brownback feels much the same way about Washington DC. Whenever he latches on to a crazy idea, he loves to attempt to foist it upon DC. In his eyes, they aren’t clever enough to come up with their own ideas. They need a Kansas Senator to show them the correct way of running their city.

This time, it is a flat tax. I don’t have time at the moment to discuss the merits (or lack thereof) of a flat tax, but I do think that Brownback should not use DC as his unwanted scrap of test cloth. I agree with the Mayor of DC:

The Democratic mayor of the District of Columbia, Anthony Williams, said in an e-mailed statement: “Leaving aside the merits of this proposal, we continue to resist any efforts on the part of any member of Congress to impose rules and regulations on the people of the District.”

Let the people of DC decide for themselves how they want to govern. Give them representation.

There will be a lull in posting for a few days… barring any Turkey Day Brownback revelations.

Kansas Blogs are the topic of discussion in a Lawrence Journal World article this morning:

For now, experts say, such blogs don’t have much reach beyond hard-core political activists and journalists in Kansas. But they’re unfettered by the rules and regulations that govern other forms of political communication, and could help shape the agenda for state campaigns in 2006 and beyond.

“It’s a great way of democratizing the media,” said Kansas University political science student Nate Thames, who runs a blog devoted to criticism of Republican U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback. “I think the more voices, the better.”

I truly believe what I said. I would be happy to see a pro-Sam Brownback blog started. I don’t think they would have much to discuss, maybe Brownback’s love of kittens or gardening habits, but rarely is dialogue negative.