The Greensburg room at Seton Hill University (SHU) was packed on Sept. 8 when U.S. Senator Sam Brownback came to speak in support of U.S. Senator John McCain.
The Kansas Republican Senator discussed the differences between McCain and Senator Barack Obama and gave enthusiastic support of McCain and his character.
By Kayla Sawyer
News Editor
The Greensburg room at Seton Hill University (SHU) was packed on Sept. 8 when U.S.
Senator Sam Brownback came to speak in support of U.S. Senator John McCain.
The Kansas Republican Senator discussed the differences between McCain and Senator Barack Obama and gave enthusiastic support of McCain and his character.
“John McCain is a true American patriot,” said Brownback.
“This guy really is amazing. You heard his story at the convention.
Forty million Americans watched that, and when he got to the part when he’s talking about his own prisoner of war experience – this is the real deal guy.”
“He’s very simple to understand. He loves America.
He really does, I just ask you to look at the guy’s heart and say ‘now I like a heart like that,’“ he said.
He also spoke about the differences in the kind of Supreme Court each candidate would prefer to see, as well as the world’s perception of America.
“We don’t need to apologize for America all the time,” he said. “This is a great nation. It’s a better place when America stands strong.”
However, most of the focus of the rally was on McCain’s pro-life stance, which Brownback fervently agrees with.
“We are only one vote away from overturning Roe vs. Wade,” said Brownback.
“I don’t believe that the pro-life issue will be the type of issue to sway voters,” said Steve Meredith, a senior, Setonian sports columnist and the vice president of the SHU College Republicans.
“For instance, I know that some of my friends are pro-life and are still in support of the Obama campaign.”
“We all know that McCain is pro-life and Obama is pro-choice,” said Juistina Chiappelli, a junior and an intern with the Barack Obama campaign.
“Senator Brownback opened his speech saying that he love’s policy. I didn’t hear anything about policy.”
“I thought the rally did a lot of good for the university, the College Republicans, and collegiate political activism in general,” said Meredith.
“It’s nice to see that our students are taking the time to see both sides of political issues, even if they don’t necessarily agree with the viewpoint being presented.
It is becoming increasingly important that students see the other side of certain issues because the country is currently in a state of dynamic political polarization.”
“If the College Democrats or some other group are going to invite an Obama surrogate or Senator Obama himself, they better get moving on it because we will be working to get more McCain supporters here as well,” said Shawn Conway, a senior, Setonian staff writer and chairman of the College Republicans.
Brownback spoke with similar urgency about his efforts in the 2008 presidential election and the importance of winning votes in Pennsylvania: “It’s been a tough and challenging election cycle. This is a key battleground state. We need to win a state like Pennsylvania.”
Photo courtesy of Steve Meredith
