You can tell we're getting close to the Aimes straw-poll, (and a likely dooms-day 
for at least a few candidates), when you start to see the lower tier candidates go after each other with a lot of vigor. In this case, we've got Brownback and Huckabee going after each other, or at least claiming that the other was going after them. From the Brody File [8]:
Mike Huckabee's campaign manager is absolutely blasting Sam Brownback and his "Christian character." Read more here [9] about this argument, but basically this centers around the fact that a Huckabee supporter sent an e-mail to a bunch of Iowa Evangelicals asking them to reconsider supporting Brownback because he's Catholic. Huckabee issued a statement afterwards but the Brownback camp believed it didn't go far enough and wanted him to actually apologize.
Well, now Huckabee's campaign manager Chip Saltsman decided to lower the boom on Brownback.
It get's ugly from there...check out Brody's copy of the emails, but there's claims of "anti-catholic" whisper campaigns...claims of candidate hypocrisy, etc.
In short, Aimes is next Saturday, and these guys know somebody's not going to make it. Granted neither has a chance to win in Aimes, but they're fighting for a strong enough showing to convince everyone else in the country (including donors) that they should keep going instead of folding up their tent.
It's sort of like Survivor...someone's about to get voted off the island, and they're getting nasty with each other.
(full disclosure, I'm on the Romney wagon)
