Posted by Joel Mathis February 16, 2006 at 7:29 a.m.

Brownback's presidential prospects polled

There's good news and bad news for Sam Brownback's presidential run this morning.The good news: After not being included in a December Gallup poll on GOP candidates, [the senator has finally made the list.][1]The bad news: He's mustering the support of just 1 percent of Republican registered voters.Gallup says: "Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani and Arizona Sen. John McCain lead a closely contested race among Republican registered voters. Giuliani has a five percentage-point edge over McCain, 33% to 28%, which is within the poll's margin of error."Three candidates with reputations as solid conservatives -- Virginia Sen. George Allen, Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, and Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback -- all receive minor levels of support from conservative and moderate Republicans, alike."Other links today.Sam Brownback links[(Knight Ridder/Washington Post) $75 million sought to stir democracy in Iran:][2] Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice escalated the U.S. confrontation with Iran on Wednesday, saying the Bush administration planned to significantly increase funding to stimulate democracy in the pivotal Middle Eastern country. ... Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kansas, who has called for $100 million to promote democracy in Iran, applauded the initiative as the "absolutely right move at this point in time."[(The Hill) And he ate the last of his leftovers, too:][3] Talk about a house divided. The recent about-face by Sen. Jim Talent (R-Mo.) on stem cells, an act of treachery to conservative activists, hit pretty close to home for the bill's author, Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), who happens to be Talent's Capitol Hill roommate. Talent plucked his name off Brownback's list of co-sponsors last week, a move amplified to the conservative world by syndicated columnist Robert Novak on Monday. "When I told Brownback on Wednesday that Talent might get off his bill, that was the first he had heard of it," Novak reported.Pat Roberts links[(L.A. Times) Congress Weighs Options for Domestic Spy Program:][4] awmakers pressed ahead Wednesday with proposals that would authorize President Bush's domestic spying program, as Senate Intelligence Committee members debated whether to launch an investigation into the controversial surveillance activities. ... Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), Senate Intelligence Committee chairman, has said he thought his panel should take the lead role in any legislation involving the spying program. But Specter argued against waiting for the committee to act, saying that introducing legislation would propel the debate. How to contact As always, you can find information to contact members of the Kansas congressional delegation [here.][5] [1]: http://poll.gallup.com/content/?ci=21502 [2]: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002808455_iran16.html [3]: http://thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/UndertheDome/021606.html [4]: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-intel16feb16,0,3477188.story?coll=la-headlines-nation [5]: http://ljworld.com/extra/where_to_write.html#fed