Republican presidential contenders Sam Brownback and Mike Huckabee pulling out the social conservative stops in their improbable bids for the White House. Both men made appearances this weekend at the Christian-leaning Florida Family Policy Council's awards dinner in Orlando. And rest assured the boys took some time to resurrect that old political wedge: gay marriage.

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Republican presidential hopeful Senator Sam Brownback - a man who tried to bend the Constitution by limiting federal judge nominee and lesbian wedding guest, Janet Neff's case load to exclude queer cases - has penned a letter lauding General Peter Pace's comments on the gays. The letter, which Brownback sent to President Bush, insists that Pace has come under unnecessary fire, calling the criticism, "unfair and unfortunate". Unfortunate, indeed. Brownback went on to write:

We should not expect someone as qualified, accomplished and articulate as General Pace to lack personal views on important moral issues. In fact, we should expect that anyone entrusted with such great responsibility will have strong moral views.

One would hope that our nation's top military commander (aside from old Bushie, of course) would have strong moral views. Unfortunately, what Pace and Brownback consider to be moral - war, discrimination - don't actually qualify as such.

Brownback also took a little time to say that even though he doesn't think gay individuals are necessarily immoral, he has Catholic-based moral objections to "homosexual acts". You know, like that really bad drag show you saw last week...

Meanwhile, Democratic hopeful Barack Obama released a statement yesterday clarifying his ambiguous reaction to Pace's comments:

I do not agree with General Pace that homosexuality is immoral. Attempts to divide people like this have consumed too much of our politics over the past six years.

Whatever could he mean?

Brownback backs Pace [Knox News]
Clinton, Obama: Gays not immoral [Newsday]

Meanwhile, in actual news, our favorite sappho-journo (her suggestion), Kerry Eleveld sent us this link to an article she penned for this week's The New York Blade. In said article, Eleveld dissects the effectiveness (and, in fact, necessity) of gay politics in the run-up to the 2008 election.

Launching her piece, Eleveld notes that noted conservative candidate Sam Brownback has side-stepped the "gay" debate, skirting the issue with political precision. Why? Well, considering their trampling in the last election, Republicans are steering away from the controversial issue. So, what about the Democrats?

According to Eleveld, all the potential candidates have planted themselves firmly in the middle, lauding the importance of civil unions, but refusing to go the extra step to endorse gay marriage. So, what does this mean for the politically-minded homo? Dive into that there jump and read for yourself...

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Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney may want people to think he's the most conservative candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, but Senator Sam Brownback thinks otherwise.

Speaking to Christian Broadcasting Network, Brownback insisted he's the only staunch pro-life candidate and said of Romney:

I think you have to look at where he stood on the issues and what he said publicly. At times he's said different things on these issues. I think that's all going to come out during a long campaign... [W]hen we get out on the campaign trail and when the campaign really gets fully engaged, there's going to be a lot of discussion about where do people actually stand on the issues and where have they been and where are they now and how reliable are they to stay that way.

Oh, snap!

As you may recall, poor Mitt's past pro-gay statements have come back to haunt him, leading many social conservatives to wonder if he's got the Biblically-proportioned balls to lead our country. Brownback, meanwhile, has the complete support of people like Focus on The Family. Sorry, Romney, but we don't think you're long for the running.

Related: Brownback Hopes To Be A Winner

Did you hear the unsettlingly news that Republican Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas announced his official bid for the Republican presidential nomination? Yeah, we puked a little, too.

Though not as widely recognized as his hopeful comrades, John McCain and Mitt Romney, Brownback's background reads like a conservative wet dream. San Francisco Chronicle reports:

Brownback, an evangelical Protestant turned Roman Catholic and a former Kansas agriculture secretary, said he would focus on reviving faith and families in America; combating abortion, poverty and wasteful government spending; opposing same-sex marriage; and revamping Social Security and the federal tax system.

Yow! He's got it all - he's even brought together the Evans. and the Catholics. He must be some evil demon from hell or something.

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According to a piece in Rolling Stone, conservative, bible-thumping Kansas Senator Sam Brownback had found some choice words for countries that support gay marriage. The Washington Post picked up on it, and as they say, a scandal was born:

Deep in Rolling Stone's 7,000-word profile of Republican Sen. Sam Brownback, the conservative Kansan picked a startling bit of Scripture to explain his opposition to homosexuality.

"You look at the social impact of the countries that have engaged in homosexual marriage," he said, citing the example of Sweden to writer Jeff Sharlet before adding: "You'll know 'em by their fruits." An awkward silence followed, in Sharlet's telling.

Well, now Sen. Brownback has released a statement of publicist-wrought clarification:

“When quoting Matthew 7:16, 'Ye shall know them by their fruits,' I was in no way referring to sexual orientation. While this biblical passage was pertinent to our overall conversation about faith and deeds, it apparently led the writer to believe I was making a joke; I was not and would never do so with such a personal and sensitive issue.”

Yet, he’d use gays to polarize his base and help him win elections. Is there a verse in the bible that goes something like “Ye shall know morons by the dumb crap that comes from their mouths?” No? Well, there should be.

On a Roll at Wendy's Window (Second item) [Washington Post]
Senator Brownback Engages in Fruit-ful Dialogue [Wonkette]