From
MSNBC:
This little column about Kansas Senator Sam Brownback appeared recently in Newsweek, but don't let that put you off.
George F Will is predictably kind about Senator Brownback who, like many commentators, he sees as a credible candidate for the vote of Christian conservatives in the Republican Party.
"Two candidates could have special strength with that group," Will writes, identifying Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum as the other. Interestingly, Will claims that Brownback "doubts that Santorum ... will seek that nomination" for the presidency in 2008, largely because he will only just have completed his re-election contest for his US Senate seat in Pennsylvania. If this turns out to be true, and Frist is as fatally damaged by the filibuster compromise as some believe, Brownback surely emerges as a standard-bearer for Christian conservatives in the party (barring the entry of someone like Tim Pawlenty).
"Brownback's plan for 2008," Will writes, "is to reprise his 1996 experience" when he won his Senate seat with the help of Christian conservatives mobilised and organised by Pat Robertson. "In 2008, he plans to build upon the 'tens of millions of dollars' the Bush campaign spent to mobilze evangelical Christians," says Will. "'They don't go away' after the election, he says."
Brownback "insists there is a pro-life majority" and "he says the youngest voters, ages 18-25, are the most pro-life cohort," according to Mr Will. "Brownback says opposition to same-sex marriages has 'broadened the movement' of social conservatism."
To Mr Will, Senator Brownback stands a good chance in Iowa, as well as South Carolina and Michigan - three key early nomination contests. "The race is on, and Brownback ... is sprinting," Will concludes.
