Brownback Flirts With Giuliani

Sam Brownback wasn't much of a presidential candidate, failing to shore up even the social conservatives who are his natural base, but his endorsement would be a jewel Rudy Giuliani's crown. The Kansas senator would instantly become the highest-profile religious conservative in Giuliani's camp. And his unimpeachable "pro-family" credentials could make it OK for other Conservative Christians for Rudy to cross James Dobson's picket line.

From the top graphs of this morning's HIll story on Brownback, it sounds like it could happen:

Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) is considering endorsing Rudy Giuliani for the GOP presidential nomination and will meet with him Thursday in Washington to hear his views on abortion.

Brownback, who ended his White House run last week and is a champion of social conservative issues, said he would consider Giuliani because he had heard that the former New York City mayor had changed his position on partial-birth abortion and has pledged to appoint to the courts strict constructionists who would not overturn anti-abortion laws....

“I’m going to meet with him and I’m going to talk to him and hear what he is specifically saying now because he’s changed on a number of the abortion issues,” Brownback said in an interview. “He’s changed on partial-birth [abortion] and he … has said he would appoint strict constructionists.”

When asked about Giuliani’s position on allowing women the right to late-term abortions, also known as partial-birth abortions, Brownback said: “He is opposed to it. That’s what I’ve been told indirectly. I want to hear it from him.”