In the online world, where Sen. Sam Brownback (or his campaign) has set up a MySpace page and a robust, blog-filled homepage, the Kansan is taking some apparently comedic hits for his socially conservative views.
Consider this story today in The Denver Post:
“… And if you peruse some of the blogs supposedly authored by his supporters, such as baptistsforbrownback(baptistsforbrown2008.wordpress.com), you’ll see that he believes in lots of other things too. Like that the Earth is flat - and does not revolve around the sun. And that rape should be referred to as an “unplanned sexual event” in order to “eliminate the excuses given by many women” for getting an abortion.” The Post also lists blogs4brownback.wordpress.com as one of the parody sites.
Later in The Post’s story, Brigham Young University political scientist Richard Davis says: “Sites like these don’t sway undecided voters or push away (Brownback’s) supporters. I think the biggest effect is that it’s embarrassing for the candidate.”
Referencing the hometown team will almost always buy a political candidate some applause — after all, even if the crowd isn’t excited about the candidate, most people stand behind the team. The flip side to that is if you mention the competition.
Over the weekend, Sen. Sam Brownback dropped the Peyton Manning bomb in Brett Favre country. The crowd let him know, according to an Associated Press story that several news websites picked up this weekend. After he realized his analogy flopped, he backtracked. “That’s really bad,” he said. “That will go down in history. I apologize.”
“Let’s take Favre then,” Brownback said later. “The Packers are great. I’m sorry. How many passes does he complete without a line?”
“All of them!” more than one person yelled from the back of the room.
If you’re running for president there are several things you have to have in your campaign:
- A communications director to help craft your message to the American people
- Tons of volunteers to help run the campaign
- A myspace page
A myspace page? Yes. Candidates vying for their party’s nomination have a myspace page and Sen. Sam Brownback isn’t any different.
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One way to gauge a candidate’s impact at a debate like the Republican presidential debate Thursday night is to see how many of their words made it into major news stories from outlets such as the Associated Press, USA Today, The New York Times and The Washington Post.
On this front, Sen. Sam Brownback did better than many in the crowded GOP field. The Kansan, who trails several candidates in polls and fundraising, was largely in the shadows in most national wire stories last night. But a Republican political consultant with Politico.com, which sponsored the debate, wrote that Brownback “had a particularly strong night. He talked with passion and elegance about the social issues that are the backbone of his candidacy.” Brownback also picked up some quick hits in an Associated Press story where he raised his hand to show he doesn’t believe in evolution and when he said the day the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade would be a “glorious day of human liberty and freedom.” McClatchy’s Washington Bureau quoted Brownback when he said he could support a more liberal GOP candidate. “Somebody who is with you 80 percent of the time is not your enemy,” Brownback said, citing Ronald Reagan’s philosophy.
Based on his comments to the Christian Science Monitor last week, he probably won’t worry about the coverage too much. When the newspaper asked him about debates, he said: “I think it’s important to get candidates side by side. I don’t think you make the candidacy or lose it over a debate or two, [but] I think they’re very helpful to have.”
See coverage of the Democrat’s debate last week.
See what Eagle readers had to say on WE Blog.
Sen. Sam Brownback trails Republican presidential hopefuls Rudy Giuliani and Sen. John McCain by more than $10 million in campaign fundraising, according to recent finance reports. But the Kansas Republican easily leads all presidential candidates in the Sunflower State and the Wichita area. That’s according to analysis by The New York Times that came out over the weekend. Perhaps not surprising, Brownback’s home state gave the largest share of the $1.3 million he has raised in contributions of $200 or more. In all, more than $123,000 — or 9 percent — of his money came from Kansas –$44,182 from western and central areas, including Wichita (Zip codes 67000 to 67999) and $79,307 came from the northeast part of the state. (See Federal Election Commission reports here.)
Top donors in Wichita include Adam Beren, who frequently funds campaigns, Larry Flemming of the LDF Companies, James S. Kastens, and Gerald and Priscilla O’Shaughnessy. All gave $2,100 or more. The second best Kansas showing was from Giuliani, who took in $32,100 statewide.
Despite recent momentum from Democrats in this mostly red state and their dominance on the national fundraising scene, Brownback out-raised all the top Democratic candidates combined. Former vice presidential candidate John Edwards led the way in Kansas with $23,155; Sen. Barack Obama drew $15,716, including two $250 donations from Urban League of Kansas President Brian Black, and Sen. Hillary Clinton collected $14,720.
Sen. Sam Brownback, who opposed President Bush’s troop surge in Iraq, says “now is hardly the time to set a date for retreat.”
That comes just a day after he was campaigning in Iowa and told The Des Moines Register that his opposition to the surge is a problem for some conservative voters.
Brownback’s answer is to split Iraq three ways and lead the country into federalism. “If the surge works, federalism can provide the framework necessary to stabilize Iraq over the long term,” he said in a press release. “If the surge fails, and Iraq’s sectarian violence deepens, a federal Iraq will be the only choice available to separate the warring factions while keeping Iraq from breaking apart – something that we cannot allow to occur in such a vital region.”
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The New York Times reports this morning that as Sen. Sam Brownback tours Iowa in the early phases of his presidential campaign that he “is struggling to make himself known to most voters, and to convince them that his views on the issues are more important than the name recognition enjoyed by his better-known rivals in the crowded field seeking the Republican nomination.”
And the paper notes that Brownback, who is traveling only with two aides, faces a crowded field of more popular candidates who, like Sen. John McCain, roll into town with busloads of reporters and staff members.
Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback has circled the globe (seen in this photo in Iraq) and made several trips to the key primary states as he goes into full presidential campaign mode. But, one place he hasn’t spent much time is in the Senate, where the Associate Press is reporting he has missed more than half of his roll call votes this month.
“That’s a higher absence rate than any other member of the Senate except Democrat Tim Johnson of South Dakota, who is recovering from a brain hemorrhage he suffered before the new session of Congress began,” the AP wrote. “… Before this year, Brownback had a 98 percent voting record.”
Brownback spokesman Brian Hart said Brownback “will continue to serve the people of Kansas to the best of his ability.”
As Kansas Senator Sam Brownback runs for President, we can’t help but note the Senator’s conversion to Catholicism from his Methodist farm roots. His wife, Mary Stauffer Brownback, and their children remain members of the Topeka Bible Church. Brownback was brought into the Catholic Church by an Opus Dei priest. Interfaith families are often posed with many challenges. Given his high profile, The Hall Monitor wonders if this may be an issue that could create further challenges.
The Stauffer family helped create the William Allen White School of Journalism at the University of Kansas, and the family has owned major newspapers in Kansas, including the Topeka Daily Capitol.
In the online world, where Sen. Sam Brownback (or his campaign) has set up a MySpace page and a robust, blog-filled homepage, the Kansan is taking some apparently comedic hits for his socially conservative views.