Posted on 08/01/2006 7:03:34 AM PDT by PDR
Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas considers a run for president. So why is he spending a night in prison?
On the last day of May, at 5:30 P.M., Building 5 of the Ellsworth Correctional Facility is filled with joyful noise. More than 200 prisoners--roughly a quarter of the inmates at this state prison--have gathered for the midweek worship service. They're taking part in a program run by InnerChange Freedom Initiative, an affiliate of Prison Fellowship, its purpose being to effect such change in the heart of a prisoner that he will, upon release, go and commit crime no more. The men, clad in the standard correctional attire of blue jeans and blue shirt, many holding well-thumbed Bibles, are serving time for crimes such as assault, battery, and rape. Led by a band of fellow inmates, they've been singing praise and worship songs. They reach the end of Mark McCoy and Andy Park's "I See the Lord" when a special visitor arrives, accompanied by an intense late afternoon thunderstorm. Wearing a blue shirt and red tie, Sam Brownback, Kansas's senior senator, soon steps to the front. He begins speaking with an ease that suggests he has been here before, which he has, three times.
(Excerpt) Read more at theweeklystandard.com ...
Running for VP is more like it!
Policy-wise, I'd call it more the George W. Bush plan, minus winning.
EternalVigilance wrote: "Policy-wise, I'd call it more the George W. Bush plan, minus winning."
I agree. Compassionate conservatism isn't compassionate or conservative. It may SEEM compassionate to use government as a social welfare agency, but it ignores Reagan's wise observation that "...government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem."
Christians, of course, should be very concerned about others, and we should be very eager to lend a hand...voluntarily. Using government to force people (through taxation) to be charitable is the exact opposite of Christian charity. It robs both the giver and the receiver of the blessing that comes from doing the right thing on your own, because of your convictions.
From the article, Sen. Brownback's work is admirable. However, I wouldn't vote for a man who feels government's job is the redistribution of wealth. The funny thing is, he seems unaware the prisoner organization is effective because it both Christian AND voluntary.
A very good post. I totally agree with you on every point.
Sam, stay in the Senate.
Sam Brownback has a 100% rating from the American Conservative Union (based on 2005). His lifetime rating, covering 11 years, is 95%.
Deut28 wrote: "Sam Brownback has a 100% rating from the American Conservative Union (based on 2005). His lifetime rating, covering 11 years, is 95%."
That's certainly encouraging, but I'd want to hear a lot more about his definition of "compassionate conservatism." If, like Bush, he only wants to increase the efficiency of government social programs (a fool's errand) versus relinquishing them to the private sector (where they belong), he's no conservative.
That article mentioned quite a bit about Brownback's positions. Here's a sampling:
In 1994 he first ran for the House, and after winning worked to eliminate four cabinet agencies (Housing, Energy, Education, and Commerce)
He's recently voted to make the Bush tax cuts permanent, drill in ANWR, was the first Republican Senator to openly question the Harris nomination, and opposed McCain-Feingold.
He sponsored the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act, the Prenatally Diagnosed Conditions Awareness Act, and the Human Cloning Prohibition Act.
that's one vote no.
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