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Congressional opponents Gabrielle Giffords and Tim Bee got caught in a mini-religious war last week.

After the preliminary failure of a bailout bill in Congress, U.S. Rep. Giffords, who is Jewish, flew back to Tucson — as Congress recessed for a few days — to celebrate Rosh Hashana, as well as to participate in a planned Wednesday forum with Bee during her 48-hour stop in Tucson.

Then, shortly after the Star reported her return to Tucson, Bee wrote a blog in which he criticized Giffords for "putting partisanship and petty politics ahead of the American people."

Bee quoted the Star but used ellipses to remove the phrase about Giffords celebrating the Jewish New Year. And for whatever reason, Giffords ended up not participating in any congressional or campaign events while she was here.

So Democrats pounced, accusing Bee of religious insensitivity. The National Jewish Democratic Council even got involved, releasing a statement saying, "Giffords has the right to celebrate one of the holiest Jewish holidays of the year without it becoming a political issue with her Republican opponent."

But Bee spokesman Tom Dunn said Bee was not being insensitive. As for removing the part about Rosh Hashana, Dunn said Bee "was emphasizing the fact that she was leaving Washington, D.C., to come back to campaign."

"Of course, it's appropriate" for her to celebrate the holiday, he said. "If she was coming here to campaign, she needed to get back to work and focus on that bill."

The real issue, though, seems to be where the candidates stand on the bailout. Giffords voted against the first bill, which died. And once she returned to D.C., she voted for the second bill Friday, which passed.

Dunn called that a "sellout," since, he said, the bill contained more than $100 billion in pork-barrel spending. Bee has criticized both bills but has stopped short of saying how he would have actually voted.

Dunn dodged multiple questions about how Bee would have voted, finally saying he definitely "did not support that second bill with all that pork."

On the question of marriage, celebs Jennifer Aniston and John Mayer aren't the only ones with commitment issues — Southern Arizona politicians, it seems, have the same anxiety.

This year's ballot measure to define marriage as between one man and one woman in the state constitution is proving to be a real touchy subject for a number of legislative candidates.

In a recent Star questionnaire to candidates, 12 candidates said they opposed the measure, which was sent to the ballot by the Legislature. Three said they supported it.

But 10 couldn't seem to come up with a simple "yes" or "no" response. Some rambled for sentences about how marriage is already defined in the state constitution. Others talked about how happy they are to be married. But the mix of Democrats and Republicans couldn't muster up an answer on the underlining issue.

"My wife and I have been married for 17 years," wrote Republican Frank Antenori, a candidate for the House in District 30. "I believe that marriage is an important institution that strengthens society and I support it." What's "it"? Marriage or the amendment?

In the primary, Antenori was a bit more direct, answering "yes" but adding: "If you want to get married, fine; that's between you, your spouse and your God, not the government." So, isn't that a "no"?

Republican Jonathan Paton, running for the Senate in the same district, was even more indirect: "I supported the effort to let my constituents vote for it." OK. But that wasn't the question.

Democrat Olivia Cajero Bedford, running for re-election in District 27, did not give a direct answer, instead saying she would support the move if it "had clearly stated that (marriage) cannot be one man, one woman and three girlfriends."

And Democrat Barbara McGuire, an incumbent in District 23, said, "My personal opinion is that definition of marriage would apply to a man and woman, however, in the case of amending the constitution, it is up to the voters."

True. And voters shouldn't count on getting a straight answer from this crop anytime soon.

Giffords and Bee will attend their second of three debates Tuesday at 5 p.m. at Buena High School in Sierra Vista.

Political junkies will have some decisions to make. John McCain and Barack Obama go head-to-head for a second time the same day. Their televised debate starts at 6 p.m.

Political Notebook

Daniel Scarpinato