First shoes, now padded potty seats?

Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., took some ribbing for introducing 17 bills last month to suspend the duties on different types of footwear, from shoes “with open toes or heels” to “certain house slippers.” But The Hill newspaper reported last week that Brownback also introduced three measures to suspend the duties on “padded potty seats,” “traveler padded-potty seats” and “contoured padded-infant potty seats.” In both cases, the amendments were aimed at helping Kansas companies, first for Topeka-based Payless ShoeSource, then for Mommy’s Helper, a Wichita business.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee

9 Comments

  1. k
    Posted June 4, 2006 at 1:37 am | Permalink

    hmmmmm….must not be much else for brownback to do to keep busy.

  2. flike
    Posted June 4, 2006 at 8:18 am | Permalink

    Are you kidding? This is a significant piece of PR for Brownback. As a huge corporate shill, Brownback benefits beaucoux by being seen spreading the wealth to small businesses in SC Kansas.

    As the president might say, this is called “locking in the base.” [i.e., social conservatives, many of whom are small business owners] Sponsoring such obscure legislation is a brilliant way of ensuring that Kansans, especially those Kansans who rail against the MSM and consider the NYT to be a traitorous rag, learn about his effort behind the scenes of DC.

    What I mean is that his base loves to see the MSM scratch their collective heads over something so simple and obvious. In the UK I believe this is known as a version of “taking the piss out of” the Left. In the UK and the US both, this is great spectator sport for those who feel disenfranchised.

    I’d say he’s busy – and effective – at securing his seat in the Senate.

  3. RD
    Posted June 4, 2006 at 10:09 am | Permalink

    “I’d say he’s busy – and effective – at securing his seat in the Senate.”

    Yes, but is it padded?

  4. TrueBlue
    Posted June 4, 2006 at 11:33 am | Permalink

    Hehe, funny, RD. Looks like Brownback legislative clout is going . . . uhm . . . right in the toilet.

  5. Joe Williams
    Posted June 4, 2006 at 1:37 pm | Permalink

    Hey Brownback! I could use $100,000. It would go nice in my freezer.

  6. RD
    Posted June 4, 2006 at 3:01 pm | Permalink

    Hmmmm, with $100K, I could BUY a NEW freezer.

  7. gster
    Posted June 4, 2006 at 3:27 pm | Permalink

    Hmmm… I wonder how many Senators one can get for $100K?

  8. J R
    Posted June 4, 2006 at 4:18 pm | Permalink

    Suspend the duties…..

    Doesn’t this mean that these goods are IMPORTED and that he has suspended the import duties on them so that some “local” company can sell them?

    If that is the case this (I could be wrong) is definitely a BAD thing. Let Payless and Mommy’s helper either pay those duties or hire American workers to make their product. I hardly call padded toilet seats a necessary import.

  9. TRACY
    Posted June 5, 2006 at 7:40 am | Permalink

    Now that he’s an ex-con, maybe he can get them padded seats put in the prisons.