YouTube Reviews - Republicans, Part IV

So, that was a weekend, there. Between the Darjeeling Limited, the world's worst Oktoberfest, and some smiling Irish eyes, updating this thing got lost in the shuffle. Now, though, we're back to the grind. After a relaxing Columbus Day, it's back to business as usual.

Today, my business involves Senator Sam Brownback (R-KA).

FACT FILE: SAM BROWNBACK

ACCOUNT NAME: Brownback4President
NUMBER OF VIDEOS: 47
NUMBER OF SUBSCRIBERS: 628
TOTAL CHANNEL VIEWS: 501,640
TOTAL VIDEO VIEWS: 418,042

Now, in case anyone hasn't figured it out in the last few weeks or so, I'll say it now: generally speaking, I'm not a big supporter of the GOP. It's not a fanatical hatred or anything; I just disagree with most of their policies. So far, I've approached these candidate reviews with a sense of good-natured skepticism. Sure, I'll take a few potshots for laughs, but in the end, the analysis shows what it shows. I don't have a vested interest in taking these guys down. Usually, they do a fine job of that themselves.

That said: I really dislike Sam Brownback.

Ever since reading Thomas Frank's What's The Matter With Kansas? a couple of summers ago, I have a hard time not instantly identifying Brownback as a typical culture war Republican interested more in smut and school prayer than in effective, policy-based leadership. So, that's my bias. Maybe it's true, maybe it's not. Make of it what you will.

Not surprisingly, perhaps, many of Brownback's videos lean heavily on his religious and cultural beliefs. Scattered among the general videos of Brownback in and around Iowa are clips concerned with abortion, gay marriage, and the candidate's own status as a Roman Catholic. For those keeping score at home, the results are "against", "against", and "Hail Mary".




When he's not comparing himself to Ronald Reagan, Brownback does touch on more hard political issues. Though they're fewer in number, they do give voters a better sense Brownback the politician because they cover areas more directly influenced by presidential decision-making.



Brownback also shows he's not afraid of a fight, calling out fellow candidate Mitt Romney by name in a few challenges. Do I smell a scrum brewing?



In the end, Brownback's videos turn out to be fairly meat-and-potatoes in terms of form and content. While he's not breaking any ground, he's also not making any mistakes. He hits the expected marks, but doesn't really go out of his way to get people fire up... or interested... or much of anything, really...

One curiousity that I did notice, however, was the the complete lack of both debate/interview clips and sample television ads. Brownback has the resume to be making more noise than he is in this pre-primary season, and it's odd that he's not making more of an attempt to capitalize on the YouTube audience. Brownback has the second-lowest video count of candidates that have been in the race from the beginning; only Duncan Hunter has fewer. Plus, it seems that no staffers have logged in since the middle of last month. Is Brownback abandoning the YouTube market already? For all of the evil genius credibility I gave this guy until now, it sure seems like he's half-assing the whole "world domination" thing. Really, I expect more from a nemesis.

I wonder what Rick Santorum's up to these days...

Tomorrow, we'll tackle the candidate who talks like a civics professor, looks like Jerry Jones, and fundraises like a coke-addled Howard Dean: Ron Paul, this is your life.