Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas running on anti-evo, anti-stemcell '08 Prez. campain

Rach3

Something that hasn't been discussed too much, amid the 'apparent' Democratic sweep, is whether the whole USA has been moving farther to the right, Democrats included (Harold Ford, anyone?). I'm amazed to see that Sam Brownback's 2008 presidential bid is actually getting serious consideration.

Kansas Republican close to deciding on presidential bid

"I think there's room for a full-scale Ronald Reagan conservative in the field," Brownback said. "I fully agree that other people have much higher name identification than I do. No question about that. But I think what you have to look at is the policy positions they get out once you have an effective campaign."

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansas...s/16061252.htm

Brownback's issues emphasis is heavily into fundamentalist-inspired social conservatism. You may know him as the guy who tried to ban pornography:

To date, Brownback has put forward no specific legislation to address the problems he sees with pornography. But he mentioned several possible options, including a law that would encourage families to file civil suits against porn producers if they felt harmed by the material, a strategy that might put Brownback at odds with many of his Republican peers, who have championed restrictions on civil litigation. He also talked about a federal public education campaign, along the line of anti-drug advertising, to inform Americans about the dangers of watching explicit sex.

Finally, Brownback spoke of possibly expanding the law to ban certain types of pornography beyond the current obscenity statutes. But he was repeatedly cautioned by one of the witnesses, Rodney Smolla, the dean of the University of Richmond School of Law, who said that any such effort would likely be shot down by the courts. The Supreme Court, Smolla explained, has been very clear that pornography is entitled to First Amendment protections, unless it is declared obscene.

http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feat.../index_np.html

Indeed, we all know that pornography is major public health issue, every bit as menacing as AIDS.

The candidacy of this man is the exertion of the Christian right's influence, the effects of a extreme religious views of a rapidly growing segment of the population. It is a very worrying direction.

Some more of Sam's policy-influencing kooky ideas, from the unique souls of single-celled embryos, to his certainty that evolutionary biology is all wrong:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Brownback#Views

Rach3

Here's one of his Falwell-like opinionations:

Quote by Brownback

And he says the youngest voters, ages 18 to 25, are the most pro-life cohort. They were born, he says, when abortion rates were highest, so "many of them feel they're the survivors of a holocaust: one in four of their compatriots are not here.''

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8017004/...wsweek/page/2/

ptabor

a reagan conservative?

Sean Hannity will be pleased.

I seriously doubt this guy will get the nod over Guilianni.

Evo

Quote by Brownback

And he says the youngest voters, ages 18 to 25, are the most pro-life cohort. They were born, he says, when abortion rates were highest, so "many of them feel they're the survivors of a holocaust: one in four of their compatriots are not here.''

That's insane, what kind of person would even think up something that nutty?

*ray b*

the religion based anti-sex ideas are a far bigger danger
as a major public health issue
then any film book or picture of sex
this guy is an american tali-ban

*Skyhunter*

Quote by Rach3

Something that hasn't been discussed too much, amid the 'apparent' Democratic sweep, is whether the whole USA has been moving farther to the right, Democrats included (Harold Ford, anyone?).

Harold Ford lost. Sherrod Brown won by a landslide. I think that if anything the shift is back to the left.

I think the Dem's would welcome Brownback into the presidential race.

edward

[

Quote by Evo

That's insane, what kind of person would even think up something that nutty?

The conservative right will do and say anything to keep in favor with the Religious right. And the religious right will believe just about anything that they hear. "Take my sister-in-law, Please".

We were better off in the last century when the religous fundamentalists were just opposed to booze and dancing

There is an old joke: "Why can't Baptists have sex standing up?"

Answer: " It looks too much like dancing"

Am I in trouble?

Ivan Seeking

I hope that we are seeing a shift to the middle; it will just take time to sort out. I'm hoping that the extreme right and neo-cons will be correctly perceived for decades to come as the downfall of the Republican party.

As one of the talking heads recently commented, the dems had gotten too liberal. He cited one example of the dems specifically targeting transexuals as part of a campaign. Now, it may be true that transexuals tend to be democrats, but you won't win elections by wooing the transexual vote. In any case, I know that many democrats have been far too liberal for my tastes. Unfortunately, I despised the alternative.

Astronuc

Brownback visited refugee camps in Sudan in 2004 and returned to write a resolution labeling the Darfur conflict as genocide, and has been active on attempting to increase U.S. efforts to resolve the situation. He is an endorser of the Genocide Intervention Network, which called him a "champion of Darfur" in its Darfur scorecard, primarily for his early advocacy of the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act.

After the September 11 terrorist attacks, he worked with Senator Ted Kennedy on legislation that imposed stricter entry standards at the borders of the United States. Brownback worked with Congressman John Lewis to help win placement of the African American Museum on the National Mall in Washington, DC.

Brownback is also trying to introduce price transparency to the US health care industry, as well as a bill which would require the disclosure of Medicare payment rate information.

from Rach3's post - I can support him on these views. The other areas where he expects the government to restrict a persons life are views I cannot support.

SimplePie

The great state of Kansas is producing the anti-evolution, anti-embryonic-stemcell-research candidate for the 2008 US Presidential campaign.

NY Times article about the story.

His name is Samuel Dale Brownback (link to picture) and was formerly the chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Science, Technology and Space under the Commerce Committee.

He is about as socially conservative as anyone with political aspirations can get in the US... well, except for the fact that he supports the Bush immigration plan.

Some may find it interesting that a few years ago Brownback changed his religion to Catholicism at the behest of his recently desenated (yes, I just coined it!) friend Rick Santorum.

What does everyone think about Brownback's policies regarding science, etc?
Does he have enough support from the conservatives to become the Republican nominee in 2008?

Click here for a concise summary of his votes on various isuues in the Senate.

Note: In the interest of full disclosure, I am not Sam Brownback, but I do live in Kansas.

(I hope I have remained politically neutral and factually correct in describing Sam Brownback.)

Apost8

I think he's a dirtbag and is unlikely to win the GOP's nomnation.

SimplePie

Quote by Apost8

I think he's a dirtbag and is unlikely to win the GOP's nomnation.

I'll agree with the second part of your statement but,
why do you think he's a dirtbag?

Apost8

"Dirtbag" may be a bit too strong. "Ultra-conservative religious nutjob" may be a more appropriate label.

SimplePie

Is it the least bit surprising to anyone in the world that _KANSAS_ is producing the anti-evolution candidate?

SimplePie

Quote by Apost8

"Dirtbag" may be a bit too strong. "Ultra-conservative religious nutjob" may be a more appropriate label.

I'll give you that (with reservations on the "nutjob"). I once wrote to him, and he gave me a VERY prompt and quite frankly, very thoughtful, reply. I was very impressed that a senator would take that much time to reply to a person he's never heard of or seen in his life.

Evo

Quote by SimplePie

I'll give you that (with reservations on the "nutjob"). I once wrote to him, and he gave me a VERY prompt and quite frankly, very thoughtful, reply. I was very impressed that a senator would take that much time to reply to a person he's never heard of or seen in his life.

Those replies are usually from aides, even though he may have signed it.

HE'S A RELIGIOUS NUT.

Apost8

Here's justification for the "nutjob" label: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:S.520:

Also note these related (and SCARY) remarks of his co-sponsor Sen. Shelby:http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/.../~r109VScLOh::

People like this are dangerous. On second thought, he is a dirtbag.

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ptabor	a reagan conservative? Sean Hannity will be pleased. I seriously doubt this guy will get the nod over Guilianni.

ray b	the religion based anti-sex ideas are a far bigger danger as a major public health issue then any film book or picture of sex this guy is an american tali-ban

Apost8	I think he's a dirtbag and is unlikely to win the GOP's nomnation.

SimplePie	Is it the least bit surprising to anyone in the world that _KANSAS_ is producing the anti-evolution candidate?