Sen. Sam Brownback now has more room on the right to run for the GOP presidential nomination in 2008.The Hill reports today that Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., won’t be seeking the nomination. Like Brownback, he’s a Roman Catholic pro-life conservative popular with the social values wing of the Republican Party — . Unlike Brownback, he faces a tough re-election fight for his Senate seat next year. The Hill reports: “In early polling, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has a considerable lead among top Republican presidential contenders, leaving limited breathing room for lesser-known contenders – including a few of Santorum’s GOP colleagues.”‘Rick would’ve been a good candidate,’ said Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), who noted Santorum’s strength with social conservatives. ‘He’d have been a very strong candidate in the Republican field.'”But with Santorum out, Brownback said, there are ‘not as many people lining up the same bloc of votes in a primary. It does open up a bloc of votes that would naturally have tended toward him.'”As for his own plans for 2008, Brownback said he continues to make ‘early travels’ to key primary states, with recent visits to Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. He said he will ‘continue to make calls and inquiries.'”But, he noted: ‘The final decision has not been made yet.'”USA Today says the presidential ambitions of senators — including Brownback — is making it harder for President Bush to accomplish his own goals.”Never before have so many members of Congress started so early in exploring potential presidential campaigns. Ten months after the last election, at least five Republican senators and five Democratic ones have taken such preliminary steps as hiring advisers with national experience, traveling to the early-contest states of Iowa and New Hampshire and talking up their prospects with interest groups. …”Senators dispute the suggestion that presidential ambitions affect their stance on policy. Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback, a Republican hopeful, says ‘I haven’t seen that’ in his actions or others’.”Other links:Sam Brownback links (Wichita Eagle) Brownback withholds judgment on nominee: Sen. Sam Brownback called President Bush’s Supreme Court nominee a “delightful individual” after meeting with him Monday, but reserved judgment over whether John Roberts should be the next justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. Brownback met for about 15 minutes with Roberts, whom Bush nominated last week for a slot on the nation’s highest court. Roberts’ meeting with Brownback was one of a series of visits Roberts is having with members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will hold hearings this fall to recommend whether the nominee should be confirmed by the full Senate.(AP) Roberts documents being released: The documents being released Tuesday were from Roberts’ tenure in the Justice Department during the Reagan administration. Some of Roberts’ records already are publicly available at the Reagan library. Others still need clearance from representatives of the current president and former administrations, as required by law, and archivists. The Senate’s majority Republicans are expected to support the White House’s decision. “I don’t think it is appropriate for a lawyer to release documents they’ve produced for their clients,” Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., said Monday.Dennis Moore links (The Nation) Labor Gets Tough on CAFTA: This week, however, leaders of some of the largest unions in the country have indicated that they will not be backing Frontline candidates who vote for CAFTA, and they are urging the DCCC to drop Frontline efforts for members who support the deal. Bean is identified by name in the letter, along with Representatives Jim Matheson, D-Utah, and Dennis Moore, D-Kansas, both of whom have voted for free-trade pacts in the past and are seen as potential CAFTA backers.How to contact As always, you can find information to contact members of the Kansas congressional delegation here.