The latest statements from Senator Brownback tell us much more about the health of that campaign than anything about Governor Huckabee . The Huckabee Campaign has issued a very appropriate and hard hitting statement that tells it like it is.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, August, 2, 2007
Media Contacts: Kirsten Fedewa Tel: 202-365-6936 Alice Stewart Tel: 501-324-2008 Office501-658-1654 BB
MEDIA ADVISORY
Huckabee Campaign Manager Speaks out Against Attacks from
Brownback Campaign
Little Rock, AR – The following is a statement from Huckabee Campaign Manager, Chip Saltsman, in response to negative comments form the Brownback campaign concerning an e-mail sent by Rev. Tim Rude:"It's time for Sam Brownback to stop whining and start showing some of the Christian character he seems to always find lacking in others. He has attacked Governor Huckabee for something that a Huckabee supporter said in an email sent to two individuals. The person who originated the email has apologized and is not a member of the Huckabee staff. For Brownback to claim that the Governor "owes him an apology" is nonsense and indicates that if Brownback is going to fall to pieces every time a supporter of the Governor says something he doesn't like, he clearly isn't tough enough to be President. The Governor strongly disavowed the statement by the supporter, but that wasn't enough for Brownback. He continued to cry about it. The irony is that unlike Senator Brownback, I have been a Catholic my entire life, as have several of the senior staff members in the Huckabee campaign. Governor Huckabee enjoys strong support from Catholics and for good cause. If Senator Brownback wants to start apologizing for inappropriate things said, perhaps he could pull the "beam out of his own eye before taking the speck out of someone else's" by apologizing for the website 'Baptists for Brownback' that states that Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Fred Thompson and others are 'Hell bound.'
"We don't condone or support attacks on people for their faith--whether it comes from our supporters or from his. Senator Brownback surely has better things to do than police the private emails of a single supporter who said things for which he later apologized and which should have been sufficient for most Christians to accept. As a lifelong Catholic, I was taught that when a person apologized, we were to forgive him and go forward, not shop for other apologies from people not even involved in the original sin. It's time for these silly accusations to stop and for all of us to focus on leading the country and solving problems that the American people care about."
I agree totally. I have been involved in politics since I was a teenager. If politicians had to apologize for what every supporter said there would be no issues discussed. Governor Huckabee really didn't have to issue the statement he did in the first place. He did it because he wants to send a message to the media, his supporters, and opponents that he will not be dragged into the sewer. The media , playing on stereotypes, already tried to get Governor Huckabee to make a issue of Governor Romney's Mormon Faith. This occured during a debate that was NBC. Huckabee made it clear that it was not a issue. Members of the Romney campaign thanked him for his stand.
The campaign press release is correct. Every person running for President has legions of bloggers supporting them. Shall we now spend precious time apologizing for what person X that has a blogger account says?
I am a devout Catholic that is a zealous defender of my faith. Before I decided to support Governor Huckabee I spent months researching his record. I never detected any inappropriate remarks about Catholics or for that matter people of any faith tradition. He was a Governor for all the people of Arkansas. Just like he will be President of all the citizens of the United States.
I have no doubt that Republicans and Democrats as standard practice have hired opposition researchers to look into the every utterance of Mike Huckabee. Further it is likely that they were looking for statements that would fit the cartoonish sterotype of a Southern Baptist Minister. The fact that this is what has to be used as a "issue" speaks volumes as to what they did not find.
People are concerned that the amazing success that Governor Huckabee had in Arkansas will get out. Well it is too late for that. It already has. Trying to manufacture a controversy that involves a private email sent to two people of a potential voter for Mike Huckabee does not show the leadership we need.
Let me end with the comments of a man that has dedicated himself to defending Catholics in the United States against bigotry and slander. That is William Donahue of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights. He said :
“Like Sam Brownback, Mike Huckabee is a man of character, and as such he would never choose to be associated with such bigotry. The blame for this incident lies squarely with Rev. Tim Rude, pastor of the church.
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