Now we have the latest entry in the series of profiles about Sen Sam Brownback this one appearing in The Weekly Standard, a conservative journal.The article hits many of the same details as the Rolling Stone and Washington Post profiles before it: Telling how he came to Congress in 1994 expecting to remake government within six months, only to be disillusioned; how cancer in 1995 changed his outlook; how he attends two church services every Sunday — a Catholic one on his own, and an evangelical service with his family.Some highlights from the article, which calls Brownback “Mr. Compassionate Conservative:”¢ “Earlier this year, Brownback gave a lecture at Kansas State, his alma mater. He chose as his topic ‘American exceptionalism’ — the idea, as he explained it, that our country is a “special place” and that it has a ‘special destiny for mankind.’ Brownback said that the source of American exceptionalism lies in ‘our fundamental goodness,’ and that while we have had our problems and ‘often get things wrong,’ we eventually find our way, because ‘some movement based on goodness and fixing what’s wrong’ starts up and doesn’t stop until the problem is fixed. Like the abolitionist movement, which settled in Kansas ‘with a heart to end slavery.’ And the civil rights movement, which sought to end segregation.”¢ “Brownback may be one of the few Republican politicians who believe that compassionate conservatism is still the ticket to the White House. National security issues are likely to remain dominant through 2008. And many conservatives are wary of compassionate conservatism, seeing it as a stimulus to government expansion and a seductive path to misguided policy. Brownback’s ‘compassionate’ position on immigration–he voted for the Senate bill, which would create a guest worker program and create a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants–has drawn fire from Republican colleagues in both the House and the Senate, and from publications like Human Events.”¢ “Brownback probably keeps track of issues of concern to social conservatives more keenly than any other senator. He runs the weekly meetings of the Values Action Team, attended by representatives of 30 to 40 organizations, including the Family Research Council, Concerned Women for America, Eagle Forum, Christian Coalition, National Right to Life, Prison Fellowship, and the American Center for Law and Justice. Brownback meets with no other group so regularly, nor is it possible to find many causes advanced by social conservatives that he hasn’t supported. Brownback’s deep interest in the social issues agenda was evident when I asked him what his big idea will be if he runs for president: ‘Mine is going to be to rebuild the culture and the family.'”¢ “Brownback’s own take on what’s ahead? ‘In 1980, the message and the moment and the person came together in Reagan,’ he told me over breakfast at K.C.’s Diner, across the street from the Ellsworth prison. ‘That’s what’s required for a presidential run. Maybe I get into it to develop this philosophy, to lay it out, like Reagan did in 1976]. I’d say, ‘I think this is the way we ought to go.’ And if people aren’t ready for it yet–well, that could be the case. Then four years later, they might say, ‘That’s exactly what we need to do.” Brownback sounds like a man about to run, and prepared to run again.”Other links today:Dennis Moore[(KC Star) Moore to host energy summit: A forum on energy independence will be held Aug. 15 at the University of Kansas Edwards Campus, 12600 Quivira Road. The “energy summit,” sponsored by U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore, a Kansas Democrat, will feature a panel of seven energy experts. The two-hour event will begin at 1 p.m. in the Regnier Hall auditorium.Todd Tiahrt(Wichita Eagle) Election office deems 80% of provisional ballots valid: t’s still unclear who will challenge Republican Todd Tiahrt for the 4th Congressional District seat in November. Only 38 votes separated the top two challengers after primary day. Garth McGinn picked up a few extra votes Monday in Sedgwick County over the second-place Ron Voth. After Sedgwick County’s provisional votes were counted, McGinn’s total was 4,360 votes. Voth had 4,311, Marty Mork had 3,827 and Patrick Quaney had 3,289. However, the other 10 counties in the district had not yet reported the results of their provisional ballots to the secretary of state’s office by Monday evening.How to contact As always, you can find information to contact members of the Kansas congressional delegation here.