Brownback on sidelines for Sotomayor hearing

The confirmation hearing of Sonia Sotomayor will take place without Sen. Sam Brownback, who stepped down from the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this year. Brownback took one for the team, as the 2008 election forced the Republicans to yield committee seats to the Democrats.

It made sense for Brownback to step aside. He has less seniority (he joined the committee in 2004) and is running for Kansas governor in 2010. But his absence on the Judiciary Committee shows the weakness of a cause he has staunchly supported.

Brownback is pro term limits. When he ran for the Senate 12 years ago, he said he would leave after two terms. Brownback is adhering to that promise. But he’s not staying true to the principle. The group U.S. Term Limits promotes “citizen legislators, not career politicians.”

Brownback is very much a career politician.