Posted on 04/22/2014 5:26:46 AM PDT by xzins
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee warned if the Republican Party ignores social issues in the upcoming national elections, then evangelical voters will simply stay home.
The evangelical vote in America has been a key ingredient in deciding who becomes the Republican nominee for president. Polling bears that out.
Yet the social issues near and dear to the hearts of evangelicals are under attack within Republican circles.
A few years ago, former Gov. Mitch Daniels, R-Ind., wanted to declare a truce on the hot button social issues.
"All I was saying was we are going to need to unify all kinds of people. Freedom is going to need every friend it can get," he argued.
That's the line by some within the GOP who say that the only way the party can get more votes and win elections is by staying away from controversial social issues like abortion and gay marriage.
But Huckabee, who's considering running for president in 2016, told CBN News that ditching these issues may cost the GOP evangelical votes.
"It leaves them at home. They just don't go vote, which they didn't do very strongly in 2012. There were fewer evangelical voters who voted for Romney than McCain. If 10 percent more evangelicals had voted for Romney, Romney would be president right now," Huckabee said.
Nevertheless, many in the Republican Party appear intent on phasing out social issues.
Just this past week, the Nevada Republican Party stripped out all language pertaining to abortion and marriage.
And after President Barack Obama won re-election in 2012, a Republican National Committee document concluded the following: "When it comes to social issues, the party must in fact and deed be inclusive and welcoming."
But Huckabee suggested the GOP might want to rethink that strategy.
"This notion of 'don't mention those issues because you might offend the voters who are leaning left,' you better worry about who are you going to leave at home, cool off, and completely chill out the voters who just will say, 'Well, I really don't have anyone to carry the issues that matter for me,'" Huckabee warned.
Huckabee insists that social conservative candidates will need to stand firmly for their values and convince the party that issues like marriage and abortion are an important part of the total equation.
"I think it's a mistake to think that younger voters are going to make their entire election decisions on a candidate's position on same-sex marriage," Huckabee predicted.
"If a candidate can articulate the reason he's for traditional biblical marriage is because of his biblical viewpoint, then will they hold that against them anymore than they would hold it against a Muslim who won't eat pork or drink liquor? If they do, then the problem is bigger than what the position is; it's why they hold the position," he added.
Reagan wasn’t at all silent about it. I remember his addressing it in debates, in news conferences, and in his book for every conservative: “Abortion and the Conscience of a Nation”.
I likewise recall Bush addressing it in the debates, particularly the town hall variety. And, I recall his huge debate and courageous decisions over stem cells.
They were up front about it, and didn’t try to hide.
In fact, if we just focus on the baby, then we have a winning argument. That wonderful bundle of the promise of life, that loving little human who is so dependent and so appreciative of everything, those little smiles and those deep, deep eyes that you could just fall into.
Talk about the baby.
“some within the GOP who say that the only way the party can get more votes and win elections is by staying away from controversial social issues like abortion and gay marriage.”
I am confident that 99.9% of aborted fetuses were not because the female who murders a fetus was raped.
Women who abort suffer horribly, physically and emotionally—any woman who does not is certainly either a sociopath or so deluded as to what abortion is—murder incorporated—that they are unable to frame the issue of murdering the unborn as anything other than “reproductive rights” (WTF is that again, what RIGHT is that???) or “women’s health”.
Again, over half or the murdered unborn are female. There is your real war on momen.
LOL, you're funny,
What you mean by ‘support’ ?
Like wearing a T-shirt that says ‘Pro-choice’ ?
Do you support gay marriage?
I didn’t say silence. Thats a false equivalency, and since you are a smart guy, I can only assume you did that on purpose to make your point, or perhaps to cheapen mine.
I did say emphasis…..and there is no doubt that Reagan emphasized other things. The shining city on the hill, the reduction of government influence in our lives, and the evil empire of the Soviet Union.
What you mean by ‘support’ ?
Wearing a T-shirt that says ‘Marriage Equality’ ?
I agree.
What I’m saying is that Reagan especially would go on the offensive over his pro-life stance.
That is the same response we should now have.
I can still hear his explanation in one debate in which he almost choked up when he talked about those who question whether a baby in utero was “life”. His response was a gentle, grandfatherly prod: if they have such a question then wouldn’t they rather err on the side of life?
He was such a treasure, and he believed in going on the offensive. He must have learned from Patton.
You know, sol, that you are dodging?
Do you support the BLM’s decision to put snipers around the Bundy ranch?
They didn't call me for my opinion, I saw it on the news.
Same with Todd Akin.
Do you support ObamaCare?
What you mean by dodging?
See, I have seen that screed EVERY election since I have been of legal age to vote. And EVERY election the GOP loses, they blame on conservatives not being liberal enough, and not voting for XYZ candidate even though he was against our own interest.
We can not be at the same time irrelevant to the party and the scapegoat for the lack of success of the party.
If you are really worried about the young vote, maybe the GOP needs to look at getting jobs back to the US instead of expanding the H1B visas and tax breaks to company’s overseas.
So far I am exempt from it, except the cut back FSA.
A review of this thread tells me the nation is in for a fall if this is representative of conservatism.
Free Republic: Pro-God, pro-life, pro-2nd amendment, pro-small Government
I see others have already made an effort to advise you of how wrong you are.
I don't care if my neighbor is living with a member of the same sex raising kids (they are and they are wonderful moms with polite kids).
You are part of the problem, not the solution.
A pray for America a revival, renewal or great awakening. But if that's not God's will for us, then...
Maranatha, Jesus!
Each generation is starting with a lower baseline, so when they push back as more of our morality is destroyed they think they've won a great victory. In reality they don't even push back to the baseline they started with and the decline continues. We see this decline more clearly as we age because we know where the country was and what was expected of us as citizens in our youth compared to where it is now.
I know as a Christian that defending the helpless and oppressed is not just something I should do, but is something I want to do. Who is more helpless than the unborn? Yet the Godless of this country have succeeded in convincing women that the unborn are only secondary to their feelings and desires. They've convinced this present generation that the unborn aren't even human.
I think the destruction of the USA as a great nation and the light to the world is our well deserved judgement. Conservatism being transformed into libertarianism will be the final straw.
We urgently need a Spiritual revival in this country.
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