Originally published September 5, 2008 at midnight, updated September 8, 2008 at midnight
MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL — Kathleen Sebelius should start looking for a new job because she won’t have one in politics after her run as Kansas governor is over if state Republicans have their way.
Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) told Kansas delegates to the Republican National Convention on Thursday morning if Sebelius ran for the seat he holds in the U.S. Senate, she would probably lose.
Brownback will finish his second and final term in the Senate in 2010. Sebelius will finish her last term as governor at the same time.
Last week Sebelius said she was not considering running for Brownback’s seat at this time. But the Democratic governor will have few other options if Democratic nominee Barack Obama loses the presidential election or she is not selected to serve on his cabinet if he wins.
Brownback said Kansans were willing to vote for liberals at the state level if their ideas reflect what is best for the community, but they want conservative principles shaping national legislation.
“Kathleen Sebelius doesn’t stand for those philosophies,” Brownback said. “And I think that you will have people lining up for that seat that can win it.”
Brownback was not as critical of Obama, though, saying even he liked him when he watched him give speeches.
“I think what Obama has tapped into is what Reagan did so well, and that is just the optimism and hope of the American public,” he said.
He said he agreed with Obama’s ideals but disagreed with his policy proposals. He said the Republican Party would lose the presidential race if it did not appear as optimistic about the future as Obama.
“We’ve got to maintain that hopeful optimism because I firmly believe that the party and the candidates that offer the most hope and optimism are the ones that win,” he said, “because that’s the way we are as American people.”
Brownback said that he had not always agreed with Republican presidential nominee John McCain and that he was against the McCain-Feingold Act in 2002, but he supported McCain’s bid for the presidency.
The McCain-Feingold Act, also known as the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, prohibited national parties from raising or spending money beyond federal limits. Brownback was against the bill because he said it infringed on the First Amendment.
Tonight Brownback will speak during the primetime television coverage of the Republican National Convention. This may be the last time Brownback will have the opportunity to address the nation, as it is the last Republican presidential nominating convention that will take place before he leaves office.
Brownback said he loved being a senator and wished he had set his term limit at three terms instead of two, but he would still honor the term limit pledge he made when he took office.
He also said he looked forward to having more time to spend with his children.
“The ideas of staying home and doing these things is quite exciting,” he said.
— — Edited by Kelsey Hayes
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