A closer look at the former Republican Senator from Kansas.
Republican Presidential hopeful Sam Brownback may be the most overlooked candidate in the 2008 race. The calm demeanor and serious speeches coming from the former son of Kansas farmers are enough to disarm even his most eager opponents.
Brownback attended Kansas State University and the University of Kansas Law School to eventually become a member of the House of Representatives and later the Republican Senator from Kansas. He is the most outspoken conservative Christian of all the candidates. Although he converted to Roman Catholicism in 2002, he has been able to maintain the support of such right-wing notables as evangelical spokespersons Pat Robertson and Charles Colson, former Nixon aide, and has the financial backing of former Dominos founder, Tom Monaghan.
In 1986, Brownback was appointed at a young age to the plum position of Agriculture Secretary. Unfortunately, a federal court ruled in 1993 this "tenure unconstitutional" given that there was no election to the position and that his appointees had been those primarily interested in agricultural business. (Sharlet, "God's Senator" Rollingstone, 1/25/06). In 1996, he was elected to the Senate seat vacated by appointee Sheila Frahm (she had replaced Bob Dole during his departure to run a presidential campaign). In 2004, Brownback was re-elected to the Senate by 69% of the vote. He has served on several economic committees and shows an interest in financial services.
Brownback's views, though conservative, are at least consistent. He believes in the sanctity of life and marriage. This means a pro-life stance and he was pleased with the recent Supreme Court decision on upholding the ban on partial-birth abortions. He is against gay marriage and even civil unions, but has consistently fought diligently alongside former Senator Paul Wellstone against human trafficking such as Ukrainian mail-order brides or others who are brought here from foreign countries as sex slaves.
In 2004, Brownback visited the Sudan and later became an advocate on behalf of those suffering in Darfur by supporting the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act. His stance on the war in Iraq is unclear. He supported the troops at the onset, but now appears to be less than enthusiastic about continuing to support the war.
Brownback also helped pass the 2005 "Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act," which was a result of the infamous Janet Jackson exposure at the Super Bowl in 2004. The Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act, increases tenfold the penalty that the FCC can impose, up to $325,000, in order to curb indecent material from airing on television. Brownback was in attendance as President Bush signed it into law.
Brownback's home state of Kansas has a history of accepting alternatives to teaching evolution in the schools and Brownback also supports creation and appeared open to the theory of intelligent design. (Larry King Live, CNN, 8/23/05). During the first MSNBC televised Republican debates, he was one of three candidates who raised their hands when the moderator asked who did not accept evolution.
Sam Brownback could never be called disingenuous or disceivingly simple, what you see is really what you get. Using an anology from his home state of Kansas and the movie Wizard of Oz, when he announced his candidacy earlier this year he told his supporters that he was "taking the first steps on the yellow brick road to the White House."
In 2006, he spoke at a Soujourner's Magazine Washington, D.C. forum on poverty by telling the audience that they should not be angry about American poverty but rather, "There are a lot of things we are called to do in this great country." "When we go to meet our maker, we are aware of what we have been given," he said. Citing a verse from the New Testament, he tells the audience, "To whom much is given, much is required, and much has been given, so much is required." His message to many of the progressives in attendance was that he hoped they, "do not harvest for political advantage, but for the poor and disadvantaged. You can break either way," he reminds them, "but you can't do both at the same time." It will be interesting to see which way Brownback breaks if nominated to the Presidency.
