This is the sixth installment of my analysis of Obama's potential Republican foes in the general election. I have previously profiled John McCain, Tommy Thompson, Jim Gilmore, Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney.
Today, Sam Brownback, Senator from Kansas, is up, and he's a real nut. I know what you're thinking, if you have been following this series...they are ALL nuts! But Brownback really is number one. In an interview, when asked to name his top five priorities, Sam listed them as:
- A flat tax
- Privatizing Social Security
- A culture of life - i.e., pro-life
- Supporting marriage – against gay marriage
- Curing cancer in the next 10 years
Notice: Nothing about foreign policy. Nothing about the environment. The first two involve a massive transfer of funds from the poor to the rich: something I'm sure Jesus would have been in favor of. The second two are perhaps to make up for the first two: religious right bullshit. The last, while noble, is probably unrealistic.
During the first debate, Brownback was one of only three Republicans to say he didn't believe in evolution (Huckabee and Tancredo were the other two). Not to be outdone, some of his supporters don't believe the earth revolves around the sun.
Brownback once washed the feet of a departing staff member as a symbolic religious throwback to when Jesus washed the feet of a prostitute. Brownback's views on medical science are insane, and he once equated stem cell research to Nazi holocuast experiments. (Speaking of the holocaust, Brownback supporters aren't sure they believe in that, either.) His own website proudly lists support for stopping violent video games, and increasing media censorship and he calls pornography a "scourge upon civilization." He said Jerry Falwell was a "great man" of "moral principle." Falwell is the man that said, among other things, that God's anger over gays and feminists made him allow 9/11.
And how does Brownback suppose he'll win over the rest of America with such a far-right platform? He doesn't. He's not even trying. Read the text of his first campaign email:
Dear Fellow Conservative,I’ve sent YOU this urgent email message because I was told that just like me you are a pro-life, pro-traditional marriage, God-fearing American.Is that correct?If it’s NOT then you might as well just go ahead and ddelete this message now.
Well, I suppose there's no need to continue, then. That sums it up.
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