Here’s the man who didn’t hit political puberty in the conservative ranks until 60 years old... Here’s a guy who just 10 years ago was saying, "Look, I’m an independent; I’m not for that Reagan-Bush legacy." And now he wraps himself in it. Here’s a guy who--despite what he says--his record in Massachusetts was significant increases in fees. And the numbers, you know, I’ll go to the independent, objective reports of those, and they were more like $700 million.
He is a recent convert to pro-life. He still doesn’t have a solid record on the Second Amendment. He still believes in Brady and banning "assault weapons"--as they're sometimes called--which is not a conservative position. He’s a recent convert to this "traditional marriage" view. He at one time said he'd do more for the gay agenda than Ted Kennedy. That’s not a conservative position.
So I just don’t understand this whole thing of so many people, whether it’s Rush Limbaugh or anyone else, saying he’s the conservative in the race. He may be saying conservative things now, but he certainly wasn’t saying them until he ran for president, and his record is not one of being consistent. When you have an abortion bill in your state as part of your health package, that for $50 you guarantee a government-funded abortion within your health plan ... To any person who’s truly pro-life, that is not conservative...
It’s about the credibility of the candidacy and whether or not there’s authenticity. And for me, give me a guy that I disagree with but at least I know he’s speaking from his convictions, and it’s not just a convenient political view that he’s taking because, "Today I’m talking to a women’s group, so I’m pro woman, but tomorrow I’m talking to a men’s group, so I’m not." That’s what disturbs me, and I think it’s the kind of politics that just really turns people off.
My recollection of Reagan speaking was that he relied on valid abstractions about freedom, free markets, and the totalitarian nature of communism. Of course, he had to interact with individuals. But even his jibes related to policy. He was never so personal as what I’ve heard, and just read, from Huckabee. Maybe President Huckabee will slime Muslim supremacists into renouncing terrorism. Maybe his energy policy will be to hammer our greedy oil industry while closing off more supplies. Supply and demand is pretty abstract and beyond some Republicans and most Democrats. I bet Huckabee will be very effective in inveighing against greed. I wonder where his "Jesus juice" will lead him next.
I've come to the conclusion that Rush and Sean and a lot of people have a text-book, somewhat mytholgical understanding of what conservatism is. Preservation of the permanent things is a visceral impulse. One cannot give lip service to it for political advantage and be taken seriously. You either have it, live it, espouse it, inculcate it, or you don't. Huckabee is definitely the most conservative candidate remaining ( except for Paul ).
The video showing Romney 's forthright, sincere conviction to defend the right to abort a child that JimRob has repeatedly linked is the death nail that forever disqualifies Romney as a conservative.