Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS), a leading social conservative in Congress, is seeking the Republican Party's 2008 presidential nomination. Although the two-term Kansas senator is primarily known for his leadership in advancing the domestic agenda of the Religious Right, Brownback has also played a leading role in several foreign policy issues, including Iran and Sudan. Generally a dependable supporter of the Bush administration's Mideast policies, Brownback opposed the president's troop "surge" plan while at the same time blocking efforts in the Senate to pass resolutions critical of the plan (Associated Press, February 8, 2007).
Brownback came to Washington in 1990 as a White House Fellow working under U.S. Trade Representative Carla Hills during the George H.W. Bush administration and in 1994 was elected to the House of Representatives as part of a wave of Republican victories that gave the GOP control of Congress. Self-described as a member of the "hard core" that drove the party's anti-big government agenda, Brownback won the 1996 election for the Senate seat vacated by Bob Dole. He won a full term in 1998, was reelected in 2004, and has said he will not seek reelection in 2010 to honor his promise on term limits.
Brownback broke with other social conservatives in the immigration debate, when he angered immigration restrictionists by voting for a bill that would create a guest-worker program and a path to citizenship for unauthorized immigrants living in the country. The restrictionist group Center for Immigration Studies called him "Amnesty Sam" after his March 2006 decision to support the [John] McCain-Kennedy immigration bill.
When it comes to the war on terrorism, Brownback has been a vocal supporter of the Bush administration. "Since September 11, 2001, it is increasingly clear that national security must be at the forefront of our overall foreign policy," says Brownback in a statement on his website. "As we face the threat of terrorism, as well as threats by rogue nations such as Iran and North Korea, it is more important than ever that we have a coherent, strong, and wise foreign policy. As we continue to wage the war on terror in Iraq and Afghanistan, we must look ahead to the prospect of these countries serving as models for freedom and democracy in an otherwise troubled region."
Along with right-wingers like Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ), SEC Chair and former Rep. Christopher Cox (R-CA), and former Sen. Rick Santorum, Brownback has aggressively pushed anti-Iran resolutions. Just as the Iraq Liberation Act of 1998 established the foundation for bipartisan congressional support for the 2002 invasion, the congressional initiatives regarding Iran have drawn broad congressional support for resolutions that prepare the ground for a more aggressive U.S. posture, including possible support for expatriate groups and military strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities and missile sites.
Lauding the Brownback Senate amendment of July 2003 supporting democracy in Iran, American Enterprise Institute (AEI) scholar Joshua Muravchik, speaking on behalf of the Coalition for Democracy in Iran, said: "This amendment is an important milestone in the relationship between the U.S. Congress and the people of Iran. It sends a message to the Iranian people that the American people are aware of their struggle to free themselves, and that we want to do what we can to help. The days of waiting for the Iranian regime to reform itself are over." At an AEI forum on Iran in 2006, the institute's Danielle Pletka introduced Brownback, describing the senator as "an activist" and "a true believer" (American Conservative, March 27, 2006). In May 2006, Brownback introduced the Iran Human Rights Act, which he said would provide Iranians "with the tools and education to effect regime change from within."
In addition to his initiatives concerning democracy and human rights in Iran, Brownback has also been a lead author of bipartisan legislation on human rights in North Korea and with respect to international trafficking of women. For example, he coauthored the Trafficking in Victims Protection Act with late Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-MN).
Although an outspoken advocate of human rights in Iran, Brownback's support for the Bush administration's war on terrorism and free trade have trumped his concern about human rights. In a May 21, 2002 statement to the Senate, Brownback advocated that permanent normal trade relations status be extended to Russia and the nations of Central Asia and the South Caucasus—many of which are gross violators of human rights. He recommended that language be included in such an act that would recognize " the considerable efforts the nations of Central Asia and the South Caucasus have made in assisting our antiterrorism efforts. I would remind my colleagues that we have troops based in some of these nations."
The politics of oil, too, played a part in Brownback's calculus: "Russia owns immense fossil fuel reserves which could reduce our dependence on oil from the volatile Middle East." He noted: "Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Azerbaijan are also valuable sources of oil. Kyrgyzstan has made impressive progress in making market reforms since its days as a Soviet Republic, which can provide fertile ground for American investment. Georgia is making significant progress toward market reforms."
On domestic issues, Brownback is a standard-bearer for many of the issues—abortion, stem cell research, cloning, same-sex marriage—that are close to the Christian right. He cosponsored the Human Cloning Prohibition Action, the Prenatally Diagnosed Conditions Act, and the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act. He also sponsored the Constitution Restoration Act, a bill that would have restricted the power of federal courts to rule on church/state issues. Endorsed in his presidential bid by Pat Robertson of the Christian Coalition, Brownback "runs the weekly meetings of the Value Action Team, attended by representatives of 30 to 40 organizations, including the Family Research Council, Concerned Women for America, Eagle Forum, the Christian Coalition, the National Right to Life, Prison Fellowship, and the American Center for Law and Justice" (Weekly Standard, August 7, 2006). Perhaps not surprising for a senator from Kansas, Brownback supports teaching intelligent design in public school science classes, using the "Teach the Controversy" approach.
Although close to the Christian Right, Brownback does not project a brash, righteous, or dogmatic persona typical of some social conservatives. Although a fiscal conservative, Brownback's politics go far beyond his initial emphasis on the need for smaller government; he now speaks of the need for "compassionate" government. On his office wall hangs a plaque of the Second Commandment—"love your neighbor as yourself"—which he considers a guide to his political activism. Part of a new wave of Christian Right activists, Brownback has pressured for a U.S. government commitment to end the mass slaughter in Sudan and to provide aid to address poverty and preventable diseases, particularly in Africa.
A leader of an informal coalition of evangelicals and Catholics (Brownback converted to Roman Catholicism in 2002) that have become involved in international issues including religious persecution, Sudan, sex trafficking, slavery, and global public health, Brownback cites William Wilberforce as a major influence in his social activism. Like many others in the international Christian solidarity movement, Brownback sees his work as a 20th century extension of the activism of Wilberforce, an evangelical Christian who as a member of the British parliament in the late 18th century and early 19th century led the fight to terminate the slave trade.
Two of the early intellectual influences of the Christian solidarity movement, which emerged in the late 1990s, were Michael Horowitz, a neoconservative at the Hudson Institute, and Nina Shea of Freedom House. In his November 2001 article on the Christian solidarity movement, Joshua Green wrote: "Horowitz enlisted Beltway heavyweights like Chuck Colson, James Dobson, and William Bennett, and appealed to members of Congress like Frank Wolf and Chris Smith in the House, and Arlen Specter and Sam Brownback in the Senate."
Brownback chaired a May 16, 2000 hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on religious freedom, including testimony from Shea and Elliott Abrams. Brownback, who chaired the hearing, said:
"There has been a stunning shift in foreign policy in the last three years involving a recognition of religious liberty as a respected human right, equal to the freedoms of press, speech, or assembly," Brownback said. "This was not true, even a few years ago, when members of Congress and foreign affairs intelligentsia were reluctant to seriously entertain this topic.
"I am grieved by the suffering which results from embracing a minority faith in a hostile country. I think of the countless people in closed countries like China who may never hear a religious message that would comfort their souls in troubled times or give meaning to their lives. It may be fair to say, that of all the rights a country might steal from its people, religious freedom is the most intimate one."
New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof has described Brownback as "the most intriguing man in Washington—wrong on so much and yet such a leader on humanitarian issues."
Tony Perkins, head of the Family Research Council, says of Brownback: "Many have the right voting records, but he has leadership." According to the National Journal's "Conservative on Foreign Policy" rankings, in 2005, Senator Brownback voted more conservatively on foreign policy issues than 74% of U.S. senators.
