Posted on 12/23/2007 2:48:25 PM PST by Ol' Sparky
George Will doesn't like him. Neither, apparently, does Rush Limbaugh. The Bush wing of the party now apparently distrusts him. He hasn't done well by Drudge (at least so far) and today even Peggy Noonan has her reservations.
The good news for Mike Huckabee is that he's doing one hell of a job of reuniting significant portions of the old Reagan coalition. The bad news is that it's increasingly arrayed against him.
The point, of course, is that in this case, what looks like bad news may well be the opposite. Insurgent, dissident candidates always feed off the attacks of the establishment in ways other candidates don't. It was General Edward Stuyvesant Bragg who said of Grover Cleveland, "They love him most for the enemies he has made," and in Huckabee's case, his supporters might well be thinking the same thing.
It's true that Limbaugh and Drudge aren't commonly thought of as establishment figures. But the truth is that they've now been around long enough to be, well, part of the woodwork. To a discerning observer, they're not part of the chattering class. But to an evangelical voter who doesn't follow politics that closely or a new voter angry enough by the turn of events in the country to finally get involved? Limbaugh, Drudge, Will - what's the difference?
Jim Pinkerton astutely put his finger on all this recently. Look at what's dominating the news - school and mall shootings, Britney's sister is pregnant, baseball is full of cheaters. The only candidate even remotely addressing the crisis of the American spirit - and that's what it is - is Mike Huckabee.
If Huckabee's opponents want to undermine his campaign, the best way to do that is to begin talking about the issues he's addressing. Until then, it's possible that all they're doing is pouring gasoline on a fire.
Before this is done Huck will have united the GOP part.
United against Huck that is.
part = party.
Tough to counter poll-tested platitudes. He preaches to the evangelical choir and is counting on his typical supporter to not have the interest or inclination to check his record.
I only like him better than Hitlary.
Go Fred!
If Duncan Hunter gets to the primaries in Virginia—I’m going to vote for him.
Why no mention of the Big 3 issues, WOT, Illegal Aliens and Economics/Taxes, nada a word about Nanny State big government....it’s a conspiracy I tell ya!
Huckabee is a uniter alright, just not they way he intended.
First someone will need to teach the husckster what an issue is. He pretty well bombed out on foreign policy.LOL
“Tough to counter poll-tested platitudes. He preaches to the evangelical choir and is counting on his typical supporter to not have the interest or inclination to check his record.”
I agree that Mike Huckabee is counting on his supporters not checking into his record as governor. I hope they do and find out the truth. When and if they do they will most likely realize that Fred Thompson is the real conservative who will get things done that need to be done! GO FRED!
Everything I have read about this guy (huckabee) boils down to him being an arkansas kleptocrat who will carry whatever badge will get him elected. The wedding registry is among the most amusingly blatant actions of what must be a totally corrupt Arkansas government administration. In all fairness, it is how things are done in most if not all state governments, but it is important to understand what you are getting before electing it.
He would be a GOP version of Clinton in terms of administration corruption if elected.
Rush is fine, but he will not make up my mind!
I’m part of the “evangelical choir” that he’s preaching to and I see right through it. Don’t lump all Christians into the idiot crowd just because this guy seems to be doing well for now.
-- George Will is not a conservative who upholds the requirements of responsible freedom. He is like Goldwater became and what Giuliani is.
I/we would be looking for a candidate that George Will doesn't like.
Baloney. The only reason Huckabee even talks about such things is as a bridge to the opportunity to talk about his nanny-state big government "issues."
The only candidate truly addressing the "crisis of the American spirit" is Dr. Alan Keyes.
If Huckabee agrees with me on those items he gets my vote.
I think Rush like him personally just fine, but like any conservative, will stand right up and point out that his political record hardly reflects conservatism.
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