Updated Thursday, May 14th 2009, 2:50 PM
WASHINGTON - A Republican Senate challenger in Arkansas called Sen. Chuck Schumer "that Jew" at a campaign event and has spent a week backtracking, apologizing, and digging himself in deeper.
Kim Hendren, now the minority leader of the Arkansas state Senate, dropped his J-bomb last week after he got mad that Schumer described conservative Republicans as "hard right" in a TV interview.
He almost got away with it, but conservative Arkansas blogger Jason Tolbert it, and called out Hendren, who is challenging Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln.
Hendren excused his remark by pointing to his reputation as a gaffe machine.
"I don't use a Teleprompter, and occasionally I put my foot in my month," he told Tolbert, then inserted it a little farther.
"I was attempting to explain that unlike Sen. Schumer, I believe in traditional values, like we used to see on "The Andy Griffith Show'" Hendren said....
