What’s a Repbulican?
I think the people are misinterpreting the Iowa caucus. With the exception of one, there has been no other candidates since 1976 that have won Iowa and have gone on to be the party’s nominee.
And that does include President Ronald Reagan who came in second place in Iowa to George H.W. Bush. Only George W. Bush came in first in Iowa and went on to be the party’s nominee.
Iowa is a Democrat state that has a horrible time selecting Republican Presidential Candidates. But now the conventional wisdom will be on New Hampshire, and Huckabee’s record will become a factor very soon.
Barry Goldwater once said (and I am paraphrasing here, anyone with the actual quote handy, I’d appreciate it) that “the religious are going to ruin the GOP”. Now, I’m more than aware of how Goldwater drifted left for lack of a better term later in his life, but last night I couldn’t help but wonder about Goldwater’s remarks on what we now call the “religious right”...
...did he happen to foresee the day where a very sizable portion of the GOP would simply vote for somebody (like Huckabee) because he’s a preacher?
Maybe in the mega churches they need to start teaching economics, business, and politics 101. The churches are not taxed so of course they can get away with dismissing this pragmatic reality and preach idealism until the cows come home. If this person and evangelicals he is writing about are so worried about Mom's being able to put food on the table they better consider what 'compassion' costs in taxes first as one third of what everyone earns ATLEAST is taken out of our paycheck. This is saying they want to increase the money taken out of that Mom's paycheck even more. Go figure on how all that makes sense in the real world. Maybe add accounting classes too.
I am an evangelical. This is why I want as little government in my life. PERIOD. Balance the budget. Maintain our military. Simple tasks. Then get the heck out. Be green all you want on your own. Free country.
Can I stop laughing now?
In a real campaign, Barack Hussein Obama will be cut to shreds.
Do you really think there are no cached copies of the websight from his "Afro-centric" church?
Do you think no one will point out that according to all islamic sects, he is islamic, because his father was? You do realize that the penalty for apostasy (conversion to another religion, in this case) in islam is death.
Do you think that each & every facet of his background will not be examined in detail and the many, many islamic ties pointed out?
While many evangelicals consider Romney's Mormonism to be heretical, it is not considered hostile to Christianity. Islam is considered just downright hostile.
Guiliani may be considered a sinner, but there are many biblical leaders who were sinners, but still effective leaders.
Given the choice between Romney's Mormon religion and Obama's faux Christian church (which may be even more heretical than the LDS, once examined) or his likely, or possible, remaining islamic ties, evangelicals will hold their noses and pull the Guiliani or Romney lever.
HUCKABERRY Koolaid voters
I think a large part of Huckabee’s success is being overlooked. For 3/4ths of a year, the GOP choices seemed to be quasi-liberals - first Giuliani, then Romney and now McCain. The evangelical base can’t be particularly thrilled with any of them. Thompson and Hunter didn’t catch on, not because they were too conservative but because they did not represent outsiders. Thompson is a former Senator who has yet to play up his acting credentials or anything else that would prevent him from being seen as a stuffy pol. Hunter comes across as what he is - a guy stuck in Washington for some time.
What Huckabee appeals to are outsiders with the populism cadence of a preacher. His Christiantiy doesn’t *scare* people, less so than it attracts them. He is essentially reviving the Jimmy Carter campaign of acting like Washington is from another planet and asking What Would Jesus Do?
Huckabee represents the rank and file, particularly in the South and the Heartlands who have said “we’re tired of your Washington beltway social liberals, GOP. Get us some fresh blood that doesn’t have the stench of D.C or the RINOland Northeast to them.”
That’s the niche that Huckabee has carved out. With better focus-grouping, Thompson could have been that guy but Fred’s message hasn’t been to pose as an aw-shucks outsider but an I’m-a-former-senator insider. Which left the door wide open for Huckabee.
I don’t think Huckabee will be the nominee because I think he’s likely to gaffe his way out of front-runner status (he’s already come close a few times) and I don’t think he has the resources to go the distance. But he tapped a vein in Middle America that none of the others can reach. He may not win in New Hampshire, but Huckabee has to be considered a contender anywhere between Appalachia and the Rockies.
Good thing the Savior wasn’t that fickle and blind. He took simple fishermen, a hated tax collector and a persecutor of the believers and forged them into a team that transformed the world.
Message to evangelicals - you just nominated McCain or Rudy. Nice job!
I always find these types of statements interesting. They are always so similar in theme as those which one comes across from atheists when they criticize any number of the more miraculous, faith requiring doctrines associated with Christianity. Just change the point of view and you have the same thing - offensive, generally ignorant, and inflammatory rhetoric meant to appeal to emotion rather than reason.
If Romney is the Republican nominee, and the arrogant and prideful superiority (cloaked under the guise of “principle”) of evangelicals keeps then from voting for Romney because of his faith, then IMHO they’ll get what they deserve for President. I guess they can take solace in their sense of their own moral superiority while they lament the further deterioration of our country’s most basic moral principles under a Democrat President, whomever that might be, who shares few of their critical moral values.
When you shin a light on Huckabee, his support fades, but many are motivated by identity politics and vote for the smooth talking preacher without any thought of his record on the issues of the day.
Also, the author lost all credibility when he lumped Limbaugh in with “establishment conservatives”. He probably thinks that Coulter is an “inside the beltway” NY/DC Republican because of her opposition to the Huckster as well.
"We will vote for a Democrat if he just strokes our ego and tells us he's pro life.
If Rush was as smart as he thinks he is, he'd be pushing Hunter over the top. Jackass.
The frustrating thing about this article, is that Duncan Hunter obviously meets the requirements he so desperately wants- but is again ignored.
THE CHURCH OF HUCK: GROWING GOV’T. IN THE NAME OF RELIGION
by Selwyn Duke
December 25, 2007
NewsWithViews.com
There is a candidate in the presidential race who has a serious religion problem. No, it’s not Mormon Mitt or recently-religious Rudy. It is Mike Huckabee.
Just for the record, I share Huck’s faith in Jesus Christ. Not only have I no problem with religion in public life, I also understand that one can’t really separate a person’s world view from his politics. The political is merely a reflection of the spiritual; our politics doesn’t emerge in a vacuum.
So what is my problem with Huck? Do I accuse him of false religiosity?
No, what scares me is that his beliefs are all too real.
To that enormous secular conservative voting block out there, I will say, be not afraid. It’s not that Huck would impose religion through government. No, his actions would truly offend you.
He would impose statism in the name of religion through government.
While Huck will say what you want to hear to win office, he will not hear what you want to say once there. He will make tone-deaf Bush seem like a maestro. How do I know this?
He believes.
Belief can be a great thing, of course. Our Founding Fathers’ unprecedented respect for liberty was born of their Christian belief that rights were bestowed by the divine king and not worldly ones. Mother Teresa’s Christian beliefs inspired her to toil tirelessly to aid the destitute and dying in India. But whereas the founders kept charity out of government and Teresa kept government out of charity, Huck conflates the two in a disastrous mix of bad theology and bad political science. Perverting Christianity’s message and violating 2000 years of its tradition, he believes it is his Christian mandate to do good works through government.
With, of course, your money.
Huck invokes faith to justify ambitions ranging from the insidious to the idiotic. For the former, look no further than immigration, where Huck espoused the Christian principle, “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you,” while advocating an apparent open-door policy. This, despite the fact that if any good Christian were to find himself in a country illegally, he would expect its citizens to demand he return home.
This illegal-enabling attitude was also apparent in a deal to establish a partially taxpayer-financed Mexican consulate office in Little Rock, a scheme involving the lease of building space to the Mexican government for $1 a year. Then there was Huck’s support of drivers’ licenses, government benefits and in-state tuition rates for illegals and his opposition to a bill requiring proof of citizenship to vote.
What was the motivation for these outrages? While some critics assert that he created a “magnet” for illegals at the behest of business interests, for certain is that Huck invoked his Christian faith while attacking supporters of the proof-of-citizenship bill. He labeled the measure irresponsible, un-American, anti-life and un-Christian. This prompted one of the assailed legislators, Jim Holt, to say that “Christian charity does not include turning a blind eye to lawbreaking.”
The problem, according to many, is that Huck doesn’t agree. For instance, Daniel Larison at the American Conservative wrote,
“. . . Huckabee regards it as his Christian duty to help subvert and liberalize U.S. immigration laws. Together [with Sam Brownback], they embrace the notion that fidelity to the Gospel requires privileging the interests of non-citizens over those of fellow citizens.”
(Note: This is why immigration crusader Tom Tancredo just exited the presidential race and endorsed Romney; he knows Mexicali Mike must be stopped.)
Huck explicitly cited the same “Christian duty” when explaining a lenient attitude toward felons that would allow for twice as many pardons under his Arkansas administration as those of his last three predecessors combined. Among those pardoned was the notorious Wayne Dumond, a thug serving 25 years for raping a teenage high school cheerleader. But Dumond had no feeling of Christian duty. He then raped and murdered a woman named Carol Sue Shields.
http://www.newswithviews.com/Duke/selwyn79.htm
They’re still not listening.
How soon we forget. Not too long ago we gladly embraced him as one of our own.
Capitol Offense (Rock Band)
Capitol Offense performing at the Republican Party of Iowa’s Lincoln Day Dinner on April 14, 2007 in Des Moines.Huckabee’s band, Capitol Offense,[192] has played for political events and parties, including entertaining at unofficial inaugural balls in Washington DC in January 2001[193] and later again 2005, both organized and promoted by the conservative website Free Republic[194] as well as the 2004 GOP Convention.[195]
I’m telling you it is WILD!