Meanwhile, the Brownback-Huckabee duel for religious conservative support continues, now with accusations of “anti-Catholic bigotry.” The Brownback campaign demanded that Huckabee apologize for an email sent by one of the former Arkansas governor’s supporters, an Iowa minister who wrote to religious voters to point out that Brownback is not, in fact, an evangelical:
“I know Senator Brownback converted to Roman Catholicism in 2002,” Rev. Tim Rude, pastor of Walnut Creek Community Church, wrote in the e-mail. “Frankly, as a recovering Catholic myself, that is all I need to know about his discernment when compared to the governor’s.”
In the e-mail, Rude calls Huckabee “one of us.”
Huckabee’s camp claims Rude has apologized; though Brownback’s supporters complain that the “apology” was more for the fact that the comments became public, not for making the remarks to begin with. As Marc Ambinder points out, though, this is one of those offenses that will benefit the victim more than anyone else: “there is an undeniable upside in engaging Huckabee so close to the Ames straw poll.”
None of it may matter very much, though, as long as the main story about evangelical voters continues to be their lack of enthusiasm for any of the candidates.
Something to say?
