Now that 2006 is over, it’s time to start thinking about the 2008 presidential election and who would be the best President to advance District of Columbia voting rights and home rule. I’m not sure what the answer is, but I’ll tell who it is not - Sam Brownback. That is why I did not like reading this article today in the Post

Kansas Republican Eyes Presidential Bid
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/20/AR2006112000876.html

He has been the Chair of the Subcommittee on the District of Columbia in the Senate, and according to Congresspedia:

In December 2005, Brownback advocated using Washington, DC as a “laboratory” for a flat tax. His advocated position on this issue was “that making D.C. a test case would, with limited potential for negative impact, provide valuable data about the effects of a flat tax that would prove helpful in determining whether it should be applied nationwide.” This has irked many residents of the District, as the idea of a Senator from Kansas forcing a system of taxation on them would seem to only further the District’s taxation without representation. Mayor Williams chimed in at the time saying, “We continue to resist any efforts on the part of any member of Congress to impose rules and regulations on the people of the District.”

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want a President who sees the District as his personal public policy Petri dish.