The horror, ooh, how Washington politicos infuriate me with their gimmicks! Actually, it's on the heels of an Iowa federal court's order requiring a prison ministry to pay back the fed for indoctrinating prisoners, a decision I don't understand, or at least I can only understand as far as the exclusively Evangelical-Protestant character of the program is concerned. But on the general principle, if Doe v. Bolton's "health exception" can be stretched to include anything and everything, why can't inmate rehabilitation include religion? The establishment argument is hollow -- we're talking about convicted criminals who are pretty much the waste products of our secular anomie, not religious monuments on the steps of a federal courthouse or public schools. Only religion can restore a sense that they are more than society's garbage, and the state can recognize that as a sociological reality. Of course, I too would question whether evangelical Protestantism is best religion to create long-lasting and holistic cura personalis.
Anyway, back to Brownback - he cuts a nice contrast to Giuliani, Pataki, McCain, Romney, et al who are supposedly tough, strong GOP leaders on everything except life issues. His advisors are onto something in underscoring the common weak spot of all the current GOP racehorses. I could vote for him, depending on how he handles manages the turbulence of campaigning and challenges to his lack of executive experience.
