Now that Sen. Sam Brownback is officially exploring a run for the presidency, he must begin to demonstrate that he possesses the skills and experience necessary to lead this nation.
Maybe he will eventually get around to trying to do that. But for now, Brownback appears to be content to merely demonstrate his right-wing credentials by claiming the mantle of the Commander In Chief fighting the "War on Christmas"
Republican presidential hopeful Sen. Sam Brownback joined with other lawmakers and religious leaders Thursday in urging Christians to display nativity scenes on public property to remind America that "the birth of Jesus ... is the reason for the season."
"Christmas is making a comeback," the Kansas senator declared at a news conference at the steps of the U.S. Capitol, where Christian leaders had erected a temporary nativity scene to kick off a national "Nativity Project."
"It's okay to talk about the birth of Jesus at Christmas," Brownback said. "We need to have these expressions of religion ... It's important for America."
Brownback urged his fellow lawmakers to pass the Public Expressions of Religion Act before Congress adjourns Friday afternoon. The bill, which Brownback authored, would eliminate legal fees associated with Establishment Clause challenges to public expressions of religion.
Brownback, who on Monday launched an exploratory committee to seek the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, joined Rev. Patrick Mahoney, director of the Christian Defense Coalition, and Rev. Rob Schenk, president of Faith and Action, in encouraging American Christians to participate in the groups' Nativity Project.
Mahoney is perhaps best known for being one of the Right’s leading agitators during the Terri Schiavo saga, while Schenk made a name for himself as joining like-minded ideologues such as Alan Keyes in calling on President Bush to name Judge Roy Moore, the former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court who was removed from office for refusing to obey a federal court order to remove a Ten Commandments monument that he installed in the rotunda of the Supreme Court building, to replace Justice Sandra Day O’Connor on the Supreme Court.
His exploratory campaign is less than a week old, but Brownback has already demonstrated that he has the toughness and resolve necessary to defend this nation from its enemies - such as those who seek to destroy Christmas, whether they actually exist or not.
