Donor Scorecard: God, Pizza and Sam Brownback

By Ken Silverstein

Sam Brownback has strong support from the GOP's conservative base in his long-shot bid to win the Republican Party nomination for the 2008 presidential race, but he's been hampered thus far by a weak fundraising campaign. As of March 31, the Kansas Senator had raised just $1.8 million—more than bottom feeders like Duncan Hunter and Tom Tancredo, but chickenfeed next to top competitors like Rudy Giuliani and even John McCain, who has fundraising problems of his own.

Brownback's best hope for turning things around on the money front lies with Thomas Monaghan, who has signed on as a campaign advisor and fundraiser. If you're not familiar with him, Monaghan is the high school dropout who became a billionaire by building the Domino's pizza chain (he was recently profiled in The New Yorker). In the early 1980s he had an epiphany after reading a C.S. Lewis passage denouncing the sin of pride, and determined that his true purpose in life was to save the Catholic Church from abandoning its fundamental tenets. He sold many of his worldly possessions, including a large collection of works by Frank Lloyd Wright, a Gulfstream jet, and the Detroit Tigers. In 1998, he also sold off most of Domino's to Bain Capital, a private equity firm founded by Mitt Romney, now one of Brownback's rivals for the GOP nomination.

Increasingly active in politics ever since his religious awakening, Monaghan's interests appear to be mainly moral; specifically, he wants a state run according to conservative Catholic principles. “I believe all of history is just one big battle between good and evil,” he once told Newsweek. “I don't want to be on the sidelines.” Among the political vehicles he has created are the Ave Maria Foundation, which supports an array of conservative causes; the Ave Maria School of Law in Michigan; the Ave Maria List, which supports anti-abortion candidates; and Legatus, a lay group for rich, conservative Catholic CEOs. (“In what ways can we as Apostles bring CHRIST into our businesses?” St. Louis chapter president, Leo McDonald, wrote in an essay entitled “Christ in the Boardroom.”)

Monaghan's grandest scheme is a utopian 5,000-acre planned community in Florida (called Ave Maria, of course) that is built around a massive church and a doctrinaire Catholic university. “Inspired by Europe's everlasting charm and featuring modern day luxuries, Ave Maria reinvents hometown-living,” says the community's website. “Ave Maria FL is an exciting place to live, work, play, and learn for every family, every lifestyle, and every dream.” (Not every dream. Monaghan has said he wants to ban the sale in town of pornography, condoms, and contraceptives.)

Monaghan has a lengthy record of political donations, with recipients ranging from anti-abortion groups and school choice initiatives, to elected officials such as President Bush, Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, former Senators Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania and George Allen of Virginia, and former Congresswoman Katherine Harris.

Brownback reportedly met Monaghan in 2002, when he spoke at a “Pro-Life Pilgrimage” organized by Legatus. Between then and now, Monaghan has donated about $20,000 to Brownback's campaigns and Restore America Leadership PAC. But Monaghan is far more important to Brownback's campaign than that relatively small amount of money would indicate, primarily because of the network of wealthy donors he is expected to bring along with him. “In Legatus, he's got thousands of members who are all Catholics, all well-to-do,” William Donohue, head of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, says of Monaghan's potential to drum up money. “This is the cream of the Catholic community. And they all have friends. You talk about where to go for fundraising, there's a list there that's been around for a number of years.”

Along with Brent Bozell III of the Media Research Center and right-wing pundit Dinesh D'Souza, Monaghan sits on the board of Donahue's group. Donahue is a regular on cable news, where he offers insightful commentary about cultural affairs. (“Hollywood,” he once said, “likes anal sex”; discussing Mel Gibson's “The Passion of the Christ, he said, “I'm pretty good about picking out who queers are and I didn't see any in the movie.”)

It's doubtful that Monaghan and Brownback's other fundraisers will be able to drum up enough money to make the senator a serious competitor in the race. But never say never. During the 1980 campaign, Gore Vidal said that the United States was turning into Paraguay fast—but not so fast that Ronald Reagan could possibly be elected president. Hail Mary.

This article was prepared with help from Alexander Provan.