Posted on 12/20/2007 9:28:38 AM PST by Between the Lines
With Mike Huckabee's continuing surge, the Republican Party now has an Iowa front-runner whose religious beliefs are virtually identical to those of George Bush. He's anti-choice, born-again, against gay-marriage, and gets political advice directly from God.
So why is the Republican establishment suddenly in a state of near-apoplexy about Mike Huckabee? Shouldn't they be happy? They've been cultivating evangelicals and fundamentalists for 30 years. Now they finally have a candidate who's truly part of the movement. So what's the problem?
Actually, that is the problem. The evangelical crowd was fine when it was just a resource to be cynically exploited every few years in demagogic anti-gay get-out-the-vote campaigns. But now the holy-rolling monster the GOP's Dr. Frankensteins have created has thrown off the shackles, fled the lab, and is currently leading in Iowa. And the party doesn't know what to do.
It's actually fun to watch the consternation. Ross Douthat has dubbed this feeling "Huckenfreude," which he defines as "pleasure derived from the outrage of prominent conservative pundits over the rising poll numbers of Mike Huckabee."
And there is certainly no shortage of outrage among hyperventilating conservative columnists across the country. The National Review's Rich Lowry has coined a neologism of his own: "Huckacide." This is when a national party commits suicide by nominating an "under-vetted former governor who is manifestly unprepared to be president of the United States."
Yeah, that would certainly be crazy, wouldn't it? Makes you wonder where these people have been for the last seven years.
Over at the Washington Post, Charles Krauthammer is wringing his hands about an "overdose of public piety," "scriptural literalism," and how the 2008 campaign is "knee-deep in religion."
At the Weekly Standard, Stephen Hayes worries about the fact that Huckabee "told a producer for Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network that his religious background made him most qualified to lead the war on terror," and that he "seems to believe the best foreign policy is one guided by the Golden Rule." Scoffing at the Golden Rule? What's next, attacking the Boy Scout Oath? And what it is about Huckabee's name that inspires a whole new lexicon? The Weekly Standard's headline writers couldn't resist, dubbing his perceived foreign policy shortcomings "The Perils of Huckaplomacy."
Over at the Wall Street Journal, Peggy Noonan frets that the Republican Party of today wouldn't like Ronald Reagan much now that "faith has been heightened as a determining factor in how to vote," and says that voters in Iowa "may be deciding if Republicans are becoming a different kind of party."
If? If??
Turns out that when you define your party a certain way for a two or three decades, people actually start to believe it, and that definition can, in fact, become your party.
According to Andrew Sullivan, "it is certainly too late for fellow-traveling Christianists like Lowry and Krauthammer to start whining now. This is their party. And they asked for every last bit of it."
The Republican establishment is tying itself in knots trying to land on a publicly acceptable rationale for their Huckabhorrence (I told you, it's irresistible). Some criticize his "fair tax" plan -- but since when have nutty economic plans ever disqualified a Republican presidential candidate?
No, the real reason is class. As Kevin Drum puts it, "mainstream conservatives are mostly urban sophisticates with a libertarian bent, not rural evangelicals with a social conservative bent. They're happy to talk up NASCAR and pickup trucks in public, but in real life they mostly couldn't care less about either. Ditto for opposing abortion and the odd bit of gay bashing via proxy. But when it comes to Ten Commandments monuments and end times eschatology, they shiver inside just like any mainstream liberal."
As Steve Benen writes at TPM, "The Republican Party's religious right base is supposed to be seen, not heard. Candidates are supposed to pander to this crowd, not actually come from this crowd."
They want their base to be a kind of electoral cicada: wake up every four years, vote, and then go underground and shut-up.
Will Huckabee win the nomination? No one knows. But win or lose, I can't see this genie going back in the bottle. One danger for the Huckabee haters is that right wing social positions aren't the only thing they've been nurturing for 30 years -- there's also this sense of aggrieved, martyred hatred of "the elites." Of course, it's usually completely manufactured. But this time, there really is a group looking down its nose at the evangelicals -- and it's not godless liberals. It's the supporters of Romney, McCain, Thompson and Giuliani. So what's going to happen when evangelicals realize this and tap into the hatred of "the elites" the GOP establishment has been whipping up in them for three decades?
Mark Kleiman points out that Huckabee is the only non-millionaire among the serious GOP contenders, and the only one who doesn't court what Kevin Drum calls the "money-cons" -- those Republicans for whom globalization is the only true religion.
Republicans have been running on a faux populist/religiously conservative platform ever since Richard Nixon. It was refined and heightened by Lee Atwater and again by Karl Rove. And now that they have a rising candidate who truly represents that platform, the movers and shakers of the party are doing all they can to kneecap him.
But as the Good Book says: "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."
Let’s see it’s not OK for Huck to appeal to Christian voters in Iowa then is it not OK for Rudy to appeal to Jewish voters in Florida. Why is everyone surprised that politicians search for votes?
I’m sorry but wasn’t Arrianas religion following around some kind who wore a white robe all the time? Didn’t it end up helping her ‘husband’ lose a shot at the US Senate?
Curious of her to criticism religious displays of others, huh?
Brilliant post. Fred Thompson is the man. He has integrity, honesty and clarity of purpose. God forbid Huckabee or one of the other RINO’s should get the nomination.
That's just about what I was going to say. I would only add that people like Huffington don't know the difference between Pat Robertson and Elmer Gantry, the real thing and the fakes. And I have concluded, despite some testimony by Freepers to the contrary, that Huckabee is a fake.
But to be fair to Huffington, your average Country Club Republican wouldn't know the difference between someone with real religion and someone who was faking it any more than she does. In their eyes, it's all scary and bogus. Not even Mother Teresa can get through to someone like Andrew Sullivan.
If people could just get past the fact that the article talks about Huckabee, maybe they could see the issues evangelicals are having to deal with in this election from their own party.
Back earlier this year, Republicans had declared the death of the value voters. Over the summer we saw numerous articles where they rejoiced at the prospect that the "religious right" would no longer be calling the shots.
When Rudy became the "obvious" choice evangelicals were ridiculed for not supporting him because of abortion. Later they were chided for not wishing to support Romney because he is Mormon. It seemed as if everyone knew how evangelicals should vote except for evangelicals.
Here it is December and Huckabee is doing well in the polls. And we see article after article attacking Huck and attacking social conservatives. It has gotten rather nasty in the press and even nastier here at FreeRepublic.
It is obvious that Republicans want the evangelical vote, but only if they vote for the "right" Republican. Evangelicals have become the niggers of the Republican party and Republicans wants to keep it that way.
When did the Republican party become so anti-Christian?
FYI. I am both a social and fiscal conservative and I support Fred. My issue is not about Huckabee but how social conservatives are being treated by their own party.
“With Mike Huckabee’s continuing surge, the Republican Party now has an Iowa front-runner whose religious beliefs are virtually identical to those of George Bush.”
The first sentence alone discredits the entire article, and demonstrates clear ignorance about Christian denominations.
Bush is a Methodist, and Huckabee is a Southern Baptist. Nearly polar opposites within the spectrum of Christian beliefs.
Wowza.
If a leftist like Arianna can see this, why can't we?
Of the remaining viable candidates, I agree he is the best. But I suspect he will be disappoint conservatives if he becomes president.
And, I use the word "viable" advisedly. Thompson is clinging to the edge of the cliff with one hand. I don't expect him to make it past New Hampshire.
As to the other three, at least Romney is willing to pretend he is conservative and he does not appear to be crazy. McCain, Giuliani and Huckabee are all completely off the reservation. If we are going to crash the ship of state, we might as well let a rat do it.
I am a Southern Baptist who supported Bush, but would never vote for Huck. Go figure.
LOL! :)
I must say that as one of those who have promoted social-conservatives to be more assertive and active... This is quite a spectacle I am enjoying tremendously. Having Hunter, a man of quality, practically ignored by the "intelligentsia" of the Republican party! LOL...I must say they must be quite concerned with this uprising.
Bottom line. Finally, Finally... someone who is not supposed to 'surge,' is doing it and yes, they don't know what the F*&% to do!... LOL!
Makes sense, for political reasons. Though knowing what I know now, I wouldn’t Bush in a primary (and I’m Methodist).
How is Huckabee even a social conservative? Part of that means he’s tough on crime, but what I’ve seen is all but tough on crime.
If Fred stands up and declares he will abolish the present tax system and go to the Fair Tax, he will rocket to number one in the campaign.
This is the ONLY issue that is fueling the Huck-a-boom.
I am with you..I’ll vote for Fred and if he doesnt get it and Huckabee does..I wont vote. The Huckster is a typical flim flam artist from the same state the most infamous flim flam artist in the history of this nation came from. We dont need another president from Ark like that.
The leftists have a right to laugh at us. We’ve really snookered ourselves with this guy.
I feel like a coyote with my leg caught in a trap... fixin’ to gnaw it off.
What I find so scary about Huckabee is his ability to twist words, somewhat antichrist-like. Clinton did the same thing, but it’s organic with Huckabee and is deliberately aimed at southern Evangelicals, ie., I’m the REAL christian, only I can serve your best interests. It’s all about him. The ad was strange too, with it’s subliminal bookcase/cross. Anyone who designs sets for a living knows that you don’t let the background dominate the subject. The ‘cross’ GLEAMS next to Huckabees face. Then there’s the incident in which his son tortured a dog by hanging and slitting it’s throat. Of course, Huckabee blamed his ‘enemies’ for that one. What a creep.
The party hasn’t. The media always has been. The media is really monkeying with our primary and there’s no outrage over it. Fred is the closest thing to outrage when he refsed to answer that stupid moderators question.
A Jewish associate of mine once said that Rudy is essentially an honorary Secular Jew in terms of his religious outlook. Rudy as the first (nonkosher) Jewish President?
Arkansas sure doesn't have a good track record in selecting their governor as of late. So how on earth can our party be so stupid to have him leading?
Ministers that aspire to be President probably shouldn’t be trusted.
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.