U.S. Catholic senator Sam Brownback looks at 2008 presidential run
Catholic News Agency (www.catholicnewsagency.com)

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5, 2006 (www.catholic.org)   -  As Republicans and Democrats are still considering what to make of the “Catholic vote” during 2006 midterm elections and as talk begins to swirl around 2008 presidential runs by well-know politicians such as Sen. Hilliary Clinton and Sen. John McCain, a pro-life Catholic legislator appears ready to throw his hat in the ring.

Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) announced Dec. 4 that, “after much prayerful consideration,” he will consider seeking the Republican nomination for the presidency.

Brownback, who has made a name for himself in conservative circles since he was elected a U.S. senator in 1996, has been a fervent supporter of “family values” and creating a “culture of life” in the United States. 

 ~ Listen to audio of related story: Sen. Sam Brownback's Politics of Faith  

In the letter announcing his candidacy consideration, Brownback said he is running in order to “spread hope and ideas.”

In addition to mentioning life issues and the protection of marriage, Brownback pointed to a variety of other issues: “The federal government wastes and spends too much. We lack compassionate yet practical programs to help the poor here and around the world. We need energy independence and alternative, clean-burning, domestic-grown fuels. The scourge of cancer has killed too many and must be stopped. We need term limits for judges and members of Congress like we have for the president. We need a flat tax instead of the dreadful, incomprehensible tax code we now have.”

“And,” Brownback said, “we need humility.”

While many more Catholics had been voting for Republican candidates in recent years, a shift of some Catholic voters back to Democratic candidates was seen in this year’s midterm elections.

Father Thomas Euteneuer, president of Human Life International, said that Catholic voters left Republican candidates as they became weak on abortion and family matters. “The most vulnerable seats in both houses were those held by politicians who had abandoned the pro-life and the pro-marriage principles that first brought them to power,” said Father Euteneuer shortly after the election.