Free Republic

Sam Brownback lives closer to Iowa than any of the other Republicans likely to run for president in 2008. Brownback, the senior senator from Kansas, resides in Topeka, which is but a few hours by car from Iowa. And he plans to travel there quite a lot over the next 12 months--through January 21, 2008, the day Iowa Republicans plan to declare their presidential preferences.Three weeks ago Brownback set up a presidential exploratory committee. That allows him to raise money and gauge support for a presidential race without actually announcing his candidacy. Brownback may decide not to run. But it...

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...

The immigration debate within the Senate has severely damaged the presidential chances among conservatives of two key Republican senators: Sam Brownback (R.-Kan.) and John McCain (R.-Ariz.). When McCain put his name on the immigration bill sponsored by Sen. Teddy Kennedy (D.-Mass.), many conservatives felt he virtually embraced the concept of amnesty for the approximately 12 million illegal aliens the Bush Administration admits are now in the United States. Despite McCain's recent attempt to sound more conservative, many on the right felt his alignment with the Democratic left on the immigration issue was the last straw. Brownback placed himself squarely in...

The next presidential campaign won't officially start until after the midterm elections, but it is of course already underway. Here's a roundup of the GOP field, with advice for what each potential candidate might do in 2006 to boost his (or her) chances of winning the Republican nomination in 2008. Below, the contenders are listed in the order of how they placed in the National Journal's December "insiders poll" — a survey of 100 Republican politicians and consultants who were asked to rank the candidates and their chances. The results are based on a calculation that grants five points for...

Manchester, NH: After testing his (2008 Presidential) stump speech Tuesday night, Senator Sam Brownback rose early on Wednesday for a tour of the cavernous chapel and regimental dining hall used by the 30 remaining monks of St. Anselm's abbey. Mr. Brownback, an evangelical Protestant turned Roman Catholic from Kansas who attends two services in the two faiths each Sunday is contemplating a big bet in resurgence of traditonalist faith.He came here to asses the potential for a Republican presidential primary campaign centered on opposition to abortion and support for God in public life, while back in Washington his current role...

WASHINGTON - The White House is seeking the help of Republican activists in Iowa and New Hampshire to pressure GOP senators with presidential hopes to support Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers. The effort, coming as the White House seeks to reassure conservatives skeptical about Miers' qualifications, is largely aimed at turning up the heat on Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas, White House aides acknowledged on Thursday. Brownback, who is considering a White House run in 2008, has not said whether he will vote for the nomination. His support is particularly important to the White House because he is one of...

Part OnePart Two Having previously examined a total of 10 candidates for president, we turn to some of the more Conservative candidates for president. One popular name has been Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Co.) who is ardent proponent of immigration reform. Tancredo has helped bring the issue of illegal immigration to the national forefront and for that he should be applauded. He's been talking about this since 1999 and its quickly becoming a front-burner issue. While I have no doubts about Tancredo's stance on immigration, I question his ability to appeal to the whole Republican party. Tancredo has been in the...

WASHINGTON - Some leading conservative activists say they plan to screen 2008 Republican presidential hopefuls, perhaps as early as this fall, in hopes of finding a candidate they can endorse as a group. [snip] Among early contenders vying for the nod of religious and social conservatives are Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee and Sens. Sam Brownback of Kansas and George Allen of Virginia. All have been active, both publicly and behind the scenes, in wooing religious, social and cultural conservatives in advance of the next presidential contest. [snip] Longtime activist Weyrich expressed optimism that the group would agree...

He hopes to build on the 'tens of millions of dollars' the Bush campaign spent to mobilize evangelical Christians. In 1988, the arrival of the religious right and social conservatism as formidable and entwined forces in the Republican Party was signaled when Pat Robertson received 25 percent of the vote in the Iowa presidential nominating caucuses, second to Bob Dole's 37 percent. Seventeen years later, when Robertson wasasked on ABC's "This Week'' who he thought might make a fine Republican nominee in 2008, he began his answer: "There's an outstanding senator from Kansas ...''Sam Brownback, 48, won the Senate seat...

WASHINGTON - Sen. Sam Brownback, quietly weighing a presidential bid in 2008, is using a network of social conservatives and Christian activists to raise his profile in Iowa and New Hampshire, two states critical to White House hopefuls. In some of the most detailed comments the Kansas Republican has made about a possible bid for president, Brownback said in an interview Thursday that he has not yet made a decision on whether to run and would not give a timetable on when he might decide. "I have met with a number of social conservatives and conservative leaders in Iowa and...