By Dan McCue

MOUNT PLEASANT — Republican presidential hopeful Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas visited the Mount Pleasant Sticky Fingers on Wednesday afternoon to sample the barbecue and talk face-to-face with potential supporters.

Between 20 and 30 people turned out for the event billed as a “potluck lunch,” almost all of them saying they were dissatisfied with the top tier of Republican contenders, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Arizona Sen. John McCain.

Several said they were still deciding among Brownback, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, California Congressman Duncan Hunter and Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo.

Fresh off his third-place finish in last weekend’s Iowa straw poll, Brownback made his case for their vote, espousing the “rebuilding” of the American family, research on adult rather than embryonic stem cells, and a desire for a new era of judicial restraint.

Asked to differentiate himself from the rest of the Republican field, Brownback described himself as a pro-life, “whole life” candidate who also happens to be an economic “pro-growther.”

“To me, economic policy, all policy, begins with the rebuilding of the family,” said the lead sponsor of a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as the union of a man and a woman.

“Today, 36 percent of our kids are born out of wedlock, and while many single parents do a wonderful job raising their children—and they should be applauded for that—I think the best situation in which to raise a child is one in which both a mom and a dad are present and are bonded for life.”

Brownback said that with the Iowa straw poll behind him, he’ll be spending much more time in South Carolina trying to shore up support among conservatives.

“Ours is a grassroots effort in what I believe is a grassroots state,” he said. “We’re going to be going to small towns, big towns, talking to people about the issues.

“What’s frustrating is the media says people aren’t interested in a substantive dialogue about the issues, but in my experience in this campaign, I’ve found that people will talk to you all day about issues because they are interested in what you’re going to do about them.”