Posted on 07/04/2008 7:07:58 AM PDT by K-oneTexas
Huckabee No Savior for McCain
Kathryn Jean Lopez
In Texas just before Independence Day, former Arkansas governor and Republican presidential contender Mike Huckabee co-sponsored a "Rediscovering God in America" pastors' conference. The event, Huckabee said, was "to remind and encourage us that the proper position for America when facing evil and confronting enemies is not to find excuses for defeat but to find the resources, the courage and the strength from God necessary to win." But if John McCain thinks Huckabee as veep will give divine strength to the GOP ticket in November -- he's wrong.
For some in the McCain campaign -- most notably, McCain himself -- a "social conservative" is such a foreign entity that they are flying blind trying to secure that key GOP constituency. Despite his pro-life voting record, Arizona Sen. McCain is on record this election cycle making it clear he has little interest in such issues. Knowing this, conservative evangelicals are not overjoyed at McCain's nomination.
The problem with Huckabee is that he is not conservative. When Huckabee won the Iowa caucus in January, conservative Club for Growth President Pat Toomey declared, "Huckabee's win in Iowa is a temporary setback for conservatism." The former Republican congressman from Pennsylvania continued, "It often seems like Huckabee goes out of his way to anger the other elements of the conservative movement instead of courting them, dismissing his critics who believe in economic freedom and a strong national defense as members of the Washington establishment, Wall Street millionaires and secular elitists."
Toomey predicted: "Huckabee is a fringe Republican and does not represent the conservative movement on economic policy, domestic programs, law and order, and foreign policy. It is hard to imagine a candidate so out of step with most in the conservative movement assuming the stage in Minnesota in eight months as its leader."
Toomey is far from alone. Conservative talk-radio leader Rush Limbaugh declared Huckabee "not a conservative" during the primary fight. Although Huckabee struck an attractive populist tone, his solutions tend to be statist. It's no surprise he'd run a big-government campaign: He was a statist as governor of Arkansas. The Libertarian Cato Institute gave him a "D" rating on fiscal policy when he was in Little Rock; spending increased at three times the rate of inflation during his tenure there. Further, Huckabee is a protectionist and proved during the primary campaign to know very little about foreign policy. While McCain certainly has that ground covered, Huckabee can't pass the "plausible president" test a vice-presidential pick really ought to -- and will need to, especially this year on the Republican side, with a 72-year-old candidate at the top of the ticket.
And how, exactly, is McCain to make an issue of Barack Obama's naivete on the Iran issue if Huckabee also wants to meet with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad?
In the months since he's dropped out of the race for the Republican nomination, Huckabee has done himself no favors. First, there was his disgraceful, juvenile joke about Obama at the National Rifle Association convention. Then there was an exhortation to fellow Republicans not to "demonize" Obama. But no responsible Republicans are demonizing him, so why insinuate that they are? The unnecessary warning once again served to make conservatives wonder whether Huckabee actually knows -- much less is one of -- them.
In substance and style, Huckabee is bad news. Having run ads calling himself a "Christian leader," Huckabee ran on identity politics -- usually a mainstay of liberal Democrats. Although he had the third-highest number of votes in the Republican race this year, polls also showed him a tough sell with nonevangelical Republicans, who felt they had little in common with his mixed record as a conservative.
The Arkansas pol doesn't even offer an outside-the-Beltway thinking. He showed that recently by endorsing Alaska Republican Congressman Don Young's re-election bid. He, too, is a liberal-in-disguise, one with a penchant for government handouts (famously, the $223 million "Bridge to Nowhere"), and under an ethical cloud (and a federal investigation).
So would McCain pick someone so out of step with most in the conservative movement as his No. 2? Stranger things have happened. After all, in the spring of 2007, much of the conservative movement was defeating McCain's "comprehensive immigration reform." Who would have predicted they'd be stuck with him before long as their nominee for president?
With McCain's own troubled past and record with conservatives, he doesn't need to add to the ideological muddle. Despite his impressive turnout in the primaries, Huckabee would be a bad choice to join the Republican ticket. Lead McCain not into temptation.
Huckabee is a SPOILER. I wonder whose payroll he is on? George Soros?
Huckabee No Savior for McCain
McCain no savior for McCain if he doesn’t come out of his coma soon.
Which one of those two beauts killed the dog?
In a just world he'd be all by himself somewhere playing with Rorschach pictures (ooh, pretty!).
Huckabee guarded McCain’s flank for him at a crucial moment in the primaries, by attacking Fred Thompson.
But Kathryn Lopez is as responsible as anyone for getting us into this mess, because she helped the MSM eliminate Fred by her foolish support for the far from conservative and demonstrably unelectable Mitt Romney.
Lopez and Hugh Hewitt went into the tank for Mitt because they thought he was the most “electable.” Big mistake. Now we’re stuck with a candidate who is even less electable and less conservative than Mitt.
McCain is understandably offensive to Evangelicals after having repeatedly scorned them, but he certainly won’t fix the problem to go with Huckabee the Snake Oil Salesman.
Hucksterbee is a Judas Goat and the man most responsible for giving us McCain. He is in lockstep with McCain on amnesty for illegal aliens, silencing free speech and bowing to the altar of gorebal warming.
Religion without God and Jesus Christ, yes, but politics without God, that builds an evil self destructive nation.
As President Reagen said, “When we become a nation not under God, we will become a nation gone under.”
Mr. Magic Shelves is done in politics. He needs to get that through his thick scull.
I like him. I want him to be the new pastor of my mega church but he would kill the election.
Hucksterbee is a Judas Goat and the man most responsible for giving us McCain. He is in lockstep with McCain on amnesty for illegal aliens, silencing free speech and bowing to the altar of gorebal warming.
::::::::
Yes, he sucks. Another MAJOR RINO.
Huck, the hero from Hope. Wait, we already had one of those. Must be something in the water there.
sw
Huckabee would be an asset.
Romney would be a liability.
So, poeple who are overweight are disgusting to you?
Or, is it that they’re from the South?
Or, is it that they’re white?
What, exactly — to you personally?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.