Brownback joins a crowded field in presidential race / Kansas senator has 100% rating from conservative group
Rachel L. Swarns, New York Times
Sunday, January 21, 200701-21 04:00 PST Washington — Declaring himself a proud conservative before a crowd of cheering supporters waving American flags, Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., on Saturday announced his candidacy for president.
Brownback, an evangelical Protestant turned Roman Catholic and a former Kansas agriculture secretary, said he would focus on reviving faith and families in America; combatting abortion, poverty and wasteful government spending; opposing same-sex marriage; and revamping Social Security and the federal tax system.
“The last thing we need in America is to take God out of our public lives and institutions,” Brownback said. “We need to embrace our nations motto, in God we trust, and not be ashamed of it. To walk away from the Almighty is to embrace decline for a nation.”
Isn’t it a fundamental conflict for a a member of our government, sworn to protect our constitution, to also believe it is his duty to “focus on reviving faith and families in America”? If that is his belief he should become a television evangelist and give up politics.
Perhaps our politicians should be subjected to an entrance exam before they can put their name on a ballot. Maybe a few essay questions, such as “Can you define ‘The separation between Church and State’?”. I’m fairly certain that Senator Brownback would be stumped.
Chris Knight