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Discussing Huckabee
Posted by tgirsch

Mr. Dawntreader is too chicken* to allow non-Republicans to participate in his discussion of Huckabee’s recent rise in the polls. Since I can’t post it there, then, I’ll post it here. I’ve got two words for him:

Howard Dean.

At this time in the 2004 campaign, Dean star seemed to be rising, too, and look where that got him. It’s early, WAY early, and Huckabee’s recent rise very well may hurt his chances of getting the nomination, as it gives the other candidates a new target to shoot for (and in the aftermath of his Christmas ad, they’ve already started).

* I kid, of course. I understand wanting to limit the discussion to likely GOP voters, to avoid partisan flame wars and whatnot. He could have at least given us non-Kool-Aid-drinkers an open thread to weigh in with our views, though. :)

UPDATE: Mr. D asks:

who can hate a guy that has the guts to say that we need to shut down the IRS and institute a fair tax?

Anyone who knows anything about the so-called “fair tax.” It’s maligned by liberals and conservatives alike.

December 19th, 2007 Politics | 4 comments

4 Comments »

  1. Kevin T. Keith writes:

    Sadly, yes. In fact, I’ve seen several conservative blog posts about the sudden trend among prominent conservative pundits to disparage Huckabee (as well as an earlier story that the Democrats have been conspicuously silent on him precisely because he’s such an easy target in the general election).

    Winger paranoids of course attribute this to “the war on Christianity” and the “Eastern [Republican] elites”, who just can’t stand to see a true non-Ivy-League-educated Baptist become President. Sane people realize it’s because Huckabee is going to make the GOP even more of a laughingstock than it is. (The conservative meme right now is that “Huckabee is Harriet Meiers”.)

    As for me, that’s exactly why I want Huckabee to get the nomination. He would not only lose the election but cripple the GOP and stick a permanent wedge between evangelicals and sane politicians of any partisan stripe - which can only be good for the nation while also wiping out even the non-winger portion of the GOP. He’s God’s own two-fer, and I love him for it!

    But to make that happen, he has to get the nomination. I realize I haven’t been helping by holding his insanity up to the light in recent posts, but I can’t help myself. Hopefully, he *will* get the nomination, and show the true face of political evangelicalism in an unmistakable way. Right now, his own party leaders are conspiring against him while the opposition party cheers him on. I can’t wait to see that play out in the general election.

    Comment 12/19/2007

  2. tgirsch writes:

    Actually, I stand by my previous contention that if we had to settle for a GOP president, and if our only choices were the three front-runners (plus Thompson), then Huckabee, for all his warts (and they are many) would be the least bad of the lot. It’s not saying much, but it is saying something.

    Also, I’m not so sure I’d count Huckabee out in the general, especially if his opponent were Obama (a person of color) or Hillary (an “uppity” female, to parrot the popular narrative). There are a whole lot of rural voters who’d turn out for a guy like him, especially given those alternatives, and they wouldn’t be the least bit turned off by any of the criticisms of Huck so far.

    Finally, lest you “misunderestimate” the political value of “folksy charm,” and of pandering to conservative Christians, allow me to remind you of 2000 and 2004.

    Comment 12/19/2007

  3. Morris writes:

    “I realize I haven’t been helping by holding his insanity up to the light in recent posts, but I can’t help myself.”

    I’m sure Huckabee is shaking in his boots at the influence you have over the electorate.

    “Finally, lest you “misunderestimate” the political value of “folksy charm,” and of pandering to conservative Christians, allow me to remind you of 2000 and 2004.”

    Thanks for those encouraging words.

    Comment 12/19/2007

  4. Paul writes:

    I don’t remember where I saw this, unfortunately, but apparently as Governor of Arkansas Huckabee has pardoned as many criminals as the previous 3 governors combined (including one rather famous occupant of that post). Now that’s enough to make me suspicious of him, but no more than that because I don’t know if the others were too mean or he’s too lax. But for conservatives that should be a red flag that he’s weak on crime.

    Comment 12/20/2007

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