Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., and fellow Republican candidates debated in Dearborn, Mich., on Monday, and while much of the focus was on former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson’s debate debut, Brownback had a couple of highlights.
During a discussion on the value of labor unions, Brownback spoke about his mother, who was “a postal packin’ grandma” and a mail carrier and union member. Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., used the story as an example of bad labor and turned the discussion to illegal immigration. Brownback played it for laughs.
Earlier in the debate, Brownback delivered one of the more memorable lines of the debate while describing the health of the U.S. economy. “Right now, [the United States has] less than 5 percent of the world’s population, yet 20 percent of the world’s economy …. Forty percent of our research and development budget around the world is in this country,” Brownback said. “I mean, this place rocks.”
Brownback also garnered a bit of attention this week after he announced he would spend a day on the campaign trail in Iowa with Democratic candidate Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., to discuss their joint plan for Iraq.
“[F]or the first time in the 2008 election cycle and in recent history, Senator Biden and I will remove our ‘R’ and ‘D’ labels and instead come together to further detail our plan for a secure, safe, stable Iraq,” Brownback wrote in RealClearPolitics. “We will be campaigning in a place near and dear to the hearts of presidential hopefuls: Des Moines, Iowa. It is my hope that our appearance will resonate with the vast majority of voters in the heartland who don’t want any particular party to win on the Iraq issue, but do want America to win.”
Later in the week, Brownback participated in an online discussion hosted by washingtonpost.com. He reiterated that he would drop out of the race if he does not finish in the top four in the Iowa primary.
Speaking to the Associated Press about his prospects in Iowa, Brownback said, “[W]e’ve got to do much better. We’ve just got to step it up.”
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