Sharlet: The Economist generally wins points across the political spectrum for its sober, accurate reporting. That’s why its hysterical, inaccurate Senator Sam Brownback puff piece — and believe me, that’s the polite term in this case — is surprising. It begins with a rant against liberalism recycled from 1984, a whiny little screed about how conservatives are victimized in American society, and continues onto a paean to Brownback’s radical right bleeding heart so glowing it’d crack a geiger counter.

“Mr Brownback’s politics,” The Economist contnues, “is rooted in his religious faith. He was raised an evangelical Protestant, a son of Osawatomie, a longstanding hotbed of Kansas evangelism.” Actually, as Brownback’s parents told me for a Rolling Stone article when I visited their home just outside of Parker, where they’ve lived since before Brownback was born, Brownback was not raised an evangelical. His family was mainline Methodist and not overly serious about it — just like their neighbors in this humble farm town. Traditional values, Brownback’s mom told me, meant keeping your word and minding your business. She had a gay friend back then and while she is, of course, very proud of her son, she disagrees with his anti-gay crusade now.

Why did The Economist get it wrong, when a leftist, urban egghead like myself got it right — simply by asking?