Why does the GOP Establishment fear Huck?

Belief Net ^ | 12/18/2007 | Rod Dreher

[Ol' Sparky]

Why does the GOP Establishment fear Huck?

Juan Cole's got a bad case of left-wing Huckenfreude:

I simply can not tell you how much I am enjoying this. The GOP has been pandering to these stupid bastards for years, and every time I pointed it out I was called “anti-Christian” or something or other. Those of us who saw what the party was becoming were told to shut up, that it was good politics.

Enjoy your new GOP, folks. And here is something else to think about- are the evangelicals going to support Romney or Giuliani if you do manage to trash Huckabee enough to secure the nomination for them? Will the eye for an eye crowd learn to forgive and forget? Have fun!

But that's not why the GOP Establishment is panicking. They're panicking because a) Huckabee is a wild card who could lose massively in the general election; b) Huckabee doesn't owe any of them anything; and c) Huckabee's rise shows how badly, perhaps irretrievably, the fusionist settlement (uniting social and economic conservatives) has broken down, leaving the GOP in a shambles.

It's funny, but when it looked like Rudy Giuliani, a social liberal, was going to be the nominee, we didn't see many, if any, establishment Republican opinion leaders freaking out over what kind of danger to the future of the party and the nation he represented, even though as Ross points out, Giuliani hasn't exactly been deep on policy (I had to research Giuliani for our Dallas Morning News editorial board debate on which candidate to endorse, and I was genuinely startled by how vague he was on many things). I think it's fair to say that it was assumed that Giuliani would be a sound representative of the Republican Party, and that the social and religious conservatives would do like they always do and get in line. Pat Robertson sure did.

But lo, it turns out that the candidate who's caught fire comes straight out of the religious/social conservative wing of the coalition, and he is unsound on issues most important to the fiscal wing. It's not supposed to work that way. Nobody at the elite level seems to expect the economic conservatives to suck it up for the sake of party unity. What does that say about the place of social conservatives in the party all these years?

I don't want to overdo this. I think it's perfectly fine to be worried about Huckabee's vagueness, and his unpreparedness. I'm worried about these things too, which is a big reason why I can't say I'd vote for him (though honestly, any Republican who finds himself worked up over Huckabee's lack of knowledge about foreign affairs, say, should ask himself if he felt the same way about Gov. Bush in 1999 and 2000, and if not, why not). Still, it's hard to shake the belief that the real problem with Mike Huckabee, as far as the establishment is concerned, is that he's not clubbable.

Reader Conor writes on this topic:

I really don't think it is because he is a Christian Evangelical who believes to the core of his person. I don't think it is because he is a Christian Evangelical through and through and is the equivalent of Pat Robertson winning. I think it is that he is a populist and he is a hell of a better politician than any of the other folks at the top of the tier. Sure Huckabee is trying to squeeze the Evangelicals for all they are worth, but there is more to him than that. I really think this is the piece that too many are missing by focusing in on the fact that he is a Baptist minister, Christian Leader, etc.

[goldstategop]

The MSM is convinced a Christian candidate is foaming at mouth, stupid, bigoted and and easy to discredit. Or so they think.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[colorado tanker]

I'd certainly vote for Huck over any of the three Dems.

But the guy is a sure loser.

[jrooney]

Weak on foreign affairs, wrong on the handling of the WOT, taxes, never met a criminal he did not want to pardon, casts stones from a glass house, mean spiteful little man, etc...

[freekitty]

Exactly.

[jdm]

It's funny, but when it looked like Rudy Giuliani, a social liberal, was going to be the nominee, we didn't see many, if any, establishment Republican opinion leaders freaking out over what kind of danger to the future of the party and the nation he represented.

Bull.

[Jedidah]

Fred’s the answer.

[Haddit]

How can you trust a man that says he will require Illegal Aliens go home and get in the back of the line to return to America? Then, on Fox News says that it shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours or days.

[Night Hides Not]

I like Rod, the token conservative on the editorial board of the Dallas Morning News. I've corresponded with him on many occasions, and I generally find him to be a reasonable sort.

However, be advised that he jumped off the bandwagon on Iraq about a year ago, and I haven't seen him say anything good about the surge. It's obvious that he's been beaten down by Bush Derangement Syndrome coming from the other staffers at the DMN.

Huckabee's 15 minute clock has about 7 minutes left. His hiring of Ed Rollins spoke even more volumes about his (lack of) viability.

I've been wrong before, but I think we're going to find out that Huck peaked about three weeks too early.

For the record, I am a Fredhead.

[rurgan]

Yep, We fear the Huckster for the same reason we fear any other liberal like a Hillary Clinton, a Stalin, a Chavez.

What does it matter that the Huckster says he is a good Christian and pro-life when Huckabee will turn the U.S,. into a socialist state where we will all be starving?

Huckabee Begs For New Taxes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pLOC4krZI4

Huckabee Caught Lying About His Tax Hikes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYrGlfkvRV0&feature=related

Huckabee is a pro-illegal, pro-Amnesty, tax raising, big government loving, socialist/liberal, violent criminal pardoning, terrorist appeasing, false prophet. In other words Huckabee is really a Democrat.

Under no circumstances will I ever vote for this liberal/communist con man.

The Huckster Huckabee or Hillary will let in hundreds of millions of 3rd world socialist illegals.

The Huckster or Hillary will surrender to Iran and let Iran build a nuclear arsenal.

The Huckster or Hillary will raise taxes and increase the size of government putting the U.S. on the road to socialism which will destroy our way of life, destroy our economy, destroy our civilization.

If you think I'm exaggerating look at Huckabee's record and into the dangers of socialism.

But hey , the idiot Huckster lies and says he is pro-life so that makes all of this ok huh?

Mike Huckabee disses Americans, Mexicans, promotes illegal immigration

http://lonewacko.com/blog/archives/005609.html

Christians Need To Beware Of Mike Huckabee

http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/c2007/cbarchive_20071102.html

While Gov. of Arkansas, Huckabee was AGAINST proving citizenship in order to register to vote. He called those who were in favor of this “racists”..

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050218/news_lz1e18perkins.html

Huckabee fought hard to kill an Arkansas bill which would have cut off social services for illegal aliens. Huckabee called the bill, “anti-Christian” and “un-American”...

http://www.arkansasnews.com/archive/2005/01/28/News/316347.html

Huckabee supported in-state tuition for illegal aliens...

http://www.arkansasnews.com/archive/2005/03/11/News/318458.html

Huckabee’s opposition to the illegal aliens bill:

http://www.diggersrealm.com/mt/archives/000718.html

Chuck the Huck and his striped shirts:

[roses of sharon]

Yes, especially since Huck is unabashedly and actually RUNNING as a liberal, of course sane members of the GOP would rather he was not nominated.

[palmer]

I really don't think it is because he is a Christian Evangelical who believes to the core of his person.

Actually that is the reason RINOs fear him. Most of them are atheists.

[muawiyah]

The Republican party has always had two factions ~ first there are the Social Conservatives ~ many are Evangelical, many are Holy Roller, and a whole big bunch of them are Roman Catholic.

The other bunch are called "Countryclub Republicans". They think they are the "Establishment" but they're not ~ actually, they are a small minority within the Republican party, and where they could actually get elected to office, fewer and fewer of them have done so over the last 4 decades.

Their choice is to go with the Social Conservatives or be destroyed by the Neo-fascist Left through ruinous taxation and regulation.

[roses of sharon]

How so?

Who are the candidates the social conservatives wanted to be the nominee in elections or primaries, and were “thrown crumbs” instead?

[YOUGOTIT]

The same fear I would have for any left-wing pro al-Qaeda Democrat. He is a loser when the national election comes up and I will not vote for anyone who frees rapist and murderers which he has done several times, or someone who talks like the war on terror is not necessary. There can be NO peace without victory.

[goldstategop]

They look down on social conservatives as a backward form of conservative tainted by religious fervor. Fiscal conservatives think the only thing conservatives should do is shrink government, lower taxes and where they side with libertarians - get the hell out people's personal lives and their bedrooms. So there's conflict between the two groups of conservatives.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[Juan Medén]

That should be changed to read:

"The GOP establishment fears that, should Huckabee actually win the nomination, they will lose access to the White House."

[AmericanMade1776]

They got it all wrong, we don’t “fear” Huckabee, we don’t “care for” Huckabee, who uses Christ as a political tool. Huckabee who has made a living off of tithes and taxpayer money. Huckabee , is educated in theology from a Baptist College, and he doesn’t even know anything about anything.

[Scythian]

Because he might get elected and he owes those scoundrels nothing - GO HUCK !!!

[fireforeffect]

It’s a twofer.

[KC_Conspirator]

Very legitimate.