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  2. Brownback should back down

Brownback should back down

By tfk on February 2, 2007.

According SurveyUSA, when 500 Kansans were asked:

When a United States Senator runs for President of the United States, the Senator often misses votes. Other times, the Senator needs to leave the campaign trail and return to Washington to make a vote. Do you think it's possible? Or impossible? For someone to be both an effective US Senator and an effective candidate for President at the same time?

Less than half thought it was possible, 50% thought it was impossible.

When voters were told:

Kansas Senator Sam Brownback, who is running for President, missed more than half the votes in the Senate last month. Do you think Brownback is devoting too much time to his Presidential campaign? Is he devoting too much time to being a US Senator? Or is he striking about the right balance?

Six in ten felt he was devoting "too much time to the campaign," only 5% felt too much time was spent in the Senate, and a third thought he had found a good balance. Brownback should resign his Senate seat and let someone be appointed to the seat who can devote full time to the job.

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I have no use whatever for Brownback who is a whackjob of the first order. However, to be fair, how about Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Chris Dodd, Bill Richardson, John McCain, Hunter Duncan, etc.? Should not they also resign from their government positions?

However, to be fair, how about [the other candidates]? Should not they also resign from their government positions?

Well, Josh's argument seems to be not that it's impossible to run for president and pay attention to one's office at the same time-- just that Sam Brownback in particular is not paying attention to his office now that he's running for president.

What about Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Barack Obama etc? Well, let's look:

Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback missed more than half the votes taken in the Senate last month as he ramped up his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.

Brownback skipped 20 of the 39 roll call votes in January, or 51 percent, according to Senate voting records. That's a higher absence rate than any other member of the Senate except Democrat Tim Johnson of South Dakota, who is recovering from a brain hemorrhage he suffered before the new session of Congress began.

...

Other senators who are exploring a run for president have kept better voting records so far during this session of Congress. Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., have missed two votes each. Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., has missed nine votes, and Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., has skipped six.

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., has not missed a vote this year.

Oddly enough it almost kinda seems like there's an effect here where the more serious a candidate is, the fewer votes they've skipped.

Brownback has no intention of becoming President. According to some pundits, his plan is to run on the ticket of a more moderate Republican Presidential candidate, as VP. Then, when that candidate's term ends, he becomes Prez. A possibility that should scare Kansans and anyone else who knows Brownback's "Opus Dei," RRR agenda.

In Brownback's ideal world, women are vessels for embryos, there is no sex ed but the stunningly unsuccessful "abstinence only" programs, all Planned Parenthood facilities are closed, and the U.S. tries to "control" the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa without providing Africans with information as to how to prevent it, condoms, or any other form of treatment.

Brownback, go back to the caves. Your kind are obsolete. I hope.