Unintended consequences of Huckabee attacks

Whoever is pushing these stories about Mike Huckabee’s religion, and I share Erick Erickson’s suspicions, might think twice about the unintended consequences of what they are doing. David Brody captures the problem nicely:

By the way, don’t be surprised if this topic comes up at the next Republican debate this coming Wednesday in Des Moines. You may think that’s not good news for Huckabee. Well, maybe.

Actually it could be far worse news for Romney, Thompson, Giuliani and McCain, who may be asked whether homosexuality is sinful. Giuliani was already asked about it Sunday on Meet the Press and said the homosexual lifestyle is NOT sinful. Romney just aired a TV ad showing how he stood up against political correctness. Will he do that here with his views on whether or not homosexuality is sinful?

I mean. All these reporters are sitting on emails that say "Off the record" at the top that have these attacks on Huckabee. (from. ummm. only one campaign, if I am reading Erick’s implication correctly) When one of these candidates gets asked a question that their staff has legitimized by pushing the story, how do they weasel out of it?

Brody has a good explanation for how these might be backfiring with voters. It also might backfire with the press, which is the only explanation that I have for dropping these now anyways.